Windows IT Pro is the leading independent community for IT professionals deploying Microsoft Windows server and client applications and technologies.
  
  
  Advanced Search 



What does NT stand for?

RSS
Subscribe to Windows IT Pro | See More Windows NT 4.0 Articles Here | Reprints | Or get the Monthly Online Pass—only $5.95 a month!

A. NT actually stands for Northern Telecom but Microsoft licensed it and in the Windows sense stands for New Technology. Its also interesting to note its heritage
RSX -> VMS -> ELN -> NT all major designs of David Cutler
Also VMS +1 letter = WNT (Windows NT) :-) (aka HAL and IBM in 2001)

Another theory is that the NT acronym orginally came from the Engineers working on it. The acronym stands for N-Ten, the code name for the i860 chip that NT was being tested on.


End of Article



Reader Comments
Are there any other possible definitions for the initials "NT" that you have heard of? I'm curious because this seems a little too simple for the technology involved. Thanks for your help.

Rick Matthews November 19, 2003


I was always told by IBM NT Kernel engineers that it stood for Non Trivial.

Anonymous User October 17, 2004


You must be a registered user or online subscriber to comment on this article. Please log on before posting a comment. Are you a new visitor? Register now




Top Viewed ArticlesView all articles
WinInfo Short Takes: Week of November 23, 2009

An often irreverent look at some of the week's other news, including some post-PDC some soul searching, a Google Chrome OS announcement and a Microsoft response, Windows 7 off to a supposedly strong start, the Jonas Brothers and Xbox 360, and so much more ...

2009 Windows IT Pro Editors' Best and Community Choice Awards

Picking a favorite product from an impressive crowd of competitive offerings is never an easy task, and such was the case with our Editors' Best and Community Choice awards this year. ...

Command Prompt Tricks

One reader shares his tip for setting up the command prompt to reflect a remote path. ...


Related Events Deep Dive into Windows Server 2008 R2 presented by John Savill

Check out our list of Free Email Newsletters!

Windows OSs eBooks Understanding and Leveraging Code Signing Technologies

A Guide to Windows Certification and Public Keys

SQL Server Administration for Oracle DBAs

Related Windows OSs Resources Introducing Left-Brain.com, the online IT bookstore
Looking for books, CDs, toolkits, eBooks? Prime your mind at Left-Brain.com

Discover Windows IT Pro eLearning Series!
Clear & detailed technical information and helpful how-to's, all in our trademark no-nonsense format


Windows IT Pro Home Register FAQ for Windows WinInfo News
Europe Edition About Us Contact Us/Customer Service Media Kit Affiliates / Licensing  
SQL Server Magazine Office & SharePoint Pro DevProConnections IT Job Hound
Left-Brain.com Technology Resource Directory asp.netPRO ITTV Windows SuperSite 
 
 Windows IT Pro is a Division of Penton Media Inc.
 © 2009 Penton Media, Inc. Terms of Use | Privacy Statement