[The articles below were posted between Jun. 30, 2008 and Jul. 21, 2008 and appear in the August 2008 hardcopy edition of Update.]

Windows & Mobile

Windows Embedded Roadmap

Windows Embedded products are being updated with technologies important to Microsoft's strategies, and in the process, getting new names

Hyper-V Released

Hyper-V, the Windows Server 2008 hypervisor-based virtualization role, has been released, and Virtual Machine Manager 2008 will be available in a stand-alone edition

Windows Update to Be Updated

Windows Update will itself be updated beginning in July 2008, but this time users have been given advance notice and the update client obeys user preferences

MobiComp to Aid Windows Mobile

The acquisition of MobiComp's mobile backup, community, and content discovery software will make Windows Mobile more attractive to operators and customers

Business Applications & Services

Partners Get Commissions on Microsoft-Hosted Services

Partners will get commissions for selling customers Microsoft's hosted server offerings, but aggressive pricing could hurt partners who currently host Microsoft servers

Small Business Server Updated

Small Business Server gains updated software components and a new management console

SharePoint Updates Deliver Fixes, Features

Updates for Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0 and SharePoint Server 2007 fix workflow and content deployment bugs but could annoy SharePoint administrators who recently deployed SharePoint service packs

PerformancePoint 2007 SP1 Supports New Server OS

PerformancePoint Server 2007 SP1 introduces support for Windows Server 2008 and can work with prerelease versions of SQL Server 2008, which will ship in the third quarter of 2008

Systems Management and Security

Asset Inventory Service Aids License Management

The Asset Inventory Service (AIS), part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), inventories Microsoft and third-party software and helps reconcile the data with purchases made through Microsoft volume licensing programs

New Infrastructure Planning and Design Guides

Four new Infrastructure Planning and Design guides provide help for virtualization, Internet services, operations, and network protection

Application Platform

SQL Server 2008 in the Homestretch

A release candidate of SQL Server 2008, available as of June 2008, signals the product will likely hit its planned release target in the third quarter of 2008

Commerce Server Roadmap Updated

Commerce Server will receive a 2009 update to support multichannel commerce applications and other new features, according to the latest product roadmap

Online Identity Card Alliance

Digital authentication using virtual identity cards will be promoted by the Information Card Foundation, a new group formed by online security advocates from Microsoft and other technology companies

Consumer and Small Business

Xbox 360 Gets 60GB Drive, Netflix Movies

A larger hard drive and an overhauled online service could broaden the Xbox 360's appeal as a platform for movies and other content

Office Subscription Bundle Launches

Formerly code-named Albany, the Equipt suite includes OneCare and a subscription-based copy of Office at a competitive price

Semantic Search Company Acquired

Powerset's search technology attempts to understand relationships between words in a document, which could help Microsoft's Live Search site deliver better results

Sales, Marketing, and Services

Select Plus Eases License Management

Select Plus, a new volume licensing program based on the longstanding Select program, makes it easier for large customers to manage multiple agreements, but introduces new variables in purchase planning

New Channels and Deployment Goals for Partners

Details about partner involvement in online services, deployment concerns, and changes to the partner program mark the 2008 partner conference

Corporate and Legal

Unearned Revenue, Windows Strong in Mixed Q4'08

Financial results from Q4'08 showed strong software sales to business customers, but consumer products and services dragged earnings down