The DOS-based Windows 9x architecture underlying Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME is clearly incapable of meeting the data- and task-intensive demands of the modern corporate user. Multiple browser windows, for example, can quickly consume the dangerously limited capacity of crucial Windows 9x data structures, which have fixed maximum sizes independent of the amount of memory in the system.
Any process on a Windows 9x machine can have its way with any file available to the user. A higher level of file system security actually entered the picture long before the arrival of Windows 9x, with the introduction of the NT File System in July 1993. But Windows 9x systems did not-and still do not-support this file system, nor do they otherwise provide its ability to assign specific privileges to different users and groups of users.
Software migration specialist Altiris said today it will convert 10,000 workstations at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to Microsoft Windows XP. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the deal, the Salt Lake City-based company will also provide inventory assessment and patch management for the entire agency.
With Altiris' automated migration suite -- which saves network settings and personal files while updating the operating system -- the USPTO will upgrade 500 desktops a night. The shift from the older Windows systems should be done by the end of May. For Microsoft, the USPTO's XP upgrade is the kind of deal it will want to highlight as it continues to fend off challenges from open-source software makers who are eyeing the enterprise and government sectors.
Intel and Microsoft on Tuesday released software designed to improve the performance of Windows applications designed for 32-bit processors when they are running on Intel's 64-bit Itanium 2 processors. Several years in development, the IA-32 Execution Layer (EL) software is slated for inclusion in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, which is expected in the second half of this year. But it can now be downloaded for Window Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition, and Windows XP 64-bit Edition.
Microsoft announced another executive departure Tuesday, with Vice President Ed Fries leaving his position as head of Microsoft Game Studios, the division that creates games for PCs and the Xbox console. Fries, an 18-year Microsoft veteran, is leaving the company to "pursue other goals," according to a company statement. Shane Kim will serve as interim head of the game division while Microsoft searches for a permanent replacement, according to the statement.
Fries was a key figure in the launch of the Xbox, ensuring the console had an initial hit with the Microsoft-published shooting game "Halo" and helping negotiate Microsoft's $375 million buyout of game developer Rare.
Microsoft plans to broaden its attack on Linux and related operating systems this week by giving away a set of tools for migrating applications to Windows. The company is expected to release on Thursday a new version of Services for Unix (SFU), a collection of tools that help Windows systems to work with installations based on the Unix operating system and its open-source derivative, Linux.
Microsoft previously charged $99 per client or server to use SFU. But the new version 3.5 will be free for any customer using a current Windows operating system.
Microsoft's Windows XP Embedded advanced its foothold in the retail space this week. At the National Retail Federation Show in New York, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant announced customer wins with Radio Shack and Circuit City and launched a Smart Retailing Initiative with 20 key partners. The initiative is designed to give retailers new tools and a framework for developing next generation shopping, selling and operational solutions, Microsoft said.
Radio Shack has deployed Windows XP Embedded in 5,000 stores and plans to have 21,000 systems up and running by year's end. The solution was developed by the retailer and Microsoft Consulting Services and integrated by Dell and HP into 8,000 cash lanes over a 12-week period, Microsoft said.
Steve Ballmer is a man whose reputation exceeds him. Barrel-chested and bombastic, he's always been the quintessential, larger-than-life, rah-rah leader, and the perfect foil for his geeky and erudite best buddy, Bill Gates. Stories abound of his over-the-top antics rallying Microsoft's troops at corporate events: There was the infamous Monkey-Boy dance he performed at a sales meeting a few years ago, which prompted dozens of incredulous Microsoft bashers to post choppy videoclips of his cavortings on the web; or the surgery he endured to repair blown-out vocal cords resulting from a bout of unrestrained cheerleading; or the outlandish hula-girl and used-car-salesman costumes he gleefully donned to get a laugh and make a point. On the Microsoft campus, you can always tell he's approaching by his sharp, punctuating claps as he barks orders to a subordinate trailing behind. And he's the first to admit that in his case, "table pounder" is literally apt.
Microsoft said Monday that it established a new project aimed at providing next-generation technology to retailers, including emerging wireless applications such as radio frequency identification.
The announcement, made as part of the ongoing National Retail Federation (NRF) convention in New York, targets development of applications for nearly every aspect of the retail universe, from shopping to inventory management. Dubbed as the Smarter Retailing Initiative, the effort promises to deliver tools that allow retailers to interact with customers, improve operations management and incorporate emerging wireless technology. Microsoft said that software built under the effort would be based on its .Net Web services framework and would have an interface to existing products.
Microsoft has extended paid support on Windows 98 until June 2006. The Redmond, Wash., software giant planned to pull the plug on all support for Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE on Jan. 16, 2004, but decided to extend paid incident support until June 2006 after facing customer pressure, a spokesman confirmed. No-charge incident support and extended hot-fix support for Windows 98 ended June 30, 2003.
While paid incident support was due to end Jan. 16, 2004, Microsoft changed course to accommodate many customers in emerging markets who asked for the extension, one Microsoft spokesman said.
Microsoft's mettle has been tested before, but in the next few years the company will face what are arguably its toughest challenges yet. These include: Finding growth opportunities to offset the maturing of its operating system and Office businesses.
Winning back the trust of customers fed up with security shortcomings and what they see as inflexible licensing schemes. Fending off stronger open source competitors as the company creates its next-generation platform, code-named Longhorn.