Microsoft

Microsoft has recently attacked Google in what critics say is the latest shot fired in the ongoing battle between the two companies. Microsoft openly criticized Google for their lack of customer support services. Microsoft has a reputation of ... offering consistent support via phone, email and online community sites like Microsoft Answers. Google, however, does little to offer support for their customers -- at least, according to Microsoft. Barbara Gordon, Microsoft corporate vice president of customer service and support, offered the following rhetorical questions as it relates to Google-based ... (view more)

Microsoft is currently investigating the emergence of a new critical bug affecting users of Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The Redmond-based firm made the announcement via Twitter on Tuesday, and says the issue can be found in the dynamic link library ... (.DLL) file "mfc42.dll." Security firm Secunia posted a detailed report, which they say is based on a third party proof-of-concept exploit. It's suggested that the vulnerability can be exploited via PowerZip version 7.2 Build 4010, among other utilities that use the mfc42.dll file. (Source: pcmag.com ) Bug Affects Moderately Popular ... (view more)

Internet Explorer (IE) has given Microsoft reason to celebrate after almost two years of market share decline. (Source: techflash.com ) Internet Explorer 8 is leading all other competitors, with figures that are predicted to be more than three times ... that of rival Google Chrome. Internet Explorer, in the various versions that are still in use, now account for three of the four top market share positions. IE8 Currently 25% Market Share Internet Explorer 8 leads the way, with a 25.84 per cent market share. Internet Explorer 6 is the second-most used web browser at 17.17 per cent. Mozilla Firefox ... (view more)

In a stunning development, Microsoft is preparing to kill off its much-hyped "social-focused" mobile phone, Kin. It follows some poor decisions about how to price the phone given its audience. The Kin was in development for several years under the ... codename Project Pink. For much of this time, it was widely speculated the phone would be based around the Zune media player, acting as a direct rival to Apple's iPhone. Instead, the two handsets, Kin One and Kin Two, were based around social networking updates and the ability to share content like photographs with friends. Unlike most phones today ... (view more)

Microsoft says more than 10,000 computers have been attacked through a bug in the Windows XP help system. Strangely, it has resisted criticizing the security researcher who publicized the security flaw. The bug involves the way XP directs web ... browsers towards help pages, having first checked the page against a "whitelist" to make sure it is legitimate. It's possible for hackers to exploit the flaw by fooling the computer during this checking process. The result is that the browser can be relocated to a page containing malicious software. Microsoft hasn't yet found a permanent solution to the ... (view more)

Windows 8 may still be a few years away from reality, but according to a new study, small and midsize businesses can get a real financial boost by switching to Windows 7 right now. The reasoning has to do with a reduction in support costs. ... "Businesses with 250 or fewer PCs that are deploying Windows 7 are gaining more than happier users," said a report by researchers at analyst firm IDC. "They are lowering support costs, improving security, and making end users more productive." (Source: informationweek.com ) Support Savings as High as 65% Some support cost cuts have been higher than 50 per ... (view more)

Have you ever wondered why casinos in Las Vegas are able to survive when offering dinners for 99 cents? It's a marketing tactic designed to lure consumers, with the hopes that they will stay and purchase regular-priced items out of convenience. ... Microsoft is now using a similar strategy to attract curious individuals to an all-new revamped version of their Bing search engine . Bing to Offer TV, Games, and Music Bing now features an entertainment page that will let users watch TV shows, play games and listen to music -- all without leaving the website. This, Microsoft hopes, will entice users ... (view more)

Microsoft's plans for Windows 8 appear to have been leaked online. It's hard to tell if they are legitimate, but they make for interesting possibilities. Windows Store In The Works? Of the supposed plans leaked, the most newsworthy feature is the ... possibility of a "Windows Store," which would allow software developers to distribute their programs similar to the iTunes App Store system and combines a central catalog with a rigorous vetting process. Software bought on one machine could be transferred, complete with user settings, to another machine subject to licensing. If closely tied ... (view more)

Microsoft has reported that Windows 7 has now sold 150 million units, which they claim roughly translates to seven copies of the operating system sold every second since its October 22, 2009 launch date. The figures come from a post on a ... Microsoft-run blog, written by the company's Brandon LeBlanc. (Source: windowsteamblog.com ) Businesses Upgrade Late Back in April, on the day which marked six months since Windows 7 went on sale to the wider public, the company reported selling "well over 100 million licenses of Windows 7." In most cases one might expect a slowdown in the total number of ... (view more)

Microsoft representatives have promised that the forthcoming Windows 7 Phone system will be based around the way customers use their phones in their everyday lives. But when Microsoft speaks to the marketing world, it tells a different story. Kostas ... Mallios, who oversees Microsoft's Strategy and Business Development unit, recently spoke at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He spoke about the way in which Windows Phone 7 is designed to be a seamless experience for the user such that everything from social networking to multimedia is linked together smoothly. However, he also ... (view more)