Microsoft is disputing that its CardSpace authentication management technology can be hacked despite a research paper that outlines a proof-of-concept attack.
CardSpace manages personal information that might be needed to access certain Web sites or conduct e-commerce transactions. CardSpace, which ships in the Windows Vista OS, keeps personal information in virtual cards stored on the computer.
The London Borough of Newham is adopting the Microsoft Vista operating system, but many governmental CIOs refuse to consider the application. Richard Steel, currently president of government technology professionals group the Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm), is surprised Vista is being ignored.
No one knows exactly what you'll see on the Windows 7 desktop (beyond the fact that Internet Explorer 8 is a certainty), partly because Microsoft always adds and removes features until a late stage in development. But a few intriguing hints are out there, and more are emerging all the time.
Microsoft Corp plans to give users of the next version of its Windows operating system touch screen controls as one option for controlling the software, its top executives said on Tuesday.
Chairman Bill Gates and Chief Executive Steve Ballmer showed off new Windows features based on software it calls "multi-touch" that will be part of Windows 7, the next version of Windows, which Ballmer said was due out in late 2009.
"Boop." Windows needs your permission to continue.
Is there any feature of Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Windows Vista more universally reviled than the User Account Control, or UAC for short? It's a necessary evil at best, and a hideous inconvenience at worst.
Or, to take a more moderate stance, it's a feature the likes of which have been badly needed in Windows for some time now -- a way to moderate administrative user access so programs that don't need administrative access don't get it.
In response to GameStop dropping sales of the Zune, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) on Friday said its portable media player that competes with the Apple iPod has seen "good momentum online and at retail."
GameStop, which makes nearly all its money selling videogames, told TheStreet.com that it made the decision about a month ago to stop selling the Zune because of weak demand. The company planned to continue selling the device online until it clears out its inventory.
Microsoft is poised to offer the extra dollar a share that could provide the breakthrough for the software giant to finally land Yahoo, according to Silicon Valley sources this weekend. Earlier this month, Microsoft ran out of patience and withdrew a $33 per share bid, valuing the beleaguered global internet search engine at $45bn.
Microsoft has been mulling over a "halfway-house" move to buy Yahoo's search-advertising business, which analysts value at between $11bn and $21bn.
Microsoft is abandoning its effort to scan whole libraries and make their contents searchable, a sign it may be getting choosier about the fights it will pick with Google.
The world's largest software maker is under pressure to show it has a coherent strategy for turning around its unprofitable online business after its bid for Yahoo, last valued at $47.5 billion, collapsed this month.
"It's come to this. In an effort to gain more market share, Microsoft plans to start paying people now to use its search service," Wendy Tanaka reports for Forbes.
"The software giant is said to be launching a service called LiveSearch cashback, which will give consumers money back when they buy certain products found on the live.com search site," Tanaka reports. "The move appears to be a desperate attempt by Microsoft to grow search and ultimately boost its search advertising revenues," Tanaka reports.
Security vendor PC Tools has released more research to back up its claim that Vista is far from immune to infection.
In an attempt to reinforce its claim that Vista is less secure than Windows 2000, PC Tools on Monday released statistics, collected over the six months since last November, from customers using its ThreatFire security software.
