A government watchdog site had its Internet domain restored, thanks to Microsoft, a day after the site's ISP shut it down for publishing a Microsoft handbook on how the company deals with law enforcement requests.
Microsoft had demanded that the site -- Cryptome.org -- take down a 22-page document named "Microsoft Online Services Global Criminal Compliance Handbook" as a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Wednesday, the site's ISP, Network Solutions, blocked access to Cryptome's site due to Microsoft's complaint. The site briefly relocated and several mirror sites were put up around the Web so that the document, and thousands of others, remained available for viewing.
Microsoft has made repeated attempts to protect its Windows operating system from theft and the criminals keep finding ways around the security. Today, Microsoft put the ball back in their court with the release of an updated security system that closes the door on dozens of hacks. Datamation has all the info.
Microsoft's update to its anti-piracy tool is now available via Windows Update, the company has confirmed.
Called Windows Activation Technologies, or WAT, the update adds technology to detect some 70 activation exploits that pirates have come up with to bypass Windows 7's activation protections, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft said it is shipping MultiPoint Server 2010, a multi-user computing system based on Windows meant to make technology more accessible to students in cash-strapped economies.
Announced in November, Microsoft's Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 uses a single centralized server computer with multiple multiple monitors, keyboards, and mice hooked up, so multiple users can all use that PC, while appearing as a separate computer for each user.
"Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 is now globally available to OEMs and will be rolling out to Microsoft academic volume licensing customers on March 1," Microsoft officials said in a statement Wednesday.
Microsoft announced Wednesday that it is ready with Windows MultiPoint Server 2010, a product that lets schools run a classroom full of systems using just a single computer.
Based on Windows Server 2008 R2, Multipoint allows up to 10 different set-ups, each with their own keyboard, mouse, and monitor to run from a single server.
"We heard clearly from our customers in education that to help fulfill the amazing promise of technology in the classroom, they needed access to affordable computing that was easy to manage and use," Microsoft vice president Anthony Salcito said in a statement.
Microsoft on Wednesday launched a new cloud-computing service targeting the federal government.
Business Productivity Online Suite Federal offers higher security standards than the company's regular cloud-computing service, including fingerprinting as part of background checks and biometric access control, said Ron Markezich, corporate vice president of Microsoft Online Services.
Additional security mechanisms are required for agencies like the Defense Department and NASA, but the standard suite has obtained a number of security and privacy certifications that make it attractive to local and state governments as well, he said in an interview after announcing the offering at the Microsoft U.S. Public Sector CIO Summit.
Internet Explorer fans can now get a taste of the video elements in HTML5 without having to switch browsers. Through a new in-development plug-in bundled with codecs from Xiph.org, users can activate rudimentary support for OGG-formatted HTML5 video on Windows 32-bit and 64-bit computers.
There are several problems that the plug-in has yet to solve to bring it up to parity with Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and the latest Opera beta, which natively support HTML5 in full. The plug-in leaves out support for H.264, lacks playback controls such as seeking, doesn't offer any HTML5 interface, and requires changing an XMLNS attribute within the
Microsoft and Amazon announced on Monday that the two have entered into a patent cross-licensing deal. As part of the pact, Amazon will pay Microsoft an undisclosed amount of money, though the two sides did not disclose more details.
The deal covers both Amazon's Kindle product as well as the company's use of Linux-based servers. Microsoft has maintained that many implementations of Linux infringe on its patents and has signed numerous licensing deals that cover Linux with both companies that sell Linux-based software and those that use the operating system in their hardware.
One of the biggest stories of the Mobile World Conference was the unveiling--finally--of Windows Mobile 7, rebranded as Windows Phone 7. The story within the story is how Microsoft abandoned the foundation established with the waning Windows Mobile platform, went back to the drawing board, and started from scratch for the latest incarnation of its mobile operating system.
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The result is a completely new mobile platform from Microsoft which, at least from initial feedback and reviews, seems to be worthy of further consideration once Windows Phone 7 devices start hitting the streets.
Microsoft may roll out its own Nexus One competitor next year, according to a Northeast Securities analyst who reportedly discussed the possibility of a branded phone with Microsoft's suppliers and design partners.
As reported by TheStreet.com and other sources, analyst Ashok Kumar suggested that a branded phone would roll out early in 2011, manufactured by Asustek Computer. The device would presumably run Microsoft's new smartphone operating system, Windows Phone 7, which the company unveiled in a Feb. 15 press conference during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
Microsoft and Yahoo apparently received clearance from both the European Commission--that's the EU's antitrust regulatory body--and the U.S. Department of Justice to complete their proposed search and advertising deal.
The 10-year agreement will see Microsoft taking over Yahoo's algorithmic and paid search platforms, while Yahoo handles sales-relationship duties for a substantial segment of both companies' online search advertisers (specifically, high-volume advertisers, SEO and SEM agencies, and resellers; Microsoft will apparently handle self-service advertisers). In other words, Bing will become Yahoo's underlying search engine, although Yahoo will continue to offer its own branded content and applications.