Microsoft Downgrades Longhorn
To head off what some have described as a "perfect storm" Microsoft is paring down its next generation Windows release code-named Longhorn. Business Week is reporting that Microsoft will fall short of its aspirations to include the full scope of the Windows file-storage system (WinFS) in the operating system; instead, the software giant will focus on rolling out WinFS for the client - leaving network support to the dust.
The WinFS system along with the Indigo communications subsystem and Avalon graphical subsystem serve as the three technologies at the foundation of Longhorn.
VMware Introduces Workstation 4.5
VMware Inc. has announced the availability of VMware Workstation 4.5, its latest desktop virtual machine software. VMware Workstation 4.5 allows developers and system administrators to develop, test and deploy enterprise applications and patches without having to commit to changes or monopolize hardware assets. Through VMware's virtual machines, each desktop can run instances of Windows, Linux or Novell Netware once the virtual machines are deployed to a VMWare server.
New features that make up the release include support for the latest operating systems, better support for host USB devices, integration with Windows Performance Monitor, increased memory capacity and support for PXE (pre-boot execution environment) provisioning. With the update, Windows "Longhorn" guest clients are now supported as well as clients running version 2.6 of the Linux kernel.
Microsoft Finalizes Mac Office 2004
The countdown has begun for Mac Office 2004. One week from today on Wednesday, April 14th, Microsoft will release its newest productivity suite for Mac OS X to manufacturing.
Microsoft is casting the suite as its best version of Office for Mac ever; pledging new tools to manage information as well as features to assist users to create "stunning" documents. Copies are expected to hit the shelves by the third week of May.
Microsoft Frees WiX
Late February, when Windows source code leaked to the Web even the most level-headed pundits could not foresee Microsoft's bits making their way to the Web in any other fashion. While some critics regard Microsoft as being notoriously proprietary and dead set against the open source movement, the folks at Redmond have once again stunned the computing world and may have proven those critics wrong.
The latest contributor to SourceForge.net -- the largest open source developer network -- is none other than Microsoft itself. Microsoft's Windows Installer XML (WiX) has effectively been donated to the waiting hands of the open source community. As described by Microsoft, WiX is a toolset that builds Windows installation packages from XML code. The toolset is comprised of a compiler, a 'lib' tool, a 'linker' and a decompiler.
McAfee Readies VirusScan Enterprise 7.5
McAfee is offering a public beta version of VirusScan Enterprise 7.5. VirusScan Enterprise protects desktops and fileservers from trojans, viruses, worms and other malicious code. The product is marketed toward both small businesses and large enterprises that use Microsoft Windows NT 4 or greater.
To make this year's refresh more enticing, McAfee has thrown in several compelling new features, the first of which is application specific buffer overflow protection. VirusScan Enterprise 7.5 is capable of blocking overflows from executing code. This builds upon the functionality of McAfee's consumer-oriented VirusScan 8 suite which actively monitors system memory for buffer overflows.
Sun, Microsoft Settle Differences
Sun Microsystems and Microsoft have found peace - for price of 1.6 billion US dollars. Under the agreement Sun has agreed to settle all pending litigation against its once bitter rival, and the two industry giants will collaborate on ways to make their products work better in mixed environments.
As part of the agreement, Sun and Microsoft will enter into a 'covenant' not to sue each other over past patent violations, with a clause to extend that arrangement into the future. Tentatively, negotiations are set to sort out a sweeping patent cross-licensing agreement that would enable the companies to share technology by paying each other predetermined royalties.
IBM Increases alphaWorks Output
IBM has upped the output of 'alphaWorks'. IBM alphaWorks -- a web site for software engineers -- turns out code produced by Big Blue's worldwide network of R&D labs in its earliest stages of development. Several new tools were introduced to the site within the past week; ostensibly to assist developers who program in Java, XML and on Unix systems.
Some are these emerging technologies include IBM’s Advanced Pattern Search Toolkit, XQuery Normalizer and Static Analyzer, Dictionary and Thesaurus APIs for Java, Views for XML, Command Line Bot, Framework for Autonomic Java-Based Servers and Service Management Framework Extensions. IBM's India Software Lab was the primary developer.
