Microsoft included SharePoint Services in Windows Server 2003
July 01, 2003 | Author: Michael Stromann
As promised, Microsoft made the new version of the web-collaboration extension SharePoint Team Services a part of is operating system (formerly it was bundled with MS Office). Accordingly, the name was changed to Windows SharePoint Services (WSS). The new version WSS 2.0 was recently released and is available for download as a free addition to Windows Server 2003. The main feature of the new version is that it's fully based on .NET Framework that greatly simplifies development of sites and business applications. Unlike its predecessor, WSS 2.0 uses SQL Server to store not only metadata, but also documents themselves. WSS 2.0 also provides tools to track document versions, share calendars, use messenger and create collaborative Web-sites without the need to involve IT staff.
Microsoft Office 2003 provides a convenient way to access WSS directly via a new toolbar Shared Workspace. This toolbar lets you view and edit workspaces, view documents status, monitor active users and interact with them via Windows Messenger, edit documents and use many other functions in the familiar Office environment.
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