News


Amazon, Apple Top Corporate Reputation Survey; Microsoft Drops to No. 15

Microsoft has fallen off the top 10 of Harris Interactive's annual survey measuring the reputations of the most visible companies in the United States, while Amazon.com, Apple and Google are among the top five.

Microsoft To Shutter Mesh Sync Service This Week

Wednesday, Feb. 13 will be the last day for Microsoft's Mesh file synchronization service.

Microsoft Switches Exchange 2013 to 'Cumulative Update' Schedule

In a major procedural shift, Exchange 2013 updates will be released as quarterly cumulative updates (CU) starting sometime in this first quarter, Microsoft announced on Friday.

Report: Windows 'Blue' Will Be a Wave of Microsoft Updates

The rumored Windows "Blue" might be a wave of frequently issued updates to various Microsoft products, instead of just a new flagship operating system, according to a press report.

Microsoft Answers Surface Pro Questions Ahead of Launch

In preparation for Saturday's launch of the Surface Pro tablet, Microsoft's Surface team on Wednesday fielded questions about the device in a Reddit AMA (ask me anything) session.

Office 2013 Coming March with Touch and Cloud Hooks

Microsoft's next-generation Office products will reach general availability in March, the company said.

Dell Acquired by Silver Lake for $24.3 Billion, Goes Private

One of the worst-kept rumors on Wall Street affecting the IT industry in recent weeks became official on Tuesday morning, as private equity firm Silver Lake Partners agreed to acquire Dell Inc. in a deal the company values at approximately $24.3 billion.

Parallels Overhauls Platform, Launches APS 2.0 and Cloud Storage

Parallels on Tuesday unveiled an overhaul of its channel-focused platform for delivering cloud-based services to SMB customers.

Microsoft Updates Office for Mac 2011 SP3

Microsoft recently released an update to Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 3 that delivers several fixes to the productivity suite.

Lync Connectivity Company Acquired by Oracle for $2 Billion

Acme Packet, one of Microsoft's key Lync ecosystem partners, is being acquired by Oracle for $2.1 billion.

Analysis: Microsoft To Shift Its Focus to Tablets and the Cloud

Echoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's declaration in October that Microsoft is now a "devices and services company," a newly published report indicates that Microsoft's product strategy for 2013 will be focused on tablets and cloud-enabled software.

Microsoft Cuts Windows Azure Prices for SQL Reporting Services

Microsoft lowered Windows Azure price decrease last week for its SQL Reporting Services, which is used for business intelligence-type applications.

Windows Phone 7.8 Update Begins Rollout

Microsoft began issuing the Windows Phone 7.8 update for older Windows Phone 7.5-era devices to users this week.

Microsoft 17th in Trusted Companies Poll; Google, Apple Miss Top 20

Technology giants Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Microsoft were ranked among the top 20 companies U.S. consumers trust most with their privacy in a study published this week by research firm Ponemon Institute.

Surface RT Barely Registers in IDC's Q4 Tablet Market Report

Microsoft's Surface RT tablet has made few inroads in the months since its release, according to data from IDC announced on Thursday.

Google Extends Windows Phone ActiveSync Support by Six Months

Windows Phone users will have until July 31 to access Google Apps features that use Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync technology, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft Releases Next-Generation Office 365 Products (UPDATED)

Microsoft released the consumer, student and small-business editions of its next-generation Office 365 products on Tuesday.

VMware To Lay Off up to 900 Despite Positive Earnings Report

Despite reporting rising revenues in its latest earnings report, cloud and virtualization giant VMware announced on Monday that it would be implementing companywide layoffs.

Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2 SP1 Released

Service Pack 1 for Microsoft's Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2 (FIM 2010 R2) product was released earlier this month to Microsoft's volume licensing and professional services subscribers, such as TechNet and MSDN members, according to a Microsoft blog post.

Intel To Shutter Desktop Motherboard Unit

Intel's business unit that makes desktop motherboards will begin winding down its operations over a three-year period, according to information given to the press this week.