Free! No Standalone Updates on IE Roadmap: Customers will have to install Windows XP Service Pack 2 to get the strongest possible Internet Explorer security; the next new version of the browser will come with 'Longhorn'
Common Criteria Promote Consistency: A new set of guidelines Microsoft is imposing on its Windows Server System products, such as the directive that a Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) Management pack be available at product launch, could improve the consistency of operations and management
July 2004 Critical Security Updates: July’s security updates contain several critical and important updates that not only repair vulnerabilities, but change Windows behavior to harden security
Windows for High Performance Clusters on Tap: Microsoft will release a Windows Server edition for High Performance Computing clusters to compete with Linux, whose position in this market could threaten Microsoft’s server and database business

Development Tools & Programs

Free! ASP.NET 2.0 Next Stop on Web Development Roadmap: Microsoft’s Web application platform has included an array of technologies and APIs, both client and server, forcing developers to exercise caution when planning application migration and new development
Whidbey Seeks to Replace Retiring VB 6: The retirement of Visual Basic 6.0 will mark the end of support for a number of widely used developer technologies; companies should begin to think now about their replacements
Express Tools for Beginners, Hobbyists: With new 'Express' editions of Visual Studio and SQL Server, Microsoft hopes to overcome limitations that have made its platform difficult for entry-level and hobbyist programmers: price, size, and complexity
Oracle, SAP Link to Microsoft Tools: Major enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors, longtime holdouts in adopting the .NET Framework for program development, have taken steps to integrate Visual Studio .NET with their application interfaces

Server Products

ISA Server 2004 Standard Edition Ships: ISA Server 2004 Standard Edition is now available, and firewall appliances based on it will ship by the end of 2004

Business Applications and Services

Great Plains 8.0 Ships: Great Plains 8.0 has improved manufacturing and distribution features, better integration with Excel and Word, and a new user interface modeled on Outlook, honing the product’s feature set and improving usability

Consumer Products and Services

Hotmail Strikes Back: To prevent defections to Google's forthcoming Gmail service, Hotmail is drastically increasing the amount of e-mail storage it offers, but the changes could dent subscription revenue
IPTV Gains New Partners: SBC, one of four large regional U.S. telecommunications companies, and Lucent Technologies have lent their support to Microsoft's Internet Protocol TV project

Sales and Support

NT Support Lifecycle Not Changing: A joint press release from Microsoft and a financial consortium implied NT 4.0 support was extended again, but later clarification indicated no change
Cold Servers OK with Software Assurance: Organizations that have Software Assurance upgrade rights on server applications can now maintain a fully configured backup server without requiring an additional license for the server software

Corporate News

Ballmer Addresses Employee Concerns: In his third annual memo to all Microsoft employees, CEO Steve Ballmer addressed their concerns about benefits and bureaucracy, while reminding them to focus on customers and shareholders
DoJ Settlement Upheld and Other Legal News: Antitrust litigation appears to be winding down in the United States, but the company continues to face antitrust and unfair competition issues overseas



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