Like yet another rodent abandoning the USS Microsoft as she sinks into the icy deep, senior executive Paul Maritz on September 14 announced intentions to step down as Vice president of the Platforms Strategy and Developer Group. Maritz, a 14 year Microsoft veteran, survived an internal battle last year over the future of Windows and was then put in charge of the .NET strategy. Not long after that Maritz took a sabbatical to "relax" on his farm in Zimbabwe, but a spokesman said he would remain on as a platform development consultant. This latest resignation increases the distance between Maritz and Microsoft, reducing him to little more than a figurehead to keep investors from thinking every last sane person has departed the company.
Maritz joins Brad Silverberg, Nathan Myhrvold, Greg Maffei, Tod Neilsen, and Pete Higgins (among many many others) on the list of Microsoft executives who have departed in the last 18 months. Platform Products Group head Jim Allchin also recently stepped away from the company, although he is scheduled to return any time now [see NewsSource, May 29]. With both Allchin and Maritz away from the wheel (and Steve Ballmer busy acting like a mentally challenged clown at trade shows around the world), we have to assume that "chief software architect" Bill Gates is now steering the strategies for both Windows and .NET. Considering all that, it's certainly no wonder that the company's org charts haven't been updated since last year.
ALSO SEE: WinInfo, ZDNet

On September 14, Windows ME launched with almost no fanfare, excepting the small promotional tour we mentioned a few weeks ago [see NewsSource, Sep. 04]. The product has actually been on sale since mid-August as a preload inside computer systems from larger OEMs, but small assemblers and retail stores were prevented from selling it until the 14th. However, Microsoft has been allowing stores to accept orders for the product since mid-summer, so by now there is actually a pretty significant number of 'orders' piled up in the channel.
Microsoft combined the pre-release and post-release retail sales and bragged about selling 250,000 of WinME in its first four days of release, then went on to predict an additional 150,000 copies would go before October 1. That number is a little hard to swallow, considering that (historically anyway) newly released OSes only sell significantly during their first week on the market. And that's sales for real OS updates like Windows 95 - overpriced service packs like 98 and ME only see success as PC preloads.
ALSO SEE: C|Net, The Register, C|Net

As is traditional with Microsoft operating systems, Windows ME bug reports started flooding in a few days before launch and have continued heavily ever since. According to reports we've seen, the new system is incompatible with dozens of critical utilities from Symantec, Quarterdeck, and McAfee (among others), has problems with AOL's Instant Messenger application (which competes with a Microsoft product) and has a potentially serious security problem relating to an included 'interactive TV' software package. Most of the problems are caused by Microsoft's elimination of some older code like the DOS compatibility layer, and will not be fixed by the release of patches or updates.
ALSO SEE: Wired News, ZDNet

Last issue we reported that AT&T and several other large telecoms were on the verge of dumping Microsoft's interactive television software because so far the company has failed to deliver [see NewsSource, Sep. 04]. We are happy to tell you that AT&T, United Pan-Europe Communications, and Telewest have now all made official decisions to abandon Microsoft, despite its multi-billion dollar investments in each of them. The beneficiary of that decision is Liberate Technologies, a small publicly traded company backed by Oracle, Netscape/AOL, Sony, and Cox Communications. This shows just how little leverage Microsoft has when dealing with companies that don't depend on Office or Windows to survive.
ALSO SEE: The Register, The Register, WinInfo

With sales of Windows CE-based PDAs tanking, Microsoft has returned to a product category it abandoned two years ago because of low demand - the mid-size palmtop PC [see NewsSource, Oct. 11 '99]. The recently introduced 'Handheld PC 2000' platform is slightly smaller than a standard laptop and boots a tad faster, but the device will only run software designed for Wince, and it costs more than a low-end desktop computer. The first HPC 2000 product scheduled for release (and the only one, so far as we can tell) is the Hewlett-Packard Jornada 720, an updated version of a product that failed to sell in 1997. Compaq, IBM, Phillips, and other OEMs who made Wince-based HPC devices in the past have apparently made the decision to sit this one out.
ALSO SEE: InfoWorld, WinInfo

Thousands of MSN Internet Access customers were given a surprise on the 15th - in the form of an unauthorized charge on their credit cards ranging from $504 to $1000. By late afternoon MSN's support center was flooded with calls from irate customers, who were advised to call the card-issuing bank and then dial a special MSN refund number to work out a refund. A Microsoft spokeswoman later said the problem was caused by an errant script being tested in conjunction with some new billing software. While MSN has owned up to the problem, it has not issued any alerts to customers who must determine from their individual credit card billing statements if an overcharge has occurred. Not that it matters much, since (even minus those accidental charges) anyone using MSN Internet Access is overpaying to begin with.
ALSO SEE: Wired News

Still unable to make a dent in the online music scene using legitimate means, Microsoft has opened its considerable wallet and purchased another innovator in that field for an undisclosed sum. The latest beneficiary of Microsoft largesse is MongoMusic, provider of a streaming radio service that allows users to browse music by style or artist. The company will now convert its music archives to Windows Media format and move an entire staff of 60 to Redmond.
Viacom's CBS television network has entered an agreement to provide 'interactive programming' for WebTV inside its broadcast signal. According to a statement, at least 500 hours of WebTV content will be made available in the 2000/2001 season through various CBS shows. This is the first time a major broadcast outlet has agreed to carry WebTV programming.
Microsoft has struck agreements with five Japanese automobile electronics manufacturers to produce Windows CE-based software that will provide hands-free communications, emergency services and roadside assistance in the car-based version of Wince. The complete systems are promised for launch in late 2001 or 2002.

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