WinInsider

WebSideStory, Inc., the world's leading provider of outsourced e-business intelligence services, today reported that despite much hype and expectation in recent years, Linux has failed to gain market share from Microsoft and Apple operating systems. As of December 17, 2001, Linux held a global usage share of only 0.24 percent, according to WebSideStory's StatMarket, a Web development optimization service and the leading source for data on global Internet user trends. This compares with Microsoft's Windows and Apple's Macintosh operating systems, which hold a combined global usage share of more than 98 percent. For almost three years, Linux usage share has fluctuated between .2 and .3 percent, with no substantial growth. Usage share is the percentage of Internet surfers that are using a particular operating system.

In the latest of a series of announcements made in the wake of Microsoft's XP operating system release, the software giant and Monster.com said they are entering a broad strategic alliance. According to the companies, Monster.com, the flagship brand of TMP Worldwide, will deploy Microsoft's .NET technologies to provide a wide range of personalized features to Monster.com users.

Touting Microsoft's ability to deliver extremely targeted, customized information, the companies said that the job search site will use tools such as My Services and Passport authentication, as well as .NET Alerts, to accomplish a major upgrade of the well-known job board.

November retail sales of Windows XP weren't so hot. But is the operating system a flop? Maybe not, analysts say. Microsoft's biggest operating system launch ever has failed to generate enough retail sales to push past its predecessor, Windows 98, according to market researcher NPD Intelect.

But retail sales are not the key measure of an operating system's success, analysts say. Copies sold at retail are "boxed" upgrades or full versions for consumers looking to move to the newest version of Windows. The more accurate measure is client licenses sold to PC makers or businesses. By that accounting, analysts say, Windows XP already is primed to have the most successful first year on the market of any Microsoft operating system.

THE FIRST 533MHz front side bus boxed Pentium 4s at 2.40GHz will be offered early in Q2, confirming our earlier stories. Roadmaps seen by us show that early in Q2 Intel's top desktop chip will be a 2.40GHz processor which comes in both 400MHz and 533MHz front side bus versions, both of which include 512K level two cache.

In the same period, Intel wil make a 2.26GHz Pentium 4 and a 2.20GHz Pentium 4 available with the 533MHz front side bus, and available in boxed versions. For the first quarter, however, we will see Intel introduce its boxed 2.2GHz "Northwood" Pentium 4, and we believe the date for that is still the 7th of January, as we noted yesterday.

Microsoft has added two new features to a Windows 2000 kit that allows computer makers to create special-purpose "server appliances," the company said Monday. The new features to the Server Appliance Kit are Multiple Device Manager, which allows customers to manage several server appliances from a central location, and Role-Based User Interface, which lets server administrators dictate the privileges of various classes of people. For example, one company might be allowed to create new Web pages while another can only place orders. The kit, a customizable sampling of components from the Windows 2000 operating system, is used by Compaq Computer, Dell, IBM. Maxtor, RLX Technology and NEC.

Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions has announced expanded applications to Dynamics Release 6.0, a proven solution for the middle market. Designed to provide greater functionality to equip midmarket businesses' growing needs, the extensions deliver new features, products and services that help organizations address total cost of ownership and allow them to make better business decisions faster.

If you want to trip up the Devil, start with a big, warm embrace. I got a lot of angry letters a year ago when I wrote that the government's case against Microsoft was fatally flawed - and that the company should merely be hammered with a big fine and let the digital world get back to work. Instead, the Justice Dept., as the federal judge preened for the press, helped tip us over into a recession.

Now I find myself wondering: How many of those same people who thought Bill Gates was the embodiment of corporate evil (now that we've seen what that really looks like) are waiting in line at the stereo store to buy their kids Xboxes?

The problem, you see, is not that Gates won, but that he never gets tired of winning. Most billionaires eventually rest on their laurels, kick back or go off in search of new and different challenges. They date opera stars or collect post-Impressionists or try to save the world.

Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday that the sale of its stake in Expedia Inc. to USA Networks Inc. has been delayed, along with its projected $650-million gain on the deal. The deal -- now expected to close during the March or June quarters as a result of USA's deal with Vivendi Universal -- was expected to result in a pretax gain of about $650 million. It was initially slated to close in the quarter ending December 31, Microsoft said in a statement.

Thanks to NeoWin for this link

Remember when you were a kid, lying on your back in a big grassy field and watching the clouds roll by? It was pure Bliss. Now you can enjoy the Bliss scenery from your Windows XP desktop background as a screen saver when your computer is idle.

Microsoft expects last week's Office XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) release to usher in a new era of corporate adoptions of the product because many organizations wait for the first consolidated update package before upgrading. In this case, that expectation is probably warranted. In addition to focusing on the three general areas of security, stability, and performance, Office XP SP1 includes several Windows XP-specific performance improvements that let the two systems work more efficiently together. I spoke with Office XP Product Manager Nicole von Kaenel about the changes in SP1.