Microsoft

The next version of Microsoft's corporate e-mail server will not only offer the ability to view e-mail by conversations, but also the option of "muting" any thread that a user would rather not take part in.

Conversation threading, a popular feature from Google's Gmail, and the mute option are several of the new features in Exchange 2010, the next version of the company's e-mail and calendar server. The software is entering public beta on Wednesday, with a final launch slated for the second half of this year.

Among the other features of the product, which … Read more

Microsoft said this week that it will start widespread testing of the next version of the Office suite sometime in the third quarter, in preparation for a final launch of the product in the first half of next year.

The product, which has been code-named Office 14, will be dubbed Office 2010 (as I predicted), with all of its related components also getting the 2010 moniker.

Microsoft offered only limited details on the testing. In an interview, Office executive Rajesh Jha, who leads the Exchange team, said technology previews are more limited than public betas and typically go to hundreds … Read more

Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed that the next version of Office, code-named Office 14, will come in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

The 64-bit version is a first for both Office and for Microsoft's mainstream desktop applications, though a number of its server products, such as SQL Server, are already available in 64-bit versions.

Office 14, which is expected to be called Office 2010, is slated to ship next year. Among its other notable features is the fact that Microsoft will offer browser-based versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and OneNote, in addition to the traditional Windows-based desktop programs.

By extending … Read more

I was vacationing last week, so I missed my chance to comment on the Zune HD rumors. Microsoft had already told me that it is planning one more iteration of the Zune hardware, and given the iPhone's success, it wouldn't surprise me if it has a touch screen (though I was hoping for something more cutting-edge, like a projector).

Now it appears that Microsoft's getting ready to launch Zune for mobile phones around the same time.

According to AdWeek, Microsoft is currently staging a run-off between three advertising agencies--its longstanding advertising partner, McCann Erickson, Crispin Porter + Bogusky (… Read more

Windows Mobile's update system could be one of the many improvements that Microsoft has in store for Windows Mobile 7.

Ars Technica spotted a job ad on Microsoft's Web page seeking a lead software development engineer to work on a new update system for Windows Mobile. "Do you want to see greater and better quality and cool software delivered to your love ones' Windows phones from just a click?" the ad asks in searching for the right person to lead the Windows Mobile update team.

The process for getting new software onto Windows Mobile handsets could … Read more

With three genuine installments on the Web, it's naturally time for the parodies of Microsoft's "laptop hunter" ads to start rolling in.

The first one I've seen is from LandlineTV. It features Frank, a homeless guy with $1,000 to spend on a laptop.

Frank's first stop is the Apple store.

"These are beautiful," he says, spotting a MacBook Air that is "so thin" but costs $1,700.

"What can I get for $1,000?" Frank asks. Eventually, he winds up in front of a Windows PC.

"… Read more

Microsoft and technology analyst Roger Kay have made a couple of changes to their charts outlining the "Apple Tax," but the update does little to address broader critiques of their math.

On Monday, Microsoft noted that it has updated both Kay's white paper and the accompanying blog post and chart to reflect the fact that both failed to take into account Apple's latest hardware specifications. The new paper and chart use slightly different models on the PC side.

However, the main points I (and others) made last week regarding Microsoft's bad math haven't changed. … Read more

Microsoft said it plans next week to start pushing its Internet Explorer 8 browser to consumers who have Windows' automatic-update feature turned on.

The software maker released the browser for download at last month's Mix conference and had said it planned to start pushing the browser out in the coming days.

"Starting on or about the third week of April, users still running IE 6 or IE 7 on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008 will get will get a notification through Automatic Update about IE 8," Microsoft said, though a representative … Read more

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

A new survey reveals that 84 percent of IT pros don't have plans to upgrade to Windows 7 in the next year and that half of respondents are considering alternatives. But it pays to parse a few nuances.

The survey, which was conducted by Dimension Research and commissioned by KACE, a systems management appliance company. The survey had 1,142 respondents and 99 percent of them had a Windows operating system installed at their companies.

The spin here has been that it's somehow bad that most IT professionals … Read more