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[The articles below were posted between October 27, 2003 and November 17, 2003 and appear in the December 2003 hardcopy edition of Update. One or more are available below for free to non-subscribers.]
Operating Systems
- Free! Longhorn Preview Focus on Developers
- A preview release of the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, shows significant changes are being made, suggesting it will take a substantial amount of time to develop, test, and release the OS
- First Virtual PC Product Released
- Microsoft's first Virtual PC product is designed to remove barriers to upgrading to the latest OS, but users may find it more useful in its traditional role
- Rights Management Secures Office Content
- A forthcoming Windows service called Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) will help organizations control the distribution and use of confidential data such as documents and e-mail messages
- FrontPage Server, Windows Patches
- Vulnerabilities in Windows and the FrontPage Server Extensions, reported in Microsoft's Nov. 2003 Windows Security Bulletin Summary, could be exploited by worms
Corporate News
- Free! Ballmer Addresses Security
- Security issues are getting more high-level attention at Microsoft; CEO Steve Ballmer has used recent speeches to review the issues, and outline the company's response
- Unearned Revenue Drops in Q1'04
- In Q1'04, a larger-than-expected drop in unearned revenue was offset by strength in Microsoft's consumer businesses--particularly MSN, which had its first profitable quarter
- Antitrust Fears Remain Despite Settlements
- Settlements have been reached in six more class-action antitrust lawsuits, but with the EU conducting hearings and the DoJ settlement being closely scrutinized and appealed, antitrust remains a concern
- Two New Members to Help Busy Board
- Former AT&T Vice Chairman Charles Noski and BMW Chairman Helmut Panke increase the ratio of outsiders to insiders on Microsoft’s board and help the board fulfill new duties
Server Applications
- New Generation of MBS Products Planned
- A new generation of Microsoft Business Solutions products will emerge after Longhorn, representing a clean break from today's disparate product lines
- Project Continues Migration From Desktop to Server
- Project continues its transition from a stand-alone product to an enterprise project management tool, but deriving useful organization-wide information will require careful installation and configuration
Development Tools & Programs
- WinFX: The .NET Framework Takes Center Stage
- In announcing the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, Microsoft also announced WinFX--a new set of APIs based on the .NET Framework and designed to replace the aging Win32 APIs
Desktop Applications
- Accelerators to Push Office
- The Office Solution Accelerators will help partners and enterprise customers use Office 2003 client applications and servers to better automate business processes such as preparing sales proposals
Appliances & Emerging Networks
- Smartphones Debut in North America
- Microsoft’s wireless phone strategy receives a major boost as the first two North American carriers sign on: AT&T Wireless now offers a Motorola Smartphone and Verizon Wireless a Samsung Smartphone
- Voice Software for Portable Devices
- Voice Command lets Pocket PC users perform certain tasks with voice commands without training the software or being restricted to a narrow set of commands
- TV-Over-IP Technology Planned
- Partners are being sought to help develop, test, and deploy a new solution to deliver TV programming and video-on-demand over IP networks
Sales and Support
- Partner Program Gets Major Redesign
- The biggest overhaul of Microsoft’s partner program in 10 years brings all of the company’s 750,000 partners under one roof
- Source Code, Training for MVPs
- Most Valued Professionals (MVPs) will get access to Windows source code and additional training materials in an expansion of the MVP program
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