He flattered the group (as any good PR person should) by mentioning all of the things he heard us discuss and the great, entertaining venue here. He had also attended the meeting when we had a presentation on the PocketPC. He was very impressed with our knowledge base.

He set out to show us which of the two programs would be right for us as we consider the scope of the work we do on our computers. Windows 98 and ME are both based on the 9x architecture, and both are appropriate for use on a personal PC. Windows 2000, on the other hand, is a little bit different. It is based on the NT kernel, and several different varieties exist: Windows 2000 Professional is the version to use on the desktop at home or at the office. Windows 2000 is for the small business. Windows 2000 Advanced Server is for a medium- to large-sized business. There is also the Windows 2000 data center server, which is for something like NASDAQ or the Chicago Stock Exchange.

There are some small mobility devices: CE devices and PocketPCs. Some car stereos also have a Windows operating system. A huge number of products run Windows. Eric then showed us Windows 2000 Professional and told us why there is a lot of hype of this product. He said that it is the most reliable operating system that Microsoft has produced, which is very important in mission-critical operations—in making sure that terminals or businesses do not go down. IT administration costs have hit the roof, and Microsoft is trying to make sure that they are kept to a minimum.

"Windows 2000 is about security," Eric said, "it is about administration, it is about things like remote installation services so that IT administrators can work remotely with other people's computers." It is not for the hard core gamer nor for us at home.

He pointed out that one major advance is its reliability for working on the Internet. On a personal note, he said that at Microsoft they do everything on the Internet; he does not get a paycheck stub—he prints it from a website; and it seems that more and more companies also work a lot on the internet.

Windows 2000 is easy to use, with the look and feel of Windows 98 or Windows ME, and is not as daunting as Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0. He pointed out that it also works well for mobile computing. He has an old Techra 233 with 128 megs of RAM that is on its last legs, but still runs Windows 2000 perfectly.

New features have been added to even the most basic portions of the operating system. The look and feel has changed, and it has become a lot easier to find things. NT has been daunting, but Windows 2000 has things in all the familiar places. Another great feature is being able to add devices without having to go to the control panel, where you would have to load all of the separate drivers. Now you can add printers from a wizard opened by an icon on the screen.

Many mobile computing features have been incorporated into Windows 2000. Making connections is tough under NT, but now it is considerably easier with the new network and dial-up connections dialog box. VPN is the number one choice; there is also ISDN.

Eric asked those who have NT 3.51 or NT 4.0 and remember what it was like how many reboots it takes to install a simple device on their computer? Answer: 30.

"Good answer," he said. He didn't think it was quite that bad, but admitted that, yes, it is a little bit difficult to add a new device. He demonstrated installing an Intellimouse Explorer optical mouse, a device that would require rebooting a couple of times, but was installed as he talked.

Windows 2000 comes native with both infrared and USB capabilities. (He highly recommended the optical mouse: they do not have to be cleaned anymore; the ball does not need to be removed to get all the junk off the sides; it is all ready to go, never gets dirty, and it tracks perfectly every time.)

Just installing a network card was a big deal with NT 4.0. Windows 2000 now has plug-and-play support. To demonstrate, Eric inserted his Ethernet card in his computer, which beeped twice, and was then installed. He pointed out that everything is very easy, which may not seem like a big deal for those who have not used NT; but for those who have, this makes a big difference and saves a considerable amount of time.

Windows 2000 has some interesting administration features. Using the administrative tools, you have the ability to change all of the parameters of the computer. Computer Management will open up a tree that allows selecting users for networking, and lets you see lots of information on your computer. You can tweak your operating system to make it work exactly as you want.

Unfortunately, you can also lock yourself out of your system. Even administrators typically do this. Windows 2000 is unlike the 9x operating systems where, if you put in the wrong password, you could click cancel and go about your business. In Windows 2000, once you set up a user, if you try to log on but use the incorrect domain or forget your password, your last resort is to Fdisk the computer and reinstall the operating system. This is really the difference between a business model and a model for the average user.

