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Ed Bott: Microsoft releases Virtual PC 2007 SP1

Tags: Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Virtual PC, Microsoft Corp., VM, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott

Some Developers Leaving Google For Microsoft

recoiledsnake writes "We have heard about lots of talented developers jumping ship from Microsoft to Google, but is the trend beginning to turn? Dare Obasanjo (a Microsoft employee) writes about a few high-profile people picking Microsoft over Google — either making the jump directly, or choosing Microsoft after receiving offers at both. Sergey Solyanik is back to Microsoft and he primarily gripes about the culture and lack of career development at Google. He writes, 'Everything is pretty much run by [engineering] — PMs and testers are conspicuously absent from the process. Google as an organization is not geared — culturally — to delivering enterprise class reliability to its user applications.' Danny Thorpe, who was the key architect of Google Gears, is back at Microsoft for his second stint working on developer technologies rel

Microsoft launches Live Search cashback program - update

(RTTNews) - Software giant Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) said Wednesday that it will offer ad-funded cash rebates to customers who find and purchase products through a new program called Microsoft Live Search cashback. This is one of the latest efforts of Microsoft to increase its market share in searching, which is dominated by Google (GOOG). Microsoft has roped in companies such as eBay Inc. (EBAY), Barnes & Noble.com (BKS), Overstock.com Inc. (OSTK), and Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) as partners in the new program. The Live Search cashback portfolio includes more than 10 million products from more than 700 merchants, including more than 13 of the top 40 U.S. retailers. Microsoft also said it has delivered a new Live Search travel destination, Live Search Farecast in order to find the best travel deals on the Web.

Microsoft Acknowledges Open Source As a Bigger Threat Than Google

ruphus13 takes us to ZDNet for an analysis of comments by Microsoft's Chief Software Architect, Ray Ozzie, about how open source is "much more potentially disruptive" to Microsoft's business strategy than Google. Ozzie also spoke about the future of Microsoft's search technology, which will develop with or without Yahoo. There is a related interview at OStatic with several Microsoft employees about how they view and interact with the open source community. The head of Microsoft's global open source and Linux team is quoted saying: "The other thing I think is missing is implementation of a basic principle of economic fairness. Thousands of developers have put very hard work into building software used by millions of people and companies, yet only a fraction of these developers are rewarded financially.

Microsoft Acknowledges NBC's Wish is Its Command

theodp writes "Responding to questions about why some users of Windows Vista Media Center were prevented from recording the NBC Universal TV shows 'American Gladiator' and 'Medium,' Microsoft has acknowledged that Windows Media Centers will block users from recording TV shows at the request of a broadcaster. 'Microsoft included technologies in Windows based on rules set forth by the (Federal Communications Commission),' wrote a Microsoft spokeswoman, apparently referring to an FCC proposal that the courts struck down in 2005. 'Microsoft has put the requirements of broadcasters above what consumers want,' said the EFF's Danny O'Brien. 'They've imposed restrictions way beyond what the law requires. Customers need to know who Microsoft is listening to and how that affects their equipment.

Yahoo! Announces Microsoft Talks Have Concluded

Yahoo! (YHOO) today announced that discussions with Microsoft (MSFT) regarding a potential transaction—whether for an acquisition of all of Yahoo or a partial acquisition—have concluded. The conclusion of discussions follows numerous meetings and conversations with Microsoft regarding a number of transaction alternatives, including a meeting between Yahoo and Microsoft on June 8 in which Chairman Roy Bostock and other independent board members from Yahoo participated. At that meeting, Microsoft representatives stated unequivocally that Microsoft is not interested in pursuing an acquisition of all of Yahoo, even at the price range it had previously suggested.

