WinInsider

Microsoft will announce next week a new business Internet service, tied to its .Net strategy, that will allow eBay and other Web sites to contact and send messages to customers via PCs, cell phones and other handheld devices. Microsoft plans to say that it has signed 20 companies to a new Web-based service, called .Net Alerts, according to sources close to the company. The service will notify subscribers of everything from updated sports scores to the shipping status of goods they've bought online. In the case of eBay, the online auction site can send buyers messages about the status of items they've bid on.

State-of-the-Art Mobile Media Player Offers Wireless Streaming of Audio and Video. In conjunction with the launch today of Pocket PC 2002, Microsoft Corp. also unveiled the new Microsoft Windows Media Player for Pocket PC 2002. This latest version of Windows Media Player for Pocket PC is the first all-in-one media player for Pocket PC 2002, with support for digital audio and video streaming over high-speed wireless networks, playback of downloaded audio and video content, and support for MP3 playback. The player also includes breakthrough Windows Media Audio and Video 8 codec technology, providing the best-quality audio and video in the smallest file size.

As settlement talks get underway yet again in the Microsoft antitrust case, legal experts are still doubtful about whether the company will reach a compromise with the government. Despite strong exhortations to settle from U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, Microsoft executives may still conclude they are better off holding out for a final ruling from the judge than making major concessions to the government, antitrust attorneys said in interviews this week. Microsoft's supporters said the company will probably reject any settlement that imposes regulations on the design of its software.

Internet2 started in 1996 as a group of corporations, universities and nonprofits interested in advanced research. The project acts as a laboratory for companies and researchers developing new technologies and also serves as a blueprint of what the Internet could look like in the future. Most people associate video streaming over the Internet with chunky sound and halted pictures, for example, but the technology has made great strides within Internet2 to broadcast quality.

You've mastered Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows Me. Ready to add Windows XP to your resume? Get cracking with this collection of tips and tricks. Is your PC ready? Find out here if your software and hardware are up to snuff.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is holding a coming-out party Thursday in San Francisco for a new version of the Pocket PC operating system, joined by handheld makers and, yes, developers, developers, developers. The major device makers that supported Pocket PC the first time around--Compaq Computer, Hewlett-Packard and Casio--will be there. Also on hand will be a number of new supporters, including Toshiba, NEC and Mitsubishi Electric. Microsoft first unveiled Pocket PC 2002, which was code-named Merlin, at a Sept. 6 conference. At Thursday's launch, the software giant will trot out new devices that run the OS, as well as software and other companion products for Pocket PC-based devices.

Dell Computer delivered a pleasant surprise Thursday, reaffirming its outlook for the third quarter and saying that the company's strategic, operating and financial position "is better than it's ever been." Although there's still a third of Dell's quarter to go, analysts had expected the PC maker to cut its outlook. The surprise sent the company's stock jumping in premarket trading, rising $1.81 to $22.45 on the Island ECN. Dell is the second major tech bellwether in as many days to indicate that its quarter is on target. Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers said on Wednesday that he was comfortable with earnings estimates for the networking giant's quarter.

Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson said Thursday that it would integrate its joint venture with Microsoft into its global services unit to allow it to grow more easily to meet strong product demand. Earlier Thursday Ericsson, the handset supplier and producer of mobile networks, denied a newspaper report that its partnership with Microsoft could collapse. "We continue the cooperation, but we change the legal framework for it," Ericsson spokeswoman Ase Lindskog said. "The company will now be merged into Ericsson's systems integration business, which is part of the Global Services division," she said.

eTesting Labs Inc has found Windows XP to be overall the fastest version of the Windows operating system ever created for a wide-range of desktop computing tasks.

On average, Windows XP-based computers:

• Run approximately 54% faster than Windows Me-based computers.
• Outperform Windows 98 SE-based computers by 46% on leading commercial benchmarks, and by 27% at startup.
• Perform equivalent to the record-setting speed of Windows 2000 Professional, even with the addition of extensive new productivity features.

The US Supreme Court will meet this Friday and begin discussing the Microsoft antitrust case for the first time. Two months ago, Microsoft petitioned the high court to hear its appeal, an action that would see its legal battle move out of the US District Court for the District of Columbia if accepted. Nine of the Supreme Court justices will review a number of cases Friday, including Microsoft's, and a decision is expected fairly quickly. If the justices do vote on Microsoft's fate Friday, the earliest possible notification of their decision would occur Monday.