Q: It still has the things for disadvantaged people, doesn't it?

A: Yes, there are accessibility options in Windows 2000 as well.

Eric brought several things up about Windows 2000 Professional. To get answers about Windows 2000 in general, the best resource is on the Web at Windows 2000. This is the gateway for all the information that you need on compatibility issues. Further information on compatibility issues can also be found there.

Microsoft has a complete listing of all of the hardware and software available, and of updated drivers for Windows 2000.

But the most valuable tool is the readiness analyzer, which allows you to download an executable program that will do the same thing that the installation disk does. It will go through all your programs, all your hardware, and tell you if a product will work correctly with every device on your system.

If you want to get Windows 2000, Microsoft recommends that you purchase it on a new machine. Everything will be compatible. Those machines are designed for the operating system. But not everyone can buy a new PC—the compatibility site will answer any questions about upgrading an existing system.

Windows 2000 is the right operating system for you if you want to be able to tweak your computer, go into the tree, to mess around with your networking settings; and if you are not afraid of having to go back and change some of those things again, or even go to your default settings. If you are upgrading from Windows 3.51 or Windows NT 4.0, you get a $70 rebate.

Q: An ISP has non-connecting or non-routing issues that, in the 9x environment, normally deal with the TCP/IP and the Winsock files. What is the best way to go around uninstalling and reinstalling those in 2000?

A: That is really tech support. Windows ME is also going to incorporate the Windows 2000 TCP/IP stack. Eric was not able to answer that question.

Q: Is it possible to make a backup copy of an original Windows 2000 Professional disk, or one that comes pre-installed, since OEMs rarely send disks with their machines and since all sorts of things can happen to the originals?

A: Microsoft makes it impossible to copy disks.

Q: Users should be able to make a backup to protect any software legally purchased, including the operating system.

A: Eric said: "I totally understand that." Microsoft has a replacement policy for registered copies of Windows 2000 for a very nominal fee.

Q: The legal owner installs the system, registers with Microsoft, and then has to pay a fee to get a legal backup copy?

A: "Well," Eric said, "it is a shipping and handling fee to get it."

Milt interjected: "It is like 8 dollars, that is all it is. Eight bucks."

A: Unfortunately, Eric indicated, many companies are doing the same thing. "It is the few who do illegal copies that are ruining it for everyone, but something that companies have to do." He said he understood and was very sorry that we are frustrated.

The audience made it clear that they don't want to have to buy software that they can't protect by backing it up.

Q: Several computer manufacturers ship the computer with the operating system on the hard drive, but there is no CD-ROM supplied with the operating system. What is a user supposed to do if his hard disk crashes?

A: Typically, there is a restore image of the computer, and you have to restore the entire computer. The OEM channels are given the choice of providing the CD, it is not Microsoft's choice. That is something between the buyer and the system manufacturer. They are able to provide a copy of Windows 98 or Windows 2000, whatever goes with your computer. They have that option to save money. They don't have to send the disk with the computer. It is a tough issue, but, unfortunately, it is not Microsoft's issue.

Q: The audience is not so sure. Several publications indicate that Microsoft is making that a requirement now within the first of the year or so.

A: Eric said that has not been a requirement systemwide, and he knew of a couple of manufacturers right now that are shipping the disks as of this date, including Windows ME.

Q: "Dell has an agreement with Microsoft. Dell told me that I could not get a Windows 98 diskette, only a restore diskette is all that they would send me."

A: "Are you talking about a restore image?"

Q: "A restore CD. I was told that was an agreement with Microsoft."

A: Microsoft gives the manufacturer the option of including that CD or not. That is the manufacturer's choice; we do not have a problem with them including the full Windows CD. Dell obviously chose not to do that.

