Microsoft has spelled out its strategy to make its Live Web services accessible to third-party developers, part of its push to capitalize on online services.
At the Microsoft TechEd conference on Tuesday, executives sketched out the technical infrastructure the company is building. They also discussed key elements of the business model, notably advertising, that Microsoft is expecting to fuel its services push.
Millions of Windows users may unwittingly be test subjects for an unfinished Microsoft antipiracy tool. The software maker has been delivering a prerelease version of Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications software to PCs as a "high priority" item in the built-in update feature in Windows. The tool, also known as WGA Notifications, is used to validate the authenticity of Windows software installed on a PC.
Last year, Microsoft spent a lot of money launching its MSN Direct wireless service, which broadcasts to a line of first-generation smart watches from Fossil, Suunto and Swatch.
The watches employed Microsoft's Smart Personal Objects Technology, and while they got a lot of press and offered some intriguing features, they didn't do well in the marketplace. Part of the problem was they were big and clunky-looking (read: ultrageeky). Also, at launch, you had to pay an additional $60 a year for the MSN Direct service, which isn't all that much, but when you already have a cell phone bill and a host of other bills to pay, who needs another expense?
InternetNews
ISP Qwest Communications became the first to support Microsoft's recently unveiled Windows Live OneCare security product.
Although the announcement doesn't signal an antivirus revolt, the move is a "step in the right direction for Microsoft," according to experts.
Qwest is offering a OneCare subscription for free to its 1.7 million broadband users despite the fact that Microsoft charges $50 for the retail version.
A rollout date or financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Qwest, which also offers antivirus protection from Microsoft rival McAfee as part of an MSN Premium service, said the move is part of an eventual adoption of the Windows Live platform, which the Denver-based ISP expects to make available later this year.
MS-Watch
Microsoft's annual gathering for IT pros and developers kicks off on June 11. Here is our list of the most significant of the unveilings and announcements ? everything from a first test build of the new mobile SQL Server, to a new beta of WinFS -- that we're expecting at this week's show.
It's TechEd time.
And at this year's annual gathering of Microsoft IT pros and developers, which starts on June 11 in Boston, Microsoft is expected to tout its growing family development platforms.
Windows ? and the recently renamed .Net Framework 3.0 ? are Microsoft's primary development platforms to which the company encourages third-party and custom developers to write.
Ben Fathi knows a thing or two about security. He spent the first half of his 24-year career working as an operating system developer, before moving to management. Before being named head of Microsoft's security group, he was the executive responsible for the Server Message Block file-sharing protocol, which has had its share of security issues.
His new job as corporate vice president of Microsoft's Security Technology Unit will give him a higher profile outside of the company. He's in charge of Microsoft's response to hacker threats, and he must also lay out the overall security strategy, as developers put the finishing touches on the highly anticipated Vista and Windows Server "Longhorn" products.
MS-Watch
Microsoft tech evangelist and alpha blogger Robert Scoble talks about everything from his tensest moments at Microsoft, to what Microsoft could have done to keep him, as he prepares to leave the Redmond software maker and join startup PodTech.Net.
The Scobleizer hasn't yet left the building. But he will be doing so soon.
On June 10, word began to leak across the blogosphere that Robert Scoble, Windows technology evangelist and well-known Microsoft blogger, had decided to leave the Microsoft mothership and join startup PodTech.Net.
Seattle PI
Even Microsoft's hardware division is getting in on this Internet thing.
The unit that makes the Redmond company's mice and keyboards plans to come out with its own line of Webcams -- following the lead of other Microsoft groups by expanding its footprint in the online world.
Microsoft says it will offer two models of the cameras, dubbed "LifeCams," for about $50 and $100. The cameras will include features designed to work with Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger program, such as a button on top for quickly starting a video chat.
Microsoft's Windows Vista has a date with some of the world's smartest hackers.
The software maker will use the spotlight of the Black Hat security conference in August to show off some of the key security features and functionality being fitted into Vista.
Microsoft's appearance on the Black Hat stage is a first on many fronts. Microsoft will be the first software vendor to present an entire Black Hat Briefing track on a pre-release product. It is also the first time a representative from Redmond Wash., will make an official presentation at the controversial hacker confab.
InfoWorld
Microsoft is set to release research on Monday showing, among other things, that its security tools find malicious software on about 1 in every 311 times it scans a PC.
The research is part of a major report on security trends that Microsoft plans to release Monday at its TechEd user conference in Boston.
Microsoft's data is remarkable because it comes from such a large sample group, the more than 270 million users of the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, which ships with Windows.
Between January 2005 and March 2006, this tool was used to remove 16 million pieces of malware from 5.7 million computers.