tech stuff » microsoft

Google Apps gains business cred with 30k-seat deal

Cody Taylor — Thu, 14 May 2009 21:00:15 +0000

Gmail may not yet have the same footprint as Microsoft Exchange, but megadeals such as a recently announced 30,000-seat installation at Valeo prove that large enterprises are comfortable running applications in the cloud.

New Microsoft SharePoint 2010 details start to emerge

Cody Taylor — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:00:12 +0000

The few bits I’ve managed to glean about Office 2010 so far have made it seem that SharePoint 2010 is the family member most likely to be tweaked the most. (The rest of the Office 2010 (”Office 14″) suite sounds like it will be getting relatively minor updates.)

IE Losing 10% Market Share Every Two Years

Cody Taylor — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:00:18 +0000

mjasay writes “Mozilla’s Asa Dotzler points to some interesting long-term trends in browser market share, noting that ‘browser releases aren’t having any major impact on the macro trends,’ which suggests that a better IE will likely have little impact on its sliding market share. The most intriguing conclusion from the data, however, is that Firefox could surpass IE market share as early as January 2013 if Firefox continues to gain 5 percent every year, even as IE drops 5 percent each year. In the past, Microsoft might have fought back by tying IE to other products to block competition, but with the EU keeping a close antitrust eye on Microsoft and the US Obama administration keen to make an example of an antitrust bully, Microsoft may have few good options beyond good old fashioned competition, which doesn’t seem to be working very well for the Redmond giant, as the market share data suggests. Microsoft’s loss of IE market power, in turn, could have serious consequences for the company’s efforts to compete with Google on the Web.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple and Microsoft Release Critical Patches

Cody Taylor — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:00:13 +0000

SkiifGeek writes “Both Microsoft and Apple have released major security updates in the last 24 hours. Microsoft’s single update (MS09-017) addresses fourteen distinct vulnerabilities across all supported versions of PowerPoint, but it isn’t the number of patched vulnerabilities that is causing trouble. Instead, the decision to release the patch for Windows versions while OS X and Works versions remain vulnerable to the same remote code execution risks (including one that is currently being exploited) hasn’t gone down well with some people. Microsoft have given various reasons why this is the case, but this mega-update-in-a-patch is still interesting for other reasons. Meanwhile, Apple has updated OS X 10.5 to 10.5.7 as part of the 2009-002 Security Update, as well as a cumulative update for Safari 3 and the Public Beta for 4. As well as addressing numerous significant security risks, the 10.5.7 update provides a number of stability and capability enhancements and incorporates the Safari 3 update patch. Probably the most surprising element of the Apple update is the overall size of it; 442MB for the point update, and 729MB for the ComboUpdate.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Intel Receives Record Fine By the EU

Cody Taylor — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:00:06 +0000

Firefalcon writes “Intel has been fined a record 1.06 billion euros (.45 billion / £948 million) by the European Competition Commission after being found guilty of anti-competitive practices. This makes Microsoft’s 497 million euro fine in 2004 (which was a record at the time) seem like a slap on the hand. Reports had previously suggested that the fine would be similar to Microsoft’s. Intel was charged (among other things) with encouraging manufacturers and retailers to purchase fewer (or even not stock) AMD processors. More details of the ruling are on the European Commission’s Competition website. Intel said they will appeal the fine.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple responds to Microsoft’s Laptop Hunters… with a Megan

Cody Taylor — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:00:12 +0000

According to Apple, there aren’t any PCs with fast processors and big screens that work without viruses, crashes or headaches. But folks, this isn’t reality, this is advertising. In fact, this is Apple’s first jab since Microsoft took off the gloves with its Laptop Hunters series of pokes against Apple.

11 Killer Apps for Microsoft Surface [Video]

Cody Taylor — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:00:23 +0000

Microsoft’s interactive table, dubbed Surface, brings the heady dream of interactive computing closer reality. As developers find ways to make Surface’s gorgeous multi-user interface shine, more and more companies are turning to the device to reinvent their customer experience.

New Microsoft ‘Laptop Hunter’ Commercial

Cody Taylor — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:00:17 +0000

Jennie’s on the hunt for a great laptop in her price range.

Microsoft Raises $3.8B in Bond Sale

Cody Taylor — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:00:12 +0000

pfleming writes “Microsoft quietly, or not so quietly, raised some cheap cash in bond sales yesterday. For a company that already has a huge cash war chest and doesn’t carry debt, what is the incentive to sell nearly billion in bonds? From the article: ‘Microsoft is sitting on billion in cash, so the company doesn’t need the bond proceeds “unless they have something big in mind,” says Reena Aggarwal, professor of finance at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.’”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft’s latest ad: iTunes and iPod are crazy expensive

Cody Taylor — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:00:08 +0000

So much for Laptop Hunters. Did you know it costs ,000 to fill up your iPod?