Microsoft - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Windows 7: The OS that launches a thousand touch-screen PCs?

  Apple Inc. may still be coy about whether it plans to launch a touch-screen tablet computer this year, but Windows PC makers are forging right ahead.

• CHT, Microsoft, HTC team up for Chinese e-book market

  Taiwan's largest telecommunications service provider, Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), has teamed up with Microsoft, smartphone maker High Tech Computer (HTC) and others to start building an e-book business for Chinese language materials.

• Microsoft reaches out at China hacker conference

  Microsoft shared the stage with Chinese security researchers at a Beijing hacker conference on Wednesday, aiming to build ties in a country that produces a growing number of threats to Microsoft products.

• Microsoft Exchange 2010 hits final beta

  Microsoft Tuesday issued the final beta on Exchange Server 2010 along with the final beta of its security companion, Forefront for Exchange Sever 2010.

• IE 8 Beats Competition in Microsoft-sponsored Security Tests

  Internet Explorer 8 blocked about four out of every five sites that attempt to trick visitors into downloading malicious software in browser security tests performed by NSS Labs.

• Five benefits of the Microsoft-Nokia partnership

  Perhaps you've heard that Microsoft and Nokia announced a strategic partnership to develop Microsoft application tools and support for the Nokia Symbian-based mobile devices. Some analysts see this as some sort of admission by Microsoft that Windows Mobile is a failure. I don't agree that Windows Mobile is on its death bed just yet.

• Sun is setting for Yahoo search

  After a rollercoaster ride love/hate relationship between Microsoft and Yahoo over the past year, and various rumors and potential overtures between Yahoo and Google, the arrangement between Yahoo and Microsoft's Bing search engine is a nail in the coffin of Yahoo search.
  

• Microsoft: Outlook will replace Entourage in Office for Mac

  Microsoft on Thursday said that starting next year it will include Outlook in its version of the Office for the Mac platform, replacing Entourage, the e-mail and groupware application for Mac users the suite has now.

• Microsoft knew of critical Office ActiveX bug in '07

  Three of the critical vulnerabilities Microsoft patched Tuesday in ActiveX controls for Office were first reported to the company two years ago, according to the security firm that alerted Microsoft of the flaws.

• Microsoft unveils preview code for next SQL Server

  Microsoft this week is giving developers an early peek at SQL Server 2008 R2, the next generation of its flagship database.

• Windows 7: the good, the bad, and the unknown

  For most people who are considering moving to Windows 7, October 22 is D-Day. On that date Microsoft's newest operating system lands on store shelves, both as a shrinkwrapped upgrade and preinstalled on new PCs. For some folks, though, D-Day has already arrived. Microsoft has issued the final RTM (release to manufacturing) version of Windows 7 to large companies that buy Windows via volume licenses, as well as to IT pros who belong to its Technet service. The Windows Vista era is officially drawing to a close--although you could argue that it never really quite started--and the Windows 7 one is under way.

• Cloud computing, Google Apps, turn into an election issue

  Washington State breaks ground this month on a new data center and office complex that two state lawmakers have called a "mistake." A better approach, they argue, might include turning over some of the state's computing resources to commercial cloud providers, such as Google Inc. or local favorites, Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

• Windows president tries to calm fears of Win 7 critical bug

  Microsoft's Windows Division president Steven Sinofsky tried Wednesday to tamp down a growing roar that Windows 7 RTM has a critical flaw that can shut down the OS by running a simple command.

• Microsoft acknowledges Linux threat to Windows client

  Microsoft for the first time has named Linux distributors Red Hat and Canonical as competitors to its Windows client business in its annual filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Future uncertain for Yahoo developer programs

  Yahoo's high-profile and widely used search APIs (application programming interfaces) and search programs for external developers are up in the air after the company's decision to outsource its search engine services to Microsoft.