InformationWeek - August 8, 2008 03:40 PM

The company’s upcoming Security Bulletin is scheduled to include seven fixes rated “critical” and five rated “important.”

By Thomas Claburn

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) on Thursday said that it will release 12 security updates Aug. 12 as part of its regularly scheduled patch day.The company’s upcoming Security Bulletin is scheduled to include seven fixes rated “critical” and five rated “important.”

The affected software with “critical” vulnerabilities includes Windows, Internet Explorer, Media Player, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, and Office. Programs with “important” vulnerabilities include Windows, Outlook Express, Messenger, and Office.

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InformationWeek - August 7, 2008 03:35 PM

The Xen hypervisor distributor wants Windows to be sold as part of a virtual environment application package that could run on any hypervisor, on any machine.

By Antone Gonsalves

Virtualization software maker Citrix Systems (NSDQ: CTXS) on Thursday called on Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) to offer a Windows license that would enable software vendors to sell the operating system as part of an application package that could run on any virtual environment.Simon Crosby, chief technology officer of Citrix, told attendees at the LinuxWorld Conference in San Francisco that the future of virtualization includes the concept of a “virtual appliance,” a package comprising an application, operating system, and virtual machine that could run on any hypervisor installed on a desktop, notebook, or server. Standing in the way of this advancement in portability is Microsoft, whose Windows operating system dominates the business computing market.

“Microsoft has to change its licensing policies to redistribute Windows on virtual appliances,” Crosby said during his keynote. “Microsoft needs to have a license that allows [independent software] vendors to redistribute Windows as a bag of bits.”

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InformationWeek August 5, 2008 04:36 PM

The software vendor plans to develop versions of its products with “basic functionality” to be sold at lower prices than its standard offerings.

By Paul McDougall

In response to rising competition from open source software that’s community developed and often given away for free, Microsoft said it plans to develop versions of its products with “basic functionality” to be sold at lower prices than its standard offerings.Once the sole domain of self-styled computer geeks, open source software, such as Linux, is now used in products offered by a growing number of large tech companies, such as Google, IBM, and Motorola. Those companies believe they can earn more revenue by selling add-ons and services around the software than they could by charging for the software itself.

Microsoft says it’s a growing threat to its commercial software business.

“Open source software vendors are devoting considerable efforts to developing software that mimics the features and functionality of our products,” Microsoft said in its annual report, filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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InformationWeek - August 5, 2008 02:15 PM

The Microsoft Exploitability Index aims to help IT administrators prioritize patches by rating the likelihood that vulnerabilities will be exploited.

By Thomas Claburn

At the Black Hat computer security conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Microsoft introduced new initiatives to help IT administrators evaluate vulnerabilities in Microsoft software and to share information with other security vendors.The Microsoft Exploitability Index aims to “provide customers with additional information to help business professionals prioritize patching,” explained Mike Reavey, security program manager for Microsoft Security Response Center.

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InformationWeek - July 28, 2008 10:10 AM

A Forrester report telling large businesses to hold off on deploying Windows Vista contradicts earlier reports on the operating system, Microsoft says.

By Paul McDougall InformationWeek

Invoking a common misnomer for multiple personality disorder, a Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) blogger called IT research group Forrester “schizophrenic” for publishing a report on Windows Vista that Microsoft claims contradicts previous Forrester reports on the beleaguered operating system.The report, issued last week by Forrester analyst Thomas Mendel, says that large businesses have “rejected” Vista and advises IT managers to hold off on deploying the OS. Microsoft corporate blogger Christopher Flores, in a post Friday titled “Forrester Gets Schizophrenic on Windows Vista”, said the conclusion runs counter to previous Forrester research on Vista.

“Heck, even Forrester doesn’t agree with Forrester!,” wrote Flores.

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Silicon Alley Insider - Henry Blodget | July 24, 2008 11:19 AM

Thanks for joining us! Steve’s now finished. Notes below. Watch the webcast live here.

This is a critical speech for Steve Ballmer, whose reputation has been damaged over the past six months. He did an okay job. He thinks Microsoft will succeed in search. We don’t. But Steve probably made best case he could.

11:48ET: STEVE’s ON

Boy, what a subdued entrance. No music, no applause, obviously no Monkey Boy.

Joke about auditorium bombs. Now standard blatter about innovation, competition, etc. Steve CARES about financial performance (this bullet obviously designed to address concerns he couldn’t care less about stock price).

Finally getting warmed up… Good Steve gutturals. Today about SHAREHOLDERS. Cares DEEPLY about financial success.

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