Recently declared an illegal monopoly by the U.S. Supreme Court, Microsoft is crossing its fingers that its Windows XP release on Thursday will bring more sales than controversy.
The latest version of the Windows operating system, XP is short for "Experience." According to Microsoft advertisements, the system is easier to use because it combines the stability of its Windows NT and Windows 2000 products.
But according to the Associated Press, government regulators are already accusing Microsoft of using its new operating system to pressure users into signing up for online services and using proprietary Microsoft file formats for music and video.
Windows XP Home Edition is expected to cost $99 for an upgrade and $199 for the stand-alone version. The Professional Edition is expected to cost $199 for an upgrade and $299 for the stand-alone version. According to the Microsoft web site, the software "bundles," or includes, several programs that compete with third-party products, including Internet Explorer 6, Outlook Express, Microsoft Messenger, an instant messenger and videoconferencing client, Windows Media Player and the Internet Connection Firewall, a rudimentary personal firewall.
Microsoft's bundling of Internet Explorer with earlier versions of Windows was one of the alleged monopolistic practices that led to the antitrust lawsuit filed against the company by the Department of Justice and several states.
Another antitrust consideration is that Windows XP's Media Player uses Microsoft's proprietary Windows Media Audio (WMA) format to record music from compact discs. According to Microsoft, the WMA format uses less space and is higher quality than the popular MP3 format, but users must buy third-party plug-ins for Media Player if they want to convert music to MP3s.
But one of the most controversial features of Windows XP is the product activation process, according to an Oct. 18 Washington Post article. An anti-piracy measure, Product Activation generates a code based on the hardware configuration of the computer that Windows XP is installed on. This code is then sent to Microsoft over the Internet or over the phone. The process ensures that the same copy of Windows XP cannot be installed on multiple computers without Microsoft's knowledge. If a certain number of hardware components, such as the video card or network card, of a computer are replaced, Windows XP must be reactivated for that computer. According to Microsoft, Product Activation is completely anonymous, and no personal information is required to activate a copy of Windows XP.
Some students see this as a good thing.
"Product activation will not be a problem for most people. It's quite transparent and doesn't require any personal information," third-year Engineering student Jit Sarkar said.
Mark Smith, manager of desktop computing Support for ITC, agreed.
"A lot of the press surrounding Windows XP has been about product activation and privacy fears, which are just unfounded paranoia for the most part," he said. "The product activation process is probably one of the bigger concerns related to recommending XP. For most users it is at worst a headache Microsoft expects, and I agree, most users won't worry about activation once they activate for the first time."
Windows XP also offers users less controversial features. Although much of Windows XP's code is inherited from Windows 2000, the new "task-based" interface, dubbed Luna, is radically different from past Microsoft operating systems. Luna can be modified using what Microsoft calls Visual Styles, similar to the skins available for programs like Nullsoft, Inc.'s Winamp. Windows XP can perform several functions that until now have required independent programs, including burning CD's, viewing picture files in a slide show, and sharing internet connections between multiple computers.
Many users of prerelease versions of Windows XP have been impressed.
Sarkar has used two different prerelease versions of Windows XP Home Edition and liked the desktop, improved taskbar organization and the photo printing.
Smith said ITC probably will recommend Windows XP to students buying new computers, although some compatibility issues need to be worked out.
"We know of one compatibility problem so far - the Home Directory service," he said. "ITC has some work-arounds for the XP login problem that we could make available.... The version of Norton Antivirus we distribute now is incompatible with XP."
According to Smith, next fall's Software Central Web site and CD will include versions of software that have been tested with Windows XP.
Many in the computer industry are hopeful that the operating system's release will spur PC sales over the holiday season. And with computer sellers like IBM and Hewlett Packard slashing prices at the end of the year, industry analysts say Microsoft hopes the software will give them an edge. But some students are not so sure Windows XP will have such an immediate effect.
"It's a little slower than Windows 2000," Sarkar said. "Some of the changes will take some getting used to. There's such a thing as being too user-friendly"
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