[microsoft] Forum Topics

Not one to sit back and reflect quietly upon its moments of glory, Microsoft has been making quite a fuss over the record breaking [URL="http://www.halo3.com"]Halo 3[/URL] launch. It is, Microsoft insists, the "biggest entertainment launch in history." Sales in the first 24 hours, in the US alone, topped $170 million. …

[URL="http://www.mozilla.org"]Mozilla[/URL] has hit the 400 million downloads mark for the Firefox web browser client since it was officially launched in November 2004, a rise of 56 percent in the last 12 months alone. Of course, updates, reinstalls and trials are all included in download figures which have little real world …

Microsoft has been keen to get me to take a look at a new experimental site launched to showcase the potential of its Silverlight technology. [URL="http://www.tafiti.com"]Tafiti[/URL], which apparently means 'do research' in Swahili, is the site in question. An exploration of two trends: search specialization and the Web 2.0 rich …

Jeff Jones is a Strategy Director in the Microsoft Security Technology Unit, part of the team trying to make Microsoft products more secure, poor guy. No surprise that he publishes a vulnerability report on his Microsoft TechNet hosted [URL="http://blogs.technet.com/security/default.aspx"]Security Blog[/URL] which always seems to suggest that Microsoft Windows is far …

At first glance you might not immediately connect the Symbian loving Nokia with Microsoft in any way, shape or form. However, Nokia does know its market and so has already been collaborating with Microsoft on the Windows Media entertainment side of the fence. That collaboration is now to be boosted …

There has been much online speculation about how Microsoft is going to head off the Google Apps free office software attack, much of it focusing on an advertising supported version of Microsoft Office. While this may, at some point, feature in the Microsoft strategy it is not going to appear …

According to a [URL="http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=150624&ref=g_homelink"]statement[/URL] from IT research company [URL="http://www.gartner.com"]Gartner[/URL] Windows 7 is just three short years away from fruition. In response to an enquiry following a CNET News story reporting a sales meeting of the Seattle software giants where the three year figure was supposedly mentioned, Gartner cites a Microsoft …

The first interesting missive to arrive in my inbox came courtesy of the words of Microsoft COO, Kevin Turner, speaking at the July 26th Microsoft Financial Analyst Meeting 2007. Turner decided to focus his attention on Vista security, rolling out the usual 'most secure Windows operating system ever' company line …

Word has it that the long awaited Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, also known as what Vista would have been if it were released when actually fully tested and ready, could be with us sooner than expected. While most industry commentators have been sticking to the official ‘sometime in …

[URL="http://www.linspire.com"]Linspire[/URL] and Microsoft in agreement over something? Although it sounds unlikely at first glance, that is exactly what is happening as the developer of the Linspire commercial and Freespire community desktop Linux operating systems announces it will join Microsoft in its efforts to improve the ability of OpenOffice.org users to …

Were you one of the many, and the chances are that being a reader of Inside Edge dumps you squarely into the informed geek category (and there really is no offense meant in that remark, says a fellow informed geek), who mourned the passing of promised core parts of Longhorn …

While there is no doubting that virtualization is not only a technology to watch, but one that will move into the mainstream real soon now, there remains a question of just how soon that will actually be. A new survey by [URL="http://www.emedia.co.uk"]emedia[/URL] suggests that the timescale for making that move, …

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said that the open source movement needs to “play by the same rules” as the rest of the business and claims “what’s fair is fair.” Which is pretty rich given the high profile cases involving dodgy business practice and Microsoft during the last few years. …

Microsoft has released the first public Beta version of Windows Server ‘Longhorn’ Beta 3 which can be downloaded from [URL="http://www.microsoft.com/getbeta3"]here[/URL]. This is part of what Microsoft is referring to as the ‘Second Wave of Innovation’ to be delivered during the next 12 months. It started with Vista and Office 2007, …

Following Google's announcement just yesterday that they are going to develop a full office suite for the web, they've just recently added a new feature to Google Spreadsheets: charts. This isn't quite your regular spreadsheet program, as it's still quite basic and was not much more than a portable way …

