Stuart J. Johnston

Microsoft will automatically push Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) out to users via automatic updates beginning next week, the company announced on its IEBlog. Though not a surprise, the move does require that IT decision makers and consumers decide whether or not to block the downloads. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) began shipping IE8 in mid-March. If customers […]

Microsoft made good in its plans to take care of a persistent vulnerability in Excel, fixing the problem in today’s Patch Tuesday updates as well as four other “critical”-rated issues in versions of Windows and Internet Explorer. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to InternetNews.com that the Patch Tuesday updates block the Excel vulnerability, a zero-day flaw […]

If Microsoft executives are hoping that releasing Windows 7 later this year will give a big kickstart to sales of the new system in IT shops, a new survey provides some sobering news: Don’t hold your breath. That’s according to new findings from market analysis firm Dimensional Research, which said 82 percent of IT decision […]

Microsoft ends so-called “mainstream” support for Windows XP on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. After that date, the company will provide “extended” support for another five years until April 8, 2014. However, extended support only includes free security fixes along with paid per-incident support as well as support contracts. “During the Extended support phase Microsoft (NASDAQ: […]

After months of dancing around the topic, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Yahoo’s new CEO Carol Bartz finally had a face-to-face meeting recently to talk about whether the two companies can work out some kind of search and advertising relationship. News of the meeting broke today with a story on the Wall Street Journal’s All […]

April 14 is not just the day before income tax returns are due this year. In fact, it will be the second Tuesday in the month – AKA “Patch Tuesday” if you’re Microsoft. That means Microsoft’s security organization is readying release of the company’s monthly batch of bug fixes. This month, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) says […]

A jury in Rhode Island decided Wednesday that Microsoft infringed a smaller company’s software activations patent and ordered the larger firm to pay $388 million in damages and lost revenue. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft was not pleased. “We are very disappointed in the jury verdict. We believe that we do not infringe, that the patent is invalid […]

Microsoft says that its search experience has greatly improved over the past couple of years. Unfortunately, it’s hard for users to tell. That’s why the company has decided to go to ‘Kiev,’ according to one Microsoft executive. That’s the codename for Microsoft’s total search strategy overhaul, which the company plans to unveil in the next […]

A new survey of 2,000 IT buyers found that 53 percent are currently planning to skip Windows Vista altogether and instead will wait to move from Windows XP to Windows 7 when it arrives. The survey was conducted by ChangeWave Research of Windows 7 beta testers between Feb. 9 and Feb. 17. ChangeWave’s survey comes […]

Microsoft confirmed Monday that customers who buy new PCs after Windows 7 ships will still be able to downgrade those systems to Windows XP. Confirmation came after AppleInsider reported over the weekend that HP (NYSE: HPQ) will continue selling XP Professional as a downgrade to Windows Vista, as well as to Windows 7, through April […]

For Microsoft, it’s bad enough that many IT shops have decided to skip Windows Vista and wait for the arrival of Windows 7, most likely later this year. Now, the Texas state legislature is considering a rider to its annual budget bill that would ban the state from purchasing any more copies of Vista – […]

Users of older versions of Microsoft’s PowerPoint presentation software may have a new reason to think about upgrading. In a Security Advisory late Thursday afternoon, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) warned Windows and Mac users that the company has received reports of active attacks “in the wild” via a zero-day vulnerability . The vulnerability affects Windows users […]