Just the thing for the ideal boating experience? High-speed Internet access. As part of Microsoft's attempt to make the Web omnipresent, the company announced a new service Thursday that will connect boaters to the Internet. Seafaring Web surfers can stay connected 25 miles from land thanks to a partnership struck between Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft and antenna maker KVH Industries.
KVH's Mobile Internet Receiver will connect users of MSN TV service, a customized version of the MSN TV 2 Internet and Media Player, to the Web. Under the plan, customers can access Microsoft Windows Media player, MSN Mail, MSN Messenger and MSN Radio, to name just a few applications.
Microsoft has confirmed the existence of a flaw in its USB 2.0 drivers for Windows XP Service Pack 2 that can cause a notebook to consume power at a faster-than-expected rate when using a peripheral device.
The issue, first uncovered by Tom's Hardware two weeks ago, appears to affect certain Intel-based notebooks running Windows XP Service Pack 2. When a peripheral device was connected to a USB 2.0 port, the notebook's battery life plunged at a greater rate than would normally be expected from the use of a peripheral such as a mouse or storage key. At the time that details of the flaw were published, Intel denied its processors or chipsets were the responsible for the issue. And Microsoft refused to confirm to CNET News.com until yesterday that the software company was responsible for the battery performance problem.
In a public statement today, Microsoft insisted it was in full compliance with a European Commission antitrust ruling.
"Microsoft has complied fully with the technical documentation requirements imposed by a 2004 European Commission decision, and the commission has ignored critical evidence in its haste to attack the company's compliance," the statement read.
The statement followed a 75-page formal response to the EU's criticism of its compliance, which the company also filed on Wednesday. A Microsoft spokesman told internetnews.com that commission rules preclude the public release of that document.
Microsoft today announced a public beta of its new Office Live hosted service. Microsoft plans to offer the service in three versions, one of which will be advertising-supported and free of charge to customers.
Customers who want to participate in the beta program may register to receive it here.
All three versions -Microsoft Office Live Basics, Microsoft Office Live Collaboration, and Microsoft Office Live Essentials--will be a part of the beta program. Office Live Basics will be free, while pricing for the other two will start at a subscription price of $29.95 a month.
Microsoft is set to take another crack at creating a uniform way for people to log on to Web sites, conduct transactions and prove their identities online.
Code-named InfoCard, the project will be outlined by Microsoft executives at the RSA computer security conference here this week. It reflects a change in approach for the company after its Passport initiative fell far short of the original goal of becoming a universal method of identification on the Internet.
Unlike Passport, the InfoCard project is meant to work with a variety of online identity providers, not just one. Microsoft hopes to persuade governmental agencies, banks, online services and others to issue digital cards that people could use to establish different levels of identity for themselves at online sites.
Steve Ballmer arguably knows how to work a crowd and sell his message. His debut keynote Tuesday at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona was no exception.
Addressing a packed auditorium of mobile-phone executives, the chief executive officer of Microsoft admitted that as a "newbie" speaker he couldn't be more excited to attend the event.
"Today is Valentine's Day, a day of love and affection," he said to a chuckling audience. "Now, I'm a guy some of you have probably seen on the Internet yelling how much I love Microsoft. So my theme on this today is -- I love the mobile industry and I love our operator partners."
Ballmer got the laughter he intended and everyone's attention, too. Then, he zeroed in on his main theme: many devices people now carry in their pockets are like "mini PCs" and these devices are connecting to ever more-powerful mobile broadband networks.
Microsoft said Tuesday that it is making additions and changes to Windows Server "Longhorn" and to Internet Explorer 7 to add capabilities to better support security and identity protection.
The announcements came during Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates' keynote presentation to the audience at RSA Conference 2006 in San Jose, California.
First off, Microsoft is incorporating support for the Identity Metasystem industry initiative into its products. According to a white paper posted on Microsoft's site last May, Identity Metasystem is "a system of systems, which would leverage the strengths of its constituent identity systems, provide interoperability between them, and enable creation of a consistent and straightforward user interface to them all."
Microsoft's Windows Defender anti-spyware application has hit the Beta 2 milestone with a major user interface facelift and complete integration with Windows Vista.
The revamped Windows Defender Beta 2, which has been expanded to scan for rootkits, keystroke loggers and other forms of malware, has shed the old Giant AntiSpyware look and feel in favor of a cleaner UI and a brand-new scanning engine that promises better performance.
During a keynote presentation at the RSA Conference 2006 here, Microsoft provided a brief demo of Windows Defender and showed how Web-borne malware attacks can be quarantinedand blockedin real time.
Who doesn't like sugar? Especially on Valentine's Day? Microsoft and open source CRM vendor SugarCRM are collaborating in a
technical partnership that will see a new Windows version of SugarCRM released under a Microsoft Shared Source license. The move
may well be a herald of things to come, as Microsoft attempts to attract open source applications to its platform.
SugarCRM and Microsoft are expected to collaborate on improved support for Microsoft's Web server Internet Information Services, in addition to Active Directory and SQL Server. The new support will manifest itself in a new Microsoft Windows distribution of SugarCRM 4.5 that is set to debut in May or June. Version 4.0 was released in December 2005.
Microsoft has come a long way from the geeky pocket protector stereotype of its early days, but now Microsoft is hoping for a return to your pocket in a big way.
The company is making a big splash at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona this week, with several new technology introductions and partnerships that target wireless mobile devices and phones based on its Windows Mobile platform.
Microsofts opening-day announcements at 3GSM revolve around a number of technology and strategic initiatives, including MSN, search and Windows Live.