Microsoft Archive

Ballmer: Licensing Problematic, But Don’t Expect Any Changes

Thom Holwerda 2009-10-05 Microsoft 14 Comments

Software licensing. As home users, it's already an incomprehensible mess of legalese that nobody cares one bit about. However - we home users have it easy. The situation for business users and people managing IT departments is even worse (proprietary software, mostly, of course). Microsoft is a major culprit in this regard, and while the company acknowledges that the situation is messy, they claim they can't really do anything about it.

Microsoft Security Essentials Released

Submitted by REM2000 2009-09-29 Microsoft 34 Comments

Microsoft have released their free anti-virus and anti-malware software (codenamed 'Morro') to the public, under the name of 'Microsoft Security Essentials'.

Ballmer Discusses Browser/OS Market

David Adams 2009-09-29 Microsoft 24 Comments

In part three of TechCrunch's interview with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, they discuss web browsers. Ballmer calls Chrome and Safari marketshare numbers a "rounding error," and takes note of the fact that Google is going to be calling both its OS and browser "Chrome," pointing out that in this modern era, "the notion of operating systems being independent of internet access and internet ability to render important things in the internet is kind of not a sensible concept." In other words, he thinks it's unfair to persecute Microsoft for tying IE to Windows. He discusses Firefox, and rags on Google's OS strategy, and finished up on an evaluation of the Netbook/MID market and how Microsoft intends to compete there.

Another Microsoft Research Operating System: Helios

Submitted by poundsmack 2009-09-28 Microsoft 31 Comments

It seems like Microsoft Research is really busy these days with research operating systems. We had Singularity, a microkernel operating system written in managed code, and late last week we were acquainted with Barrelfish, a "multikernel" system which treats a multicore system as a network of independent cores, using ideas from distributed systems. Now, we have a third contestant, and it's called Helios.

Microsoft Releases Code for ‘Multikernel’ Research OS ‘Barrelfish’

Submitted by Still Lynn 2009-09-25 Microsoft 69 Comments

Most of us are probably aware of Singularity, a research operating system out of Microsoft Research which explored a number of new ideas, which is available as open source software. Singularity isn't the only research OS out of Microsoft; they recently released the first snapshot of a new operating system, called Barrelfish. It introduces the concept of the multikernel, which treats a multicore system as a network of independent cores, using ideas from distributed systems.

Arrington Interviews Steve Ballmer

Submitted by Moulinneuf 2009-09-25 Microsoft 5 Comments

TechCrunch conducted a lengthy interview with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and discussed "high level thoughts on major Microsoft products and strategies (including Windows, Windows Mobile, Internet Explorer, Bing, Azure, Mesh, Natal and others), competition, the future of search and search marketing, Microsoft's 'three screens and the cloud' strategy, the recent acquisition of Interactive Supercomputing and, yes, even his thoughts on Twitter."

Courier: Microsoft’s Take on the Tablet

Thom Holwerda 2009-09-23 Microsoft 26 Comments

While half the world is waiting for Apple's take on the tablet - pretty much guaranteed to arrive somewhere next year - Microsoft has come out with a very interesting new take on the tablet, the Courier. It's a dual-touchscreen device, shaped like a book, and is in the late prototype stage of development.

Microsoft Bing Owned 10.7 Percent of US Searches in August

Thom Holwerda 2009-09-16 Microsoft 7 Comments

"Microsoft's search engine, Bing, was used in 10.7 percent of U.S. online searches in August, according to a new report by research firm Nielsen. That placed it third in the rankings behind Yahoo with 16 percent and Google with 64.6 percent. Microsoft’s month-over-month gain of 22.1 percent in market share suggests that the search engine may have legs even after Microsoft’s supporting ad campaign, estimated at costing between $80 million to $100 million, runs its course."

Microsoft Launches Non-Profit Open Source Foundation

weildish 2009-09-10 Microsoft 33 Comments

Microsoft is creating a 501.c non-profit organization (called the CodePlex Foundation) that will support open source projects from the community. That's a little funny since proof was uncovered that they were providing anti-Linux training in this very same week. The foundation is different from the CodePlex website, launched in 2006. The website is rather a complementing factor to the foundation, or vise versa. A FAQ about the project said, "The Foundation is solving similar challenges; ultimately aiming to bring open source and commercial software developers together in a place where they can collaborate. This is absolutely independent from the project hosting site, but it is essentially trying to support the same mission. It is just solving a different part of the challenge, a part that Codeplex.com isn't designed to solve... We believe that commercial software companies and the developers that work for them under-participate in open source projects."

