codybear
03-01-2000, 07:21 PM
this is from the winmag.com news letter....
This isn't news, in fact, it's based mostly on vague innuendo and
educated inference. But the thing that most intrigued me about
Microsoft's announcement on January 13 about Gates stepping down
as CEO of Microsoft was a quiet comment or two concerning what
Gates is planning to do instead. The point widely publicized was
that he's picking up the role of "Chief Software Architect," a
thought that probably has the full attention of lead developers
and program managers all over Microsoft. But that isn't the part
I want to talk about.
Gates and Microsoft are focused on something new CEO Steve
Ballmer called NGWS, for Next Generation Windows Services, in a
speech made with Gates that day:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2000/01-13ballmerceotranscript.htm
For starters, think of NGWS as an Internet-based Windows.
According to a Microsoft press release:
"Microsoft plans ... to assemble the first Internet-based
platform of Next Generation Windows, which will incorporate such
features and capabilities as a new user interface, natural-
language processing, application development approach, schema and
new file system -- all of which have been in development. ... A
key set of NGWS will be hosted on the Internet and will be
infused into future versions of Windows. ... NGWS ... is the
foundation of the company's software services strategy."
That MS Press Release: http://www.microsoft.com/PressPass/press/2000/Jan00/Final25Anv.htm
Those two words, "software services," are the current Microsoft
mantra. But when Microsoft talks about them, I think it means
more than you might think. This is Microsoft's transitional
marketing phrase that positions it as the likely candidate to
harness the tsunami of Internet- and wireless-delivered business-
to-business and business-to-consumer services that are the
promise driving what Wall Street calls the "New Economy."
This isn't about PCs, per se -- although they're a part of it.
This is the beginning of the battle royale for control of what
has also been called Pervasive Computing. Microsoft is very
ambitiously planning to Windows-*** the Internet, wireless
devices of all types, handhelds, and set-top boxes -- with the
hope that its infrastructure will, as Ballmer says, "ignite
opportunities for literally thousands of partners and customers
around the world." In other words, they want to provide the
enabling technologies and software that become the de facto
standard for transforming the Internet and the devices that
access it into the world's largest goods and services
marketplace, and communications medium. It's a huge undertaking,
and one I'm not sure any one company can dominate. But, as usual,
you have to admire Microsoft's moxie.
In January, Ballmer alluded to a major NGWS strategy day he
called "Forum 2000." Sources tell me that currently June is the
internal target for that event. You can be sure Winmag.com and
Windows Insider will be following NGWS developments very closely.
WINDOWS ME UPDATE
On Sunday, February 20, Microsoft advertised in the Seattle
Times's Personal Technology section. It was looking for local
Windows 98/95 users' PCs on which to install the upgrade version
of they latest beta of Windows Me (Millennium Edition). The
program is already closed, but "Installation Fair" is being held
this Saturday and Sunday "in the Seattle area." Subscribers to
this newsletter will recall Microsoft did this toward the end of
last year:
http://www.winmag.com/columns/insider/1999/1111.htm
Just how close is Microsoft coming to wrapping up Windows Me? I'm
getting conflicting reports from beta testers, many of whom are
subscribers to this newsletter. On the one hand, I hear that
messages from Microsoft to beta testers do contain a higher sense
of urgency recently. But several testers have written me detailed
messages about problems they're having with newer builds of Me.
(What a stupid name for an OS, eh?) In fact, they doubt that
Microsoft will be able to ship the product quickly. One thing's
certain, there's one more major beta to go. Thanks to a friend, I
should be getting a recent build in the near future, and I hope
to report on Windows Me's progress in a week or two.
By the way, I reported recently that Windows Me doesn't have an
official Microsoft Web site yet. Well, Jeff Pulver wrote me to
point out that there's at least one Microsoft site that
acknowledges the existence of Millennium. This page is designed
for developers, but it's interesting nonetheless:
http://www.microsoft.com/HWDEV/winlogo/MillLogoReq.htm
POCKET IE IN YOUR POCKET
In case you missed it, last week at the CeBIT tradeshow in
Germany, Microsoft debuted Internet Explorer for the Pocket PC:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2000/02-24pocketie.asp
According to Microsoft, Pocket IE lets you browse any Web site,
instead of being restricted to the pre-selected Web sites that
many other PDAs limit you to. The first Pocket PCs are expected
to ship from Casio, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Siemens, and Symbol
Technologies in the first half of 2000. The Pocket PC runs that
version of Windows formerly known as CE, now referred to
officially as "powered by Windows" and unofficially as "Mini Me."
The Pocket PC also includes the Microsoft Reader with ClearType
and Windows Media Player. I'll be keeping an eye on this area for
you, and you can expect Winmag.com reviews of both the hardware
and the operating system.