Milt explained that in both ME and in 2000, and in NT 4.0, there is a terrific backup program that has little check boxes to back up the registry. He also said that a tape device does a tremendous job.

It was recommended that users ask, when buying a computer, if the manufacturer supplies an original operating system on CD. If not, then tell them you will find another manufacturer who does. It also seems that, unfortunately, a lot of manufacturers are not even supplying restore CDs in their computers anymore. They put it on a separate partition, or require you to restore your hard drive to bring the operating system back. Make sure that is available when you purchase your PC.

Q: What is the difference? Why are they being so cheap?

A: The cost is unknown. Ken explained that it would vary from company to company.

On to Windows ME. Eric then had to shut his computer down and switch hard drives.

Milt wanted to know how many people at the meeting have ME already. Quite a few raised their hands. It has been available for over a month now to the OEMs. If anyone had bought a brand new machine two weeks ago, they might have gotten it installed on the machine prior to the release date.

Eric's presentation was working with digital media because, he said, that is really what Windows ME is all about. He decided to make it a Q & A session about Windows ME. He reiterated that Windows 2000 is the business model, and Windows ME is the home model. People everywhere want to know why they should get Windows ME over Windows 98. There has been a lot of mixed press recently. A lot of people think that they can pretty much download everything Windows ME has in it off the Microsoft Internet site. That is not true, he said.

He started by showing us some of the new features in digital media and other improved features. Windows ME has a new system restore function. It is great for those users who are not very technologically advanced and might not know about the registry, that it needs to be saved and backed up. They don't need to worry about that anymore. Windows ME takes care of that automatically for them.

Eric mentioned again that digital media happens to be the hottest thing right now with all of the great devices that are coming out: digital cameras, digital camcorders, new scanners. Getting, storing, and sharing those files is simple in Windows ME. MovieMaker, not downloadable at the Microsoft site, makes it very easy to take all your digital media, either from a digital camcorder or a VCR camcorder that is a standard model, and make some home movies.

The help and support center has been changed. You can get in contact with Microsoft, who also show some ways to go to help forums on the Internet and find answers. There are some new tutorials and a lot of movies that come with Windows ME. They will take you through some of the common steps to set up home networking and also solve some of the other problems that you might have with your computer.

Protecting system files comes on Windows 2000, as well. It kind of protects users from themselves. They can delete critical system files, which do not actually disappear. The computer keeps running and the computer will operate as usual. Eric did not explain where these files go or how the system continues to work without them.

To use enhanced home networking, you click on the networking wizard, which takes you through the steps. You can share your cable, your DSL, some of the new two-way satellite offerings, and share your standard dial-up connection, as well. It exists in Windows 98 Second Edition home networking, but is kind of hidden, not very easy to find. It required several different steps to make it work.

Eric then showed what this whole digital revolution is coming to. He had a DC290 camera, and showed some pictures that he had downloaded earlier. He demonstrated a new technology called WIA (Windows Imaging Acquisition), which allows you to hook the camera to your computer via a USB cable and download all of your images without having to install any software.

A new technology called UPP (Universal Plug-and-Play) is also incorporated. The DC290 camera, and a lot of other devices, comply with UPP and WIA. With UPP, you can control these devices remotely. You do not need to be home when this camera, or a webcam, is sitting on your desk in order to see what is going on around your home. There are petcams and fishcams: you can see your dog destroying your house, knowing you can't get back in time to do anything about it. These are the types of devices to get really excited about.

"I toured the Microsoft home in Seattle/Redmond a couple of months ago. The entire house is enabled with these types of devices: everything from the refrigerator to the bathroom, to picture frames that change as the users move around in the home. Windows 2000 does not have Universal Plug-and-Play; it is only in Windows ME, which is why we say it is for the home," Eric explained.

