Microsoft - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• The search market created Microsoft's worst enemy

  Throughout its history, Microsoft has earned a reputation for tenacity when entering markets created, and initially dominated, by innovative startups.

• MS Office battles Google in the cloud

  When Microsoft releases the next version of its productivity suite, Office 2010, it will be into a very different competitive landscape than the one Office 2007 faced in late 2006.

• Microsoft plans six patches next week, ties November record

  Microsoft today said it will deliver six security updates next Tuesday, less than half the number it issued last month, to fix flaws in Windows and Office.

• Microsoft preps SQL Server for battle in two enterprise arenas

  Routinely accused of bloating Windows and Office, Microsoft Corp. has acted more like a skinny teenage boy with enterprise apps like SQL Server: desperate to bulk up.

• Microsoft 'neutered' UAC in Windows 7, says researcher

  Microsoft's decision to reduce the number of annoying security messages that Windows 7 delivers when users install software makes the new operating system more vulnerable to malware infection than Vista, a researcher said today.

• Microsoft launches new version of MSN

  Microsoft plans to start rolling out a redesigned MSN.com on Wednesday in the U.S., the first major update for the page in more than 10 years.

• Microsoft to open cloud computing center in Taiwan

  Microsoft celebrated its 20th year in Taiwan by agreeing to open a joint cloud computing center with the island's economics ministry.

• Microsoft says Windows 7 doing well so far

  Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system has been doing well in the market since it launched nearly two weeks ago, Microsoft executives said Wednesday.

• Linux's share of netbooks surging, not sagging, says analyst

  Reports that the Linux netbook is dead or dying are incorrect, at least globally, according to an analyst firm.

• Microsoft lays off 800 people

  Microsoft is laying off another 800 people, adding to the 5,000 the company has already let go this year.

• Microsoft-backed open source group outlines project guidelines

  Likening its organizational plan to a museum featuring different galleries of interest, the Microsoft-backed CodePlex Foundation for open source projects this week is talking up its project submission guidelines, which were released last week.

• Microsoft sets SQL Server 2008 R2 preview

  Microsoft said it will make a preview of SQL Server 2008 R2 available this month that is features complete, including new business intelligence integration tools and master data management features.

• Microsoft pushes switchover deal for CRM Online

  Microsoft is trying to steal away Salesforce.com and Oracle CRM on Demand customers with a new offer that will provide them with six months' access to its own CRM Online application at no charge if they sign a 12-month contract.

• Q&A: Don't judge Microsoft security by the number of Patch Tuesday bulletins

  Microsoft Corp. pours more money into software security than any other major vendor both because it has to and because it can. Yet for all the investments in security, the number of vulnerabilities discovered in the company's products has increased over the years, prompting questions over whether the company has reached the limits of its ability to debug software.

• Microsoft patch tally: 6 years, 745 vulnerabilities

  With its massive security update last month, Microsoft Corp. marked the end of the sixth year since it moved to a monthly patch schedule. An informal count of releases in Microsoft's bulletin archives shows that the company has released about 400 security bulletins since October 2003.