Michael Hickins

Microsoft  today introduced its revamped e-mail server, Exchange Server 2007. While this launch is getting far less attention than the more vaunted launches of its Vista operating system and Office 2007 productivity suite, the deployment of this application may have more far-reaching consequences than the other two products combined. Microsoft considers the new Exchange Server […]

Ecma, an international organization that helps develop standards, has approved Office Open XML (OOXML), and will submit the standard for adoption under the International Standards Organization (ISO) process. This is a significant milestone for Microsoft because, if the standard is approved by ISO, it will deflect criticism that its software is not standards-based. The standards […]

IBM  today announced that customers of its Lotus Sametime 7.5 corporate instant messaging and Web conferencing application can now communicate with users of AIM and Google Talk instant messaging (IM) systems. The company will also add interoperability with Yahoo Messenger by the end of 2006, and plans to add Jabber to its roster in the […]

Microsoft  is ready to let users start poking around the stacks. The Redmond, Wash.-based company announced that it will release the beta version of its Live Search Books application tomorrow. This is an important part of the company’s strategy to turn its Windows Live platform, which it just took out of beta in the last […]

Mac users concerned whether they’d be able to access Office 2007 documents can relax. Late last night, Microsoft  announced that it will release a free public beta of file format converters between Office 2007 and Office for Mac in the spring of 2007. Brian Johnson, product manager for the Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU), said he […]

The federal agency writing standards for election systems took a huge step forward in improving how electronic voting machines are audited after elections are held. The Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) unanimously adopted a resolution today that requires “the next generation of voting systems to be software independent.” Yesterday, […]

Microsoft  is making its new business intelligence (BI) platform available for review by its developer community today. PerformancePoint, which builds on previous BI tools such as Business Scorecard Manager and the ProClarity analytics server, is intended to broaden the number of users within an organization who can benefit from reporting, dash-boarding, planning and forecasting capabilities. […]

Microsoft  is giving its hosted software business a push in the telecommunications arena. The Redmond, Wash.-based software vendor announced today that it is introducing a new sandbox and sponsoring a competition for developers interested in creating hosted VoIP  applications using its Connected Services framework and its Hosted Messaging and Collaboration suite. Since the introduction of […]

Web application delivery specialist Netli delivered a new service to speed along secure Web-based application transactions today. The service, Accelerated SSL Delivery, is used to ensure that Web-enabled applications relying on SSL  and the X.509  standard respond as quickly as if the client and server were on the same local area network. This is a […]

Reporter’s Notebook: Not everything went exactly as planned for Microsoft  this week, despite the considerable efforts it made to script its Vista release event as closely as a TV sitcom. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and company had a lot to celebrate: the 20th anniversary of its listing at the Nasdaq and its biggest product release, […]

Microsoft  launched Vista, its new operating system, and Office 2007 today. But that barely touches the more than 30 applications it plans to rollout between now and the end of next year. Brad Goldberg, general manager of Windows Product Management, noted that “Windows and Office 2007 are key pieces for upgrading core infrastructure for an […]

NEW YORK — Microsoft  CEO Steve Ballmer rang in a new Vista at Nasdaq headquarters here today, announcing the shipment of the company’s updated operating system and the first new significant release since Windows XP in August 2001. “This is the biggest launch in our company’s history by far,” said Ballmer, who acknowledged delays in […]