Finally, on October 31, 2000, Microsoft released Whistler build 2296
as Beta 1. "The release of Whistler Beta 1 represents the next step in
delivering on our vision for Windows and will provide software and
hardware vendors with a single code-base on which to develop applications
and devices for both home and business PC users," said Microsoft senior
VP Brian Valentine, who oversees the Windows Division at Microsoft. "This
release will help us continue to receive the feedback we need, which will
help ensure broad compatibility of software applications and hardware
devices and ultimately provide the best customer experience."
Microsoft also announced that it was planning a phased rollout of
Whistler, which allowed the company to keep to its yearly release
schedule for consumers. "Whistler represents a significant milestone for
the industry by bringing the reliability of the Windows 2000 code base to
both business and home PC users," a Microsoft spokesperson told me. "In
order to bring the reliability of Windows 2000 to consumers as soon as
possible, and to address the feedback from enterprise customers,
Microsoft plans a phased release of Whistler, beginning with the desktop
products, followed by the server versions. Both the desktop and server
versions are expected to be generally available in the second half of
2001."
With Beta 1, "It's too soon to map out any specific new features in
Whistler," Whistler lead product manager Greg Sullivan told me. "We've
brought the foundation of Windows 2000 forward and now we're testing, in
Beta one, the compatibility of software and hardware devices. The key
here is feedback from the testers regarding compatibility." In other
words, the visual stuff was bound to change. A confidential source at
Microsoft explained why. "It turns out that skinning the UI is a bit
difficult and we're concerned with what might happen. There may be a
skinning kit later but right now it's not supported. If you've seen the
various builds you will have seen the progression in the UI. This will
continue post-Beta 1 as you will shortly discover. I can't say for
certain, but I have the feeling that the UI is being hacked about a lot,
so it makes sense to not allow UI skins for now. In Beta 1, there is no
published way to create a skin, nor have we suggested that this would be
possible either now or later. We will have to wait and see, but I fully
expect folks to work this out and to publish the approach."
"Consumers care a great deal about the compatibility of devices and
software," Sullivan said. "They also care about reliability and
dependability. The goal with Whistler is to give them both. The goal is
for everything to work." And because the consumer Windows products have
been on a different release schedule than the business products, the
planned phased rollout of Whistler makes sense: The Personal and
Professional editions of Whistler will ship months before the Server
editions, he says, though both are due in the second half of 2001. "Our
consumer and business OSes are on a different schedule," Sullivan notes,
"and Whistler will be no different. Consumer OSes are generally released
more frequently. Server is on a different deployment schedule."
Whistler Beta 1
(Build 2296)
A few days after Whistler Beta 1 shipped, I revealed in WinInfo that
Microsoft would be including an integrated media player,
and Instant Messaging (IM) client in IE 6.0, the version
of IE that would be included in Windows XP. IE 6 went
through a few changes since its inception--most notably
the removal of Smart Tags and the Personal Bar--due to
tester feedback.
At that year's Fall Comdex, a number of notable
Whistler-related events occurred. First, Microsoft
mistakenly referred to Whistler as "Windows 2001" in a
press release about the Gates keynote. "[Gates]
explained that cutting-edge hardware and software
companies are excited and already planning for the
Windows 2001 launch." The company claimed it was a typo
and later corrected the blurb to simply read Whistler
instead of Windows 2001. And Microsoft unveiled its
Tablet PC, which would be based on a version of
Whistler. Read my review of
Fall Comdex 2000 for more information.
Original Microsoft press release (excerpt)
After Comdex, I cast my (somewhat incorrect) vote for
the final Whistler name: Windows .NET 2002. And
actually, that is indeed the name of the server versions
of Whistler.
In mid-December, Microsoft showed off the new version of
Windows Media technologies that would be incorporated
into Windows XP, Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Windows
Media Video 8. Windows Media Audio 8 can deliver near-CD
quality sound at 48 Kbps, compared to WMA 7's 96 Kbps
and MP3's 128 Kbps. And Windows Media Video 8 can
deliver near-DVD quality video at 500 Kbps, opening up
the possibility of video on demand for broadband users.
The company also released a command line tool that
enabled users to get started with the new formats.
