Microsoft is betting businesses are quickly developing a taste for instant messaging and digital media functions, long held as the domain of consumers. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates alluded to the new features in his Comdex keynote speech Sunday night when he revealed the company will release Windows .Net Server Beta 3 later this month. But there is a catch: For now, at least, many of the most compelling features will be available only when .Net Server is used with the Windows XP operating system. The connection created between the desktop and the server clarifies why many apparently consumer-oriented features are found in both Windows XP versions--Home and the business-oriented Professional. Instant messaging, videoconferencing, chat and the streaming content, for example, would appear to appeal more to consumers than to businesses. But Microsoft clearly sees big potential for these technologies in the corporate market.
|