Microsoft updates slimmed-down Windows

As part of its effort to assuage European authorities, Microsoft has made changes to its Windows XP N--the slimmed-down version of the operating system it was ordered to offer last year.

Microsoft said on Wednesday that the revamped software will be made available to computer makers next week in five language versions and will be available for retailers July 1. Ten additional language versions will go on sale in July, Microsoft said. The software will be available in Home and Professional editions and is priced the same as the full-featured versions.

The software maker was ordered to offer a version of Windows without a bundled media player last year as part of the European Commission's wide-ranging order against Microsoft. The new changes to that version came as part of Microsoft's effort to appease regulators in Europe, who have charged that Microsoft has not fully complied with the year-old order.

One of the most visible changes is the name of the software itself. Microsoft had originally wanted to call the software "Reduced Media Edition," but changed it in March to Windows XP N after European regulators objected.

The new retail box for the software includes an explanation of what the N stands for, noting in a starburst box that XP Home Edition N means "Not with Windows Media Player."

Changes under the hood are relatively modest. Microsoft said it has agreed to a change requested by RealNetworks in how certain media file types are registered in Windows. Microsoft has removed sample music files from the My Music folder, as well as access to Windows Movie Maker.

Microsoft also said it will make available from its Web site a media pack that will restore all of the standard Windows XP files that have been removed in the N edition, should users wish to regain those features.

The software maker released the original Media Player-less version to computer makers in January, but thus far no PCs are shipping with the software, according to a Microsoft representative.

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What's Next?

Thanks to EC, in the near future all U.S. cars exporting to Europe will only have 3 wheels and 3 seats as a "slimmed down" version :)

Ridiculous Analogy

You are saying that car makers make their own wheels and their own seats. This is obviously not the case. You don't get Honda wheels with your Accord. If in fact they did, the wheel companies would be mightily mad. Car manufacturers have contracts with suppliers for necessary car parts, because they know it's not their business to be designing stereos, rugs, windshield wipers, etc.

Besides, a car with three wheels is undrivable without shelling some money for a fourth wheel. A computer with Windows XP N can be patched for free with the Windows Media Player or with the player of your choice. I say that Real and the like have a chance to strike a deal with European OEM's.
(OEM installs N and RealPlayer with links to Rhapsody, RealArcade, etc) and Real shells out some cash. That's how it should work anyways.

If MS devoted itself to the heart of its Windows franchise, it would not be such an embarrasing product.

Imagine how I could make an MS employee feel uncomfortable: "Oh, you work at MS, the company that makes Windows, the buggy and insecure software that I use."

Note: I am a fully patched Windows XP user with RealPlayer installed. I do not dislike the Windows user experience, I however feel that MS's priorities are not in line with reality. I would be embarrased to tell the world that I am one of the developers of Internet Explorer.

[wazzledoozle]

EU should have gone further

And required Microsoft to offer a version of windows without IE, WMP, and all the other "extras"
Just the core OS.

I like WMP, but I cna understand that some dont. But id rather have a clean OS than one with IE and other microsoft generic bundled in crap.

[Earl Benser]

A long long time ago...

Bill Gates set out to dominate the computer software market. His
technique was to inccorporate a MS version of every application
he could find into the OS. To eliminate user choices, he left
significant parts of the OS code in these bundled applications so
that they couldn't be removed withut damaging the OS. And he
has been very successful at achieving his goal.

On the other hand, the Windows OS that resulted is full of
functional holes and security problems. The innovated apps
don't run all that well, and you 're just flat stuck with them. And
when MS gets their ears pinned back by the EU to stop at least
some of this marketing plague, the price on the modified
Windows OS box doesn't change. Less crap for the same amount
of money makes sense at MS.

It's just too bad that 98% of the PC users aren't conscious
enough to get at least a little ticked at the MS hudspah.

i need help

I made a powerpoint presentation for school and I really want to keep it on a CD so I always have it because I spent so much time on it but I madeit on a friends computer and the music is linked to her computer and I want to somehow put it on the CD so the link goes to the CD. How do I do this?

[Earl Benser]

Go back the the friend...

... on her computer, build a folder which has all the files involved in
your presentation. Make sure that your presentation uses the audio
files in the folder. Then burn the folder to a new CD.

Writing Powerpoint to CD

Depending on the version of Powerpoint, check under the file menu, with the presentation loaded, and you should have an option called "package to CD"

Use that to copy the presentation and all associated media to a CD, you can then run the presentation from the CD anytime

Hope that helps

A