Win XP and IE betas: Things to watch out for

Mary Jo Foley AnchorDesk

Published: 08 Mar 2001 16:05 GMT

A number of Windows enthusiast Web sites are gearing up to be the first to publish the latest lists of features, release notes and screen shots.

But it's not just the list of what's in (and what's out) of the beta code that I'm going to be watching. I'm also going to be studying closely Microsoft's posturing and positioning around these two products for hints of where The Empire wants to go tomorrow. In recent weeks, there's been a subtle shift in the lingo at Microsoft around its operating system and browser products. I'm not just talking about Microsoft balking every time anyone tries to use the word "bundled" in connection with its operating system (as in Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, MSN Messenger and other once-standalone products being "bundled" into the operating system.)

Indeed, Microsoft's fear and loathing of the word "bundled" isn't new; that's been going on for a couple years -- at least since the start of the current Department of Justice antitrust investigation a couple years back.

But have you noticed Microsoft has stopped almost entirely using the word "browser"? Instead, Microsoft is trying to convince the world to think of browsers and GUIs (graphical user interfaces) as "experiences". Get it? With Windows XP, with "XP" standing for "experience," you and all your friends can now immerse yourselves in shopping experiences, music experiences, photo experiences and more!

In the new world according to Microsoft, consumers won't surf the Web for fun and information; they will have entertainment experiences, device experiences, productivity experiences, communication experiences.