Welcome to the Windows XP Developer Center. Changing technologies present constant challenges for developers: new software introduces new and hopefully beneficial features to the world, but harnessing them takes know-how, preparation, and experimentation. Of course, in the fast-paced world of application development, the time spent fully exploring a new release is usually never sufficient to fully exploit the benefits of a release on your own.

That's why DevX, in conjunction with Microsoft's Windows Desktop Evangelism Group, has put together this special section. Windows XP, the code name for the next version of Microsoft Windows, brings a number of new and exciting features to the arsenal of developers, from an end to "DLL Hell", to enhanced home networking, to improved digital media functionality, and better user profiles. Windows XP will be available broadly to users by Holiday 2001.

We're gathering resources designed specifically to get developers the knowledge and technical expertise they need to incorporate Windows XP technology into their applications, so they will be ready to fully exploit the release as soon as it ships. Technical articles will give you hands-on techniques for using Windows XP's new features, and focused discussion groups will provide a means to learn from your peers. As you start looking at your current applications readiness for Windows XP, check out the Application Compatibility Toolkit and see how you rate. Finally, we'll be offering a chance to make your participation in the community pay off: we'll be creating accounts that reward you with points as you report application compatibility, participate in surveys and the newsgroups, and install updated versions of the beta software. The points will function as currency in a series of auctions for cool and useful gear as the beta winds down.

Finally, as you look at Windows XP, it's a good chance to see the technical direction Microsoft is taking. Paradoxically, as the Web has moved computing towards a more browser-centric world, many of the truly exciting and innovative uses for technology in the past year center on traditional client-side applications working in concert with web server technologies. Look at SETI-at-Home, Instant Messaging from AOL or Yahoo, and most prominently, Napster. All of these are marked by taking advantage of the processing power, local storage, and local operating system functions of client systems. Windows XP will serve as the foundation for the next generation of applications that fit into this model, performing critical functions at the client end while communicating with peers and servers on private networks or the public Internet. Getting a head start now on understanding how to leverage this new technology will give you a critical competitive jump in the future.

Keeping you competitive is our job. If you have suggestions, comments, or criticisms about what we're doing, what we should be doing, and what you specifically need from this site, we want to hear from you. Send email to windowsxp@devx.com: we'll make sure they are read by the right people, both here and at Microsoft.

Thanks again for supporting the DevX Windows XP Developer Center!