YAHOO SPURNS JOINT MICROSOFT-ICAHN BID TO REVAMP FIRM, ACQUIRE SEARCH BUSINESS

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Yahoo Inc. said late on Saturday that it rejected a restructuring proposal from Microsoft Corp. and the investor Carl Icahn, and the Sunnyvale, Calif., Internet-services giant called on Microsoft to bid for the whole company. Yahoo said the Microsoft-Icahn plan, which it said would turn Yahoo's search business over to the Redmond, Wash., software giant and the rest over to the New York investor, was presented as a take-it-or-leave it proposition. "This odd and opportunistic alliance of Microsoft and Carl Icahn has anything but the interests of Yahoo's stockholders in mind," Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said in a statement. Yahoo said that while it rejected the restructuring, it offered two alternatives: "It repeated its offer to sell the entire company to Microsoft for at least" $33 a share, and it "offered to nego

Microsoft To Put Office Online as Equipt for Consumers

Microsoft will put its Microsoft Office suite online as Microsoft Equipt, joining Windows Live Mail, Messenger, OneCare and Photo Gallery. A one-year subscription for three home computers will cost $69.99. The Microsoft Equipt license bars business use and the Equipt suite does not include Outlook, which is popular among small businesses.

Google, Yahoo, and the Elephant In the Room

CWmike writes "Linda Rosencrance reports that despite assurances from Google and Yahoo that their online advertising deal doesn't need regulatory approval, the two companies should not be too quick to dismiss Microsoft's influence on Capitol Hill. Andrew Frank, an analyst at Gartner, said both Yahoo and Google will benefit from the deal, but he also said Microsoft will do everything in its power to bring the arrangement to a screeching halt. 'Expect Microsoft to challenge it and come back aggressively with some search plans of its own,' he said. Rob Enderle, of the Enderle Group, said Microsoft is a formidable opponent and knows how to play politics. 'Without Microsoft, this probably would stand up to regulatory scrutiny,' Enderle said. 'But Microsoft has increased its presence on Capitol Hill significantly .

Microsoft loses U.S. search users to Google and Yahoo

Microsoft lost Internet search users in the United States to Google and former takeover target Yahoo last month, research firm ComScore said. Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, handled 8.5 percent of queries in May, down from 9.1 percent the month before, Reston, Va.-based ComScore said Thursday in a statement. Google extended its lead to 61.8 percent, and Yahoo grew to 20.6 percent, ComScore said. The companies are vying for a bigger piece of the $41 billion online advertising market. Microsoft's talks to buy Yahoo's search business for $1 billion ended last week, around the time Yahoo struck a deal to show some Google ads on its search pages. Microsoft's proposal would have included an $8 billion investment in Yahoo. Google handled 61.

Critical vulnerability in Microsoft XML Core Services patched

Microsoft Security issued a patch today for a critical vulnerability affecting all supported editions of Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Microsoft Office 2003, and the 2007 Microsoft Office System. The hole is in Microsoft XML Core Services and could allow remote code execution if a user viewed a malicious Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

Microsoft Linking Silverlight, Ruby on Rails

CWmike writes "Friday Microsoft will demonstrate integration between its new Silverlight browser plug-in and Ruby on Rails. Microsoft's John Lam, a program manager in the dynamic language runtime team, said in a recent blog item: 'Running Rails shows that we are serious when we say that we are going to create a Ruby that runs real Ruby programs. And there isn't a more real Ruby program than Rails.' Also at the event, Microsoft officials will demonstrate IronRuby, a version of the Ruby programming language for Microsoft's .Net platform, running a Ruby on Rails application."

Microsoft Live Search Will Be the Default on HP PCs

HP consumer PCs will default to Microsoft Live Search as Microsoft moves for broader distribution of Live Search. Microsoft's Live Search toolbar will give HP buyers direct accesss to a variety of onlline services and tools, including HP's Snapfish service. Microsoft hopes to be able to place sponsored links before more Internet viewers.

Microsoft Goes After "Career Pirates"

Stony Stevenson writes "Microsoft has filed 21 lawsuits in US Federal courts as part of an effort to stop those who continually pirate its software. The suits span 14 states and target people and businesses that have allegedly sold pirated copies of Microsoft software. Eight of the suits target companies that Microsoft refers to as 'repeat offender software pirates.' The eight firms had already been sued by Microsoft for selling counterfeit software."

