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Microsoft Preps Open-Source Apps Marketplace

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft

Microsoft is in the process of building out a marketplace for open-source applications that could work like an equivalent to an app store for applications, services and support for open-source technology that runs on the Windows platform. At MIX09, Microsoft released several components of the Microsoft Web Platform, an integrated set of tools, servers and frameworks that work seamlessly together and interoperate with popular open-source applications and products that are used in the community. Microsoft is looking at Windows Azure as a potential distribution platform for these applications.

LAS VEGAS—Microsoft is in the process of building out a marketplace for open-source applications that could work like an equivalent to an app store for applications, services and support for open-source technology that runs on the Windows platform.

At the Microsoft MIX09 conference here, Lauren Cooney, group product manager for Web Platform and Standards at Microsoft, said there is a new movement at Microsoft under way and she is part of the new blood leading the way toward that brave new world, particularly on the Web. Cooney, who came to Microsoft after stints at both IBM and BEA Systems, where she worked with Java and open-source Web and emerging technologies, said a key slogan with her group is, "Make Web not war."

As such, at MIX09, Microsoft released several components of the Microsoft Web Platform, an integrated set of tools, servers and frameworks that work seamlessly together and interoperate with popular open-source applications and products that are used in the community.

Included in the Microsoft Web Platform vision is the Web Platform Installer 2.0 beta, a tool that simplifies the installation and update of Microsoft’s free Web products and other free Web components. This release allows users to download both PHP and the final release of ASP.NET MVC 1.0.
Microsoft also launched the Windows Web Application Gallery, which allows developers to discover, explore and download applications and components that will help them build Web applications. Developers can submit free applications into the Gallery, offering communities, partners and independent software vendors access to millions of Windows developers worldwide for promoting their Web solutions. The Gallery includes links to popular applications such as Acquia Drupal, DotNetNuke and WordPress.

The Microsoft Web Platform is a powerful set of tools, servers and technologies optimized for building and hosting next-generation Web applications, including PHP applications, Cooney said. To prepare for the added support for PHP, Cooney said her team met with 25 of the top PHP developers around to get advice on how to work with the PHP community.

She said the team is looking for three overall themes with its strategy: simplicity, interoperability and integration. And the company's vision for the Microsoft Web Platform features four pillars: community, applications, a marketplace and a one-stop shop. The community includes developers working on applications, and the application pillar features applications and technologies developers can use—or reuse—to avoid having to build everything from scratch.

The marketplace is a place where "developers and partners who build and/or customize applications want a custom distribution pipeline, so they don't have to exert their efforts on marketing," Cooney said.

"A thriving marketplace ... when I talk about a marketplace I want to talk about a couple of different things," Cooney said. "I want to talk about marketing and distribution specifically. We have developers and partners who want to build or customize their apps. Before, these developers never had a customer distribution pipeline. They weren't able to market these applications. Essentially, what we have launched with Windows Web Application Gallery is this marketing and distribution pipeline. So if a developer has a great app they want to include in the Web Application Gallery, we will market that worldwide—so they have the reach that they never had before."

In terms of a one-stop shop, Cooney said it is a "full end-to-end solution for the Microsoft Web Platform—this is the cornerstone of the vision. We think developers come in and they want one location where they can do everything. So we want to provide developers with a location where they can build, sell, download and deploy their applications, all in one secure environment with many different options for tooling languages and growth."

Indeed, a thriving marketing and distribution element is extremely important to any Web platform, particularly Microsoft's, Cooney said.

"What we're also looking at is monetization, and we need to create a back-end system for this," she said. "We can do this with the application gallery on Windows Azure—a location to build, buy and sell these applications. I'll be looking at the infrastructure and also at Windows Azure on several different levels."

Cooney said Microsoft wants developers and its customers to be successful. "That's a No. 1 goal of us in general," she said. "At the end of the day if I can look at where we're going and I can say the stuff I'm doing is moving the boat in the right direction, then I'm happy. Working with these [developers] is my passion."

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Microsoft IE8 explorer has some cool new features

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: ie8, microsoft

SEATTLE — Can Microsoft's (MSFT) Internet Explorer Web browser reclaim chunks of market share swiped by upstart Firefox?

The arrival last week of Internet Explorer 8 (IE8), just two years after Microsoft's last major browser upgrade, IE7, should help answer that question.

IE8, which can be downloaded free, has cool new features: "Web slices" let you quickly call up selected content from a Web page — such as updates from an eBay auction page — via the IE8 favorites bar; "accelerators" make it easier to cut and paste text from one page and insert it on another.

Beyond that, IE8 has restored some of Microsoft's lost bravado. Mike Nash, corporate vice president of Windows product management, insists IE8 is uniformly faster at loading Web pages than Firefox 3, despite debate in tech circles about this claim.

"I feel very good that IE8 will be a reason to keep using IE," Nash said in an interview. "And for our previous customers, who may not be using IE today, IE8 will be a compelling reason to come back."

Web browsers were once so mundane that Microsoft took five years to upgrade IE6, introduced with Windows XP in 2001, to IE7. Millions still use IE6. Meanwhile, Firefox, introduced in late 2004, has racked up significant market share and popularized features, such as tab browsing, which lets you quickly click back to several open Web pages.

As of last month, Firefox commanded a 22% global market share vs. 68% for IE, according to Net Applications. Meanwhile, Opera, Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome are staking out potentially huge new turf for browsers on computing devices other than laptops and desktop PCs.

Web browsers have emerged as the doorway to an interactive Internet, which people are increasingly accessing on mobile devices, cars, TV recorders, even video gaming consoles. "We're really happy to see Microsoft isn't standing still anymore," says Mike Beltzner, Firefox director of development. "But we're not standing still, either."