Just as it seemed that Linux users (especially 64-bit users) would finally be able to enjoy streaming content with a minimum of hassle, Microsoft's new Silverlight software promises to throw a wrench in the works. Because of sites like Google Video and Youtube, Flash video has become a common means …

Suggestions for a suitable epitaph are welcome, although I suspect ‘good riddance to insecure rubbish’ will stand the test of time as well as any other when it comes to the death of Windows XP. Yes, despite the fact that Vista has hardly set the world on fire if recent …

Microsoft has just announced the release of a Windows Live instant messaging client for its Xbox 360 game console, giving gamers the capability of chatting to their PC friends. There was already a video and voice chat feature via Xbox Live, but this feature enables players to connect with up …

The latest lawsuit against Vista, so it seems, is now attacking the marketing methods that Microsoft used to sell PCs. The prosecutors claim that Microsoft mislead customers by allowing PC manufacturers to place stickers on the machine that said "Vista capable", when in fact many of the PCs sold were …

Microsoft is aiming to broaden your web surfing horizons with their new "Deepfish" software available for the next version of Windows Mobile. Among other large improvements over the previous browsers used on the PDAs, this one includes a thumbnail view, which will allow you to view content in a scaled-down …

Microsoft has already created a new "version" or "model" of their Xbox 360 console, dubbed "Elite". Aside from its black color and matching headset and wireless controller, it's not that much different, but it has a few important upgrades: [LIST] [*]They've upgraded the hard drive to make it a whole …

Since Microsoft announced that they had reached the 20 million mark of Windows Vista licenses, people have been criticizing the numbers, and rumors have been swirling that the numbers are straight-out made up. Recently, [URL="http://www.pcmag.com"]PCMag[/URL] published an article stating how the numbers did not add up with Vista sales. Microsoft …

In something of an unusual twist of late, [URL="http://www.google.com"]Google [/URL]would appear to be playing catch up to [URL="http://www.microsoft.com"]Microsoft [/URL]for once. The Redmond giants bought the market leader in the in-game advertising business, [URL="http://www.massiveincorporated.com/"]Massive Inc[/URL], last May for close on $200 million. Today Google has confirmed it has finalized the deal …

Once again, Microsoft is pushing forward their domination by applying the successful techniques in the gaming industry to the PC world. What is it this time? Xbox Live. Microsoft has announced that they plan to make this service available for PCs, too. This is exciting news, for several reasons. Microsoft's …

It's just been around a week since the previous threat of cracking Vista almost worked -- until we found out it was fake. Well, this time around, [URL="http://filenetworks.blogspot.com/2007/03/vista-32-bit-one-click-activator-bios.html"]a Vista crack[/URL] appears to be working this time, as numerous reports have said that it works, and the crack has already been …

Google is being charged with content copying by none other than... Microsoft. They are complaining that Google is copying far too much information, information that many people make a living on. Google's been trying to make the whole web searchable, everything from books to news to magazines. Although Google has …

Well, what a weekend that has been. Ever since the reports started emerging online of a brute force attack on the Vista activation code using a modified version of the original software license manager script file I have been, shall we say, dubious as to the authenticity of the claim. …

[URL="http://onecare.live.com"]Microsoft Windows Live OneCare[/URL] was already struggling in the credibility stakes after failing to pass the Virus Bulletin VB100 certification tests as I reported [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1295.html"]here[/URL] last month. Talk about kicking a wounded animal, now the [URL="http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2007_02.php"]results [/URL]of the latest, and much respected, [URL="http://www.av-comparatives.org/ tests"]av-comparatives[/URL] are in, and do no make …

Probably the last thing you would expect to hear is that Microsoft is trying to restrict the machines that their new operating system can run on. After all, don't they want as many computers running Vista as possible (legally)? Well, Microsoft is actually forcing anyone who wants to emulate Vista …

As if Microsoft did not have enough on its security plate, what with the launch of Vista followed by the chorus of ‘it is not quite as secure as you would have us believe is it’ from the worlds media, things only go from bad to worse for the Seattle …