He showed a couple of pictures that he took. He also showed how the operating system and the file structure and the way we look at the pictures on our computers has changed considerably. The preview window is considerably larger. He had a picture of a man swimming laps and made some rudimentary edits in the preview pane. He rotated the photo sideways and upside down. He previewed an image in a window without having to use, say, Internet Explorer to view the file.

To show digital pictures, he used to have to download a separate program. Windows ME has a full preview mode and a slide show that goes with it. This file and the slide show can not be downloaded from Microsoft. There are third party programs though that can be downloaded for an extra charge.

One program that you can download from Microsoft is the new Windows Media Player 7 at Windows Media. Digital audio, video steaming, and radio stations on the Internet used to require different sites to download jukeboxes, players, and movie editors. Media Player 7 includes all these great things in one.

"We have changed its look, as well," Eric said. "We typically have been a square box company, which means that the window has always been square." He said that Microsoft went a little bit crazy and rounded off some of the corners to make a player that is a little bit more pleasing to the eye. The player provides many choices: a graphic equalizer, video settings, surround sound, and the ability to play songs and videos on your computer.

While playing, Media Player plays images that are not just ambient water. There are about 20 choices preinstalled on Windows ME. The images change with the music, and you do not have to look at that little boring box anymore with the numbers ticking showing you how many seconds you have been wasting your time at work.

Q: Can you turn that off?

A: "You can turn the visualization off and go back to the full mode of Windows Media Player, one big square; but there are a lot more options in this mode. The media guide on the Internet takes you to Windows Media, where you have your choice of all the streaming audio and video that is on the Internet. This is a great tool for those of you to listen to audio CDs on your computer. For those who download CDs onto the hard drive, not all CDs come with what is called media data, which lists all the names of the songs, their length, the type of music, and the producer. Windows Media Player 7 searches the Internet to get all that information. It is no longer necessary to type it all. It is automatically there. Once that information is on the computer, it is easy to choose which songs to listen to. Also, you may like only some of the songs on a CD and may not choose to waste the disk space for that information. By clicking the copy music button, you put the music you want on your hard drive in a WMA file format. It is not an MP3, but the advantage of a WMA file is that it takes less hard disk space."

Media Player 7 can scan your drive drives and find all of the media that happens to be there. In Eric's case it found about 20-30 movies and a lot of music that he had downloaded and put on different partitions and forgotten about. It also classifies and organizes all the media on your computer by CD, artist, and genre.

By dragging and dropping whatever you like, you can build custom play lists. You can also download the play list to your portable device, or burn the play list on a CD, and without any specific CD burning technology. You can change the look and feel of the Media Player by using over 2,000 skins that can be downloaded by going to the Windows Media site.

MovieMaker is also part of Windows ME, but it cannot be downloaded from the Microsoft site, Eric said, just to be 100 percent clear. "It is very easy to make those home movies. Streaming audio/video just does not happen automatically. If you want to bring video clips into your computer, there are several ways to do so. The cheapest way is to buy a USB dongle to copy them off of the VCR; it is inexpensive, right around $100. A cable from the RCA jack on the VHS machine will plug into that dongle so that you stream the video in. MovieMaker has a story board where you build the movie. You can incorporate pictures and movies as well as sound on the story board. If you take pictures on a camcorder, it is likely they are not all that great all the time. You skip around a lot and push stop without fading in or out. It takes these types of natural breaks and makes the video that way. If you do not like the breaks that it has made, put the clips in the exact order, and you can view your video as you had it in the past. It lets you take natural segments of your video and add them to your story board as you see fit. It is very easy to make a home video. And the whole idea is to make a video that you are able to send or publish to a web page that is reasonable in size. You can e-mail that to friends, or put that up on a Web server."

Q: What hardware do you need on the computer?