Firefox 3.5, due this summer, will up the ante by supporting HTML 5, a new Web standard that makes it easier to embed videos on Web pages, and "canvas," which lets artists hand draw images on Web pages.

Apple and Google are moving aggressively in browsing on cellphones, while Opera is gaining a foothold with its Opera Mini, a free cellphone browser popular with BlackBerry and Windows Mobile users. And Opera is the browser that connects Nintendo's Wii gaming console to the Web. "Our browser runs on any platform or device," says Rod Hamlin, Opera senior vice president.

Microsoft supplies a version of IE for Windows Mobile devices, and a separate Web interface for Xbox 360.

IE8 could help the software giant regain ground in these browser wars. "So long as IE8 delivers as advertised, I believe it could help slow or even largely halt Windows users moving to alternative browsers," says Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. "Whether that will be enough to draw back customers who have already migrated remains to be seen."

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Windows 7 Release Candidate Changes Increase Productivity and Workflow

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft, windows, Windows7

Did you know Microsoft trimmed down sound files so your computer can boot up faster in the Windows 7 release candidate? Here are a few changes we found amongst the over 70+ obvious UI changes.

Desktop and User Interface:

• Gadget view options
In the Windows 7 beta it was impossible to separate desktop icons from gadgets under the View setting available by right-clicking on the desktop. Now there is the option to hide just your gadgets or just your desktop icons.

Keyboard Shortcuts:

• Windows Flip (ALT + TAB) with Aero Peek
Aero Peek is now enabled for Windows Flip (or more commonly known as ALT + TAB).

• Improved Windows Logo + # keyboard shortcut
Pressing Windows Logo + # (where # corresponds to an item's order in the taskbar) in the beta would only launch the program in Windows 7. In the release candidate, it can both launch and switch between Windows. For example, if IE wasn't running and the second item on the taskbar, Windows Logo + 2 will launch the program. If IE is running with a single window, the same shortcut will now switch to the program. When IE is running with several windows or tabs, holding down the Windows Logo and tapping the 2 key repeatedly will actually cycle through the open IE items off the taskbar (with Aero Peek). Letting go simply switches to the corresponding window. It works really similarly to the ALT +TAB shortcut.

Multitouch:

• Aero Peek for touch
First, the taskbar's thumbnails now support a gesture so you can drag your finger across the taskbar and it will trigger Aero Peek. The Show Desktop button is improved so a press-and-hold will allow the customer to peek at the desktop. A regular tap still allows you to switch over.

• Windows Explorer
Multi-touch zoom is now enabled for Windows Explorer.

Power Options:

• Faster access to High Performance power plan
Clicking on the battery icon in the taskbar notification area offers two different power plans: Balanced and Power saver. Windows 7 laptops are configured to use the Balanced by default. Now in the popout menu, you can see all three options.

Taskbar:

• Increased taskbar space
There is even more increased space on the taskbar now. The release candidate will feature 24-39% more icons before the taskbar scrolls (depending upon resolution, icon size and the default notification area).

• Increased flexibility and changes to Jump Lists
When there are too many things pinned to Jump Lists, it defeats the whole purpose of easy access. Jump Lists now only automatically suggest the first 10 items (there is still the option to customize the length of the list).

Now you can also pin files and folders to programs that are not handle that file type. Pinning the item in most cases will create a new registration so that launching it from the Jump List will always open the file with that specific program (ex. a pinned HTML file to Notepad will always open the file in Notepad).

The Control Panel jump list will now list your most recent items.

• Newly installed programs
When a program is installed, it automatically and temporarily surfaces at the bottom of the Start Menu. It lets the user see it, giving them the option to launch it or drag it to the taskbar.

User Account Control:

• Increased security
There will be two changes to the release candidate to UAC settings. The first change is that the UAC control panel will run in a "high integrity" process (thus requiring elevation). The second change will now prompt for a confirmation when you are changing the level of UAC.

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Microsoft won't fix Excel bug on Patch Tuesday

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft

Microsoft Corp. last week said that three Windows security updates, including one rated "critical," will be released tomorrow.

The company acknowledged, however, that it will not deliver a fix for an Excel flaw that attackers are now exploiting.

Microsoft didn't disclose details of the patches, other than to say which versions of Windows will be affected.
"It's pretty nebulous," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Network Security Inc. "They could be any number of things."

The critical update will affect all still-supported editions of the operating system, including Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista and Server 2008. Unpatched "critical" bugs allow PCs to be hijacked by hackers without any action by users. The other updates, labeled "important," fix so-called spoofing bugs, which typically are used to trick users into divulging confidential information.

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Microsoft considers new name for search: Kumo

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft

Microsoft Corp. has said marketing teams were hard at work fixing the company's Web search image. As a brand, Live Search wasn't working.

But Kumo? What?

Microsoft's search team posted a screen shot of a redesigned search site, called Kumo, on its blog last week. A leaked memo from the team's technical leader, Satya Nadella, described Kumo.com as a test program that can only be accessed from computers on Microsoft's network. The company confirmed the memo's authenticity after it appeared on Cnet News.

Online dictionaries reveal kumo to mean "spider" or "cloud" in Japanese (but it is also the Swedish word for a Finnish town). Kumo.com, as depicted in the screen shot, offers few hints as to the definition Microsoft has in mind.

The Kumo logo, which Microsoft has not confirmed as its final choice, is blue, lowercase and not immediately recognizable as a Microsoft brand. The screen-shot version does provide links to MSN and Windows Live, though.

