WinInsider

A new tool created by a team of Microsoft developers simplifies the process of uninstalling outdated CTP builds of Visual Studio 2005 from developer machines.

The VS 2005 Diagnostics and Uninstall tool automates the Visual Studio 2005 instructions and uninstalls all pre-release Visual Studio 2005 editions such as Visual Studio Express, Visual Studio Team System, Professional and Standard edition, according to a Web log of one of the developers who created the tool, Microsoft engineer Hong Gao.

Microsoft on Friday commended the law-enforcement authorities in Turkey and Morocco as well as the FBI for its work on Thursday to arrest those believed responsible for the spread of the Mytob and Zytob worms.The company's Crime Investigations Team supported the investigation by supplying the FBI with technical information and analytical support. This information was then passed onto the Turkish and Moroccan authorities by the FBI after it was determined the worms originated from those two countries.

In its fight with Microsoft over an executive's defection, Google has enlisted attorneys from a small but high-powered law firm.

Kekar Van Nest, a 50-lawyer firm based in San Francisco, represented Grokster it its legal battle over file sharing, and also represented Wall Street banker Frank Quattrone and former Enron leader Andrew Fastow in criminal cases. The firm specializes in "complex civil and criminal litigation," according to its Web site, and was judged "litigation boutique of the year" earlier this year by The American Lawyer trade publication.

WinInsider.com is back! The site had two technical issues, one after another with the server configuration, but thanks to dedicated technical support professionals all was fixed. It the week long interruption has caused any inconvenience, for that I apologize. If anyone notice any errors please let me know.

Mike
WinInsider.com's alpha and omega

Microsoft is marketing an RFID package for postal services at a stamp exhibition in Taiwan, hoping to woo the government's post office and potentially forge a new line of business for the software maker.

The technology Microsoft has on offer allows a postal service, the package sender, and the receiver to view exactly where the package is at all times. It also notifies a receiver when the package will arrive and alerts senders via MSN Messenger or a mobile phone SMS after it has been signed for at its destination.

Microsoft is discounting its MSN TV 2 set-top box--and adding several new features.

The company announced on Tuesday that it's offering a $100 rebate that effectively halves the cost of the set-top box, which allows users to send and receive e-mail, browse the Web and access information from a PC located elsewhere in the home. The rebate runs through Jan. 31.

Microsoft debuted the MSN TV 2 box, which is the successor to Web TV, last September. Like its predecessor, MSN TV 2 allows for reading e-mail and viewing the Web using a TV as a monitor.

Microsoft posted the Community Technology Preview of Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 last week, bringing the final version of SP2, a bundle of bug fixes and substantial new functionality for the messaging server, one step closer to its expected delivery later this year.

The CTP version of the service pack is available here. The pre-release evaluation version is not supported and is not recommended for production systems.

Improvements in SP2 focus on mobility and security. Some of the new functionality will only work in concert with other pieces of Microsoft-based infrastructure that haven't been delivered, including Windows Mobile 5.0 devices and Outlook 2003 Service Pack 2.

Microsoft late Tuesday warned that the Zotob worm could start squirming through certain configurations of Windows XP SP1.

The worm, which squirms through a flaw in the Windows PnP service, has wreaked havoc on unpatched Windows 2000 machines, but new information suggests some Windows XP users could also be at risk.

Late Tuesday, Microsoft issued a new advisory that confirmed the expanded threat and recommended that users implement workarounds to thwart a new worm outbreak.

Users of Windows XP SP2 are not vulnerable to remote attacks.

August 24, 1995 was a momentous occasion for the computer industry as Microsoft introduced Windows 95 at a gala launch event. The long awaited new operating system not only sparked the explosion of the Internet, but for the first time computers became inspirational tools that would make our lives better.The Windows 95 launch took place on a 12-acre sports field at Microsoft's Redmond campus. It took 20 days and over 200 people to prepare for the festivities, and Bill Gates' address was beamed simultaneously to 43 other events in cities around the world - not an easy feat in 1995.

When it comes to the power of presence in applications, "we're just scratching the surface," Ed Simnett, senior product manager for the Real-Time Collaboration Group at Microsoft, told InstantMessagingPlanet.com.

"Presence is becoming a normal part of information workers bag of tricks," Simnett said. "We're seeing an increasing interest from customers in having presence part of other applications." In a move to help make it easier for developers to combine presence and real-time collaboration capabilities with business applications, Microsoft today introduced controls and new sample code for Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005.