Microsoft

When Windows Vista failed in 2007, it was the average company's Information Technology department that killed it. Well, not entirely, but IT has in the past proven reticent to move beyond the well-established Windows XP. According to a recent ... report, however, that's finally starting to change. "Over the years, IT has had a real love affair with XP," notes analyst Diane Hagglund of Dimensional Research. She's the author of a recent survey that asked over 900 IT pros what they thought about using Windows XP in the post-Windows 7 era. Most IT Experts Still Wedded to Windows XP Hagglund's study ... (view more)

Steven Sinofsky Microsoft's president of Windows Live division yesterday discussed Microsoft's highly-anticipated Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) at the MIX10 conference in Last Vegas. Building hype was clearly at the top of his agenda, but not escaping ... the presentation was this tidbit: IE9 won't run on Windows XP. "We've built Internet Explorer 9 from the ground up on top of the Windows 7 platform," Sinofsky giddily reported to his Sin City crowd during Internet Explorer general manager Dean Hachamovitch's keynote address. (Source: seattlepi.com ) Internet Explorer 9: New Graphics Engine Sinofsky ... (view more)

Tactics used to make new hard drives more efficient could cause problems for Windows XP users. It may mean any new drive bought after next year could be noticeably slower to use on the operating system. The issue involves the way hard drives are ... broken down into individual sectors. Until now, it has always been standard for hard drive sectors to be 512 bytes in size. However, not all of each sector is used for storing data. Instead, there is a marker to denote the start of the sector: a space used for codes which are used to check if there is any error with the sector and its contents, and a ... (view more)

It's being reported that the first Service Pack for Windows 7 (Service Pack 1) will be released before the end of this year. Critics suggest the early release may be an attempt to stimulate purchases among corporate users. The reports stem mainly ... from TechARP, a Malaysian hardware site with a strong record of accurately predicting Microsoft release dates. (Source: theregister.co.uk ) Windows 7 Service Pack 1: Cumulative Fixes A service pack is a collection of security updates, bug fixes and software improvements. It brings together updates which have been issued through Windows Update since ... (view more)

Microsoft yesterday unveiled its March Patch Tuesday offering, and by comparison to recent months it was a relatively calm affair. Only two security bulletins addressing eight vulnerabilities were announced, but they were joined by a warning related ... to a new zero-day Internet Explorer flaw which does not yet have a fix. Both of the bulletins Microsoft released in accordance with its March Patch Tuesday have been designated "important". That's a big step down from this past February's Patch Tuesday , where about one-fifth of the 26 vulnerabilities were considered "critical," Microsoft's ... (view more)

Many small businesses were put off the Windows Vista operating system (OS) because of early complaints about compatibility problems and its tendency to bog down older machines. However, positive reviews of the new Windows 7 have finally started to ... shake upgrade fears amongst smaller companies, and Microsoft says they're starting to see these firms make the shift away from previous stand-by Windows XP. Microsoft's claim that small businesses are diving into Windows 7 after taking a pass on Windows Vista was made by company Vice President Brad Brooks during an interview earlier this week. " ... (view more)

Many within the tech world are expecting Microsoft to announce a beta version of Internet Explorer 9 at the upcoming MIX 2010 conference. While nothing is yet confirmed by Microsoft, the new version of the popular browser is expected to boast ... improved support for open web standards. Microsoft has in the past been criticized for not fully supporting open web standards. Considering that most Microsoft software produced is proprietary and closed source, the push towards open web standards for Internet Explorer is a huge change for the company, and many critics believe it will yield high returns ... (view more)

A senior Microsoft executive has forecast that 300 million copies of Windows 7 will be sold during 2010. That comes just days after Microsoft reported sales of 90 million Windows 7 licenses to date. The comments came from chief operating office ... Kevin Turner, the man effectively responsible for Microsoft's day-to-day operations. He was speaking to the London School of Economics. Sales Outweigh Economic Conditions Turner said he expected the positive response to the new operating system to drive sales, outweighing a natural reluctance by businesses to spend large amounts amid harsh economic ... (view more)

The Microsoft browser ballot has been under way for a few days now, and there's already an indication that some people are moving away from Internet Explorer. How the Microsoft Browser Ballot Works This week saw the debut of a scheme which prompts ... Internet Explorer users in Europe to choose one or more browsers from a list of the 12 most popular on the continent. It's a system put together by Microsoft to stave off regulator criticism that including Internet Explorer as the default browser in Windows gave it an unfair advantage in its market over competitors such as Apple's Opera Browser, ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed that the next edition of its mobile operating system (OS) won't be backwards compatible. That may hurt sales of current handsets which, though not obsolete, will soon be second-string. The company confirmed that it won't be ... possible to upgrade phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 to the new system, set to be released this year. As part of a rebranding, the system will formally be known as Windows 7 Phone series rather than Windows 7 phone. The reason for the lack of upgrade is that Microsoft is severely restricting the scope available for handset designers with version 7. ... (view more)