Sony Causing Trouble for Microsoft

In recent news, Microsoft announces that it will now remove the latest ‘security risk’ which includes BMG, the copy-protection software from Sony.
A recent discovery led Microsoft to conclude that hackers had taken advantage of a weakness in order to install viruses on people’s computers.

"Detection and removal of this rootkit component will also appear in Windows Defender when its first public beta is available. We also plan to include this signature in the December monthly update to the Malicious Software Removal Tool", said Jason Garms, group program manager of the Anti-Malware Technology Team.

Sony’s adware has recently come under scrutiny when they were targeted in a large action lawsuit where it was reported that they had indeed not disclosed what their application did.

Microsoft's Desktop Search

Today, Microsoft finally released the enterprise version of their Windows Desktop Search product. The next generation document search functionality has been brought to businesses around the world.

"These new enterprise-class enhancements to the desktop search capabilities we introduced last spring will empower IT professionals to deliver higher productivity, lower IT management costs and greater ease of use throughout their organizations", said the MSN Search corporate vice president Christopher Payne.

Microsoft Still On HD DVD's Side

Despite Hollywood's growing support for Sony's Blu-Ray technology, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive reaffirmed Microsoft's support for HD DVD.

Microsoft's next generation operating system, Windows Vista, which will be launched at the end of 2006, is going to be compatible with Toshiba's HD DVD format, Ballmer stated. Also, the Redmond giant settled to introduce support for HD DVD as soon as more compatible drives arrive on the market, so initially, the format will not be supported in Windows Vista.

Google offers free analytical tools

The search giant plans on offering a set of analytical tools designed for web developers, administrators and advertisers, which should help them define what information their visitors are most interested in and thus improve the content of their sites.
Google thinks that based on the information given by these tools, website developers can optimize their sites according to the visitors' needs and interests. Google Analytics can be used to figure out what keywords attract visitors, which promotions really interest customers
and how to design Web pages that draw attention.

Microsoft in pole position to buy AOL

Microsoft in pole position to buy AOL: "SEARCH GIANT Yahoo's decision not to buy AOL has left Microsoft as the most likely candidate to buy the troubled outfit.
Vole wants AOL to sink Google and is widely seen as the main candidate to buy the outfit. Google wants AOL to give it a portal to increase its advertising potential. At the moment, it makes more than 10 per cent of its revenues out of AOL."

Windows Users Flee to Macs- Softpedia

Windows Users Flee to Macs- Softpedia: "The huge success of the iPod, combined with the increasing number of malware, has led to a great number of Windows users switching to Mac systems, and this is a fact confirmed by analyst Charles Wolf from the Needham & Co research company.
For this new trend we could place blame on the iPod, which sold in huge quantities ever since it was launched back in 2001.

Besides not having to deal with worms and viruses, Apple users are very pleased with the pace of innovation the company has proved lately and find that there are a lot more opportunities than the Windows alternative has to offer."

Google Plans on Launching Travel Search Service- Softpedia

Google Plans on Launching Travel Search Service- Softpedia: "The online search giant seems to be interested in launching a feature that will allow users to search for cheap airfare and travel accommodation, which should prove quite successful with the holiday just around the corner.

Getting involved in the travel related business isn't something new for search engines, as Yahoo announced last month that it plans to offer tools which turn Yahoo Travel into an online travel guide and encourages users to publish and share their travel experiences."

Google and Firefox Working Together for A Better Browser- Softpedia

Google and Firefox Working Together for A Better Browser- Softpedia: "There's really no point in stating the obvious, Google has always been a supporter of Mozilla Foundation and especially its Firefox browser.
In case you missed it, there's even an integrated Google search field in the Firefox structure and the homepage is set to Google.com by default. And since this friendship is going so well, it seems that soon Firefox could include features developed by Google and thus promote both brands once more.

Google is already working on building the two brands as a whole and has recently launched an affiliate program for Firefox. And that's not all. Google is also willing to invest in testing several features in Firefox 1.5 Beta 1 like tabbed browsing. As it turns out, users complained about the Back button behavior, because opening a new tab resets the history. Closing of tabs was also a problem for some."

BetaNews | Live.com Adds Firefox Support

BetaNews | Live.com Adds Firefox Support: "Just one week after the launch of Live.com, Microsoft has added support for Firefox to its new services-based Web site. But the upgrade is not entirely bug free; a minor flaw causes the tabs in search results to display improperly. The problem will be fixed shortly, according to developers."

BetaNews | Google Gets More Cozy with Firefox

BetaNews | Google Gets More Cozy with Firefox: "As the default start page and built-in search utility, it's no surprise that Google wants Firefox to succeed in a market dominated by Microsoft's Internet Explorer. But the company has recently pulled closer to the open source Web browser, funding usability testing and launching a Firefox affiliate program.
In a post to his Web log late last week, lead Firefox engineer Ben Goodger -- who began working at Google in January -- reported on efforts to improve the browser's tabs. Tabbed browsing makes it possible to open multiple Web sites in the same window, but the concept is still fairly young."