A: If you want to bring video on the computer, you will need to have some type of device to copy it from VHS type tapes. If you have a digital camcorder that is WIA-compliant, you will need nothing. You will plug it into the USB or an IEEE 1394 port. That is a higher speed interface to the computer, and the MovieMaker function will automatically be able to used it

Eric went on to talk of some of the features that make Windows ME a little bit easier for the average user. It is the digital audio/video functions and making sure that customers don't hurt themselves that make Windows ME suitable for everyone in the home. Those who are the technological guru in their neighborhood will probably like this as well. In the file folder are some DLLs, those files that make the computer work. The dssound3d.dll is what controls the sound card and makes it work. If you delete that file, you are not going to hear anything from the computer.

To demonstrate, Eric deleted the DLL and cleared the recycle bin as well. He refreshed the directory, and the dssound3d.dll was still there. "Windows ME protects users from themselves. We have incorporated about 300 critical files that are probably best protected. If they are to be removed, it should be done through add/remove programs and add/remove hardware. You can still get rid of files on your computer, but you will just need to do it the correct way.

"If you make a mistake, or you are not paying attention, and something happens to your computer, it typically has to do with some intervention. Other people can sometimes get into your computer and play around. Files get deleted or corrupted. But not all is lost. You simply go to the new help and support. Help and support has some of the things that you are used to; it also has your index and content, but it is also a lot easier to get help."

Eric explained that you can go to assisted support which will give you the choice of going to the Internet to special groups where there are MSN properties that deal with computer issues, or to a Microsoft technician. The tours and tutorials are located here.

There are several different videos that you can view, and there are several different walk-throughs that you can take to try and resolve the problems. But, he said, the system restore function is most exciting. It is the one-stop solution for someone who may have installed something that doesn't quite work right on that computer.

"You want to bring back your registry, and you want to make sure that your computer worked as it did in the past. It is a very easy setup. You click on that link where you have three choices. You can restore your computer to what it was at an earlier time. But you also have two other choices. You can create a restore point to a time when you know your computer was perfect. It is now ready to go; it is working perfectly.

"I can create a restore point and can always come back to it. The system restore also works in the background and tracks all the changes that you make to your computer. Every ten hours, it makes a restore point. Those are expunged as time goes by, but you will always have a restore point to choose from even if you do not create one.

"The one nice thing about creating your own restore point is that it will not be deleted, and you can always go back to it. I can always choose to undo a restoration at this point as well. There are programs like Go Back and Drive Image, a whole bunch of different ways to back up your information. We do it a little bit differently, using system files and DLLs and your registry. We avoid touching the physical data on your computer. We do not take a snapshot of the computer, only a snapshot of the system configuration.

" If you have Microsoft Word or some other type of program that does not come standard with Windows Millennium, it does not restore those programs if you made a snapshot of this image before the installation. If you have a problem with the program, you may have to reload some applications, but you are not going to have to search for your data files. What is nice about this is that you are not restricted to making a drive image on your computer, which can be very large. The system restore function is scalable. As those restore points continue to grow, they will take a maximum of 20 percent of your hard drive. That might seem like a lot, but once your hard disk gets to 75 percent, it will start scaling back on the restore points as well. It is very smart and can tell when your hard disk is full. It will not eat up more and more space requiring you to get a new hard drive."

Q: If there are multiple partitions or a second hard drive, does the restore work separately on each partition or each drive?

A: It is on your master drive; in Windows 9x, your C drive. That is where those cabinet files are located.

Q: Do all of these functions work in all of the various levels of ME, like the $100 one?

A: In all versions of ME, the upgrade or the full version, all of these functionalities and everything that I am showing you here this evening are available. For those of you who have not experienced this in the past, if you are upgrading your computer, you do have two choices. You can either upgrade through your current Windows, or you can stick in a boot disk—a Windows 98 boot disk works fine—and go to the command prompt, press setup on a blank disk, and you can start loading Windows ME. The only thing you will need is a Windows 98 or Windows 95 disk, depending on which product you have, to verify that you have bought the product in the past. Every CD has all of the information that you need to have a full install of Windows ME.

Q: Will your old DOS programs or games work with ME?

