Microsoft

For those of you who dislike the pesky anti-piracy measures used by software companies, here's good news: Microsoft will discontinue its program of additional anti-piracy monitoring for its MS Office software. A few years ago Microsoft introduced ... Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), an anti-piracy measure that checked the validity of user operating systems by dialing into their computers. PCs found to be running illegal copies of Windows had their operating system desktop screen turned black with a message that their PC may be running counterfeit software. Microsoft Office Genuine Advantage ... (view more)

New figures suggest that sales of Windows Phone 7 handsets have effectively flat-lined at a statistically insignificant level. It's led one research firm to suggest Microsoft will have to find a completely different way to make money from the mobile ... market. There have been several indications that sales of handsets running the new system, launched in Europe in October and North America last month, have been disappointing. Statistics from the Windows Phone 7 launch include an estimate that just 40,000 people bought a Windows Phone 7 device on its launch day (the respective figure for iPhones ... (view more)

PC security and fraud analysts are today warning users of the alarming online spread of fake defragmentation tools for Microsoft's Windows operating system (OS). These fraudulent programs, referred to as scareware, are sold to consumers to "fix ... their PC," based on an illegitimate warning message, but perform no necessary function. Bogus Defrag Tools Flood Online Market GFI-Sunbelt Security recently posted a warning online their blog, stating that many bogus defrag tools have made their way online in recent weeks. The company recommends users steer clear of several deceptive products ... (view more)

Some rumors are hard to believe, and yet sometimes you can't help buy pay attention. That certainly describes a story coming from an Italian web site (blog) which claims that Windows 8 will come in a fully three-dimensional edition. The blog is very ... careful to call the story unofficial. It begins by noting that Windows 8 will be available in 32-bit and 64-bit editions, but not 128-bit. Those numbers refer to the amount of information that a computer's CPU (center processing unit) can process simultaneously. Software has to be specially written to work with the number of bits on a computer, ... (view more)

Microsoft has provided more information with regards to Silverlight 5, the next edition of its multimedia software. The company hopes Silverlight 5's barrage of features can dampen speculation that the system will take a back seat to other forms of ... web media, including that of Adobe Flash and HTML (hyper text markup language) version 5. Silverlight is an application framework, a system that designers can use to create graphics, animations and multimedia content. With the new edition of Silverlight, Microsoft is putting a lot of emphasis on its use in a business context -- particularly in ... (view more)

Microsoft will yet again release a gargantuan list of security bulletins for flaws found in its Windows operating system, Internet Explorer browser, and MS Office applications suite. In total, 17 security bulletins will address a mind-boggling 40 ... flaws and will be released this coming Tuesday, December 14th. While this isn't the largest release to date, it is a significant number and users of all MS Windows need to patch their PCs in order to steer clear of online threats. Remote Code Execution Threats Plague MS Windows Thankfully, just two of the bulletins have been rated "critical," ... (view more)

Microsoft is reportedly planning to become a "virtual cable TV operator" through a broadband service. It's seen by many as an attempt to challenge Google TV. The plan, which wouldn't take effect for at least a year, would be to team up with cable TV ... networks towards offering channels directly to users via the Xbox 360 games console, with the content delivered through a broadband connection. The service would work along the same lines as traditional cable TV, with a basic tier-based package and then a premium fee for some individual channels. There will also be interactive, options such as the ... (view more)

Home users have expressed dismay at news that Microsoft is to remove a key feature from its Windows Home Server software. Drive Extender, a handy options that allows users to add extra hard drives, will be axed from Windows Home Server's next ... edition. Share Files Easily with Windows Home Server Windows Home Server is designed as an easy way for with multiple computers to share files. One of the computers is designated a server, and the others are classified as clients, in much the same way as many large businesses operate their networks. However, the system is specially designed to be easy to ... (view more)

Apple's new, 11.6-inch MacBook Air might look a little bit like a Windows 7 netbook, but it sure doesn't perform like one. According to recent reports, the super-light and very small Air easily outperforms its PC brethren, backing up Apple CEO Steve ... Jobs' claim that this piece of hardware is most definitely not a netbook. The new MacBook Air, available in 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch models, shipped in mid-October of this year. Within a couple weeks, the company received mixed reviews : some analysts criticized the device for not offering enough processing power for the price at $999 -- which is ... (view more)

Microsoft's recent decision to offer its free Security Essentials software through Windows Update has caused a major uproar amongst antivirus developers . In what appears to be an effort to make at least one major security firm happy, Microsoft has ... partnered up with Symantec to offer that company's software at no charge, too. Retailer PC Mall is also a part of the deal, which involves offering small businesses the Symantec EndPoint Protection Small Edition software package when they buy a new copy of Microsoft's operating system (OS), Windows 7. The offer will be available until the last day ... (view more)