Microsoft Corp said that it will sell an extra software pack that works with its new version of Windows, adding games and features that demonstrate the operating systems' new graphics and music capabilities.
Microsoft will sell the Plus for Window XP package for US$40 and stores began taking orders yesterday to ship on Oct. 25 when XP hits stores, said Microsoft's Geordie Wilson, a product manager in the company's Windows digital media division.
Windows XP, the latest version of the operating system that runs more than 90 percent of personal computers, was expected to help repair the declining PC market.
The Plus Pack is intended to help show the new features of XP, which analysts have cautioned may not sell as well as initially expected because consumer and business spending is declining in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Windows XP is compatible with PCs released since the holiday season of 1999 but the Plus package required a newer computer.
The graphical features and games can only run well on a PC with a video card released in the last six to nine months, Wilson said.
The product offers games and voice recognition commands for the Microsoft Windows Media Player software for playing audio and video files, as well as new designs and graphics.
The pack allows users to choose a design theme for their PC, such as aquarium, which changes the user's cursor to a seashell, sets up a background with a picture of starfish and adds water and screeching seagull sounds when you close and open programs and applications.
The graphics features and games take advantage of Windows XP's ability to render shading and light in a more realistic fashion that past versions of Windows. Games include a bowling game and a puzzle game called Russian Square.
Audio features include the ability to have the computer make random play lists of music files the user has stored based on type of music, artist or album. Users can then design and print a compact disc booklet to go with CDs they create.
The program also stores information on the sound distortion of many common PC speakers and can adjust to compensate, making cheaper speakers sound better, Wilson said.
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
CROSS-STRAIT COLLABORATION: The new KMT chairwoman expressed interest in meeting the Chinese president from the start, but she’ll have to pay to get in Beijing allegedly agreed to let Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) around the Lunar New Year holiday next year on three conditions, including that the KMT block Taiwan’s arms purchases, a source said yesterday. Cheng has expressed interest in meeting Xi since she won the KMT’s chairmanship election in October. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a consensus on a meeting was allegedly reached after two KMT vice chairmen visited China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) in China last month. Beijing allegedly gave the KMT three conditions it had to
STAYING ALERT: China this week deployed its largest maritime show of force to date in the region, prompting concern in Taipei and Tokyo, which Beijing has brushed off Deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority, the White House said in its National Security Strategy published yesterday, which also called on Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to help protect the first island chain. Taiwan is strategically positioned between Northeast and Southeast Asia, and provides direct access to the second island chain, with one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea, the report said. Given the implications for the US economy, along with Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductors, “deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said. However, the strategy also reiterated
RSS