Microsoft talks up Millennium

Microsoft Corporation last week gave technical beta testers their first look at Millennium, the next version of Windows for consumers, which is scheduled to ship late next year. This initial release is a "pre-beta" designed for developers and other technical reviewers only; as such, it doesn't represent an accurate look at the final product. Microsoft group product manager Shawn Sanford says that the new release will be easier to use than Windows 98.

"Millennium is going to be a very significant release for home users," Sanford says. "We're really working toward simplifying the computing experience for home users."

According to Sanford, Millennium is designed to improve the Internet experience, make it easy to setup a home network, and make it easy to work with vide, audio, and graphical images. Indeed, Microsoft will focus Millennium on the following technologies:

"The Consumer Windows Division is focused on truly making computing easy for consumers," says David Cole, vice president of the Consumer Windows Division at Microsoft. "We are excited to reach this first milestone on the path toward delivering a version of Windows specifically designed to enable consumers to take full advantage of their PCs in the 21st century.