News


Microsoft Touts Lync 2013 Mobile Device Support, Skype Integration

Microsoft's opening keynote talk at its Lync 2013 Conference in San Diego on Tuesday featured a few firsts.

Report: Windows 8 'Blue' Hits First Development Milestone

The Windows 8 refresh code-named Windows "Blue" has just completed its first milestone build (M1), according to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley.

Partner: Lync 2013 To Bring Some Load Balancing Benefits

Lync 2013 will have similar load balancing requirements as the previous version of Microsoft's unified communications server, according to an expert with Kemp Technologies, one of 12 Microsoft partners that offer qualified load balancer products for Lync.

Partner Readies Windows 8 Mobile Device Management Solution

Windows 8 devices, with their built-in security capabilities, could simplify matters for organizations considering bring-your-own-device (BYOD) scenarios, according to Wave Systems Corp., an independent software vendor and board member of the Trusted Computing Group.

Survey: Microsoft Named Most Important Vendor to CIOs

Chief information officers named Microsoft their most indispensable "mega-vendor" in Piper Jaffray's quarterly CIO Survey released to its clients this week.

Microsoft CFO Hedges on Windows 8 Strategy Questions

In response to questions about Microsoft's market strategy with Windows 8, Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein repeated the same basic response: The Windows 8 ecosystem is still evolving.

Microsoft Releases Exchange 2010 Service Pack 3

The third service pack for Exchange 2010, which will enable the older e-mail server to work with some of Microsoft's newer product releases, was released on Tuesday.

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.