News


Microsoft Wins First Scrimmage Against Google in Employee Lawsuit

Late last week in Seattle, Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzalez issued a temporary restraining order preventing Google from asking its intended head of China operations, former Microsoft employee Kai-Fu Lee, from doing anything that could be seen as competing with Microsoft.

Speaker Lineup for PDC Includes Gates, Allchin

Bill Gates will kick off the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2005 with a keynote on Sept. 13, Microsoft announced over the weekend.

Microsoft Gives Financial Analysts Overview of Company Plans

New versions of products to include an Enterprise Edition of Windows Vista and a Premium version of Office. CEO Steve Ballmer also promises additional small acquisitions but no blockbuster deals.

IT Weekly Roundup, July 29

From the business wires this week: tools for tracking Active Directory and domain controller activities and system log data; a portable wireless router; and a tool for comparing and syncing folders.

Windows XP SP2 Penetration Hits 60 Percent

The percentage of the Windows XP installed base protected by the firewall, Automatic Updates, virus subscription warnings, rewritten code and other baseline security measures in Service Pack 2 keeps inching up.

Windows Vista Beta Begins

Right on schedule, Microsoft released the first beta test version of the newly-renamed Windows Vista on Wednesday. Also sent Longhorn Server beta to separate group of testers.

Spending Big Bucks for NT Patches? Shavlik Can Help You Scan

Shavlik Technologies is going public with a very high-end patch management offering for the most select of Windows customers -- those who have already shelled out a reputed $200,000 or more to Microsoft for a Custom Support Agreement for Windows NT 4.0.

Shavlik Adding Anti-Spyware to Portfolio

Patch management vendor Shavlik Technologies is branching out into enterprise anti-spyware software as a first step toward a broader enterprise security product suite.

Oracle Backs Off Slightly on Multi-Core Pricing

After staking out a firm position that processor cores should be counted and paid for as full processors under its software licensing, database and business applications giant Oracle Corp. has backed down slightly.

Windows Genuine Advantage Kicks in for Real

Microsoft has gone live with Windows Genuine Advantage 1.0, and has made it mandatory for all users wanting to use its popular "Update" sites.

Intel Antes Up $3B for New Wafer Fab

Bigger wafers and smaller line widths is what chip making has always been about, and today is no different. Intel announced this week it will build a new wafer fabrication facility – called a “fab” -- in Chandler, Arizona that will make 300mm silicon wafers covered with chips with line widths of just 45 nanometers.

Manakoa Unveils Partner Program, Compliance Tools

If you’ve been searching for an effective way to get your foot in the door at client sites, Robert Williams thinks he may have just the ticket: regulatory compliance.

Partner Watch, July 26

Junction Solutions joins Microsoft in delivering Axapta solutions.

EMC Debuts Petabyte-Sized Storage Array

EMC will begin shipping in September what it claims is the largest, fastest and most scalable high-end storage array in the world.

NetIQ to Lay Off 150

Systems and security management software company NetIQ Corp. will lay off 150 people, or about 15 percent of its workforce over the next 12 months and will outsource some development to India as the company realigns to regain profitability.

IT Weekly Roundup, July 22

From the business wires this week: performance-improving solutions for SQL Server and Windows Server environments, a tool for managing remote users and a program for customizing your Windows desktop.

Longhorn Renamed Windows Vista

Microsoft officially named the next version of its Windows operating system "Windows Vista" in a naming ceremony streamed via Windows Media Player Friday.

Certiport Names U.S. Champions in Global Microsoft Office Competition

More than 25,000 students in 41 countries competed to see just who's best at Word and Excel.

Finjan Gets Investment from Microsoft

Finjan Software, a security firm involved in a recent public spat with Microsoft over publicly discussing the software giant's security flaws, has landed a minority investment and patent deal from Microsoft.

Microsoft Revenue Train Rolled Along in Fiscal 2005

Microsoft posted strong revenue and profit growth in the quarter and fiscal year that ended June 30 as PC and server growth fueled software sales, but growth remained soft in the important Information Worker segment that includes Microsoft Office.