Kumo appears to set itself apart from today's Live Search by giving Web surfers clearer clues about the kinds of results that exist. A search for a country music star yields results separated into such categories as Web, songs, lyrics, music and biography. Buttons on the left let users quickly pick just one of those categories to peruse.

Microsoft has struggled for years to compete with Google Inc., the leader in Web search traffic and related advertising revenue. Despite its best efforts, which include a failed attempt to buy No. 2 Yahoo Inc. and to engineer an improved search site of its own, Microsoft has remained firmly stuck in third place.

Matt Rosoff, an analyst for the independent research group Directions on Microsoft, said Kumo is a better name than Live.

"I think Live meant too many things," he said. "At least Kumo is weird."

He also pointed out that the Web address for Live Search was a matter of confusion for many users. While some knew to go to live.com, others would type windowslive.com or go to the MSN home page. Microsoft doesn't own the livesearch.com address, and typing live.search.com instead of search.live.com takes you to another non-Microsoft site.

But there's not enough in a name to get Microsoft out of its search pit, Rosoff said.

"It's necessary, but not sufficient," Rosoff said, adding that the softwaremaker must also come up with an interface that is significantly different from Google.

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Vista-downgrade lawsuit revised; Microsoft now accused of price-gouging

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft, vista, windows

The California woman suing Microsoft Corp. over Windows Vista's downgrade rights revised her lawsuit yesterday to focus her charges on the requirement that users buy the most expensive versions of Vista if they want to replace that operating system with Windows XP.

Originally filed Feb. 11 in a Seattle federal court by Los Angeles resident Emma Alvarado, the lawsuit was re-submitted Thursday. In the amended complaint, Alvarado repeated her charges that Microsoft violated Washington state's unfair business practices and consumer protection laws by restricting computer makers' ability to offer XP on new PCs after Vista's early 2007 launch.

"Downgrade" describes the Windows licensing rights that allow users in some circumstances to replace newer versions of Windows with an older edition without having to pay for another license. In effect, the license for the newer Windows is transferred to the older edition.

The revised lawsuit spells out in much greater detail how Microsoft allegedly profits from its Vista downgrade practices. In particular, the complaint now highlights the rules that limit downgrades to Windows XP Professional, and then, only from PCs that have Vista Business or Vista Ultimate pre-installed.

"Although many consumers would prefer to purchase a new PC pre-installed with the Windows XP operating system or at least not pre-installed with the Vista operating system, Microsoft has used its market power to take advantage of consumer demand for the Windows XP operating system by requiring consumers to purchase a PC that includes a license for the use of the Vista operating system and to pay money (as part of the overall purchase price of the PC) to downgrade to the Windows XP Professional operating system," the suit stated.

"To make matters worse, Microsoft requires consumers to purchase a PC that includes a license to either Vista Business or Vista Ultimate -- versions of the Vista operating system that: (a) are premium, more expensive versions of the home versions of the Vista operating system, and (b) include specialized applications that are neither needed nor wanted by an ordinary consumer seeking to purchase a PC primarily for personal, non-business use," the filing continued.

The suit also noted that Windows XP Professional, the only version of that line that users are allowed to downgrade to, is a premium edition with a higher price tag.

Alvarado claimed that Microsoft dreamed up those rules to boost Vista sales figures and profits.
"Microsoft appears to have conceived and implemented the 'right' for consumers to 'downgrade' to the Windows XP Professional operating system in order to: (a) maintain and/or inflate its sales figures for the Vista operating systems (particularly the Vista Business and Vista Ultimate versions ... and (b) recoup its substantial investment in the development and production of the Vista operating system by forcing consumers to purchase the premium, more expensive versions of the Vista operating system (Vista Business or Vista Ultimate) in order to 'downgrade' to the Windows XP operating system," the lawsuit read.

She also accused Microsoft of gouging consumers with its downgrade practices. "Prior to permitting the consumer to 'downgrade' to Windows XP Professional, Microsoft first mandates that the consumer 'upgrade' from Vista Home Basic or Vista Home Premium to either Vista Business or Vista Ultimate -- thereby forcing the consumer to incur an unnecessary expense of $130, perhaps more or less, depending on the retail outlet, and creating revenue for Microsoft in the same amount," her revised lawsuit said.

The $130 figure cited by Alvarado was the same as noted by Dell Inc. last year when it responded to reports that it was charging customers $150 to downgrade a new computer to XP. Dell countered that while it did charge $20 to install XP on the machine and cover the cost of the additional media, $130 was the price of upgrading the PC from the standard Home Premium to the more expensive Business edition.

"Microsoft mandates that customers who want to downgrade to XP must purchase the license to Vista Business or Vista Ultimate," said Dell spokesman David Frink last December. "[That's] typically about a $130 premium, though some retail outlets charge more."

When Alvarado's suit was first filed last month, Microsoft denied it made money on downgrades.
"Microsoft does not charge or receive any additional royalty if a customer exercises those [downgrade] rights," said Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster in a February e-mail.

Bowermaster repeated that today. "Microsoft does not charge for downgrades," he said in an e-mail Friday. "Some Windows Vista licenses, including Windows Vista Business and Ultimate, include downgrade rights to various versions of Windows XP. If a customer exercises those rights, Microsoft does not charge or receive any additional royalty."

Alvarado is seeking compensatory damages and wants the case granted class-action status.

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Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft urged not to censor search

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: Google, microsoft, yahoo

Rights groups called on Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft on Friday not to censor their Web search engines one day next week to help protest cyber censorship.

"World Day Against Cyber Censorship is a day to advance and celebrate a free Internet as an open window to the world and denounce the attacks made on the free flow of information online," Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International said in a letter to the tech giants.

