News


IBM Galvanized by Video Game Business

No matter whether Nintendo Co., Microsoft Corp. or Sony Corp. wins the video game console war, there already is one huge victor: IBM Corp., which designed and makes the microprocessors for all three units.

Long Process Leads to Short Vista Sound

Some musicians spend 18 months working on a whole album. At Microsoft Corp., that's how long it took to perfect just four seconds of sound.

The Sound of Vista

Microsoft turns to musician Robert Fripp to create many of Vista's sounds, including signature start-up sound.

Intel To Package Web Tools

Think of it as Wikipedia for the workplace. Intel Corp., the world's largest computer chip maker, now wants to provide businesses with software to create blogging, wiki and news feed services to connect employees on collaborative projects.

Nvidia Unveils Latest Graphics Chips

Chip-maker Nvidia Corp. unveiled two graphics microprocessors that offer twice the horsepower of previous models and what the company touts as a design milestone: a multitasking brain capable of efficiently handling a variety non-graphics calculations.

November Patch Tuesday To Come with 6 Fixes

Advanced security bulletin refers to an XML flaw and five other Windows flaws deemed "critical"; unknown whether security rollup addresses recent Visual Studio flaw.

BlueScreen of Death Screen Saver 3.2

Who says Microsoft can't laugh at itself? The company just released BlueScreen version 3.2 -- the latest version of a screen saver that mimics Windows' dreaded "Blue Screen of Death."

Gates: Vista Survived Antitrust Challenges

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Thursday the company's upcoming Windows Vista operating system has survived antitrust complaints by rivals who aimed to "castrate" it.

Gates: Vista Survived Rival Challenges

Windows Vista that will be delivered won't be a version "castrated" by EU or software rivals, says Microsoft chairman.

Microsoft Adding Code 'Obfuscation' to Orcas

Microsoft announced this week it is adding an enhanced version of Dotfuscator Community Edition (CE) to the next major release of Microsoft Visual Studio, code-named "Orcas."

Microsoft Readies Dynamics CRM Update

Microsoft announced this week it is nearing release of a new version of its customer relationship management (CRM) software -- Microsoft Dynamics CRM for the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Windows Vista.

Microsoft to Offer Live Search in India

In January, Indian mobile users will have access to Microsoft's search engine; service announced as part of Microsoft $1.7 billion investment in the country.

Microsoft Completes Work on Vista

Windows Vista gold code now released to manufacturing.

Ballmer Courts India

Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other top officials Wednesday as part of the company's efforts to boost its presence here.

Vista Code Finally Goes Gold

Microsoft announced it released Windows Vista to manufacturing on Wednesday, putting it on schedule to ship to volume customers by November 30, and confirmed that Vista will go to consumers on January 30, 2007.

Company That Sued BlackBerry Files Against Palm

NTP Inc., which successfully sued the maker of BlackBerry devices for infringement of wireless e-mail patents, said Monday it is suing Palm Inc., maker of the Treo smart phone.

Microsoft Looks To Upstage Google with 3-D Maps

Microsoft Corp. has upgraded its online mapping service to include three-dimensional tours of 15 U.S. cities, marking another step in its dogged pursuit of Internet search leader Google Inc.

Chile Arrests 4 'Byond' Hackers

Police in Chile arrested four suspected computer hackers for allegedly belonging to a group accused of breaking into thousands of government Web sites around the globe, including NASA's.

Microsoft and VMware Debut New Virtualization Offerings

The virtualization marketplace heated up this week with announcements from both Microsoft and chief competitor VMware. Both announcements came at VMware's VMworld conference in Los Angeles.

Security Software Moves Toward Blocking Sites

For years, computer security software lurked in the background and tried to stop viruses and other malicious programs as they attack your computer. Newer products are trying to keep users from reaching Web sites before the programs can even launch an attack, essentially stopping threats at the source.