Microsoft is expected to roll out a service pack for Windows XP early next week that is chock full of security-related goodies for Windows customers. But customers running Windows 2000 better not hold their breath waiting for a similar package.
"The majority of enterprise desktops are running Windows 2000 desktops. Only 30 percent of corporate clients are running XP but Microsoft hasn't said what they'll do about improving security for Windows 2000. We're urging them to give out security updates for Windows 2000,"
I want a SPOT watch
Lured by the promise of Dick Tracy-like wristwatch functionality and two Microsoft meetings about the technology, I've been eagerly seeking a SPOT watch to purchase before the holidays. Alas, they're nowhere to be seen, and I'm curious why the watch makers would miss such a crucial selling period, only to possibly release them less than a month later, probably at CES 2004 (held in Las Vegas in mid-January). Guys, seriously: I'd shell out the dough right now. Why aren't they ready yet?
MSN Messenger logs over 110 million users per month
Microsoft recently announced that its free MSN Messenger Instant Messaging (IM) service logs over 110 million unique users every month, making it the most popular IM solution on the planet. Also, over 10 million unique users are using MSN Messenger 6.1's integrated Web cam feature each month to regularly perform video conferencing with friends and family around the world, with over 2.5 million Web cam sessions occurring each day.
Microsoft this week won an injunction from a Swedish court in its ongoing international trademark battle with Lindows.com Inc. According to a ruling in the Stockholm City Court on Wednesday, Lindows.com must stop selling its products in Sweden that use the terms which Microsoft is alleging violates its Windows trademarks, pending the outcome of the infringement case. These terms include Lindows, Lindows.com and LindowsOS. The cost could be steep for the San Diego, Calif.-based Lindows.comit faces a penalty of 3 million Swedish Krona, or about $409,000, if it violates the injunction.
Microsoft announced on Thursday that it is offering rebates to business customers who buy the new Office 2003 software package under its Software Assurance licensing program, a controversial plan that requires customers to pay in advance for periodic upgrades. Microsoft has promoted Software Assurance as way for businesses to manage expenses and ensure access to the latest technology, but many have balked at the plan.
The rebate program runs through April 30 and is open to companies that buy one of three versions of Office 2003 with a three-year licensing agreement. Rebates range from $750 to $38,000, depending on how many copies and which versions of Office 2003 are purchased.
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates will address the RSA Conference 2004 in February. Gates will be a featured keynote speaker on the first day of the trade show in San Francisco. The show will focus on information security issues such as identity theft, hacking and computer network defenses, said Sandra Toms LaPedis, area vice president and general manager of RSA Conferences, which is part of RSA Security Inc. This is the first time Gates has spoken at the RSA show, which Microsoft sponsors. "Microsoft is a sponsor for the RSA Conference this year, as they have been for the past several years.
Microsoft disclosed Thursday that about half of the employees eligible to sell their underwater stock options to a Wall Street firm did so, generating $382 million in proceeds that will be awarded to employees.
In a filing with the SEC, the software giant said it plans to dole out the money to most employees in stages, with plans to distribute $218 million to participating employees in December. This represents the culmination of a program Microsoft announced in July, as part of a series of changes it made in the way it compensates its workers.
At that time, the company said it would switch from its practice of awarding stock options to employees and instead would start granting actual shares of restricted stock.
A new research paper to be released on Thursday is warning those companies still running Microsoft Windows 98 that they face an increased risk of a network security breach when Microsoft retires the product at the end of this year.
The study, released by Ottawa-based AssetMetrix Research Labs and titled, "Usage Analysis & Risks of Obsolete Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 95 & Windows 98," points out that while Microsoft Corp. is preparing to retire a number of its flagship products, there are still a large number of PCs in the corporate environment running Windows 98 and Windows 95.
Microsoft on Tuesday won a patent for launching a certain kind of HTML application within Windows. The patent, "Method and apparatus for writing a Windows application in HTML" (Hypertext Markup Language), describes Microsoft's way of opening up HTML applications in a window free of navigation and other interface elements, known as "chrome," and browser security restrictions. One example of an HTML application at work in Windows is the "Add or Remove Programs" feature in the control panel.
Delays in Microsoft's introduction of its Longhorn operating system could impact enterprises' plans to upgrade their Windows operating systems, an analyst told corporate users at the Gartner Data Center Conference, held this week in Las Vegas.
Tom Bittman, research vice president of Gartner, said he expects Microsoft to release its Longhorn operating system sometime between late 2006 and mid-2008, but that the release could be even further out.
Because of that delay, Bittman said he expects Microsoft to reintroduce feature packs for its Windows Server 2003 operating system, probably starting in 2004 or 2005. He said he expects at least one feature pack to be released specifically for security.
Microsoft is prepping Windows XP Service Pack 2 to be released into beta testing within a week, sources said. Service Pack 2, or SP2, expected to be delivered in finished form during the first half of 2004, is considered a significant Windows update because it offers enhanced security features and rolls up all the security patches and updates that have been released since the last service pack shipped in September 2002.