Microsoft opens new Windows

<b>Tardy release spurs growth of Linux</b><br>SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft Corp. on Thursday will launch Windows 2000, its most ambitious and complex software ever, a project that has taken nearly four years

Thursday, February 17th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Tardy release spurs growth of Linux
SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft Corp. on Thursday will launch Windows 2000, its most ambitious and complex software ever, a project that has taken nearly four years and cost an estimated $1 billion.

And if all goes well, users won't notice a thing.

According to the company's $200 million marketing blitz, Windows 2000 is its most reliable operating system to date, allowing users to run computers smoothly for months, even years, at a time without crashing.

For Microsoft, it is supposed to be a crowning achievement, expected to bring in $1 billion in revenue this year, according to some Wall Street estimates.

But instead of popping champagne corks, the Redmond, Wash., company has been busy assuring a skeptical public of the worthiness of its latest product, aimed at business users.

Looming over Microsoft's parade are several clouds - ranging from competition from the Linux operating system to reports that the software may contain tens of thousands of bugs in its massive program code.

Meanwhile, com
panies large and small - tired of waiting for its promised new features and bug fixes - have turned to Linux to run their computer systems. And Microsoft knows the delays have hurt Windows - at least in the short run.

"I think in some spaces we've given a little bit of opportunity," Microsoft president and chief executive Steve Ballmer acknowledged Wednesday. "I think in all of them we have a chance to come back."

Microsoft has been dismissing these clouds, but their presence has nevertheless dampened the company's stock price. Since last Thursday, Microsoft shares have fallen 7.9 percent, closing Wednesday at $97.63, down 94 cents.

The slide began Friday, when Gartner Group of Stamford, Conn., reportedly warned that companies will be slow to adopt Windows 2000 because more than 10 percent of existing software may not be compatible with the new operating system.

The remarks came a day after Dell Computer Corp. chief Michael Dell told analysts he did not expect a "massive immediate acceleration"
in computer sales from Windows 2000. Gartner Group analysts and Mr. Dell have since tried to clarify their statements, insisting their comments were taken out of context.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.