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Gates welcomes dawn of 'new PC era' By Peter Galli, eWEEK March 26, 2001 11:57 AM PT ANAHEIM, Calif.--The PC is entering a new era in which it could become twice as valuable as it is today by bridging the digital and non-digital divide through a range of applications, Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates told thousands of attendees gathered here at the tenth annual Windows Hardware Engineers Conference. "Microsoft's key product here is Windows XP, which is the realization of our longstanding dream to take the NT code base and make it the code base for all our software products. With XP, we've achieved that," Gates said. The real promise of the PC will only be unlocked over the next few years, he said, and it faces a number of key challenges, such as the need for better collaboration, communications and productivity at home. Productivity issues to be addressed include the ability to take notes, brainstorm and hold meetings, while communications issues include screen sharing, phone and video meetings, and travel. "The better PCs of the future will be voice enabled out of the box, network-enabled with broadband, have at least 128MB of RAM, facilitate high-performance graphics, high-quality audio, much quieter performance, high-quality programs, and much quicker boot and resume times," he said. Announcing the availability of the second XP beta, Gates said this marked a highpoint for "The beta is available for download from the Microsoft site, and CDs of this will be available here at WinHEC on Tuesday afternoon," he said. "We want you to test it, play with it and give us your feedback." Tablet talk
The Tablet PC will be thin and light (less than 3 pounds) and have a high-resolution screen, a USB port and hardware slot, making plug-and-play "an absolute snap," Gates said. "But we need the hardware manufacturers, the chip manufacturers and the software application developers to all jump on board and make the Tablet PC the best technology it can be." Reiterating that Windows XP is the most significant OS release since Windows 95, and one that significantly changes the user experience, Gates said Microsoft would be introducing a host of new features in XP. "As we enter this new PC era, I firmly believe the PC will remain at the center, but users will have access to all their devices at any time from anywhere," Gates said. "The Tablet PC, Windows XP, our HailStorm Web services initiative and our .Net vision will all facilitate this." Michael Capellas, CEO of Compaq, also addressed the WinHEC conference today, saying there is an exciting new wave of applications that will meet user demand for faster, more responsive Web serv-ices that work across many devices, form factors and user interfaces. "The new world of distributed computing will have to be designed and built for a networked world that can handle data changes like high volumes and rich digital content," Capellas said. "We will also have new forms of user interfaces, while the application will reside on multiple nodes and be delivered to any form factor." Compaq is working with Microsoft on accelerating the move to distributed components and will continue the joint development of key components. "You will also see a common road map and message as Compaq commits to standing behind Windows XP," he said. "We will be introducing innovative new devices that will change the face of the PC." |
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