Microsoft

Under Microsoft's planned enterprise licensing rules, businesses that buy PCs before 23 April, 2010, with Windows 7 preinstalled can downgrade them to Windows XP, then later upgrade them to Windows 7 when they're ready to migrate their users.

But PCs bought on or after 23 April can only be downgraded to Vista -- which is of no help for XP-based organisations, Silver notes -- and could cause major headaches and add more costs to the Windows 7 migration effort.

AFTER an investigation that took more than a year, Microsoft has filed its first lawsuit over click fraud, where people manipulate clicks on a Web advertisement.

Microsoft filed the civil complaint on Monday in United States District Court in Seattle against Eric Lam, Gordon Lam and Melanie Suen, of Vancouver, British Columbia, along with several corporation names they were believed to have used, and several unnamed parties.

As many a hapless computer consumer has already found out since its release, Windows Vista has proved to be a relative flop as an operating system; so much so that Dell computers had re-released Windows XP on desktop machines, to appease frustrated users. In vintage Microsoft fashion, the operating system giant is about to release Windows 7 -due out in 2010 - and preliminary reviews of the beta release are good although if you look closely Windows 7 is basically Vista with the kinks worked out. But don't take my word for it, you can downloaded it here and decide for yourself.

Microsoft may have developed a contender that threatens Google's Web search dominance.

With Snow Leopard finally been given a release date and a price, the comparisons with Windows 7 are starting to pop up all over the place, especially focussing on the price aspect of things. While Apple's move to price Snow Leopard at 29 USD for Leopard owners is a very welcome one, the move doesn't mean that Microsoft is getting a price beating from Apple.

Microsoft on Thursday said regulatory wrangling has prompted it to strip Internet Explorer web browsers from copies of its Windows 7 operating system to be sold in Europe. The US software giant said it still plans to release its next-generation operating system worldwide on October 22, but that customers in Europe will have to install Web browsers of their choice.

With its formal release still months away, Windows 7 is already being given the thumbs-up by industry analysts.

Microsoft recently shut down their previous attempt at providing a security software application, OneCare, due to a big *YAWN* in the marketplace. That experience though hasn’t deterred then from trying once more but this time they’ll be going with a simple free anti-virus application.

Last fall, Microsoft abruptly halted sales of its Software Licensing and Protection Services — a technology similar to its own Genuine activation/anti-piracy mechanism. At the time, the Softies said they were seeking a new home for SLP, having decided it no longer fit in with the company’s overall business plans.

On June 9, Microsoft announced it had found a taker for SLP. Microsoft licensed SLP to Dublin-based startup IrishTech.

Microsoft's chief software architect has branded Google's Wave collaboration effort as "anti-web".

Ray Ozzie told a speaking engagement in California late last week that Wave violates a principle he currently holds dear - that complexity is the enemy of the web. Ozzie said the open web relies on open data formats and protocols, not opaque packages and payloads being tunneled across the web - yes, that was Microsoft saying that.