Microsoft is pushing back the delivery date for the next rev of its stripped-down Internet service, while it is simultaneously working on its 2006 MSN release. Microsoft's MSN division has a lot on its plate.
The MSN team, like all Microsoft product units, works simultaneously on different versions of its services. The developers working on the next release of MSN, due out in early 2004, are falling a bit behind schedule. Meanwhile, the ones working on a release of MSN designed to be part of the "Longhorn" wave of products due in 2006, are pushing full-steam ahead.
Here is three part interview with Bill Gates. Discussing a range of topics...
- Gates: Why I Stepped Down
- Gates: Linux Is Too Pricey
- Goodbye, Microsoft Millionaires
Asia's fast-growing mobile phone makers are embracing Microsoft's new software for sophisticated handsets, boosting the U.S. company's efforts to expand beyond its hegemony in the computer industry.
The entry of Taiwan's electronics makers into the market for "smartphones," which offer sophisticated email, Internet and music and video functions, promises the software giant further support in its battle against UK-based rival Symbian and PalmSource of the United States.
The three companies' operating systems are scrambling for a bigger slice of a market that Microsoft estimates could account for two out of every five phones sold in 2005.
After demonstrating a prototype in July called Outlook Connector for MSN, Microsoft is finally ready to invite customers into the beta program. The beta is designed to seamlessly integrate Microsoft's Outlook 2003 productivity software with MSN services ranging from photo sharing and contact management to online scheduling. The test is scheduled to run throughout the month of December into January.
In a message to invited testers, Microsoft beta coordinators stressed, "Since this beta has such a short window of opportunity to submit bugs and feedback, it is very critical that we have high participation in the first 2 weeks of the beta. Please make your decision carefully."
Giant Microsoft is still a stock to buy, in the view of Jonathan Rudy, analyst for Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services, thanks to its reasonable valuation and strong balance sheet and cash flow. "Reasonable valuation" means the price of Microsoft (MSFT) stock is low relative to some tech companies, which Rudy attributes to investors chasing companies that were hit harder by the tech collapse and thus have the potential for a more dramatic climb. But over the longer run, he still sees Microsoft as a bastion of strength.
In the letter he said the Lindon, Utah-based SCO asserts that the GPL, under which Linux is distributed, violates the United States Constitution and U.S. copyright and patent laws. "We believe that adoption and use of the GPL by significant parts of the software industry was a mistake."
McBride went on to say in his letter that the U.S. Congress had authorized legal action against copyright violators under the Copyright Act and its most recent amendment, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. SCO intends to use the DMCA to sue some corporate Linux users, announcing earlier this month that it plans to start suing enterprise Linux users within 90 days for copyright infringement.
Hackers have forced the Gentoo Linux project to take a server offline. The attack and subsequent compromise comes after several machines belonging to the Debian Linux project were breached by attackers last month. A forensic analysis of the Debian machines revealed that no software packages or source code offered for download were affected--a claim now being made by Gentoo.
"During this time, approximately 20 users synchronized against the portage mirror stored on this box. The method used to gain access to the box remotely is still under investigation. We will release more details once we have ascertained the cause of the remote exploit," the statement said.
Creators of computer viruses are winning the battle with law enforcers and getting away with crimes that cost the global economy some $13 billion this year, a Microsoft official said Wednesday.
Counterfeit centers are shifting from California and Western Europe to countries including Paraguay, Colombia and Ukraine said David Finn, Microsoft's director of digital integrity for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In Asia, pirate plants have emerged in Vietnam, Macao, and Myanmar (Burma) in addition to more established facilities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
Late Monday, Microsoft launched the newest version of its Web-based Hotmail email service, the most-frequently used email service on the planet. Hotmail has been given a graphical and functional overhaul in this release, and more closely resembles the MSN email client for which customers must pay a monthly fee. The new Hotmail also integrates more closely with Microsoft's subscription offerings, including MSN and Hotmail Extra Storage.
Microsoft will discuss plans Wednesday to make more of its intellectual property available to others in the technology industry, the company said Tuesday. The software maker will detail the expansion of a technology licensing plan during a conference call Wednesday morning hosted by Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel, and Marshall Phelps, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, the Redmond, Washington-based software maker said in a brief statement.