Windows XP is a major upgrade from Windows 98 in the home market, providing improved stability, increased performance and a series of extras designed to help home and small-business users more easily manage their Web use, Web pages and, eventually, .Net services.
We do not believe a mixed Windows 2000/Windows XP environment, if managed carefully, will place any significant burden on IT groups. The newer version can be set up to look exactly like Windows 2000, and the two operating systems can coexist well on corporate desktops. In effect, enterprises should treat Windows XP as the next service pack for Windows 2000.
Microsoft has just unveiled brand new PowerToys for its upcoming Windows XP operating system. Actually only Windows XP beta testers can retrieve them. PowerToys are additional programs that developers work on after the product is code-complete. These toys add fun and functionality to the Windows experience. We've taken great care to ensure that PowerToys operate as they should. But please note that these programs are not part of Windows and are not supported by Microsoft.
Gateway will unveil a new top-of-the-line notebook Monday and throw in 90 days of free wireless Internet service in the bargain. The Solo 9550 will effectively serve as Gateway's showcase notebook. The deluxe configuration of the notebook will feature a 1.13GHz Pentium III processor, 512MB of memory and a 15.7-inch screen, the largest in the industry, according to Fred Kim, senior product manager for Gateway. Between the hard drive and two disk drive bays, the machine can store up to 70GB of data.
Paul Thurrott talks with Jim Allchin, Group Vice President of the Platforms Group at Microsoft, about Windows XP.
JA: I'm the ultimate dreamer and perfectionist, but compared to what's out there, Windows XP a huge step ahead. I put my heart into this one, and so did the whole team here. We had a Real People, Real Beta program, where we set up regular people with Windows XP. We watched video tapes of those people using their machines and it was just humbling. We knew what was wrong, of course, we support our relatives. But this release will prove that we're really listening.
More: Windows XP: The Road to Gold
In a press event at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash., Microsoft's Bill Gates gives his thoughts on the company's new operating system.
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More: Windows XP ready to roll (MSNBC)
PC Makers Take Off With Windows XP (TechTV)
By no comparable means WinXP is a great achievement for Microsoft and any software developer that has worked on it. Great work! to all that have made WinXP awesome.
"These last weeks had been pretty rough on our development staff," recalls Mayo. "People were coming in at all hours, test teams were working in shifts around the clock. We were bringing massive amounts of coffee and soda into the offices. People would sack out on sofas for a bit and then get back to work. One guy just stayed here and slept on the floor, pulling an old event banner over his head."
For each 250 software bugs that the developers could eliminate in a day, a team leader would eat a real bug -- a mealworm. If the developers could eliminate 750 bugs in three days, then all four team leaders -- Mayo and Senior Vice President Brian Valentine, Project Director Iain McDonald, and Director of Test Darren Muir -- would get "mealy mouthed." "The developers came through for us; all of us ended up eating our meal worms," says Mayo. "But only Brian chewed."
A federal appeals court on Friday, as expected, returned the Microsoft case to the trial court for further proceedings. The order, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, opens up another chapter in the antitrust saga. A new judge must be randomly selected before the case moves forward--and that is expected to happen fairly quickly, say legal experts. As proceedings resume before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, two issues dealt with previously will take center stage. The new judge must rehear the issue of "tying"--whether it was illegal for Microsoft to integrate its Internet Explorer Web browser with the Windows 95 and 98 operating systems. The judge also will hold hearings on remedies, which could last several months or more.
More on selecting Judge
There he was, Steve Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft, up on stage in all his resplendent glory, skipping around like a certifiable nut job.
"I have four words for ya," he said, breathing heavily. But ever the inspirational leader, he gave the audience what it wanted.
"I...love...this...company...yessssssss!" Wild applause.
Yeah, well, that's the point. Your CEO wouldn't do that, and that's probably one reason why your company's stock price is plummeting to new lows while yet another round of layoffs is in the works. Mock Ballmer all you want, but the passion of Microsoft's CEO hints at a larger truth about the software maker.
Intel took the wraps off its i870 chipset this week, the part that will allow server makers to build 16-way systems based on its Xeon and Itanium processors. It will also be the first chipset to support Intel's Infiniband architecture. And if it ships in Q4, as suggested by the company's server roadmap, it will be the first Intel chipset to support DDR SDRAM.
"We have posted a new interim release on BetaPlace for the DirectX 8.1 beta. This release is provided to you as an update to DirectX 8.1 beta 1 and interim releases 1 and 2. The previous DirectX 8.1 releases will expire on September 5, 2001. We ask that each of you install interim 3 at your earliest convenience."
- There are new DirectShow® Windows® XP specific SDK samples
- The SDK now installs the Windows XP switchable debug files for Retail and Debug
- You can test your application under a variety of network conditions with the new DP8Sim tool
- DirectMusic® and DirectSound® include many of the Windows XP enhancements Added new Direct3D® samples (lighting, volume fog), enhanced usage of D3DX in the samples, and continued improvements in the Direct3D documentation.