Microsoft shareholders on Tuesday gave their endorsement to the software maker's plan to start awarding restricted stock to employees instead of granting stock options. Some had objected to the plan, reportedly including a large pension fund, CalPers, but in the end a majority of shares were voted in favor of it, though Microsoft did not say how many.
During a question-and-answer session at Tuesday's shareholder meeting, one shareholder group spoke in favor of the idea generally, but raised questions about several aspects of the plan. These included the amount of stock that could be granted to any one individual as well as the performance criteria on which future stock grants will be given.
Dell has unveiled three server management tools that let information technology managers control their hardware and Microsoft software at the same time. The three new tools, part of Dell's OpenManage software line, integrate with similar tools from Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) so that administrators can update a server's BIOS (basic input/output systems) or firmware and apply security patches to a Microsoft application through the same screen. Ideally, this will make the patching of systems easier and will also cut down on training time.
Microsoft is seeking the rejection of consumer claims filed through a Lindows.com Inc. Web site in a California antitrust lawsuit settlement, arguing the claims don't meet the requirements of the settlement agreement.
The Redmond, Wash., software maker filed a motion earlier this month asking San Francisco Superior Court Judge Paul H. Alvarado to resolve a dispute over whether to accept claims submitted through the MSfreePC.com site that desktop Linux vendor Lindows.com created in September.
With its Office Live Communications Server 2003 ready to launch next week, Microsoft is prepping a series of new features to extend presence capabilities, add interoperability among enterprises and build in conferencing to the real-time collaboration platform.
Speaking at the Instant Messaging Planet Fall 2003 Conference and Expo here, Gurdeep Singh Pall, Microsoft's general manager of real time collaboration, said that while the initial focus for Live Communications Server 2003 is on corporate instant messaging and presence, it will serve as a platform for the broader convergence of real-time communications.
Microsoft Tuesday released its change and configuration management solution: Systems Management Server 2003. The launch was no surprise-Microsoft said the system is currently deployed in more than 60 sites.
Code-named "Topaz," SMS 2003 allows enterprise customers to deploy patches and applications as well as manage assets. Microsoft said in a statement that retail pricing for the software with 10 device client access licenses is $1,219. A 120-day evaluation version is also available here.
In its hostile takeover bid for PeopleSoft, Oracle asked a Delaware court on Monday to expedite its request for an injunction against a PeopleSoft rebate program that takes effect upon an acquisition. Oracle said the rebate program could force it to withdraw its offer.
The Justice Department is reviewing Oracle's $7.3 billion hostile bid for PeopleSoft, announced last spring. The review is expected to last until the end of the month.
Microsoft Research is looking at how to leverage blogs, RSS feeds, wikis and other social-networking tools. When Microsoft showed a prototype of software code-named "Wallop" at last month's Professional Developers Conference, attendees understood exactly what they were seeing. And the fact that Microsoft is sequestering Wallop behind a corporate firewall, allowing only a small number of researchers and their contacts to test the software, isn't helping to clarify matters.
Microsoft is preparing a major PR assault over Windows' perceived security failings in which it will criticize Linux for taking too long to fix bugs, we have learned. In a sign that the inroads made by the Open Source community are starting to rattle the software giant, Microsoft has hired several analysts to review how fast holes are patched in the open source software and is expected to announce that Windows compares favorably.
The strategy, called "Days of Risk," measures the number of days it takes programmers to release a public patch after a vulnerability is revealed. While high-profile holes in Linux and associated software tend to be swiftly dealt with, less prominent problems -- which could be just as potentially damaging -- can take weeks or even months to appear.
Microsoft plans to add pop-up blocking features to Internet Explorer next year as part of its Service Pack 2 update for Windows XP, a move that would go far toward stamping out the Web advertisements.
Darin Linnman, a Microsoft spokesman, said that the company plans to add the pop-up blocking feature to an updated version of Explorer with Service Pack 2 (SP2) when it's released in the first half of next year. But one caveat, he said, is that Microsoft will be gathering customer feedback that will be weighed as part of the final decision to add the feature.
"I can confirm SP2 will include an update to IE that adds pop-up blocking," Linnman said.
Microsoft proffered legal papers seeking to disavow California class-action settlement claims submitted via the Linux distributor's MSfreePC Web site.
In a motion filed earlier this month with the Superior Court of California for San Francisco County, Microsoft asked Judge Paul H. Alvarado to reject all claims processed by the Lindows site, which offers to help people garner benefits from Microsoft's $1.1 billion class-action settlement.
In the latest legal filings, the software giant's attorney, Robert A. Rosenfeld, writes that the Lindows site violates the terms of Microsoft's agreement by using so-called digital signatures to process settlement claims. Digital signatures are online validation agreements used to verify individuals' identities.