Stuart J. Johnston

Microsoft is shipping a fix for problems experienced by users who had signed up for a low-cost Windows 7 upgrade for college students — but who instead found themselves with failed installations. The problem stemmed from users who purchased the $30 copies of Windows 7 in hopes of upgrading from 32-bit Windows to 64-bit Windows […]

Windows 7’s first big weekend went smoothly for most buyers, but that wasn’t true of everyone — particularly for those who took advantage of a special offer for college students. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) officially launched Windows 7 on Thursday and, while there were no lines around the block at midnight the night before, uptake of […]

A day after Microsoft delivered Windows 7, the company reported results for its first quarter of fiscal 2010 this morning that topped analysts’ expectations, though revenues were down significantly from the same period last year. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted $3.57 billion in net income — a drop of 18 […]

Microsoft plans to release revenues and earnings for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2010 on Friday morning. Whether or not their report will please investors remains to be seen, although some early indications imply that financial analysts expect to see little progress from the summer quarter. Analysts’ average estimates on Thursday predicted Microsoft […]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer speaks at today’s Windows 7 Launch Party in New YorkPhoto: Christopher Saunders NEW YORK — Windows 7 may not be the seventh wonder of the world, but you’d be forgiven for thinking that if you attended the new operating system’s launch event Thursday morning in New York — during which Microsoft […]

“What a long, strange trip it’s been.” Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows 7 developers may be humming that famous refrain to the Grateful Dead’s “Truckin” Thursday as the company prepares to hold the official launch of the new operating system software. Windows 7’s long strange trip began nearly three years ago with the launch of Windows […]

Microsoft said it is now shipping a key corporate desktop management suite for Windows 7, just in time for Thursday’s big launch of the new operating system. However, one major piece is still missing. The company has offered the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for various versions of Windows over the years, including […]

Perhaps the belief on the part of Michael Dell and other PC hardware vendors that there is pent-up demand for new PCs isn’t just them trying to sell their wares. Two new analysts’ reports seem to back up their statements. According to a worldwide survey by Information Technology Intelligence Corp. (ITIC) and Sunbelt Software of […]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said Monday morning that his company’s premier collaboration solution — SharePoint 2010 — will begin beta testing in November, with final delivery slated for the first half of next year. Speaking during Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) SharePoint 2010 Conference in Las Vegas today, Ballmer highlighted new features in the release including the […]

The European Commission (EC) began “market testing” Microsoft’s browser “ballot screen” proposal a week ago as a method for leveling the playing field for browser vendors in the European Union (EU). Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) proposal to settle the case was first published on October 9 and will run for a month in the EU’s Official […]

With Windows 7’s official launch next Thursday, one thing that hamstrung Windows Vista’s corporate acceptance early on will likely not be a problem this time around. It’s the classic problem of needing to upgrade hardware and software to support a new or updated version of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows — but this time, not so […]

Already tired of all the hype and promotion swirling around Windows 7, with the launch still just a little over a week away? Don’t even begin to think that will end on October 22, when Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) finally makes it available for sale to consumers. Besides TV commercials starring four-year-old Kylie, Microsoft has plenty […]