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As part of the ongoing Microsoft .NET strategy, Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of two new tools that will enable new user experiences by integrating the power and efficiency of XML Web services and the familiar computing environment of Office XP. Both the Office XP Web Services Toolkit and the Smart Tag Enterprise Resource Toolkit enable developers to deliver XML Web services data directly into Office XP, making it easy for users to access important information in the applications they use every day. These offerings further deliver on the Office XP goal of enabling strong business value for organizations, new solution opportunities for developers and exciting new user experiences for knowledge workers.

According to Jupiter Media Metrix,1 MSN Search has surpassed Yahoo! Search and is now the No. 1 search service in the United States. Not coincidentally, use of MSN Search has reached 36.6 million unique users in the United States, compared with Yahoo! Search's 31.9 million users. MSN Search leadership extends to several international markets where it also surpasses Yahoo! Search, including Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Available in 33 markets and 15 languages, MSN Search reveals the success of the service's efforts to provide the 270 million unique monthly visitors worldwide to the MSN network of Internet services with the most relevant results available on the Web.

Almost a year ago, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates began espousing a concept he called the PC-Plus era, in which the PC would expand from its humble office roots and form the center of a digital hub in our lives. Today this concept is almost taken for granted, and the PC will clearly play a major role well into the future. But in January 2001 the concept wasn't at all obvious; Gates clearly designed his assertion of a PC-Plus era to counter arguments from Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy and others that we had entered the post-PC era, in which the PC's relevance would fall as other computerized devices rose in importance.

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The Microsoft trial squandered taxpayers' dollars, was a nuisance to consumers, and was a serious deterrent to investors in the high-tech industry. It is high time for this trial, and the wasteful spending accompanying it, to be over. Consumers will indeed see competition in the marketplace, rather than the courtroom. And the investors who propel our economy can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Microsoft announced this week that it has licensed Sonic Solutions' DVD-authoring technology, probably for inclusion in the next version of Windows (code-named Longhorn). Following Microsoft's announcement, shares of Sonic Solutions soared almost 40 percent yesterday. Windows XP currently supports CD writing and DVD data recording through the DVD-RAM format; the Sonic software is used with more common DVR-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW drives to create movie CDs. By the time Longhorn ships in mid-2003, DVD movie authoring will be much more common than it is today.

Speaking of Mira, several readers wondered how this technology, which enables a new generation of portable and wirelessly connected computer screens, compares to a Tablet PC. The distinction is rather vague: A Tablet PC is a full-fledged portable PC that will include a range of value-added software, such as digital-ink and handwriting capabilities. Mira screens will run Windows CE .NET and offer a Windows Terminal Services-based wireless connection to the PC, which would need to be within a certain distance from the screen (e.g., within a house) to work. Mira screens won't include any of the special Tablet PC software but will include transcriber and virtual-keyboard software similar to that found on today's Pocket PC devices. Presumably, Mira screens also will weigh less than Tablet PCs, but the ViewSonic Mira prototype I used at the show was every bit as heavy as the two Tablet PC prototypes I've used. In addition, Mira screens will be considerably less expensive than Tablet PCs.

A federal judge could rule as early as Friday on a proposed multimillion-dollar settlement of the class-action antitrust suits filed against Microsoft, after the company failed to reach a compromise with attorneys who are trying to block the deal.

U.S. District Court Judge J. Frederick Motz is expected to hand down a decision on whether to go forward with proceedings on the settlement, despite the objections of a group of class-action attorneys from California. Motz had agreed to wait until after 2 p.m. PDT on Thursday before handing down his preliminary ruling to give the two sides time to resolve their differences out of court. But the deadline passed without agreement.

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View these Windows Media videos about getting started building Windows CE .NET devices. Videos demonstrate Platform Wizard, Build Options and Building an Image, Emulator Setup and Downloading an Image, and New User Interface (UI) and Core Networking Components.

Thirty-two years ago, the videocassette recorder was the hottest thing around. The compact disc player was big news in 1981, while the digital satellite system caught everyone's eye in 1994. Each of these innovations made their first public appearances at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the 2002 edition of which continues here all this week.

In the last few years, the consumer electronics industry's goals have shifted to make the house a more connected place to relax, work, socialize and learn. The new technologies and products being developed are simple to use, so consumers from all walks of life can benefit from the personalized experiences now being realized and developed.

Microsoft filed a motion that, if successful, would bar the public from access to any future depositions in its antitrust case, but The New York Times and other media organizations will likely oppose it. The Redmond, Wash.-based software behemoth filed a motion Wednesday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to vacate a standing order in an ongoing antitrust case maintained by 10 states and the District of Columbia. The case grew out of a case originally brought by the Department of Justice.

Under the order, granted in August 1998, the public was allowed to see and/or read seven depositions taken in the original case, including the deposition of Chairman Bill Gates. A deposition is sworn oral testimony generally only available to the parties in the action.