bruceb news

This was apparently reported first by Betanews.com a few months ago, but I spotted it in an article today on Newbytes.com:

“AOL released version 7 on Oct. 16, nine days before Microsoft shipped Windows XP. For the first time in five years, AOL’s client software was not bundled with Microsoft’s latest operating system. Negotiations between AOL and Microsoft over bundling reportedly broke down last summer over conflicts including AOL’s use of the RealNetworks media player.

“AOL considered responding to the threat posed by XP through several strategies, including one labeled “Stall XP Adoption,” according to a document alleged to be an internal AOL memo and published by the BetaNews.com site.

[…] continued

There’s a few things to do before you upgrade to Windows XP, but here’s a couple that shouldn’t be overlooked: uninstall Norton Antivirus and PCAnywhere before you start the upgrade. Some nasty side effects if they’re still on the system when you run the setup program.

Once you’re up and running, there’s a couple of things in the Microsoft Powertoys that might catch your eye. The real winner is TweakUI, which gives you fine-grained control over some features that are hard to get to any other way – mouse settings, Explorer settings, logon settings, and more.

Some good advice from TechRepublic.

==========================

BEFORE YOU INSTALL WINDOWS XP. . .

Today is release day for the Windows XP operating system, which means that nonpreinstalled versions of this software will begin hitting hard drives as we speak. Microsoft is known for user-friendly software that makes installing programs very easy–you just have to follow the wizard. While this is true, many users forget something very important, especially with operating systems: planning. Many users don’t like this word, but planning is an essential part of installation. Below is a checklist of things you should do before you ever put that Windows XP installation disk into your CD-ROM drive:

* Check that your hardware meets the minimum hardware requirements. […] continued

I have a lot of problems with the relentless attacks on Microsoft in the media these days, but the one that’s most on my mind is the campaign to discredit Windows XP. Microsoft is rolling out a rock-solid version of Windows that runs all your programs. That seems like a good thing to me. But the press can easily find juicy quotes about a handful of alleged “issues,” and it’s apparently in the mood now to repeat them over and over and over, ad nauseam. These days anything that’s repeated often enough can turn into the accepted truth, and I’d hate to have you miss Windows XP for no good reason. […] continued

Microsoft is beginning its $200 million advertising campaign for Windows XP today. There was a calculated decision not to start promoting it early, to avoid a repeat of the experience with Windows 98 – consumers went to the store and were upset that it wasn’t available yet. PC manufacturers were allowed to start shipping Windows XP, but Microsoft asked them not to promote it heavily until today. Now the blitz begins – and hopefully you’ll start to understand why I’m so excited.

Here’s a look at Windows XP by GamePC.com. It’s called a “gamer’s perspective,” but it’s more than that – it’s a pretty good discussion of a lot of the new features in Windows XP. It’s long but well worth a look if you want to start getting familiar with the details.

Conclusion: “So, the question. Is it worth the upgrade? Windows 2000 users shouldn’t feel the need to upgrade, unless the visuals or new features of the OS catch your fancy. In terms of performance and stability, XP and 2000 are very, very similar. For Win9X and ME users, you should seriously consider upgrading to XP, as the added stability of the 32-bit NT kernel is worth the money by itself. […] continued

There’s a lot of things to like about Windows XP. If you’re a Windows 98 or ME user, the single overriding issue is that Windows XP doesn’t crash. It just doesn’t. Another thing that hasn’t gotten as much coverage is that it’s very fast. It takes a fraction of the time to start up the computer compared to other versions of Windows, and applications run faster than they ever have before. Here’s Microsoft’s presentation of testing by an independent lab. I’ve used Windows XP Home and Professional and I can report that this is not hype, folks, it’s absolutely true, and you’ll like it a lot. […] continued

Dell is taking orders for Windows XP systems across the board now. If you’ve been waiting – go buy a new system, like I did tonight!

Most of the PC manufacturers have started to take orders for Windows XP systems targeted at home users. Dell is selling home systems from its web site with Windows XP Home Edition. But apparently the manufacturers have agreed not to sell business systems with Windows XP Professional until the official Windows XP release date on October 25. If you’re not under pressure to buy right away, I’d still advise you to wait. But if you need a business system, you can get a business system from Dell with Windows 2000 right now, with an (almost) free upgrade to Windows XP – and with Windows 2000 you’ll get the stability you need right away. […] continued

Here’s a collection of Windows 2000 hints & tips that might come in handy. How to change drive letters, how to prevent programs from loading at startup, how to open a command prompt in any directory, and lots more.