News


Rumor: Windows 8 To Hit RC in June, Lack 'Start' Button

More expected dates for Windows 8's release cycle were leaked on Friday by financial news Web site Dividend.com.

Report: 'Wintel' PCs To Lose Ground in Mobile-Device Era

Shipments of Wintel PCs will experience a marked slowdown through 2016, according to the latest research projections by IDC.

Study: Office 365 Savings Stop at Enterprise-Grade Deployments

A study commissioned by Azaleos Corp., a Microsoft National Systems Integrator (NSI) partner, has found that Microsoft's public cloud Office 365 offerings are not always cheaper than other Microsoft-stack approaches.

Microsoft Enables Windows 8 Beta on Windows Home Server

Windows Home Server (WHS) users can connect with the Windows 8 "consumer preview" beta, Microsoft said this week -- with a few conditions.

Windows 8 Tablets To Feature Display Improvements

Some upcoming Windows 8 tablets will feature screen displays that are near Apple iPad quality, Microsoft said last week in a "Building Windows 8" blog post.

IBM Steers Partners Toward Integrated Hardware and Software

Big Blue's new CEO hails new era of computing based on intelligent systems that can crunch Big Data.

Microsoft, Partners Lead Federal Raid on Zeus Botnet Ring

Escorted by U.S. Marshals, Microsoft and some of its key partners in the financial services and IT security industry on Friday raided two key sites of the operations spreading the Zeus family of malware.

SQL Server 2012 Licensing To Result in Price Hikes

SQL Server 2012 is expected to become generally available on April 1, but licensing price details for the product are just beginning to take shape.

First Windows Phone Goes on Sale in China

Microsoft marked its entrance into the Chinese smartphone market this week by unveiling a new device from HTC running Windows Phone 7.5 "Tango."

Report: Windows 8 To RTM in Summer, Hit Stores in October

Devices running Windows 8 will become available in October, with a partner-focused event taking place in early April, according to a Bloomberg report published Tuesday.

Gartner: 'Personal Cloud' To Supplant PCs by 2014

The PC will no longer be the primary digital device for most users by 2014, according to a new report from research firm Gartner.

Microsoft Appoints New Windows Phone Marketing Chief

Microsoft on Monday named Thom Gruhler as the new corporate vice president of Windows Phone Marketing.

Yahoo Loses Noted Chief Scientist to Microsoft

Former Yahoo chief scientist Raghu Ramakrishnan has joined Microsoft as a Technical Fellow within the Server and Tools Business (STB), Redmond announced this week.

Microsoft Security Partner May Have Leaked Windows Exploit Code

Portions of an exploit code that appeared in the wild last Thursday may have been leaked by a Microsoft security partner, Microsoft said recently.

Microsoft Cuts Office 365 Prices by 20 Percent

Microsoft is slashing the prices of many of its Office 365 plans by about 20 percent effective immediately, the company said this week.

Reactions to 'Metro'-Style IE 10 for Windows 8 Are Mixed

Microsoft revealed more details about Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 8 this week, but much of the reaction has been skeptical.

Gartner: Windows 8 May Boost Weak PC Market in 2013

Market research firm Gartner projects weak growth in worldwide PC shipments in 2012, but predicts a stronger showing in 2013 due to rising interest in "ultrabooks" and Microsoft's forthcoming Windows 8 operating system.

Firefox, Chrome To Get 'Metro' Treatment for Windows 8

Browser makers face an unfamiliar hurdle with Windows 8, but both Mozilla and Google said they are building browsers that will work with the new operating system.

System Center 2012 CTPs for Windows Server 8 Released

Two components of Microsoft's System Center 2012 suite, Virtual Machine Manager and Data Protection Manager, were released late last week as community technology previews (CTPs) that are specifically designed to work with the new Windows Server 8 beta.

Microsoft-Backed Group Cleared To Make Money from Nortel Patents

A consortium of companies that includes Microsoft and Apple has been cleared to start receiving royalties from the assets it purchased last year from the former Nortel Networks Corp.