Windows XP Reloaded

[method77]

Despite Microsoft's repeated denials, the company will indeed release an interim version of Windows XP that will bridge the gap between the initial XP release and Windows Longhorn, which is currently due in late 2005 at the earliest. The interim XP version will ship as a new retail product that replaces existing retail boxed copies of XP and as a set of updates, called XP Reloaded, that existing XP users can install separately. According to sources I contacted this morning, XP Reloaded will include all the features from XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), which is due by midyear, as well as a host of other unique features, including Windows Media Player (WMP) 10.

Other details about XP Reloaded are unknown at this time, although the update kit apparently will include a Web-based installer application that will let users choose optional features. Reports about an XP Version 2 release first cropped up more than a year ago, but Microsoft officials repeatedly denied that the company planned to issue such a release. In early 2004, when the company revealed the new security features that XP SP2 will include, the rumors resurfaced. But the XP Reloaded OS refresh will clearly include a lot more than security updates, possibly in a bid to revive consumer excitement about XP while Microsoft preps the ever-delayed Longhorn release.

Winnetmag.com

[Kooperman]

By the time Longhorn comes out, the internet will be wireless telepathy...

[slum_goddess]

yeah but until then 'If you run Windows...Hot Mail, MSN, Microsoft Instant Messaging - they all require a Passport account, and they are all being expanded into key parts of My Services. If you are attached to the Internet, your Windows computer is already chatting with Microsoft's servers, and if you run XP or Win 2000 SP3, you have already given Microsoft permission to examine your computer and make changes as they see fit....'

all from this page and it's scarey. :( :mellow:

[method77]

people are always paranoid about these matters. All those services could be turned off. If they don't tell you how then somebody will find a solution.

And if microsoft does all these we will use linux

[cube]

i heard microsoft are making a completely new OS, not another one in the windows series.

[Umma]

people are always paranoid about these matters. All those services could be turned off. If they don't tell you how then somebody will find a solution.

And if microsoft does all these we will use linux

yeah.... just turn off what you dont need

with all the millions of computers in the world...... why would microsoft pick on me anyway? Mine's dull as get out.... apart from the...

hmmmm

[MikeHunt]

great site ...Slum Goddess...everyone should read it.

very scary.... and informative.

[slum_goddess]

you're welcome, MH and i agree...it's a lot of reading but totally worth it.

with all the millions of computers in the world...... why would microsoft pick on me anyway

don't think they pick on individuals, just collate the data they receive. but the fact they could change anything remotely is what bothers me bigtime. my next machine's gonna be a Mac (although Macs talk to Apple servers, i don't have the same issues i do w/MS).

[DudeAsInCool]

Once you have a Mac, you'll never go back :P

[Umma]

don't think they pick on individuals, just collate the data they receive. but the fact they could change anything remotely is what bothers me bigtime. my next machine's gonna be a Mac (although Macs talk to Apple servers, i don't have the same issues i do w/MS).

Surely they can only alter stuff remotely if you let them???

You can disable remote registry access in services... though that may not be the issue here...

(not read the article yet.... it seemed a long techie babble to go whoooooooosh well over my head)....

I'd go for Linux before I'd change to a Mac :duck hunt:

[slum_goddess]

Surely they can only alter stuff remotely if you let them???

if you run XP or Win 2000 SP3, you have already given Microsoft permission to examine your computer and make changes as they see fit....'

umma, if you have enought know-how to change over to linux, believe me, you're way ahead of me and surely can dig the article...i read it in pieces cause it disgusted & scared me simultaneously.

[Umma]

If you are attached to the Internet, your Windows computer is already chatting with Microsoft's servers, and if you run XP or Win 2000 SP3, you have already given Microsoft permission to examine your computer and make changes as they see fit....'

OK so Microsoft have permission to interfere with their own operating system on a certain level ... so what?? As the main operating system for Joe Bloggs who barely knows how to turn the thing on and find the internet, interference is probably the best option. The majority of Windows users are not geeky types and have no inclination to spend the time learning how to do the things that make the box run properly. More people may switch to Linux if it didnt require engaging the brain... and as for Mac.... while they're pretty trendy... IBM clones are easier to come by and are probably cheaper to purchase in most places.

While nobody likes the thought of a Big Brother culture powered by Microsoft, perhaps there's a little too much paranoia about the intent of the 'intrusion'. After all, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about.

On the other hand... I can see where a business may have some concerns with .NET running exclusively on Microsoft servers... but... I cant pick fault with Microsoft for trying to monopolise/keep control etc etc...

Isn't that what the business world is all about? Nastiness that pays well... without conscience... and Microsoft are so damn good at it. They almost have the whole world in their pocket!

[slum_goddess]

As the main operating system for Joe Bloggs who barely knows how to turn the thing on and find the internet, interference is probably the best option. The majority of Windows users are not geeky types and have no inclination to spend the time learning how to do the things that make the box run properly.

that's my issue--if i could trust MS to reach out and fix things, that would be cool but i don't. your use of 'joe bloggs' makes me think you're british and as such, might have missed the huge thing concerning the NSA ('no such agency' and/or national security agency) key revealed when win 98 was released.

paranoid? maybe but my paranoia was enhanced thousandfold after the bush gov gave MS only a token slap on the wrist. my next machine &c &c. B)

Microsoft are so damn good at it. They almost have the whole world in their pocket!

that's what i'm afraid of. :(

[Umma]

Fear gives you ulcers... and your opposition an advantage...

Never let a computer see you're afraid of it :P

[slum_goddess]

Umma, i'm only afraid of the Ifrit living inside my computer, thass all. and i attempt to placate it every chance i get. (from today's Register:)

'Microsoft should level with us, soon, on whether or not it intends to ship an interim 'XP Reloaded' version of Windows....it contains quite a few grisly reminders about the things Microsoft ought to do, but doesn't...

'...If you ask Microsoft when Longhorn is going to ship, Microsoft will tell you it will ship when it's done. And if you listen to Microsoft executives' presentations over a year or two, you'll note that the 12-18 month window in which the company thinks Longhorn might ship moves progressively. So, we have a period of indeterminate length from the demise of Win2k until the arrival of Longhorn, into which - the company indicated in just the last few days - something which might be a retreaded version of XP, might be a marketing campaign or might be a mix of the two is likely to be slipped...

'So prior to making Gartner and the enterprise customers happy by producing regular and accurate roadmaps, timelines and feature sets, Microsoft really has to consider carefully and deeply why it is that it is unable to do this. And maybe why inserting timeline changes as puffs of white smoke in keynotes is really not a smart idea.'

more: CONFESS ABOUT XP RELOADED QUICK, GARTNER TELLS MS

prior: Windows' Shorthorn is DOA