Microsoft

Microsoft has apologized after a contractor appeared to copy code from a rival company to use in a microblogging service. But Plurk, the company claiming its material was stolen, says it is considering taking the matter to court. Juku, a ... Twitter-style blogging feature on Microsoft's MSN site in China, was taken down this week after the complaints. Plurk's staff had written that Juku's design had involved "blatant theft of code, design, and user interface elements." As Much as 80% of Code Stolen Not only did Plurk staff believe Juku's look and feel was remarkably similar to its own site, but ... (view more)

Whether you are a university student using your laptop in residence or an employee surfing the Internet at the office, closely controlling your online history is crucial in keeping your identity safe and your privacy intact. According to Sree ... Kamireddy, Program Manager for Microsoft Bing, very few people are actually aware of the Bing Search History control options that are offered through the "decision engine". The switches offer a safer level of privacy control which is particularly useful if your PC or laptop falls into the wrong hands. The On / Off Switch Online search history ... (view more)

Microsoft is being sued by a small tech firm for using a part of its name, Bing! Information Design, as the moniker for its new search engine. Bing! Information Design says it's been using the name for almost ten years, far longer than the ... seven-month-old Bing search engine. St. Louis-based Bing! Information Design filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in its home city. The company claims that Microsoft's search engine violates its trademark on the word 'Bing'. Bing! Information Design says it has had rights to that name since 2000. Specifically, the suit alleges Microsoft is guilty of "trademark ... (view more)

Microsoft will ask all European users of Internet Explorer whether they want to try out a rival browser. It's an unexpected result in a long-running dispute with European Union officials. It came as no surprise when the firm announced today that it ... will include a "browser ballot" screen on all Windows PCs sold in Europe from January 2010, and on. The scheme, which Microsoft had proposed some months ago, will mean that during set-up users will see a list of leading browsers and have the option to install some or all of them, rather than simply getting Internet Explorer by default. Ball Screen ... (view more)

According to a recent survey by a Windows support firm, almost one in every three problems with Windows 7 is tied to issues arising during installation. The report highlights consumer difficulties in making the long jump from the nearly decade-old ... Windows XP to Microsoft's latest operating system (OS). 100,000 Customers Surveyed The support company in question, iYogi, found that in a survey of 100,000 customers an estimated 31 per cent of all problems with Windows 7 were issues experienced during installation. Rounding out the top three most-reported frustrations for new Windows 7 users was ( ... (view more)

One of the best Windows 7 retail deals (aside from the $30 student package, of course) was Microsoft's special Windows 7 Family Pack promotion, which bundled three licenses for the new operating system (OS) for the discounted price of $150. Despite ... rumors that the Family Pack is now sold out across the U.S., reports suggest Microsoft's own stores might still have a few copies. Family Pack Sold Out on Microsoft Site A Microsoft spokesperson yesterday told the media that the Windows 7 Family Pack, which includes three licenses (and thus, can be installed on three different computers) had sold ... (view more)

A Windows blogger has discovered that a feature supposedly removed from the starter edition of Windows 7 is in fact simply hidden. Thus, users of the new operating system (OS) can easily access the ability to run so-called ad-hoc networks. An ad-hoc ... network, also sometimes known as a computer-to-computer network, is a way of wirelessly connecting two computers directly rather than through a router. For example, you might use this when the main computer in a home is connected to the Internet through a cable modem rather than a router, with the ad-hoc network then allowing laptops to share data ... (view more)

As Microsoft and independent firms alike try to find out more about the " black screen of death " issue plaguing some users of Windows 7, the firm which first reported the problem has earned its fair share of criticism. However, that same firm ... maintains that despite getting the cause wrong, it still has the best solution. Fix for Some, Not All Cases Although it's now clear that Prevx misidentified Microsoft's update as being responsible for the problem, and grossly overestimated how many people could be affected, the firm has produced a fix which is reported to work in many, but not all, ... (view more)

Since its November 10 security update, reports suggest Microsoft has received more complaints about the Black Screen of Death, than ever before. One security firm is claiming that the update has caused the issue, while Microsoft asserts that the ... problem is neither rampant nor is it the result of the November 10 patch. The dreaded "blacK Screen of Death", otherwise known as KSoD, occurs when a user starts their computer but receives only a black screen rather than their desktop. It means that somewhere during startup process the operating system failed to load properly. The problem is ... (view more)

Thus far, sales of Windows 7 have been " fantastic ," and now there's also evidence it's boosting hardware sales -- which will undoubtedly increase this Black Friday with super holiday deals to be had. Manufacturers and retailers on both sides of ... the Atlantic are already crediting Windows 7 with helping move more computers this pre-holiday season. Manufacturer Acer says its recent sales are up 25 per cent on the same time last year -- all thanks to Microsoft's new operating system (OS). The firm, which is the second largest PC manufacturer in the world, says it predicted such an ... (view more)