Microsoft

A secret Microsoft video shows us what we can expect from 'Windows Blue,' Microsoft's next major update to the Windows platform. The internal video was recorded at Microsoft's recent TechFest, an annual gathering of Microsoft researchers to discuss ... their latest developments. The video first appeared on the independent blog site 'MSFTKitchen'. Interactive Touch Comes to Windows 8 Among the most important improvements made to Windows 8: better touch capabilities. In the video, Microsoft's chief technical staff operator, Eric Rudder, says that his team is "really excited to work, now that the ... (view more)

Two weeks ago Google revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had been spying on its customers using National Security Letters that don't even require the approval of a U.S. judge. Now, Microsoft says the FBI is using the same ... strategy to snoop on its customers. National Security Letters (NSLs) are written documents issued by the FBI that force companies, including Internet Service Providers (ISPs), to hand over various types of information, including credit card details, banking data, and addresses, phone numbers, etc. NSLs Used to Access Microsoft User Accounts According to ... (view more)

According to reports, United States federal officials are investigating claims that people with ties to Microsoft paid foreign officials to use Microsoft software. The United States Department of Justice and the Security and Exchange Commission are ... reportedly investigating these bribery allegations, which pertain to Microsoft activity in China, Italy, and Romania. The allegations were originally shared with U.S. officials last year. Business Partner Told to Bribe Chinese Officials At the time, a Chinese citizen with business ties to Microsoft was told by a representative of the Redmond, ... (view more)

Microsoft has shared its vision of what the future home might look like. In a recently released YouTube video, Microsoft revealed cutting-edge voice- and motion-enabled innovations. Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer has long been an ... advocate for touch screen displays and voice-recognition technology. The YouTube video appears to indicate that these concepts could realistically be put into practice, with some estimating that the technology could hit retailers in as little as three years' time. Microsoft's Fully Connected Home The video, titled "Microsoft's Future Vision: Live, ... (view more)

Microsoft has rolled out Service Pack 1 (SP1) for its Windows 7 operating system (OS) as an automatic update. The firm is also encouraging those with automatic updates turned off to manually download SP1 as soon as possible. A 'Service Pack' is a ... collection of important security and functionality updates for a particular operating system. Microsoft first rolled out Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 just over two years ago, in February 2011. SP1 Automatically Downloaded and Installed However, since that time Microsoft has only made SP1 available via manual installation, meaning Windows 7 users were ... (view more)

Reports indicate that Microsoft has sold just 1.5 million Surface tablet computers since the device launched late last year. Surprisingly, it appears consumers prefer the newer and more expensive Surface Pro to the cheaper Surface RT. The Bloomberg ... financial news agency says three separate sources have provided it with Surface sales figures. Though not confirmed by Bloomberg, it appears these sources may be Microsoft staff. The sources claim the company has sold just 1.5 million Surface tablets so far, including 1.1 million Surface RTs and 400,000 Surface Pros. (Source: bloomberg.com ) It's ... (view more)

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has had his credit information exposed by hackers. It's only the latest in a string of similar attacks launched against celebrities in recent weeks. According to reports, Gates' personal financial information was ... acquired by hackers and then shared online. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is currently trying to figure out how the data was accessed and who was responsible for the attack. Somewhat ironically, the attack occurred on the same day that Bill Gates discussed pressing cyber security threats with the Washington Post newspaper. Security Answers Found ... (view more)

Research firm IDC -- which recently made headlines by predicting that Android tablets will brush aside Apple iPads in 2013 -- has indicated that Microsoft's two-pronged approach to Windows 8 has failed. The company says it's time for Microsoft to ... dump Windows RT. In a recent interview, IDC research director Tom Mainelli (whose specialization is the tablet market) said that Microsoft has only confused consumers by releasing two versions of Windows 8 for tablet computers. Different Tablets, Different Windows Windows RT was released on Microsoft's standard Surface tablet computer. The new ... (view more)

Microsoft's Hotmail email service was unavailable earlier this week. The company says an overheated server was responsible for the service being out-of-action for many users. The problems affected Hotmail and its successor, Outlook. Microsoft says ... the problem could be linked to a firmware issue. Firmware is software built into a specific device; in this case, a part of the equipment at a Microsoft data center. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) Software Bug Causes Overheating According to Microsoft, an attempt to update the firmware went awry and resulted in the temperature in the data center spiking in a ... (view more)

Microsoft says students can try the online edition of Office 365 free of charge for up to six months. It's also offering a one month trial to people who aren't students. The student offer is for a three-month subscription to Office 365 University ... that allows students to install copies of Office software on two different computers (including PCs or Macs). The University edition includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, and Access. The subscription also means you can use online editions of this software on any computer with an Internet connection. Although the standard ... (view more)