“To get the already-delayed follow-up to Windows XP out the door by 2006, it has decided to omit some of the most ambitious features,” Jay Greene reports for BusinessWeek Online. “Never in its history has Microsoft had to wait so long between Windows releases. When Windows XP launched in October, 2001, researcher Gartner Inc. expected the software giant to gin up a new version within two years. But Microsoft’s ambitious follow-up to Windows XP, code-named Longhorn, has bogged down in delays. The company rarely discloses timelines for products, lest it miss its targets. But in copies of two e-mail messages obtained by BusinessWeek, Microsoft lays out a roadmap that shows Longhorn debuting in the first six months of 2006.”
Greene reports, “What’s more, the e-mails disclose Microsoft’s plans to cut some of the most far-reaching pieces of Longhorn in order to get the product shipped. For instance, Microsoft had planned to overhaul the file system, the way information is stored. The goal had been to change the way files relate to one another, so that users could quickly find documents, e-mail, and photos that have some connection to one another. It would be easy, for example, to locate not just digital photos, but e-mail from people in them. It’s an enormous undertaking.”
“To get Longhorn out the door in its new timeframe, Microsoft has curbed its ambition,” Greene reports. In the meantime, Microsoft “plans to release a new product, internally known as Windows XP Premium, that combines Windows XP Professional with an updated version of Windows Media Player. Premium will be available only on new PCs, not in boxes at retail. The new media player software lets online music stores — including one that Microsoft plans to launch later this year — snap right into the design, so that users can easily buy music from inside the player application.”
“The software will also work seamlessly with the Portable Media Player, handheld devices that run Microsoft software. The first devices, made by Creative Technology, iRiver, and Samsung, will debut later this year. The goal, Fester said in his presentation, is to ‘outflank Apple,’ whose iPod device and iTunes Music Store have quickly set the standard for digital music,” Greene reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: People want iPods. The market is proving it. Good luck, “outflanking Apple” on this one, Bill. As for Longhorn being scaled back? Moo. Apple’s opening is now. It would be nice if Cupertino would begin advertising Mac OS X; how it works, how it looks, on TV, in print, and elsewhere ASAP.
is there a legitimate reason apple doesn’t advertise os x?
nope, it’s stupid, they seriously need to get on it! apple’s ads are too “artistic.” as if they’re trying to reach a new level in advertising instead of just marketing their product. i’ve mentioned before that maybe mac users should take things into their own hands and make a set of OS X commercials to be shown on local TV networks…i think that’d be great. especially considering that most mac users have the tools to make great videos!
I agree. Apple should do some “This is OS X” nuts and bolts demo commercials NOW. Promoting the mystique the Apple brand is fine but OS X has so many advantages they need to get the word out. People just DON’T KNOW.
As for this outflanking, I’ll bet M$ is looking to incorporate video etc for this. Steve’s read on this is that people don’t do video in the same way as music and I have to agree. This could be another “Microsoft Bob”. That said, I think the new iPods will have color screens and be able to view photos and perhaps connect to your TV and play a video you download off the net. Very few people would actually watch it on the iPod tho (if that is even possible). That would be a nice feature to have but I don’t think one that would actually get used that much. I CAN see myself downloading a video, putting it on my iPod, hooking it up to my TV and watching it that way. It will depend a lot on the download times of course so we shall see what sort of compression becomes available.
I just want to state for the record, for all my fellow Bobs, that Microsoft Bob was an embarrassment and a black eye for Bobdom everywhere and that we were never consulted about the use of our name. Please don’t hate us for it — we had nothing to do with it!
OSX-Advertising…A TV ad is like a billboard, the viewer has to get the message in nothing flat…Operating systems don’t get advertised on TV because they are too complex. You can only pick one feature, one message and do it in one headline and one sentence. Try it, very difficult.
Since this was announced, I saw one writer comparing Longhorn to Apples Copeland
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This is based on such a lame premise that MS needs to “outflank” Apple at anything. Yep, gotta’ hussle and prevent that 2% marketshare from taking over this year. MS is far more worried about Linux than Apple any day, this battle is long over.
Am I the only one who thinks that WMP incorporated into the OS will somehow break iTunes or Quicktime or both. The best way to beat iTMS is to make sure it doesn’t work on Win XP.
