Found interesting commentary at ActiveWin about future of MS Windows, check it out.
Now, I think that there is enough information on the internet right now to make an assumption about what Microsoft's future plans are, especially with the Justice Department looming over their heads with the antitrust case. This is just a meandering of mine, so feel free to express your thoughts on this matter, whether you agree or not. Here it goes: Longhorn and Blackcomb will be released not as successors to each other, but as partners to accomplish Microsoft's agenda and keep the Justice Department off their back.
MS has released a command-line application, HFNetChk, which will scan all NT and/or 2K machines in a network from a single location and compare their currently-installed patches with the latest ones available, making it easy for admins to identify and patch vulnerable machines. We gave it a whirl over the weekend and it performed as advertised. It covers Win-NT and 2K; IIS 4.0 and 5.0; SQL Server 7.0 and 2000 (including MS Data Engine); and Internet Explorer 5.01 and later.
The instructions
Microsoft late Tuesday issued a nearly finished version of Windows XP to testers, signaling it plans to release final code earlier than expected. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant had told PC makers to expect final code, which would be used to install Windows XP on new computers, around Aug. 22. But Microsoft now is expected to certify final Windows XP code within the next few days. "This build is not the RTM (release to manufacturing) build. However, we are very close," the most recent e-mail from Microsoft to Windows XP beta testers states.
Microsoft issued what is widely expected to be the last interim build of Windows XP to beta testers before its final release later this month. XP Build 2542 is the first build of this product to use XP's final Activation schedule, so testers now have 30 days in which to activate the product. Microsoft notes that phone-based activation will be on a limited availability until October 25th, at which point it will be available 24x7. "This build is not the RTM build," the release notes state. "However, we are very close. This build is primarily provided to regress existing "fixed" bugs, to uncover any last minute ship-stopper regressions, and to get a final sanity check prior to [release to manufacturing].
Tuesday, Microsoft refuted rumors that its Xbox gaming console was facing delays by issuing a terse statement. The statement addressed a research paper published by Thomas Weisel Partners in which it was suggested that the Xbox would be delayed up to four weeks because of a problem with the Intel motherboard in the machine. "We're not commenting on specific Xbox video game system manufacturing efforts, but we can say that there is absolutely no problem with the design of Intel's motherboard," the statement reads. "Intel has been a fantastic partner and has delivered on everything for Xbox to date. We're still marching toward our planned November 8 launch date for Xbox."
"People say, 'Ooh, is there some big plot here?'" said Ballmer. Then, in Johnny Cochran rhyming rhythm: "The customer gets to choose how their data is used." Furthermore, he insisted, the businesses that partner with Microsoft and use its .Net services needn't worry, either. "They own their own data," said Ballmer. "They own their own customers." To achieve broad adoption for its Web services platform, Microsoft must win the trust of both consumers and business partners. So Ballmer is out there making promises about privacy and security that will be difficult to break. "There's no other philosophy that makes any sense at all," declared Ballmer, resting his case.
Microsoft has just released a new interim beta build 2542 of Windows XP to its official beta testers. This release isn't the RTM build (proving recent rumours were false). Microsoft reports this build is primarily provided to regress existing "fixed" bugs, uncover any last minute ship-stopper regressions, and get a final sanity check prior to RTM. Starting with this build, Microsoft has also updated the Windows XP Key system. Windows XP Beta Testers will need to use new product keys. The product keys and activation rules are now the same as the final product: testers now have 30 days to activate (instead of 14), each key can be activated only on one machine, Home & Pro editions of Windows XP now use different keys.
Microsoft on Tuesday attacked the government's request to push its antitrust case forward while the Supreme Court considers the company's request for appeal. In a sharply worded, nine-page legal brief, Microsoft rebutted the government's argument that proceedings should begin at a lower court. The Redmond, Wash.-based company last week had asked the Supreme Court to consider an appeal, arguing U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's comments to reporters before rendering his decision warranted throwing it out.
DOJ is barely keeping up. Most people knew 6 month before DOJ did, that WinXP is coming out, where DOJ was still thinking hard on Win98. Can't DOJ just leave MS alone: general public supports Microsoft, PC Industry praying that WinXP will be big hit, anyone that is ruing WinXP says how great it is and DOJ lawyers are fleeting this case like rats from sinking ship. So why keep spending millions of taxpayers dollars to satisfy AOL, SUN, Oracle lobbying practices?
Last-minute changes to Microsoft's Windows XP. Microsoft Corp. says its upcoming Windows XP operating system, with its clean look and tight integration with the Internet, will make computing unbelievably easy for consumers. With just a couple of weeks before Microsoft must ship the finished Windows XP code to computer makers so they can install it in time for the holidays, the company is making last-minute changes to quell those concerns. The latest tweak, announced on Monday, involves offering a wider choice of digital photography software in response to Eastman Kodak Co. complaints that Windows XP nudged users towards online photo services backed by Microsoft.