Does anyone know when Win XP is suppose to be realeased? Also I am curious as to what is going to happen to MP3´s in the new OS because I have heard that they will not function correctly, is anyone worried or upset by this?

They are suppose to have two release candidates available sometime around June. You can sign up to recieve one of these and be a beta tester for a fee of $9.95

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!

yepp, I am worried and upset about it. at least what I read about WinXP at www.theregister.co.uk
don't know how much of it is actually true but most sounds likely. the crippeling of mp3 is a major issue I think. but even worse seems the product activation process. I don't like the idea to ring them up after installing WinXP and every time I install or exchange some parts of my computer. happens more often than one might think.
I'm quite sure that M$ is already collecting more data about us via the current Windows versions installed on our computers and connected to the internet than we know about.
I know, that sounds extremely paranoid but what keeps them from having trojan horses in their own products?
but my biggest question is: why should I upgrade to WinXP anyway? I didn't do the step from win98 to winME cause I can't see any improvement there.
I use mostly win2k now. is surprisingly stable and comfortable to use. and plays mp3 files as they should sound.

respect!

Microsoft has a history of doing things like this. Office 2000 has the same anti-piracy code and it will drive expert computer users totally nuts! Especially ones that change their hardware more than 10 times (then the OS forces you to re-install) Why? Because Microsoft wants to make sure you just didn't get this copy of Windows from the friend next door. THEY DON'T TRUST THE CONSUMER (YOU)! But they seem to trust big coorporations. Do you know how much piracy goes on in most big coorporations?

Microsoft is going to really make a lot of pro computer users very angry and make them rush out and buy the newest version of Linux. The philosophy of Linux is totally opposite of Microsoft's. Linux is open source so you can go in and change anything if you have the skills. That is why software developers do not like Linux...they don't want their apps/games re-programmed. It is as easy to see a source code in Linux as it is to see the HTML of a website.

Like I've said many times; this anti-piracy crap Microsoft is pulling will only increase piracy. Hackers and Crackers will be working full time to crack the code. I mean the MPAA thought their DVD encryption was impossible to break...but a 14 year old hacker broke it and sent it everywhere. And a couple of MIT students accually was able to write a program (only 6 lines of code) to break down the encryption. And when the RIAA sued Napster; what happened? The piracy increased! In fact; now it is worse now than it ever was.

So I wouldn't worry too much about it. Within a day there will be hacks posted everywhere. But Microsoft is only going to increase the amount of Linux and Mac users with their anti-piracy.

BTW...Microsoft also now says they will not support USB 2.0 since they want to explore their own type of connection devices that are "better." Did I hear someone say, "Monopoly."