The Pocket PC site: http://www.pocketpc.com/
This isn't news, in fact, it's based mostly on vague innuendo and
educated inference. But the thing that most intrigued me about
Microsoft's announcement on January 13 about Gates stepping down
as CEO of Microsoft was a quiet comment or two concerning what
Gates is planning to do instead. The point widely publicized was
that he's picking up the role of "Chief Software Architect," a
thought that probably has the full attention of lead developers
and program managers all over Microsoft. But that isn't the part
I want to talk about.
Gates and Microsoft are focused on something new CEO Steve
Ballmer called NGWS, for Next Generation Windows Services, in a
speech made with Gates that day:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2000/01-13ballmerceotranscript.htm
For starters, think of NGWS as an Internet-based Windows.
According to a Microsoft press release:
"Microsoft plans ... to assemble the first Internet-based
platform of Next Generation Windows, which will incorporate such
features and capabilities as a new user interface, natural-
language processing, application development approach, schema and
new file system -- all of which have been in development. ... A
key set of NGWS will be hosted on the Internet and will be
infused into future versions of Windows. ... NGWS ... is the
foundation of the company's software services strategy."
That MS Press Release: http://www.microsoft.com/PressPass/press/2000/Jan00/Final25Anv.htm
Those two words, "software services," are the current Microsoft
mantra. But when Microsoft talks about them, I think it means
more than you might think. This is Microsoft's transitional
marketing phrase that positions it as the likely candidate to
harness the tsunami of Internet- and wireless-delivered business-
to-business and business-to-consumer services that are the
promise driving what Wall Street calls the "New Economy."
This isn't about PCs, per se -- although they're a part of it.
This is the beginning of the battle royale for control of what
has also been called Pervasive Computing. Microsoft is very
ambitiously planning to Windows-*** the Internet, wireless
devices of all types, handhelds, and set-top boxes -- with the
hope that its infrastructure will, as Ballmer says, "ignite
opportunities for literally thousands of partners and customers
around the world." In other words, they want to provide the
enabling technologies and software that become the de facto
standard for transforming the Internet and the devices that
access it into the world's largest goods and services
marketplace, and communications medium. It's a huge undertaking,
and one I'm not sure any one company can dominate. But, as usual,
you have to admire Microsoft's moxie.
In January, Ballmer alluded to a major NGWS strategy day he
called "Forum 2000." Sources tell me that currently June is the
internal target for that event. You can be sure Winmag.com and
Windows Insider will be following NGWS developments very closely.
WINDOWS ME UPDATE
On Sunday, February 20, Microsoft advertised in the Seattle
Times's Personal Technology section. It was looking for local
Windows 98/95 users' PCs on which to install the upgrade version
of they latest beta of Windows Me (Millennium Edition). The
program is already closed, but "Installation Fair" is being held
this Saturday and Sunday "in the Seattle area." Subscribers to
this newsletter will recall Microsoft did this toward the end of
last year:
http://www.winmag.com/columns/insider/1999/1111.htm
Just how close is Microsoft coming to wrapping up Windows Me? I'm
getting conflicting reports from beta testers, many of whom are
subscribers to this newsletter. On the one hand, I hear that
messages from Microsoft to beta testers do contain a higher sense
of urgency recently. But several testers have written me detailed
messages about problems they're having with newer builds of Me.
(What a stupid name for an OS, eh?) In fact, they doubt that
Microsoft will be able to ship the product quickly. One thing's
certain, there's one more major beta to go. Thanks to a friend, I
should be getting a recent build in the near future, and I hope
to report on Windows Me's progress in a week or two.
By the way, I reported recently that Windows Me doesn't have an
official Microsoft Web site yet. Well, Jeff Pulver wrote me to
point out that there's at least one Microsoft site that
acknowledges the existence of Millennium. This page is designed
for developers, but it's interesting nonetheless:
http://www.microsoft.com/HWDEV/winlogo/MillLogoReq.htm
POCKET IE IN YOUR POCKET
In case you missed it, last week at the CeBIT tradeshow in
Germany, Microsoft debuted Internet Explorer for the Pocket PC:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2000/02-24pocketie.asp
According to Microsoft, Pocket IE lets you browse any Web site,
instead of being restricted to the pre-selected Web sites that
many other PDAs limit you to. The first Pocket PCs are expected
to ship from Casio, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Siemens, and Symbol
Technologies in the first half of 2000. The Pocket PC runs that
version of Windows formerly known as CE, now referred to
officially as "powered by Windows" and unofficially as "Mini Me."
The Pocket PC also includes the Microsoft Reader with ClearType
and Windows Media Player. I'll be keeping an eye on this area for
you, and you can expect Winmag.com reviews of both the hardware
and the operating system.
The Pocket PC site: http://www.pocketpc.com/