Microsoft Archive

Microsoft Girds Public Sector Unit to Combat Linux

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-08 Microsoft 18 Comments

Redmond is making waves with plans to take on Linux in government and education even as it beats the drum for new .Net conquests. It's also shaking up its own incentive program with a scheme that replaces options with shares.

Microsoft Moves on Mobiles; Microsoft Gains Ground in Storage

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-08 Microsoft 29 Comments

The biggest new feature in both Ozone and v.Next is the .NET Compact Framework in ROM. This is a run-time layer that isolates applications from the operating system, managing memory and enforcing security. It should prevent buggy apps from crashing the device. Read the article at NewsFactor. Head over at NewMobileComputing for more mobile technology news. In another market arena, the market share for Windows in Network Attached Storage devices rose 8 percent in the first quarter to 41 percent.

Microsoft’s Plan to End the Patch Management Nightmare

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-02 Microsoft 28 Comments

To address patch management issues, Microsoft is creating a new, centralized patch management architecture that it will use for all of its products. Then, it will build new versions of WU, MBSA, SUS, and the SUS Feature Pack for SMS that work off of this infrastructure. The company plans to provide these tools to customers in early 2004.

Bill Gates’ Take on Subjects from Spam, Linux, Longhorn to Security

Eugenia Loli 2003-06-30 Microsoft 52 Comments

In an exclusive interview with USA TODAY reporters, Microsoft founder and chief software architect Bill Gates shares his thoughts on controlling spam, competition from Linux, how Windows will evolve, software for wristwatches, what's worthwhile in life and whether Microsoft is boring.

Microsoft Corp. Turns Focus on Privacy

Eugenia Loli 2003-06-24 Microsoft 10 Comments

Since Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates sent a memo 18 months ago urging the company to focus on making its software trustworthy, the company has devoted developers and money to security in its software products. But Microsoft has given short shrift to a second concern outlined in the so-called "Trustworthy Computing" memo - protecting privacy - except when forced by the government. With the hiring of a new privacy chief, the software company is hoping to improve its privacy record and keep government regulators at bay.

Microsoft’s Direct Approach Saves Businesses Money

Eugenia Loli 2003-06-18 Microsoft 11 Comments

Licensing doesn't really lock customers into a constant frenzied upgrade cycle of products they don't actually need. Read the article at Silicon.com.

Ballmer: We Have to Think Differently

Submitted by dabooty 2003-06-12 Microsoft 42 Comments

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer talks about sharing source code, the threat from Linux and where Microsoft is going.

Microsoft Launches “Shared Platforms” Program

Submitted by Anonymous 2003-06-02 Microsoft 45 Comments

According to a news item at WindowsForEmbedded.com, Microsoft has launched a new program in its 'shared source' initiative. This one enables the sharing of 'platforms', allowing, for example, hobbyists 'to convert an old PC into any number of Windows CE .NET-based devices, such as a digital audio receiver,' using files downloaded from a community repository. Free and time-fused tools are available for download from Microsoft's website to facilitate the process.

Microsoft Prepares Reply to iTunes

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-24 Microsoft 76 Comments

While Apple grabs publicity for its new 99 cent music download store, Microsoft is quietly preparing for a counterattack by improving its own technology for supporting subscription music services.

Microsoft Plans Jupiter Landing

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-22 Microsoft 17 Comments

Microsoft will rely on its time-tested bundling strategy, key to its successful capture of the desktop market, to help jumpstart its server software business. On the other side, at its JavaOne conference next month, Sun Microsystems will demonstrate a tool designed to simplify Java programming and steer users of Microsoft's .Net tools to Java.

Microsoft to License Unix Code

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-19 Microsoft 75 Comments

Microsoft is licensing the rights to Unix technology from SCO Group, a move that could dramatically impact the battle between Windows and Linux in the market for computer operating systems, News.com says. Update: Please note that Microsoft simply licenses the rights of Unix (the same way as Sun and SGI have done in the past) and does NOT become the owner of Unix IP. SCO remains the owner.

How Microsoft Warded Off Rival

Submitted by PJM 2003-05-15 Microsoft 32 Comments

"Last summer, Orlando Ayala, then in charge of worldwide sales at Microsoft, sent an e-mail message titled 'Microsoft Confidential' to senior managers laying out a company strategy to dissuade governments across the globe from choosing cheaper alternatives to the ubiquitous Windows software systems.

Longhorn, New PCs on Tap for WinHEC

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-06 Microsoft 50 Comments

Microsoft will disclose more details about the next "big" version of Windows and show off prototypes of smart. Also, Gates cites Microsoft breakthroughs at eWeek. Check out pictures of the Athens PC.

Microsoft to Get Technical on Longhorn, ‘Palladium’

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-02 Microsoft 10 Comments

Microsoft will demonstrate its much debated Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) security initiative for the first time next week at an event in New Orleans, and will also provide further details on its plans for managing IT systems. Read the details at InfoWorld.

Microsoft Eyes Open Source View

Eugenia Loli 2003-04-29 Microsoft 10 Comments

Microsoft is considering an open source approach to one of its software libraries, following heavy pressure from developers and sharp competition in the growing mobile device development arena. The decision would be a radical one for Microsoft, a fierce opponent of the open source model of making intellectual property available for modification and redistribution. The surprise move to open source is being considered for the Windows Template Library (WTL) - an enhancement of the C++ language.

Microsoft’s Challenge Lies Beyond the Desktop

Eugenia Loli 2003-04-01 Microsoft 19 Comments

Microsoft is getting serious about management software. That's either terrific news or a real cause for concern, depending on who you are. On other MS news, three-fourths of computer software security experts at major companies surveyed by Forrester Research Inc. do not think Microsoft Corp.'s products are secure, the technology research company said on Monday.

Microsoft Breaks with Standards Effort

Submitted by Aaron Meck 2003-03-25 Microsoft 31 Comments

In a sign of growing discord over Web services guidelines, Microsoft has pulled out of a key Web services standards working group.

ENT Magazine on Bill Gates, OS/2, Linux and Monopoly

Submitted by Prognathous 2003-03-23 Microsoft 25 Comments

'At last month's Most Valuable Partners meeting in which Gates opened up about open source, he reflected back on his battle against IBM for supremacy of the desktop. "OS/2 wasn't a joke; it was all of IBM that was ten times the size of Microsoft putting all their energy, their leverage on ISVs, bundling it with their systems, everything they could do to beat Windows," Gates said.' Read the editorial at ENT by Joe McKendrick.

Microsoft Runs Big Risks as it Works to Diversify

Eugenia Loli 2003-03-15 Microsoft 21 Comments

"For a company that helped create the personal computer, it seems Microsoft wants to talk about anything these days but the PC. And for good reason. With PC sales slumping, the world's biggest software company is turning to everything from video game consoles to watches to help it maintain its status as one of the most successful technology companies ever. With about 70 percent of its revenue still coming from software for traditional computers, Microsoft's ongoing diversification push is a gamble that puts a company that has grown accustomed to a monopoly in cutthroat competition with a host of adversaries." Read the article at ajc.com.

Computer Development is New Focus at Microsoft

Eugenia Loli 2003-03-12 Microsoft 60 Comments

To play a bigger role in the development of computers — as well as software — Microsoft has formed a major new division to produce specialized versions of Windows and build prototypes of computers of the future. Called the Extended Platforms Division, the group has 900 employees assembled from the Windows, research and business-productivity divisions. It also includes industrial designers and evangelists who will pitch the concept computers to manufacturers.