Beyond Binary

The wait for Microsoft's Live.com e-mail addresses is over.

Microsoft is now taking sign-ups (or at least it was a few minutes ago) at get.live.com. The company released the final version of Windows Live Hotmail a little while back, but has held off on releasing the Live.com domain for a while, though some folks did manage to snag a few addresses before now.

What worked for me was going to that Web site (make sure you are logged out of Windows Live), clicking Hotmail, and then signing up. Some people in the newsroom have reported … Read more

Microsoft fired Chief Information Officer Stuart Scott on Friday after two years with the company, saying he violated company policies. The software maker did not specify which policies.

"We can confirm that Stuart Scott was terminated after an investigation for violation of company policies," a Microsoft representative said in an e-mailed statement. Microsoft said that two executives--General Manager Shahla Aly and Corporate Vice President Alain Crozier--will assume Scott's responsibilities until a replacement is identified.

Microsoft declined to comment further on Scott's departure, which was noted earlier Tuesday by ZDNet blogger Mary Jo Foley. Microsoft also noted on its corporate Web site that Scott has left. … Read more

In my recent interview with Windows Live VP Chris Jones, I also got his take on whether Microsoft might take part in Google's just-announced OpenSocial platform as well as his thoughts on where the Mac fits into the Windows Live strategy. Here's what he had to say.

On OpenSocial: "I think on OpenSocial we're honestly just still looking at it. It's more of a gadget platform than a social-networking approach. It's a way to add gadgets to pages with a couple of extensions to it. That's been a very interesting thing for Facebook … Read more

Bill Gates announced Windows Home Server to much fanfare at January's Consumer Electronics Show.

The energy seems to have dwindled some during the product's elongated path to market over the past year. Microsoft finalized the code back in July, but HP said it would wait for an update to the software before releasing its MediaSmart server, in what was seen as the biggest endorsement of the product.

On Monday, Microsoft announced "general availability" for the software, although HP's product will not be shipping to consumers until later this month. Some servers from smaller computer makers … Read more

Former President Bill Clinton was at Microsoft's campus Friday as part of the company's celebration of the end of its charitable giving campaign. The effort brought in $72 million in individual and company donations (including software), a total that Clinton praised.

Clinton, who just authored a book on giving, noted the role the Internet has played in making it easier to do charitable work, saying it "has changed the landscape of potential for private citizens doing public good."

He urged more individuals to tackle the world's big problems.

"Don't you think that because … Read more

For a brief time Friday, it looked as if developers were going to be able to get their hands on a test version of the first Vista service pack, which is due for final release next year.

Enthusiast site Neowin noticed a posting on Microsoft's MSDN developer site that promised developers could "Get the latest preview of Windows Vista SP1 on MSDN Subscriber Downloads." The site also said, "This new release of SP1 addresses reliability and performance issues, and provides support for new hardware and several emerging standards," according to Neowin.

That would have been … Read more

Aiming to have a new message for the holidays, Microsoft on Thursday launched a new advertising campaign for the Zune.

With the tagline "You make it you," the TV, print, and online ads all play off the theme of what would happen if one cracked open a Zune and all of one's digital media spilled out.

The TV spots, which will start running on cable networks, are directed by Patrick Daughters, while the print spots and banner ads feature "up and coming illustrators" from across the globe, Microsoft said. The new ads are designed to … Read more

After a chorus of peace deals between Linux vendors and Microsoft, it's almost refreshing to hear that some open-source companies still have fire in their bellies.

Fresh off seeing Microsoft move in at the last minute to grab part of a deal with the Nigerian government, Mandriva CEO Francois Bancilhon posted an "open letter to Steve Ballmer" in which he lays into the Microsoft chief for his tactics.

Bancilhon said that Mandriva was close to a deal, when Microsoft turned up the heat.

"I would not say it got dirty, but someone could have said that,&… Read more

As ghouls swished gently over my head, it was as if the floor was shaking.

No, wait, that was the floor shaking.

At first I wasn't sure if 3D movie technology had advanced even further than I thought. But it turns out that Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas wasn't supposed to be that scary.

The crowd at San Francisco's Sony Metreon mall took the 30 seconds of rolling in stride, but there were all sorts of whispered queries as to whether that was the movie or an earthquake.

And when the lights came on after … Read more