Articles about Microsoft

Microsoft has released the first stable version of Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 (32-bit) and Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 (64-bit). The latest version of the browser -- which comes pre-installed in Windows 8 -- promises improved performance, better privacy and supports the latest web standards, plus adds integrated spell-checking and auto-correct tools.

Internet Explorer 10 in itself isn’t new -- it was bundled with Windows 8 on its release on October 26. However, it’s only now that Windows 7 users have been able to install a stable version of the software, although a Release Preview has been available since mid-November. Just as Internet Explorer 9 dropped support for Windows XP, so IE10 drops support for Windows Vista.

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Although it's Tuesday, it's not "Patch Tuesday", which means we shouldn't expect any updates from Microsoft, but the software giant is rolling out patches none-the-less. The updates are across a broad spectrum of platforms too -- Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server, and even Windows RT are included in this update.

Curiously, many of the Windows updates are listed as "non-security". The company generally only pushes out-of-cycle updates when there is a major security flaw that cannot wait for the next month. In the case of today's patches, many are listed as a fix for "issues in Windows".

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A week ago, Microsoft formally launched Outlook.com -- its free, web-based email service -- to the public. The service had been in preview since last July.

Microsoft has for too long had a quartet of email offerings, including Hotmail, MSN and the now retired Entourage. Not surprisingly, this portfolio has been a source of confusion and complication for businesses, consumers and Microsoft brand management. By formally launching Outlook.com, Microsoft is now in the final throes of migrating to a single offering that streamlines its marketing spend and brings clarity to customers.

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Nokia's augmented reality, map and navigation apps for Windows Phone just went through a name change, and now bear the HERE branding. As interesting as that may sound (which it doesn't, really) there is an even bigger announcement. HERE Drive Beta, HERE Maps and HERE Transit, which were formerly exclusive to Nokia devices, are now available for "any Windows Phone 8 smartphone".

Well, not for any Windows Phone 8 smartphone -- the three apps are only available for users in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, UK and US. That said, I have installed HERE Maps outside of a supported location and it works fine, without any apparent limitation. HERE Drive Beta and HERE Transit report an unsupported location and as a result neither works for me.

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Microsoft's cloud service, Windows Azure, along with Team Foundation Service, suffered a major outage yesterday that also affected non-enterprise people, as it resulted in problems with Xbox Live as well. However, according to the Xbox Status page, the Live system, along with Xbox Music and Video, which were also affected, is back up and running.

Now, as of this morning we have some information on the root cause of the much-publicized problem. Brian Harry, Product Unit Manager for Team Foundation Server, blames the nine-hour outage on "an expired SSL certificate in Windows Azure storage". Harry goes on to explain that the company stores "source code files, Git repos, work item attachments and more" there and that "the expired certificate prevented access to any of this information, making much of the TFService functionality unavailable".

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How's this for a helluva endorsement for Windows security over OS X? Today, Microsoft acknowledged falling prey to "similar security intrusion" as Apple and Facebook. They got nabbed by a Java exploit affecting Apple's OS.

"We found a small number of computers, including some in our Mac business unit that, were infected by malicious software using techniques similar to those documented by other organizations", says Microsoft security chief Matt Thomlinson.

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I don’t know about you but as a lover of technology and the world around it, I find these times to be quite compelling. Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft (the big four) are setting the stage for an epic battle for tech dominance. The many articles and blog posts calling Microsoft dead in the water are way too premature. We are way too early in this new world of mobile computing to call Microsoft out of this game.

However, I will say this: If any of the four previously mentioned companies are in the most danger of failing at the consumer market, it’s Microsoft. The company better figure out how to get things together and quickly as time is not on the leadership's side and their competition is hitting on all cylinders.

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Starting out as a rookie among veterans, in a matter of months Windows RT has transformed into an exciting and intriguing alternative to established tablet operating systems. The trigger for the frankly unexpected makeover is the jailbreak which allows enthusiasts to run unsigned apps on their Windows RT-based devices -- there's even an automated tool which makes modding a breeze. If you think that is not good enough and you still need or want your old apps, a developer has released a tool that allows legacy programs to run on Windows RT.

