FOOL PLATE SPECIAL
This morning, the XP is officially launched as Microsoft's biggest operating system update in six years. The company has already lowered profit guidance for the fourth quarter -- from $0.54 a share to a $0.50 a share showing -- so it's realistic in its tempered expectations. However, with a $200 million marketing campaign, the company is hoping that it's never too late to try to heat up a cool sector.
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If it's not Supercalifragilistic, then it must be XP-alidocious. PC diehards and folks who just love really good midnight sales lined up at CompUSA stores last night to be among the first to get their hands on the latest Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) operating system upgrade -- Windows XP. Sure, computer makers have been selling new XP-equipped systems for weeks now, but, hey, today it's official. It's the most substantial update to the Microsoft franchise since Windows 95, which in turn was the most material enhancement since the Washington-based company introduced Windows to compete with Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) user-friendly graphical interface operating system. With the stability long-associated with its NT line and all the bells and whistles one would expect from an upgrade, XP surely would have been a hot commodity had the PC market and economy in general held up their part of the bargain. With the corporate space wondering if an upgrade is cost-effective so soon after Windows 2000 and expenditures measured in teaspoons, it might take some time before XP is fully consumed and appreciated by the masses. Wall Street isn't very convinced. Analysts expect earnings to climb by just 5% this year and then a meager 3% in fiscal 2002. Despite double-digit revenue spikes in server apps, SQL database, and exchange software segments this past quarter, Microsoft's landscape is consumed by a widespread slowdown in the computing sector. So just as the company is weeks into what would have been one of the most critical quarters in Microsoft history -- with today's XP rollout and next month's entry into the video game console market with the Xbox -- the company has already reduced fourth-quarter profit projections to account for the soft market. While the company hooked up with Madonna to use her "Ray of Light" single as the XP battle cry, maybe revisiting the Windows 95 choice of "Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones would be more appropriate in these seemingly stalled economic times. Rick Aristotle Munarriz almost camped out at CompUSA overnight. He can be a geek that way, sometimes. Rick's stock holdings can be viewed online, as can the Fool's disclosure policy.
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