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NEW YORK -- Software for checking Verizon voice mail over the Net, a service that sends an instant message when a new virus threat surfaces, and hosts of PC peripherals were all showcased here in New York as part of the two-day Windows XP launch.

Fifty vendors, from Adobe to WorldCom, hoped to share a little of Microsoft's limelight with their Windows XP-optimized applications and hardware. Few genuinely new apps were on display, but a few companies offered some cool new tools.

Telecommunications giant Verizon showed off an application called Digital Companion that works with Microsoft's .Net Web services platform. Accessible through a Windows Messenger software client, this .Net service can be programmed to alert you online at work when you've got a call at home. From the Digital Companion interface, you can listen to your Verizon voice mail. And if you've got caller ID, you can see who has called, or have the call forwarded to alternate phone numbers.

Verizon says it's testing the product in Texas and will make it available to its 8 million voice mail customers early next year for an undetermined fee.

Another Microsoft .Net partner, McAfee, announced a VirusScan Online service that also works inside Windows Messenger. You can choose to have Messenger send word whenever McAfee learns of a new threat. For $25 a year, you can subscribe to a service that scans your hard disk and updates your PC with the latest virus definitions for protection.

PC Vendors Push XP Systems and Devices

Sony showed off two sleek new Windows XP-based VAIO computers set to be commercially available next month.

Weighing in at 2.2 lbs. the Sony PictureBook C1MV is one of the smallest notebooks running the Windows XP operating system. This super sleek, inch-thick model has a 733-MHz Transmeta Crusoe processor, 256MB of RAM, and a 9-inch display. It also comes with built-in 802.11b wireless support and a swivel camera mounted at the top of the notebook display.

Because Windows XP is more reliable and does a better job of recognizing and installing peripherals, Sony says it's a perfect match for its MX desktop series to meet growing audio and video challenges.

The MX line starts at $2799. Each system has Intel P4 microprocessors. These systems all stress home entertainment, with built-in TV and radio tuners, and digital video recording (DVD-RW) and editing accessories.

Sony is counting on Windows XP to drive sales of its VAIO PCs as well as related peripherals such as digital music players, Handy Man video cameras, and Clie handheld computers.

"Windows XP is robust and reliable," says Chris Pollitt, director of Sony's PC product marketing. "Our peripherals are instantly recognized when they plug into a PC. Now users can feel more comfortable."

Hewlett-Packard is also counting on Windows XP to boost sales, and not only of PCs. On display were various new and recently announced digital toys. The company says Windows XP's expanded driver support for a plethora of different peripherals makes getting the most out your PC easy.

One such HP gizmo was the $99 HP Photo Scanner 1000, a compact (10 by 7 inches) model meant for scanning 4-by-6-inch photos at 300 dots per inch.

HP also showed off a $179 mini photo-quality printer, the HP Photosmart 100. Its tiny footprint (9 by 4 by 5 inches) makes it great for mobile users. It only prints borderless 4-by-6-inch photos, but can do so directly from a CompactFlash, SmartMedia, or Sony Memory Stick storage device--no PC required.

Authentication product developer Digital Persona debuted U.are.U Personal, a fingerprint scanner for home users. Windows XP is the first Windows version that supports biometrics under a native API (Application Program Interface), a Digital Persona spokesperson says. This, coupled with Windows XP's support for multiple user profiles on a shared computer, allows users to securely log in to XP with one touch. The 2-inch, $69 scanner also allows users to enter stored passwords with a touch of a finger.

Software Side of the Things

On the multimedia front, SnapStream Media showed off software that allows you to record television programs on a PC, notebook, or a Pocket PC (the latter via its SnapStream Pocket PVS software). SnapStream also lets Web surfers remotely schedule and record TV shows on their PCs, and play them back online.

Corel representatives were on the floor showing off the company's consumer-targeted CorelDraw Essentials package of graphics and photo-editing software. Released in July, the package has few new features, but will run faster on Windows XP, according to a Corel spokesperson. Similarly, Adobe Systems representatives said the current version of Photoshop Elements, an image editor geared for beginning and intermediate users, will run better on Windows XP.

Longtime Microsoft partners were on hand to lend support--and, hopefully, drum up a little business of their own. 3Com announced that 60 of its networking products support Windows XP. Intel praised its "long and productive history" of working with Microsoft, and displayed the graphics-crunching power of the Windows XP-Pentium 4 combo. And Dell Computer introduced a zero-percent leasing option for U.S.-based small businesses purchasing new PCs, including those with Windows XP.

Stacy Cowley of IDG News Service contributed to this report.

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