The Tweak Monkeys at Tweak3D have posted a Windows XP tweak guide showing how to get most out of Microsoft's newest OS.

If you're not entirely up to date on Microsoft's latest OS Windows XP, you might wanna give this FAQ on NT Compatible a read.

Microsoft has announced that Windows XP has gone gold and is shipping to computer manufacturers today. It's due to be in stores around the 25th of October although some manufacturers might ship it earlier than that. Of course Microsoft will party as always when they release a new OS. It hasn't been announced if Steve Balmer will do his infamous monkey dance again. Also, MS has announced the official pricing for Windows XP. The Home Edition upgrade version costs $99, the full version $199. The Pro edition will cost $199 for the upgrade, and $299 for the full version.

According to a CNET story we might actually be seeing Windows XP early, instead of late. Microsoft is allowing PC makers to ship the new OS a month earlier than expected. The OS is supposed to officially launch on October 25. Some expected the OS to ship later than that due to all the lawsuits various companies/people are bringing on against Microsoft. But instead, MS is pressing ahead so that it will beat any injuction that might delay the introduction. WinXP integrates even more programs with the OS than previous Windows releases, and it's already known the court isnt too happy with Microsoft integrating IE with previous Windows releases.

Getting Windows XP on new systems ahead of the scheduled Oct. 25 launch could help Microsoft fend off possible injunctions against Windows XP, which is an upgrade from Windows 95, 98, Me and 2000. Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, last month asked the Justice Department and 18 states to seek an injunction delaying Windows XP's scheduled launch.
Publicly, Microsoft Group Vice President Jim Allchin said the company had no contingency plan should an injunction be issued against Windows XP. But sources close to Microsoft said the company is concerned about the possibility.

Well, despite all the legal wranglings going on, Microsoft is moving forward with finishing up their latest OS. WindowsXP is "nearing the finish line" with sending out RC2, the "final testing candidate"

AnandTech has a pretty good write-up of WindowsXP taking a look at one of the more recent builds of the OS that is slated to be released soon (But may be held up in court)

I made a mention of this in ER yesterday but it looks like it's gaining some steam. We know from the past that the courts were able to slow MS down a bit but in the end MS will prolly just get a slap on the hand. But getting a new OS delayed is pretty interesting stuff:

privacy concerns regarding Windows XP. During a Tuesday press conference, Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked federal and state trustbusters to consider taking action that would delay Windows XP's release. He also called on Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to hold hearings on the matter. [...] Also Tuesday, software maker InterTrust amended an existing lawsuit against Microsoft, asking for an injunction against Windows XP.  [...] state attorneys general said they, too, would consider an injunction to delay Windows XP's launch

That's a lot of people.

Looks like MS is going to be making some changes to the anti-piracy stuff because of XP's not-so-willingness to get along with hardware upgrades.

Looks like Microsoft is changing their licensing agreement a bit. They are allowing OEMs to remove the IE icons which according to the article MS claimed at one time would break the OS. Speaking of MS here's an interesting article too. Thanks Drucifer

A couple of bits on WindowsXP as the new Microsoft OS is getting closer to release. We've had all kinds of noise being made about the .NET stuff and the registration system etc. but what its coming down to is what the heck does the OS really offer that is new? Well we've got an interview on GSUK with a MS drone (Thanks Eric)

GSUK: What will Windows XP offer gamers?

Mark Croft: I think the key things here are you get your in-built DirectX 8.1. Okay, you could put that on Win 98 or Millennium, but on a technical level, XP is running in a kernel mode driver. So, if you like its amazing implementation, when we get everything lined up with the graphics cards, that should give us really good performance.   There will be more stability. We do more work with error checking with graphics handling in Windows XP, than we've done in any version of Win 9x. [As for] the high end graphics card manufacturers - [they're focused on] people who are buying PCs now, and what gamers are using now. Does XP add any new features? No.

Well jeeze.. it's better than Win9x for stability (No mention of Win2K) and doesnt add any new features. Even a MS guy trying to pitch the OS doesnt seem to offer any compelling reasons to switch for gamers. (I've been running Win2K for a long while now btw.. highly recommended). Also, NTCompatible has put together a WindowsXP FAQ worth reading.

Looks Microsoft changed it's mind on Smart Tags when it comes to Windows XP (Story). Windows XP won't have the feature, for now. Smart Tags can be used for such things as showing you links to Microsoft content similar to the content of the site you are currently on. Thanks the archvile.

If you thought Microsoft was spending a lot of money with its $500 million Xbox campaign, looks like the ad campaign for Windows XP will cost about $1 billion. Microsoft will do this together with Intel, PC makers and retailers. MS and Intel will spend $500 million, and the PC makers and retailers will do the same. Crazy stuff.

The anti-trust trial hasn't even ended yet but two of the state attorneys general are already looking at a possible 2nd case against Microsoft. They're concerned about Windows XP and the new Internet .NET strategy which is on it's way too. The attorney generals feels Microsoft might be doing the same type of program binding (such as an integrated IM client) that Judge Jackson deemed illegal in the anti-trust case.

Microsoft has officially announced the system requirements for the upcoming Windows XP OS they'll be releasing later this year. Although processor speed isn't particulary high at 233mhz, you will need 128mb of RAM and 1.5gb of hard drive space. Thanks klerck.

GameSpot has a article on WindowsXP and how the OS will impact gamers. Someone skim through there and find a good reason to use it instead of Win2k?

According to CNet, AOL and Microsoft talks about a new contract broke down on Friday. Earlier we reported about MS including AOL software with Windows XP. This probably won't happen but MS still hopes to work with AOL to get their software working with the OS at least.

Oh yes this is what we really need, Microsoft "correcting" hyperlinks. Office XP will supposedly remove any slash from an URL that doesn't belong there (according to Microsoft of course). Who asked for this? Anyone? Thanks the archvile.

According to this story on MSNBC, client software of America's finest ISP America Online will be bundled with the upcoming Windows XP OS by Microsoft. Thanks PsYk0. In return, AOL will only include Internet Explorer with their service. This is pretty bad news for Netscape, especially since AOL owns Netscape.

There's a story on Yahoo about how AOL hates Microsoft even more nowadays. Windows XP will be packing several new features such as integrated messaging, DVD player and CD recording and AOL is pretty upset about it and is crying foul play. This of course because AOL has AIM and ICQ and sees the integrated MSN messaging client as an attempt by MS to gain a monopoly in the instant messaging market.

More money for The Microsoft, as they are changing their licensing plan for upgrading to OfficeXP. Basically if business customers don't upgrade before October 1, they'll pay pretty much full price afterwards. Nice.