SAN JOSE, Calif.--Windows XP will help pull the PC market out of its tailspin in 2002, according to one of Microsoft's key executives, because it gives consumers a lot more reasons to upgrade than did its predecessors. "The timing is incredibly good for the PC industry right now," Jim Allchin, group vice president at Microsoft, said during a speech at the Intel Developer Forum on Tuesday. "We should have a very good next year, and when I say we, I mean the industry." The PC industry has been in a slump for almost a full year. Sales will likely decline for the first time ever in 2001, according to many analysts, and few executives have been willing to give optimistic predictions about the future. In the midst of this gloom, Microsoft will launch the next version of its operating system Oct. 25.
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