The details of Microsoft's mysterious deal with Transmeta have finally been revealed. And none of the speculation was even close.
The microprocessor company has been working for the past year on a high-security, power-efficient chip for Microsoft's new "FlexGo" pay-as-you-go PC initiative in developing nations.
"This happens to be the project we were working on," said Art Swift, Transmeta's president and chief executive, in an interview about the FlexGo initiative.
So the mystery is solved?
"The mystery is solved," he said.
It's the hour of reckoning for Windows Vista. After five years of course changes, false starts and a host of beta and Community Technology Preview (CTP) builds, Microsoft is set to deliver a broad-scale build of Vista to two million testers. Microsoft is likely to drop the build -- known by multiple names, including the consumer Vista CTP and Vista Beta 2 -- as early as this week at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Seattle, according to company watchers. (Around the same time, Microsoft also is likely to release Office 2007 Beta 2, the next major milestone of Microsoft's next-generation desktop suite, as well as Beta 2 of Longhorn Server.)
Microsoft has named XL Capital as its second paying managed services customer. The Redmond, Wash. software giant's deal with the multi-billion dollar insurance, reinsurance and financial services giant was signed this week, Microsoft said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. XL Capital has almost $60 billion in assets.
As part of the deal, Microsoft will offer hosted desktop and collaboration services for XL Capital and will manage 4,000 of XL Capital's desktops, said Tom Ryan, a spokesman for Microsoft's Managed Solutions.
Microsoft is taking the wraps off a new community development site for its shared and open source code initiatives.
The CodePlex development site (http://codeplex.com), currently in Beta, may well supplant Microsoft's projects on the open source software repository SourceForge.net site and its own GotDotnet site.
Nothing is official about moving current projects to the new development site. But Microsoft's bloggers are running the discussion up a flagpole, especially about moving its Windows Installer XML project, which is currently hosted on Sourceforge.net.
The publication Thursday of Windows Vista's minimum hardware specs is only the last in a long series of requirement postings by Microsoft. To show some perspective, TechWeb compiled the Redmond, Wash. developer's stated reqs for each major Windows release since 1990's Windows 3.0.
Caveat: Microsoft is notorious for understating system requirements to pitch Windows to the greatest number, even when that minimum hardware has difficulty actually running the OS. JupiterResearch analyst Joe Wilcox characterized the habit this way on his blog. "You could run Windows on the minimum requirements, but you wouldn't want to." As an additional comparison, average prices for desktop computer -- monitor included -- and portable PCs have been noted for all releases except Windows 3.0. (Data provided by IDC.) While these "average" prices don't spec out systems identical to Microsoft's minimum requirements, they are a good indicator of what users paid for machines to run each OS.
Amid signs of sagging employee morale, Microsoft on Thursday presented a plan to overhaul its performance-review process, increase stock awards, boost on-campus perks and address a wide range of additional concerns.
Even the towels are back.
The plan, dubbed "myMicrosoft," would improve training for managers, clarify internal career paths and increase child care and tuition benefits. New services on the Redmond campus will include dry-cleaning, convenience stores, grocery delivery and upgraded dining options -- such as Wolfgang Puck takeout.
It's been a busy time at Maison de Thurrott this week, a rare week home after weeks of travel, but the impending Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) looms over me like a beacon of doom. Why is that you ask? Next week's WinHEC will see the Beta 2 release of three major Microsoft products: Windows Vista, Longhorn Server, and Office 2007. So I've been scurrying around trying to shore up the reviews for each, which I'll release over the course of the next week. It's a busy, busy time, and oddly enough, going to the show itself will seem relaxing compared to the preparation work. Stay tuned to the SuperSite for Windows (and the WinInfo Web site) for ongoing coverage of WinHEC 2006 and, of course, some heavy-duty Beta 2 reviews. Speaking of which: The Vista Beta 2 build candidate is up to build 5384.3 at the moment, but you never know if a last-second issue could cause it to jump to the build 5385 range. See you next week!
Eight months after announcing a corporate restructuring designed to allow Microsoft to make decisions more quickly, a top executive insisted Wednesday the technology industry's 800-pound gorilla has become more nimble.
"There's more to be done, no question, but I feel like we're moving and focused in the right way," said Kevin Johnson, who in the restructuring was named co-president of the division that includes Microsoft's Windows operating system, online efforts and server software.
On Thursday, Microsoft finally announced the system requirements and recommendations for Windows Vista, the company's upcoming Windows revision. Microsoft had previously provided only basic guidance regarding Vista-compliant PCs.
The requirements might surprise you because they're lower than anticipated. To run Vista, you'll need a 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) PC with at least an 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and a Microsoft DirectX 9.0-capable video card. Microsoft says such PCs are now classified as "Vista Capable."
Microsoft is in talks to buy application virtualization software vendor Softricity of Boston, CRN has learned.
"It's coming down to the final stretches," said one source close to Microsoft who is familiar with the discussions. "It's not a done deal yet but it's just last minute haggling kind of stuff."
That's not all. At its hardware conference for OEMs next week, Microsoft is expected to announce plans to accelerate the delivery of its homegrown virtualization hypervisor code-named "Viridian" and will formally debut plans for a virtualization management platform code-named Carmine.