Yahoo! rejected Microsoft bid for search business, due to exclusivity clause

Microsoft dropped bid for all of Yahoo! on 8 June and launched a bid of USD 1 billion for Yahoo!'s search business and a share of future search advertising revenue. This proposal also included an USD billion investment in Yahoo! but required Yahoo! to commit to a 10-year exclusive arrangement, according to a letter sent to Yahoo! stockholders by CEO Jerry Yang and Chairman Roy Bostock. The letter explains the reasons for Yahoo! to sign a four year non-exclusive deal with Google for online advertising services and to end the talks with Microsoft, as their search-only hybrid proposal may have been helpful to Microsoft. The board and its advisers also carefully studied the financial impact of Microsoft's proposal and concluded that it would have provided no meaningful improvement to the operating cash flow.

Microsoft Releases First Open XML SDK

Kurtz'sKompund tips us to news that Microsoft has released a finished version of the Open XML software development kit. Microsoft has made additional resources available with the download. Quoting Techworld: "The SDK includes an application programming interface (API) simplifying the creation of code for searching documents, creating documents, validating document parts, modifying data and other tasks, Microsoft said. The API can be used in any language supported by the Microsoft .Net Framework, the company said. The current SDK supports the version of Open XML supported by Office 2007, which is not the same as that ratified as a standard by the ISO, due to changes effected during the ratification process."

Microsoft-Yahoo Searching For A Price; Talks Could End Next Week: Reports

In the latest developments between Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), Reuters reports that the two parties are now focused on arriving at a value for Yahoo’s search business, and that discussions could end in the “next week or so.” The story, which quoted an unnamed person familiar with the matter, said in the latest scenario, Microsoft is proposing to buy Yahoo’s search business and take a minority stake in the company after Yahoo sells off its Asian assets. But apparently, the complicated part is in determining a price. The source explained that any amount “would be tied to how revenue-sharing and other deal terms are structured.” Two possibilities: Microsoft may pay Yahoo for search queries and traffic acquisition costs and Yahoo may seek guarantees on the rate Microsoft will pay and a specific time commitment f

Microsoft Denies Call-in 'Save XP' Petition

CWmike writes "Gregg Keizer digs deeper on a report that said Microsoft was logging calls from customers who requested that the company extend the retail availability of Windows XP to find that some users claimed that they couldn't get through to the support lines. Microsoft denies that it organized any kind of call-in petition and pleaded with users not to dial its technical support numbers to ask for an XP extension. 'As a courtesy to customers in need of technical assistance, we ask callers not to call Microsoft Customer Support Services to request an extension for Windows XP,' a company representative said. Microsoft declined to comment on whether its support lines had experienced a call-volume spike starting last Friday, when the Neowin notice first appeared.

Microsoft Offered $40 a Share For Yahoo

fistfullast33l writes "Bloomberg is reporting that a recently unsealed court case by shareholders against Yahoo reveals that Microsoft offered $40 a share for the Internet search company in January 2007 and Yahoo turned it down. We've extensively discussed Microsoft's bid for Yahoo earlier this year for $33 a share, which was rebuffed. Investor Carl Icahn has launched a proxy fight against Yahoo over the spurning of the Microsoft deal." CWmike notes of Computerworld's coverage of the revelations: "The complaint places much of the blame on [Yahoo CEO Jerry] Yang, describing him as someone with a 'well-known' antipathy toward Microsoft who acted out of a personal interest to keep Yahoo independent. Something wrong with that? Oh, yeah... public company.

Microsoft Helps Protect Consumers by Addressing Repeat Offender Software Pirates

PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As part of its ongoing efforts to protect its customers and partners from the risks of pirated and counterfeit software, Microsoft Corp. today announced the filing of 21 lawsuits in federal court in 14 states against resellers allegedly engaging in the sale of pirated software, including some alleged repeat offenders. Microsoft also called attention to several resources available to help consumers to ensure they are getting genuine software, including the (800) RU-LEGIT (785-3448) hot line and online validation tools at http://www.microsoft.com/genuine. In the cases announced today, many of the companies identified in the suits are alleged to have misled customers by repeatedly distributing unlicensed copies of Microsoft software pre-installed on the PCs that they sold.

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