Microsoft

Fact: Houses get cold in the winter months. Fact: The exhaust from a rack of cloud servers carries an average temperature between 104-122F. Microsoft is proposing that the racks (called "Data Furnaces") would be hot enough to replace the entire ... heating system of a home or office. Internet properties like Facebook and Google have already come up with large-scale solutions to combat unwanted exhaust, pumping steady streams of hot air into the skies of chilly cities around the U.S. But this act serves to rid the surrounding area of this waste without putting it to good use as Microsoft has since ... (view more)

Less than three months after its initial launch, Microsoft has partnered with Gigwalk, a mobile phone application that allows different brands to post odd jobs (called "gigs"). Ironically, Microsoft will soon offer financial compensation to those ... who tackle gigs on behalf of their Bing search engine, and since the app is currently available exclusively on the Apple iPhone, Microsoft is actually paying rival consumers to complete these odd jobs. The Bing search engine will soon add photographs to its map results, so Microsoft will need people living in select metropolitan cities to snap ... (view more)

Microsoft has posted record sales for fiscal year 2011 based on strong showings for its Office software suite, server programs, and Xbox 360 video game console. It's a somewhat surprising result, given that Windows sales had actually started to ... decline. According to reports, for the fiscal year ending in June Microsoft amassed $69.4 billion in total revenue, a record high and an increase of 12 per cent compared to fiscal year 2010. Of the total, approximately $23 billion was net income, also a substantial increase (23 per cent) from last year. (Source: computerworld.com ) Net Income ... (view more)

Ohio-based firm Impulse Technology has sued Microsoft for allegedly ripping off the idea behind the Xbox Kinect, Microsoft's new and very popular hands-free gaming peripheral for the Xbox 360 video game console. According to Impulse, Microsoft ... infringed on its patents for motion-sensing technology. The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in the U.S. District Court in Delaware, says Law 360, an American online media company that tracks and publishes legal news. Big-Time Game Companies Named in Suit The suit also names a number of popular video game makers, including Ubisoft (responsible for ... (view more)

Microsoft might be experimenting with its own take on social networking after an image resembling a new platform was accidentally leaked to the public. Called "Tulalip" after the name of a group of Native American tribes in Washington state, the ... social networking service is designed to enable users to "find what you need and share what you know easier than ever." These images were first found on the Microsoft-owned domain socl.com. Microsoft did not reveal whether the images of the platform suggested a social network or a social search site, which would mean some kind of association with the ... (view more)

Microsoft has released a new tool to help scientists and other researchers access the power of cloud computing . Project Daytona could help them analyze data in a more efficient and affordable manner. Cloud System Uses Decentralized Computing The ... project builds on Microsoft's could-based Windows Azure system. That doesn't simply mean storing information online, but also using remote computers to carry out tasks. Cloud computing can range from relatively simple tasks, such as accessing email on services such as Hotmail, to more complex tasks, such as the way some websites run through databases ... (view more)

Microsoft is offering a $250,000 reward for information regarding the owners of the Rustock spam botnet , despite the fact the it has already been neutralized. Rustock at one point infected an estimated one million computers. Those behind it used ... the network to send as many as 30 million spam messages a day, most commonly selling counterfeit drugs. (Source: latimes.com ) Although the botnet has been brought under control, there's still a threat because its creators remain at large. As a result, Microsoft has issued a bounty. The reward is $250,000 and will be paid to anyone who provides "new ... (view more)

There's a rumor floating around that Microsoft may drop the "Windows" name altogether. But few are putting much stock in it. The claim comes from a story covering this week's Worldwide Partner Conference, at which a Microsoft representative said ... that while Windows 8 is being targeted to run on desktops, notebooks, netbooks and tablets alike, the system after that may be designed to run on all types of hardware, including smartphones and even the Xbox 360 video game console. The report claims that insider sources suggest there's more to the announcement: "Microsoft is seriously considering ... (view more)

It's not exactly been a well-kept secret, but Microsoft appears to have confirmed the next edition of its operating system (OS) will indeed be called Windows 8. The news comes as a date emerges for the first public beta of the system, as well as a ... way for users to take a look at its design right now. To date, Microsoft has not given an official name to the new system, often taking great care to avoid doing so. However, in a newly published promotional website for a hardware and software developer conference this September, the company specifically uses the term 'Windows 8', specifically in ... (view more)

Tomorrow is the second Tuesday of the month, which means it's Microsoft Patch Tuesday . This month's patches address 22 software vulnerabilities and are associated with four security updates that address flaws in Microsoft Windows and Visio 2003. ... Without applying the patches, PCs remain vulnerable to attacks. Only one of the security updates has been marked "critical." So far, this is the third-most number of fixes offered in a single month for 2011. The number of fixes this month (22) is behind 34 patches issued in June and the record-breaking 64 vulnerabilities addressed in April ... (view more)