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[The articles below were posted between January 27, 2004 and February 16, 2004 and appear in the March 2004 hardcopy edition of Update. One or more are available below for free to non-subscribers.]
Business Applications and Services
- Free! Business Solutions Roadmap 2004
- Releases in 2004 will improve Microsoft Business Solutions’ product portfolio, but functional overlaps among products will likely continue until Project Green becomes reality
- Web Services Deliver to Office
- Web service providers such as Salesforce.com and LexisNexis have created Office client components for their Internet-based services; their experiences illustrate the benefits and limitations of Office smart client solutions
- Business Portal Moves to WSS
- Microsoft Business Portal moves to Windows SharePoint Services, which puts this solution for browser-based access to Great Plains and Solomon data on track with Microsoft's broader portal strategy
- Office Document Scrubber
- A free Remove Hidden Data add-in enables permanent removal of comments and other sensitive data from Office files, including data that cannot otherwise be removed by users
Sales and Support
- Free! License Compliance Gets New Look
- Antipiracy efforts will emphasize working with customers and partners to ensure compliance, rather than focusing on the threat of prosecution
- ASP.NET Spurs Web Hosting Push
- A new version of Microsoft’s Solution for Windows-based Hosting builds on advances offered by Windows Server 2003 and the popularity of ASP.NET
Server Products
- SQL Technology Bundled with Servers
- Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) and Systems Management Server (SMS) are now available in lower-priced bundles that include SQL Server
- SQL Reporting Services Launches
- Reporting Services, a product for creating human-readable reports from databases and data warehouses, is available to SQL Server 2000 customers at no additional charge
Windows and Mobile
- New Baseline Security Analyzer Uncovers Patch Problems
- The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can find security problems on a PC, such as missing patches or configuration errors, but inconsistent results diminish its value
- IE and ASN.1 Vulnerabilities Require Patches
- Vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and the Abstract Syntax Notation 1 (ASN.1) library could create serious problems if exploited
Development Tools & Programs
- FxCop Polices Components
- FxCop analyzes compiled code to help developers follow guidelines for building reusable components and ensuring maximum compatibility across languages
- Java Conversion Tool Updated
- An update to the free Java Language Conversion Assistant (JLCA) enables it to convert a wider range of source code, including Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs)
Consumer Products and Services
- Passport Role Scaled Back
- Passport appears slated to return to its role as an authentication service for Microsoft sites and services, rather than as a strategic platform service
- Xbox Updates, Xbox 2 Rumors
- New bundles and packaging are meant to spur current Xbox sales; a deal with IBM suggests that the next Xbox will be based on PowerPC processors
- MSN Toolbar in Beta
- The MSN Toolbar, an add-on to Internet Explorer, blocks pop-up ads and provides one-click access to MSN services, such as search and Hotmail
Corporate News
- Q2'04 Record Revenues Offset by One-Time Expense
- In Q2'04, quarterly revenues topped US$10 billion for the first time, but profits were tempered by a one-time expense associated with a program to buy back employee stock options
- Patents, Trademarks, MCPP at Issue
- A patent-infringement verdict in a case involving printer technology and a settlement over music downloads illustrate Microsoft's continuing patent challenges
- Patents Won't Affect Office-XML License
- Microsoft has no plans to charge royalties to read and write to the Office 2003 schemas, despite recent patent applications covering those schemas
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