Microsoft is licensing technology from EMC, and the companies are developing new technologies aimed at making it easier for
businesses to monitor and manage their IT systems.
Microsoft will include EMC's Smarts network monitoring technology in future versions of Microsoft System Center Operations
Manager, software used for end-to-end IT systems monitoring. EMC is also developing network management and root-cause analysis
management packs that will be used in existing and future versions of System Center Operations Manager.
Microsoft, Intel, Google and other tech companies called on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to
move forward with a proceeding to make unused television spectrum available for wireless networking technologies.
Members of the White Spaces Coalition, also including Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., on Tuesday said they intend to keep
the pressure on the FCC to meet its deadline of issuing final rules on the use of unlicensed wireless devices in spectrum
white spaces, which are empty TV channels available in every city.
Microsoft last week unveiled a VoIP-enabled phone system software platform based on Windows XP Embedded. "Response Point," currently in beta, supports both IP- and traditional analog-based telephony, targets small businesses, and is expected ship this year in production devices from three vendors.
Phone systems based on Response Point technology will include a base unit (such as Quanta's Syspine shown at right) and multiple desktop phones (such as the Quanta model shown above), plus software.
According to Microsoft, Response Point implements a voice-activated user interface that, for example, allows users to reach anyone in their company directory or Outlook contact list simply by saying the name. Conversely, an "Automated Receptionist" answers incoming calls and routes them according to the caller's voice instructions, the company adds.
Microsoft has announced the release of the Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Applications Software Development Kit. KD Hallman, a general manager in the Visual Studio group of Microsoft's Developer Division, is slated to deliver a keynote on the afternoon of March 27 titled: "Visual Studio Everywhere: Tools for Office, Office Business Applications, and Custom Application Extensibility." In that talk, Hallman is expected to discuss the new VSTA software development kit.
VSTA enables ISVs and enterprises to add application customization to their applications. Microsoft InfoPath 2007 has integrated VSTA, the company said.
Microsoft released several patches for Windows Vista on Tuesday, including one designed to put the iPod and the new operating system back on speaking terms. The software maker issued a patch that is designed to fix a problem that had left iPods vulnerable to potentially being corrupted if Vista users used the operating system's Safely Remove Hardware option to eject the music player.
Apple had resolved several Vista compatibility issues in iTunes, but has continued to warn users to only use the eject function within iTunes to remove an iPod in Vista.
This is no April Fool's Day joke. Microsoft said during its Management Summit today in San Diego that its System Center Operations Manager 2007 management application will be available this April 1.
The software, which has evolved from what Microsoft used to call Operations Manager 2005, offers intelligent network monitoring and reporting for Microsoft platforms and applications.
The software competes with products from IBM, HP, CA and BMC in the multi-billion-dollar market for software that governs application operations.
Microsoft now has until April 23 to respond to EU charges that it fails to offer rivals a fair deal on licenses for communications code that helps servers work with Windows, an EU spokesman said Monday.
The European Commission originally set a four-week deadline ending April 3, threatening to start levying daily fines of euro3 million (US$4 million) a day after that. Microsoft said it needed more time to address the complex issues involved.
The EU had ordered the company to share communications code with rivals as part of a 2004 antitrust order that found Microsoft broke anti-monopoly rules by denying competitors information needed to link the servers -- which organize all the computers in an office -- to desktop PCs running Windows.
Microsoft is extending discounts for multiple Vista licenses to small businesses and home users in Europe. Nick White, product manager on the Vista launch team, revealed the extension to Europe of the Windows Vista Additional License program in his blog.
The bulk license discount, which Microsoft made available to U.S. customers in February and extended to European customers on Monday, allows small businesses and home users to install the same edition of a previously purchased Windows Vista operating system on additional computers. Customers can purchase up to five additional licenses at 10 percent off the suggested retail price.
More than 20 million copies of Windows Vista were sold globally in February 2007, the first month of sales since its widespread consumer release.
That is significantly more than the 17 million copies of Windows XP that were sold in the first two months following its release in October 2001, Kevin Kutz, a director in Microsoft's Windows client group, told eWeek in an interview on March 26.
"These sales figures reflect global sales from retail, PC manufacturers and the Express Upgrade program, and indicate that we are on track to more than double the initial pace of sales for Windows XP, and for Vista to become the fastest adopted version of Windows ever," he said.
Microsoft is retiring its Visual J# product and the accompanying Java Language Conversion Assistant, according to a company posting on the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web site from earlier this year.
The Visual J# language and Java Language Conversion Assistant have been Microsoft's offerings for moving Java code over to the Microsoft .Net platform. But there has been lessening interest in these, according to Microsoft.
"Due to a decline in customer interest, Microsoft made the decision to discontinue investment in developing future versions of Visual J#," a Microsoft representative said in an email on Friday afternoon.