BBC NEWS | Business | Microsoft 'set to take AOL stake'

BBC NEWS | Business | Microsoft 'set to take AOL stake': "Microsoft could be about to take a stake in Time Warner's internet unit AOL, the New York Times has reported.
Microsoft hopes to merge its internet service with AOL but questions remain over how the venture would be governed.
But the software giant still faces competition for AOL from Google, News Corporation and Yahoo, the paper added.
Investors have been pushing Time Warner to boost its share price performance in recent months and a deal with Microsoft could silence the critics, experts say.
Time Warner Microsoft refused to comment on the report while AOL was unavailable. "

BBC NEWS | Business | Qualcomm sues Nokia over patents

BBC NEWS | Business | Qualcomm sues Nokia over patents: "Mobile phone technology firm Qualcomm is suing handset giant Nokia, alleging infringement of 12 patents.
Qualcomm dominates the market for both the technology and chips needed for 3G (third generation) data services such as internet downloads and video calls.
The San Diego-based firm is demanding that Finland's Nokia stops selling phones in the US that infringe its patents, and also wants compensation.
Nokia, which has complained about Qualcomm to the EU, did not comment. "

Microsoft's Other OS

Microsoft's Other OS: "Microsoft Research has developed a prototype of a microkernel operating system, code-named 'Singularity.' Its most surprising feature: It has nothing to do with Windows.
Contrary to popular opinion, Windows isn't the only operating system in which Microsoft is investing.
The Microsoft Research team has built from scratch a 300,000-line, microkernel-based operating system (OS) that has no roots in Windows."

BetaNews | Nokia Releases Safari Powered Browser

BetaNews | Nokia Releases Safari Powered Browser: "Nokia has completed a new Web browser for Series 60 based Symbian phones, which is built upon the WebCore and JavaScriptCore components of Apple's Safari browser. The result is the smallest open source rendering engine for smartphones that can access standard Web sites and those optimized for mobile devices.
In June, Nokia announced intentions to build its browser using the Safari Web Kit code base, which Apple has offered under an open source license. The technology was originally based on KHTML and KJS from KDE's 'Konqueror' open source project. Nokia has promised to contribute its work back to the community."

BetaNews | Nikon D200 Passes 10-Megapixel Mark

BetaNews | Nikon D200 Passes 10-Megapixel Mark: "Nikon on Tuesday announced a new digital SLR camera known as the D200, which is aimed at the professional photographer and capable of a resolution of up to 10.2 megapixels.
The camera will come packed with features useful to pros, such as quick response time, 11-area autofocus, better battery life, and optional Wi-Fi connectivity through a separate add-on to be made available early next year."

BetaNews | Nokia Unveils Three New Media Phones

BetaNews | Nokia Unveils Three New Media Phones: "Although one prior N series phone has still not reached store shelves, Nokia pushed ahead on Wednesday, announcing three new phones it will market as convergence devices. The N series phones focus on multimedia features, and the new upgraded handsets are no exception.
The predecessor of one of the new devices, the Nokia N91, remains unreleased. The 4GB N91 music phone was pushed to a 2006 release following issues regarding content and problems with Microsoft's DRM. The Nokia N70 and N90, however, are now available in Europe.
The Nokia N92 will be the first mobile phone with a built in DVB-H receiver. It will allow for the user to both record and watch live TV, as well as access interactive services. The N92 will include a 2.8-inch screen capable of 16 million colors, with 90MB of built-in memory and 802.11g Wi-Fi support."

BetaNews | The Buzz: Microsoft Upgrades to Web 2.0

BetaNews | The Buzz: Microsoft Upgrades to Web 2.0: "Microsoft on Tuesday announced its highly-anticipated lineup of online services, called Windows Live and Office Live. The news has received much attention from tech pundits and throughout the blogosphere. Read on for a selection of what people are saying about Redmond's latest move and tell us what you think.
'There's been a lot of chatter about how this is a response to Google or how it's Microsoft being dragged into offering these type of services at the expense of losing it's traditional market for Office apps. Well, that analysis is all wrong. Microsoft has been planning this for quite some time, long before it would appear as a response to Google or anyone else. Let's also make one thing clear, these services aren't about replacing Windows or Office nor is this a retreat from the traditional Office applications. If you're looking to replace your Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook with this set of offerings, you're looking in the wrong place.'"

BetaNews | Nokia Achieves Cellular Calls Over Wi-Fi

BetaNews | Nokia Achieves Cellular Calls Over Wi-Fi: "Nokia said on Tuesday that it had completed both voice and data calls using the Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) standard at a lab in the United States. UMA is a technology that will allow a cellular call to be handed over to a Wi-Fi network. Carriers see UMA as a way to more cheaply extend their wireless networks."

Web hosted, ad-supported Windows: streaming to your PC | The Register

Web hosted, ad-supported Windows: streaming to your PC | The Register: "Microsoft patted itself on the back for completing .NET, while announcing 'live' Windows and Office offerings today. With these offerings, Microsoft hopes it can counter Google and tap into the trend for 'software as a service.'
Bill Gates, Microsoft's chief software architect, said Tuesday that planned versions of Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006 are 'the full realization of the dream around XML and web services that were part of an architectural direction the company bet on five years ago.' The trio are due next week while the 'dream' was called .NET, and announced by Gates at the Professional Developers' Conference (PDC) in Orlando in 2000.
Having delivered on .NET, Gates on Tuesday announced Windows Live and Office Live - Microsoft's take on software as a service that it is calling 'live software.' Live software, Windows Live and Office Live will derive revenue from advertising and subscriptions."