Microsoft (MSFT
) is a software maker to the bone. It doesn't have a service mentality. So it sometimes overlooks practical considerations, such as the fact that most people still take photos with old-fashioned cameras, not digital ones. And that helps explain why the Internet features that will come packaged next month with Microsoft's Windows XP will be a good addition to Web surfing, but not a transformative one.
Part of the buzz about XP has been that it improves the integration of an operating system with online services, such as personal Web-page publishing and photo services, and makes it easier to build home networks that tap everybody in your house into the Net. A few of these services, especially Microsoft's integration of XP with the personal home-page publishing section of the MSN portal, are easy to use and versatile. But most are only modest improvements, at best, over what's already out there.
First, let's talk about the good stuff. My favorite thing about XP is how easy it makes building a Web page on its MSN portal that combines text, pictures, and music. Microsoft has simplified it to a five-step process easily accessible from the start page, similar to the click-here programs we all know from installing new software.
Microsoft's Passport personal-information manager existed before XP, but, like the company's browser and media-player applications, which can both be downloaded separately, it has now been built into the heart of the operating system. Passport is a minor timesaver. You type in your personal data. Then, when you go on the Net, you sign in once and don't have to remember a password for each Web site. And, if you chose to add credit-card and mailing information, you can buy items on participating Web sites without retyping all of that.
But this level of convenience is an exception. Take XP's online photo service. The new operating system contains direct links to two different online photo-service providers--Eastman Kodak Co. (EK
) and Fuji Photo Film Co. (FUJIY
) Both links only let you upload your digital photos to the Web, edit them, and order prints. Neither handles traditional film processing, as a raft of online services do. Since most consumers still use film cameras rather than digital, that's a major omission. Microsoft should offer services that provide traditional film developing before XP ships in October--something the company says it's considering.
Microsoft also comes up short when it tries to simplify home networking. It has built a perfectly decent wizard--again, good software--to guide folks through the process of connecting PCs in their homes so they can share a single Internet connection. The problem? You're faced with a 12-step set of instructions that calls for mapping out a network and identifying what hubs, modems, and adapters you need to connect the PCs. My advice: Hire a pro. Microsoft could help by creating an online directory of local outfits that can install the networks.
When it comes to downloading music off the Web, Windows XP doesn't do much. Its My Music feature takes you to the extremely limited music-download offerings of WindowsMedia.com.
There's a lot to like about XP. It doesn't crash very often, for instance. But until Microsoft learns how to deliver rich Web services to consumers, its operating system will continue to be less than it could be.
Copyright 2001 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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