Microsoft Archive

Ballmer on PC’s Role in Web Services World

Thom Holwerda 2006-10-10 Microsoft 6 Comments

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer said on Tuesday that lines between on-premise software and Internet services are blurring, an industry shift the company is embracing. During his talk, Ballmer said many websites can be described as 'click to run', where a service is delivered via a Web site but runs on a PC. "I do think that we're in a transition where software goes from something that's in its pre-Internet day to something we call Live (Microsoft's hosted services), where you have click-to-run capability on a Web site... But software will still execute on a PC," Ballmer said in response to questions.

Office 2007 To Go ‘Gold’ This Month

Thom Holwerda 2006-10-08 Microsoft 41 Comments

Microsoft is winding down the beta program for Office 2007 as it prepares for a release to manufacturing before the end of the month. On Oct. 25, Microsoft will close its Office Preview site and stop allowing downloads of the beta. The Beta 2 Technical Refresh, made available last month, will be the last build available to testers. As previously reported, Microsoft will not be issuing a third beta or release candidate of Office 2007, although the development team has continued to make tweaks to the product.

Microsoft on Warding off the Linux Threat

Thom Holwerda 2006-10-04 Microsoft 117 Comments

Nick McGrath, Microsoft's head of platform strategy, is at the spearhead of the software giant's attempts to head off the open source danger. Having helped launched both NT4 and XP into the UK, the 15-year Microsoft veteran now concentrates on combating the threat posed by organisations migrating to Linux. But, with an almost mockingly dismissive opinion of the opportunities brought about by Linux, McGrath is insistent that Microsoft is not losing ground. Instead he claims that Microsoft is winning key corporate and public sector deals on the critical battlegrounds of cost and security.

Microsoft Accused of Withholding Vista APIs

Thom Holwerda 2006-09-27 Microsoft 73 Comments

Anti-malware company Symantec has accused Microsoft of withholding key information about its upcoming Vista OS, in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage in the security market. Symantec claimed this week that Microsoft is refusing to hand over the APIs for Windows Defender, its anti-spyware product which will be included in Vista. Without the APIs, Symantec claims that it isn't able to ensure that its own security products are compatible with Vista. Microsoft, though, insisted on Wednesday afternoon that the APIs are now available.

Microsoft Rivals Seen Lobbying EU About Vista

Thom Holwerda 2006-09-21 Microsoft 38 Comments

Two US software firms are asking the European Commission to take action against Microsoft's new Vista operating system, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Adobe Systems has told EU regulators that Microsoft should be banned from incorporating free competing software for reading and creating electronic documents with Vista, the paper said, quoting people familiar with the situation. Anti-virus software maker Symantec will send officials to Brussels next week to brief journalists about features of Vista that it has told EU regulators will undercut rival makers of computer security software, the paper said.

Microsoft’s Zune Launched

Thom Holwerda 2006-09-14 Microsoft 87 Comments

Usually, we do not report on .mp3 players. However, sometimes we cannot go around them. Today is one of those times: Microsoft has launched its supposed iPod killer, the Zune. "Not a lot of surprises in the specs department, but they've confirmed the basics we've known for a while, like WiFi, 30GB of HDD, built-in FM, a 3-inch screen and the basic music, pictures and video playback. They also finally let slip the screen res - an unsurprising QVGA - and some better news on the codec front: the Zune supports h.264, MP3, AAC and WMA."

Office 2007 Beta 2 TR Adds UI, Performance Improvements

Thom Holwerda 2006-09-13 Microsoft 12 Comments

Microsoft's Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh introduces performance enhancements as well as user interface tweaks - most notably, more intuitive ways to work with the new Office ribbon. For example, users who are tired of Office 2007's two color schemes - black and default blue - will applaud the suite's new silver theme, accessible regardless of the operating system used. And, while we've found some Office 2007 applications, including Outlook, to be sluggish, the performance improvements in the refresh were obvious. There's a slideshow too, whiloe PCMag also reports on this new release.

Submitted by DigitalDame 2006-09-12 Microsoft 5 Comments

Microsoft today brought three of its Internet services out of beta: Live.com, Windows Live Local, and Windows Live Search. Live.com lets you add persistent search results to your own Live.com homepage, and the ability to subscribe to RSS feeds from search results. Windows Live Local provides an expansion of bird's-eye imagery and you can now send content or links to mobile devices using your device's phone number as the address. Windows Live Search has a fresh user interface and adds a revamped search with subcategories like image and local search.

The Next Windows After Vista; New Model for Device Team

Eugenia Loli 2006-09-04 Microsoft 56 Comments

Microsoft is at a crossroads, and the operating system that follows Vista will likely mark a serious break from the past. That is, if Microsoft can figure out how to do things differently. Also, the 'MEDX' team shares desks, ideas on the look Microsoft wants.

