Microsoft - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• Standards are coming for containers

  A list of leading cloud, storage and virtualization companies are backing a new effort named the Open Container Project, which aims to create a set of standards for the fast-growing technology.

• Office 365 vs. Google for Work: A cloud comparison for small businesses

  The price of enterprise collaboration and productivity tools for small- and medium-size businesses has dropped considerably. Cloud-based services from Microsoft, Google and others are available for what many folks pay for a single cup of coffee.

• Office 365 and Google for Work adoption rates to grow rapidly

  Cloud-based platforms such as Google for Work and Microsoft Office 365 are far from ubiquitous in today's workplace, but they're seeing rapid adoption, and that trend is going to continue. In fact, more than half of the small-to-medium size businesses (SMBs) queried as part of a new survey from BetterCloud plan to run all of their IT services in the cloud within five years.

• Meet a tech industry pioneer who leads by example

  Picture Microsoft's vice president of IT Strategic Enterprise Services and you might imagine a slightly stressed, middle-aged guy in a suit who looks a little like Steve Ballmer.

• Microsoft returns to its roots at Build with smart cows

  I was the top launch analyst for Windows 95 and that product effectively launched me and I've worked with that firm for two decades now. Since then I've watched and been troubled by the many unfortunate changes and mistakes Microsoft has made.

• What happens when computer science conferences go Gangnam Style

  Those who hand out the Ig Nobel prizes, awarded for the most outlandish scientific research, would do well to check up on CHI.

• Microsoft's Spartan browser vs. the rest: How will it stack up?

  Microsoft's upcoming Spartan browser is set to be the first big new release in the desktop browser market for quite some time, upsetting a tentative equilibrium that has existed for roughly the past two years.

• Microsoft answers Windows device share slump with freemium strategy

  Microsoft's strategic shift to creating apps and services for rival operating systems was born from the hard realization that Windows' share of the total device market was in the middle of a three-year slump, according to new forecasts Thursday by research firm Gartner.

• Why you still need to care about software licensing

  Microsoft might promise free upgrades for Windows and simplify its volume licensing with a new agreement, but the influx of cloud services, new devices and mobile apps means software licensing continues to be complex. A recent lawsuit should remind you that you can't afford to lose track of what software your company is using.

• Why Israel could be the next cybersecurity world power

  There are plenty of cities in the U.S. that want to lay claim to becoming the "next" Silicon Valley, but a dusty desert town in the south of Israel called Beersheva might actually have a shot at becoming something more modest, and more focused. They want to be the first place you think about when it comes to cybersecurity research, education, and innovation. If things go right there, it may well happen.

• Docker Inc., leave Docker tools alone

  Several new Docker tools are out there: Docker Machine, Docker Swarm, and Docker Compose. They come from Docker Inc. itself, which has has the advantage of being designed by the same folks who developed the Docker container.

• CIOs Share Lessons Learned From the Journey to the Cloud

  The journey to the cloud can be fraught with peril and unexpected pitfalls, but many companies have undertaken to make it anyway due to the promised benefits from agility and scalability to cost reduction. IT executives who have successfully navigated the dangers have learned many lessons along the way.

• How machine learning ate Microsoft

  At the Strata big data conference yesterday, Microsoft let the world know its Azure Machine Learning offering was generally available to developers. This may come as a surprise. Microsoft? Isn't machine learning the province of Google or Facebook or innumerable hot startups?

• Key questions to consider when evaluating hybrid cloud

  <em>This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter's approach.</em>

• IT jobs market booming in the Southwest

  <strong>2015 IT Salary &amp; Jobs Regional Report: The Southwest</strong>