Microsoft is to follow up the release of Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 with a new add-on that will provide greater interoperability with Unix systems. Windows NT Services for Unix is scheduled to ship in four to six weeks and, according to the tool's project manager at Microsoft, Greg Sullivan, won't be bundled with future versions of the OS. A second version of Windows NT Services for Unix will ship soon after the full release version of Windows 2000 debuts, he said. The add-in will allow NT clients and servers to access files stored on Unix systems, courtesy of technology bought in from Intergraph. Software from Mortice Kern Systems will provide NT users with a basic Unix equivalent of NT's MS-DOS Command Prompt window. The Unix command line will support 25 scripting commands and "common" Unix commands. Windows NT Services for Unix will also allow passwords to be synchronised across the two Oses -- though only from Windows NT to Unix; change your password on a Unix box and it won't be reflected on the NT system -- and let users on either platform remotely administer machines running the other OS via a Telnet connection. ®