microsoft

Microsoft and Apple have headed to court over a war of words, or at least, technicalities of their use. Microsoft has filed a petition requesting that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to deny Apple a trademark on the name "App Store." According ... to Microsoft, the term "App Store" is simply too generic to be the exclusive property of Apple. Apple first applied for the trademark in 2008 when it launched the iTunes App Store for the iPhone. It wanted to cover the term for any form of software retailing provided through the Internet. (Source: pcworld.com ) Microsoft: ... (view more)

Microsoft is set to plug a coding loophole that allows users of the new Windows Phone 7 system to run unauthorized software on it, an action known as jailbreaking . But it's agreed to meet the developers of the tool that took advantage of that ... loophole. The jailbreaking tool in question, called Chevron , helps users get around one of the key restrictions Microsoft put on the phones: that it's only possible to run applications that have been approved by, and downloaded from, Microsoft's own "Marketplace" store. Chevron to be Disabled in Upcoming Release Chevron worked by unlocking a special ... (view more)

Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates has always taken great pride in his philanthropic endeavors. While a great deal of funding has been provided to HIV and AIDS research over the years, it appears as if Microsoft will assume an even more ... active role in combating these and other fatal diseases. Microsoft's Altered Parasitic Organisms Back on July 9, 2009, Microsoft filed for a patent on "Adapting Parasites to Combat Disease" that laid out plans to unleash altered parasitic organisms inside human bodies. Knowledge of Microsoft's ambitions are only now surfacing and the imagery of ... (view more)

Microsoft is reportedly losing one of its most prominent and talented executives. Bob Muglia, who has been with the company nearly a quarter of a century, will be making his exit this coming summer. The news has generated much speculation from ... analysts, as the line of departing Microsoft execs grows longer. Cloud Computing Exec Looks to "New Opportunities" Muglia has been a part of Microsoft for 23 years. He's served a number of roles with the Redmond-based firm over that time, but in recent years has been a key part of Microsoft's shift toward cloud computing. It's not yet clear ... (view more)

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's highly-anticipated address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011 was focused on one major theme: catching up in the tablet market. But he also took time to discuss other big products entering the new year, ... Microsoft Kinect for the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 7. There's been a lot of talk in recent months about how Windows is going to fit into a very Apple-dominated tablet universe. Since its release last spring, the iPad has completely monopolized this market, with most Windows-based contenders, such as the ExoPC , are suffering from poor design and ... (view more)

Despite being available exclusively in beta form, Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) has been downloaded more than 20 million times, Microsoft reports. It comes as one set of figures puts the browser behind Mozilla Firefox among European users for the very ... first time. Internet Explorer 9 Download Remains At Strong Pace It's tough to know exactly how many people have downloaded the IE9 beta, as the figure Microsoft gives may well include multiple downloads by the same user. But it's likely that the figure runs into many millions of people, which suggests that the audience goes beyond web developers ... (view more)

Microsoft is today warning users of fake security alerts arriving via email. Microsoft is reminding users that it never sends out security alerts with attachments via email and that you should never open such an email if it arrives in your inbox. ... Microsoft Email Security Updates Are a Scam Cyber-criminals have been sending a so-called Microsoft updates that are actually viruses. This scam in particular takes advantage of Microsoft's well-established Patch Tuesday schedule for monthly email updates. Potential victims receive an email purporting to be from Microsoft's Director of Security ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed that a zero-day vulnerability exists in Windows XP, Vista, as well as Server 2003 and Server 2008. The bug, which first emerged in mid-December 2010, has evolved since the exploit was posted publicly. The bug was first ... discussed on December 15 at a security conference in South Korea. Since no one had yet exploited the vulnerability, there was not significant cause for concern. That's changed now that researcher Joshua Drake has released an exploit module via open-source penetration testing project, Metasploit. Exploit Opens Door to Total System Takeover Metasploit has ... (view more)

For the past few days, Microsoft's Windows Live support forums have been lit up by complaints of frustrated users who recently encountered emptied email inboxes, sent, and deleted folders upon accessing their Hotmail accounts. Microsoft on Sunday ... admitted many of its Hotmail accounts had been inexplicably wiped clean , and many experts speculated that the accounts were unlikely to be repair. Microsoft has since announced that the majority of email accounts have been restored to normal working order, but user complaints continue to be filed online forums. (Source: eweek.com ) Contacts Spammed ... (view more)

Users of Microsoft's Hotmail email service weren't welcomed by holiday greetings from their friends this past weekend. In fact, they didn't get any messages at all. Recent reports state that many users of the service found their entire email history ... deleted without warning. The deletions don't appear to be a few select cases. Instead, a significant number of Hotmail users complained of the issue on Microsoft's Windows Live support web forum. Those affected by the problem are reporting that their "Sent," "Deleted," and "Inbox" folders have been completely wiped out. Entire Hotmail Accounts ... (view more)