Now is the time to spin up a x86 alternative that is file compatible with Mac OS X using the HFS+ file system. The base of this already exists with the x86 Open Darwin Project. When Microsoftopoly tries to hold up users of Windows for the “new” OS, undercut them with a powerful, stable and secure alternative.
http://www.opendarwin.org/
The clock is running…
Well in Europe M$ will be barred from incorporating its Media Player in Windows – so WinXP Premium looks as though it will be just plain old WinXP here.
You all don�t get it with Apple advertising:
1) Steve does not believe that advertising works;
2) The majority of the advertising budget shows up in the accounting ledgers under “Apple Stores”.
Stores = Advertising to Steve.
You all don�t get it with Apple advertising:
1) Steve does not believe that advertising works;
2) The majority of the advertising budget shows up in the accounting ledgers under “Apple Stores”.
Stores = Advertising to Steve.
Yes, it is not possible to advertise an operating system.
That’s why Microsoft has never done advertising for Windows.
Except for aboriginal tribes in the bush who hasn’t heard of Apple or OS X? I suggest that most people don’t switch because they are afraid of change, are unwilling to pay the initial cost of switching, are biased against Apple, are ignorant of Apple, or are content to live with Microsoft regardless of the consequences.
Apple would have to tweak the robust mental processes of data acquisition and analysis, hypothesis testing, and objective thinking to get the masses of Windows users to step outside the box. This is too much work for the typical government-educated student.
Uniformity of thought and political correctness are preferred to a true liberal education. I use the term liberal in the classical versus political sense of its meaning. Our nation is awash with people who are taught to imitate and not to initiate, to conform not to question, to behave not to act, to defer rather than to debate. Because of this rigorous attention to manufacture compliant constituents rather than thinking citizens we are doomed to mediocrity or worse.
“meat of moose” pretty much spelled out the whole problem in simple terms!
hahahha..how’s thurrott gonna spin this ‘modification of goals’..?
okay..i’ve heard of MS’s ideas for creating an iPod ripoff to sync w the Xbox… store game files and music etc.
one step at a time people..
dedicated electronics companies like sony haven’t beaten apple..what hope does MS have?
let’s see them get an ipod ripoff out the door first..then we can talk about the freakin’ xbox
meat of moose:
You have the coolest username AND a good point.
First I’d like to say that I agree that most people are “belongers” though that fact doesn’t need to be couched in such an “Orwellian” terms. Maybe that works however, given that were talking about Apple
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Anyway, I believe that these “societal-automata” are also very influenced by people around them who they believe are experts in a particular field. This makes it all the more important that those of us who use Macs and are respected experts in computing in our communities need to go out and proselytize for OS X.
I personally have a growing number of small business owners and individuals who look to me at their “computer guru”. I used to just take care of their Windows problems, but now I gently shove OS X on an eMac down their throats at every glitch, every virus, every poorly-configured program or device.
I have one gentleman who wanted to start up a new business and wanted to buy all Dell equipment. I just kept telling him “No, buy eMacs and OS X.” After much hemming and hawing, and no ground given by me, he went ahead and bought four eMacs and an Xserve. Not because he wanted to, but because his computer “expert” was adamant that he should.
This is, I believe the only way to make a difference. We have an expert-based society. If you’re toilet blows up, do you do all this research on who makes the best engineered toilet, flow-rates, toilet-manufacturing-monopolists, or do you have someone you know (a brother who’s a contractor, an Uncle that’s a plumber, friend of the family, etc.) that you call and you trust what they say as definitive? What about with your car, your roof, your refrigerator, etc.? I think you rely on an expert you trust (or you just buy another one in the store and hope it’s good).
These networks of people and local experts really drive purchases. So meat of moose and other readers. If you are looked-up-to for your knowledge of computers and have been not-too-begrudgingly helping “digital lemmings” in your acquaintance, and I KNOW many of you have. Time to stop grousing around the various Apple forums and start spreading the OS X gospel.
Just my two cents.
> who hasn’t heard of Apple or OS X
not many i agree. however, most people don’t know Office runs on it. most people don’t know that you can transfer files between a Mac and a PC (forget networking, these people still think transferrring files involve a diskette). most people don’t know that USB drives work on Macs or that Macs even have USB. Most people are still only getting into wireless networking much less know that Macs have been doing this since 1999.
Most peoples understanding of Macs were fixed when they last saw one in college. The USB drive thing was directly from a friend of mine who is a computer professional with 20 year experience in the field and owned a mac in the mid 90s, The wireless network thing was from another one who asked “why would anyone need a wireless network in their house when the PC doesnt move?”. People need to SEE these things in action before they know they need them. People who see someone in bed replying to email and then web surfing at the breakfast table and then ordering videos on the sofa understand pretty fast why wireless networking is so great. But not before they see it.
