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News

• Ballmer: Windows 7 is Vista, just 'a lot better'

  Windows 7 will be like Windows Vista, but more so, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer said today as he defended the first two years of Vista and claimed its successor will be a major release.

• Microsoft narrows gap with VMware

  VMware is holding onto its market-share lead in the x86 virtualization market but Microsoft is making a strong push with Hyper-V, IDC statistics show.

• Microsoft's Fast Search charged with fraud in Norway

  Norwegian police on Thursday charged Fast Search & Transfer with accounting fraud, an enterprise search company bought by Microsoft in January for US$1.2 billion.
  

• Microsoft mulling 'Instant On' feature for Windows

  Microsoft is considering giving its Windows client OS the capability to be turned on very rapidly by allowing users only limited access to the OS, a concept it's calling "Instant On," according to a survey Microsoft conducted.

• Judge protects Microsoft's WGA secrets

  A federal judge has granted Microsoft's request to keep secret details of its Windows antipiracy technology after the company claimed hackers could exploit the information if it were made public.

• MS: 'Vista Capable' lawyers trying to hijack Windows Update

  Microsoft is objecting to a plan that would force the company to use its Windows Update service to notify potential members in the "Windows Vista Capable" class-action lawsuit, according to documents filed in federal court Wednesday.

• Microsoft issues mega-patch to crush 20 bugs

  Microsoft on Tuesday patched 20 vulnerabilities, more than half of them rated critical, in 11 separate security updates for Windows, Office, Internet Explorer (IE), Active Directory and the Host Integration Server.

• Security the focus as Microsoft, Oracle patch bugs

  It's the mother of all patch days for enterprise IT shops, with both Microsoft and Oracle releasing critical software updates Tuesday.

• Microsoft readies first attack forecast

  Microsoft will debut vulnerability predictions today when it issues 11 security updates for Windows, Office and Internet Explorer.

• Virtualization transforming IT management

  Virtualization -- which enables IT departments to run multiple systems and applications in just one machine -- is dynamically transforming the way IT resources are managed in enterprises. The "big shift" is that IT management is no longer confined to physical hardware but also the virtual.

• MS prepping preview of REST support, app server improvements

  Microsoft on Wednesday said it plans to significantly increase its support for REST as part of three technologies it will preview later this month that contribute to building a foundation for supporting Web 2.0 and composite applications.

• Microsoft looks to spread secure software expertise

  Microsoft said Tuesday it will export some of its expertise in writing secure code to developers outside the company with several new initiatives, including a pair of free tools it plans to unveil in November.

• Microsoft updates CRM Online service

  Microsoft added Internet marketing features to its Dynamics CRM Online product on Monday, the first in a series of updates set for the on-demand software, which launched earlier this year.

• Upcoming Microsoft patch lineup could be 'massive'

  Microsoft today said it will ship four security updates next week, only a third as many as it did last month, to fix critical vulnerabilities in Windows, Office, Windows Media Player and other parts of its software portfolio.

• Microsoft liberalizes virtualization options

  As Microsoft officially released its Application Virtualization 4.5 software this week, it also announced several licensing changes around virtual desktops and application virtualization, while omitting a long-anticipated one.