Microsoft says that .Net is a strategy for extending an XML Web services architecture across everything it does. The key word is strategy: Microsoft stresses that .Net is not a product. But .Net is also a corporate computing push-a move into a space Unix has ruled-and that's sparked a platform war. Simply put, we've got Sun devotees coding with J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) in one corner and Microsoft loyalists working with VisualStudio.Net in the other. The winner may well shape the outcome of Web services for years. So, naturally, Microsoft is pumping its considerable resources into the .Net-in-the-enterprise campaign. It's promoting early victories like Credit Suisse First Boston's switch from Unix, as well as the experience of Newport News Shipyards. According to Microsoft, the shipyards built a system using Visual Studio.Net framework and Web services to connect CAD systems, project-management applications, and procurement and accounting apps running on a variety of platforms-then extended it all to some 20 different subcontractors.
The European Commission is checking whether Microsoft Corp.'s system of collecting personal data from Internet users breaks privacy laws, compounding the software giant's antitrust probe headaches in Europe. The European Union's executive arm announced its investigation into Microsoft's free .NET Passport service in a written response to a question from Erik Meijer, a Dutch member of the European Parliament.
"The Commission is...looking into this as a matter of priority, in concertation with national data protection authorities, as regards the system's compatibility (or not) with EU data protection law," European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Frits Bolkestein, wrote.
Don't let all the issues swirling around Service Pack 1 for Windows XP confuse you. SP1 offers modest improvements that will not affect most companies significantly. Some security-conscious companies may have delayed XP deployments. Although SP1 includes few new security features, it may send a signal that it's all right to proceed with those deployments. In any case, Gartner never recommended that most companies wait for that reason. Three other issues will have minimal impact on companies. First, SP1 will let PC makers swap out some Microsoft "middleware" applications--the Internet browser, media player, instant messaging and e-mail clients, and Java Virtual Machine. PC vendors will thus get more flexibility in how they configure their machines, and they can use this to strike deals with other software vendors and generate extra revenue. But Gartner doesn't think users will ultimately see much lower prices.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates presided over the company's annual CEO Summit this week, and promised that the Tablet PC would ship in October and rejuvenate PC sales. After a bizarre start as a slab-like tablet, the Tablet PC has morphed into a convertible laptop, a far more viable form factor. The 100 visiting CEOs were loaned prototype Tablet PCs to check out for a few months, an attempt at driving excitement for the new platform. But I'm not so sure it needs any more hype: The Tablet PC is cool, and people are going to want them.
Beta-testing for the first service pack update to Microsoft Windows XP will begin within weeks, with release expected this summer. The free update will include a selection of bug, security, and compatibility fixes--many of which are already available as separate downloads. Release of this service pack could prompt a surge in adoption of Windows XP by some companies that traditionally wait for this milestone before upgrading to a new operating system. Desktop PCs running Windows XP will outnumber those running Windows 98 by late 2003, says Dan Kusnetzky, vice president with the market-research firm IDC. The ambitious update had a slow start compared with that of its predecessor.
Microsoft is finalizing a major makeover for Windows XP that's intended to make it easier for consumers to choose third-party software over Microsoft's own products. Within the next few weeks, the software giant plans to begin testing Service Pack 1 for Windows XP, the first major update to the operating system, which was launched in October. Some of the more significant changes, such as those allowing consumers and PC makers to override Microsoft's default products, are a direct response to the continuing antitrust case against the Redmond, Wash.-based company.
The service pack will ship this summer to PC makers and will be available as a free download from the company's Web site. As previously reported, the service pack will contain bug fixes, tweaks and compatibility updates, as have similar releases for previous versions of Windows.
Richard Purcell, the man Bill Gates charged with creating security standards, talks about the huge dimensions of the job. If you're concerned about privacy, you can't ignore Microsoft. The Colossus of Redmond is at the center of setting standards for the way information is used and shared online. Last year, it released a new version of its Internet Explorer browser embedded with the Platform for Privacy Preferences, a specification that enables the browser to automatically understand a Web site's privacy practices. Then in January, Bill Gates announced the Trustworthy Computing Initiative, a companywide effort to make Microsoft products more secure and privacy-friendly.
Richard Purcell, Microsoft's director of corporate privacy, is the man charged with making it all happen. An avid rock climber, Purcell knows it won't be easy to scale privacy's rough terrain. It's all about trust, Purcell points out. And many consumers, it seems, don't completely trust Microsoft. Recently, I discussed with Purcell Microsoft's approach to protecting users' information.
Microsoft is usually on the offense when it comes to rallying developers around its platform. But in a routine conference held at its Silicon Valley campus Wednesday night, company officials were defensive in seeking support -- more like reassurance -- for its software for wireless devices, Windows CE. "We are running a startup inside of Microsoft," said Juha Christensen, vice president of Microsoft's mobile device division. "We are focused on a separate set of competitors, different from the rest of our competitors. I would like to hear your views on whether we are doing the right things." While Microsoft's Windows CE software is already in Pocket PCs, Microsoft is attempting to make its way into the cell-phone market.
Microsoft gathered 100 chief executive officers together at its Redmond, Washington USA compound for two days, to present its predictions on the future of Web-based computing and tell them about new technologies in the pipeline. The company's sixth annual CEO Summit saw business leaders from industries as diverse as finance, manufacturing and retail, gather to hear the software vendor discuss new technologies and productivity tools that it says will revitalise the business workplace. Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates delivered an opening speech highlighting the role technology can play in boosting efficiency and productivity, even as companies grapple with the continued economic slowdown.
Hoping to pluck from the bunch of enterprise customers who are replacing costly Unix systems with alternatives, Microsoft has updated its set of tools designed to give Unix users a hand in moving to its Windows operating system. Microsoft earlier this month released to manufacturers the latest version of its Services for Unix suite. Version 3.0 of the product, which is designed to aid companies migrating Unix applications and legacy systems to Windows, will be available for purchase by the end of June, Microsoft said.
"We're seeing a lot of interest from customers moving off of expensive legacy hardware to the Intel platform," said Doug Miller, director of Unix migration strategy at Microsoft. "As they look to go from Unix to Windows, they need to be able to exploit their investments in Unix ... and leverage existing code."