microsoft

Rumors are circulating that Microsoft is gearing up to let Silverlight fall by the wayside. The newest version, Silverlight 5, which is reportedly due to be finalized and released for manufacturing by the end of November, may be the company's last. ... Silverlight is used by Microsoft for the creation of rich media and smartphone apps. Its features make it a rival for Adobe's popular Flash application framework. Insiders have also been hinting that the new version of Silverlight will not work with browsers other than Microsoft's own Internet Explorer (Silverlight 4 now works with both Windows and ... (view more)

Samsung has confirmed it will sell touch-screen devices running Windows 8, beginning in the second half of 2012. For Microsoft, this is a positive sign its efforts to adapt the new operating system to ultra-portable devices will pay off. Samsung's ... sales and marketing chief says the new touch screen device will likely be a modified form of the company's existing Series 7 computer, a touch-screen "slate" (a name sometimes used for Windows-based devices known elsewhere as "tablets") that comes with a separate wireless keyboard. (Source: bloomberg.com ) Windows Slate: 'For Professionals ... (view more)

With the holiday season right around the corner, Microsoft is set to launch a new campaign designed to entice those who do not run Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) to try out the new browser in exchange for free music and movies. However, critics suggest ... the campaign has little to do with the Christmas spirit of giving. That's because the whole idea appears targeted at helping IE regain lost market share. In fact, a recent study suggests that Google's Chrome has gained a significant share of the browser market, while Internet Explorer has steadily (and continues to) decline. (Source: winsupersite. ... (view more)

The complaint that Facebook prioritizes its own revenue targets above user security is hardly new. However, there is something fresh about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's recent attempt to distract users by pointing a finger at other tech companies ... -- most notably Microsoft, Google and Yahoo -- accusing them of being far less privacy conscious than Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, the 27-year-old billionaire founder and CEO of Facebook, recently appeared on the Charlie Rose TV show to discuss his company's growth and, as usual, ongoing concerns with the way the site handles the personal information ... (view more)

Microsoft has published details of its next batch of security updates (known as Patch Tuesday), due to download to Windows machines automatically on Tuesday, November 8 via Windows Update. The only critical update in the batch affects newer rather ... than older editions of Windows. None of the security updates to be released next Tuesday are said to patch MS Word, which is currently being exploited by the Duqu virus (a major zero-day threat ). The entire update is a bit of a surprise, say critics, because it deals with just four groups of bugs -- a far cry from recent updates that have included ... (view more)

A new rumor making its way through the Internet's tubes suggests that we might actually see a commercial release for Windows 8, Microsoft's next operating system (OS), as early as next August. What's even more surprising is that Microsoft is said to ... have a Windows 9 release for late 2014. The rumor comes to us in the form of a leaked roadmap available through the minimalist tech blog "MS Nerd." The roadmap reveals Microsoft's tentative plans for future releases and, as usual, the greatest interest has been drawn to the company's popular operating systems. The roadmap shows a Windows ... (view more)

After much confusion, it appears that Microsoft has finally decided to kill its much-maligned digital music player, the Zune. The confusion comes after a series of announcements and website postings that the Zune would no longer be produced. Posts ... were later retracted, but the latest announcement appears to be final, as it comes from Brian Seitz, senior marketing manager for Microsoft. (Source: pcworld.com ) "We will no longer be producing Zune players," Microsoft noted in a recent statement. The firm added that its new focus in the digital music market would be on the Windows Phone line of ... (view more)

Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4 Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.1 makes it easier than ever to create great video games for Windows-based PCs, Xbox 360 consoles, and Zune digital media players. An An active premium XNA Creators Club subscription is ... required. http://www.microsoft.com Pale Moon 7.0.1 The Pale Moon project is a custom-built and optimized Firefox browser for Windows. http://www.palemoon.org This freeware software program is brought to you by MajorGeeks.com: The Original Spyware-Free Download Site, in partnership with Infopackets.com. Disclaimer: the above software description is provided ... (view more)

Microsoft says it is rethinking the way the Start Menu will work in Windows 8. It's partly a response to user behavior and partly a recognition that more people will be using touchscreen devices in the future. By default, the Start Menu appears on ... the left-hand side of the screen, either when the user clicks the Windows logo in the bottom left corner, or presses the dedicated Windows key on their keyboard. Fewer Users Use Start Menu, Says Microsoft The Start Menu menu serves several functions by listing recently used applications, commonly used applications, a complete list of all ... (view more)

Google's been the top search engine for a long, long time now and that means it rakes in the most cash when it comes to online advertising. Several years ago its main competition in this arena had been Microsoft, Yahoo and America Online (AOL), all ... of which had their own, relatively successful search engines to offer. But Yahoo and AOL have fallen on hard times of late, and in a bid to re-establish themselves both have turned to Microsoft for help. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), all three companies are nearing a deal that would see advertising shared across their websites. For ... (view more)