Microsoft has today released the first version of its new Office Web Apps to a select bunch of testers ahead of a full public beta in the coming months. Classed as a Technical Preview, the Office Web Apps on show are very limited but still offer a glimpse of what is to come. And despite comparisons to Google Docs having been made, most of the early buzz has proved positive.

Microsoft has filed a secretive motion in the ongoing court case involving its incorporation of XML files in Word. The motion appears to be an attempt to buy more time to either negotiate a settlement or take the case to appeal.

Court records in the Microsoft Word/XML case show that Microsoft lawyers cost the firm an extra $40 million through shady practice. The trial judge added the penalty to a jury award after concluding the firm repeatedly misrepresented the law.

Microsoft Word is an integral part of Microsoft Office and is used by upwards of 500 million people around the world. However, Microsoft has effectively been banned from selling Word in the United States because of an alleged patent infringement.

Until now, Microsoft has located the Web site for its Office software suite at office. microsoft.com, which is neither memorable nor inspiring. Clearly a better domain was needed if the new Web-based version of Office 2010, Office Web, was going to stand a chance of competing with the other free or cheap alternatives out there. And what better than Office.com?

Microsoft has confirmed that the next edition of its Office Suite will be available in a free online edition. Members of the free Live service will be able to use a slimmed-down version of the package through the Web in similar fashion to Google Docs.

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.

It was already known this month’s ‘Patch Tuesday’ update would be the biggest of 2009. But with 31 fixes, 18 for problems ranked critical, it’s in fact the biggest of all time.

Microsoft could find itself in the embarrassing position of funding Macs for schools. It’s paying around $80 million in compensation to schools in Wisconsin which can be spent on technology – and not just Microsoft products.

Pirated copies of Microsoft Office 2010 appeared online over the weekend. It’s billed as a leak from a legitimate testing scheme, though that may be a scam by the pirates.

If you use PowerPoint for Windows, this month’s Microsoft security update has important patches to fix a critical vulnerability. If you use the Mac edition of PowerPoint … good luck.

Microsoft has released the second major update to the 2007 edition of the Office suite. It includes performance tweaks and support for Adobe PDF.

Microsoft has issued security fixes for 23 issues in its monthly update. The most striking note is that six bugs were already being actively exploited, and hackers appear to have already had a good idea how to exploit a further four.

Windows XP has taken one step closer to retirement with today marking the end of “mainstream support”. But users should not panic as help is still available.

Microsoft is warning users to take particular care opening suspicious PowerPoint documents. That’s because hackers are exploiting a flaw which hasn’t yet been patched by the firm.