[The articles below were posted between February 28, 2005 and March 21, 2005 appear in the April 2005 hardcopy edition of Update.]

Server Platforms

IM, VoIP, Conferencing Roadmap Unveiled

The first half of 2005 will yield a slew of new releases from Microsoft's Real Time Collaboration group, including support for public IM networks and a further step into voice

BizTalk Roadmap, Service Pack Released

BizTalk's future includes an incremental release in 2006 and another release following Longhorn Server; the company has also shipped SP1 for BizTalk 2004

Web Improvements in Reporting Services SP2

A pair of SharePoint Web Parts and report-printing features accompanies a handful of bug fixes in the latest service pack for SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services

Report Builder Debuts

Report design without programming is the promise of a planned SQL Server 2005 feature called Report Builder, now available for preview

Groove Buy for Collaboration

Microsoft plans to acquire Groove Networks, whose patented technology for peer-to-peer document sharing and communication could strengthen the SharePoint product line

ISA Server 2004 Enterprise Ships

ISA Server 2004 Enterprise Edition provides higher availability, scalability, and manageability than the Standard Edition, but a third-party add-on is necessary for more sophisticated failover capabilities

Accelerator for RosettaNet 3.0

The latest Accelerator for RosettaNet, Microsoft's product for supply chain integration in high-tech manufacturing, supports BizTalk Server 2004 and the latest versions of the RosettaNet B2B transaction standards

Windows and Mobile

Windows Support for IPv6 Increases

Although not yet ready for full production use, IPv6 is now supported in all three of Microsoft's current OSs, thereby providing developers with a test platform

Gates Outlines More Security Promises

Gates used his RSA Security keynote speech to review progress on Trustworthy Computing and promise continued improvements, but security performance remains uneven across the company

New Windows Client Marketing Head

Windows client product marketing will be led by a newly hired vice president, G. Michael Sievert, who joins the company just in time to kick off the marketing push for Windows Longhorn

Business Applications and Services

New Tool, Avanade Push Axapta

Microsoft's purchase of En'tegrate Software's ERP Complete implementation tool and the subsequent acquisition of En'tegrate by Avanade could help sales of Axapta in the United States

Office Bridge Platform Updated

The Information Bridge Framework (IBF) 1.5 simplifies debugging but still lacks support for offline data access and remains only one of a complex range of Office developer options

Development Tools & Programs

Team System Brings Project Management to Visual Studio

Visual Studio 2005 Team System will help project managers collect and analyze information on the status of their development projects and will provide an extensible set of software development methodologies

Toolkit Extends SAP Portal to .NET

A new toolkit from SAP makes it easier to use Visual Studio and the .NET Framework to build components for SAP's Enterprise Portal software

Consumer Products and Services

MSN Brings Paid Search In-House

After months of secrecy, MSN reveals it will launch a system for advertisers to bid on MSN Search keywords and will phase out its paid search relationship with Yahoo's Overture

Details Emerge About Next Xbox, XNA

The next Xbox will have personalized user profiles and a digital music player, and 2006 will see the release of a game development tool based on Visual Studio 2005 Team System

MSN Maps Updated

An update to Microsoft's free mapping Web site offers direct linking and new advertising opportunities, but it might need interface improvements to compete with a recently introduced Google service

MSN Paring Some Services

MSN eliminates its Mac client and ends an agreement with Major League Baseball, while Verizon ends its exclusive broadband arrangement with MSN

Sales & Support

Channel Builder Fosters Partner-to-Partner Contact

Through partner meetings around the world and a new partner-to-partner portal, Microsoft helps partners build their businesses

Antipiracy Measure Blocks OEM COAs

To reduce piracy, Microsoft will prevent the use of Certificates of Authenticity taken from certain OEM PCs to activate other copies of Windows over the Internet

Energizer to Use Microsoft IT

Desktops and key servers at Energizer will get day-to-day management from Microsoft under an unusual arrangement between Microsoft's IT organization and the battery manufacturer

Corporate News

Burst Settles, EU and DoJ Investigate

Burst.com settles its antitrust and patent infringement case against Microsoft for US$60 million; EU officials threaten more fines but approve an acquisition; the DoJ looks at Longhorn

Eolas Case Back to Lower Court

A federal appeals court has thrown out a controversial patent-infringement verdict against Internet Explorer and ordered the case to be retried, but Web developers should continue to follow the case

Microsoft and Industry Conferences

Lists major Microsoft-sponsored conferences scheduled through April 2006, and a selection of major industry conferences at which Microsoft and its partners are typically present