Mostly, Microsoft suffers from hypersensitivity to the slightest hints that the two flavors of its high-end operating system-- NT Server and NT Workstation --are anything less than 100-percent ready for prime time.

However, the question of NT's maturity remains a polarizing issue within the technical community. To some, NT is industrial-strength enough to run the toughest class of applications around--electronic-design-automation software, which is used to design integrated circuits. Here, a huge vote of confidence has come from Intel, which plans to migrate all of its EDA apps over to NT during the next several years.

But others believe that NT still lags behind Unix in both security and performance.

Few technical experts want to have their names publicly attached to any gripes about a Microsoft product. But the gist of the complaints are that NT 4.0, which correc ted some of the stability problems in NT 3.51, is very stable but rather lackluster in performance. Microsoft is expected to be able to easily address the performance issues in upcoming NT upgrades (i.e., interim releases due well in advance of the expected 1998 launch of NT 5.0.).

More damning are the perceptions that NT suffers from memory-image problems. Specifically, NT is supposed to be able to address 4-Gbytes of memory. That's important when you're running EDA simulation and verification apps which can easily eat up 2.5-Gbytes of active memory space. However, some experts report that NT has trouble pushing beyond even 256-Mbytes.

On the security side, Microsoft has suffered the unfortunate aftereffects of a bad case of Gary Hart Disease. (The malady is named after the former Colorado senator who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984. When confronted by the press with charges of martial infidelity, Hart pledged his purity and challenged reporters to follow him around to see f or themselves. They did, and Hart soon left the race.)

In Microsoft's case, company officials boasted about NT's heavy-duty security. This enraged hackers, some of whom repeatedly poked into NT security holes big enough to drive a truck through. These were thoroughly documented in three masterful stories by EE Times' s Internet editor, Larry Lange: "Hack" punches hole in Microsoft NT security, Enhancements to NT hack could cause more problems, and Hackers keep the heat on Windows NT security. Microsoft was so riled up by Lange's stories that they posted a response on their Web site.

To strengthen its case for NT, Microsoft recently rounded up the press and Wall Street analysts to something it called, "Scalability Day," in New York. Sandwiched amidst much canned speech-making about the wonders of NT, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and group vice president Paul Maritz put on one very interesting technical demo.

It seems Microsoft has configured something called the "Terra-Server." This is a cluster of Digital Equipment Corp. Alpha-based systems, running NT, which Maritz claimed is "the single biggest NT server that's ever been built, handling 1 terabyte of data on a single node."

The "Terra" in the name is a bit of word play. The $1.6-million system does handle a terabyte (with one "r") of data; that data is satellite imagery of the Earth ("terra," to those who read Latin) gathered by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Russian Space Agency. Microsoft plans to put the Terra Server up on the Internet, where you'll be able to browse through grainy but detailed photos previously available only to the likes of Boris, Natasha and Dudley Do-Rig ht.

Impressive as the Terra Server is, a satellite-photo database doesn't stress a system as much as does the simulation and verification of a Merced-class microprocessor. That's why I'm waiting to see what Intel's experience in migrating its EDA apps to NT is like.

What really grabbed my attention was the hardware Microsoft used in its setup--Digital servers equipped with 400-MHz Alpha microprocessors. The unspoken message is that, if you really want to squeeze the most performance out of NT, Alpha--not Intel's Pentium Pro--is the way to go. Maybe there's a future for Digital's chip after all, despite what's sure to be a nasty legal battle between Intel and Digital over microprocessor patent rights.

So what's an engineer to make of all this conflicting NT testimony? It's true that NT still has some problems that need correcting, but so did U nix at a similar phase in its history. Going forward, it's clear that NT will only get better. At the same time, we should expect the NT bashers to continue to wreak havoc. My advice to Microsoft: Get over it. Simply address the weaknesses and security holes in the OS without reflexive displays of corporate self-pity. NT will end up much stronger in the process, and could begin to finally win respect from people who are sick of hearing billionaires whine about rough treatment.

If you're in the process of migrating over to NT, there are some nifty Web resources that will help; I've identified a few.

Techweb, a sister site here at CMP Media Inc. (the publisher of EE Times ), has an NT Solution Center overflowing with NT tips, tricks and resources.

The Unauthorized Windows NT site delivers a motherlode of undocumented technical informatio n on the operating system. The site is managed by Andrew Schulman, an always reliable expert who's delivered the goods in a series of insightful books on Microsoft's operating systems.

For interesting shareware and utilities, check out the NT Internals Web site.

If you're setting up an NT-based Web server, the place to go is Jim Buyens' NT Resources Site. Once you make it past the promos for his books, you'll find hot copy on building Net sites with NT and on using FrontPage 97.

If you've found an interesting NT link, come on over to our Wintel Watch Forum. While you're there, we'd love to hear your take on the future of Microsoft's operating system.

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