Microsoft

Is Microsoft going to buy out BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM)? This purchase may be beneficial for Microsoft since RIM has been going through a period of strong growth in terms of subscribers and profits. However, RIM does have its ... downsides, the main one being its customers. So far, retail consumers are very few and far between. On the other hand, the company is striving to gain a broader consumer population by equipping its devices with new multimedia features such as cameras and music players. It has also negotiated with carriers in order to reduce consumer prices. A ... (view more)

Please don't be too shocked by this one: Microsoft has again delayed one of its highly anticipated products. This time the unfortunate one is Windows Server 2008, unsurprisingly pushed back until, you guessed it, 2008. At one time, Microsoft had ... planned to release Windows Server 2008 just in time for reindeer and Santa Claus, although recent troubles have left representatives scratching their heads. Now, it seems work on the software could take as long as an additional ninety days, moving the final release well into spring of next year. (Source: computerworld.com ) What is Windows Server 2008 ... (view more)

After a long wait and much speculation, Microsoft has finally announced plans for its upcoming service pack, SP1 for Windows Vista. Unearthing details on Wednesday, the Redmond-based company revealed it will be launching the update over the course ... of a 90-day period, with the SP1 beta test planned soon. What is SP1? SP1, or Service Pack 1, is the first major update to Microsoft's newest operating system, Windows Vista. It's a critical "patch", if you will, and may lure more of the tech world's cynics to a troubled OS that could, and should, be the next wave in its market. And so, some of our ... (view more)

Nokia and Microsoft are partnering up to increase revenue from web services. The device uniting them is from Nokia, as the mobile manufacturer plans to pre-install Microsoft Internet applications on its new phones early next year. The ... Microsoft/Nokia relationship is not just for North Americans, but will be available in eleven countries, including Britain, France, Spain, and Germany. In the past, Nokia phones were equipped with a few Microsoft products such as Windows Media DRM10, which enforces copyright protection for audio files. Now, a whole range of Microsoft programs will dial their way ... (view more)

A lot of things have been written about Windows Vista...some good, some bad. As with everything else, Vista has its good and bad points. Some have even compared Vista to the Ford Edsel, and to Windows Millenium (ME) at its worst. Now Vista has sunk ... to a new catastrophic low...it's now being referred to as the second Titanic, which if you'll recall, sank on its maiden voyage. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes made the comparison in an article published on Earthweb.com. He also writes for zdnet.com. "An operating system (OS) isn't a stand-alone item" he writes. "For an operating system to be successful it ... (view more)

Microsoft has reportedly begun showing U.S. automakers Tellme, an alternative software for in-car navigation and assistance currently being offered exclusively by General Motor Corp.'s OnStar communications service. The technology was obtained by ... Microsoft in May, when the company acquired Tellme Networks Inc., a phone software company. Microsoft recently displayed the voice-recognition software, which allows mobile phone users to receive spoken data from a database, at an auto industry conference. Please, 'Tellme': How does it work? The Tellme service would connect through a Bluetooth- ... (view more)

Two American powerhouses are looking to improve the national health care system in the United States, surprising when you consider the two "powerhouses" are not political, but technological. By combining more effective Internet search tools, the ... vast resources of the web, and a host of online personal health records, Google and Microsoft are finding new ways of helping the average U.S. citizen make better choices concerning their medical care and personal health habits. (Source: nytimes.com ) Industry analysts are not completely confident that either company will make significant steps ... (view more)

A new study by Forrester Research shows that businesses that had been thinking of making a quick move to Microsoft Windows Vista seem to be doing an about-face and delaying deployment. In a report issued this week, Forrester analyst Benjamin Gray ... said "IT managers are finding themselves pulling back their initial Windows Vista deployment plans." Forrester did note that it's not like most businesses are really going to skip over Vista. "For the vast majority of businesses, Windows Vista is a matter of when and how, not if. This is thanks in large part to Microsoft's dominance in the corporate ... (view more)

Microsoft has revamped Hotmail once again, this time providing more storage and a slew of new features. Free accounts will now have a 5 GB storage limit, a large increase from the previous 2 GB limit. Paid subscribers will see their storage limits ... upped from 4 GB to 10 GB. (Source: betanews.com ) The added storage puts Hotmail ahead of Google, which offers 2.8 GB of storage, but still behind Yahoo's unlimited storage. (Source: windowsitpro.com ) Additional features include vacation replies and the ability to disable the 'Today' screen. Further, Microsoft responded to consumer comments and ... (view more)

Apple has just released iWork 2008. New additions, such as a spreadsheet called "Numbers", are impressive but the real excitement is over iWork's ability to handle the Open XML file format. This particular format is native to Microsoft's Office 2007 ... application suite. Until now, no application has been more important for the long-term survival of Mac than Microsoft Office. However, Apple's new iWork may change this fact. Why is Microsoft no longer the only drug that can keep Mac healthy? Quick answer: the Redmond-based company contracted its own illness; Microsoft faced problems in ... (view more)