Microsoft

Microsoft has extended the data loss prevention features in Office 365 so that they are available not only for its email tools but also for data in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business.

Office 365 already had DLP capabilities for Exchange Online and Outlook, so that compliance officers could monitor email communications and enforce corporate and regulatory rules regarding the use of sensitive corporate data, such as confidential intellectual property details and customers' financial information.

Its been a couple months since the release of the Surface Pro 3 in the United States. But, for those outside of the U.S., its been a long few months waiting for the official release. Today, Microsoft has announced that their premier flagship tablet will finally be available in 25 additional markets.

There have been reports by some recent Surface Pro 3 users -- specifically those buying the Intel Core i7 devices -- that their tablets are overheating.

Microsoft officials responded publicly on August 26 to those reports, claiming a fix is in the works and will be available "as soon as possible." (Officials declined to say if that means on the next Patch Tuesday, which is September 9, or some other date.)

Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) internet browser and media player are being targeted in a Chinese antitrust probe, raising the prospect of China revisiting the software bundling issue at the heart of past antitrust complaints against the firm in the West.

Microsoft has not been fully transparent with information about its Windows and Office sales, but has expressed willingness to cooperate with ongoing investigations, Zhang Mao, the head of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), told reporters at a briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

Rumors about the next major version of Windows continue to trickle out in the run up to an anticipated public preview in September.

Neowin reports that internal builds of the operating system currently sport a one-click upgrade feature to update from one build to the next. While there's no guarantee that such a feature will necessarily ship, it would be consistent with Microsoft's move to more rapid releases and continuous improvement rather than infrequent major updates.

Microsoft's love-hate relationship with the U.S. government is turning a bit more amicable, at least when it comes to Windows Phone.

The U.S. government is a big technology buyer. The 2014 federal IT budget weighs in at over $81 billion. For fiscal 2015, federal IT spending will to dip somewhat to $79 billion, according to the White House's budget (PDF).

He was Microsoft's 30th employee, its first business manager and CEO for over a decade. Now, after 34 years with the company, Steve Ballmer is leaving Microsoft behind. In a letter to Satya Nadella, Microsoft's new CEO, Ballmer explained that he's leaving the company's board of directors effective immediately. "I have become very busy," he explains.

On August 18, starting just before 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, users across the globe began reporting problems with Microsoft's Azure virtual machines, web sites and other cloud services.

"Starting at 18 Aug 2014 17:49 UTC we are experiencing an interruption to Cloud Services and Virtual Machines in multiple regions," noted Microsoft officials on the Azure staus page.

Microsoft on Friday quietly recommended that customers uninstall one of last week's security updates after users reported that it crippled their computers with the infamous "Blue Screen of Death" (BSOD).

The update, identified as MS14-045 in Microsoft's numbering, was one of nine released on "Patch Tuesday," Aug. 12, was designed to fix three separate flaws, including one related to a font vulnerability and another in the Windows kernel, the heart of the operating system.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer has a bit of a brand identity issue on its hands. Because of decisions made many, many years ago, Internet Explorer 6 has left a sour taste in the mouths of developers and consumers. Even some of the older iterations like IE7 and 8 are still loathed by consumers but later iterations like IE10 and 11 have fared much better in terms of providing a positive web browsing experience.