Next Update Of XP Offers Partners More Options

Microsoft

The U.S. District Court hasn't yet weighed in with a final ruling on the penalties, but Microsoft last week gave a preview of how Windows XP Service Pack 1 will comply with its tentative consent decree with the government. The service pack will move into beta testing in the next several weeks.

Windows XP Service Pack 1, expected to be released in the third quarter, has four new buttons, in a dialog box, for configuring the Windows XP desktop with Internet add-ons from Microsoft and competitive applications from AOL, Netscape and RealNetworks.

From the Start Menu, solution providers can access a "Set Program Access and Defaults" bar which leads them to a page with four options for configuring the XP desktop, including a special button for OEMs and white-box builders that define which middleware applications should be displayed and which should be removed.

Below that, three buttons allow end users to configure the desktop with all-Microsoft middleware, non-Microsoft middleware or a custom option that lets them mix-and-match both Microsoft and non Microsoft icons.

One solution provider said the built-in options will save his company time and money. "We have more customers interested in having their own versions of Windows," said Roland Pinto, CEO of Globalities, Omaha, Neb. His firm currently offers various configurations today, but it takes engineers considerably more time than it will with Service Pack 1. "The new OS will make it an easier implementation of Internet middleware. Now it's a pain to do it. Microsoft makes it difficult to do because they don't want other middleware products used," he said.

The new screen options in Windows XP Service Pack 1 also go well beyond the voluntary flexibility Microsoft offered OEMs last July to add or remove the Internet Explorer icon. Microsoft also gives OEMs and users an option in the Windows XP update to remove end-user access to Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Windows Messenger and Microsoft Java VM.

The new options comply with one of eight stipulations Microsoft agreed to as part of the proposed consent decree it hammered out with the U.S. Department of Justice last November.

While Microsoft gave no indication that it will allow additional customization of the Windows XP beyond those options, the company acknowledges that the final remedies decided by the court within the next few months may call for more changes.

"We're doing development work based on the consent decree as it was signed, but obviously the final ruling will impact what we do," said Greg Sullivan, lead product manager for Windows XP at Microsoft.

While it will save time and money for white-box makers and solution providers, some observers say it might add a layer of complexity to integrate and support.

"We focus on the server side of integration and do not want to spend time at the desktop with four different manufacturers' products trying to get them all to work together," said Rich Figer, vice president at S.B. Stone, a systems integrator in Cleveland, Ohio.

Another solution provider said the new options make it easier to customize the Windows XP desktop but OEMs and end users could always use alternatives applications with Windows. "Even with these new UI options, I have no doubt my customers will still choose Microsoft products," said Michael Cocanower, president of ITSynergy, Phoenix. "The way I look at it, users had the option of a non-Microsoft UI all along, so from a customer or technical standpoint, this is a non-event."