Microsoft takes the wraps off its next-generation software for handhelds. Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced its latest handheld computing platform, which comes bundled with new productivity applications, a shrunken version of Internet Explorer and the original version of Pac-Man running on an emulator. The Pocket PC made its debut during the morning rush hour on a balcony at New York's Grand Central Station. Compaq Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Casio Corp. and Symbol Technologies Inc. announced handheld computers based on the new software. Instead, the company sees the device as fitting into a fabric of PCs, Internet appliances and handheld devices that people use to communicate, book travel reservations, check the weather or read the news.
People are people.
Ballmer readily admitted that the company has not done well with Windows CE in the past. Palm has more than 70 percent of market share for handheld devices. The new user interface , known by the code name Rapier, looks very much like a browser, except for the menus, which are distinctly Windows. Underneath the single-click buttons is a list of tasks just like the Windows Start menu. And a number of single-click icons are included at the bottom of the screen in certain applications.