[The articles below were posted between Sep. 25, 2006 and Oct. 23, 2006 and appear in the November 2006 hardcopy edition of Update.]

Windows & Mobile

Vista Tunes Windows for Mobile Computing

Improvements to mobile computing, combined with the new BitLocker Drive Encryption feature, may provide a compelling reason for organizations to move mobile users to Vista first

Common Engineering Criteria Updated for 2007

The Common Engineering Criteria for Microsoft's server products have been updated as part of a long-term plan to expand both the criteria and the products they cover

Acquisition Bolsters Group Policy

The acquisition of Windows management tool vendor DesktopStandard could strengthen Group Policy

Cisco and Microsoft Tackle Net Quarantine

Details are emerging about the cooperation between Cisco and Microsoft to ensure that their different approaches to protecting network infrastructure interoperate, but deployment will not be possible until 2007

Oct. 2006 Security Updates

Oct. 2006's 'Patch Tuesday' included critical, important, and moderate patches for Windows and Office, as well as changes to update tools and information on preventing automatic installation of IE 7

Server Platforms

Unified Communications Roadmap

Components of Microsoft's unified communications platform (the company's name for its converging platform for e-mail, instant messaging, voice, and video) will get major updates in the first half of 2007

New Data Protection Manager in Beta

An upcoming version of the Data Protection Manager (DPM) continuous backup product, now in beta release, will add support for SQL Server, Exchange, and SharePoint data stores

ISA Server 2006 Ships

ISA Server 2006, a minor update to ISA Server 2004, is now available and pricing remains unchanged except for the addition of a new bulk license

Two Management Products for Midsize Businesses in Beta

To meet the needs of midsize businesses, Microsoft is readying two products for system monitoring and software management that will be more powerful yet simpler to use than current offerings

Development Tools & Programs

Visual Studio Service Pack Due

Developers will need an upcoming service pack and patch to run Visual Studio 2005 on Windows Vista

Visual Basic 6 Meets Windows Forms

The Visual Basic Interop Forms Toolkit could help developers incrementally migrate VB 6 applications to .NET, but the process is not seamless and debugging is complex

Promise Lowers WS-* and VHD Legal Barrier

Microsoft's Open Specification Promise reduces the risk of patent litigation against users of the WS-* and VHD specifications, but it might not be sufficient to spur widespread adoption and deployment

.NET Framework Gets Embedded

Originally developed for Microsoft's Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) devices, such as wristwatches, the .NET Micro Framework is now available to developers

Business Applications & Services

Excel Server in SharePoint 2007

Excel Services will support server-side spreadsheet publishing and allow users to view Excel spreadsheets in a browser, but limitations could dampen uptake

Groove to Get Push from Office 2007

Groove collaboration software will get a boost in late 2006 when Groove components ship in the Office suite for the first time

New Product for Performance Management

PerformancePoint 2007 expands on Business Scorecard Manager to help companies more effectively measure business performance; it will further squeeze traditional business intelligence players, such as Business Objects and Cognos

Dynamics Licensing Plan Tweaked

Minor updates to Business Ready Licensing, the packaging plan for Dynamics enterprise resource planning products, increase volume discounts on client licenses and add functionality to the plan's entry-level package

Automated Support Company Acquired

Colloquis sells automated online support solutions that mimic a real person in a text chat session; Microsoft will both resell these solutions and incorporate Colloquis's technology into its own support offerings

Consumer Products & Services

The Future of MSN

Despite the emphasis that Microsoft is placing on its new Live initiatives, MSN continues to play an important role in Microsoft's consumer online strategy

New Program Consolidates Ad Offerings

The Digital Advertising Solutions program will let advertisers place commercials in multiple Microsoft products

New Services Tap Users for Content

MSN Soapbox lets users post and share videos online, while Windows Live QnA enlists users to answer questions

Windows Live Bundle, Search Launch

Windows Live Essentials bundles Windows Live software and services; Live Search emerges from beta and gets a name change

Consumer Software Updated

The 2007 versions of most of Microsoft's consumer software are out, but there's no sign of a rumored online version of Works

Zune Date, Price Revealed

The first Zune device will go on sale on Nov. 14, 2006, in the United States only, and will cost US$250

Sales & Support

Desktop Management Applications Become Subscriptions

Desktop utilities acquired through several 2006 acquisitions—AssetMetrix, DesktopStandard, Softricity, and Winternals—will be available only to Software Assurance customers and only as the Desktop Optimization Pack

Legacy Software Support Continues

Limited—and probably expensive—support will continue for legacy software such as Windows NT, under modified Custom Support agreements

U.S. Financial Sales Reorganization

The U.S. Financial Services sales team will be expanded and reorganized into three organizations targeting insurance, capital markets, and banking