New York City royalty, celebrities, and tech industry execs joined Bill Gates Thursday to officially take the wraps off the latest version of Microsoft's flagship product, Windows XP.
The event at Times Square's Marriott Marquis Theatre included a performance by a gospel choir and appearances by New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor Ed Koch, and TV personality Regis Philbin. It kicked off a $250 million marketing campaign for what Microsoft dubs its hottest product to date.
After saluting the people of New York for their "unbroken spirit, courage, and determination," Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, showed off his company's most important product in more than six years.
"Today is a great day for PC users and a great day for the PC industry," Gates said. "With the launch of Windows XP, we are entering an exciting new era of personal computing. This powerful new version of Windows offers so much to customers. It unlocks the full power of the PC and enables them to enjoy the best of what the digital world has to offer."
"Today is the end of the MS-DOS era and the end of the Windows 95 era," Gates told the audience, who greeted him and Giuliani with a standing ovation.
Then Gates typed "exit" on an MS-DOS command line and the screen went blank.
As of Thursday, the widely anticipated OS, which has been preinstalled on new personal computers for many weeks now, is available as a separate product in shops. It sells for $199 for the full version and $99 for the consumer upgrade. The upgrade for the professional version runs $199.
Talkshow and gameshow host and tech newbie Philbin joined Gates on stage to demonstrate that anyone can learn to use XP.
"We've got to prove that Windows XP is for everyone," Gates said as he introduced Philbin.
Former New York Mayor Ed Koch, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, and Intel CEO Craig Barrett made appearances during the event as well. Microsoft also hired musician Sting to play a midday concert in New York's Bryant Park.
Amid the celebration, Microsoft is yet again being scrutinized for its bundling practices.
The European Commission is currently probing Microsoft for tying its Media Player with Windows. This software program allows PC users to receive video and audio over the Internet, and competes with products from US-based RealNetworks and Apple Computer.
This is not the first time Microsoft has been the object of scrutiny because of its software bundling practices. It marginalized Netscape by tying its rival browser, Internet Explorer, into its operating system.
Similar concerns are already being expressed by competitors.
"Our users have to download their Player over the Web," RealNetworks European Vice President Joanna Shields told Reuters. "It doesn't come preinstalled on their PC."
The new OS has also raised concerns among privacy advocates.
Consumer and privacy groups criticized the US government on Tuesday for failing to limit certain features on XP that they say compromise users' privacy.
Privacy groups, led by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the Federal Trade Commission should have taken action when they filed their first complaint this summer.
The complaint, signed by 13 organizations, alleges that the new operating system coerces users into revealing sensitive personal information while relinquishing control over how it will be used.
In the face of government inaction, several groups on Tuesday said that consumers should take pains to avoid signing up for Microsoft's Passport online identity service when they upgrade to Windows XP.
Reuters contributed to this report.
