Stefania Spagnuolo

The times are a-changin'. And no one knows it more than Microsoft. At the recent Convergence Conference held in Munich earlier this month, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates spoke about the company's line of applications for mid-sized businesses, called ... "Dynamics." Microsoft Dynamics is the company's effort to recognize and adapt to the evolving technological needs of businesses. Dynamics offers hosts of online services the ability to streamline various business practices. Among Dynamics' product offerings are customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools. (Source ... (view more)

Microsoft has recently released Windows Media Player 11, the newest installment for Windows XP. One of the biggest changes is the Media Player's integration with "URGE," MTV Networks' digital music center. URGE's catalog offers more than 110,000 ... artists and over 2 million songs. Users can query for "instant searches," which easily narrows search results with each entry; they can also sign up to receive streaming content according to their preferences. The integration is one of the ways in which Microsoft hopes to surmount Apple's dominance in the digital music industry. (Source: toptechnews. ... (view more)

Apple may be in the works to develop a touch-screen iPod. Recently, the company filed a patent that has put the future of the iconic "click wheel" in question; the patent specifically describes "a multiple-function multimedia device activated by ... touch-screen 'bezel' technology." While the application of such technology is unknown, many are speculating it will be used on a new version of the iPod or on an iPod-like device. Others suggest an integrated device that doubles as a digital camera. (Source: theinquirer.net ) The possible demise of the click-wheel may not come as a total surprise. ... (view more)

Microsoft recently announced a big change to the MSN Music website: as of November 14th (the launch date of the much-hyped Zune), the website will no longer be offering music downloads. While the MSN Music website will still remain, its focus will ... change toward offering information such as interviews with musicians and industry news, as well as hosting live concerts. The biggest change is that the "Buy Song" buttons will be taken off and replaced by links to the Zune and Real Rhapsody websites. In addition, the MSN Radio service will be free. (Source: news.com ) MSN Music was launched in ... (view more)

Google has gobbled up yet another company in its recent wave of acquisitions. The search engine giant recently announced that it has acquired JotSpot, a Silicon Valley wiki provider. Google's venture into wikis is not completely surprising. Wikis, ... which are web-based applications that enable people to easily post and edit information, have become increasingly popular as the Web 2.0 trend continues. Many websites have been expanding their sites to include wiki applications. Amazon.com hopped on the wiki bandwagon in April when they added a function which enables users to write and edit product ... (view more)

Last Thursday, Apple finally announced a fix for the irritating "MacBook Shutdown" pandemic. The shutdown problem, which the company insists has affected only a "small percentage" of MacBook owners, surfaced in July after the 13-inch widescreen ... MacBooks debuted. Since then, the problem has generated quite a bit of buzz, and has even led to the creation of the website www.macbookrandomshutdown.com . Since the website launched in August, over 1500 users have registered with the site. (Source: zdnet.com ) Previously, Apple had addressed the quandary by having the affected machines sent in for ... (view more)

Adobe Systems has announced the beta release of a new audio editing program called Soundbooth. Adobe made the recent announcement at the MAX 2006 Adobe user conference in Las Vegas. The company is touting Soundbooth as an alternative to their ... current audio editing program, Audition. Unlike Audition, which was designed for audio professionals, Soundbooth targets web designers and video editors who may not have extensive knowledge of audio editing by streamlining tasks into a simpler and more user-friendly form. (Source: news.com ) Hart Shafer, Senior Product Manager for audio products at Adobe ... (view more)

Both McAfee and Symantec have recently countered claims that Microsoft has provided security firms with enough information to get their products working its upcoming operating system, Windows Vista. McAfee's Worldwide Corporate Communications Vice ... President Siobhan MacDermott released a statement explaining that the information is inadequate. MacDermott says that although McAfee has received a document that contained the SDK (Software Development Kit) for Windows Security Centre, requests for both clarifications and meetings have been ignored. "To date, we have not had any cooperation from MS ... (view more)

Great news for both webmasters and individuals: Google has announced a new feature that allows for more control and customization on Google-embedded web page searches. Google Custom Search Engine comes from the Google Co-op program, which was ... launched earlier this year. The program's goal is to find ways in which users can influence search results. (Source: searchenginewatch.com ) Co-op team members Shashi Seth and R.V. Guha claim that "finding specific information has never been so easy, and there's no programming knowledge or cost involved." (Source: betanews.com ) The new service is a vast ... (view more)

With Microsoft's entry into the digital music industry scheduled to launch before the holidays, many are wondering how Apple's iPod will fare against the new threat. In a recent interview with Newsweek, Apple CEO Steve Jobs left nothing unclear when ... expressing his lack of concern. Mircosoft's Zune, he says, does not measure up to his company's widely popular iPod. When asked point blank if he was worried about Zune, Jobs simply replied "In a word, no." (Source: news.com ) Jobs went on to dismiss Zune's capability for sharing music wirelessly, a feature that Microsoft has touted as a key ... (view more)