Office 2000 Main Page

November 9, 1998

Microsoft gets more aggressive about online registration--the Office 2000 beta won't run for long without it.

Microsoft stepped up its already insistent registration policing in the second beta of Office 2000, which was released to a group of testers last week. If a copy of the Office 2000 beta is not registered after 50 uses, it simply won't run on attempt number 51 until you contact Microsoft to register.

Microsoft billed the feature as a way to help customers register so they can best take advantage of updates and other Office resources. But clearly, another goal is to curtail software piracy, an area in which Microsoft has stepped up efforts in recent months. The feature also will gather details about millions of customers who would not normally register.

"Some Symantec products continually prompt you to register and it drives you nuts, but as far as turning it off, I haven't run into a product doing this," said Rob Enderle, a senior analyst at the Giga Information Group. "The problem Microsoft has is that people buy one copy of Word in an office and everybody copies it." The registration wizard--which John Duncan, Office product manager, said could be added to other Microsoft products in the future--likely will have to be tweaked for corporate multiuser scenarios, one beta tester suggested.

"Certainly, Microsoft will have to deal differently in shops that have users working off of the server," said the tester. Beta 2 of Office 2000, with features such as the enhanced ability to save documents in HTML, is set to enter widespread testing in the next two weeks. However, shipping of the final product has been delayed until the second quarter of 1999, although it could be in the hands of the company's biggest customers earlier.

(Bob Trott, InfoWorld)

November 7, 1998

Microsoft FrontPage 2000

Don't be confused. FrontPage 2000 is not the 2000th version of Microsoft's league-leading Web site creation and management system. It's actually the fifth revision of the product since 1995, still a pretty impressive history of tinkering. All that development work is amply reflected in the rave reviews FrontPage has enjoyed so far ... and the "2000" version (scheduled for release early next year) is already knocking the socks off beta testers. (My socks flew off too...and I have extra-flat feet from all this snooping!) Here's what I've been able to verify about FrontPage 2000:

Create exactly the site you want

The page editor is now fully WYSIWYG. Place elements exactly where you want them. No programming!

Mix & match 60 business-ready Web site "Themes" for unique, professional looking sites, instantly.
Create interactive databases on the fly and put them to work with just a few clicks.
Design sites with specific browsers in mind, like Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. (Also, use hot new Web technologies like cross-browser Dynamic HTML, CSS 2.0 positioning and Active Server Pages if you'd care to ... and who wouldn't!?)

Manage and update your site, effortlessly

New and updated features simplify site-maintenance for individuals and teams.

14 new Site Reports help you quickly diagnose and fix problems, site-wide.
Use Check-In and Check-Out for collaborative version control, security, approval levels, etc.
Category Component keeps track of pages you categorize and automatically creates and updates hyperlinks to them.
For super-specific jobs, your IT folks can pile-on custom solutions and add-ons via Visual Basic^® for Applications 6.0.

Works Great with Microsoft Office

FrontPage 2000 will look mighty familiar when you fire it up. It's now officially a member of the Microsoft Office family.

Office menus and Office toolbars are shared and Office features like Format Painter, Background Spell Checker, Answer Wizard and HTML Help are available right in the program.
FrontPage Editor and FrontPage Explorer are now integrated into a single application.
You (and anyone with permission) can save Office 2000 documents like Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint^® presentations and Word documents directly to a FrontPage 2000 Web site.

In fact, FrontPage 2000 will be packaged with higher-end versions of Office 2000!

Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 Info

Don't overlook Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 to add a touch of class to your Web site graphics. Create and enhance Web or print images quic kly and easily to create a unified look.

Work on photos, clip art and text at the same time, with the same tools, all in one program.
Create small, high-impact images optimized for the Web.
Import your own photos and artwork or select from a library of more than 20,000 images.
Choose from 200 built-in special effects, in multiple resolutions, so your creation looks great in print and online.

--Microsoft Confidental

November 6, 1998

Office 2000 has been delayed about a quarter..... That will extent the long beta period about two months. No word if FrontPage 2000 will be delayed also.

November 3, 1998

Beta 2 was received by many today, containing 7 CDs. The gigantic package contained 7 CDs, YES 7! Besides the Office 2000 Beta 2 CDs themselves, included in the package were, FrontPage 2000, IE 5.0 Beta 2, MS Publisher and PhotoDraw 2000.(Betanews.com)