News


Microsoft and Aspect Team on Unified Communications

Microsoft and Aspect Software Inc. today initiated a global strategic alliance focused on better enhancing communications between contact centers and the broader enterprise.

Vista SP1 Goes Live

Microsoft announced the availability of Windows Vista SP1 via Windows Update. The company has also posted the upgrade to its download site.

Intel, Microsoft Collaborate With Universities on Parallel Computing Initiative

For Microsoft and Intel, the computing universe is going parallel.

HP Bundles Datacenter Services in Name of Efficiency

A report commissioned by Hewlett-Packard Company earlier this year suggests that a major issue for a third of the CIOs surveyed is unwieldy growth of datacenters in the next two to five years, particularly as the number of business services and applications that are deployed through them continues to head skyward.

VMware Fixes Vulnerabilities

VMware has issued patches that will eliminate the vulnerabilities found last month, according to an announcement the company posted on some security news mailing lists today.

Excel Patch Causing Calculation Errors

Microsoft admitted on Friday that a patch it released last week is causing Excel 2003 to make some incorrect calculations.

NSA Teams Up with Sun on OpenSolaris Security

Sun Microsystems and the National Security Agency (NSA) announced last week that they are working together to develop new security tools for the OpenSolaris operating system.

Security Experts Weigh In on Excel Bug

IT pros looking at solutions to the Microsoft Excel bug that popped up as part of last week's patch release said Monday that the cell calculation snafu plaguing Excel 2003 isn't so much a security issue as it is a pain in the neck for programmers and Windows application developers.

Red Hat Acquires SOA and BPM Integrator Amentra

Red Hat last week announced that it has acquired Amentra, a systems integrator specializing in service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process management (BPM) projects, as well as a provider of enterprise data solutions.

Microsoft and Adobe Agree on Mobile Flash Licensing

Microsoft licensed two of Adobe's software products for use with smartphones that run Microsoft Windows Mobile operating systems, according to an announcement issued by Adobe today.

U.S. Votes for Modified OOXML Standards

The United States has voted for approval of a modified version of the Office Open XML (OOXML) standard for business documents.

Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3 May Arrive This Week

According to numerous reports on the Web, Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Windows XP SP3 may both be released this week, possibly as soon as Tuesday.

Software Execs Send Legislative Wish List to Hill

A gathering of chief technology officers from the country's leading software companies is urging Congress to fully fund $3.26 billion in initiatives that industry sees as critical in the president's fiscal 2009 budget.

Microsoft Reveals OOXML SDK Roadmap

Microsoft this morning revealed to developers the expected next steps in the software development kit (SDK) for the Office Open XML (OOXML) file format specification.

Gates to Congress: Improve Math, Science Education

Microsoft chairman implored Congress and the President to "act decisively" to ensure that the country maintain global leadership in technology innovation.

Microsoft's Open Spec Is Bad for GPL, Law Group Says

The Software Freedom Law Center, which provides legal representation "to protect and advance free and open source software," has issued an analysis of Microsoft's "Open Specification Promise" and its compatibility with the GNU General Public License.

Windows Home Server Data Corruption Fix Coming in June

A Windows Home Server bug that's corrupting some users' data won't be fixed until June, Microsoft announced this week.

Idera Keeps Dynamics Data Locked Down

SQL tools developer Idera now has a version of its SQL backup and recovery software that keeps Microsoft Dynamics data secured.

IBM Unveils 'Secure Mashups'

IBM today described a new "secure mashup" technology for the enterprise that is designed to make it easier for nontechnical users to create Web applications from multiple sources.

Report: Yahoo and Microsoft in 'Informal Talks' About Merger

CNET is reporting this morning that Microsoft and Yahoo are now talking, at least informally, about the merger. CNET reporter Dawn Kawamoto cites an unnamed source for the information. "Yahoo has shown some willingness to have a conversation and talk," the source said.