After the Windows operating system and the Internet Explorer Web browser, the Microsoft product most people are aware of is Office. Office 2010 is now drawing nearer, with details of the beta version and the new Office Web Applications expected to be announced next week. Thankfully, Clippy appears to be absent from both.
Microsoft has formally launched the third edition of its Silverlight system, a rival to Adobe’s Flash. Highlights include support for high definition footage and a more intelligent streaming system which adapts to individual computer set-ups.
American TV viewers are used to summer being the season of re-runs. Unfortunately that seems to be the attitude of Microsoft’s creative team, which has returned with a ‘fresh’ installment of the Laptop Hunters campaign.
With Windows 7 literally just around the corner from being released, Microsoft has named Steven Sinofsky the new President of the Windows division. Sinofsky is acknowledged as the man who has turned around the Windows division and brought Windows 7 to the verge of release, on time, and with good critical reception.
Unconfirmed but credible reports suggest there will indeed be a Windows 7 family pack, priced at $136.95 – which may upset some who’ve already bough multiple copies in an advance sale. Meanwhile buyers in Britain look set to get some major discounts both before and after the system’s release.
To say Microsoft has a love/hate relationship with the European Union (EU) would be completely wrong. In reality, it’s a hate/hate relationship which has only gotten worse in the past few months. But both sides may now be looking to settle the remaining antitrust issues before more fines and sanctions against the company are imposed.
Microsoft has warned anyone using Windows XP or Server 2003 to apply a workaround to a serious security problem in Internet Explorer. The issue, which doesn’t yet have a patch for a permanent solution, is already being exploited by hackers.
British newspaper reports say the party which is favorite to form the next government is considering plans to outsource public medical records to services such as Microsoft’s HealthVault. But the politicians concerned say a review is ongoing and the story is purely speculation.
The browser wars to determine who controls how we access the Web have been going on for quite some time. Microsoft has been winning this battle forever, but maybe that winning streak is about to come to an end. Internet Explorer is certainly losing ground to its main rivals, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari.
Microsoft has been accused of overcharging its loyal customers for years now, with Vista being the ultimate kick in the teeth. The pricing of Windows 7 has gone some way to helping address this issue but a Family Pack would have an even bigger effect. So it’s rather fortunate that it seems Microsoft is indeed planning a Windows 7 Family Pack.
Microsoft has conceded Bing’s performance was under par in dealing with the death of Michael Jackson. The firm says in the future it will consider manual alterations to the system to cope with major news events.
Today is a big day for Microsoft, as well as a big day for Twitter. Microsoft has not only started tweeting from its official /Microsoft account, it has also rolled out real-time Twitter search on Bing, its new search engine.
A year after Windows XP was withdrawn from sale – and a month before it’s next expiry deadline will surely be ignored – it’s still the system of choice among businesses buying Vista machines. And while only a small majority of home users have downgraded, Microsoft is struggling to win over the holdouts.
Microsoft has a very mixed history when it comes to advertising. Some campaigns have been good, most have been nothing short of awful. This year has already seen the brilliant ‘Laptop Hunters’ editions of the ‘I’m a PC’ campaign, and now we have a batch of ads to promote Internet Explorer 8. They’re interesting, to say the least.
Search engine statistics for the whole of June give the clearest indication yet that Bing is helping Microsoft increase its position in the U.S. search market. But it’s barely a dent in Google’s dominance, and isn’t translating internationally.
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