microsoft

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has called out to Yahoo, asking them to join his company in a fight against mutual foe Google. As recently reported, Microsoft decided not to compete with Apple on the smartphone battlefield, opting instead to praise the ... iPhone for its innovative features. Now it appears Ballmer is addressing another rival, Yahoo, in the hopes of bettering the Internet-search figures of both companies. Google is the current leader of the Internet-search market with 63% of all queries. Microsoft controls just under 10%, while Yahoo controls just over 20%. If the two corporations ... (view more)

Microsoft could lose more than $800 million dollars a year in the British market if the country's government sticks to plans to use more open source software. New guidelines say public services should avoid being locked into proprietary products. ... The changes don't mean Windows will be ditched overnight (as is happening in Vietnam ), but instead policy will be that open source software should be used wherever it presents a better value. This could include both Linux-based operating systems and open source applications such as the Microsoft Office-like Open Office. Larger organizations may also ... (view more)

Microsoft's newest lawsuit is the first on record to involve patent infringement based on usage of the Linux kernel -- proving that open source software is becoming the biggest fox in Microsoft's henhouse. Microsoft filed District Court charges and ... International Trade Commission charges Tuesday against in-car GPS navigation company TomTom Inc., claiming that TomTom is violating eight Microsoft patents. While Linux is not specifically mentioned as the focus of the charges, three out of eight alleged patent violations relate to TomTom's usage of the Linux kernel. (Source: zdnet.com ) The case ... (view more)

Windows 7 beta testers are disputing whether or not Microsoft's is taking notice of their feedback. The dispute follows a blog post by Steven Sinofsky, the man in charge of engineering Windows 7 . He notes that in one week in January Microsoft ... received data through Windows 7's automatic feedback system every 15 seconds. According to Sinofsky, it's impossible to keep everyone happy. That's partly because there are only so many changes Microsoft can make to the system and still finish it, and partly because in many cases testers often have opposing views about a feature. (Source: msdn.com ) Ina ... (view more)

Tweak Xplorer TweakXPlorer is a program that allows you to enhance the look of Windows Explorer. Some of TweakXPlorer's key features include the ability to give your folders an eye catching background, design thumbnails, and more! ... http://www.d-oneproduction.co.cc Microsoft Pro Photo Tools 2 Microsoft Pro Photo Tools 2 provides a set of tools for photographers hoping to perform various exciting tasks with their images, including RAW captures. The current version enables you to quickly "geotag" your photos, view and edit metadata, and more, leveraging the power of Windows and ... (view more)

Microsoft has warned users that yet another critical vulnerability has been found in its popular Office spreadsheet program Excel. The flaw could allow remote hackers to open and run malicious code on an unsuspecting user's computer through an ... infected spreadsheet file. The attack effects users of Microsoft Office Excel 2007 but also those using any of the older binary .XLS files. A user opening a file, probably through an email, will be asked to open a malicious spreadsheet. They'll then begin downloading at least two files onto their system, one valid, the other the malicious binary. Once ... (view more)

Microsoft has waved the white flag of surrender and will not compete with Apple by building a smartphone of their own. Many people felt that the time was right to release a new smartphone, especially since Microsoft could have capitalized on the ... iPhone's numerous shortcomings. However, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer feels that the iPhone is too popular right now. The combination of a struggling economy and the mentality that "everyone who wanted a smartphone now owns a smartphone" led to Microsoft's final decision. Ballmer says that the decision is the result of careful financial ... (view more)

A new variant of the Conficker/Downadup worm has been detected. The worm opens a backdoor on an infected machine and allows hackers remote control of infected PCs. Dubbed Conficker B++ (and not to be confused with Conficker B), the new variant of ... the worm opens a backdoor with auto-update functionality, allowing a hacker to distribute malware to infected machines. It's difficult to know exactly how long Conficker B++ has been circulating, but researchers first noticed it on February 6 of this year. (Source: pcadvisor.co.uk ) 10.5 Million Computers Infected Machines infected by the Conficker/ ... (view more)

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced today that the new and improved Windows 7 will be made available for netbooks, those tiny laptops currently out-selling conventional PCs. With the current economic crunch, consumers are cutting down on purchases ... of more expensive notebooks and desktops. Ballmer and the rest of the Microsoft family are feeling the strain, since PCs account for one of the largest markets for Windows software. Ballmer has apparently taken note of the surge in netbook popularity and plans to release a full (if somewhat "lighter") version of Windows 7 that will be able to run ... (view more)

Research teams at Microsoft are currently working on a new and improved browser that has the potential to be far more secure than the existing options. In the wake of financial problems, layoffs, and legal nightmares, Gazelle -- Microsoft's new ... browser-operating system hybrid -- could help the software company recover from its landslide in market shares . The Gazelle prototype, first unveiled in 2008 under the title "MashupOS" at the Microsoft TechFest Research Fair, incorporates the best of both browser and operating system characteristics in order to provide enhanced security features. ... (view more)