"In the spirit of fostering freedom of expression, we are asking that you do not censor any of your search engines or blog platforms anywhere around the world on this day," they said.

"We urge you, on March 12th, to champion the vision of the Internet as a free space for everyone, regardless of nationality or geographic location, and fulfill the idea of a truly worldwide Web -- even if just for one day.

"This would send a strong message to all "netizens" - individuals, organizations and states alike - that censorship online is not the only way forward," they said.

RSF and Amnesty said that currently, "there are more than two dozen countries restricting Internet access on a regular basis."

They said they "understand the challenges of operating in countries that restrict Internet access; these countries are trying to pressure you to obey local laws that do not comport with international law and standards that protect freedom of expression.

"But complying with local demands that violate international law does not justify your actions," they said.
"Your assistance allows states, such as China, to out-right ban access to information on 'human rights,' 'dalai lama,' 'Charter 08' or 'democracy,' as well as to respected human rights websites."

China exercises strict control over the Internet, blocking sites linked to Chinese dissidents, the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement, the Tibetan government-in-exile and those with information on the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

A number of US companies, including Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Cisco, have been hauled before the US Congress in recent years and accused of complicity in building what has been called the "Great Firewall of China."

Google has been criticized for complying with Chinese government's demands to filter Internet searches to eliminate query results regarding topics such as democracy or Tiananmen Square.

RSF staged the first "World Day Against Cyber Censorship" last year and plans to mark the day with a report on the state of Internet freedom worldwide.

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Yahoo Wins Approval of Accord Over Microsoft Offers

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft, yahoo

Yahoo Inc. won a judge’s approval of a settlement mandating changes to the company’s severance plan that investors contend will make it easier for Microsoft Corp. or other potential suitors to buy the owner of the second most- popular U.S. Internet search engine.

Delaware Chancery Court Judge William B. Chandler III today said he would approve the accord, which resolves investor lawsuits over Yahoo executives’ decision last year to rebuff Microsoft’s buyout offers.
Shareholders sued after ex-Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang rejected a bid by the world’s largest software company. Microsoft dropped a final offer of as much as $33 a share, or $47.5 billion, in June.

The settlement amounted to “an extraordinary victory” for investors seeking to remove stumbling blocks to an acquisition, said Joel Friedlander, a lawyer for two Detroit pension funds that sued over Yahoo’s handling of the Microsoft offers.

“We are very pleased that the settlement was approved because we believe it is in the best interests of the company and our shareholders,” Kim Rubey, a Yahoo spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement.

Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo rose 52 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $13.05 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

Search Alliance Eyed

Yahoo executives said last month they are open to an Internet-search alliance with Microsoft to compete with industry leader Google Inc. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer signaled Feb. 24 he’d be willing to work with Carol Bartz, Yahoo’s new CEO, to reach an agreement.

Ballmer and Bartz are under pressure to shore up their Internet search engines and online advertising businesses, which combined generated less than half of Google’s revenue in the fourth quarter.

Ballmer has said for the past several months and repeated as recently as last week that he’s no longer interested in purchasing all of Yahoo. Microsoft is interested in some kind of Internet search agreement with Yahoo, he said.

Shareholders who expect today’s developments to alter Ballmer’s thinking will be disappointed, said Brent Williams, an analyst with Benchmark Co. in New York, who rates Microsoft shares “hold.”
‘Minor Issue’

“I can’t imagine this would change their mind,” he said. This doesn’t even come close to fixing the big issues Microsoft has with buying Yahoo. This has always been a minor issue.”

The day after Ballmer’s most recent comment, Yahoo Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgenson said his company is open to a search deal. Yahoo has since announced Jorgenson will leave the company.

Google controls the Internet-search market in the U.S. with 63 percent of queries, according to ComScore Inc. of Reston, Virginia. Yahoo’s profit has dropped in 10 of the past 11 quarters.

The Detroit pension funds argued in the Delaware suits that Yang used Yahoo’s severance plan to thwart Microsoft by giving employees incentives to quit rather than work for a buyer.

The plan, approved by Yahoo’s board in the wake of Microsoft’s bid, served as a “quasi-poison pill,” investor advisory firm Glass Lewis Inc. said. A poison pill is a type of corporate-takeover defense.

The severance plan required that workers be paid if their jobs were eliminated or altered after a change in control of Yahoo. The company said the policy was aimed at retaining employees. Investors complained that it made Yahoo more expensive to acquire.

$1 Billion Severance

At a hearing in Georgetown, Delaware, today, Friedlander told Chandler that the plan would have forced Yahoo to pay as much as $1 billion in severance if Microsoft’s bid had been accepted.

Friedlander also noted that Microsoft officials saw Yahoo’s revised severance plan as creating “bad retention,” according to court papers unsealed in the case.

“The plan was an attempt to gum up an acquisition by Microsoft,” he said. The accord “makes a search-engine deal more likely.”

Under the settlement, Yahoo will alter the plan to allow investors to launch proxy fights without triggering severance payments to employees, according to court papers. It also changed the terms of the plan to make it harder for workers to claim severance benefits if the company receives an offer.

Edward Welch, a lawyer representing Yahoo in the case, told Chandler the company agreed to the settlement so it could “move forward and run its business.”

While he said he’d approve the settlement today, Chandler said he’d rule later on Friedlander’s request for $12 million in legal fees and expenses in the case.

The case is Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit v. Yahoo, CA3561, Delaware Chancery Court (Georgetown).

