WinInsider

Redmond is working to make Software Assurance right by customers by throwing them more bones this fall. Microsoft is continuing to try to make amends for the mistakes it made when it launched its Software Assurance volume-licensing scheme last fall. The latest concession: The Redmond software giant is adding a new option to its licensing terms to allow customers who purchase products through OEMs (PC and server makers) to sign up for Software Assurance.

Microsoft's PC Satisfaction software trial is getting a positive reception from partners tired of putting out Windows XP security fires as of late. But many question how this will play out in the Windows XP code, and what it means for ISV partners like Symantec and Network Associates' McAfee.

Some partners that have the PC Satisfaction trial software in-house said it provides a good level of default antivirus, firewall and backup features for Windows XP--with minimal user intervention.

"You run it and it gives you a client, which has a Red Cross symbol and safety meter saying if your protection is weak, fair or good, and realtime virus scanning," said one solution provider who has seen and worked with the trial software but asked not to be named. "It is a threat to McAfee."

Aiming to woo small businesses into the world of server-based computing, Microsoft plans to release a cheaper bundle of its server operating system and e-mail management software.

The new packages are part of a large-scale effort by Microsoft to expand its sales to small businesses. The Redmond, Wash., company is investing $2 billion on this effort--it has made several acquisitions bringing in software for small companies and has placed its former sales head, Orlando Ayala, in charge of the push.

While two-thirds of small businesses have more than one PC, only about one-fifth of such companies have a server, according to Katy Hunter, a group product manager for Microsoft.

From Ditto... It appears that Microsoft is testing new Windows Update Control...

We are starting a new short project called Windows Update IU Control and Automatic Update (AU) Control Refresh (IUAU). We will be verifying the updated version of the Windows Update site control and Automatic Update (AU) control files.

For tips on how to configure and use Automatic Updates in Windows XP, please refer to the Microsoft Knowledge Base article at <http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306525>.

Redmond raises the number of clients supported, while axing the price of its entry-level release of its product due out in early October.

This week, Microsoft went public with plans to price the low-end version of its forthcoming Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 product at $599. That price includes five client-access licenses (CALs). The higher-end version will stay at the same price as the current SBS 2000 product, $1,499 (with five CALs included).

When asked whether Microsoft's moves are an offense against Linux in the SMB space, Hunter says, "we're always keeping our eye on Linux." "We think users out there want value," and that's what SBS 2003 is designed to provide," Hunter says. "With Linux, customers are not looking so much for value as for cheap or free."

In the wake of one of the most active weeks for computer worms yet, Microsoft is calling attention to a little-touted new feature of Windows Server 2003 that helps administrators ensure that remote users adhere to company security policies.

The new feature in Windows Server 2003 is called Network Access Quarantine Control, and it essentially puts remote access systems that log into a private network into a quarantine with limited access to the network until an administrator-supplied script can validate that the client system meets the organization's security policies.

Microsoft's MSN unit will unveil new versions of its flagship subscription service today with beefed-up features targeted to computer users with fast Internet connections.

The new versions are MSN's latest effort to persuade people to pay for its premium features and tools even if they get their basic Internet access elsewhere. The push is important to the unprofitable Microsoft unit because more people are shifting from dial-up access, which MSN sells, to speedy cable and DSL connections, which it doesn't sell directly.

But Microsoft is gunning for the same space, with its Office Small Business Edition and MS CRM wares. Calling existing customer-relationship management too complex and too focused on sales-force managers, the Mountain View, Calif., maker of QuickBooks financial-management software unveiled on Tuesday its first foray into the CRM space. Intuit unveiled a pair of new products, QuickBooks Customer Manager and QuickBooks Client Manager. Both are targeted at companies with fewer than 20 employees.

Customers want a cumulative security-fix pack. But they want Microsoft to fix Windows, first and foremost. In last week's column, I requested your opinions as to what Microsoft should do to maintain and augment Windows momentum, given the fact that we are going into somewhat of a "dry spell," in terms of major new releases.

After all, as I mentioned last week, it looks like Microsoft won't be releasing Service Pack 2 for Windows XP until mid-year. An update of Windows XP for the Tablet PC and another for Media Center PCs are on tap for the same time. But will that be enough to keep users satisfied with (let alone excited about) Windows until Longhorn client ships in the 2005+ timeframe (and Longhorn Server in the 2006+ one)?

Redmond readies two versions of its broadband-optimized Internet service; one due late this year and one next. Microsoft plans to kick off the beta test next week its MSN 9 Internet service - now officially christened MSN Premium.

The final version of the service won't be out until "winter," however. Various Windows enthusiast sites have reported that Microsoft has told beta-tester candidates that the beta period is slated to run through January 2004, making a first or second quarter 2004 release date seem likely.