Regarding Apple’s advertising, they have an extraordinarily difficult balancing act to perform. They must convince people that the ease and simplicity of Macs are so much better than their MS Windows that it is worth buying all new software and relearning a whole new system. For some users, it is worth the time and effort to do so, but for many others they probably don’t feel like relearning a whole new operating system just to browse websites and send email.
With the growing problems of MS Windows, people and whole corporations will look for alternatives, but only when they reach their own critical point. A brief ad, like a new style of Nike shoe, won’t do it. The consumer is not merely replacing their outdated 2 year old Dell, but they are investing into a whole new system with new software, new computer knowledge and skills. This is a major decision. Apple needs a more subtle, long-term, approach backed by their solid history of excellent performance. A brief ad will create more questions than it answers.
Apple’s best advertising is its users and its stores. Touch one. Get their questions answered, the myths dissolved and alleviate their fears. But, most of all, they will see the excitement in the Apple user’s eyes. Granted, it doesn’t reach a million people at once, but what few people it does reach, it reaches them much deeper.
I am very confident that Apple’s mantra of “Think Different” doesn’t stop at their advertising department’s door, and that is why you don’t see Macs being sold like Ford trucks.
“Think Different” and Apple might listen to your idea.
Someone here tell me why we WANT more of a market share than Apple currently enjoys? We WANT OS X to turn into some sort of XP for the masses? We WANT virus writers to start targeting the Mac because it’s the operating system of choice? We WANT to have to run Software Update every day to keep up with security patches and system flaws? Somebody? Anybody? Beuller?
I don’t get this obsession with Apple becoming the market leader. I LIKE that Apple users are 3% of market and Windows users are stuck with the crap that Redmond pumps out. If the current situation were reversed, this site would be WinDailyNews.com and everyone here would be slamming the garbage that comes out of Cupertino and praising Redmond for its innovative operating system and superior hardware.
I like flying under the radar. I like that Apple is the computer of choice for people who “get it”. I don’t want to see Apple go under, of course, but I also don’t want to be the owner of the Personal Computer for the masses — that machine that needs updates constantly because the current “latest & greatest” operating system was rushed out the door to keep market share high or that virus writers want the most bang for the buck. Elitist? yeah, probably. I didn’t switch to the Mac only to watch the rest of the world do the same thing. It’s better. It’s faster. Let’s enjoy it and stop trying to turn the world into converts!
My $0.02
when does “outflanking Apple” become anti-competitive?
SteverB, I agree that marketshare doesn’t have any direct affect on Apple, as their bottom line is quite healthy and should stay that way. My greatest fear is that more software companies will buy into the marketshare BS. Too many software companies are already saying “the Mac is only 3%, why should we invest resources in making a Mac version”. No one is saying Apple needs to take the lead from Microsoft; we just want enough marketshare to be considered “relevant”. 10% would probably do the trick.
I think the perception that there’s no software for the Mac is one of the biggest impediments to getting people to switch. Sure, I know that I can go to VersionTracker and be presented with a universe of software for anything I need, but Joe Consumer thinks in terms of what he can see on the shelf.
(And darn it, sometimes software IS just hard to find. Anyone know of an affordable multi-track sound editor with effects? My fiancee is in broadcast school and needs one to do projects. All we found was software for music mixing which she considers “overkill” and too expensive.)
What a briliant idea… have your music store be integrated WITH the player! Like, hmmm… iTunes?
And then, make people buy a NEW PC for the privilege of a new media player app!
Wow.
I suggest “Shorthorn” as a name for the future OS (2006? 2007 even though scaled back?)
And “Shortchange” for the interim XP revenue-grab.
I agree advertising OS X would be difficult but I think advertising the compatibility would be easier.
At lunch yesterday friends were complaining about their windows computer being out of commisison for the last two months due to a virus their expert can’t seem to remove from their computer. I mention Mac and they said how they did Mac 10 years ago but they have windows at work. He is an architect but is on the management side – he only needs email, a browser, Word and Excel. They hadn’t considered getting a Mac because they didn’t realize how compatible the files were. I’m going to but them until they buy a Mac!
“when does “outflanking Apple” become anti-competitive?” – CitizenX
When it is executed by Microsoft.