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The XP experience
By DAVE GUSSOW © St. Petersburg Times,
Activation of the new operating system forces people to register or it won't operate. Windows Messenger requires an account with Passport, Microsoft's new online identification system, if you want to send and receive instant messages. If you don't sign up immediately, reminders pop up at the bottom of the screen. My Music and My Pictures offer links to shop online, but link only to Microsoft Web sites and partners. If you try to load software that hasn't been certified as XP compatible, a message tells you to proceed at your own risk. All of this and more is in an operating system designed during an antitrust case the company lost, having been judged a monopolist and facing sanctions in federal court. "We have to admit that this is perhaps Microsoft's best operating system so far," said Mark Cooper, director of research at the Consumer Federation of America. "But we'd like to add that it (would work) just as well if Microsoft removed some of the anticompetitive hooks." The federation, Consumers Union, Media Access Project and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group filed complaints with the Justice Department and state attorneys general who are suing Microsoft, saying XP harms consumers. "Anyone who has looked closely at XP concludes that it was designed by Microsoft assuming that it would win the (antitrust) case," Cooper said. "Microsoft will not stop leveraging its market power unless the appeals court makes it." To Microsoft, Windows XP is its best operating system ever, offering users much-improved reliability and stability and a better computing experience. For competitors and critics, XP is another example of Microsoft thumbing its nose at courts and anyone standing in its way. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, though, in a recent interview with the St. Petersburg Times, specifically cited the court decision as allowing the company to integrate new features into the operating system. XP officially goes on sale Thursday, but it has been embroiled in controversy for months. Microsoft has held back some features that drew heavy criticism. For example, it had a Smart Tags feature in its Internet Explorer browser that would have turned any word on any Web page into a link to Microsoft Web sites and services. After this created a public uproar, Microsoft dropped the feature from the final version. Microsoft's drumbeat emphasizes the product as consumer-friendly, ignoring the controversy. "People who buy a new PC or upgrade with Windows XP WILL see a dramatic change!" Jim Allchin, a Microsoft group vice president, wrote in an e-mail interview with the San Jose Mercury News. "Anyone who uses Windows 98 or Windows Me and then tries Windows XP for one day will never want to go back to their old system! It's like the difference between black and white TV and color TV." Others view the company's plans with caution. "Windows XP is part of a much broader strategy," said Dan Kusnetzky, an analyst with International Data Corp. "I hope it doesn't sound like a conspiracy theory, but it is. Microsoft realizes that if standards emerge in ways that don't favor Microsoft, then its plans won't come to fruition." And because technology moves so swiftly, "this is a race," Kusnetzky said. "And Microsoft is so concerned that they're willing to risk a whole lot to win." Those risks include the ongoing antitrust suit. The company and government have been ordered to negotiate a settlement, but prospects of reaching a deal seem remote, even though the Justice Department says it will no longer pursue a breakup of the company. The judge presiding over the case recently appointed a mediator to help the talks along. Microsoft has modified some of its practices because of the antitrust suit, according to Michael Silver, an analyst with the Gartner Inc. research and consulting company. In particular, Microsoft ended contract restrictions it had placed on computermakers about modifying or adding other programs to the desktop. The tech industry, particularly computermakers, had hoped that XP would provide a fourth-quarter boost. That was iffy before Sept. 11, and it's even iffier now, experts say. Microsoft won't predict how XP sales will go. "We remain extremely optimistic about the future of the technology sector and its ability to contribute to the growth of the U.S. and global economy," Allchin said. "This is a fragile time concerning world affairs and the economy. However, for the technology industry, I don't know of any other product right now capable of helping the industry more than Windows XP." Microsoft says people have choices, including the free Linux operating system and Apple Computer's Macintosh. But those have only a small fraction of the desktop market, and the sheer number of Windows users guarantees XP will dominate new computer sales. IDC's Kusnetzky thinks Microsoft runs a risk by playing hardball with consumers. He says people once used IBM's operating system but eventually migrated to Microsoft when choices emerged. "The same thing could happen to Microsoft as people move to the next generation of software," he said. "They're very confident people are very tied to Windows and moving would be very painful. They change the rules as they see fit. I'm not convinced that they have that kind of power, but they have that viewpoint."
- Information from Times wires was used in this report. Dave Gussow can be reached at gussow@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4228.
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