Microsoft

Fri
10
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

MS Slashes Price of Windows on Netbooks

Microsoft has cut the price of Windows by almost 80% for the special netbook edition. However, the price is for manufacturers, meaning consumers won't necessarily see all of the savings. Until now, computer makers normally had to pay around $70 to ... include Windows on their machines. Microsoft has now started offering Windows for just $15 to firms making netbooks. Of course, there's no guarantee manufacturers will pass all of those savings on; depending on how competitive the market is, they may attempt to keep back some of the $55 reduction for themselves. Microsoft feels the price cut is ... (view more)

Thu
09
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

MS Accused of $388M Piracy, using AntiPiracy Software

A federal court has fined Microsoft $388 million for breaching the copyright of a rival software company. Ironically, the firm concerned was a producer of anti-piracy products. The court found Microsoft breached a patent belonging to Uniloc and ... involved the copy protection used on Windows XP and some parts of the Microsoft Office suite. Microsoft had not licensed the technology used in the activation process by which a product can be installed repeatedly on a single machine but can't be shared with other people or copied to another computer. Award Among All-Time Highs The sum is believed to ... (view more)

Thu
09
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Warns Against Rising Scareware Threat

In a recent Security Intelligence Report, Microsoft revealed that scareware threats are steadily climbing. The report, which covers the second half of 2008, finds that fake security software is becoming more and more prevalent as people head online ... in greater numbers. Scareware isn't your traditional malicious software. It's not simply a virus or malware, but can lead to those kinds of infections. Instead, scareware is a more sinister kind of threat -- it pretends to be security software willing and able to "repair and protect" a user's system, but is in fact just a farce. Most ... (view more)

Wed
08
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Windows 7 4x Better than Vista, Survey Suggests

A day after Microsoft revealed that it would make Windows 7 downgradeable all the way back to XP, a new poll suggests it's unlikely anyone will really want to do that. Apparently, Windows 7 is gaining popularity after all. The poll is courtesy of ... ChangeWave Research, which has been keeping tabs on Microsoft's operating systems for a while now. Two years ago it polled users shortly after Vista's much-anticipated launch, only to find that just 10% of all users felt "very satisfied" with the OS. A couple years of serious griping later, and here we are with what most hope will completely redeem ... (view more)

Tue
07
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Confirms Windows 7 Downgradable to XP

At this point, Windows 7 represents Microsoft's best hope for regaining the confidence of business and home users disgruntled with its much-maligned Windows Vista operating system. Just in case Win7 doesn't satisfy, however, the company is making it ... downgradable all the way to Windows XP. Downgrading a Windows system is hardly new, but prior to Vista the demand for such retroactive steps was actually quite rare. As Vista's popularity began to wane only a few months after its launch in early 2007, computer makers and retailers began marketing certain systems that had XP instead of the newer, ... (view more)

Mon
06
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

WinXP, Office 2003 Evolve, Updates Semi-Retired

Microsoft recently announced that April 14, 2009 will mark the beginning of its "phase out" process for the Office 2003 productivity suite and the Windows XP operating system; two cornerstone programs that will be forced into semiretirement so that ... more resources can be used towards newer products. The lifespan of a Microsoft product is dependent on the amount of time and involvement the company allocates when implementing security updates, patches, and similar. Microsoft Product Life Cycle: Mainstream Support Office 2003 was released in November 2003 as a successor to Office XP. At the time ... (view more)

Thu
02
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Texas Politician Tries To Ban Vista

A Texas senator is trying to make it illegal for any government agency to buy Windows Vista without prior approval. Juan Hinojosa says simply "Don't buy it because it's not worth it." If the law passes, all state agencies in Texas would need written ... approval from the Legislative Budget Board before buying Vista itself or any machine with the system pre-installed. The only exception would be for places of higher education. Anti-Vista Amendment Rides State Budget The proposal is not a separate law. Instead it's a rider to the budget: one of 800 amendments added during the legislative process. ... (view more)

Wed
01
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

MS Unveils All-Star Dev Roster for Mobile Marketplace

Microsoft's highly anticipated Windows Mobile application store has yet to launch, but the company has effectively stirred the tech market into a frenzy with the recent unveiling of several notable supporting developers at the CTIA Wireless trade ... show in Las Vegas yesterday. (Source: pcmag.com ) The list includes a number of recognizable names for anyone with a computer or a game console. Among the most notable developers currently working on apps are news and weather networks: Accuweather.com Associated Press CNBC Video game developers and retailers: Electronic Arts (EA) Mobile Gameloft ... (view more)

Fri
27
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Latest Microsoft Ad Campaign Targets 'Apple Tax'

When's the last time you found a new Apple MacBook for less than $1,000? Never? Base pricing is the focus of Microsoft's recent ad campaign, which launches a frontal assault on its competitor's alleged "Apple tax". Although the last time Microsoft ... worked with popular ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, it ended in Costanza-esque disaster -- however, this time the two are taking a different tact. Rather than prance in a fantasy world where comedians and geeky tech moguls journey across the United States , this new series of ads follows everyday computer buyers in their quest to purchase an ... (view more)

Wed
25
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Disappointed IE8 Users Revert to IE7

It's been almost one week since users have been able to experience Internet Explorer 8 , Microsoft's latest weapon in the browser war against rivals Firefox, Safari and Chrome. Unfortunately, fanfare doesn't appear to be overwhelming, and now there ... are reports that some users might actually be reverting to IE7 -- or even opting for competitor browsers. Early Highs, Later Lows It was reported that as much as 2.61% of all web surfers were using IE8 just three days after the release date. While some assume that these numbers would have doubled or tripled by now, the figures have barely improved ... (view more)

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