Microsoft

At the Halo 2 launch in 2004, thousands upon thousands of gaming geeks lined up on a cold and wet November night to amongst the first people to play Master Chief's latest adventure. Not long after that, millions upon millions of Star Wars nerds ... filed through city streets and into theaters to catch a glimpse of Darth Vader's exciting unveiling. My only question is this: What will the business Vista launch be like, come November 30? Vista's release has been anticipated by corporations for years, not unlike the buzz surrounding techie favorites like Halo and Star Wars. The clock is ticking down ... (view more)

Wouldn't it be nice if every company offered users its lowest-selling, zero-profit-making products for free? Hey, I'd take a Sega Dreamcast. Well, now it appears that Microsoft is offering Office Accounting Express 2007 to end users for free, ... providing a complimentary license to download the otherwise expensive product. Office Accounting Express 2007 (OAE 2007) is a low-end calculating program for small businesses. That doesn't make it a cheap product, but apparently it hasn't exactly been popular amongst Microsoft clients. As a result, the company is offering the program for free download as ... (view more)

It seems Mr. Bill Gates will be donning a big red suit this holiday season, as Microsoft readies its new operating system, Vista, for release in the New Year. The software giant appears ready to launch a massive upgrade program for many of its loyal ... customers, with reduced prices for those interested in replacing the Windows XP operating system with Vista. The generous upgrade offers are being called "coupons" by some, with speculation that the initiative is being driven by Microsoft's own guilt over continuously pushing back Vista's release. The "coupons" will be available any day now, and ... (view more)

Late last week, comScore Networks revealed the September 2006 ranking of the globe's top fifteen Web properties. ComScore ranks the Web properties based on the number of unique visitors that visit the site. (Source: comscore.com ) Microsoft, Yahoo, ... and Google: The Frontrunners The results are in: Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google were the top three most visited websites in September -- and all three giants of technology came in close together. Microsoft led the pack with approximately 505 million unique visitors to its site; Yahoo came in second with about 481 million unique visitors; and Google ... (view more)

It's been a long time coming. With the release of Windows Vista finally nearing at the end of January, 2007, Microsoft is pulling out all the stops to ensure that the worldwide launch goes as smoothly as possible. The company recently engaged in its ... typical, weekly international eco-political crusade, this time with the European Commission and Korea in order to affirm a timely release of the much-anticipated operating system. Microsoft has dual plans for Vista's release. Although the dates have changed a few times, the recent launch days have been written in cement by the company. Microsoft ... (view more)

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Microsoft have signed a non-exclusive memorandum of understanding that outlines the future partnership between the two organizations. The BBC recently released a statement asserting that the memorandum ... signals the intent of the two companies to determine similar interests, which can lead to the formation of a strategic alliance. (Source: betanews.com ) Although little details were provided at a press conference held on last Wednesday, BBC's Director General Mark Thompson indicated that the joint projects between the two companies involve creating ... (view more)

Although Microsoft has ownership of the globe's most used office suite, the company appears to be feeling threatened by competitors who are offering similar suite software -- for free -- to users. Microsoft released a report last month that ... identifies California-based ThinkFree, a company that offers "free, small, medium featured (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, address book, e-mail client, file manager), use online or offline." According to BusinessWeek Magazine , to regain its market share from companies such as ThinkFree, Microsoft is now considering an online version of MS ... (view more)

Microsoft reported late Monday that yet another former McAfee virus expert will join the company. He will fill the position of senior security researcher. Jimmy Kuo will join fellow former McAfee alumnus Vincent Gullotto as part of Microsoft's ... Security Research and Response team. Gullotto was hired last month as the general manager of the team. (Source: ZDNet.com ) The Security Research and Response team operates under Microsoft's Security Technology Unit, responsible for securing Microsoft products, including the Windows operating system. (Source: news.com ) Kuo formerly worked in McAfee's ... (view more)

Although Canadians were briefly flashed a cost list last week, Microsoft has officially made public its pricing for the highly anticipated Vista, its operating system (OS) set to ship in late January, 2007. The announced prices coincide with the new ... availability of Release Candidate 1 (RC1), which is Microsoft's most recent Vista beta and the very closest to the much-hyped final product. While those living north of the 49th parallel might want to check out our archives for the recent mishap involving the early release of Canadian Vista prices, the exact American numbers have been in demand ... (view more)

Although many are eagerly anticipating the release of Microsoft's new operating system (OS), Windows Vista, don't expect to ring in the New Year with it. Although Microsoft has been working feverishly to get Vista out within the first few days of ... 2007, a post for the operating system on Amazon.com has the product listed for January 30. (Source: amazon.com ) Vista is of course Microsoft's number one project as it juggles goals for the coming year. The Redmond-based company recently assigned its upcoming personal digital music player, the "Zune", to Toshiba for manufacturing, perhaps as a ... (view more)