Microsoft, Others: Longhorn Not Delayed
Several people in and close to Microsoft wrote in to tell me that the Windows .NET Server release dates reported the other day by InfoWorld are incorrect. According to my sources, Microsoft is on track to ship the first release candidate build of Win .NET Server by the end of June, while the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) date is currently set for the end of October. Microsoft still plans to ship Win .NET Server to customers, however, in early 2003.
Office NGO Screenshots Available
Thanks to Steven Bink for forwarding some interesting screenshots of the various Office NGO applications, including a new one called Scribbler that's probably related to the Tablet PC. These shots represent an early alpha release of what will be called Office .NET, and while the correspond nicely to the Office NGO presentation I discuss on the SuperSite for Windows, I've heard that the UI will change significantly from what we see here.
AOL looooossssseeerrrrrrsssssss..............
Media giant AOL Time Warner has reported one of the highest quarterly losses in history, after making a record $54bn (£37bn) write-down - reducing the book value of assets the company owns.
AOL Time Warner is a sprawling media giant, with interests ranging from cable channels like CNN to Time magazine and film studios making box office hits like Harry Potter. The write-down at AOL reflects the decline of the value of its holdings since the bursting of the dot.com bubble two years ago. The write-down, which had been expected, is equal to the gross national products of countries such as Uruguay or Bulgaria. AOL paid $106.2bn for Time Warner in 2000.
It's the question of the moment at the Microsoft Corp. antitrust hearings in Washington, where the company's chairman yesterday concluded three days of testimony about how the company's illegal conduct should be rectified. And for both, there were victories.
A deferential and mostly calm Gates avoided repeating his performance in a deposition two years ago, in which his evasive and combative demeanor was used by prosecutors to drive a dagger into the company's defense at the original trial in the case. Instead, Gates donned the hats of computer engineer, businessman, lawyer and linguist as he attacked the state remedy proposals word by word. His aim was to convince Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that the technical and economic issues of the software business are so complex, and the risk of damage to the industry so great, that she should opt for the negotiated settlement with the Justice Department.
The result is a possible road map for the judge on how she might amend or borrow several sections of the states' proposals to come up with her own remedy. Given that the weight of the Justice Department is behind the deal with Microsoft, the states have a taller hill to climb to get Kollar-Kotelly to change it.
According to a report in InfoWorld, Microsoft has delayed the release of Windows .NET Server, the server family of products that was to have accompanied Windows XP, until mid-2003. The delay is just the latest of several for the product, which was to have originally shipped before the end of 2001. The release has been a moving target: Microsoft has said, at various times, that Windows .NET Server would ship in early 2002, during the first half of 2002, in the second half of 2002, and, most recently at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), in early 2003. This latest delay also further complicates the schedule for Longhorn, the next Windows version, which will include desktop and server versions.
AMD confirmed Wednesday that it will collaborate with Microsoft to tune Windows to run on its upcoming family of Hammer chips. As reported earlier, Microsoft's decision is a strong endorsement for AMD. Although its chips are widely used in the consumer market, the company remains a marginal player in the corporate world. The multiprocessor versions of the chip for servers, code name Sledgehammer and due in the first half of 2003, will be sold under the name Opteron. The name derives from the Latin "optimus," which suggests best, vital, potent and mighty, according to AMD.
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates yesterday continued his assault on proposed antitrust sanctions against his company, vowing to "come back to every court" to stave off one provision and claiming that another would prevent the company from fixing security flaws in its software. During a second day of testimony in hearings to determine how Microsoft's antitrust violations should be rectified, Gates often assumed the posture of a lawyer, predicting that dark consequences would result from the words, phrases and terms used in the remedies sought by state prosecutors.
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates says his company would be unable to allow manufacturers and consumers to choose which elements of its Windows operating system to install on their computers under sanctions being proposed to a federal judge. Gates' assertion comes in contrast to that of Princeton University computer scientist Andrew Appel, who testified for the nine states suing for antitrust violations. Appel suggested several ways Microsoft could comply with their demand for a "modular" version of Windows.
But Gates, in testimony Tuesday, said all of Appel's suggestions are either not technologically feasible or would fail to meet the states' requirements. "You think your interpretation of (the penalty) is more correct than Professor Appel's, the states' computer science expert?" asked Steven Kuney, a lawyer for the states. "I am testifying as someone who has to comply with (the penalty) and who knows the Windows product quite well," Gates replied.
Microsoft has re-releases PowerToys for Windows XP, a set of cool utilities aimed at power users that had been unavailable for a few months. Sadly, the two-month absence didn't bring with it any new features, though two of the best tools--the ISO Recorder and Shell Audio Player--were removed. Also, the PowerToys are now individual installs, rather than a single, integrated install. The PowerToys for Windows XP include:
- Alt-Tab Replacement
- CD Slide Show Generator
- Image Resizer
- Open Command Window Here
- Power Calculator
- Slide Show Wizard
- Taskbar Magnifier
- Tweak UI
- Virtual Desktop Manager
- Webcam Timershot
Microsoft Corp. is finally expected to formally announce that it will support AMD's 64-bit "Hammer" line in future operating systems, sources said Tuesday. Sources within AMD, Sunnyvale, Calif., said that the company will announce the Hammer support in a press conference tomorrow at 4:30 PM, after the market closes. In a notice sent to press and analysts, AMD described the press conference as one where the company "answers the 64-bit question".
For AMD, Microsoft's support for the Hammer line is critical. Because the traditional 32-bit Athlon line will eventually be succeeded by the hybrid 32-bit/64-bit Hammer line, the Hammer will make up "perhaps two-thirds of our future business", according to statements made by W.J. "Jerry" Sanders III, AMD's outspoken chairman and chief executive.
Intel will debut a new version of its Xeon chip on Tuesday in what will be a major day for processor releases. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker plans to release a 2.4GHz version of its Xeon chip for one- and two-processor servers during its developer conference in Taiwan, sources close to the company said. Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard and others will use these chips in upcoming products.
Along with being faster than existing Xeons, the new chip will be the first Xeon manufactured on wafers with 300-millimeter diameters. More than twice as many chips can be produced from these wafers than standard 200-millimeter wafers for roughly the same cost. Intel started producing Pentium 4 chips on these wafers in the first quarter.