Microsoft

At this year's Microsoft conference for Windows hardware experts, the software giant will be talking about a lot more than the operating system.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer doesn't not expect Symantec's lawsuit to delay Vista, a next version of its Windows operating system.

Asked whether the case would have any effect on the Vista launch, Ballmer told Reuters: "I wouldn't anticipate any, but that will go to the courts now."

Ballmer, speaking in Beijing after a news conference, did not elaborate.

Let me start this article by saying that I think Windows Vista is the most important version of Microsoft Windows since 1995. If Windows 95 had been a disaster for Microsoft, we might all be running some flavor of IBM's OS/2 today. Most people take for granted that if you run a PC, you run Microsoft Windows. But as Windows XP nears its 5th birthday, such assumptions start to be called into question.

Eighty students from institutes like the IITs, IIIT, and BITS Pilani will spend three weeks at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, debating complex concepts in game theory, cryptography, and number theory.

Microsoft is in talks to buy application virtualisation software vendor Softricity of Boston, USA CRN has learned.

"It's coming down to the final stretches," said one source close to Microsoft who is familiar with the discussions. "It's not a done deal yet but it's just last minute haggling kind of stuff."

Following reports that a group of hackers has modified the Xbox 360 to play pirate games, Microsoft has issued an official statement warning 360 owners that any mucking about of this nature will result in a void warranty.

"The core security system has not been broken," Microsoft said, before admitting: "However, on some Xbox 360 consoles the authentication protocol between the optical disc drive and the console may be attacked via a complex software and hardware modification which could allow people to play illegally copied and modified games."

Microsoft Corp. plans to announce Wednesday that it will release a test version of a product to help workers simultaneously find information on their computer desktop, the Internet and corporate networks, the latest move to counter search engine leader Google Inc. and help people deal with information overload.

Microsoft has invested in a project that will help scientists at the University of Queensland build the southern hemesphere's first advanced eResearch facility, which will be located in Brisbane.

The project, which will combine equal investments from Microsoft, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the Queensland government over a period of three years, will help build one of only 12 similar facilities around the world.

Microsoft will put the hurt on some players in the security software game as it rolls out its own defensive products and its Windows Vista operating system, analyst said Tuesday.

"The McAfees, Symantecs, and Trends won't be put to bed by Microsoft, not in the enterprise," said Natalie Lambert, an analyst with Forrester Research. "Microsoft's security efforts will lack the functionality that those companies' products have" for at least 18 to 24 months, she added. "McAfee, Symantec, and Trend have more than just anti-virus and anti-spyware. That's a huge advantage."

An annoying surprise awaits 2 million consumers expected to enthusiastically step forward in the next few weeks to help Microsoft test its new Windows Vista PC operating system.

Volunteers will test Vista Beta 2, a near-final version of the much-hyped upgrade of Windows. The testing is the last step leading up to Vista's broad consumer release, scheduled for January.