Microsoft is starting to distribute Windows XP to computer vendors.
Microsoft last week released the new version of its Windows family of operating systems (OSs), Windows XP, to computer vendors. Retail copies will be available from October 25.
The launch marks a reunification of Microsoft’s OS line, which split into the Windows 95/98/Me line for home use and the Windows NT/2000 line for office use half a decade ago. This shift will enable more streamlined product development, also allowing people to use the same OS at home and work. More importantly, the shift could help Microsoft tighten its grip on the computing experience of users.
Third party reviewers have given XP a cautious thumbs-up. It is more stable than its predecessors, and has also found good middle ground in user friendliness, making it comparatively suitable for novices and ‘power-users’ alike. The addition of yet more integrated software extends XP’s capabilities further. For example, reflecting the fact that CD-Rs have become the replacement for floppy disks, XP has a built-in CD burning feature.
Yet this expansion into other markets may come to haunt Microsoft. While the US Department of Justice no longer wants to break Microsoft up, the door is still open for further legal action reflecting developments in the industry since the trial concluded. The Department may still bring evidence to court of more recent, or potential, transgressions of competition laws.
More immediately, XP’s release may boost the flagging PC market, partly through marketing hype and partly by making older PCs obsolete, since Microsoft will no longer support them and because older OSs are incompatible with some newer software. Microsoft estimates around 140 million PCs are more than three years old and will need replacement soon, while an estimated 180 million would be ripe for an upgrade.
But this may not translate into rich pickings for PC vendors. If consumers continue to put off upgrading, the PC vendors’ nerve may break first, leading to mass price cuts and general carnage on the market.
