News


VS Beta 2: Bug Fixes, Final Features, Polish and Shine

The folks in Microsoft's Developer Division probably didn't mind the damp and drizzle of summer in Seattle as much this year, as they worked feverishly to polish the next iteration of the mothership. So far, it looks like the long hours paid off. Beta 2 of Microsoft's Visual Studio (VS) 2008 IDE and .NET 3.5 landed, fully loaded, the last week in July.

Online Boom Boosts Cisco Profit, Shares

Cisco Systems Inc. shares jumped nearly 6 percent after the network equipment maker reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street's expectations and boosted its financial forecast.

A Prickly Commerce Server Solution

Microsoft on Wednesday tried to clear up nagging questions about its Commerce Server roadmap and did. Kind of.

Blogger Outed: Forbes Editor Is 'Fake Steve'

At long last, someone has cracked one of the technology world's biggest mysteries -- the identity of Fake Steve, a sharp-tongued blogger who had tech aficionados in stitches with a satiric diary purporting to be from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Microsoft Releases Vista Updates to Public

Microsoft on Tuesday officially released several updates for Windows Vista -- fixes that were initially released to the public last week, before being pulled down.

Sun Microsystems To Reduce Work Force

Server and software maker Sun Microsystems Inc. plans to cut an unspecified number of jobs as part of a new restructuring plan, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Apple Debuts New iMacs

Apple Inc. updated its iMac computers Tuesday with a slimmer design, faster chips and glossy screens, hoping to further propel sales that already outpace the rest of the PC industry.

IBM and Novell Team on Open Source App Server

IBM and Novell have formed a partnership around one of IBM's open source application server products. Under the agreement, Novell plans to offer worldwide product support for the IBM WebSphere Application Server Community Edition (WAS CE).

Researcher: Flaw Exposes Hack Threat

Terrorists and other criminals could exploit a newly discovered software flaw to hijack massive computer systems used to control critical infrastructure like oil refineries, power plants and factories, a researcher said Saturday.

'Rosario' CTP Surfaces

Microsoft has released the first CTP of Visual Studio Team System "Rosario."

VMware Releases Virtualization Software for Mac

VMware has the latest entry in the growing market for software that allows Windows to be run on a Mac.

Microsoft Web Server Threatens Open Source Leader

Microsoft's Web server, Internet Information Server (IIS), continues to gain against longtime leader Apache, and could end up surpassing it if current trends continue.

Computer Security Problems Found at IRS

IRS employees ignored security rules and turned over sensitive computer information to a caller posing as a technical support person, according to a government study.

Mexican Billionaire Donates Laptops

Billionaire Carlos Slim said he doesn't care if he is the world's richest man and promised to donate hundreds of thousands of laptop computers to Mexican children.

Microsoft Works Goes Free, Ad-Supported

Microsoft Corp. will test a free, advertising-supported version of Works, an already inexpensive package of word processing, spreadsheet and other programs, but would not say whether it is exploring a similar Web-based suite.

Lenovo To Sell $199 PC in Rural China

Lenovo Group Ltd. said Friday it will sell a basic personal computer aimed at China's vast but poor rural market and priced as low as $199.

Policy Management Tweak Misses Cut in 2nd SQL Server 2008 CTP

Anticipated improvements to the way polices are set up and managed in one or more instances did not make it into the second CTP of SQL Server 2008.

Mass. Approves Microsoft Office Document Format

In a victory for Microsoft's open source efforts, Massachusetts has decided to accept Microsoft's Office file format as sufficiently open to allow it to compete with other office productivity suites.

SOA Bangers and Mashups

It's a service-oriented architecture (SOA) world -- well, not quite for everyone yet. However, what happens when IT departments increasingly use SOA to expose data and applications as services? The next step might be to begin collecting and using those services to create something useful.

Delays Hit Next Version of Office for Macs

The next version of Microsoft Office for the Mac platform has been delayed until next year.