Interview: Weighing an interim release to Windows (Microsoft scam to extract more money)

InfoWorld.com ^ | March 01, 2004 | Ed Scannell

[Paleo Conservative]

Interview: Weighing an interim release to Windows

XP product manager Greg Sullivan discusses XP Reloaded

Under the project name Windows XP Reloaded, Microsoft is considering how to add functionality to Windows. The discussions could result in an interim release of Windows before Longhorn. Greg Sullivan, lead product manager for Windows XP, recently spoke with InfoWorld Editor at Large Ed Scannell about XP Reloaded.

InfoWorld: Will XP Reloaded serve as the basis for an interim release between Service Pack 2 and Longhorn?

Sullivan: There has been a lot of speculation about new product plans for an interim release and what we are considering there. [Group Vice President, Platforms] Jim Allchin has referred to an internal project called Windows XP Reloaded, but that refers to a couple of different things, including how do we deliver the ongoing platform technology being developed [for Windows XP] and how to deliver that to users in a way that they can take advantage of easily? We have a number of different ways to deliver these technologies, including through products such as the Tablet PC, the new Media Center Edition functions, Windows Update, Service Pack 2 work, and OEM refreshes. So the Reloaded term refers to the discussions going on internally about how we continue to add value to Windows XP as a platform and help people understand what existing and new capabilities it has and will have. People are fixating on the notion of an interim release, but to call it [that] is really overstating the current plan.

InfoWorld: Can you give me an idea of how you might distribute new capabilities within the context of XP Reloaded?

Sullivan: We are evaluating a range of options on the work that has already been planned. This is not a new development effort and it does not involve taking developers off of Longhorn. That is certainly one of the things being misconstrued here. But we are looking at marketing programs and at what the distribution vehicles are.

InfoWorld: Will the features and technologies being discussed under XP Reloaded be included in Service Pack 2?

Sullivan: This whole discussion [about XP Reloaded] is all post Service Pack 2, which is still on for a mid-year delivery. We have been taking this sort of approach for years. Back when you bought Windows 3.1 it was static; you used it for 18 months and later on when Windows 3.11 came out you could upgrade, or when Win 95 came out you could upgrade. That was the way users experienced and got access to improvements in the platform. Since Windows 95 -- Windows 98, really -- we continued to deliver capability and improve the platform and we did it in a variety of ways including new versions, like the Second Edition of Win 98 and Win 95, and with things like Service Packs, Windows Update, and other downloads of some of the components. This is just a way to talk about all of that ongoing work and how we bring it to market with a number of different programs.

InfoWorld: What sort of technology areas will you be focusing on under Windows XP Reloaded?

Sullivan: I can't really speculate on some of the features and what the delivery vehicles around it [XP Reloaded] might be because it is just a conversation right now about how do we bring all of this value to market and get it into the hands of users. For me to give any more specific would be disingenuous because we are not nearly to that point of clarity.

Ed Scannell is an editor at large at InfoWorld.

[Paleo Conservative]

I hate it when Microsoft Does this. I didn't like it when Microsoft refused to sell an upgrade from the Win95A to Win95 Release 2 which had FAT-32; in fact Win95 Release 2 was only available as an OEM version. Then they came out with Windows 98 SE (second edition) which had drivers for more hardware than the original Windows 98 and Microsoft wouldn't let anyone install those drivers on the original release of Windows 98. Well here we go again.

[ikka]

Microsoft's entire business model is based on the forced upgrade...

[Redcoat LI]

Would it possible to explain this issue further?

I have XP,but what does this mean too a less tech savvy guy like myself?

Thanks.

[jude24]

Last time they did an interim release to windows, it didn't work out too well. Time was in 1999, Windows 2000 was delayed, but they really wanted to get something out there. So, ta-da, the Abomination of Desecration: WindowsME.

[isthisnickcool]

What about "Bob"?

[annyokie]

What business isn't?

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

All I want to know is how to get my WMA files converted to MP3. Everytime I try to copy a file from a CD it comes out a WMA file no matter what I do.

And don't tell me to download a converter because whenever I try to download anything from the net lately it turns into a dang notepad file.

AHHHHHHGGGGG!

