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.

Windows 7 is real and you can use it in beta test. (But do not expect to see the finished product real soon.) The word from Redmond is much later this year even if it could uncharitably be described as ‘Vista Sorted’.

Online reaction to the beta edition of Vista’s Service Pack 2 has been mixed at best. Testing suggest it does offer some performance improvements, but visible changes to everyday use appear underwhelming.

Last month we noted that Microsoft’s ‘Patch Tuesday’ update was surprisingly quiet with just one critical issue fixed. The phrase ‘calm before the storm’ comes to mind with this month’s update containing fixes for 23 critical bugs, the highest figure since 2003.

Microsoft is warning online auction users to watch out for a bogus marketing scheme used by software pirates. The offenders are offering counterfeit copies of Windows and Office under the ‘Blue Edition’ name.

Microsoft’s purchase of a new domain name has prompted speculation that it will use it as a new home for its web-base software. Another theory has it that kumo.com will become the site for a revamped Microsoft search engine.

We wrote yesterday that Microsoft is slimming down Windows 7 to make it more suitable for netbooks than Vista. Further comments from a senior Microsoft boss suggest that will be an ongoing process across future editions of Windows.

Microsoft has blamed disappointing Vista sales figures on the wrong type of computers. But revenues for Office continue to impress.

Microsoft’s ‘Ultimate Steal’ promotion for students has arrived in the United Kingdom.  And unlike in North America, those taking part can buy a heavily discounted upgrade edition of Vista.

There’s long been a complaint from Vista users in regards to always having to enter an email password when sending or receiving messages in Outlook 2007 and Windows Mail.  While the problem exists in Windows XP as well, it seems to be easier to remedy with a quick settings-change in Outlook, but the same fix in Vista doesn’t always work.

The European Commission feels there should be more competition in the technology sector. The Commission also feels Microsoft’s anti-trust practices are hindering competition in the European Union.

Silverlight, Microsoft’s recently debuted web platform, has a whole lot of potential relatively untapped at this time. In fact, Silverlight could be Microsoft’s “in” to the web. If Silverlight really has the potential some believe it to, and if Microsoft is really looking to get with the times, could Microsoft be preparing to release a web-based version of the Office productivity suite to the world?

Everything is swell when you’re a monopoly; you have the run of your playground, and plenty of minions to look up to you. In Microsoft’s case, Google is the monopoly running an adjacent playground, and threatening to come over and take control, because Google will be more profitable than Microsoft Windows within one year.

Selling Windows Vista isn’t just about glassy interfaces, optimizing performance, and let’s not forgot those “gadgets.” Productivity software is just as important to consumers as a “modern” interface, and doing things like overhauling and reinventing applications like Outlook could have just be the key to getting consumers on board with Windows Vista, and might be the cause of some consumers’ dissatisfaction.

Though many consumers aren’t suffering the woes of being forced to upgrade to Windows Vista, what with a very suitable XP SP3 readily available, businesses are in an altogether different position. Analysts believe that Microsoft’s halt on distribution of XP to retailers and manufacturers will force businesses to upgrade to Vista, whether they like it or not.