Attendees at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles this week got their hands on enough code to keep them busy until formal public betas hit next year.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 28, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    As Microsoft floated some of its first real details on "Longhorn," "Yukon" and "Whidbey," IBM moved to pop Microsoft's buzz balloon with a code-named project of its own called "Stinger."
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 27, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    With the launch of Exchange Server 2003 this week, Microsoft is beginning to trot out  early adopter customers to show that the new e-mail server allows for huge reductions in messaging server numbers -- and a reduction in costs that makes the server upgrade pay for itself.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 24, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft updated all of the security bulletins that the company put out in its first monthly security patch release.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 24, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    It could be an expensive mistake in large organizations, if the experience of early adopter customers and Microsoft itself is a guide.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 23, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft beat analyst expectations slightly on Thursday with its financial results for the first quarter, but the company reported a bigger-than-expected drop in unearned revenue from multi-year licensing agreements (read Licensing 6.0).
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 23, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    If code-names for future Microsoft products like "Avalon," "Indigo," "Whidbey" and "Springboard" occasionally draw a blank for you, you're in good company.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 23, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer effectively closed the door on any Microsoft involvement in open-source initiatives, saying that the commercial approach to software development and sales provides the best security and value to enterprise customers.
                    
			            - By Joe  McKendrick
- October 22, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    NEW YORK -- Microsoft launched its 2003 version of Microsoft Office in a worldwide series of events that emphasized the advantages of deploying the desktop productivity applications with related back-end servers and services for collaboration and business process integration.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 22, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft is making the complete version of its new notetaking application, OneNote 2003, available as a free, 60-day evaluation edition in an effort to promote one of the newest members of the Office program family.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 22, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft on Wednesday released Systems Management Server 2003 to manufacturing, clearing the way for a formal launch of the product at an IT show in Europe next month. Microsoft also released pricing and made a 120-day evaluation edition available.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 22, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Recently, Microsoft announced the first public beta of its long-awaited Reporting Services software. Although Reporting Services won’t be available until later this year, BI professionals anxious to take the new product for a test drive can now do so. What can they expect to find? One report administrator, who’s participated in Microsoft’s private beta, says that he “can’t wait to replace everything [he has] with it.”
                    
			            - By Stephen  Swoyer
- October 21, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Many IT systems are underutilized, and do not have the flexibility to keep up with rapid changes in the businesses they support. That's the conclusion of Gartner analysts who kicked off this week's Gartner's Symposium/ITxpo 2003 conference in Orlando, Florida.
                    
			            - By Joe  McKendrick
- October 20, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft has a new code-named project for security called "Springboard" that's designed to harden products already on the market.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 16, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    The next major business intelligence freebie in Microsoft's SQL Server database took a step closer to reality recently when Microsoft posted the Beta 2 of its Reporting Services for SQL Server 2000.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 16, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft keeps delivering or promising new SKUs of Windows Server 2003. After the original six versions the company launched on April 24, Microsoft has delivered or announced an additional seven splits of the server operating system.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 16, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Three new 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 entered the beta testing stage on Wednesday.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 15, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft on Wednesday issued the first of its new monthly security bulletins. The first installment is a blockbuster, fixing seven vulnerabilities, five of them critical. Five vulnerabilities involve Windows and two vulnerabilities affect Exchange.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 15, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Responding to pressure from users to release a packaged update for Windows XP as the delivery date for Service Pack 2 has fallen to mid-2004, Microsoft on Wednesday posted a rollup package of updates for the client operating system.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 15, 2003
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Windows now dominates the server market as well as the client market, even with the growth of Linux, according to new market research from IDC.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- October 14, 2003