Stuart J. Johnston

Microsoft is shipping the latest version of its embedded operating system for non-PC devices. The company formally announced the release of Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Release 2 (R2) Wednesday at the Embedded Technology 2007 conference in Yokohama, Japan. Originally named Windows CE, Microsoft changed the name to the longer moniker when it shipped version 6.0 […]

Microsoft is joining with an international organization for the vision-impaired to produce a plug-in for Word that’s meant to transform text into audio for people with severe reading difficulties. The company announced Tuesday a collaboration with the Digital Accessible Information SYstem (DAISY) Consortium to create a standards-based plug-in for Word XP, Word 2003, and Word […]

Microsoft finally gave its upcoming Windows Server virtualization technology an official name this week, and also announced its packaging plans for the technology. The announcement came Monday at the company’s TechEd IT Forum conference in Barcelona, Spain. Formerly codenamed “Viridian,” the virtualization technology will henceforth be dubbed Hyper-V, according to company statements. Although it’s set […]

How do you cut down on Windows piracy while making a little extra money selling out-of-date software? If you’re Microsoft, you set up a program to let companies that recycle used computers buy bulk licenses that let them legally install Windows XP on those PCs before they send them back out the door. Indeed, this […]

After two years of talking about it, Microsoft has finally given its forthcoming server bundle for mid-sized businesses a name. Previously codenamed Centro, the package, which is slated to ship in the second half of 2008, is now officially called Windows Essential Business Server. The server bundle is based around Windows Server 2008, which itself […]

Microsoft turned to Google for a little help this week as it fought to finally get antitrust eyes off its back. On Tuesday, the company fired back at two groups of states requesting that most aspects of Microsoft’s consent decree be extended for another five years. And to help make its case, Microsoft pointed to […]

Microsoft on Tuesday renewed efforts to link its Windows operating system to Web-based services, relaunching its Windows Live services with the addition of several services that previously had been in testing. The company also officially released its integrated installer for the services suite. “Microsoft today released a unified suite of free downloadable Windows Live services […]

In a surprise move, Microsoft announced it’s fired chief information officer Stuart Scott for what the company called “violation of company policies.” The software giant did not disclose any further information regarding his departure, but said that his termination came after an investigation. Scott became CIO in 2005. Previously, he worked at General Electric for […]

Microsoft is doing for business search what competitors already do for consumer search: giving tools away for free. The company today announced Microsoft Search Server 2008 Express, which is based on Office SharePoint Server 2007 technology. “The new Search Server Express is core to our strategy to broaden the appeal of search solutions to end […]

Microsoft doesn’t always deliver products late. Sometimes the company ships even gargantuan products a little early. That’s the case this month, as company officials announced at Microsoft’s TechEd Developer event in Barcelona, Spain, that Visual Studio 2008 is on track to ship by the end of the month. One key addition in Visual Studio 2008 […]

Microsoft and its chairman, Bill Gates, have had a vision of a totally interconnected world for nearly two decades – ever since Gates presented his now fabled “Information at Your Fingertips” speech and video at Comdex Fall 1990 in Las Vegas. Many of Gates’ predictions – ubiquitous e-mail and online access, wireless connectivity for devices, […]

Microsoft made another incremental step in its long-running antipiracy program this week, suing 20 alleged sellers of pirated software in 13 states, as well as launching a new educational site for users. The moves are part of Microsoft’s continuing “Genuine Software Initiative,” a multi-pronged offensive meant to decrease piracy and counterfeiting of its products worldwide. […]