Windows XP (experience), the latest version of Microsoft Corporation's PC operating system, will be launched in India in October accompanied by a publicity blitzkrieg that is expected to dwarf the launch of Windows' 95.
While top officials of Microsoft Corporation were tightlipped about the details of the launch party, the company has already declared that it will be spending millions of dollars to market the worldwide launch of its new operating system, probably double the amount it pumped in for the launch of Windows' 95.
In a memorable marketing launch for Windows' 95, Microsoft paid pop group, the Rolling Stones, for bagging the rights to `Start Me Up' as a launch song and put up a banner on an entire edition of the Times of London apart from lighting up the Empire State Building in New York.
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After a year of bad news on every front, with law makers to lawyers having a go at Microsoft, market and industry analysts predict that Windows XP, could get the world's largest software company, back on top of the popularity charts.
According to IDC, Windows XP, which is expected to be the fastest-adopted version of Windows ever, will ship more new units by the end-2002 than any other new Microsoft operating system in its first full year.
Windows XP, according to Microsoft officials, is considered to be the most important product since the launch of Windows' 95 and the biggest operating system release the software giant has ever done.
"It is all about a new visual experience with a spirited look and feel. A lot of improvements have been carried out compared with the earlier versions. It has no clutter while the desktop looks cleaner," Microsoft's Windows engineering services S Somasegar told Business Standard.
For starters, it has removed all the shortcut icons from the desktop with a new redesigned green Start menu. It will have sharper-looking icons, use
colours to signify different actions. "We want to make it more inviting and create a more intimate relationship between the user and the PC," Somasegar said.
At present, Windows operating systems are slightly tougher for users to set up and use their own configurations. User configurations address each user's special interface and programmes needs.
But all this gets changed with Windows XP. With Windows XP, a wizard makes creating and accessing these configurations easier. "It can also execute separately so one can continue while your family member logs in and uses his own configuration," Somasegar said.
It has additional features for uploading and downloading digital music and video files, to quickly switch settings and programmes among different users who share a machine and remote assistance, which lets users seek help from technical support staff or friends by temporarily ceding control of their systems. As Microsoft built the entire operating system on the same code as the company's more stable NT operating system, one can switch users all the time without leading to system's instability.
One of the biggest features, according to Somasegar, is that there is no need to reboot even if the configuration needs to be changed.
According to Somasegar, the benefits of upgrading from Windows 95, 98, or ME will be big at the very least, in terms of reliability improvements.
But there are worries on some fronts, according to industry analysts. For example, Windows' 95 users will not be able to directly upgrade to Windows XP, which could face some problems. But Microsoft has said that upgrades should be smooth.