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Internet Explorer 8 removal possible in latest Windows 7 version

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: internet explorer, microsoft, Windows7

Just today we heard that the European Union is easing up on Microsoft a little but, but don't forget that there's still one big battle going on. The EU is still concerned that Microsoft's inclusion of its Internet Explorer web browser as an integral part of the Windows operating system isn't fair to consumers who want other options or the companies that are cooking those options up.

After years of questions about Microsoft's policies regarding Internet Explorer, it looks like the company might be taking a step back to reconsider. Internet Explorer 8 is actually completely and safely removable in a recent test version of the yet-to-be-released Windows 7.

You can remove it like you remove any other component in Windows: go to "Programs and Features" in the Control Panel, click "Turn Windows Features On or Off" and then uncheck "

Note, however, that this is not exactly what the EU is asking for. In the current case, Microsoft may have to do more than just make its browser removable; it might have to provide alternative browsers with its operating system as well.

This is the first time that Microsoft Corp. has offered the option since it integrated the browser with Windows in 1997. The 7048 build of Windows 7 -- a version that has not been released to the public but is available as a pirated copy on file-sharing sites -- includes [the] option ... Windows 7 Build 7048 first began appearing on ... BitTorrent tracking sites, on Monday. Traffic has been substantial since then, with Mininova reporting more than 21,000 downloads.

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Small PC maker plans free Windows 7 upgrade deal

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft, windows, Windows7

Who could blame you for not wanting to buy a new PC right now? With Windows 7 mere months away (some rumors even claim it will ship as early as September 2009), why would you want to get stuck with Windows Vista, then have to shell out hundreds again for a Win7 upgrade later in the year?

Unless you buy a system within weeks of Windows 7's arrival (one source says the planned cutoff date is July 1, but that's a rumor right now), Microsoft is unlikely to offer free or discounted upgrade coupons, and that means computer sales are likely to stagnate for the time being as buyers take a "wait and see" approach.

At least one company has other ideas, though, and wants to keep sales going. Seattle-area PC builder Puget Sound Systems says it is launching a program this week to give new computer buyers a free copy of Windows 7, "completely independent of any Microsoft program."

There are a few catches: You have to buy a machine that costs at least $1,000. And you have to equip it with Windows Vista Ultimate, 64-bit edition. Your free upgrade will be to Windows 7 Ultimate, also 64-bit.
(Update: The company says Home Premium will also be supported.) You don't simply get a disk to do the upgrade yourself, sadly: You'll have to bring or ship your computer back to Puget Sound, so they can install the upgrade themselves, "to make sure that the upgrades go smoothly." You pay for shipping both ways.

Maybe not a great deal, but at least a good sign and a really good idea -- and it makes me wonder if any of the big PC players will follow up and offer a similar program. No sense losing sales while Microsoft figures out what people want, right?

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Microsoft Expression Media 2 SP2 arrives for Windows and Mac

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft

Microsoft Expression Media 2 Service Pack 1 was released in October 2008, and now, just under four months later, SP2 is out via Microsoft Update and the Mac AutoUpdate. You can also download SP2 via the Microsoft Download Center: Windows (3.4 MB) and Mac (62.5 MB). For Windows, the service pack is

available in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, while on Mac it is available for Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish. Expression Media 2 SP1 must be installed before installing Expression Media 2 SP2.

According to KB Article 962902, the service pack fixes the following issues:

Windows and Mac

It takes a long time to import many large images.
The XML export and import operations may scramble custom fields.
Catalogs that are saved from a Macintosh lose their paths to the original media. This issue occurs if the catalogs are opened from a server on a Windows-based computer.
Original file paths are used instead of new file paths when you are copying items to a new catalog.
Silverlight 2.0 is not detected correctly by Mozilla Firefox browsers when you are viewing Silverlight HTML galleries.
Thumbnails cannot honor a file's embedded color profile. Note: Thumbnails should be rebuilt after you install this service pack.

Windows

User preference for rendering engine is not used.
When you right-click to open a file in the default application, the wrong file opens after you sort the files in list view.
When you move hierarchical keywords, flat keywords may be applied incorrectly to images.
Scripting annotations garble text that has Unicode characters.
File paths are broken if the imported folder contains more than 1,024 subfolders.
When you set a path to the root of a drive, you cannot reset paths.
Expression Media 2 crashes when you import a file from a folder that was removed from the Organize panel.
Expression Media 2 crashes when an import is canceled and then files are imported from the root of a drive.
You cannot rename a folder on a network share. Additionally, the folder disappears from the Organize panel.
Files whose names have more than 64 characters are always imported again when you update folders in the organize panel.
Additional folders are not added in the organize panel for saved catalogs when the disk volume name is the system default. Typically, the system default is "Local Disk."
The file size of TIFF RAW files from Phase One Digital Backs seems to be large in a catalog.
Random numbers may be displayed on catalog folders if the disk does not have a volume name.
HTML gallery links show question marks when the gallery is viewed in Mozilla Firefox browsers.

You cannot import PPT and XLS files.
"Contact sheet out of range" errors are improved, and the experience for making contact sheets is improved.
The Batch Rename feature changes Cyrillic characters into question mark characters when you are using the "Strip Diacriticals" function.
When you use the "Update Folders Now" function, duplicate folders may be shown, and file links may be broken.

In May 2008, Microsoft released Microsoft Expression Studio 2, a set of five professional design tools and technologies aimed specifically at Web and multimedia developers and designers. Expression Media is a robust digital asset management solution for photographers and other creative professionals. We'll keep you posted about updates to the other four applications that are part of the suite.

Update

Microsoft has pulled the Macintosh Dutch and French versions of the service pack temporarily while it fixes a bug in Rendering Preferences. The updated versions should be up soon.

