Microsoft

According to a new rumor making its way through the industry, Microsoft will release its RTM (Release to Manufacturing) version of Windows 8 next spring -- April 2012, to be exact. That would correspond with another recent rumor which suggest that ... the full release of Windows 8 will be on store shelves come the fall or holiday of 2012 . The most recent report comes courtesy of Mary Jo Foley, a prominent tech blogger and Microsoft expert for ZDNet. According to Foley's source, who she says is a trusted one, Microsoft is on track to release to manufacturing all versions of Windows 8 by April ... (view more)

Mozilla last week launched the new Firefox version 5 web browser, but with it comes the news that Firefox 4 will be retired. The move to release Firefox 5 only a few months after version 4 (released in March this year) is a surprise to many users. ... The plan is to keep the open-source web browser current with new technologies; this follows with the 'rapid-release' business model, similarly used by Google Chrome and Apple. (Source: pcworld.com ) Firefox 5 is the first release as part of Mozilla's new rapid release plan. (Source: wikipedia.org ) Slow And Steady Versus Rapid Release While rapid ... (view more)

The idea of an "interactive advertisement" has long been associated with those online sidebars that ask users to answer an obvious trivia question or "shoot" a moving target. But Microsoft is now investing in an advertising protocol that would allow ... consumers to use voice and motion controls to make investigating advertisements pitched at them a truly interactive experience. NUAds Allow Users to Interact with TV Advertisements The new medium (called NUads) allows people to interact with their televisions and activate all of the virtual components an advertiser has to offer. NUads was ... (view more)

Microsoft has unveiled several changes to its online storage service, SkyDrive. It should mean very noticeable improvements to the speed at which it responds to commands. Share, Access up to 25GB of Free Online Storage SkyDrive offers users 25 GB of ... free online storage, meaning files can be accessed from any machine. Users can decide whether to make files publicly available, in which case the service can be used as a simpler alternative to running a website to host documents or media files, or to make them private and only accessible with a Windows Live log-in. There's some debate over ... (view more)

As Research in Motion (RIM) stock continues its free-fall, speculation about a possible acquisition of the Canadian company by Microsoft persists. RIM insists it remains a profitable firm; however, recent criticisms of the company's strategy have ... experts wondering if the firm needs a little help moving forward. "RIM's business is profitable and remains solid overall with growing market share in numerous markets around the world and a strong balance sheet with almost $3 billion in cash," said Jim Balsillie, RIM's co-CEO, in a recent presentation. "We believe that with the new products ... (view more)

A Microsoft executive has hinted that Windows 8 could be released next fall. But it's not clear if the comments are based on genuine insider information or if they merely represent speculation. The comments came from Dan'l Lewin, a corporate vice ... president responsible for Microsoft's relationships with other businesses, both major firms and start-up companies. Regarding the Windows timescale he said, " ... if you look at the crystal ball and just say what happened in the past is a reasonable indicator of what our forward looking timelines will be .... we've made the point about having a ... (view more)

Mike Delman, Microsoft VP of Global Marketing for Interactive Entertainment Business, recently revealed to the Seattle Times that Xbox Live will soon be integrated with Windows 8, making it available to users via PC for the first time. The Xbox Live ... offering for PCs falls in line with Microsoft's new plan to begin live television , expected to make its way to Xbox 360 consoles this fall. "Live has been successful on the Windows Phone and Live will be built into the PC. It will be the service where you get your entertainment," said Delman. (Source: latimes.com ) Billions of Entertainment Hours ... (view more)

Microsoft is joining Seattle-based Boeing in pledging $50 million to help send Washington State students to a local college or university. The program, which was both authorized and partially funded by the state, will provide 10,000/$1,000 ... scholarships, starting this December. The new initiative, which is being called Opportunity Scholarship, is a response to steadily rising tuition rates in the Pacific Northwest state. Not long ago the Washington State Legislature slashed $500 million of funding to various colleges and universities, cuts that have made their way down the chain to students. ... (view more)

According to a new report, Microsoft Security Essentials has been downloaded 30 million times and is ranked as one of the most widely-used, free antivirus programs for Windows. The report comes from OPSWAT, a San Francisco-based software security ... firm. In the study, 43,000 computer users were surveyed. Of those surveyed, just under 11 per cent were running Microsoft Security Essentials free antivirus software. Coming in second place was Avira Antivir Personal at 10.18 per cent, followed by AVAST! Free antivirus at 8.66 per cent. (Source: planetinsane.com ) The report, however, is not without ... (view more)

Last week the Supreme Court put an end to Microsoft's long-running attempt to avoid paying a hefty $290 million decision over its use of XML technology found in Microsoft Word, which also affects the Microsoft Office Suite. The court ruling marks ... the end of a long journey for the Redmond-based software giant, which has been trying desperately to overturn the decision since last year . (Source: reuters.com ) This decision is said to have a major impact on future cases involving similar conflicts. Microsoft Supported by Apple, Google Surprisingly, both Apple and Google supported Microsoft in ... (view more)