Windows Archive

After several months of beta testing, the most important service pack ever issued for Windows 2000 is at last available for download. The Service Pack 3 (124 MB, German here) is a collection of bug fixes that addresses all the issues that were discovered since Windows 2000 shipped. This new Service Pack 3 also adds some new features like the ability to configure the middleware and an automatic updater.

"The software giant on Tuesday announced a new version of its Windows CE .Net operating system, adding broader support for its .Net services from within Windows CE, a slimmed down version of Windows used to power devices ranging from handheld computers to gas pumps." Report is at ZDNews.

"Windows .NET Server is a surprisingly full-featured release, but because it builds on the strong base of Windows 2000 Server, it will be a simplein-place upgrade for those customers. Thanks to its new upgrade features, it should also prove to be a simpler upgrade for the large crowd of NT 4.0 Server holdouts, though we'll have to test that functionality before passing final judgement." Read the preview at WinSuperSite. On a related note, Microsoft has posted the long-awaited RC 1 version (Build 3663) of Windows .NET Server on MSDN Subscriber Downloads. Here is the good stuff available:

"Microsoft Corp. has halted hardware driver support for users of Windows 98 and Windows NT in a bid to push users to the company's new operating systems. On its web site, Microsoft explains that 'Beginning 01 July 2002, at 12:01 A.M. PST, WHQL will no longer accept submissions for all hardware devices and systems for the following operating systems. This includes all submission types for all devices and systems: Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE); Windows NT 4.0 Workstation; (and) Windows NT 4.0 Server.'" Read the report at ExtremeTech.

"Are the software giant's customers hungry for the next version of its server operating system? The company is banking on it, but industry watchers aren't so sure." Read the article at ZDNews.

"Microsoft Corp. today announced at the company's .NET Briefing Day that its upcoming Windows .NET Server operating system has reached the RC1 milestone. Release candidate 1 (RC1) is an important step leading up to the product's final delivery, signifying that engineering, development and beta testing have been completed and that the server code is entering the final phases of testing and completion work prior to its release to manufacturing. Microsoft Windows .NET Server RC1 code will be available for third-party testers to download beginning tomorrow and will be available for customers to begin previewing next week." Read the rest of the press release at Microsoft.com.

"Originally code-named Freestyle, this entertainment version of Windows--which will go by the name Windows XP Media Center Edition--will appear on new PCs and PC hybrids in time for the holidays, the company revealed on Tuesday. With Windows Media Center, consumers will be able to use a TV remote control to catalogue songs, videos and pictures, as well as check TV listings." News report, press release and on a related note, this is how the new Outlook looks like.

"With Longhorn, the next version of Windows due out in 2005, the company will take its first serious stab at delivering on Gates' vision. And a new application programming interface (API) framework, code-named Avalon, will be at the core of Longhorn's new information-access architecture, according to sources. Avalon is the key to the new "inductive" user interface that will debut in Longhorn, sources say. The new UI will allow users to organize and share information more intuitively, most likely using some kind of "dock," a la Microsoft Office XP, sources say. " Read the report at eWeek.

"Microsoft has delayed the third service pack for Windows 2000- Service Pack 3 —for an indefinite period of time, according to internal documents I viewed over the weekend. Win2K was originally due July 17, but Microsoft recently discovered several major bugs in its Microsoft Installer (MSI) 2.0 code, which was to have been bundled with the update. So now the company will remove MS 2.0 from SP3 and include the older version, MSI 1.1, instead, unless feedback from its beta testers and partners indicates that MSI 2.0 must be included. This indecision, obviously, will adversely affect the release schedule for SP3." Read the report at WinInformant. Update: MSI 2.0 to be Included in Windows 2000 SP3.

Support for Intel's Itanium 2 CPU continues with 64-Bit Windows .NET servers; WindowsXP 64-Bit Edition Ver. 2003 to be available in early 2003. Read the press release at Microsoft.com. In the meantime, Windows 2000 has been given nine months to live, as far as OEMs are concerned, and Microsoft is pressuring the PC companies to stop offering dual install Win2K/XP systems immediately.

This article summarizes Microsoft's decades-long effort to evolve Windows from a single, one-size-fits-all desktop operating system for everyone into a robust family of server and desktop operating systems.

"Since the dawn of the PC era, various companies have undertaken various initiatives to move computing away from keyboard and mouse-based input and towards the more natural interfaces of pen and voice. And while voice computing has seen some limited success, pen computing is set to explode with the introduction of Microsoft's Tablet PC platform, driven by a new Windows XP version logically named Windows XP Tablet PC Edition." The review and screenshots can be found on WindowsSuperSite. In related news, Microsoft today announced that "Mira," the code name for new software technologies that will power a wide range of smart displays, will officially be named Microsoft Windows CE for Smart Displays.

Windows Powered mobile devices, which include Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone Edition, Smartphone, and Handheld PC, empower consumers and mobile professionals to communicate with people and access information. This section contains the core documentation, software development kits, and other resources for developing on Pocket PC, Smartphone, and Handheld PC platforms.

"Industry sources close to Microsoft's plans say that certain OEMs will be proved with service pack one as early as the end of this month. System integrators have wanted Microsoft to introduce the service pack for some time. At a system builder conference in Monaco earlier this year, Microsoft was suggesting that it could arrive in September." Read the report at TheInquirer.