Microsoft - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• Forecast 2015: IT spending on an upswing

  It's IT budgeting time for 2015 -- and Barr Snyderwine is reaching for the stars.

• Microsoft endorses workaround for botched Windows patch KB 3000061

  This month's Black Tuesday crop of patches held <a href="http://www.infoworld.com/article/2834535/security/four-more-botched-black-tuesday-patches-kb-3000061-kb-2984972-kb-2949927-and-kb-2995388.html">more than a few surprises</a>. True to form, my choice for the "most likely to splat," the <a href="https://support2.microsoft.com/kb/3000061">KB 3000061</a> kernel mode driver patch, repeatedly fails to install on many machines. Although the Knowledge Base article hasn't been updated, Microsoft support engineer joscon confirmed a workaround for the problem on Thursday afternoon.

• NoSQL takes the database market by storm

  CARFAX, the online vehicle tracking and valuation website, built its first database in 1984 based on technology named OpenVMS. At the time, it was cutting edge for its ability to handle millions of records.

• Microsoft goes after Google and Amazon with hybrid Cloud push

  With a series of Cloud announcements on Monday, Microsoft moved to put a stake in the ground with hybrid Cloud computing and emerge from the shadow of Cloud rivals Google and Amazon.

• Why Windows 10 isn't the big leap forward Microsoft says it is

  As I wrote for Computerworld, Windows 10 has a lot to answer for – and it sets itself up for answering these questions in a big way by skipping a version number and jumping straight to 10 from 8.

• Microsoft Security Essentials may be throwing false positives for Trojan:DOS/Alureon.J

  It's looking more and more likely that Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is warning about a Trojan:DOS/Alureon.J infection when none exists.

• Surprise patch KB 3005628 bodes ill for Microsoft's patching strategy

  Yesterday Microsoft released <a href="https://support2.microsoft.com/kb/3005628">patch KB 3005628</a> for Windows 8, 8.1, Server 2012, and Server 2012 R2. It's a trivial, non-security patch. The fact that it wasn't kept and issued in the normal cadence (patches usually arrive on Update Tuesday, which is next Tuesday) points to either an accidental release to the Automatic Update chute -- which we've seen before -- or an unwelcome switch in Microsoft's patching strategy. Either possibility is troubling.

• Cloud giants do battle backed by distinctly different partner networks

  When evaluating the marketplaces of the big three public IaaS cloud providers - Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft - AWS stands out in terms of the maturity of its platform for partners to offer products and services on top of its cloud. But Microsoft, too, has a formidable partner program that could rival Amazon's in the future, analysts predict.

• Sorriest technology companies of 2014

  It's so far been another sorry, sorry year in the technology industry, with big name companies, hot startups and individuals making public mea culpas for their assorted dumb, embarrassing and other regrettable actions.

• Cloud Storage Users Share Pros and Cons of Leading Services

  Today's cloud storage/file-sync space is constantly evolving.

• Oracle's Larry Ellison downshifts, but leadership remains the same

  Don't mistake Larry Ellison's decision Thursday to step down as CEO of Oracle as a big change.

• Windows 8's uptake climbs but still trails Vista's

  Windows 8's uptake came unstuck last month and shoved into a forward gear for the first time since May, but the OS trailed Windows Vista's tempo of six years ago, according to data published Monday.

• Does Microsoft Really Love Open Source?

  Microsoft's relationship with the open source movement has undergone an extraordinary transformation over the last few years, from a deep hostility to what can only be described as an embrace.

• How risky will it be to run old IE after Microsoft's 2016 patch stoppage?

  Microsoft's decision to stop patching older versions of Internet Explorer in 17 months may not be as big a show-stopper as many assume.

• Deja vu all over again: Windows 7 will be the new XP

  Even as enterprises try to get rid of their last Windows XP machines, Gartner analysts are urging them to start planning for the end of Windows 7.