What Happened to Internet Explorer 7?
I've gotten a lot of questions about IE 7 and the possibility that this product simply won't be happening, to be replaced in Windows by the next version of MSN instead. While I haven't heard anything definitive beyond this rumor, a recent report on a Mac-oriented rumors site has me wondering. Think Secret, which has one of the better records predicting what's happening with Mac OS X, recently published a story stating that the next IE version for the Mac is "in question," and the product is being held back so that Microsoft can ship an MSN 8 version for that platform. Given the relatively small size of the Mac Business Unit (MBU) at Microsoft, this could simply mean that the company wants to focus on MSN 8 before it returns to working on IE, but it could also bear out rumors that IE is being discontinued, despite the fact that it now controls over 95 percent of the Web browser market. Is this an effort to thwart antitrust complaints by decoupling IE and moving all browser development to the MSN camp? Could be.
Netscape's Browser on the Way Out?
And speaking of Web browsers that might never be updated, and internal AOL memo reveals that Netscape's parent company is considering halting Netscape's Web browser development. The memo, revealed on Mozillanews.org, states that future Netscape releases will likely be "focused on maintenance releases" only, which would likely mean that the Mozilla.org organization, which makes the Gecko browser rendering engine and other technologies behind Netscape's browser suite, will carry the unofficial Netscape flag forward. Netscape's recent releases, Netscape 6.x and 7.x, have been warmed over Mozilla releases anyway, adding just a bizarre assortment of proprietary garbage that few people would want anyway. On the other hand, AOL is secretly testing a new Gecko-based email client called AOL Communicator, and the company is reportedly working on a new Gecko version, code-named Apollo, that might become yet another middleware threat to Windows.
Microsoft is gleaning some of its best advice from the 1,300 consultants, dealers and enthusiasts the company honored this week in Redmond, Wash. Each year, the software giant pays tribute to its Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) during a conference at its Redmond headquarters. The MVPs are Microsoft enthusiasts from around the world who volunteer to offer feedback and technical advice for the company and its customers. As part of the three-day event, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Tuesday gave a keynote speech reiterating the company's vision for what he called the "digital decade."
The MVPs' commitment to Microsoft products can play a key role in influencing the buying decisions of many of the company's larger customers. At the same time, the MVPs are quick to communicate customer complaints or criticisms to the software giant.
Sun Microsystems' Java software and Solaris operating system haven't always gotten along, an internal memo indicates. The version of Java for Solaris is a poor choice for many types of programs, is slow to load, isn't well-supported within Sun and requires too much memory to run, several Sun engineers said in the memo.
For one thing, the memo said, those in control of Java had decided against fixing some bugs and had made changes that prevented older Java programs from working with newer versions of Java. For another, the Solaris version of Java requires huge amounts of memory--as much as 900MB when running TogetherSoft software, since acquired by Borland. Even a basic program to print the words "Hello, world" on a screen takes 9MB, the memo said.
It looks like Microsoft is aligning itself behind antispam legislation. In a posting on its Web site, and in a quarter-page advertisement in Thursday's Washington Post, the company said that "industry collaboration, new laws and continuing advances in technology" are necessary to combat the junk e-mail clogging the nation's inboxes. While the company touted the use of antispam filters and proactive consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission and other authorities, it stressed that "new, strong laws are needed."
Microsoft's text goes on to recommend that laws prohibit senders from misrepresenting their identities, from falsifying message subject lines of messages, or using automated means to gather e-mail addresses without owners' consent.
Microsoft is working on a newer version of its Media Center software, which is expected to debut on PCs around the third quarter, according to sources. The Redmond, Wash.-based company has started working with its PC partners on the newer version of Windows XP Media Center Edition, as well as soliciting beta testers. Microsoft debuted the entertainment operating system in January 2002 and shipped the software to PC makers in the third quarter of last year. The first computers running the software reached store shelves in October.
Microsoft is making it easier for Visual Studio-built Web services to be monitored by management tools sold by startup AmberPoint. In the second half of the year, Visual Studio developers will only have to click a check box to configure a .Net application for AmberPoint, officials with both companies said Tuesday from the VSLive conference in San Francisco. Currently, developers have to tweak a .Net component themselves to register it within the AmberPoint environment.
Also in the second half of the year, developers will be able to access AmberPoint functionality from within Microsoft's Operations Manager. However, the integration plans for the two products are still being discussed.
Microsoft is expanding a program that draws on volunteer enthusiasts around the world to provide advice and technical support to people who use its products. Now in its tenth year, the Most Valuable Professional program includes around 1,300 people from all walks of life who run newsgroups and other communities that provide support for Microsoft users and developers. They also provide the software maker with valuable feedback about how to improve its products.
Around 700 of them have converged at its Redmond, Washington , headquarters this week for pep talks from top executives including Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect, and Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer. They'll also meet with product managers and hear about new programs that give them earlier access to Microsoft's software code and product plans.
Microsoft on Wednesday filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit asking it to set aside an injunction ordering Microsoft to offer Sun Microsystems' Java Runtime Environment with Windows XP and some versions of Internet Explorer. In the introduction to the brief, Microsoft vigorously attacks the earlier decision to grant an injunction.
"The mandatory preliminary injunction from which Microsoft appeals is unprecedented in the history of our [ U.S. ] antitrust laws," Microsoft wrote. "The district court intervened in what it called a 'new market' .... despite the fact that Microsoft is the new entrant in, and Sun now dominates, the alleged 'new market'."
Microsoft is expected to release next month a second test version of a crucial upgrade to its Office desktop application software. The initial test release of Office 11--the code name for the product--was shipped to about 12,000 testers in October. In a familiar pattern, the software titan is expected to make this second testing version more widely available. Microsoft has taken a similar approach with past upgrades to Office and its Windows operating system. Office 11 Beta 2 will be geared more toward enterprise customers, said Microsoft executives.
The ongoing effort to expand the SQL Server database into a broader business intelligence and applications platform continues as Microsoft adds enterprise reporting services to its flagship database. Microsoft on Tuesday announced plans to include enterprise reporting functionality in the beta version of "Yukon" that will be available later this year. Yukon, the code-name for the next version of SQL Server, is expected to be generally available in late 2003 or early 2004.
"This will extend the SQL Server Business Intelligence offering. We started off with OLAP services in SQL Server 7.0. In SQL Server 2000, we added data warehousing and data mining analytical capability. We think this is the next step that customers have been asking for," says Sheryl Tullis, product manager for SQL Server at Microsoft.