Dear Windows-Help.NET Subscriber,
According to Microsoft president Steve Ballmer, Microsoft isn't going to rush Windows 2000. Asked after his public appearance at Gartner Group's Symposium/ITxpo, he commented "The feedback we're getting from customers is quite good. We're going to take our time and make sure the thing is absolutely, positively right."
Windows 2000 Release Candidate 3 is expected to ship on the 26th of this month, while RTM (Release To Manufacturing) is (still) scheduled for the 17th of November.
This will mean that Windows 2000 won't make it to the shelf before somewhere in January/February 2000.
When a product hits RTM, a lot must be done to prepare it for public consumption. CDs must be pressed, manuals printed, packaging prepared, etc. You may recall that Windows 98 hit RTM on the 15th of May 1998, and that it took a month and a half to be available for consumers. That gives you some indication of the time Windows 2000 is likely to take. Windows 2000 is an order of multitude larger then Windows 98, and also comes in multiple versions. So expect to see Windows 2000 arrive somewhere in January/February 2000.
Earlier this week, Gartner released its estimate that more than 70 percent of servers will not be upgraded until the second release of Windows 2000, slated for late next year. Many companies will never install a "point blank" release on their mission-critical servers.
Microsoft Office 2000 SP1
According to Microsoft a Service Pack 1 (SP1) will be available for Office 2000 in this quarter. No details are available yet about fixes incorporated in this SP, but it will reportedly make Office 2000 installation work smoother with Windows 2000. SP1 includes a Windows 2000 install patch which will reduce the number of reboots.
Rose City Software Launches Asynchrophobia
Rose City Software, which, along with Windows-Help.NET, is division of InfiniSource, Inc., launched a new software application called Asynchrophobia. Asynchrophobia is a carefully designed utility that eliminates the headaches associated with the synchronization of files and directories. Files can be easily synched from one computer to another, from one to several, or from several computers back to just one computer, one-way or bi-directional with several useful options. Tasks can also be performed over a local area network or between FTP sites as well. The program can also be used to backup files, directories, and entire drives. Asynchrophobia's user-friendly graphical interface is highly intuitive, making it a simple and cost-effective way to keep all your files, folders and systems synchronized.
Speed - The more you pay the faster you can go
Comparing High Speed Internet Access
Should you consider surfing the Internet via Cable hook-up connections, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) or wait for HDR? High Data Rate, or HDR, will be another option to consider when San Diego's Qualcomm finishes its development. HDR promises to be able to offer download speeds of 2.4 megabits per second with wireless connections.
More...
16 Oct. 1999, Vol 2 No. 41