Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 7 is right on track for release in 2010. Concomitantly with the leaked details associated with Windows 7 Milestone 1 dropped by the Redmond company to select partners in January 2008, a potential timetable for the availability of the successor of Windows Vista was also made public. According to the leaked...

Now that Windows Vista service pack 1 has been released, all eyes have shifted to Microsoft's plans for Windows XP service pack 3, the final package of updates for the trusty OS. And, according to at least one source, Microsoft will roll out XP SP3 next Monday. As of Wednesday afternoon Pacific time, the BitTorrent search engine Mininova listed a...

The IE team is pleased to announce the availability of Chinese (Simplified) and German versions of Windows Internet Explorer Beta 1 for Developers. The two languages released today are fully localized versions of the IE8 English Beta 1, released March 5, 2008. They carry with them the same improved CSS 2.1 support, better scripting performance,...

The Microsoft Language Portal is live in 11 languages! The site contains information, resources and tools that will hopefully be of use for you.  Here are some of the top features: A search tool that allows you to search for English terms and shipped software strings in more than 90 languages More than 30 style guides are available on...

OneCare, the anti-virus/tune-up/back-up all in one program, has just opened up a public beta of version 2.5 (current released version is 2.0.2500.22, on my machine, anyway).  Anyone can go to Microsoft Connect and sign up and try the new beta, you don't need to be signed in to get to the page: Sign up for Windows Live OneCare 2.5 beta ...

On April 8th... Microsoft  is planning to release 8 Security Bulletins. Products affected: Microsoft Project 2000 SR1, 2002 SR1 & 2003 SR2 Windows 2000 SP4 Windows XP SP2 Windows 2003 Server SP1, SP2 Windows Vista SP0, SP1 Windows Server 2008 VBScript 5.1, 5.6 JScript 5.1, 5.6 Internet Explorer v5.01...

Microsoft may have inadvertantly let the cat out of the bag when it posted the General Availability (GA) date for Windows XP Service Pack 3. In general, that posting really means nothing, because the service pack has not officially been released, in fact, its just simply stating that the RTM date is 3-31-2008. Microsoft is holding off on...

We have been waiting for Microsoft to open the beta for Fiji, the suspected codename for the next version of Media Center for well over a year now.  I first posted about it in March of last year, with invites first opening just a month after that, and now it appears we may finally have taken a step forward. Users (who shall remain nameless,...

After a little more than a year in the wild, it's high time for Windows Vista to receive the service pack it deserves. While Service Pack 1 won't change the way Windows Vista looks or feels, for the most part, it will improve many things about the way it runs, based on both Microsoft 's internal testing and the feedback of tens of thousands of...

To search for files on my PCs, I use Windows Search - Windows Vista's desktop search feature. I use Windows Search specifically to find photos that I've tagged in Windows Live Photo Gallery or important emails and Word documents. I also rely on saving specific searches that I can go back to later on. Searching and being able to find important...

You’re living the digital lifestyle. The only problem is that you’ve got thousands of digital photos, mp3s, TV shows, spread across a bunch of devices that don’t seem to connect. Wouldn’t it be nice if all of your digital media was shared across all of your devices…seamlessly. Our makeover team will use...

Microsoft will most likely increase its initial $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo, according to a Citigroup Investment Research analyst. "We believe that a Yahoo sale to Microsoft -- at a price higher than the initial $31 [per share] bid -- is the most likely outcome," said analyst Mark Mahaney in a research note Monday. Yahoo's board of...

Pocket-lint has learnt from sources close to the matter that Microsoft will announce the much-rumoured refresh to its mobile phone operating system, Windows Mobile, on 1 April 2008. An improvement over Windows Mobile 6 released in February 2007 the new version, unsurprisingly named 6.1, will be a stop-gap measure to keep both consumers and...

Microsoft Corp.'s security team today acknowledged that it knew of bugs in its Jet Database Engine as far back as 2005 but did not patch the problems because it thought it had blocked the obvious attack vectors. A researcher at Symantec Corp. said Microsoft should have fixed the flaws years ago. In a post to the Microsoft Security Research...

Among the most requested software for the iPhone is a suite of applications to allow users to work with Microsoft Office files. One company that's considering developing this is at once the most surprising and the most obvious: Microsoft itself. A team of Microsoft developers is currently testing the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) with an...

Microsoft on Tuesday eliminated the charge for a series of downloadable maps for its smash hit Halo 3 video game. The add-on maps let online players add new battle zones to the Xbox 360 title. The three maps in the Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack are now available for free through the Xbox Live marketplace. The maps previously cost 800 "Microsoft...

When Microsoft laid out its broad commitment to more openness last month, one of the concrete steps it said it would take was the opening of the Interoperability Forum to allow customers around the world to have an open dialogue on how Microsoft products could work better with those of other vendors. That forum is now online, albeit empty and...

Update for Windows Vista (KB949758) Install this update to enable remote management of a Windows Server 2008 computer running the Hyper-V RC0 role. Update for Windows Vista x64 Edition (KB949758) Install this update to enable remote management of a Windows Server 2008 computer running the Hyper-V RC0 role.

The Microsoft Security Assessment Tool 3.5 is the revised version of the original Microsoft Security Risk Self-Assessment Tool (MSRSAT), released in 2004 and the Microsoft Security Assessment Tool 2.0 released in 2006. Security issues have evolved since 2004 so additional questions and answers were needed to ensure you had a comprehensive toolset...

Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) enables IT administrators to remotely manage roles and features in Windows Server 2008 from a computer running Windows Vista with SP1. It includes support for remote management of computers running either a Server Core installation or the full installation option of Windows Server 2008. It...

Today Microsoft is announcing some significant developments to the Windows Live platform that demonstrate Microsoft’s commitment to data portability and giving users a choice of how to use and control their information. Today I’m pleased to announce that Microsoft has partnered with some of the world’s top social...

This guide provides a comprehensive product comparison of the Visual Studio 2008 IDE products. It does not provide data about Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server, Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Explorer, or Visual Studio Team System 2008 Test Load Agent. This guide is provided for illustrative purposes only. System...

Microsoft® Money Plus Home & Business makes managing home and business finances fast, easy, and automatic. Download a free trial today so you can spend less time worrying about your money and more time enjoying it. Note, this is a US only download. System Requirements Supported Operating Systems: Windows Vista; Windows XP Service...

Having remained with the old "Flair" design since May 2007, Windows Live Dev finally gets a new look (http://dev.live.com). But don't be surprised to not find the Wave 2.0 look when you enter, because the designers at Microsoft preferred to make it look more like this. On the positive side, the new website allows developers to find what...

Microsoft has issued a warning that cyber criminals could advantage of an unpatched flaw in Windows to install malicious software on a victim's PC. The reported attack, now under investigation by Microsoft, involves a malicious Word document, but there may be other ways of exploiting the flaw, the company said. "Do not open or save Word...