The tool, however, does not support every Windows-compatible legacy app known to mankind. It comes with some limitations as resource-hogging, complex, .NET-based, modern, 16-bit and 64-bit apps, among others, cannot run. The reasoning, judging by the developer's input on the matter, is to deliver a solid user experience across the board without major compromises when running legacy programs.

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Could it be possible that Microsoft has become cool again? A BetaNews poll seemed to indicate Windows 8 was popular and there have been recent reports that the Surface tablet is "cool" to teens. Now there is this -- a poll conducted by Reuters indicates that young people may actually think the computer company from Redmond, Wash. is cool again.

Reuters reports that "just under half of 853 respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 thought Microsoft is cooler now than it was a year or two ago". If this this is representative of the larger sentiment then it ties in very neatly with recent Apple problems.

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In June of 2012 Microsoft purchased Yammer, a social networking site geared towards enterprise. The service allows employees to collaborate across buildings and geographic locations. Now the company has released its 2012 numbers in an effort to show that the investment paid off.

The fourth quarter ended on January 31, and Microsoft reports that sales have "nearly tripled year-over-year". The service has more than seven million users. The numbers bragging continues with the addition of 290 new companies coming on-board with the service, including big names like TGI Fridays, Woolworth and Trek Bicycles. In fact, the announcement says Yammer now has "85 percent of the Fortune 500".

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If you use Hotmail then you may already know that you are moving to Outlook.com. You may not want to, but you are -- unless you plan to scrap the whole thing and head over to Gmail, Yahoo mail or another service. Microsoft officially launched Outlook overnight, but the service beta debuted six months ago; we reviewed here already.

So, to help users along in this moving process, the company posted a question and answer page appropriately titled "My Hotmail account was upgraded to Outlook.com".

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When Windows 8 launched on October 26 2012, the Windows Store had an estimated 9,000 apps available to purchase or download. Today, according to the excellent MetroStore Scanner, that figure has risen to 43,083 worldwide, of which 28,904 are available in the US store, and 26,385 in the UK one.

The biggest problem with the Windows Store is not the overall number of apps -- in four months it’s seen reasonable growth although the number of new weekly additions has slowed -- the issue is more with quality. While there’s no shortage of third-party apps, many of which are very good, you can’t help but notice how many big names are absent.

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Perhaps "live" is a poor choice of words, seeing as Windows Live is dead. Early this morning, Microsoft took down the "opening soon" sign and brought Outlook -- that's the .com not the software -- out of beta. The webmail service is in "grand opening" mode with 60 million "active users" in tow, and more coming as they migrate from Hotmail.

Microsoft unveiled the email service nearly six months ago, decked out in Windows 8-logo blue and generous white space. During the beta process, Outlook ran alongside Hotmail. But with the new service launched, "we'll soon start to upgrade hundreds of millions of Hotmail users to the new Outlook.com experience", David Law, Outlook.com product management director, says.

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"We didn't miss cell phones, but the way that we went about it, ah, didn't allow us to get the leadership. So it's clearly a mistake." That's the chilling admission from Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates during a CBS This Morning interview with Charlie Rose (Editor: full interview from January 30). Referring to CEO Steve Ballmer, the cofounder emphasizes: "He and I are not satisfied that in terms of, you know, breakthrough things, that we're, ah, doing everything possible". You think?

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord (or whomever or whatever you worship, if anything). Change starts with admission of fault, and Gates gives it. So what should Microsoft do about the problem? Take my advice. Please. Starting five years ago, I repeatedly recommend Microsoft lunch a Mobile Manhattan Project -- on the order of Internet Explorer in the mid-1990s but only much, much larger. There simply is no other way to catch up in mobile.

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No, I did not say that Internet Explorer is the walking dead. However, Microsoft's web browser is partnered with the show's creator, Robert Kirkman, to bring the original comic book series, "Thief of Thieves", to life on your computer. In other words geek nirvana -- a comic book and a computer. This ranks up there with the Lego Android from last week.

Microsoft's Steve lake says this will be "an interactive online game based on the comic book series from Robert Kirkman and Skybound, his imprint at Image Comics. The site is a showcase of the new features in Internet Explorer 10, including full multi-touch capabilities and HTML5 support".

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