Microsoft said on Thursday it had donated more than $25 million in cash and software to more than 70 organizations. The grants, part of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential initiative to provide information technology skills to low-income and underserved people, are part of a broader effort by the world's largest software maker to donate $1 billion in cash and software over the next five years.
Before Thursday's grant, Microsoft said in a statement it had distributed $50 million of Unlimited Potential grants. Microsoft said it donated the latest grant of $25 million to 73 organizations in 45 countries.
Spanish police have arrested 14 people for intellectual piracy, including the first-known forgeries of authenticity certificates for Microsoft's Windows XP Professional edition, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday. Investigators found 3,000 perfectly copied and packaged CDs with the operating system software, accompanied by the fake guarantee certificates, in the northern city of San Sebastian, the Ministry said in a statement.
They would have been sold as genuine, netting the copiers over $1.52 million, the statement added. Spain has the second-highest level of information piracy in Western Europe, after Greece, according to an industry survey, Microsoft said in a statement released after the arrests.
Microsoft said it would appeal a federal court ruling that upheld a prior, $521 million patent infringement judgment against the software giant over technology it uses in the popular Internet Explorer (IE) browser.
Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler told internetnews.com the ruling simply formalized last August's jury ruling, adding that a formal appeal would be filed within 30 days.
"We feel very good about our prospects on appeal. We remain steadfast in our belief that the Eolas patent is not valid. While the judge did not grant all our post trial motions, the court did accept some of our arguments and decided to stay the injunction pending our appeal," Desler said.
After talking big about dropping proprietary software and moving to open-source software (OSS) solutions, the state of Massachusetts finalized its IT acquisition policy this week and says it will concentrate on open standards rather than OSS. The difference is hardly subtle: A move to OSS would have been extremely damaging to the state's current software suppliers, most notably Microsoft, which has set up itself as the poster child for proprietary software. Now, because the company has been pushing its move to open standards for years, Microsoft will likely continue to be the primary benefactor of Massachusetts' software purchases.
Microsoft will alter a Windows XP music-purchasing feature in response to criticism from the U.S. government, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.
In a notice filed with the federal judge overseeing Microsoft's compliance with its antitrust settlement, the Justice Department said it concluded that XP's "Shop for Music Online" feature unreasonably invokes Internet Explorer even when the user chooses other Web browsers, such as Opera or Mozilla.
Microsoft is counting on its Web services strategy and product roadmap to pay off big in its effort to support the U.S.'s Homeland Security initiative. Tom Richey, director of homeland security for Microsoft Public Sector based in Washington, told eWEEK that the interoperability afforded through Web services will help integrate disparate systems across governmental entities to benefit homeland security.
"The Microsoft platform and our ability along the areas of Web services in connecting disparate infrastructures will be an incredible force multiplier that's consistent with the goals and challenges around funding the homeland security needs," Richey said.
Microsoft announced today that Windows XP users can now download a new Need for Speed Underground for Windows skin for Windows Media Player 9 Series from this web site. The skin, created by The Skins Factory, features seven distinct color themes and is fully animated with unique sound effects.
Salesforce.com is demonstrating the fruits of a partnership with Microsoft. The company on Wednesday said a new feature lets users of its sales and customer service software quickly create business documents with Microsoft's desktop applications.
Salesforce, which competes with Microsoft in the market for customer relationship management software, released the new Office Edition feature to customers this week, the company said.
The San Francisco company is one the pioneers of a new kind of software delivery model that's gaining popularity. Instead of shipping programs for customers to install and maintain, the company runs the software on its own computers and charges a monthly fee for businesses to access it over the Web.
Eolas Technologies Inc. is talking with members of the Linux and open-source community about the use of its Web browser patent, which is at the heart of its high-profile infringement case against Microsoft, the company's founder said on Wednesday.
"We're in discussions with major players in Linux world and working on plan to resolve '906 patent issue with entire Linux community," Eolas Founder Michael Doyle told eWEEK.com, referring in short hand to the full patent's number. "The solution will be supportive of open-source community."
Doyle's disclosure comes the same day that his company received a favorable final judgment in its patent infringement case against Microsoft. A federal judge on Wednesday let stand an August jury verdict awarding Eolas $521 million in royalties despite Microsoft's request for a stay pending the outcome of a United States Patent and Trademark Office reexamination of the patent's validity.
The companies will unveil a Web site, personalfirewallday.org, on Thursday to educate consumers about the benefits of firewall and antivirus technology and provide tips on guarding against online identity thieves, viruses, worms and malicious hackers, according to information provided a spokesman for the project.
Microsoft and NAI are joined by leading firewall vendors Sygate, Zone Labs, and TruSecure in sponsoring the site, which opened to members of the press on Wednesday.
"This site is for people who have never heard about a firewall. Hardcore (Internet users) who are not impressed with the site probably already know how to protect themselves," Reiff said.