Stuart J. Johnston

Microsoft’s options are dwindling in a patent-infringement case brought by i4i, a small Toronto firm that sued the software giant for infringing on its patent for a custom XML editor. Now, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a “Reexamination Certificate” validating i4i’s patent. While the move was expected, it leaves Microsoft with few […]

Browsers are a favorite entry point for hackers looking to spread malware, elevating security to a top priority for outfits like Microsoft and Mozilla. With the release of Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft built in technology dubbed the SmartScreen Filter, which it credits for blocking 1 billion downloads of malware since it’s been on the market. […]

Microsoft’s relationship with the security researchers who make a hobby or a living out of finding security flaws with its software has often been contentious. At times, it has grown downright hostile, with jilted researchers threatening to post vulnerabilities on the Web before even contacting the company. But now, Microsoft is changing up the way […]

Microsoft has had a long relationship with ARM, the leading maker of CPUs in for mobile devices. Now the companies have expanded that partnership, hinting at new designs for mobile and embedded products built on ARM’s architecture that carry Microsoft’s branding. But just what they are planning remains a secret, though ARM confirms that Microsoft […]

Microsoft doesn’t lack for competition. And even though the company has long dominated the market for desktop software, it has for years had to weather criticism that it wasn’t moving fast enough to embrace the Web and new technology like cloud computing. Does that mean Microsoft’s in trouble? Datamation reports on Microsoft’s record-breaking earnings report […]

Microsoft has not been shy about its ambitions to compete in the search market. After a failed bid to acquire Yahoo, the company reached an agreement with the Web pioneer to merge the two search engines, with Microsoft powering the engineering platform. Now, Microsoft has begun testing its Bing search technology on Yahoo’s sites, and […]

Microsoft will announce earnings on Thursday afternoon after the close of the stock market, and with PC sales doing very well, according to market research firms and hardware companies alike, it’s likely a given that Microsoft will also benefit. After all, every PC going out the door at Best Buy has a Microsoft operating system […]

Microsoft has begun work updating two of its venerable security products: the enterprise-oriented Forefront Endpoint Protection (FEP) and Security Essentials, a free offering gear for consumers and small businesses. Microsoft said that it has begun beta tests of updates to both FEP and Security Essentials, trying out a host of new features, including tools to […]

When Microsoft began beta testing the first service pack for Windows 7, many people took that as a sign that the final version would debut later this year. Not so. Microsoft has now confirmed that Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) will be released in the first half of next year, an event that will […]

Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2010 has already established itself as a popular choice for developers building on Windows, .NET and Silverlight. Now VS2010 customers are getting an improved tool to help them get things done: Productivity Power Tools for Visual Studio 2010 is getting an overhaul, with a number of new features — namely, new and […]

Microsoft is hoping to make a splash this holiday season with a new batch of smartphones running on its new Windows Phone 7 operating system. In an effort to ensure that launch goes as smoothly as possible, the company is accelerating its early release of test devices to developers. In addition to the internal testing […]

Microsoft continues to play whack-a-mole when it comes to security threats to Windows. The software giant’s monthly Patch Tuesday updates are designed to address new security issues and bugs in Microsoft software, but as soon as those fixes are issued new problems arise. eSecurity Planet reports on the latest zero-day vulnerability, which Microsoft said it’s […]