News


Silverlight To Gain Support for Opera Browser

When Microsoft unveiled Silverlight at the MIX07 conference in Las Vegas last week, the new cross-platform browser plug-in for rich media content lacked support for the popular Opera Web browser.

Hewlett Packard Hikes 2Q Outlook

Computer and printer maker Hewlett Packard Co. lifted its second-quarter forecast on Tuesday, citing strong results in its personal computer and server businesses.

Sun Announces JavaFX

Sun Microsystems today unveiled a new product line at its annual JavaOne conference, underway this week in San Francisco. Built on and around Java, JavaFX is aimed at the growing market for rich Internet applications (RIA).

Microsoft Patches 7 Critical Flaws

Microsoft Corp. today published seven new fixes for "critical" vulnerabilities in its Windows, Office, Exchange, Internet Explorer and BizTalk Server products.

Legacy Microsoft Products Get Security Support

Shavlik Technologies is offering a free download of its network solution to detect security misconfigurations and missing critical updates in older installed Microsoft products.

Vista E-Mail Client Replaced by Live Hotmail

Windows Vista's mail client is obsolete after just a few months of life as a commercial product.

Dell Joins Microsoft-Novell Alliance

Dell has become the first hardware maker to join Microsoft and Novell in their effort to enhance interoperability between the Windows and Linux platforms.

Microsoft's New Hotmail Goes Live

The latest version of Microsoft Corp.'s free Web-based e-mail is now widely available to the public in 36 languages.

Principal Guilty in Microsoft Piracy Case

A court Monday found the principal of a village school guilty of using bootleg Microsoft software and ordered him to pay a fine of about $195 in a case that was cast by Russian media as a battle between a humble educator and an international corporation.

Apple, Labels Focus on Copy Protection

The last time Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs took on major recording companies, he refused to budge on his 99-cent price for a song on iTunes.

Microsoft and Packeteer Join Forces on 'Branch Office in a Box'

Branch offices present special challenges for IT, mostly because of often slow or unreliable WAN connections, and a lack of onsite IT personnel to secure the local network and computers. Microsoft Corp. and Cupertino, Calif.-based Packeteer believe they have found a solution with iShaper, which is being promoted as a "branch office in a box."

IT Professionals Fear Losing Jobs Over Security Breach

A recent study commissioned by systems management and deployment appliance maker KACE found that the majority of IT professionals working in "Fortune 100,000" or mid-sized companies" (defined as those companies with 100 to 100,000 employees) fear they could lose their job in the event of a security breach at their company.

Reports: Microsoft Pursuing Yahoo

Microsoft is said to be resuming its pursuit of search engine operator Yahoo, which will help it better compete with search leader Google.

Microsoft Buys Mobile Advertising Company

Microsoft, perhaps stung by its failure to buy online advertising giant DoubleClick in recent months, announced that it has bought European company ScreenTonic SA, a mobile advertising company.

Seven Critical Patches on Tap for Tuesday

All seven updates will address critical issues, Microsoft said. Redmond lumped the bulletins into several groups, two of which affect Windows.

Microsoft Role Complicates '$100 Laptop' Project

One of the most ambitious aspects of the "$100 laptop" project for schoolchildren in developing countries is the machines' open-source software platform, designed to be intuitive for kids.

RIM Unveils Newest BlackBerry: The Curve

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. is introducing its third new model in less than a year, a mid-sized device geared toward consumers who might prefer a full keyboard for typing text rather than the abridged one on the popular Pearl.

IBM Bores Tiny Holes in Computer Chips

Computer chips, it seems, work better if they're more like Swiss cheese than American cheese.

BizTalk R2 Beta Released

BizTalk R2 represents a change in thinking about RFID, or radio frequency identification, says Microsoft product manager.

Next Version of VB Dubbed 'VBx'

Visual Basic guru Paul Vick revealed this week on his blog that the company is working on a reboot of Visual Basic, dubbed at this stage VBx