Windows

As PC sales tank, what's Microsoft's Plan B?

When market analyst IDC last week noted the sharp 13.9 percent quarterly drop in worldwide PC sales, it placed much of the blame on the "radical" user interface changes of Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system.

"Microsoft will have to make some very tough decisions moving forward if it wants to help reinvigorate the PC market," Bob O'Donnell, IDC's program vice president for clients and displays, said in a statement.

Therein lies a core challenge for Microsoft. The software giant doesn't really have a plan B.

Microsoft can't undo the … Read more

Microsoft pulls security update over software conflicts

A security update issued by Microsoft on Tuesday isn't playing nicely with other software, prompting Microsoft to pull it from its download center.

Dustin Childs, group manager of Microsoft Trustworthy Computing, revealed the problem in a blog post late yesterday:

We are aware that some of our customers may be experiencing difficulties after applying security update 2823324, which we provided in security bulletin MS13-036 on Tuesday, April 9. We've determined that the update, when paired with certain third-party software, can cause system errors. As a precaution, we stopped pushing 2823324 as an update when we began investigating the … Read more

Microsoft's tweener plans for Surface and Windows Phone

With Windows Blue and a coming Windows Phone 8 update, Microsoft will give legs to its plan to enable OEMs -- including Microsoft itself -- to support a burgeoning category of tweener devices, including mini tablets and big-screen smartphones.

Just a year ago, Microsoft execs were pooh-poohing the advantage of smaller screen sizes for Windows devices, claiming smaller screens wouldn't allow users to handle adequately both creation and consumption tasks. But in the face of robust demand for mini tablets from its competitors, Microsoft execs changed their tune. Now the message is that Windows 8 was designed from the outset to run on smaller and bigger screens at different resolutions, … Read more

Microsoft fixes two critical flaws for April's Patch Tuesday

Microsoft has released two critical security updates for Windows and Internet Explorer as part of its latest round of Patch Tuesday updates. 

Included in the patches are seven important updates for Office, SharePoint, and Windows Server products, which are hitting the usual update channels today.

The first critical bulletin affects versions of Internet Explorer 6 and above on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. It also affects Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 and Windows RT-based tablets.

It addresses two separate flaws, one that allows remote code execution -- such as a malware injection -- if an affected … Read more

Microsoft to add dual-factor sign-on security 'soon': report

Microsoft will toughen up its products' security by adding dual-factor authentication "soon," according to a report today by Liveside.net.

Judging by details in the Microsoft-focused blog, the approach closely mirrors what Google did years ago: authorization requiring both a password (the first factor) and a special six-digit code retrieved from an authenticator app on a person's smartphone (the second factor). The smartphone code changes frequently so it can't be used for long.

Microsoft offered only this comment today: "Security and privacy is a priority for Microsoft, however we have nothing new to share at … Read more

Windows 8 ekes out 3.2 percent of desktop OS market

Windows 8 is slowly carving out a slightly larger slice of the OS market.

The latest flavor of Windows captured 3.17 percent of all desktop OS traffic tracked by Net Applications in March. That was a small gain from the 2.67 percent share in February.

Since its official debut last October, Windows 8 has very gradually risen up the ranks, at least in Net Applications' Web traffic reports.

Starting with a 1.09 percent share in November, the OS carved out a 1.72 percent share in December. It then grabbed a 2.26 percent share in January, … Read more

New Windows 8 specs could open door for 7-inch tablets

Microsoft's move to relax the minimum resolution for Windows 8 devices could trigger a slew of seven-inch Windows 8 tablets.

An update to Microsoft's Windows Certification Newsletter, uncovered by Ed Bott of CNET sister site ZDNet announced the change in the required resolution for Windows 8 tablets.

To claim Windows 8 certification, a tablet can now offer a minimum resolution of 1,024x768 at a depth of 32 bits. That's a change from the previous guidelines, which specify a minimum resolution of 1,366x768. Microsoft said it isn't encouraging device makers to shoot for such a … Read more

Change of heart? IE11 might speed Web graphics with WebGL

Microsoft's next version of Internet Explorer might just support WebGL, a standard for accelerated 3D graphics on the Web that the company previously has attacked as a security risk.

A leaked version of the next version of Windows, code-named Blue, came with a version of IE11, and developer's scrutiny of the browser shows evidence of WebGL.

"It seems like WebGL interfaces are defined but not functional at this time," said Web developer and author Francois Remy in a blog post this week. That means that the IE11 build has some infrastructure in place to support WebGL, … Read more

Windows Blue to let you sync your Start screen across devices

The next version of Windows will be able to show you the same Start screen across all your Windows 8 devices.

Investigating the latest enhancements destined for Windows Blue, Supersite for Windows creator Paul Thurrott was greeted by the same Start screen on two different Windows 8 PCs. This means that users who log in with their Microsoft account will see the same Start screen tiles, layout, and color scheme across all their Windows 8 devices.

The actual Start Screen sync feature in the PC Settings screen isn't yet working in the current Windows Blue build. But users should … Read more