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Technology Stocks : Son of SAN - Storage Networking Technologies -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Joe Wagner who wrote (2905)	3/10/2001 1:02:44 PM
From: Joe Wagner	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4808

Article on where Microsoft is going with Internet Browsers. ]]]But have you noticed Microsoft has stopped almost entirely using the word "browser"? Instead, Microsoft is trying to convince the world to think of browsers and GUIs (graphical user interfaces) as "experiences". Get it? With Windows XP, with "XP" standing for "experience,"[[[[ I guess I am having a Son of San XP this morning. Saturday March 10 12:15 PM EST Win XP and IE betas: Things to watch out for By Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet News If it holds to its current schedule, Microsoft is supposed to deliver two make-or-break betas next week: Windows XP Beta 2 and a public preview of Internet Explorer 6. A number of Windows enthusiast Web sites are gearing up to be the first to publish the latest lists of features, release notes and screen shots. But it's not just the list of what's in (and what's out) of the beta code that I'm going to be watching. I'm also going to be studying closely Microsoft's posturing and positioning around these two products for hints of where The Empire wants to go tomorrow. In recent weeks, there's been a subtle shift in the lingo at Microsoft around its operating system and browser products. I'm not just talking about Microsoft balking every time anyone tries to use the word "bundled" in connection with its operating system (as in Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, MSN Messenger and other once-standalone products being "bundled" into the operating system.) Indeed, Microsoft's fear and loathing of the word "bundled" isn't new; that's been going on for a couple years--at least since the start of the current Department of Justice antitrust investigation a couple years back. But have you noticed Microsoft has stopped almost entirely using the word "browser"? Instead, Microsoft is trying to convince the world to think of browsers and GUIs (graphical user interfaces) as "experiences". Get it? With Windows XP, with "XP" standing for "experience," you and all your friends can now immerse yourselves in shopping experiences, music experiences, photo experiences and more! In the new world according to Microsoft, consumers won't surf the Web for fun and information; they will have entertainment experiences, device experiences, productivity experiences, communication experiences. Again, cynics like me might try to link this to the DOJ antitrust investigation. It's a lot easier to defend a position that there is not now and never was a "browser market" when you erase the word "browser" from your approved vocabulary list. But that's not the only reason Microsoft's trying to distance itself from the lowly "browser, I'd argue. Microsoft, like many software vendors, is hell-bent on blurring the line between where software ends and the Web begins in order to find new revenue streams. For Microsoft, this notion takes the form of the amorphous .Net software-as-a-service strategy. On the MSN front, Microsoft is contemplating adding a bunch of new subscription-based, paid services-things like advanced e-mail (with better filtering, security and storage); an AOL-by-Phone-like call-for-your-e-mail service; advanced calendaring; music sharing and downloading. How could Microsoft further tie together these kind of services and its flagship Windows product line, thus creating even more possibilities for recurring revenues? What if Windows XP and other future releases were optimized to save your digital photos into an MSN community area called "My Photos"? Or save your MP3 files into "My Pictures" on MSN? Your tax files into "My Personal Finance"? Hey, Microsoft has to make a buck. But are you ready to pay a monthly fee to be "experienced"? Do you like where Microsoft is going with Windows, Internet Explorer and MSN? TalkBack below and let me know what you think. dailynews.yahoo.com