[The articles below were posted between Apr. 2, 2007 and Apr. 23, 2007 and appear in the May 2007 hardcopy edition of Update.]

Windows & Mobile

Next Windows Server Takes Shape

As Windows Server 'Longhorn' approaches its third beta, organizations may want to start evaluating the features, because some features could cause significant changes to an organization's infrastructure

Server Core May Impact Infrastructure

A new Server Core installation for Windows Server 'Longhorn' installs a minimal set of components for network infrastructure functions, such as file services

Vista Bundles Consumer Tools, Applications

Consumer-targeted tools and applications, such as a digital photo organizer and parental controls, serve as valuable marketing tools and keep Windows competitive with Apple's OS X

Apr. 2007 Security Updates

Apr. 2007 saw a critical out-of-band patch, followed by five critical patches and one important patch on the regular 'Patch Tuesday.'

Server Platforms

BizTalk Electronic Data Interchange Reworked

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) improvements are planned for BizTalk Server 2006 R2, a new version of Microsoft's application integration and business process management product

Network-Device Management Partnership

As a result of a recent licensing deal with EMC, a future version of Operations Manager will come with native network-device management capabilities

Communications Server 2007 Beta

The first public beta of Communications Server 2007 and its Communicator 2007 client became available in late March

Phone System for Small Business

The Response Point PBX for small business has some compelling ease-of-use features, but it appears to be disconnected from the rest of Microsoft's unified communications strategy

Development Tools & Programs

Catalog Links SharePoint Server to Business Data

The Business Data Catalog (BDC), a new component of SharePoint Server 2007, acts as a bridge between the Web portal and back-end databases and business applications

Silverlight Aims at Flash Video

The cross-platform, cross-browser subset of the Windows Presentation Foundation known as WPF/E has been christened Silverlight and is initially aimed at providing an alternative to Adobe's Flash

End Comes for FoxPro

Visual Fox Pro 9.0 will be the last version, but some code libraries will move to CodePlex, Microsoft's shared source development Web site

DevBiz Acquisition Strengthens Team System

The acquisition of devBiz provides a Web interface to Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) and will make it easier for project managers to access VSTS data

Business Applications & Services

Office Aims at Small Business

The small business strategy for Office has been fine-tuned with the latest release of the suite

Dynamics Consolidation Plans Intact

Plans remain intact to update and support Microsoft's four enterprise resource planning products for several years before converging them into a single product, but new leadership could change course

New UI for Forecaster Budgeting

Forecaster 7.0 will be easier for workers without finance backgrounds to use and learn, but it will probably be the last stand-alone version of the product

Dynamics NAV Release Split

Incremental updates in Dynamics NAV 5.0 could make it an attractive upgrade for existing customers, but the new architecture originally slated for the release will come later in the year

Consumer Products & Services

Xbox 360 Hardware Updated

The planned Xbox 360 Elite will feature a 120GB hard drive and HDMI video output

Xbox Live Links to Messenger

A free May 2007 update to Xbox Live will enable two-way instant messaging between Live gamers and Windows Live (MSN) Messenger users

MSN Courts Video Content Owners

A nonexclusive distribution agreement with News Corporation and NBC Universal, and new tools for policing copyrighted content posted on Soapbox, could help MSN Video compete against YouTube

Sales & Support

Working with Microsoft's Field Sales Teams

Working effectively with Microsoft's field sales organization requires that partners and customers understand its structure, roles, and incentives

New Licensing Options for Desktop OS

Changes to Windows OS licensing reflect new deployment technologies, including use of network and virtual OS images

Ready-to-Go Marketing for Partners

By packaging marketing advice, custom customer lists, and customizable marketing collateral for partners, Microsoft hopes to make it easy for them to find new customers

SaaS Incubation Centers Announced

A reseller channel for service providers who provide hosting will make it easier for ISVs to host their applications on the Microsoft platform

Corporate News

'Software Plus Services' Strategy Explained

If Microsoft ignores online services, it could lose customers to pure-play online competitors, but the company must also preserve its highly profitable packaged software business

Vista Capable Suit and Other Legal News

A lawsuit alleges that marketing programs encouraging users to buy PCs with Windows XP during the 2006 holiday season, then upgrade those PCs to Vista, were misleading

Netflix Founder Named to Microsoft Board

Netflix Chairman and CEO Reed Hastings has joined Microsoft's board of directors; the board also approved a one-cent increase to the company's quarterly dividend