Microsoft is expected to unveil copy-protection software this summer that will for the first time give portable digital music players access to tunes rented via all-you-can-eat subscription services--a development that some industry executives believe will shake up the online music business.
Sources say the technology--code-named Janus and originally expected more than a year ago--was recently released in a test version to developers and that a final release is now expected as soon as July.
Redmond quietly is implementing its new Technology Adoption Program across its product lines. On Thursday, Microsoft notified some of its SQL Server 2005 testers that they are eligible to join the next phase of the "Yukon" beta program.
TAP is the granddaddy of Microsoft's beta programs centered on a core group of key customers and partners who are early adopters of key Microsoft technologies.
TAP is not a replacement for Microsoft's mega-beta tests (public and private) for products such as Windows, Office and Visual Studio. Instead, it's more of an "elite" beta-test program.
A first beta release of the next version of Windows likely will be delayed until next year because Microsoft is concentrating first on a security-focused update to Windows XP, the Redmond, Washington-based company said Thursday.
Microsoft had said it would deliver a beta version of Longhorn, code name for the next Windows release, in mid-2004. However, the test version is now expected in early 2005 because many developers working on Longhorn have been reassigned to work on Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP, a Microsoft spokesman said.
Microsoft this week announced Windows CE 5.0, giving us a stronger sense of where Microsoft is driving that platform. Windows CE is the core platform that lies underneath the Windows Mobile products, which include PDAs and cell phones.
It was called CE.NET in its last iteration, a mistake that fell out of the lemminglike behavior at Microsoft during the dot-com years, when everything had to have a .NET after it. The trend, fortunately, stopped just short of renaming the men's and women's restrooms Men.Net and Women.Net, and this release indicates that Microsoft has returned to a more reasonable naming convention.
Windows Small Business Server 2003 is being adopted at a much faster rate than the Windows 2000-based version of the product, Microsoft officials say. Eager to show momentum in the market for small business servers, where the low cost of Linux makes it an attractive alternative to Windows, Microsoft this week used the six-month anniversary of the server's launch to circulate word that sales are hot.
Security professionals say Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative may finally be improving their lives because the latest patches and fixes being distributed by Redmond rarely break other applications.
Just over two years ago, Bill Gates fundamentally changed the way Microsoft approached software development by making security the highest priority. The company has spent millions of dollars to train staff in privacy concerns and secure programming, while building new tools and processes to help create reliable software. Although even Microsoft executives admit there is a long way to go, the investment seems to be paying off.
Number of sources have confirmed that Microsoft has resumed talks to acquire AOL. Early this month New York Post has reported the early stages of negotiations between two companies, but both sides strongly denied the speculations. To what now seems that the deal may be more plausible than both sides admitted. Many analysts point out that through the purchase of AOL, Microsoft could become number one ISP in the America. With 50 billion dollars sitting in the bank, Microsoft can easily afford the takeover. One sticking point in negotiations was over Netscape browser, which AOL owns as open source, but Microsoft wants to scrap the project altogether in favor of Internet Explorer. Even if the talks succeed, Microsoft may face further antitrust issues over this acquisition.
The U.S. State Department has quietly expressed its concerns to European regulators about last week's decision to levy harsh penalties and a $613 million fine on Microsoft.
The quiet protest from the Bush administration comes as concern is growing on Capitol Hill over the European Commission's penalties, which came after the Justice Department agreed to a consent decree that includes ongoing federal court oversight of Microsoft's business practices.
"The State Department has been involved in an off-the-record attempt to focus their attention" on the harm the decision could bring about, a U.S. government official, who has direct knowledge of the concerns communicated to EU regulators, told CNET News.com on condition of anonymity. A State Department representative declined to comment.
Ghana and Angola have become the most recent African signatories to agreements with Microsoft. Earlier this month the government of Ghana signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. software giant, aimed at creating a workforce that is literate in information and communications technology. Last month, Angola signed an agreement with Microsoft on financing Internet access for the government and training.
The agreement between the government of Ghana and Microsoft calls for a number of actions. These include Microsoft working out a National Educational Licensing Agreement with the government of Ghana for all schools using Microsoft desktop and server software.
Once again, Microsoft's chief software architect is beating the drum on security. In a letter e-mailed to Microsoft customers, Chairman Bill Gates cited the evolving nature of security threats to personal computers, which he said can be "hijacked" and turn "innocent users into unknowing and innocent worm propagators." (For the full text, see Microsoft's Web site).
Gates also reiterated Microsoft's pledge to invest in safeguarding the company's besieged offerings against attacks, as well as in customer education and partnerships.