Some emails have questioned our statements about the original title for Window's XP being code-named "Asteroid" while XP was being developed at Microsoft. The source for that information is an article published at ZDNet.com on January 25, 2000. The article by Mary Jo Foley titled "Microsoft Makes Windows Detour" reports:

"Microsoft's first update to its Windows 2000, code-named Asteroid, has been on the books for some time. Officials with the ActiveWin Windows enthusiast Web site say they hear Microsoft could deliver the Asteroid service release 1 for Windows 2000 by June of this year. Microsoft officials declined to comment on Asteroid or the feature set."

And here's some context surrounding "Asteroid":

Feb. 13, 2001

An interesting thing about the evolution of Windows XP is that it was developed at Microsoft under the code name of "Whistler." Whistler, today revealed to be Windows XP, is the next version of Windows, tieing Windows 2000 and the older Windows 95, 98, and NT together into one code base, or "kernel." At Microsoft, earlier code names used for Windows NT5 and Windows NT6 (unreleased prototypes for what became Windows 2000) were "Asteroid" and then "Neptune."

In the song titled "Valleys of Neptune" Jimi wrote about his vision of an asteroid crashing into the ocean. And scenes of tidal waves, with sloping valleys in the sea, appear in the film Deep Impact, produced by Paul Allen's Dreamwork's Studios in 1998.

On this Feb. 13, 2001, Bill Gates appeared at Paul Allen's Hendrix Museum in Seattle to unveil Windows XP [aka Windows NT5 "Asteroid"/NT6 "Neptune"/Windows2000/Whistler/Windows Experience) while NASA's spacecraft lands on a rock called Eros ("Love"), on the day before Valentine's Day. Rock Prophecy points out that Jimi gave the name "Electric Love" to the asteroid that he saw impacting Earth.

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XP = eXPerience:

Other emails have asked why we believe that the title "XP" in Windows XP stands for Experience. There are three sources for this, the first being from Microsoft. On Feb 6, 2001 Microsoft.com published the following:

WINDOWS XP -- THE NEW EXPERIENCE

What: Windows XP -- The New Experience

When: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 11 a.m. (press seating begins at 10:30 a.m.)

Where: Experience Music Project 325 5th Ave. N., Seattle, Wash.

Bill Gates and Jim Allchin to Unveil Microsoft's New Desktop Operating System

REDMOND, Wash. -- Feb. 6, 2001 -- Please join Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp. chairman and chief software architect, and Jim Allchin, group vice president of the platforms product group, on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 11 a.m. for the unveiling of the new Microsoft Windows desktop operating system, Windows XP.

The event will take place at the Experience Music Project (EMP) in Seattle, Wash., and will be followed by a press luncheon at the Liquid Lounge, located at the EMP.

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The next source is from PCWorld.com, where the following day, an article titled "Bill Gates to Unveil Windows XP in Glitzy Show" reporter Peggy Watt wrote:

In 1995, for the launch of its Windows 95 operating system, Microsoft's theme song was "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones. Rumor has it that Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced" might be the accompaniment choice this time around. Paul Allen built the EMP as homage to Seattle native Hendrix..."There will be a vastly improved user experience," says Rob Enderle, an analyst with Giga Information Group.

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Further reports about the meaning of "XP" comes from darwinmag.com where, on Dec. 21, 2001 David Donaldson published an article titled, "The Windows XP "Experience":

[We had included a link to this internet article, but when this link was checked in 2007, darwinmag.com was no longer in existance and David Donaldson's article is no longer found online.]

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And shortly after Windows XP was released, Microsoft and Norton Utilities ran the following ad in USA Today:

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