Windows & .NET Magazine reports that I asked Microsoft to clarify the Windows XP Reloaded situation but the company isn't ready to discuss this product. (See my original report about XP Reloaded.) "We look forward to outlining all the details but at this time we don't have anything to announce," a Microsoft representative told me yesterday. But I think I can answer a few of the most common questions I've received. First, XP Reloaded will ship in late 2004 and will consist of free, downloadable consumer-oriented updates to XP. So if you're already an XP user, fear not; this release won't involve any Apple Computer-style upgrade price gouging. Microsoft won't rename the OS XP Reloaded; instead, the add-on kit for existing XP users will be called XP Reloaded (although that might not be the final name of the add-on kit, either). And no, XP Reloaded isn't XP Second Edition and won't be marketed as such. However, a new version of Windows Media Player (WMP) is part of the deal; we can expect to find out more about that release--and the other XP Reloaded components--in the coming months. Until then, Microsoft is more interested in concentrating on the security-oriented XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), which is understandable. Stay tuned.

Windows & .NET Magazine