Microsoft

Microsoft said on Monday that it is adding Harvey Mudd College President Maria Klawe to its board of directors.

Klawe, who previously worked for IBM Research, has also taught at Princeton University and the University of British Columbia focusing on computer science and engineering.

"Maria has made significant research contributions to computer science and mathematics, and we are very fortunate to have her join Microsoft's board of directors," Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in a statement. "In particular, I think her close connection to university students and the way they shape computing trends will bring an … Read more

Although slumping PC sales will certainly hurt Microsoft, the software maker's year could be better than expected, according to one financial analyst.

In a research note on Monday, Collins Stewart analyst Sandeep Aggarwal projected that Microsoft will finalize the code for Windows 7 by June or July and also suggested that a search deal with Yahoo is likely to happen sooner rather than later. And, although it won't be here this year, Aggarwal said that the next version of Office, code-named Office 14, should come early next year.

Officially, Microsoft has said only that it will have Windows … Read more

It turns out it is not just Internet Explorer that users will be able to turn off in Windows 7.

In a blog posting on Friday, Microsoft noted that, with Windows 7, customers will have the option of disabling a number of features of the operating system, should they so choose.

Testers had noticed that users of recent Windows 7 builds could turn off the Web browser, in addition to many other things that were already part of a "Windows Features" dialog box. However, in its blog, Microsoft noted that there are a number of things that users … Read more

REDMOND, Wash.--For a company that is happy to list a million reasons why Office is better than OpenOffice or Google Docs or other rivals, Microsoft sure is putting a tremendous amount of effort into working better with those products.

The next version of Office will natively support the OpenDocument format (as will the next service pack for Office 2007). As it is developing the next Office, Microsoft is also documenting every change it is making as part of its commitment to documenting all of Office's various formats and protocols.

"We often talk about the changing needs of … Read more

BRUSSELS--Microsoft plans to use telecomunications companies as a channel to promote Windows 7 for Netbooks.

Speaking to ZDNet UK at Microsoft's Growth and Innovation Day in Brussels on Thursday, Neil Holloway, vice president for business strategy at Microsoft International, said the company was in talks with telecommunications companies and other service providers to work out how Netbooks running Windows 7, currently in beta, could be bundled with other hardware and services, in order to increase market reach.

"Microsoft is working with telcos as a specific channel," said Holloway. "The way that Carphone Warehouse bundles phones, PCs, … Read more

Microsoft has included in recent Windows 7 test versions an option to turn off the Internet Explorer 8 Web browser, according to testers who have used the recent builds.

According to Chris Holmes, build 7048 of Windows 7 includes Internet Explorer as one of many Windows components that can be turned on or off via a "Windows Features" dialog box. The control panel exists in the public beta version of Windows 7, but IE8 is not listed among the features that can be turned on and off.

Microsoft declined to comment on the feature's inclusion as well … Read more

The European Commission has said it will stop actively monitoring Microsoft to check that the software maker is complying with a 2004 antitrust ruling.

In 2005, the Commission appointed an independent trustee to assess whether Microsoft was supplying interoperability information for Windows with workgroup servers to software rivals. The Commission told CNET News sister site ZDNet UK on Wednesday that it will no longer require a full-time monitor, and that it will use "ad hoc assistance" to provide it with advice on any issues arising from the ruling.

"We don't think it's necessary to have … Read more

With Windows 7, Microsoft is trying not to make the same mistakes it did with Windows Vista. That much is clear.

One of the biggest things Microsoft is trying to do different this time is be a more dependable software vendor. The company knows it lost some credibility with businesses by changing its Vista plans midstream and also having several delays.

"We know the stop and start nature of Vista created big challenges for our customers and partners," Microsoft senior director Gavriella Schuster said in an interview this week.

Microsoft is aiming to get Windows 7, currently in beta, … Read more

Just because Office 14 won't be fully released until next year doesn't mean consumers will have to wait that long to try out the products.

In an interview this week Senior Vice President Chris Capossela said that Microsoft will offer more details on the beta "relatively soon," noting that Office has traditionally made its products available to millions of testers well before the final version ships.

"That's been true of the suite," he said. "That will certainly be true of the suite this time and of the Web apps."

With Office … Read more