Microsoft Benches Sports Gaming Series
Having once vowed to "revolutionize" sports video games as we know them, Microsoft Game Studio's XSN Sports label has postponed its insurgency into enemy territory until further notice. XSN Sports is a spin off of Microsoft Gaming Studio that sought to take on the likes of Electronic Arts and Sega in the sports gaming arena by adding a new twist to online game play – a web site that manages leagues and tournaments. Five XSN Sports titles were on track to ship in the fall prior to Microsoft's decision to pull the plug.
"After analyzing market conditions and customer feedback we're focused on closing the quality gap between our sports line-up and that of our competitors. Therefore we will not be shipping new versions of our sports games this fall. MGS will continue to build on the goal of developing extraordinarily creative, epic-scale, platform-driving games for Xbox and Windows. Sports will just not be part of our MGS publishing plans this fall," a spokesperson told BetaNews.
Windows CE 5.0 Previewed for Developers
Microsoft is set to preview the next release of Windows CE, code-named "Macallan." Development for the embedded operating system has been the primary focus of Windows CE 5.0. Redmond is placing emphasis on streamlining and improving the platform's development tools, while also beefing up its security and multimedia capabilities.
In an effort to decrease development time and costs, the Windows CE product team has tacked the command-line environment onto the integrated development environment (IDE). On top of unifying the tools, Microsoft has ported its Windows error reporting system to CE, and offers developers a new set of automated testing tools.
Microsoft Remakes DRM for MSN Music Service
BetaNews has learned that Microsoft is devising a new digital rights management (DRM) technology that, it has indicated, will be baked into its upcoming MSN Music service.
Although only a handful of details are known at this time, it is clear that the MSN Music offering will be tightly integrated into Windows Media Player and limit its playback support to Windows Media Audio, which already incorporates an existing DRM framework.
Microsoft Preps MSN Search Overhaul
Microsoft's MSN business unit is slowly lifting the veil off of its clandestine search strategy. During his keynote last week at the Strategic Account Summit, Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of the MSN Information Services & Merchant Platform division, revealed three new services: MSN Newsbot, MSN Blogbot and MSN Answerbot.
MSN will launch Newsbot and Blogbot by the end of this year, while Answerbot -- an Ask Jeeves-like natural language interface for search results -- will go live at a later date.
Microsoft Unifies Game Development Under XNA
Move over DirectX, Microsoft is unifying game development under XNA. XNA is Redmond's solution to the growing complexity and cost of game development triggered by advances in hardware design and the pervasiveness of broadband Internet access.
With XNA, Microsoft is encouraging the gaming industry to adopt a system of interchangeable, interoperable software tools and technologies. From DirectX to middleware to game developers, XNA promises to create a common environment for development tasks across all Microsoft platforms.
Trend Micro Beta Tests Latest PC-cillin Antivirus
As evidenced by the forthcoming Windows XP Service Pack 2, Microsoft is actively pushing its customers to secure their PCs. One way for Windows users to batten down the hatches and reduce their exposure to malware is to have antivirus protection turned on and kept up-to-date with the latest virus definitions.
To this end, Trend Micro is opening up a beta test of PC-cillin Antivirus to customers who want to be on the bleeding edge of virus protection.
Report: EU Prepares 497 Million Euro Fine Against Microsoft
According to published reports, Microsoft's balance sheet assets may be in peril. Reuters is reporting that a source within a European Union member state revealed that the EU Commission is preparing to levy a hefty 497 million Euro fine against the software giant.
If true, this report may portend the gravity of the Commission's upcoming ruling addressing the anti-competitive business tactics Microsoft is alleged to have practiced.
Windows Based Portable Media Centers Approach Release
Microsoft's would-be "iPod killer" is scheduled to arrive in Europe by year's end. Windows Mobile Software for Portable Media Centers -- formerly code-named Media2Go -- extends the Windows Media Center family beyond the desktop, in addition to broadening the music only paradigm that characterizes many of today's portable media devices.
Redmond has taken the Portable Media Center (PMC) beyond music to include video playback, support for still imagery and talking "photo story" slideshows. New Smart Sync technology synchronizes PMC devices with Windows XP and Windows Media Player 9 to manage, transfer, and sort audio and video files.
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