Microsoft defended its Windows Genuine Advantage tool this week against charges that it acts like spyware because it
constantly checks in with Microsoft when a user boots a PC with the tool installed.
When first introduced last year, the WGA, which checks a user's copy of Windows XP to ensure it is not counterfeit or pirated, ran only on Windows PCs when
a user would install automatic updates. Microsoft updated the tool, which is still in pilots, in April with a WGA Notifications
feature that checks the legitimacy of Windows on a machine regardless of whether update services are being used.
The news Wednesday that Microsoft had finally posted a public beta for its long-awaited, often-delayed Windows Vista brought the usual rush by multitudes who couldn't wait.
Enough, apparently, that some users have reported overloaded sites that never begin the download. (As of mid-day Thursday, TechWeb was unable to reach the English-language, 32-bit download file.)
That inability to access Beta 2's multi-gigabyte download may be a blessing in disguise. Tucked into Microsoft's Web site are notes that may be deal-breakers for many.
Microsoft said Thursday it has established a developer center for collaboration technologies in Zurich that will focus on developing products for Microsoft Office.
Microsoft is integrating Zurich-based Media-streams.com into its Zurich area operations. Late last year, Microsoft acquired Media-streams, which has expertise in VoIP.
The Microsoft unit, which currently employs 18, is the fourth Microsoft development facility in Europe. The Zurich unit is part of Microsoft's Unified Communications Group in the software firm's Business Division..
Microsoft plans to release a dozen security bulletins June 13 to provide fixes for a wide range of critical software vulnerabilities.
The June batch of updates will include patches for a critical zero-day flaw in Microsoft Word and an Internet Explorer update that deals with the way the browser handles ActiveX controls.
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed in an interview with eWEEK that the Microsoft Office update will offer a comprehensive fix for the Word flaw that has been exploited in targeted attacks emanating from China and Taiwan.
After months of limited testing, Microsoft late Wednesday made a beta version of Windows Vista publicly available for download.
The company kicked off what it called its "Customer Preview Program," a testing period in which the software maker hopes millions of tech enthusiasts will kick the tires on the new operating system.
"Microsoft today kicked off the Windows Vista Customer Preview Program, providing the broadest access yet to pre-release test versions of Windows Vista," the company said in a statement. Microsoft is aiming to wrap up testing and development of Vista later this year in hopes of a broad launch in January. The company released Beta 2 last month to a more limited group of testers and had promised the broader test would come shortly.
Microsoft is considering San Antonio for a $600 million data center that would bring the tech industry's best-recognized name to the city and generate up to 100 jobs, two local officials close to the negotiations said.
The software maker is looking at San Antonio and at least one other Texas city -- Austin -- for the center, which would store company data on scores of computer servers, said the officials, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the talks.
Company officials exploring the deal have visited San Antonio three times.
The launch of the ultra-mobile PC hasn't quenched Microsoft's thirst to find a blockbuster product in the portable PC space. In fact, the company has continued to work on another mini-Tablet PC concept, the Haiku, and expects it on the market within the next few years.
"We'd like to see them out in the $500 to $700 range. The closer to $500 the better," said Otto Berkes, general manager of Microsoft's Ultra-Mobile PC operations, on the sidelines of a conference in Taipei on Wednesday.
The Haiku device he showed off at the Via Technology Forum was basically a display screen about the size of a paperback book. The idea is to use screen input methods to work the device, which would include a version of Microsoft's OS for Tablet PCs.
Microsoft's Developer Division has launched a series of new Shared Source tools to help developers build applications more efficiently.
S. "Soma" Somasegar, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft, said the Redmond, Wash., software giant released the new tools, including a set of "Power Toys for Visual Studio," at the end of May.
In a blog entry on May 25, Somasegar said Microsoft released three of the "power toys" to its Shared Source program, including MSBee, an addition to MSBuild that allows developers to build managed applications with MSBuild using Visual Studio 2005 projects that target .Net 1.1.
Microsoft this week disclosed new features coming in BizTalk Server 2006 Release 2, including integrated support for radio frequency identification devices.
Another significant feature slated for the R2 release is support for electronic data interchange and Applicability Statement 2, a protocol specification for handling EDI transactions.
Additionally, R2 will feature tight integration with Windows Vista and with Office System 2007, particularly SharePoint services, according to Microsoft officials.
While there has been no formal announcement, Microsoft has confirmed to internetnews.com that there will be a third beta of Internet Explorer 7.
Planned for August, the third beta will test all of the new technologies and standards being added to IE 7, as well as bug fixes found in the first two betas.
The company released the first beta in January to a lukewarm reception.
While applauded for its new features, both visible and under the covers, there were some peculiar design choices, such as the menu bar being sandwiched between the address bar and the tab bar.