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Windows 7 Gets Pre-Release Makeover

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft, windows, Windows7

In response to user feedback, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has made numerous changes to the Windows 7 user interface as it readies the operating system--viewed by many as a make or break product for the software maker-for formal launch later this year or early next year.

Included in the changes, which number three dozen, is a new keyboard shortcut that allows the user to launch an application simply by pressing the Windows logo key in combination with a number that corresponds to the apps' order in the Quick Launch menu. For example, if an application is listed fourth in Quick Launch, it could be opened by pressing the Windows key in convert with the number 4 key.

Microsoft also made changes to alerts that signal when an application needs attention. The icon for a so-called "needy" application will now flash up to seven times, as opposed to the previous three, in an effort to grab the user's attention. Changes also include a more noticeable flashing animation in a bolder color of orange.

Other changes include modifications to the taskbar pane that allow it to display a greater number of application icons, a change that makes it easier for users to pin new apps to the taskbar, and more flexible icon and gadget view options.

Additional changes affect Windows 7's touch-screen capabilities, Control Panel, and Explorer features.
"As is evident from this sample of changes, we've been very busy improving Windows 7 based on what our customers are telling us in many forums," wrote Microsoft engineer Chaitanya Sareen, in a Thursday blog post that details the changes.

Microsoft needs Windows 7 to be a hit. Vista, the company's current OS, has failed to catch on with mainstream computer users while businesses have shunned it outright. Many users have complained about Vista's hardware requirements, intrusive security measures, and lack of compatibility with older applications.

Dissatisfaction with Vista has allowed Apple to gain share against Microsoft in the computer operating system market in recent months. Windows' market share in November fell below 90% for the first time in years while Mac OS is now flirting with the 10% mark, according to market watcher Net Applications.

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Windows wins, Mac loses February's market-share race

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft

Windows' market share rebounded last month as fewer users ditched Windows XP and more started running Windows 7, an Internet measurement company said today.

Meanwhile, Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X lost ground in February as its online share dropped by its largest amount in more than a year and a half.

In February, 88.4% of users who connected to the Web sites monitored by Net Applications Inc. did so from systems powered by Windows, an increase of 0.22 of a percentage point over January. The increase was the largest for Microsoft Corp.'s operating system since June 2007, when it gained 0.40 of a percentage point.
Although Windows XP lost share again last month -- the 20th consecutive month it has done so -- it slipped only 0.09 of a percent point, just a tenth of its 12-month average decline. In February, Windows XP computers accounted for 63.7% of all the machines that connected to Net Applications' sites.

Contributing to Windows' uptick was Vista, which ended the month with a 22.8% share, up 0.31 of a percentage point, and Windows 7, the not-yet-ready successor to Vista. The release of a public beta six weeks ago has put Windows 7 on 0.18% of all computers, an increase of 0.07 of a percentage point over January's share.

Windows 7's share is now within striking distance of the much older Windows 98 (0.21 percentage point), but it still trails by a large margin the almost-as-old Windows 2000 (1.35 percentage points).

The boost to Windows' share followed a record three-month decline in which the operating system lost 2.2 percentage points, and it marked the first time since October 2008 that Microsoft's operating system showed an overall gain.

But while Windows increased its share, Mac OS X's fell for the first time since October 2008, dropping 0.32 of a percentage point to end the month with a 9.6% share. That was the biggest one-month decline since June 2007, according to Net Applications' data, when Apple's software fell 0.45 of a percentage point.

February's slide didn't erase the 1.7 percentage point gain of the November-January stretch, also a record, but it did knock Mac OS X off its path toward a 10% share, pushing it back to December 2008 levels.
Net Applications' operating system market-share data can be found on the company's Web site.

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This is the Microsoft I want to see

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft

people sometimes ask me why I dislike Microsoft. The answer is simple: I don’t — I’ve just been disappointed with much of what it has done in the past decade.

This disappointment stems from the 1990s, when I was a big fan of many Microsoft products (and incidentally, could not stand Apple products). But over the past ten years, I’ve slowly transitioned away from almost everything made by the company. It’s not what I set out to do, it’s just happened that way because better products have come along — products not made by Microsoft.

And it’s frustrating, because with billions of dollars spent each year in research and development, it’s not like the company doesn’t have the means to innovate and make great products. So what does it lack? The vision? Well, if the video below is any indication, no.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-GB&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:a517b260-bb6b-48b9-87ac-8e2743a28ec5&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;showPlaylist=true&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;from=shared" target="_new" title="Future Vision Montage"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Video: Future Vision Montage&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

This video is a clip from presentation given yesterday by Microsoft’s Business Division president Stephen Elop at the Wharton Business Technology Conference. It shows what Microsoft thinks the world may look like in a decade from now, in 2019.

While obviously, all of the products in this video are very much concepts, they show a Microsoft that seems to have a vision for the next decade. Carrying out that vision will be a whole other matter, of course, and so Microsoft needs to focus.

And it quickly needs to realize that focus doesn’t include wasting huge amounts of time and money on fights it will never win. Fights like the ones it’s bogged down in with Google for Internet search and advertising, and with Apple in portable media players.

Products like its Surface computer show that Microsoft has the potential fulfill the promises made by the video above. And if it does that, I’ll have no problem once again using Microsoft products in my life. I’ve said it about Apple before, and the same applies to Microsoft: it’s not about the company, it’s about the product.

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10 Things Windows 7 May Do To Succeed

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft, Windows7

I recently attended a briefing where Microsoft explained some of the new features in Windows 7 to reviewers from different publications. At the end of the meeting, the MS folks asked the half-dozen of us present what it will take for the new OS to be a success.

