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Faster Windows Cycle Brings Subtle Changes to Microsoft Support Policies

The traditional Windows release cycle of once every three years -- with a service pack or two thrown in -- became mostly old news last year, when Microsoft switched to annual product releases.

Microsoft Launches Azure Search Preview, Other Improvements

Microsoft last week rolled out preview releases of Azure DocumentDB and Azure Search, as well as announced the general availability of Azure HDInsight.

Windows 9 Preview May Be Released by Early October

A "technology preview" version of Microsoft's next Windows operating system may be released sometime this fall, according to a recent report.

Microsoft Cloud Exec Touts Azure's Growth, Says AWS Is 'Struggling'

Amazon Web Services (AWS) may be the current cloud leader, but growing competition from Microsoft Azure and the cloud price war are putting a dent on its lead.

Report: Orgs Using Windows 7 Should Start Migration Plans Now

Windows XP isn't even cold yet, but researchers at Gartner Inc. are already urging organizations to begin making plans to move off of Windows 7.

'Virtual Desktop' Feature Reportedly Coming to Windows 9

The next version of Windows could have a new "virtual desktops" feature, according to reports this week.

Microsoft Confirms Updates for Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2

Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed that it will issue new updates for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 as part of this month's "patch Tuesday" rollout, scheduled for Aug. 12.

Report: Windows 9 May Be a Free Upgrade

Microsoft may offer "Windows 9" as a free upgrade to entice users of older Windows editions, according to a recent report by longtime Microsoft reporter Mary Jo Foley.

Court Orders Microsoft To Obey Search Warrant for Overseas Data

A U.S. district court judge has upheld a search warrant ordering Microsoft to turn over e-mails stored in its datacenter in Dublin, Ireland.

Survey Underscores Windows XP's Staying Power

Despite years of warnings from Microsoft concerning Windows XP's end-of-life, surprisingly many organizations remain stuck on the operating system.

Microsoft Study Touts Disaster Recovery in Public Cloud

A Microsoft-backed study is spotlighting the benefits to organizations of using public cloud services for backup and disaster recovery (DR) scenarios.

Microsoft, IBM Make Gains Against Amazon in IaaS

Though Amazon Web Services (AWS) still leads the cloud infrastructure services space, it faces increasing competition from Microsoft and IBM, according to research by Synergy Research Group and Gartner Inc.

Microsoft Azure AD Sync Service Gets Second Preview

Microsoft this week launched a second preview of its Azure Active Directory (AD) Sync Services that incorporates several user-suggested improvements.

Partner Beware: 6 Pieces of Bad Cloud Advice

The transition to cloud is tough for the Microsoft channel. Some cloud 1.0 pioneers who survived to be cloud 2.0 veterans share their tales from the trenches about strategies that sounded smart at the time, but could have cost them their businesses if they hadn't been nimble.

Microsoft Adds Azure ExpressRoute Cities, Partners

Microsoft's ExpressRoute service has expanded into seven cities and added two new partners, the company announced on Monday.