Neowin.net

Thanks Gavin for this meaty newsbyte from Littlewhitedog.com. In the past it was reported that Microsoft would not support USB 2.0 in Windows XP.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker said it will not include support for USB 2.0, the latest iteration of the universal serial bus connection technology, in Windows XP, its next-generation operating system expected later this year. Microsoft will instead throw its support behind IEEE 1394, also known as FireWire, which was developed by Apple.

USB 2.0, which will succeed the current USB 1.1 standard, and FireWire are means of connecting PCs to peripherals, such as printers and digital camcorders, at high speed. USB 2.0 will deliver throughput of up to 480 megabits per second vs. FireWire's 400mbps or 12mbps for USB 1.1. That's up to 40 times faster than USB 1.1.

This either turned out to just be a false rumor, or Microsoft realized they were making a mistake by omitting USB 2.0 support from their "pride and joy" and changed their minds. Thus, the current reports state that Microsoft will be releasing a patch to provide USB 2.0 support in Windows XP sometime in 2002.

Over the past two years, Microsoft has been working with industry partners on the USB 2.0 project. We are pleased to announce that USB 2.0 drivers will be available for Microsoft® Windows® XP through Windows Update early in 2002. USB 2.0 driver support for Windows 2000 is still under development, and will be available later in the first quarter of 2002.

But we don't like to wait for stuff like this do we? Thanks to Littlewhitedog.com we can get a copy of the XP USB 2.0 patch a 'little bit' early. You should know that by downloading and / or applying this patch to your machine you are accepting sole responsibility for whatever happens to your machine. Oh, and if you're looking for the KB article on this, it doesn't exist yet.

Download: Q312370_WXP_SP1_x86_ENU.exe
News source: Littlewhitedog.com

Apple, which declined to comment on the products, has begun dropping big hints ahead of launches.

"This one really takes the cake," said Mac Observer, www.macobserver.com, commenting that the company had been stepping up the hype for its events for six months.

"The rumors are flying and Apple has all but ensured that they will continue to do so."

Apple launched its first consumer device in nearly a decade with the iPod and Jobs said he was considering developing a Windows version of the device.

The iPod links to the Macintosh through the iTunes software. That is based on Apple's cross-platform QuickTime media player, which would allow Apple to port the iPod to Windows, said financial analyst David Bailey of Gerard Klauer Mattison.

Apple might also extend its vision of the personal computer as the hub of the "digital lifestyle" by introducing a consumer device for video, Bailey speculated.

He raised Apple to Outperform from Neutral Wednesday, forecasting that Mac fans would buy new gear with the maturation of OS X, the new operating system announced last year, new desktop computers and a higher profile for Apple thanks to its new retail stores.

But with the threat education spending could dip in the weak economy, hurting a key Apple market, and the product transitions in store, Bailey reduced his earnings per share forecast for fiscal 2002 by 3 cents to 52 cents, compared with Apple's 2001 loss of 27 cents, which was driven by a first- quarter loss of 73 cents per share.

Apple, one of the first to feel the chill of the cooling economy in late 2000, suffered with the rest of the personal computer industry in 2001, repeatedly cutting its sales forecast.

But the stock fared well, rising 45 percent and attracting investors with a horde of cash worth more than half the current stock price and a strong brand name.

It also introduced OS X, the most substantial upgrade to its operating system since it introduced the Macintosh in 1984 and began touting the personal computer as the digital hub.

Certainly Apple fans are salivating, even if they are wary of the hype.

"I hope I fall out of my chair and knock myself out," wrote "Antman" on a MacObserver forum. "Ok ... maybe not that last part, but Apple has its work cut out."