Blaster is teaching Microsoft how to better communicate. But there are other lessons Redmond could stand to learn. Microsoft learned a lot from the Blaster worm that blasted onto the scene last month. But it could have learned more.
But school's not out for Microsoft on Blaster. There are a few lessons that Redmond seemingly hasn't taken to heart.
For one, PSS needs a better emergency plan. Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) officials have devised an emergency security plan for virulent viruses, worms and other kinds of attacks. And, at least publicly, the PSS execs are claiming it worked well in the case of Blaster.
As expected, the first beta release of Windows Installer (MSI) 3.0 has been issued to qualified testers. Selected participants were informed of their acceptance into the MSI 3.0 beta program via e-mail early this week. The program is one of many initiatives launched by Microsoft to improve its capacity to protect Windows users following the recent spate of security vulnerabilities and viruses such as the Blaster worm.
With MSI 3.0, Microsoft endeavors to simplify authoring, creating, distributing and managing application updates. The changes will result in fewer reboots, and an attempt to avoid nightmare scenarios of files being overwritten improperly.
Microsoft is expected to show off later this month a new version of its Windows XP Media Center entertainment PC software. The company has scheduled announcements on Sept. 30 to take place simultaneously in four cities: New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Redmond, Wash. At the September events, Microsoft will display the upgrade to the Media Center operating system, code-named Harmony, according to sources.
The specialized version of the Windows XP operating system provides an extra interface to make it easy for people to view photos, listen to music and watch videos on a television hooked up to the PC.
Dell is expecting to launch its first Media Center PCs this fall. The Round Rock, Texas, PC giant did not offer computers using the initial version of the Windows XP Media Center operating system, but it's expected to enter the market once Microsoft introduces a new version of the operating system later this month. Microsoft has scheduled events across the United States on Sept. 30 to unveil the next version of Media Center, code-named Harmony. Dell is planning to offer both laptops and desktops, according to the sources. A Dell representative declined to comment.
Testers hint update will look less like XP and more like an entertainment-hub operating system. On Thursday, Microsoft sent out invitations to the launch of the next version of its Windows XP Media Center Edition product on September 30. The launch will be held simultaneously in Redmond, Wash.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; and New York City.
This summer at Microsoft's annual financial analyst day, Microsoft Group VP Jim Allchin told attendees that Microsoft would ship the next version of Media Center Edition - codenamed "Harmony" - before the end of Microsoft's fiscal 2004. (Microsoft's fiscal year ends June 30.)
Microsoft has denied it used stolen intellectual property to build Media Player 9 and has called Burst.com's account of last week's trial on the matter "inaccurate" and "groundless".
Microsoft was ordered by a U.S. judge last week to produce thousands of e-mails as part of an investigation into whether the software giant stole intellectual property from Burst.com and used it in Media Player 9.
Jim Desler, PR manager at Microsoft Corporate Communications told ZDNet UK: "Microsoft vehemently denies Burst's allegations and contends that the technology that is part of our Media Player 9 was developed by Microsoft engineers."
Borland Software and IBM are teaming to boost development of database applications for the Microsoft .NET Framework. The agreement between the two companies, to be announced Thursday, is intended to provide customers with solutions for developing and managing the application lifecycle for .Net without vendor lock-in, according to Borland and Microsoft.
Officials at Borland and IBM both said momentum is growing for .NET.
"It's the rapid evolution of the Windows environment and Microsoft's growth into the enterprise, and we are there with [Microsoft]," said Jeff Jones, IBM director of strategy for IBM DB2 Information Management Software in San Jose, Calif.
Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled a bevy of wireless keyboards and mice that mark the debut of a sideways-scrolling feature and the company's first leather-clad mouse. Three of the new mice have what Microsoft dubs "Tilt Wheel Technology," which allows people to move a cursor horizontally through Web sites, spreadsheets and other documents. The company has essentially taken a traditional scroll wheel and enabled it to be tilted to the left or right in order to send the cursor sideways.
One of these mice, the "Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer," comes in black leather, part of a Microsoft marketing move to let computer users put a fashion spin on PCs and peripherals.
Sales of video game consoles are expected to slump until a new crop of machines is introduced in a few years, according to an industry analyst. In an article published earlier this week, Jay Srivatsa, a senior analyst for research firm iSuppli, said console sales have slowed significantly this year, in contrast with the steady growth that has marked the industry until now. He expects sales to be flat for the year and down as much as 10 percent in 2005, when the major console makers start laying the foundation for a new generation of consoles.
AOL Time Warner on Wednesday said full service had been temporarily restored for Road Runner and America Online subscribers locked out of Microsoft Web sites, as more details emerged about a glitch that inconvenienced millions of Web surfers for nearly two days.
"In the interest of our mutual consumers, AOL has stepped forward and proactively restored network connectivity strictly on a short-term interim basis," AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said. "We will continue to work with Microsoft and other providers toward a long-term solution."
Connectivity issues between MSN and AOL surfaced Tuesday when some Road Runner users complained that they could not access a number of Microsoft sites, such as Hotmail and MSN. A Road Runner representative said at the time that the outage occurred while its technicians were updating routing tables and as Microsoft was doing routine maintenance. By Wednesday AOL confirmed that some of its members could not access MSN sites and that the problems were related.