"Injecting about three trillion dollars into the economy to end this recession," was my initial response. It's hard to imagine any new OS will be a success, especially with business customers, until the economy improves. What we are already using works just fine, thank you. It will have to see us through.

So, let's fast forward in the economic cycle to the inevitable uptick, when investing in business computing becomes easier. Here are 10 things Windows 7 will have to do.

1. Windows 7 should not be positioned in relation to Windows Vista, which is nonexistent in most businesses. Windows 7 needs to be related back to Windows XP, to which I think it is the legitimate successor.

2. I don't see Windows 7 as Vista SP2 or Vista Lite or anything like this. Windows 7 looks like a new OS to me and deserves to be treated as such. (Readers: Give Windows 7 a chance, OK?)

3. Windows 7 needs to run just fine on hardware the runs Windows XP just fine today. My sense, playing with Windows 7, is this is possible. Vista grabbed an early reputation as a resource hog. Windows 7 must avoid this.

4. Because Windows 7 cannot upgrade an existing Windows XP installation, Microsoft needs to provide easy transition tools. A copy of Windows 7 and a flash drive or small stack of DVDs needs to move all my data and my applications and my settings to the new OS. This may mean Microsoft needs to send an applications disc with Windows 7.

5. Just for emphasis: If I have to reinstall my applications, Windows 7 will not be a welcome upgrade.
6. If Microsoft does not or cannot accomplish the previous items, then it should not promote Windows 7 as an upgrade and offer it on new hardware only. This will avoid one of the major factors in Vista's failure: It's inability to run well on what people already owned.

7. Fortunately, the Windows 7 user experience is not wildly different from XP the way Vista is. This will make it easier for companies (or households) to have a mix of Windows XP and Windows 7.

8. I like what I have seen of Windows 7, but have yet to hear Microsoft offer a good reason besides "a wide range of improvements" for me to upgrade. If it comes only on new hardware, that's fine. And, yes, some people will then decide they like the new OS and upgrade older machines as a result. But, if Microsoft hopes to sell an upgrade it needs to look at how Apple sells its upgrades.

9. Speaking of which: Apple sells features and applications that are included with the OS as major upgrade benefits. If Microsoft included more significant applications with the OS, maybe it could make them as important as the iApps are to Apple customers. Apple manages to charge its best customers up to $300-a-year for upgrades of some sort.

10. I think we have solved the problem of linking Windows 7 too closely to the release of Office 14 now that the timing between two seems clearly offset. Delays, economic or technical, should not bring the two releases back together. At least, not until its clear from seeing the software that one won't drag down the other.

I won't say those are the "top 10" things Microsoft needs to do to make Windows 7 a success. My experience with the OS is too limited for me to feel I've considered all the angles, but these suggestions are a good place for Redmond to start.

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Windows 7 RC Gets 36 Changes

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft, Windows7

After the overwhelming response to Windows 7 and requests for features from users, Microsoft has finally released the feature list of the Windows 7 Release Candidate. This release candidate of Windows 7 is expected to arrive on April 10, 2009, as per Ars Technica.

In all, Microsoft's senior program manager, Chaitanya Sareen, outlined 36 changes in the Windows 7 release candidate. Minor changes will give users more control than what they had in the Windows 7 beta. However, Paul Thurrott dismissed these "laundry list of tiny changes, much like the '300+ New Features!' lists that Apple makes every time it ships a new version of Mac OS X."

Here are a few important changes we'd like to highlight:

Windows Flip (Alt+Tab) with Aero Peek
The ALT+TAB window feature will be implemented in Aero Peek. Time delay in flipping between and cycling through windows will be displayed in the respective window through Aero Peek.

Keyboard shortcut: Windows Logo+ #
Keyboard speed and efficiency freaks would love the new keyboard shortcut - Windows Logo key + # key. This new shortcut will give you access to the taskbar for launching and switching to a program that is running.

Touch-y tweaks
This much hyped touch feature in Windows 7 gets some improvements like multi-touch keyboard, drag-n-drop support, and multi-touch right click in the release candidate.

Native .mov file support
Say adios to QuickTime, for now, Windows 7 RC will allow .mov file playback on the fly.

FAT32 support
Support for non-removable FAT32 and NTFS hard drives will be added, which was absent in Windows 7 Beta.

Several enhancements and performance tweaks have been added in the exhaustive list of changes. We know that the new features are going to disappoint many users (read: testers), but this time Microsoft is taking each step carefully to not repeat past mistakes.

Rumors based on insider information indicate the release of Windows 7 RC on April 10, 2009. Let's hope Microsoft has learned its lesson from the Windows 7 beta launch and will be well prepared for the Windows 7 Release Candidate roll-out.

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Will Windows 7 Be a PC Mover?

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft, Windows7

No two recessions are the same, and the shakedown hitting the U.S., indeed the global economy, is very different from the one experienced in 2000-2002. That was a powerful combination of the Silicon Valley getting hit directly from the dot-bomb implosion and the overall U.S. economy shattered by the events on September 11, 2001.

This time, the industries hardest hit are banking and housing, and tech has merely been caught in the blast radius. The lack of credit, draconian decisions by credit card issuers and uncertainty about jobs has people keeping their wallets closed and limiting purchases to the essentials.

Vendors are trying their best to get product moving. The PC sector has taken to cutting prices as much as it can without actually losing money. However, customers are still not motivated. PC sales fell to just 1.1 percent year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter.

So, can the release of Windows 7 get PC sales moving again? Even in prerelease form, Windows 7 has done something remarkable; it's generated real, positive excitement on the blogosphere and Web sites for its stability and performance. There is also some anecdotal evidence that lots of people are willing to buy a Windows 7 machine when it debuts.

