More rumors about Microsoft's next Windows release, codenamed Blue, are trickling out from Win8China.com, a site known for leaking information about new Windows releases.

Though I cannot corroborate all Win8China's specifics, I'd say based on previous Windows Blue tidbits I've heard, the site's latest Blue information seems largely believable.

In August 2012, I blogged about Microsoft's Windows Blue work, noting that a summer 2013 debut was the internal Microsoft delivery target. Win8China claimed today that the release-to-manufacturing phase for Windows Blue is supposedly June 7, with retail availability planned for August 2013.

Looking … Read more

Sales of Microsoft's Surface may not set the tablet world on fire, but CEO Steve Ballmer still sees a key role for the device.

In an interview published today by MIT Technology Review, Ballmer snuck past the initial question of whether he was pleased with Surface sales.

"I'm super-glad we did Surface," Ballmer said in response. "I think it is important -- and not just for Microsoft but for the entire Windows ecosystem -- to see integrated hardware and software."

But the CEO did concede that Surface isn't likely to dominate the PC … Read more

It is nearly impossible to hear the acronym "IE" in a workplace setting without somebody appending to it the word "sucks." To be more genteel about it, older versions of Internet Explorer on corporate computers simply do not reflect the quality of modern browsers. So why does that massive corporation you work for make you use IE 8 or older in the first place?

A complicated problem Why you're forced to do at least some work in slow, standards noncompliant, security risk-prone legacy versions of Internet Explorer comes down to your employer's need to … Read more

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is doing his first-ever Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit today.

Gates started posting answers to questions promptly at 10:45 a.m. PT, as planned. From the introduction, it seemed clear Gates intended to focus the AMA on his job heading the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. ("Many of you know me from my Microsoft days. The company remains very important to me and I'm still chairman. But today my full time work is with the foundation.")

But one of the first questions Gates answered was about Microsoft. Here's the exchange:… Read more

Microsoft is deploying a larger bunch of bug fixes this month than usual.

Next week's Patch Tuesday will address 57 different security vulnerabilities through 12 separate updates.

The bugs stretch across a range of programs, including Windows, Internet Explorer, Windows Server, Microsoft Exchange, and Microsoft's .Net Framework.

Five of the 12 patches are rated critical, so they're designed to patch holes that could allow someone to execute malicious code on an unprotected PC. Two of the critical patches are aimed at all versions of Internet Explorer from 6 through 10. That means all current versions of Windows … Read more

As we've known for a few months, the Windows client team at Microsoft is working on its first "feature pack" update for Windows 8, supposedly due this summer/fall, which is code-named Blue.

But it turns out Blue isn't a Windows thing only, according to one very accurate tipster of mine who doesn't want to be identified.

Blue also is the way Microsoft is referring to the next substantial platform update for Windows Phone, the Windows Services (like SkyDrive, Hotmail, etc.), and Windows Server, according to my source. In other words, Blue is a wave … Read more

Consumers in Honolulu, Portland, Ore., and a few other major cities should find a Microsoft Store in their area come this summer.

The company said today that it plans to kick off five new retail stores by summer. The stores will find homes around the U.S. in the following spots:

Microsoft expects to reveal details on the grand openings at each of the stores in the coming weeks. The five stores announced today are in addition to … Read more

Windows 8 may not be setting the PC landscape on fire, but at least it's heating up some gains in market share.

The latest flavor of Windows scored a market share of 2.26 percent in January, as recorded by Web tracker Net Applications. That showed a slow but steady rise from 1.72 percent in December and 1.09 percent in November.

Windows 8 has been floating around for a while as beta and preview editions became available, but the official release debuted at the end of October.

January's numbers showed Windows 8 in fifth place among … Read more

Anyone even considering Windows 8 should grab the upgrade special now before it expires this week.

Users of Windows 7, Vista, and XP can purchase the upgrade to the new operating system for just $39.99 per PC. Those of you who bought Windows 7 after June 2 last year can score Windows 8 for just $14.99. And that's for the Pro version.

After January 31, the upgrade price skyrockets to $119.99 for the regular edition and $199.99 for the Pro version.

However, Windows 7 users who bought their computer between June 2 of last year … Read more