A: Yes, Windows ME is under DOS, and you can play DOS games on it as well.

Q: Can this be installed to hard drive 2?

A: I have not attempted to put Windows ME on a second hard drive. But I know through system partition programs you do not need to be on that single hard drive. I'm sure it can, but I don't want to give you a 100 percent answer on that, though.

Eric went on to discuss the new features of Internet Explorer 5.5. "First of all, the menu bar is considerably smaller. You get a lot more of the view of the Web page, but the number one most-asked-for feature that should be incorporated into a Web browser, that no one has done until now is…"

Audience: "Print preview."

A: "Print preview! Exactly! Print preview has been incorporated into Internet Explorer 5.5, a very simple function to get to through the file command. You can see exactly what your Web page is going to look like, or you can see that we can not find the server.

"Another feature is the new Save As command that lets you save an entire Web page—every single picture, every single piece of text—into one folder and have a link to that folder with a standard icon. For example, I tried to find a rental car the other evening while I was staying at a hotel. I got a confirmation, but all I did was bring in my computer bag. I did not even have a pencil with me. I did not have a printer hooked up to my computer. How was I going to remember that number?

"Well, in the past I would have had to scribble it with something, even my own blood, but now I could save off that entire Web page, even if it is dynamic— and of course rental car pages that give you a confirmation are dynamic, those are not pre-made—and it is going to put it in a single file folder and I can go ahead and save that on my hard drive, and view that Web page exactly as it was any time I choose. We also have some features that have been added to Favorites. There is a way now to view Web pages when you are online."

Setting up home networking is preinstalled on Windows ME now, and the wizard is very easy, Eric reported. It asks some simple questions: what type of computer; is it a host computer for the internet; what kind of connection; are there multiple adapters; is it branching off DSL that might be dynamic in state, or branching off a dynamic IP address; and such questions as the name of the computer, and where UPP and other devices are enabled: scanners, printers, whatever is on the network. The wizard searches the network, every computer, find all the devices, and enables them. You can also set up passwords and share files.

Some games come with Windows Me. Internet games are enabled, as well, like hearts. You can go to Zone.Com, a free service from Microsoft, and match yourself up with people that play hearts, for example. You can communicate with people in ways that you may never have thought about.

At this point, Eric said that he was almost out of time, but took a moment to tell how to get Windows ME and how much it cost: $59.95 is the setup SKU for Windows ME.

"Remember that Windows 98 cost $89. This is a special SKU, a special product; it is in the blue box for Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition users only. It is only going to be available through the holiday season. I know that you want special deals sometimes, so take down this address: www.microsoft.com/mindshare, the official site for user groups. Currently, user group members get 20 percent off all of our Microsoft Press offers. It will be around for the holiday season.

Q: If a third-party program is installed before a snapshot is taken, will System Restore restore the third-party programs?

A: The restore function will restore all components that come with Windows ME. Any other program installed after a restore point will still be on your hard disk, but there will be no links to System Restore. A program installed before a restore point will be linked.

Q: Does Microsoft allow you to put favorites from Internet Explorer 5.5. in folders other than the favorites folder?

Audience: The folder is just like My Documents. You can move those favorites around.

A: You can change the location, but it still needs to be called My Favorites. You can change the location, but you can't change the name of the folder.

Q: On Internet Explorer 5.5's print preview: many Web sites have pages that truncate when you print them. Does this have print to fit, or is it going to truncate, let's say, stuff that is off to the right?

A: It compresses some wide pages, and others it chops into pieces. It is not perfect, but you will know exactly what it will look like when it comes out.

Q: What is the install size over Windows 98?

A: The official size of the install, they say, is under 250 megs, but I have not seen an install that is that small, so I would say 250 to about 400.

Q: What was Windows 98 SE?

A: About 500.

Q: So we are adding another 400?

A: No not adding; I'm sorry, that was the total installed size.