The clearest statement came this week from Brian Gladden, chief financial officer of Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), on a conference call with analysts to discuss the firm's fourth quarter and fiscal year.

"We're starting to get pretty excited about Windows 7 and think it will be an important catalyst for growth," he told analysts on the call.

Then Gladden said the one thing Microsoft probably doesn't want to hear: "Having said that, it will likely push some purchases back until it comes out."

Analysts interviewed by Random Tech Stuff are cautiously optimistic the release of Windows 7 can help drive PC sales. The questionable economic situation is a black cloud in everyone's crystal ball, forcing all of them to temper their sentiments.

These sentiments were also impacted by the fact that Microsoft still has not given a release date for Windows 7. It continues to maintain the party line of a January 2010 release date. Random Tech Stuff has learned otherwise -- that the company internally has set a target date of June 2009. Judging by the solid condition of the beta and numerous accolades heaped on it, that June target seems increasingly likely.

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Yahoo not opposed to deal with Microsoft

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft, yahoo

Rumors of a search deal between Yahoo and Microsoft surfaced once again Wednesday, when Yahoo's Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said the Sunnyvale company was not opposed to doing a deal with Microsoft if the price was right and Yahoo was able to retain control of its users' data.

Jorgenson's remarks, at an investor conference, helped boost Yahoo's stock 2 percent in after-hours trading. In regular trading, Yahoo fell 2 percent to close at $12.48.

Still, no one expects a deal to be announced immediately. Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz, who was hired in January, has yet to assemble her team. She is in the midst of charting a major reorganization, likely to be announced in the next few days, that will create more centralized management for the freewheeling Internet icon.

"These things go in steps," said Jason Helfstein, an analyst at Oppenheimer. In addition to figuring out the future of Yahoo's search business, Helfstein noted, Bartz must find a way to increase the value of display advertising, the banners and graphical boxes that appear on Web pages.

Yahoo has long talked about the value of combining search advertising and display advertising. This week it revealed a new advertising service that determines which display ads to show on a page based on what the person reading that page has searched for recently. Earlier this month, Yahoo also began showing small display ads, including video, alongside search results.

But it's too soon to tell if such initiatives will improve Yahoo's financial performance.IDC, a market research firm, says display advertising could fall as much as 18 percent in the first quarter of this year. However, Karsten Weide, an IDC analyst, said the decline will not be as severe for Yahoo, thanks to its ability to effectively target display ads.

Indeed, Yahoo's performance last quarter shows that the company may have finally found some solid ground. While IDC estimated that display advertising fell 7 percent across the board, Yahoo's display sales were off only 2 percent.

Even more encouraging, Yahoo has stopped losing market share in search. According to comScore, Yahoo delivered 21 percent of U.S. Internet searches in January, vs. 63 percent for Google and 8.5 percent for Microsoft. Compared with the prior month, Yahoo was up half a point, and Google was down half a point.

Meanwhile, Helfstein said he expected a number of resignations as Bartz, who was hired in January, puts her team in place. In recent weeks, former Yahoo president Sue Decker and her head of communications Jill Nash both resigned. Gerald Horkan, a senior vice president handling corporate strategy, also left a few weeks ago. Marco Boerries, who headed Yahoo's mobile initiative, left Sunday, and Neeraj Khemlani, the vice president in charge of Yahoo News, resigned Monday to become special assistant to Hearst Chief Executive Frank A. Bennack Jr.

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Microsoft Sues TomTom for Patent Infringement

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft

Microsoft (MSFT) has gone and done it, they've filed suit in U.S. District Court claiming Linux violates their patents.

The case centers on portable GPS device maker Tomtom, which uses Linux in its device. Despite Microsoft claiming for years that parts of Linux infringe on its intellectual property, the case is believed to be the first time Microsoft has tried to prove a case against Linux in court.

No word yet on the finer points of the dispute, all we know so far is Microsoft claims eight patents were infringed. TechFlash surfaced the story:

Five of the patents in dispute relate to in-car navigation technologies, while the other three involve file-management techniques. Gutierrez said Microsoft has reached licensing agreements with with other in-car navigation vendors over the same patents, and it remains open to "quickly resolving" the TomTom dispute through licensing.

Microsoft has said previously that Linux and other open-source programs violate more than 200 of its patents -- elevating the tension that has long existed between Microsoft and the open-source community. Asked if this TomTom case is the start of a broader legal campaign over those alleged violations, Gutierrez said no.

"Microsoft respects and appreciates the important role that open-source software plays in our industry and we respect and appreciate the passion and the great contribution that open-source developers make in our industry," Gutierrez said. He said that respect and appreciation is "not inconsistent with our respect for intellectual-property rights."

We're expecting fireworks before this one is done: It pits the unstoppable force of Linux advocacy versus the immovable object of Microsoft tenacity.

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Windows Mobile 7 coming in 2010 says Steve Ballmer

Posted by Mohamed Ashraf Labels: microsoft, windows

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told stock market analysts during a conference call that Windows Mobile 7 should be released in 2010. While the software is third in OS market share behind Symbian and RIM, it still is a money losing venture for the guys from Redmond. But the executive said that with the continuing growth of the smartphone segment of the cellphone industry, Windows Mobile should continue growing even with a down economy. Many analysts cite the smartphone segment as being the only part of the wireless phone business that continues to grow even in the face of the world wide recession. Ballmer stated that Windows and Windows Mobile were two sides of a single project and to expect more sharing of functions, like the browser, between the two. He also said that there would be no Microsoft phone citing the firm's desire to stick to the licensing model of doing business.

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