News


First Look: MySQL 5.1 Open Source Database

MySQL 5.1 was released by Sun Microsystems in April, but I decided to test it out this month.

Window 7 Beta 1: Soon To Be Unwrapped?

The public release of Windows 7 Beta 1 is expected next month, but speculation that it might appear earlier popped up on Friday from a few sources.

Is LINQ to SQL Dead?

While developers feel blindsided by Microsoft's shift to Entity Framework, company officials defend move and say LINQ to SQL is not on death row.

Enterprises Ill Served by Antivirus Alerts, Study Finds

How do you know that your antivirus (AV) program is working?

Off-Cycle Internet Explorer Security Update Released

As expected, Microsoft released its second out-of-cycle patch in three months -- this time to plug a widely discussed and "critical" vulnerability in Internet Explorer.

Microsoft Releases SQL Server Security Tools

Microsoft released a beta version of its Code Analysis Tool and Anti-Cross Site Scripting Library for developers.

W3C Advances Web Accessibility Guidelines

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has updated its set of recommendations for designing Web pages so they can easily accessed by those with disabilities.

Microsoft Exec Urges IE8 Readiness

Microsoft won't say exactly when it will ship the Release Candidate of its Internet Explorer 8 browser but it's "just around the corner," according to a senior company official.

Microsoft Delivers SQL Server 2005 SP3

Microsoft ratcheted up its product support for SQL Server 2005 by releasing Service Pack 3 (SP3) on Monday, along with SP3 Cumulative Update 1.

Zero-Day IE Exploit To Get Out-of-Cycle Patch

Microsoft will end 2008 with a "critical" out-of-cycle patch for IE, according to an advance notification issued Tuesday for a new security update slated for release on Dec. 17.

Cisco Warns of Increasing Attack Sophistication

Cisco's 2008 Annual Security Report report highlighted the increasing sophistication of Internet-based attacks, largely because cyber-criminals themselves are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

UPDATE: SQL Server Tools CTP To Begin in January

The Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) on Monday unveiled a limited private community technology preview (CTP) of "SQL Server Application and Multi-Server Management [tools], as part of the SQL Server codename 'Kilimanjaro,'" according to a PASS spokesperson.

Microsoft Offers IE Security Workaround, But No Fix

A zero-day flaw in Internet Explorer 7 reported last week has sparked increased hacker activity, and now the attacks involve most versions of Microsoft's Internet browser.

Microsoft Mobile GUI Has Debut on Apple iPhone

Microsoft Live Labs announced on Saturday that its Seadragon Mobile graphical user interface (GUI) is now available for the Apple iPhone as a technical preview release, but Windows Mobile users will have to wait to get it.

UPDATE: DataDirect Releases ADO.NET Drivers

DataDirect Technologies this week upgraded its ADO.NET database drivers, which provide connectivity between .NET-based applications and DBMSes from Oracle, IBM, Microsoft and Sybase.

Google Addressing Web App Security With 'Native Client'

Google is exploring a way to run code fast and natively in a Web browser without worrying about security issues.

Open Source Advocate Dick Hardt Joins Microsoft

Digital identity pioneer and open source entrepreneur Dick Hardt will join Microsoft as partner architect, according to his "Identity 2.0" blog on Tuesday.

VMware, HP Expand Virtualization Pact

VMware will expand its strategic relationship with Hewlett-Packard to include the joint development of software that manages datacenter resources.

IE8: 'Safe' but Scorned in Bug Battle Contest

Internet Explorer 8 -- Microsoft's latest release, currently at the Beta 2 stage -- was declared to be the safest but the least popular browser, according to a browser security survey.

First Look: Lunascape Multiengine Web Browser

Web developers have traditionally kept multiple browsers on their computers to facilitate testing, but a fairly new Japanese-made experimental browser called Lunascape rolls the three most important engines into one.