Q: So it is about the same size as Windows 98 SE?

A: About the same size, yes.

Q: You said it works with all CD burners? Will the technology work with new burners when they come on the market?

A: It works with the CD burners that are out right now, and the Adaptec snap-in has worked with every CD burner that I have seen so far. I don't want to say it is going to work with 100 percent of CD burners in the future, but it works with most CD burners at this time.

Q: Do you have an active compatibility list for that then?

A: I do not have an active compatibility list for that.

Q: Question is with Media Player.

A: I don't have a special list for the Media Player for which CD drives it supports.

Q: If you do chose to use something like Go Back, that obviously uses a lot of hard drive space to store information, you are potentially duplicating a lot of information with your go back product, which obviously is only for Windows; can it be disabled?

A: With the system restore function, you can delete restore points, but it is something that operates in the operating system.

Q: I have heard that Windows 2000 is a hassle to install, but is it a hassle to install Windows ME?

A: I had a great experience with Windows 2000, it is easy for me to install. You can install both of those operating systems on your computer at one time. Now the operative thing here is to put Windows ME on your computer first, and then Windows 2000. I have loaded Windows ME on at least 10 machines now, and it has been the same process as the upgrade to Windows 98 from Windows 95. It should not be a hassle for you to install that.

Comment from the audience: Just a warning. If you use a dynamic drive overlay on your hard disk, have your disk manager, or any drive manager disk handy because Windows ME will rewrite a new boot record and make that hard disk unreadable unless you boot from that disk.

Q: Last Friday at noon, I hauled home my new Thunderbird 900 with ME installed. This is the first ME the local vendor installed, although they did have one that they had been using internally for a couple of weeks. I had no sound card, but just put in a new sound card, which ME did not install. It does not auto-install my Nikon 990 camera either. It does not install my SCSI. And like I say, there is no sound card. Did they goof up on the installation of my ME? I went to bed at 5:05 a.m. on Saturday morning totally frustrated.

In Corel PhotoPaint 9, I take and drag over the exe onto the board, and then when I doubleclick it, it says that one of my DLLs is not there. I go into Explorer, and it is there. So I have just had nothing but panic.

A: I am not tech support, so I'm probably not going to be able to help you out with that application. But when it comes to a sound card, there are a couple of manufacturers that have not created drivers for those, or else this installation company that you went to did not install the correct driver for that actual sound card. That could be a reason for your sound card not working. But your camera not coming up could be a couple of different things. I don't know if a Nikon 990 is on the WIA list. Not all cameras have this ability, and it is typically the newer cameras that do.

Q: We see a lot of newspaper articles about problems with ME. But as I heard you talking, it sounds like you have some upgrade, so once you install the one you get in the store, you need to immediately go to Microsoft and upgrade it, is that right?

A: That was not a service pack that I was talking about; that was Media Player 7, which is for the CD burner. The reason the disks are not up to date is because we waited for the OEM channel to lower their inventories before we released computers with windows ME. There is a good six-month window there when there was not an update. The operating system itself does not have a service pack at this time or have a patch that you can download from Microsoft.

Q: And how big is that?

A: Media Player 7 is a couple of megs for the media player. But you will have everything else that I showed you this evening.

Q: Earlier we had a question about printing Web pages. We have always tried to use other software packages that enable us to capture that part of the screen that is off to the side and select the area and we print it. Does this have any of that capability, or are you going to enable us to print something like that?

A: There is no new functionality in Internet Explorer 5.5.

Ken added at this point that there is something that you can do in the preview if you see that it is going over the edge of the paper: you select the font size and shrink it to fit.

Q: No, I'm sorry, my eyes are already screaming at the size of the print. I cannot handle it any smaller in all honesty. I'm getting these feeds in from the bank and I want the printout. I don't want to make it smaller.

A: Just to answer your question, there is no new functionality when it comes to that one aspect in Windows ME.