News


No Serious Threat from Conficker on April 1

Conficker is scheduled to update itself April 1. But analysts say the appears to be an upgrade of its defenses rather than a planned attack.

Microsoft-TomTom Settlement Leads to FAT War

Microsoft and TomTom settled a patent dispute late last month that rang alarm bells among the open source Linux community -- and it still does.

Despite Criticism, Microsoft Exec Defends Open Source Progress

As critics continue to question Microsoft's commitment to working with the open source community, a key Microsoft official last week argued the company has made significant progress while defending its right to enforce patents.

IT Is Hiring, But Just Barely

According to IT staffing specialist Robert Half Technology, a net 2 percent of CIOs anticipate adding IT staff in the coming quarter, compared to a net 8 percent increase in Q1.

Exchange Tool Tests Remote Connections

Microsoft announced an online service for IT pros that enables them to test incoming e-mail traffic to Microsoft Exchange Server.

Spammers Exploiting the Recession

Security researchers say that unprecedented economic uncertainty is translating into unprecedented opportunity for purveyors of spam.

Financial Forecast: IDC Revises 2009 IT Spending Forecast Downward Again

Research firm's Channel Panel also reports continuing drop in confidence.

DOA: The Open Cloud Manifesto

The Cloud Computing Interoperability Forum (CCIF) publicly launched its "Open Cloud Manifesto" on Monday, but the document, which advocates open standards and interoperability between cloud platforms, generated few sparks after a spokesperson indicated that the CCIF isn't vouching for it.

The Gold Club

Congratulations to the following organizations that have recently joined Microsoft's top partner group...

April 1: D-Day for the Conficker Worm

The Conficker frenzy continues as IT security pros prepare for April 1, when the worm is expected to take some action from infected systems.

Firefox 3.0.8 Released, Critical Security Bugs Fixed

Mozilla rolled out security updates for Firefox after the Web browser was hacked during a contest two weeks ago at a software security convention in Vancouver.

Business Case: SaaS Rules of Thumb

Microsoft is providing specific guidance to ISVs preparing to make the jump to the Software as a Service model.

Microsoft Releases ASP.NET MVC

More than a year after its first community technology preview was released, ASP.NET Model View Controller has finally shipped.

Channel Ecosystem: BearingPoint Enters Bankruptcy

Gold Certified Partner attempts to restructure debt load.

Microsoft Promoting Touch in Windows 7

Microsoft has devised a Windows Touch Logo Program for its hardware and software partners that are integrating products with Windows 7.

Windows 7 Release Candidate Arriving in May?

Microsoft may be trying to send a message that the next release of Windows 7 will happen in May of this year.

Windows Home Server Gets Powered Up With PP2

Microsoft's Windows Home Server got a boost with the release of Power Pack 2 (PP2), which became available to Microsoft Developer Network subscribers.

IE 8 Bugs Squashed, Claims Microsoft

Microsoft has tinkered with IE 8 and is now claiming a resolution to vulnerabilities amid a firestorm of chatter surrounding the browser's release last week.

Microsoft Exec Reacts to 'Open Cloud Manifesto'

A Microsoft official took umbrage on Thursday to an "open standards" initiative proposed by a coalition of cloud computing technology providers.

Microsoft's FAST Strategy Shift

Since Microsoft's acquisition of Fast Search & Transfer last year, users have been keen to find out precisely what Microsoft plans to do with the company's search know-how.