Where in the world is Tex Murphy?

We all know where my other favorite cyber-character is: Lara Croft. She's headed for the big screen. But Tex, my favorite cyber-detective, has disappeared into the Ethernet.

For those who aren't familiar with his exploits, Tex Murphy is a detective who was introduced to gamers many moons ago by the geniuses at Access Software, which was swallowed up by Microsoft two years ago. Access also brought us Links, one of the best golf games on the market, which still survives under the Microsoft name.

But no such luck for Tex!

Apparently, Bill Gates and his folks have forced him into retirement while they prepare to battle Sony and Nintendo with their new X-Box. Speaking of X-Box, if it performs half as well as what I've seen demonstrated, it could quickly become the dominant gaming system.

This new system, which is a little smaller than your average VCR, boasts:

-Four game controller ports that allow easy multiplayer gaming and enable other peripherals, ranging from game pads to voice-activated headsets.

- A front-loading DVD tray.

- A multisignal audio-video connector that allows for easy hookup to televisions and home theater systems.

- An Ethernet port for rich, fast-action online gaming via a broadband connection.

- And an NVIDIA graphics processing unit (GPU), delivering more than three times the graphics performance of other consoles.

The sample video I saw was almost flawless, featuring some of the best animation I've ever seen in a game system. In fact, if all of their games live up to this example, Sony and Nintendo are in big trouble!

But the future of Microsoft isn't all fun and games.

Get ready for Office XP and the new Windows XP.

Office XP is the new version of Microsoft Office, which comes in three flavors - Standard, Professional and Professional Special Edition. From what I've seen, this is an essential upgrade for Microsoft Office users and the deals offered by retailers are a bit overwhelming.

One retailer is offering two Iomega Zip drives (internal and external) and 250-megabyte Zip disks for $50 with a $50 rebate for anyone who purchases the product. Another is offering a low-end digital camera plus $272 worth of software.

Stay tuned for a review of this new version of Office, which should appear soon.

The new version of Windows is the first to combine the user-friendliness of Windows ME and the robustness of Windows 2000.

Although it probably won't make its debut until late this year - or possibly early 2002 -this is the version of Windows we've all been hearing about the past two years. In fact, it's what Windows 2000 was originally supposed to be.

From what I've seen and read, this is also an essential upgrade. But, as all of us experienced Microsoft Windows users know, we may want to wait for the first service pack (bug fix) before rushing to buy it.

With all this going on, I guess the Gates gang has been too busy to worry about reviving old Tex. But maybe they could find the time. I miss him.