Sorry folks but this had technology, windows, and a reply button all in one spot so I had to vent.

It's probably because I've got this cheap a$$ Windows ME that came with my computer.

[Paleo Conservative]

Last time they did an interim release to windows, it didn't work out too well. Time was in 1999, Windows 2000 was delayed, but they really wanted to get something out there. So, ta-da, the Abomination of Desecration: WindowsME.

Windows 2000 was not a Windows 9.x version at all. Windows Me was the last version of Windows 9.x, but it used drivers that were compatible with Windows 2000. I never bought any computers with Windows 98 or Me preinstalled although I did upgrade a couple of PC's from Windows 95 Release 2 to Windows 98 mainly for USB compatibility and the semiautomatic Windows updating over the Internet. My experience with the fragility (having to totally reinstall the OS due to corruption of the registry among other things) of Windows 9.x and my much better experience with my lone Windows NT 4.0 machine led me to only buy Windows 2000 and above on my later machines.

[Paleo Conservative]

What about "Bob"?

I never tried it out. Apparently Bill Gates wasn't too upset with it though. He married the woman who was in charge of it.

[Biblebelter]

I just switched from Windows to Mac OS Panther when I got a new Mac. It has been great. No pop ups. I think I can leave Wintel machines for good.

[general_re]

Everytime I try to copy a file from a CD it comes out a WMA file no matter what I do.

If you're using Windows Media Player to rip and encode, it can't do mp3 unless you download an add-on to let it create mp3 files. If you're using something else to copy tracks from CD's, post what you're using and maybe someone can help you with it.

[mikegi]

... Then they came out with Windows 98 SE (second edition) which had drivers for more hardware than the original Windows 98 and Microsoft wouldn't let anyone install those drivers on the original release of Windows 98. Well here we go again.

Win98se used a different driver format (WDM).

[SedVictaCatoni]

I just switched from Windows to Mac OS Panther when I got a new Mac. It has been great.

I switched from being a Windows software developer to Mac OS X! Never a backwards look yet.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I tried Windows media player, the software included in with my MP3 player calle MPIO, and I tried Realplayer which only supports certain MP3 players like Rio.

But I have a real fancy 180 buck FM tuner now.

I'd be better off breaking the thing because I got the replacemnt warranty and then maybe I could return it for a different model that is more user friendly. This one has a hompage that you have to read Korean to get support from.

Or download a small program that translates korean to english which, of course, tries to load as a windows wordpad file like everything else I try to download lately.

I've gotten rid of my cable. The tv is going next and if thiss keeps up I'm getting rid of anything that uses a battery and I'll just sing to myself while I jog.

[Paleo Conservative]

I just switched from Windows to Mac OS Panther when I got a new Mac. It has been great. No pop ups. I think I can leave Wintel machines for good.

That's not an option for me. I run some industry specific programs that only run on Windows 2000 and above or Unix.

[general_re]

Errr, sorry - I must not be following you. You're having trouble ripping CD's to mp3, or you're having trouble making FM radio broadcasts into mp3 files?

[beckett]

I have XP,but what does this mean too a less tech savvy guy like myself?

Nothing to worry about here really. The Microsoft guy is saying that Service Pack 2 is the next thing XP users need to install, and that'll be after June (barring any critical updates between now and then). I assume you have Service Pack 1 installed. If you don't, or if you're not sure, go here and let Microsoft scan your system for updates.

Basically this article is about whether Microsoft will choose to put all the new technology and features currently under development by Microsoft into the Longhorn OS that is now being written and assembled, which is to be released a few years down the road, or whether Billy Gates will try to tempt users and generate income with a partial package of new product called "XP Reloaded," which might be ready to market sometime later this year.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Gee. Why don't you stop holding back and tell us how you really feel.

Tell ya what - there ARE other alternatives to WIndows, and MS products in general. Why not use one of those instead?

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

; )

[Swordmaker]

That's not an option for me. I run some industry specific programs that only run on Windows 2000 and above or Unix.

You are aware that Mac OSX IS Unix? Also, if you buy a G4, you can run your Windows 2000 in MS VirtualPC. It won't work on a G5 yet.