Microsoft

Among the more publicized points of Microsoft's highly-anticipated operating system Windows 7 is the touchscreen technology. But there's some debate about how much impact it will have on the majority of user experiences. There's no doubt that ... touchscreen technology has been boosted in the past few years thanks to cellphones and other portable devices. Many people who'd previously seen a touchscreen as futuristic and unrealistic will have become regular touch users through the likes of the iPhone. As reported in March , Microsoft revised the touchscreen technology of Windows 7 to make it ... (view more)

Are you a student on a tight budget? If you are, you're probably a bit worried about the prospect of upgrading your Vista notebook or desktop to the new Windows 7 Operating System (OS). No need to worry -- Microsoft is now offering students the new ... OS for just $30. The deal, which starts October 1st, was first reported by British tech analysts yesterday, who found that U.K. students could preorder a copy of Win7 for just 30 British pounds. That's a good deal, but U.S. college students will be excited to hear that they're also eligible for the deal, at just $30 USD, if the can prove their ... (view more)

Microsoft is hoping to cleanse the Internet of malicious advertisements after filing a series of lawsuits against five companies accused of tricking innocent people into installing malware and spyware onto their computers. Microsoft has targeted ... DirectAd Solutions, Soft Solutions, qiweroqw.com, ote2008.info and ITmeter, claiming that these companies have used their advertisements to "distribute malicious software that peddles 'scareware' to unsuspecting Internet users." (Source: networkworld.com ) Scare Tactics Trick Users In a nutshell, scareware ads are dubious messages that "scare" ... (view more)

Microsoft has unveiled the next incarnation of its Project Management software. And for the first time, it will be a formal part of the Microsoft Office suite. The product itself is geared toward corporate users and is designed to understand and ... control project schedules and finances, effectively communicate and present project information, and get productive quickly. (Source: microsoft.com ) Project 2010: 3 Flavors Offered Project 2010 will come in three editions: Standard, Professional and Server. A beta edition will be available for testing sometime this year, with the final release ... (view more)

At the Jefferies Annual Technology Conference on September 15th, Microsoft Exec Charles Songhurst was quoted as saying that Windows 7 is a "compellingly good product", and even went as far as to say it will "renew belief and innovation in the ... Windows franchise." (Source: zdnet.com ) With sentiments like these, you better believe that Microsoft will do everything in their power to make Win7 succeed and, most importantly, turn a tidy profit. Big Payday Incentive It has been rumored that Microsoft is set to collect, on average, $50 per copy of Windows resulting from higher-end PC sales. ... (view more)

Microsoft has launched a new feature for its Bing search engine that displays results as images rather than a list of websites. While the images are attractive, its appeal is likely to be limited. This isn't the same feature as the image search ... options available on most major websites, including Bing (which was recently accused of using explicit language to attract visitors). Those look specifically for images which best match the search term. Instead, the image results involve displaying specific categories of information in a visual form. For example, somebody searching for information on ... (view more)

Microsoft has denied suggestions that it has paid to use an explicit term (synonymous with film making) to promote its search engine Bing. Microsoft claims the pay-per-click (PPC) link to the site must have been triggered by another phrase. The ... controversy over the illicit keyword began when a writer at TechCrunch.com -- who asked to remain anonymous -- somehow wound up searching for the 'nasty' word in Google. The writer was surprised to find that the number one listed item in the sponsored pay-per-click results section was for Microsoft's search engine Bing. (Source: techcrunch.com ) How ... (view more)

Thinking about straying from Microsoft Windows to the Linux operating system? Well, you won't get much reassurance from Best Buy employees, who, according to reports, are being trained to push Windows 7 well ahead of a more basic, and cheaper, ... competitor. 'Training Kit' Materials Leaked Recently a Best Buy employee posted pictures of training materials used by Best Buy (which also happen to be supplied by Microsoft) in anticipation of Windows 7's launch date. (Source: tgdaily.com ) The problem? Aside from showering Best Buy employees with a discounted version of Windows 7 for their own, ... (view more)

Ever wonder how poorly Windows Vista fared after reading all the bad press since its launch? Real-world PC usage data from the exo.performance.network (EPN) suggests just how much of a flop Windows Vista has been for Microsoft. Despite Microsoft's ... claims about Windows Vista's deployment , PC sales were counted as Windows Vista sales by Microsoft, despite the fact that many users and enterprises were 'downgrading' to Windows XP. In fact, two years after Vista's release, not even 30 per cent of PCs are actually running it. (Source: infoworld.com ) Those that are running Vista are almost ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed a serious security issue affecting Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) -- the version that was made available to the public prior to the full release of Windows 7. The problem also currently affects Windows Vista and Server ... 2008, but not Windows XP or Server 2008 R2. The issue involves the Server Message Block (SMB) system which is a part of Windows itself and is used for sharing files over a network. A bug in the system means anyone could take advantage of the exploit and use SMB to gain remote access to (and take control of) a remote computer. Temporary Solution: Block ... (view more)