On December 18, 2000, Microsoft announced that an
embedded version of Whistler--cunningly named Whistler
Embedded--would be created to serve a range of embedded
scenarios, such as Windows-based terminals, advanced
Internet-capable set-top boxes, and retail point-of-sale
(PoS) kiosks. "Building on the success of Windows NT
Embedded 4.0, we are committed to helping embedded
developers utilize the 'Whistler' advancements through
componentization and a rich embedded tool set," said
Bill Veghte, the vice president of the Embedded and
Appliance Platforms Group at Microsoft. "The release of
'Whistler Embedded' Beta 1 is an important milestone
because it facilitates feedback from our close customers
and industry partners, which is critical to ensuring a
reliable and well-tested final release for the
fast-growing embedded industry." The company promised to
release Whistler Embedded within 90 days of the wide
availability of the PC versions of Whistler.
After over two months of silence, the Whistler beta
finally kicked into gear again on January 4, 2001, with
the release of interim build 2410. This build is notable
primarily because it is the first to include the dreaded
Windows Product Activation (WPA) feature. Here's how I
described it at the time: "This version of Whistler,
which is the next version of Windows, now features some
intriguing anti-piracy mechanisms that create a personal
product identification code that is attached to the
machine on which the OS is installed. If I understand
the purpose of this new scheme, Microsoft is finally
following through on its long-time threat to enforce its
licensing policies, as each Windows license is
technically attached to the machine on which it is first
installed, and is not attached to the person that
installed the product. With the new scheme, it will no
longer be possible to use the same Product ID to install
Windows to more than one machine."
Whistler 2410 included a number of new features, such as
some nice new high-color icons, a renaming of the
Professional Theme to "Watercolor," and more. IE 6.0 was
included for the first time, and it came with the new
Media and IM Explorer bars. This build did not include
new Visual Styles; instead, a demonstration Theme was
included to show how the UI could be changed, but
sources at Microsoft told me that week that the company
had no plans to release any sort of Theme builder
application so that users can make their own UIs. In a
controversial move obviously intended as a poke at Apple
Computer, the Recycle Bin has been moved to the lower
right of the Desktop by default, where the Mac's
Trashcan is located. Also, much of the text in Whistler
2410 was changed to read "Beta 2," though this build, of
course, was not yet Beta 2.
Whistler build 2410 included a number of firsts for this
product
For more information, read
my review of Build 2410.
At the Bill Gates keynote during the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) on January 5, 2001, some very
interesting happened, though no one seemed to notice it:
The new Welcome screen that would later debut in Windows
XP build 2428 was briefly seen during his Windows XP
demo. Gates said that Whistler will make it far easier
to work with digital cameras, scanners, and video
recorders. He also showed off the Xbox, new Windows
CE-based devices, and a variety of personal audio
devices that support Windows Media formats.
"The key thing to remember with the next generation of
Windows is, we are basing it on the Windows 2000
platform," Microsoft Product Manager Steve Guggenheimer
said during the Gates keynote. "So we'll bring you the
dependability of our highest end corporate desktop, and
total dependability, to the home. But, at the same time,
we're starting to move it in the direction of making it
very consumer-oriented. Making it very friendly for the
home user to use. So it can be on 24 hours a day, and it
can have the same reliability and durability as a
traditional consumer electronics device.
"What you'll notice here is a login screen. And the way
this is set up is, it's set up for multiple users. So,
we found in our research at home that many people use
the PC for multiple people. If you want to change users
in today's world, you have to close off your
applications, log off, and let the other person log on.
It's not a very friendly way to go.
"Now, what we've done here is we've set it up so that I
can log on, and you'll notice that there are programs
running under each of the different users. The way this
works is, when I'm working on the machine, when I want
to stop using it, I can simply walk away, and within a
minute or two it will come back to this screen and it
will save my state. So, when my daughter Hannah walks
up, she can come on, it will remember her state and go
there, or when I want to log back in, I can simply click
on Steve, and it will bring me back into the desktop and
back into working, if I use the right mouse button
there.
"Now, the next thing you'll notice in terms of the user
interface is that it's very clean. We found over the
years that there's been some clutter as more and more
icons have appeared on the desktop, and what users have
told us is, they want to be able to use this as their
space, to be able to add things here that they want.
Now, of course, when people upgrade we'll keep what
they've done already. But for New Year's what we've
tried to do is take -- let me step in front here so I
can drive -- is take all the information and put it in
the start page. We've made it much easier in terms of
the most recent applications you've been using, my
pictures, my photos, the things that consumers care
about. So, in a lot of ways, we're working very hard to
make this a much easier to use device.
