Microsoft said it plans next month to offer long-awaited 64-bit versions of its Windows operating system.
Speaking at the Intel Developer Forum, Windows chief Jim Allchin said the desktop version of the souped-up Windows would come at the beginning of April, while the server version would come at the end of the month.
"We're locked on to 64-bit," Allchin said, encouraging developers to start tailoring their applications to include the ability to take advantage of the extra processing power.
Customer dissatisfaction is growing with Microsoft's delayed CRM release cycle, even as the Redmond, Wash., company has hired a veteran CRM executive to help get the product out the door.
Brad Wilson, a former marketing executive with PeopleSoft Inc. and Epiphany Inc., joined Microsoft in early February, at the same time the company announced another delay for its long-awaited Microsoft CRM 2.0, originally due to ship early last year.
Microsoft CRM 2.0 is now expected to be released to manufacturing in the fourth quarter, with general availability in the second quarter of next year. As recently as January, Microsoft was promising that Version 2.0 would be released this quarter.
Afraid Microsoft's anti-spyware will muck up your hard drive, erasing your digital photos, music collection and work files? Don't worry, you've got a $5 rebate coming your way in this worst-case scenario--enough to buy five songs on iTunes. That is, if you read and take advantage of Microsoft's legal promise.
According to the AntiSpyware Beta end-user license agreement (EULA), Microsoft will reimburse direct damages up to $5 for problems associated with the new downloadable tool that wards off spyware, adware and any other "potentially unwanted software."
Microsoft's shifting server strategy looks to be shifting some more.
The company is moving toward converging SharePoint Portal Server and Content Management Server functionality into a single "server system," due in 2006, CRN has learned.
Microsoft officials have discussed the plans so much that some partners thought the move had been definitively announced. It has not.
SPS, the focal point of Microsoft's collaboration strategy, hosts departmental collaboration sites and deals with Web content. CMS is more geared for traditional content management.
WinInfo
Nothing in the tech world makes me sadder than Dell's Intel-only stance when it comes to microprocessors. I'm a huge fan of Dell PCs and, until recently, purchased only Dell equipment. But Dell has refused to adopt AMD's microprocessors, especially the superior 64-bit Athlon 64 designs, deciding instead to stick with Intel despite the fact that Intel is only now, more than a year later, finally getting around to introducing 64-bit Pentium 4 chips. This week, Dell CEO Rollins took yet another pot shot at AMD, confirming that, although Dell did examine the possibility of selling PCs with AMD chips, it has now moved firmly back into the Intel camp. That's bad news for AMD, which could use a high-profile conversion from the number-one PC maker to reverse its financial fortunes. And it's bad news for all PC users, really, because AMD, not Intel, is innovating and pushing us to a new platform. I'd like to see AMD rewarded for that, especially after Intel's 64-bit mega-flop, the Itanium, never even attempted to shoot for mainstream market glory.
Microsoft's silence on its Next-Generation Secure Computing Base architecture has some industry insiders wondering if the technology has been substantially delayed, or even axed.
Microsoft unveiled NGSCB, formerly known by its Palladium code name, in 2002. The technology, Microsoft has said, uses a combination of software and hardware that boosts PC security by providing the ability to isolate software so it can be protected against malicious code. NGSCB requires changes to a PC's processor, chipset and graphics card, for which Microsoft has said that it enlisted the help of hardware makers including Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.
Some of Windows NT's oldest subsystem and protocol friends will be left behind when the codebase moves to x64.
Microsoft uses the x64 name to designate operating systems supporting the 64-bit extensions to the x86 architecture. The operating systems support the AMD64 architecture and Intel processors featuring Extended Memory 64 Technology. Microsoft's x64 versions of Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP are currently in the Release Candidate testing stage and are expected to ship in the first half of this year.
Microsoft will raise prices for SQL Server 2005 compared to SQL Server 2000, but SQL Server will continue to come in a free edition, a new low cost edition is being added and functionality previously reserved for the Enterprise Edition is working its way down to lower cost versions.
SQL Server 2005 is supposed to ship this summer, with a Beta 3 test version coming out by the end of March and another in a series of Community Technical Previews expected in a few weeks. Normally Microsoft holds off on announcing the features and prices for each edition until a product is released to manufacturing. The early disclosure is not surprising given the importance of the release and the fact that Microsoft's initial public plans to ship the database, code-named "Yukon," originally called for a 2002 release.
A Dutch Web site claimed victory in a David and Goliath battle against Microsoft this week after the software giant's AntiSpyware program flagged the Dutch company's homepage as malicious content.
Microsoft has agreed to compensate and apologize to the operator of Dutch directory site Startpagina.nl for designating the site as a "browser hijacker" in the beta version of its free AntiSpyware software, according to Startpagina.nl Director Bert Wiggers. The amount of the compensation is not being disclosed but the apology is public, as Microsoft has agreed to keep an acknowledgement of the error on its Dutch Web property for four weeks, according to Wiggers.
Microsoft announced Thursday that is has signed a deal with the creator of the influential "Final Fantasy" series to produce two new titles for the next version of the Xbox.
Hironobu Sakaguchi will create a pair of original role-playing games for the successor to the current Xbox, widely expected to be released late this year. Microsoft Vice President Peter Moore characterized the move as part of a new company strategy to boost Xbox sales in Asia.
"When we think about our plans for the Asian market over the next decade, the investment in intellectual property we own is absolutely critical," Moore said.