pdc

Microsoft will give those at next week's Professional Developer Conference a chance to do more than just write software for the Surface. They'll also have the opportunity to buy a developer version of the machine.

The good news is that PDC attendees will get a 10 percent discount. However, the bad news is the machine will set them back $13,500 even with the discount.

The cost for developers is higher because it includes five software developer kit licenses. However, even commercial customers are paying $12,500 for the Surface. That's above the $5,000 to $10,… Read more

Windows 7 and Windows Cloud may be the stars of Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference, but the next version of Office has also landed a role in the production.

Office 14, as the product is code-named, will be discussed at next week's event, with attendees likely to get a peek at a couple of its features, according to sources. Unlike Windows 7, though, folks shouldn't expect to leave Los Angeles with a copy of their own.

In particular, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has talked recently about the idea that the next version of Office will be able to … Read more

Got questions about Windows 7, Windows Cloud or other Microsoft-related topics?

Well, I'm sure I don't have all the answers, but I'm going to be doing my best to tackle questions on all things Microsoft later today as part of our new Editor's Office Hours feature. It's all part of our special coverage leading up to Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference, which takes place at the end of the month in Los Angeles.

You can submit questions here now, and I'll be on live at 11:30 a.m. PDT at the same link. … Read more

Some companies are planning to skip Windows Vista, and that's OK, according to Steve Ballmer. But Microsoft's CEO hopes that those companies come back for Windows 7.

Ballmer said that "if people want to wait they really can," ZDNet's Larry Dignan reports. "But I'd definitely deploy Vista," he said.

Speaking on Thursday at Gartner's Symposium/ITxpo conference in Orlando, Ballmer defended Vista and noted that "The adoption rate of Vista is faster than the adoption rate was of XP at two years in."

Ballmer did note that Vista has … Read more

With less than two weeks until Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference kicks off in Los Angeles, news is starting to trickle out.

Come October 27, that trickle will turn into a flood. Here at CNET News we want to make sure you keep your head above water. To that end, our PDC page is already up and running.

You can bookmark that page and be sure that whenever you check it you will be up on the latest PDC-related info as well as catch any stories on the products expected to make headlines at the show.

Already there are a … Read more

In many ways, Microsoft's decision to keep the Windows 7 name was entirely logical.

It was the product's code name, something relatively simple, and it is generally seen as a lucky number (at least here in the United States).

But to arrive at the number 7, Microsoft does some strange math, as general manager Mike Nash outlined in a blog posting Tuesday. Nash writes:

The very first release of Windows was Windows 1.0, the second was Windows 2.0, the third Windows 3.0.

Here's where things get a little more complicated. Following Windows 3.0 … Read more

For the first time in recent memory, Microsoft has chosen to stick with its code name for a final Windows release.

In a blog posting, general manager Mike Nash said that the next version of Windows will retain its Windows 7 code-name when it is released to the market--a date currently pegged as late 2009 or early 2010.

"Simply put, this is the seventh release of Windows, so therefore "Windows 7" just makes sense," Nash wrote.

Microsoft plans to give developers at the Professional Developer Conference later this month a pre-beta version of the software.

"… Read more

Last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talked about "Windows Cloud"--the company's long-rumored cloud operating system.

At the time, though, he noted that the Windows Cloud name was not necessarily the final name. On Wednesday, an eagle-eyed blogger noticed that the Web site for Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference was listing several cloud computing sessions under the subject heading "Windows Strata." Microsoft has since taken down the Windows Strata references, but not before a number of blogs noted the listing.

In his talks last week, Ballmer quipped that by the PDC, Microsoft might even have … Read more

The long-awaited software developer kit for the Surface tabletop computer will be made available to those attending Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference at the end of the month.

Microsoft made that pledge on its PDC Web site, as part of a listing for a session focused on writing Surface applications.

"Hear about the unique attributes of Microsoft Surface computing, dive into vision-based object recognition and core controls like ScatterView, and learn how the Surface SDK aligns with the multitouch developer roadmap for Windows 7," Microsoft said, in promoting the session. "Attendees will receive access to the Microsoft … Read more