WMP competitor RealNetworks attempted to hijack Microsoft's unveiling of Windows Media 9 Series by releasing a new version of its Helix server software, which streams Windows Media audio and video content using a reversed-engineering process that bypasses Microsoft's licensing for the technology. Real CEO Rob Glaser says that his company's Helix Universal Server removes the need to set up different servers to support different media formats, because it plays back the most dominant formats on the Web, those owned by RealNetworks, and Microsoft's.
A Microsoft representative told me, however, that Helix lacks numerous features in Windows Media Services 9, the server component of Windows .NET Server 2003 that supplies Windows Media content. For example, while Helix supports an instant-on streaming experience, users of the RealONE player must pay monthly fees to use that service. Also, Helix lacks Fast Cache, for an always-on streaming experience; Fast Reconnect, so that players can automatically recover from lost network connections to the server; scenario-based management wizards for ease-of-administration; dynamic server-side playlists; and numerous other features.
Microsoft called on some of its top software executives Wednesday at a developer gathering here as it prepares to release the next version of its server operating system, which is expected to ease some server management and security headaches for customers. Here at Microsoft's Windows .Net Server DevCon, the theme is evangelism, and the company is aiming to persuade of its largest customers to adopt the new server operating system in parts of the organization that historically have chosen systems known to be better suited for running large applications, such as Unix.
Some parts of Microsoft's .Net initiative may be floundering, but the heart of .Net--that is, the development environment--keeps beating strongly despite the myriad struggles. Two weeks ago, Microsoft revealed a roadmap for its Visual Studio .Net development environment that described the capabilities of three future versions: one emphasizing mobile development; another boasting integration with a future version of SQL Server (dubbed Yukon); and a third integrating closely with Longhorn, the code name for the successor to Windows XP, due to arrive in 2004.
I'm "not technical enough" (Bill Gate's ultimate insult) to evaluate the barrage of criticism from the Java camp about Microsoft's vulgar efforts to duplicate Java functionality. What I do know is that Java is hard--and the number of truly expert Java programmers is relatively small. With .Net and Visual Studio, Microsoft continues to build a rich environment accessible to all kinds of programmers.
Software giant Microsoft on Wednesday released a new version of its Windows Media software, hoping to leave its competitors behind in the race to provide the dominant platform for Internet-based entertainment. Windows Media 9 Series, previously known by its code-named "Corona," offers a number of features the company claims are firsts, including full, 5.1 channel surround sound for streaming audio and high-definition video with file sizes as small as half of those of DVDs.
Microsoft has made digital media a priority in recent years, from the debut of its Xbox video game console to a special version of its operating system called Windows XP Media Center Edition, which will appear on a new line of computers later this year that will be equipped with remote controls.
Windows Server DevCon kicked off today in Seattle with Bill Veghte, corporate vice president for Microsoft, touting Windows .NET Server as "the fastest, most reliable and most secure" operating system ever to come out of Redmond. Veghte's keynote session this morning marks the first formal introduction of Windows .NET Server to developers, many of whom have been tinkering with the new OS since its first release candidate shipped in late July.
Here today, Microsoft is characterizing Windows .NET Server as a big step in regard to developer productivity. "We're all about making your lives easier - making it easier for you to write the kinds of applications you want to write," said David Treadwell, general manager for the .NET developer platform at Microsoft.
Microsoft on Wednesday introduced its long-awaited digital media software, Windows Media 9, in an effort to establish dominance for its operating system in distributing high-quality digital content. Microsoft founder Bill Gates will formally launch the software Wednesday evening at an extravagant party in Los Angeles. In true Hollywood fashion, Gates will be joined by "Titanic" director James Cameron, Beatles producer Sir George Martin, and musician LL Cool J in showing off the technology.
Many of the biggest improvements were made to the audio and video performance. As expected, Microsoft released new audio and video codecs, which like MPEG-4, use a smaller file--or bit--size. The company estimates content creators can get 20 percent smaller file sizes with the same quality that they get now. Another audio enhancement lets content providers stream in 5.1 sound, which would improve the quality of sound for concerts or movies streamed over the Web.
Microsoft is moving closer to the release of the first beta for Office 11, the next version of its Office XP productivity suite. Sources told eWEEK on Wednesday that the Redmond, Wash., software firm this week notified those testers who have been accepted into the Office 11 Individual Evaluation Program for the upcoming Office 11 beta. The testers were told that they would "be hearing more about the beta soon" and that the Microsoft Office team was "very excited about this next version of Office and think you will be also," sources said. He also said it would feature far greater use of XML and Web services for reporting, analyzing, importing and exporting information-particularly in Outlook and Excel.
Introducing: Visual Studio .NET "Everett"
One of the key drivers for the evolution of Microsoft development tools has always been to enable customers to get the most out of the Windows platform. With the arrival of the .NET Framework as an important addition to the Windows platform, developers needed a tool to address new platform capabilities: the new application integration model, XML Web services; the new distributed data model, Microsoft ADO.NET; new server-side application infrastructure, Microsoft ASP.NET; smart client Microsoft Windows Forms; mobile controls; and others. That tool is Visual Studio .NET.
Microsoft has alerted potential testers that the beta for the next version of Microsoft Office, currently code-named Office 11, will begin shortly. The beta includes members of the Office 11 family of applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, Access, FrontPage, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Scribbler, which is designed for Tablet PC devices, along with a hosted SharePoint Team Services subweb site for exploration and use during the beta time period, the company says.
Microsoft has already publicly announced the Office 11 release schedule, setting the target availability date in mid-2003, alongside Exchange 2003 Server. Office 11 will include native support for XML data formats and tighter integration with Microsoft's .NET services.
Next week at the Intel Developer Forum, the company will announce 2.8GHz and 2.6GHz Xeons for single- and dual-processor workstations and servers and reveal more details on chips coming in the near future. Meanwhile, an energy-efficient 1.6GHz Xeon came out this week for blade servers. The new chips will boost the performance of workstations, high-end desktops used for duties like product design, and servers, networked machines that can do everything from storing data to conducting online transactions.