08/23/2001

By DOUG BEDELL / The Dallas Morning News

Bill Hill / Special to DMN

Microsoft's upcoming Windows XP "XPerience" operating system has plenty of users, politicians and privacy groups "XPeeved." Some are even calling for a halt to the planned Oct. 25 retail release.

Experts and Microsoft representatives say a delay in the $1 billion launch is unlikely. But the furor raised by XP's early versions has prompted the company to make alterations.

"We're trying to listen pretty hard to people expressing concerns," says Mark Croft, Microsoft Windows lead product manager. "We still want to do more work in that area, for sure."

Already, Microsoft has scuttled plans to include Smart Tags inside the XP version of Internet Explorer 6.0. That feature produced Web links from highlighted key words found inside text. But rivals contended that Microsoft could use the tags to direct Net traffic to the company's partners.

Meanwhile, Internet message boards are filled with heated discussions of XP's anti-piracy technology, which essentially weds each copy of the operating system, or OS, to a single machine. America Online, Kodak and others complain that their icons and products are being pushed off the desktop in favor of Microsoft's own.

Privacy advocates are railing against Passport, an identity authentication service that will enable users to do business at various Web sites with a single password. And consumer groups say the OS infuses Microsoft software products with XP code, furthering an illegal desktop monopoly.

A U.S. appeals court ruled in June that Microsoft tried to illegally maintain an operating system monopoly by tying its Internet Explorer browser to Windows 95 in an effort to kill off a challenge from rival browser Netscape.

XP, says Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-NY, must be stopped because it represents a continuation of anti-competitive practices.

"Simply put, Microsoft plans to use XP to take over digital photography, instant messaging, media players and a host of other applications," Mr. Schumer said.

The October launch of Windows XP will be the biggest marketing event in Microsoft history, the company says.

Industry analysts say the introduction of the more stable OS is vital to the recovery of the slumping personal computer market. But the controversy over XP's design does not bode well, experts say.

Mr. Schumer has joined a coalition of Microsoft competitors and consumer groups in asking antitrust regulators to block XP's release. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he also plans to confront Microsoft officials about XP at a congressional antitrust hearing next month.

But many of the key issues for home users are likely to remain in tact, despite the bureaucratic wrangling, Mr. Croft says.

"We're in complete lockdown mode internally," he says. If there are changes, he says, they will be minor adjustments.

Product activation

In the past, end users were legally bound to limit OS installations to a single machine. Users simply entered key codes found on the back of their software CD to activate programs. Licensing required users to adhere to the one-copy/one-machine rule, but it has never been enforceable.

In fact, this method of copy protection easily allowed "casual piracy" or "softlifting" – terms Microsoft uses to describe consumers who allowed friends or family members to pass around copies of the OS CD and key codes, permitting multiple installations from a single disk.

With Windows XP, home users will be able to install the product using the usual CD key code. But after 30 days, XP will require a second step or the entire operating system will refuse to boot.

Under the latest test release of Windows XP (RC-2), the operating system takes a snapshot of the machine it is running on and converts it to a code. The code must be transmitted via the Net or by phone to remain operational.

On the surface, Windows Product Activation is painless. A single click, and a legal copy of XP is fully authorized by a Microsoft Web server. If users aren't connected to the Net, they are directed to phone Microsoft and read off the code.

While the process may seem unintrusive, its architecture contains numerous problems, say some testers, privacy groups and computer professionals.

Privacy experts worry that registration information (name, address, phone and e-mail) could be matched with activation codes to create a database for tracking Web movement. Microsoft denies it has such plans (see www.microsoft.com/piracy/ basics/xp_activation.asp) and points out that registration is voluntary, unlike the activation process.

However, a formal complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (epic.org) and a dozen other groups takes Microsoft to task on that issue. Registration is hardly voluntary when it is required for "customers who want to receive future communications on product updates," it says.

On another front, users are concerned that they will run into activation problems any time they make hardware changes. If the hardware profile changes too drastically, Windows will think it has been installed on a second machine and will stop working until the user calls Microsoft for a new key code.

Microsoft insists the product activation code will let people install most new hardware without requiring another activation. XP will allow changes to six PC components without requiring reactivation as long as the network card isn't replaced.

But no matter how much Microsoft explains XP, the handwringing persists. The August edition of PC World magazine compiled a long list of user bellyaches under the title "Readers to Microsoft: Copy Controls? No Way!"

In newsgroups such as microsoft.public.windowsxp.beta.basics, users worry that they won't be able to uninstall the OS on one machine, then load it into another.

"I won't be upgrading," says longtime Windows user Donny Borker. "They're punishing me for something others are doing wrong. It's unacceptable."

"Our challenge is to try and distinguish between a legitimate customization of the PC versus a potential act of pirating," Mr. Croft says. "I've had a bunch of feedback from the hard-core enthusiast. We absolutely don't want to make their lives difficult or alienate them in any way."

Passport

Passport is the first step in Microsoft's .Net strategy to host Internet services, then charge for access. Passport stores user log-ins, passwords and credit card information to streamline online purchasing. Microsoft markets Passport to other Web sites and uses it to control access to its own, including the popular e-mail service Hotmail.

Windows XP requires users to sign up for a Passport account to use the newest version of MSN Messenger, an expanded video- and text-messaging service designed to compete with AOL's Instant Messenger service.

ProComp and privacy groups say Microsoft could combine data from Passport accounts with other XP and product databases, creating a dossier about people's movements and purchases from all Web sites that use Passport.

"Microsoft has announced that it plans to collect and use information about users in a fashion that goes well beyond anything ever contemplated by any private business," says a ProComp white paper ( www.procompetition.org/headlines/WhitePaper6_21.pdf).

Microsoft has pledged to keep identifying information secure on its servers. But privacy experts contend Web sites that require Passport accounts for access won't have to adhere to the same rules. Microsoft counters that Passport membership is voluntary, so those who worry about privacy don't have to use it.

Icon wars

For example, XP comes with enhanced abilities to recognize digital cameras and move photographs to the Web for sharing with friends and family. Once photos are downloaded from a camera, a Web publishing wizard pops up to guide users to services that simplify Net photo-sharing.

Kodak is among vendors complaining that their Web publishing options are being excluded. The company is in negotiations that may result in its inclusion in XP's design. But similar complaints are arising from AOL and third-party software makers that have built companies around Windows add-on products.

Windows XP comes bundled with a primitive firewall, for example. Firewalls protect computers from dangerous viruses and intruders. By including a firewall, Microsoft is once again using OS features to push its own products ahead of competition, critics say.

Microsoft seems confident that XP will ship on time. Although tweaks may be made to the design, the final code is only days from completion, the company says.

Despite the critics, Mr. Croft says, the features in the new OS will go a long way toward reviving a moribund PC industry.

Whether a massive PR campaign can produce the same lines at stores that greeted Windows 95, Mr. Croft would not guess.

"What we're trying to do is get across the general perception that, gee, the PC has changed a great deal in the last year or two," Mr. Croft says. "If you get a good, modern PC with this new operating system, you're actually getting a fantastic home user device."