Troll Blockers Take Microsoft SGI Patents

Thom Holwerda 2009-09-08 Microsoft 7 Comments

"Microsoft has placed a clutch of Silicon Graphics patents in the hands of those trying to defend Linux and open-source against trolls. The Open Invention Network has taken ownership of 22 patents covering operating systems, desktop, and browsers applications, after they were bought from Microsoft by middleman Allied Security Trust."

Microsoft Offers BestBuy Employees Anti-Linux Training

Submitted by wakeupneo 2009-09-08 Microsoft 93 Comments

According to a leak from a BestBuy employee, Microsoft is initiating a sort of "Anti-Linux Training" course for the employees, and those who take part in the said training are rewarded with a copy of Windows 7 for only ten dollars. The leaked screenshots of the campaign show Microsoft's comparison of its own system with an obscure "Linux" and how Windows is better in every way including security, "free downloads", and software and hardware compatibility.

Review: The 120 GB Zune

Eugenia Loli 2009-09-05 Microsoft 12 Comments

Geeks.com, home of many digital media players, sent in the Zune 120 GB for a spin. In the eve of the upcoming Zune HD release, how do these players stack up against the iPod? Read on to find out.

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Arrives for Free

Submitted by jptros 2009-09-01 Microsoft 3 Comments

Ars writes: "The final release of Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 (1541.1MB) has been posted on the Microsoft Download Center. This release of Microsoft's standalone virtualization server for small- and mid-sized business customers is a vast improvement over the first version."

Next Mac Office Due Late 2010 With Outlook

Kroc 2009-08-13 Microsoft 11 Comments

"Microsoft announced Thursday that the next edition of Microsoft Office for Mac will be released in late 2010. The new edition of the venerable office suite will include Outlook for Mac, a new application that will replace Entourage." Whilst the new Outlook:Mac will not offer feature parity with the Window version, it will be written in Cocoa and feature tighter integration with OS X including Spotlight. My Take: So it only took Apple integrating Exchange support into OS X for Microsoft to finally 'fix' the abomination that is Entourage.

Microsoft’s New Retail Logo Revealed

weildish 2009-08-11 Microsoft 9 Comments

No, the corporate logo and Windows logo are both staying the same, but a trademark application has been unearthed describing Microsoft's new logo that will brand its upcoming retail stores, two of which have already been announced. In simplified terms, the new logo seems to be a block representation, of the Windows logo we have all come to know and love. Sort of what you'd expect your seven years old child to build out of construction paper. As a glimpse into what the Microsoft Store will be selling, the official document also states that the logo will brand "retail store services and online retail services featuring computers, computer hardware, software, computer games, computer peripherals, portable music players and accessories, personal digital assistants, cell phones and accessories, video game consoles and accessories, webcams, books, clothing, back packs, messenger bags, computer bags and novelty items." What about toasters?

Microsoft Trims Product Line, Refocussing on Core Businesses?

Thom Holwerda 2009-08-10 Microsoft 14 Comments

We here at OSNews haven't really been reporting on this, but if you're following other tech websites, you will undoubtedly know that Microsoft has been axing a number of products and initiatives lately. It seems as if Microsoft is doing what many companies do in economically dire times: cut the cruft, and focus on your core aspects.

Office 2010 To Get File Format Ballot

Thom Holwerda 2009-08-06 Microsoft 47 Comments

Just when you thought the world couldn't get any crazier, something happens that makes you move your expectations of the world up a few nothces. We already have to deal with the browser ballot, but that's not the only ballot Microsoft will deliver. Hold on to your panties, as Microsoft will also offer a file format ballot in Microsoft Office 2010. On a happier note, Microsoft makes a whole load of promises to the EU about opening up technologies and file formats.

Microsoft Acknowledges Linux Threat

Submitted by caffeine deprived 2009-08-05 Microsoft 14 Comments

Microsoft for the first time has named Linux distributors Red Hat and Canonical as competitors to its Windows client business in its annual filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The move is an acknowledgment of the first viable competition from Linux to Microsoft's Windows client business, due mainly to the use of Linux on netbooks, which are rising in prominence as alternatives to full-sized notebooks.

Ballmer: We Intend to Close Hardware Gap with Apple

Thom Holwerda 2009-07-31 Microsoft 81 Comments

With Apple doing really, really well, and with Microsoft having its first sets of negative figures since the company's founding, Microsoft CEO points his arrows towards Cupertino. In a talk to members of the press and analyst community, Ballmer talked about Microsoft vs. Apple.

Microsoft Confirms First Two Retail Stores

Thom Holwerda 2009-07-28 Microsoft 19 Comments

As Microsoft had already confirmed, it's going to open a line of retail stores later this year. Last week, Gizmodo published a set of detailed slides supposedly detailing the shopping experience Microsoft is going to implement. Today, Microsoft has confirmed those leaked plans are real (but not finalised!), while also announcing the first two store locations.