Microsoft Allows Free Redistribution of Virtual Server, PC

Submitted by Alessandro Perilli 2006-08-31 Microsoft 4 Comments

"With an unexpected move Microsoft changed agreement terms of its virtualization products and allows anybody to freely redistribute them within proprietary applications. In particular Virtual Server 2005 R2 (both x86 and x64 editions) requires to sign a Redistrbution Rights licensing agreement, while Virtual PC 2004 automatically grants this right in the EULA. The upcoming Virtual PC 2007 will be redistributable as well."

Microsoft’s Zune Aims to Be Social Butterfly

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-25 Microsoft 23 Comments

Normally we try not to report on music players, but since this concerns Microsoft's direct attack on Apple's music player, it's actually somewhat interesting. "Microsoft's forthcoming Zune player is shooting to be the life of the party, allowing users to create mobile social networks and stream music to nearby friends or strangers, according to a government regulatory filing. A Microsoft representative confirmed that the filing is legitimate and that Toshiba will manufacture the Zune device, but declined to offer additional details or comment on the information in the FCC filing."

Videos: Singularity in Action

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-19 Microsoft 43 Comments

MSDN's Channel 9 has two videos in their 'Going Deep' series which dive, well, deeper into Singularity, the operating system in development at Microsoft's research department. The first of the two is about, among other things, Software Isolated Processes (SIPs). The second of the two actually shows Singularity in action.

Microsoft To Tighten the Genuine Advantage Screws

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-09 Microsoft 30 Comments

To date, with its Genuine Advantage anti-piracy programs, Microsoft has targeted consumers. Windows and Office users have been required to validate their products as 'genuine before being able to obtain many downloads and add-ons. Come this fall, however, the software maker is planning to turn up the Genuine Advantage heat in two ways: by baking more Genuine Advantage checks directly into Windows Vista, and by taking aim at PC makers, system builders, Internet cafes and other sources of potentially pirated software.

Microsoft Patches 9 Critical Vulnerabilities

Submitted by anonymous 2006-08-08 Microsoft 4 Comments

"Microsoft alerted us this time about 12 vulnerabilities of which nine were rated critical and three important. There are vulnerabilities in the Server service, the DNS service, Outlook Express, PowerPoint, the Microsoft Management Console, Visual Basic for Applications, and more."

Microsoft Gets Good Reception at Black Hat

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-04 Microsoft 20 Comments

Microsoft's presentations on Windows Vista are not the typical Black Hat talks, but attendees are welcoming the look behind the scenes at the software giant. "I haven't felt it as a marketing pitch. It was a very technical discussion about how code review is done at Microsoft," said Josh Hoover, a veteran Black Hat attendee from Phoenix who works in security at a large financial institution. "Of course, it is all lip service at this time, until we get to test it," he added.

Microsoft To Buy in More Security Skills

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-02 Microsoft 22 Comments

Microsoft will focus on rapid acquisitions to quickly build its security capability, the company said this week. Recent acquisitions such as Winternals and virtual private network specialist Whale will help Microsoft build a comprehensive range of integrated services that cover every aspect of security, according to Gopal Kutwaroo, Microsoft's UK security product manager.

City-Level Models with Photosynth

Submitted by Dylan 2006-08-01 Microsoft 12 Comments

A technology called Photosynth, developed by Microsoft Research in collaboration with University of Washington, has the potential to change the way we look at maps. "Photosynth takes a large collection of photos of a place or object, analyzes them for similarities, and displays them in a reconstructed 3-Dimensional space."

Microsoft To Charge for Office Beta

Thom Holwerda 2006-07-29 Microsoft 50 Comments

Microsoft plans next week to charge a nominal fee for Office 2007 Beta 2 downloads, in a move that runs counter to the practice held by most software companies. Consumers who download the 2007 Microsoft Office system Beta 2 will be charged USD 1.50 per download, beginning next Wednesday, a Microsoft spokeswoman said.

Top Five Things Microsoft Can Learn From Linux

Submitted by anonymous 2006-07-28 Microsoft 51 Comments

After listing 5 things Linux could learn from Microsoft last week, Linux's very own version of Paul Thurrot now lists 5 things Microsoft can learn from Linux. "Yes, Microsoft may be at the top of the ladder now, but there are signs of decline everywhere. Companies can, and do, fall from the top rung all the time."

Submitted by jeanmarc 2006-07-27 Microsoft 16 Comments

Acknowledging the software industry is undergoing a radical transformation, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said Thursday that his company is moving rapidly to create products that can be funded by ads and served up over the Internet. "Software is becoming a service," Ballmer said at the company's financial analyst. "Embracing advertising and subscription-based models and Internet-based delivery across Microsoft's product line is an important part of what we will do."