Andy Patrizio

UPDATED: Microsoft officially released Internet Explorer 7 this week, sorta, thanks to a slight assist from Yahoo jumping the gun on posting the final code. Microsoft has posted the final version after Yahoo  got slightly ahead of itself by posting its own branded release of the final code. The Yahoo IE 7 is digitally signed […]

Microsoft may be capitulating to complaints from other software firms and European governments, but it’s getting pretty rough with its customers. Perhaps too rough. Earlier this month it was learned that the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program in Vista would actually lock computers that failed a WGA authentication check. Now comes word that Microsoft  has […]

Intel reported net income of $1.3 billion, or 22 cents per share, a 35 percent drop over the third quarter of 2005. Revenue was $8.7 billion, a 12 percent dip over Q3 2005. The company did launch new Core 2 Duo processors and saw higher unit volume in processors, chipsets, motherboards and wireless, but those […]

Lenovo is offering a new line of ThinkPad notebooks that will secure the entire contents of the hard drive with the swipe of a finger. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Laptop theft stories dominate tech and security news this year. Some 50,000 former and current General Electric employees face the risk of […]

Microsoft continued its strategy of small, strategic acquisitions with the purchase of Colloquis, a developer of conversational online business solutions that use natural language-processing technology. Microsoft  plans to use the Colloquis technology in both its online services and within its software products. Colloquis is a privately-held firm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It […]

NEW YORK — Windows Vista won’t be available to consumers in time for Christmas, but Microsoft wants to make sure that doesn’t dampen holiday PC sales. Vista is in the final stretches of development and consumer or retail packaged version is scheduled for release in January; corporate site licenses are slated for availability by the […]

Perhaps it was inevitable. Two companies have finally joined forces to offer a single, integrated antivirus, anti-spyware solution. Webroot, developer of Spy Sweeper, will license Sophos’s antivirus technology for use in select Webroot consumer and enterprise products. Webroot will integrate Sophos’s antivirus search capabilities into Spy Sweeper for a one-stop scanner and cleaner. “By partnering […]

With Office 2007 rapidly approaching final code, Microsoft announced plans for a series of sample code packs called Office Business Applications Reference Application Packs (OBA RAPs), which show developers how to create new business applications using the Office interface. The OBAs are designed for use with Office 2007 only. They show how to connect existing […]

Microsoft’s monthly patch day was a little rougher than usual today, as the company’s patch servers hiccupped, leaving Microsoft  scrambling for a fix. This affects all Microsoft servers, such as Microsoft Update and Windows Update, which are user-initiated, and Automatic Updates, which performs the download without user prompting. “Technical teams are engaged and have been […]

A recent court filing by IBM  seems to point an accusing finger at Microsoft as the puppetmaster behind the long-running lawsuit between IBM and SCO, but the connection is tenuous at best. BayStar, an investment firm, stepped up to provide SCO with $50 million in private investment in 2003. However, one year later BayStar recalled […]

YouTube went live in December 2005. Today, Google announced it bought the company for $1.65 billion in stock. Ever get the feeling you’re in the wrong line of work? The deal, assembled at top speed, will be a stock-for-stock transaction. Following the acquisition, YouTube will operate independently to preserve its successful brand and passionate community. […]

Adobe Systems has released Contribute 4, the latest version of its Web publishing software that’s designed for the less-Web savvy user. This new release adds several features and functions, most notably blogging support. As popular as blogging has become, it can be difficult for novices since it requires a combination of HTML knowledge with traditional […]