"Now, in terms of Whistler, this is the sneak preview, I
will show more as the months go on. The other thing I
really want to highlight is the PC itself. We believe
that in the next generation of PCs, as it becomes more
like a consumer electronics device, that we really want
to move in terms of both functionality and form, to a
new generation, a new style of Whistler style PCs that
are moving from below the desk to on top of the desk.
And this is something we've built just to demonstrate
the type of hardware you'd see with the next generation
of Whistler."
A week after CES, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admitted
that open source sensation Linux was the number one
threat to Windows. "I think you have to rate competitors
that threaten your core [product line] higher than you
rate competitors where you're trying to take from them,"
he said. "It puts the Linux phenomenon and the Unix
phenomenon at the top of the list. I'd put the Linux
phenomenon really as threat number one."
On January 12, ZDNet incorrectly reported that IE 6
would only be offered with Whistler, and not be made
available as a free download. I refuted this claim,
noting that Microsoft said that IE would always be free.
Shortly thereafter, the company began an IE 6 beta test,
and today, users of Windows 9x, Me, NT, and 2000 can
download IE 6 for free.
On January 16, 2001, Microsoft released build 2416 to
testers. This build features a much more attractive Help
and Support, beta MP3 support in Windows Media Player 8,
a new File and Transfer Settings Wizard, a cascading
Start Menu, new performance options, System Restore
integration with System Properties, and more. See my
Build 2416 screenshot
gallery for more information. One odd thing that
also appeared in this build was the new Setup front-end,
which would later be tweaked to be more attractive. But
the version in 2416 was downright nasty looking...
Build 2416: Ugh
With the rapid releases of builds 2410
and 2416, it was obvious that work on Whistler was
accelerating, and improving dramatically. In late
January, CRN reported that Microsoft would release Beta
2 that February, with a public beta of the OS expected
"within 60 to 90 days." Sure enough, Microsoft later did
start a Windows XP Preview Program (WPP). However, CRN
incorrectly speculated that Microsoft was trying to
release Whistler by mid-2001.
On January 22,
I reported that the MCSE exams and certifications for
Windows 2000 and Whistler would be interchangeable,
and regardless of the number of times I've published
this information since, I still get mail about it
regularly.
Microsoft released its final Whistler interim build on
January 23. That is, build 2419 would be the last to
feature the "Professional" theme (renamed to Watercolor
in this release), since this would be replaced by the
now-familiar, blue "Windows XP" theme. "[Build 2419 has
minor improvements on what was in 2416, along with some
significant shell performance improvements (and more to
come)," Microsoft program manager John Gray told
testers. "Mostly, we're focusing on critical bug fixes.
There won't be significant interface or skin changes."
Build 2419 debuted the final Windows XP Setup routine
(with Beta 2 text), which was actually a preview of the
new look and feel to come. It also included much of the
final Windows XP wallpaper selection.
Whistler build 2419 was the
first to feature the final Setup routine and wallpaper
By the end of January, the final naming for Whistler was
beginning to become an issue as news and rumor sites
alike began printing their guesses and "insider"
information. But on January 26, I first published the
correct final name for both Whistler and Office 10,
noting that the products would use the "XP" moniker, for
"experience." I had heard that Bill Gates himself had
nixed the name Office 2002 for Office 10, along with
various other names, such as Office X and Office
Millennium Edition.
"You heard it hear first," I wrote in an article titled,
Whistler: Are You Experienced? I noted that
Microsoft would launch Whistler Beta 2 as Windows XP on
February 13, at the rock 'n' roll-themed Experience
Music Project (EMP) in Seattle. I was invited, but
didn't intend, because I'd be heading to Redmond a week
earlier for a secretive tech press preview of Windows
XP. I was, however, able to send an associate to the
later EMP event in my stead.
One thing I was dead wrong about regarded rumors that
Microsoft was working on a new UI for Whistler.
"Contrary to reports, Whistler Beta 2 won't introduce a
new Luna UI," I wrote. "As discussed on the SuperSite
for Windows, Whistler's UI debuted a long time ago.
Whistler's UI is fairly malleable, with a new skinning
feature that supports almost infinite UI possibilities.
Whistler also lets users choose between the classic
Start menu seen today in Windows 2000 and Windows
Millennium Edition (Windows Me) and a new Start menu
that collects commonly used tasks into a single,
easy-to-access location." It was true that the "Luna"
technology was in Whistler long before Beta 2. However,
Beta 2 did eventually arrive with a new-look UI.
Continued in Part Three...
The Road to Gold (Part Two)
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