MS cranks up Windows 2000 blitz

Microsoft has yet to put the finishing touches on its Windows 2000 code, but that isn't stopping the company from cranking up the marketing machine.

What's Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) got to sell? Stuff. Lots of it. Windows 2000 T-shirts, fleece jackets, baseball hats, tote bags, luggage tags, magnets, coffee cups, business card cases, notebooks, pens, picture frames, and watches.

There's a Windows mobile, "a unique corporate gift or an ideal nursery decoration for baby Windows-users-to-be" (limited edition, $17.95).

And for those really wild and crazy Windows 2000 users, there's Windows "Fun Putty," in a green, blue, yellow or red case with a Windows logo on the lid ($1.75 each).

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Microsoft showed off a lot of its latest Windows wares to the 600 software, hardware and reseller partners who attended the company's invitation-only Windows 2000 Partner Marketing Day in Las Vegas earlier this week. It provided attendees with a catalog chock-full of the latest and greatest Windows 2000 products and is making the same merchandise available on a WindowsStyle web site.

"Innovation is one of the guiding forces that's moving us into the next millennium. And the launch of the new Microsoft Windows 2000 family of products is clear proof of that," reads the introductory blurb in the catalog.

Microsoft is expecting partners to use the Windows 2000 merchandise in their event and conference planning.

The Windows 2000 launch isn't slated until Feb. 17, 2000. But customer service reps are standing by now, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST to take orders.