In a filing with the judge presiding over its antitrust case late Thursday, Microsoft agreed with a government request to extension of federal oversight by another 18 months.
Combined with a two-year extension already . granted to the Department of Justice last year, that will take the oversight of Microsoft's behaviors ? particularly in providing accurate documentation to licensees ? out to May 12, 2011. Otherwise, the oversight would have expired on November 12, 2009.
As with the last extension, the latest extension request arose from Microsoft's slowness in providing interoperability documentation to licensees, which was mandated in the original consent decree in order to provide a level playing field for competitors.
After the leaked pictures of the Zune HD appeared on Saturday, more unconfirmed technical specifications of the device have now emerged. Microsoft's new portable media player is set to go neck-to-neck with Apple's iPod Touch, as the specifications of the Zune HD make it a viable contender.
The Zune HD is set to feature a multitouch OLED screen in a 16:9 aspect ratio and will have a TV out port on the side. Coming in 16 and 32GB versions, the device will also support wireless syncing to your computer. Some even speculate the PMP will support 3D Xbox games, if the Zune HD will actually use Nvidia's Tegra chipset.
In remarks addressed to a public safety conference on Wednesday, Microsoft's chief operating officer defended the company's increased investment in research and development.
Kevin Turner reiterated Microsoft's plan to increase spending on research and development by US$1 billion this year, with the expectation of a total investment of $9.1 billion. "It's a bold step because it's not a popular one with financial analysts and from the financial markets. But this company is not run by financial analysts or external markets.
Microsoft's Exchange Server 2010, which eWEEK Labs tested in its beta 1 incarnation, takes on its cloud-based email rivals with a new Outlook Web Access interface that adds both richness and interoperability with non-Microsoft browsers such as Mozilla's Firefox and Apple's Safari. At the same time, Microsoft has bolstered the management capabilities relied upon by Exchange's core enterprise audience.
Over the last three years, the world of email and Internet communications has changed quite a bit. The growth of cloud-based services and web-based messaging solutions, most notably Google Gmail, has changed the way people and businesses look at messaging.
Microsoft will automatically push Internet Explorer 8 out to users via automatic updates beginning next week, the company announced on its IEBlog.
Though not a surprise, the move does require that IT decision makers and consumers decide whether or not to block the downloads. Microsoft began shipping IE8 in mid-March.
If customers who use Microsoft automatic updates don't block the downloads, they still have a choice whether or not to install IE8, according to the blog. If they later decide to upgrade, they can do so manually.
Microsoft will end "mainstream support" of Windows XP on Tuesday, April 14, 2009, meaning that there will be no more free per-incident support for that operating system.
XP users will still be able to get security patches automatically through Windows Update. In addition, it doesn't cost to call Microsoft if you have a problem installing Windows XP. However, calling Microsoft about other support incidents will cost the user money.
Microsoft already delivered its last service pack for XP, which is Service Pack 3.
Just days after customers complained on a Facebook discussion about the lack of software updates to Windows Mobile phones, Microsoft published a job ad for a developer who will build an update process for the operating system.
"Have you wished to see your Windows Mobile phone with new features 'magically' show up without you buying a new one?" reads the job ad, posted on Microsoft's career site and first spotted by Ars Technica. The job description indicates that Microsoft is developing a way to push updates out to Windows Mobile users.
"Our goal is to enable customers to anticipate and enjoy a predictable stream of new and improved capabilities for their Windows Phone via a Device Update service that is worry-free and easy-to-use," the job posting says.
The U.S. patent office has rejected two claims regarding the last disputed patent in an ongoing legal battle between Microsoft and Alcatel-Lucent, appearing to pave the way for the software vendor to win a pending appeals case that would reverse a US$358 million penalty.
In an interim decision last month, the U.S. Patent and Trade Office rejected two claims surrounding the so-called "Day" patent after Microsoft and Dell -- the latter involved in an earlier suit about the patent -- asked for a re-examination of the patent in May 2007.
Microsoft Office will come in 32- and 64-bit editions, according to the company, which on Tuesday confirmed recent rumors surrounding the possibility of two versions.
"Office 14 will be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions," a Microsoft spokesperson told InternetNews.com in an e-mailed statement.
The rumors originally surfaced last month, when Windows enthusiast site Neowin.net said that information found in leaked alpha code for the release -- which has not yet received an official moniker beyond "Office 14" -- contained references to a 64-bit edition.
Microsoft is offering 30,000 vouchers for free worker training classes in Washington state, at an estimated value of US$3 million, the company said on Monday. The vouchers are part of Microsoft's Elevate America program, first announced in February, that is designed to provide technology training to 2 million Americans. Initially, Washington, New York and Florida are part of the program.
Any state in the nation can simply call Microsoft and request to be part of the program, said Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, during a press conference in Seattle. April Livingstone, who was laid off from her job as an administrative assistant about six months ago and attended the event, has already redeemed her voucher, which she plans to use to take an online course about using Microsoft Office products.