Microsoft

Documents unsealed by a federal court in the "Vista Capable" lawsuit reportedly reveal that Microsoft would have to come up with as much as $8.5 billion to settle accounts with customers affected by its 2006 "Vista Capable" marketing debacle. Keith ... Leffler, a University of Washington economist and expert witness for the plaintiffs, estimates that it would cost a minimum of $3.92 billion to as much as $8.52 billion to upgrade the 19.4 million PCs that were sold as Vista Capable to hardware capable of running premium versions of Windows Vista. (Source: computerworld.com ) Leffler said in a ... (view more)

After flirting with open source development for some time, Microsoft has made another step towards real commitment with the release of source code for Web Sandbox, a program used to test and secure web site content. (Source: zdnet.com ) The Sandbox ... source code will be released under the Apache 2.0 license, an open source license agreement allowing the content creator to maintain copyright while permitting others to develop the product for their own use. Microsoft has gradually been increasing their involvement with the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) since 2008 when they agreed to fund ... (view more)

An early release of Microsoft's uber-popular web browser Internet Explorer version 8 (IE8) is now available for download. The Redmond-based company boasts that it's the safest and most secure browser ever constructed, and has included several new ... features meant to protect users against even the most innovative hacker attacks. As expected, Microsoft has simply added yet another digit to its browser, dubbing this one simple "IE8". There are a number of good reasons to invest precious download minutes in Internet Explorer 8; at the top of the list is a special new feature meant to protect ... (view more)

Recently unsealed documents relating to the ongoing "Vista Capable" class-action lawsuit revealed that a group within Microsoft recommended in 2005 that the lowest-priced version of Windows Vista be released without the "Vista" name due to concerns ... over "user product expectations." The lawsuit claims that Microsoft misled consumers with its "Vista Capable" marketing program in the months leading up to the January 2007 release of Windows Vista. Part of the allegations in the lawsuit contend that Windows Vista Home Basic is not the "real" Vista because it lacks the ... (view more)

The European Commission has once again attacked Microsoft for bundling Internet Explorer with Windows. The EU (European Union) body recently ruled in principle that such behavior breaches European competition laws. The ruling concludes a year-long ... investigation which is the latest in a series of battles between European regulators and Microsoft. In one case, involving the inclusion of Windows Media Player in Windows, Microsoft was fined a total of $745 million. The European Commission is the executive wing of the European political system: it carries out the laws made by politicians. Its new ... (view more)

According to a court document, an expert estimates that Microsoft earned more than $1.5 billion through the sales of PCs labeled as "Vista Capable" when they allowed some PC makers to label XP-running PCs as "Vista Capable" prior to the release of ... the Windows Vista operating system in early 2007. (Source: nwsource.com ) Last February we reported that a "Vista Capable" lawsuit was granted class-action status because some PCs labeled as "Vista Capable" were only capable of running the most basic version of the operating system. (Source: infopackets.com ) Despite claims that Microsoft ... (view more)

It seems not even Microsoft is impervious to the effects of this increasingly painful recession. According to reports, the Redmond-based company is preparing to lay off about 17 per cent of its entire workforce in the coming months. Despite its ... portfolio diversity -- including operating systems, antivirus software, and video game consoles -- Microsoft is clearly feeling the pressure applied by a tightening global economy. In fact, there seems to be a sense of emergency to the massive cuts (about 15,000 workers out of 90,000), which rumors suggest should be made official by January 15. As ... (view more)

The beta version of Windows 7 has been widely distributed through torrents and other file sharing systems. But now some commentators claim Microsoft deliberately allowed the package to get into the hands of pirates. A beta edition is one which is ... effectively finished: in theory the only changes which would be made before the official release are to solve serious bugs which are found during the beta testing. The beta of Windows 7, the successor to Vista, isn't officially out until later this month (the details will likely be announced at the Consumer Electronics Show which starts on January 7 ... (view more)

Microsoft has once again given Windows XP a reprieve, reportedly extending the cut-off date to system builders -- smaller shops and computer dealers who build PCs to order -- from January 31, 2009 to May 31, 2009. According to a Microsoft ... spokeswoman, the company will likely increase the cut-off date again. Despite Microsoft's claims that Windows Vista has sold well, consumers are still reacting badly to it and demand for Vista-XP downgrades is still strong. (Source: crn.com ) Downgrading from Windows Vista to Windows XP is still a popular method for users purchasing new systems with the ... (view more)