operating systems - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Microsoft delivers monster patch batch

  Microsoft today issued a record 14 security updates to patch a record-tying 34 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer (IE), Office and Silverlight.

• Microsoft to thank Google researcher for privately reporting Windows bugs

  The Google security engineer who stirred up a hornets' nest two months ago after publicizing a critical Windows vulnerability said Friday that Microsoft will credit his work on four of the 34 bugs slated for patching on Tuesday.

• Sexual harrassment scandal: where does HP go from here?

  Departing HP CEO Mark Hurd managed to bring HP from the brink of collapse and restore respect for the HP brand in only five years. Forced to resign as a result of a sexual harassment scandal, Hurd takes with him his vision for the future of HP, leaving his successor to figure out how to put the pieces of the puzzle together and continue to build on the momentum Hurd has built.

• Microsoft slates record-setting monster Patch Tuesday next week

  Microsoft today said it will deliver a record 14 security updates next week to patch a record-tying 34 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer (IE), Office and Silverlight.

• Acer debuts new dual Android, Windows XP netbook

  Acer's latest crack at combining Google's Android mobile software and Microsoft's Windows XP OS in the same netbook was unveiled at a computer show in Taipei on Thursday.

• 5 Windows 7 security features businesses need to know about

  The words Windows and security have not always been compatible. In the past, Microsoft's quest to make its operating system as easy to manage as possible for the "typical" user has often meant sacrificing adequate safeguards against intrusion and infection. Windows XP's notorious vulnerability to network worms stands as a recent example; Microsoft shipped the operating system with a firewall but initially left it turned off by default.

• Windows Phone 7 to excel on speech

  Hoping to leapfrog over Google and Apple's successes in the smartphone market, Microsoft plans to use cloud-based speech recognition and natural language processing technology to offer user interface capabilities not found on the iPhone or Android devices.

• Microsoft sticks to plan, denies emergency patch for XP SP2

  Although some had hoped that Microsoft would violate its own patching policy, the company yesterday stuck to its guns and declined to provide a fix for a critical bug to users running Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).

• Microsoft's IE snatches share for second straight month

  For the second straight month, Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser gained ground in the usage share race, a company manager said today.

• Microsoft ships rush patch for Windows shortcut bug

  As promised, Microsoft today issued an emergency patch for the critical Windows shortcut bug attackers have been exploiting for several weeks.

• Microsoft mimics move on Windows, dumps upgrades for Mac Office

  Microsoft today said that it will not sell upgrades for the upcoming Office for Mac 2011, mimicking the move it made earlier this year when it ditched upgrades for the Windows Office 2010.

• New Linux kernel borrows Google packet speeding tech

  Harnessing a pair of protocols developed by Google, the newly released version of Linux kernel should be able to speed network traffic throughput considerably.

• Microsoft sets emergency Windows patch for Monday

  Microsoft today said it will issue an emergency patch for the critical Windows shortcut bug on Monday, August 2.

• Windows 7 tablets: Just say no, Microsoft

  Microsoft is busy at work on a new tablet computer design, a product that may arrive from one or more of its hardware partners in "not a heck of a long time," CEO Steve Ballmer told analysts on Thursday.

• Dell, HP to resell Oracle's operating systems

  Oracle said Thursday that rival hardware vendors Dell and Hewlett-Packard intend to certify and resell its Solaris and Enterprise Linux operating systems as well as Oracle VM on their x86 servers.