Microsoft
Microsoft-Yahoo search deal approved
MarketWatch reports:
The U.S. Justice Department and the European Union have approved a deal in which Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. would combine their Web search operations, the companies said Thursday.
In a joint statement, the two companies said they expect to complete the transitioning of Yahoo’s search activities to Microsoft by the end of 2010, but [...]
IBM Lotus Symphony alternative to Microsoft Office
I have often mentioned Open Office as a free alternative to Microsoft Office but there is another good alternative from IBM. It is called Lotus Symphony and is now in version 3. It is in fact built on the Open Office code but has an IBM look. Larry Dignan discusses the new release of Lotus [...]
New Microsoft smartphone OS
Here’s yet another smartphone announcement. But since it’s Microsoft doing the announcing, the blogosphere is full of chatter about it. Microsoft’s previous efforts in the smartphone area have not been very successful but it has made a major revamp of the phone operating system. I don’t use smartphones so I can’t make a judgment but [...]
Windows 8 to be something completely different?
I never know how much credence to place in stories like this one but the Windows Club pointed out a post at MSDN Blogs by a Microsoft product manager working along with the Windows Update team. The post (now removed) discussed what’s coming in the next version of Windows:
The minimum that folks can take for [...]
Windows 7 battery dispute continues
Although Microsoft is firmly denying that Windows 7 is causing any battery problems (see previous post), people are still pointing fingers at Windows 7. Computerworld has a roundup of what is being said.
The different ways Google and Microsoft do marketing
I have always been baffled by Microsoft marketing. Sometimes it has struck me as being designed by teenagers doing a high school course project. And Microsoft always seems to be assuming that the audience is pretty dumb. Now I realize that most advertising is pretty dumb but a lot of Microsoft customers are highly trained [...]
Microsoft can’t innovate?
Former Microsoft VP Dick Brass, has an op-ed piece in the New York Times called “Microsoft’s Creative Destruction“. He has some critical remarks about what he sees as the company’s decline:
Microsoft has become a clumsy, uncompetitive innovator. Its products are lampooned, often unfairly but sometimes with good reason. Its image has never recovered from [...]
Another IE security hole
Here is an excerpt from a Microsoft security advisory issued today:
Our investigation so far has shown that if a user is using a version of Internet Explorer that is not running in Protected Mode an attacker may be able to access files with an already known filename and location. These versions include Internet Explorer 5.01 [...]
A tale of three browsers
Recently both the Firefox and Chrome browsers have been updated. If you are still using Internet Explorer (IE) as your browser, I urge you to consider trying either Firefox or Chrome. I am aware that many people find the prospect of downloading and installing a browser to be daunting but the procedure is very easy; [...]
Critical Microsoft update for Internet Explorer
Microsoft has announced that it will issue a security patch for Internet Explorer on January 21. This patch is to fix the zero-day exploit that was used against Google and others and has been the subject of much discussion. Even if you don’t normally use IE as your browser, you should apply the patch.
Internet Explorer flaw behind recent hacks at Google and others
Whatever Microsoft may claim, Internet Explorer (IE) has been the weak security link in a lot of hacker exploits. The latest IE security breach being reported involves the hacking attacks just reported by Google and numerous other companies. At first, malformed PDFs using Adobe Reader weaknesses were blamed but now fingers are pointing at IE [...]
