XP for Family Relationship Management

The man formerly known to consider sledgehammers the right tool for customer relationship management has now switched to managing family relations with XP.

Steve Ballmer, loud-speaker - a bit too loud for our sophisticated European ears - is the nice family man who helps his wife's mother on-line 200 miles away if she has trouble with her computer and considers his wife's schedule the most mission critical application of all.

Laugh here and he will add 20 seconds to that part of his presentation tomorrow. Yes he did it twice in Munich

. The other thing is that Microsoft has downgraded its generosity quotient. When Windows 2000 was launched to the press in Germany at CeBIT 2000, Microsoft gave every person attending the event a W2K-Client, W2K-Server (!), both full versions plus a Compaq WinCE-Machine. The German press responded badly, I fear, some colleagues even celebrated bringing back the presents in front of their audiences.

This time there was Steve Ballmer and on exit the journalists received a Copy of XP Home Edition, update version. µ

Words and picture by Frank Fremerey, science writer and photographer