Microsoft

A leaked screenshot has revealed a tiny snippet more about Microsoft's forthcoming new operating system Windows 8.

The screenshot, from Win7China.com, shows the system restore for Windows 8, showing options for System Restore.

Those options offer restore to a fixed point in time or to factory settings – the latter being an already revealed new Windows 8 feature. Being able to bring your computer back to the point just after Windows 8 was installed – albeit with your data present and correct is obviously an attractive option for many.

This week, Microsoft began pushing through its long-awaited “NoDo” update for Windows Phone 7, although device owners in the United States could have a longer wait before receiving theirs.

The “NoDo” update includes cut-and-paste and improvements to Messaging, WiFi and Outlook. It tweaks the “stability of switching between camera and video modes,” according to information posted on Microsoft’s Windows Phone Website, and the experience of syncing Facebook accounts.

Is Microsoft trying to kill Google's Android OS by blasting lawsuits at device sellers like Barnes & Noble and device makers like Foxconn and Inventec? I don't think so. The software giant is more likely trying to make a buck through licensing deals. That's not to say winning business at gunpoint is a tactic I admire, but that's very different than assuming that Redmond sees Android as a deadly threat and wants to fit it with a pair of cement shoes.

Microsoft issued a warning today that nine fraudulent digital certificates were issued by root certificate authority, Comodo Group. Although the certificates were quickly revoked, their initial release still poses a threat to browser users, including users of Internet Explorer. This is not a security flaw in Microsoft software, the company says, but it released a security update for Windows all the same. The nine fake certificates affect the following Web sites, Microsoft says:

Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed that its first major update for the Windows Phone 7 platform is now being rolled out to users. Internally referred to as “NoDo” — which is said to be short for “No Donuts,” mocking Google’s first Android update dubbed “Donut” — the update adds much sought after copy/paste functionality to Windows Phone 7 devices. It also adds support for “tombstoning,” improves Marketplace searches, fixes a variety of bugs and adds support for CDMA devices.