microsoft

Waiting even at 'Halo 3' pre-launch party

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Right now, my colleague Caroline McCarthy is waiting, with the masses, in New York's Times Square. They're holding out for midnight when, at long last, the curtain will roll back on Halo 3, the latest iteration of one of the biggest video game franchises in history.

But, I'm here, in the heart of Silicon Valley, at Microsoft's campus here, and the small crowd here is waiting to get into the invite-only Halo 3 pre-launch event the software giant is hosting tonight.

Instead of thousands, there are dozens. But the anticipation on the faces of those in line is probably the same as those huddled up in New York, LA or Miami.

For me, there was a bit of a scare as it turned out I wasn't on the list to get in, but after a little bit of back and forth, the nice people at the entrance gave me the thumbs-up. … Read more

Windows Home Server update coming Tuesday

Microsoft said Monday that it has finished a planned update to its Windows Home Server software, paving the way for Hewlett-Packard to finish its product based on the new operating system.

HP, which had expected to be one of the first to offer a home server based on Microsoft's software, earlier said that it would wait for this update before releasing its MediaSmart Server. The changes are designed to improve the products "usability and out-of box experience," Microsoft said.

The software update is also being made available to other Windows Home Server customers via Windows Update. More … Read more

Report: Microsoft plans to invest in, not acquire, Facebook

This story has been updated with further commentary pertaining to Microsoft's strategic interest in Facebook.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft is in talks to acquire a stake of up to 5 percent of social-networking wunderkind Facebook.

Discussions over such an agreement with the Mark Zuckerberg-founded company are still preliminary, the story by Robert A. Guth, Kevin J. Delaney and Vauhini Vara notes, but if such a deal goes through, the much-hyped Facebook could be valued at up to $10 billion as it heads toward a long-rumored initial public offering. Both companies denied requests to comment to … Read more

With half a day to go, N.Y. hearts 'Halo 3'

It doesn't hold a candle to the lengthy queue that assembled a few blocks north for Apple's iPhone in June, but a handful of New Yorkers decided to sacrifice a full day's work (and then some) to wait in line for Halo 3, the highly anticipated title for Microsoft's Xbox 360 that hits stores at midnight on Tuesday.

First in line at the Best Buy on Fifth Avenue and 44th Street, the official launch site for the city, is 28-year-old Uche Nwachukwu, a Web designer from the neighboring borough of Staten Island. "I want the … Read more

Why 'Halo 3' will decide the Xbox 360's fate

With Halo 3 hype soaring, people are already dreaming about fragging aliens, dual-wielding machine guns and taunting 12-year-old kids when they sneak up behind them and put one in their head in a massive online battle.

But what many may not realize is that tomorrow's release of Halo 3 could be a watershed moment for Microsoft and the Xbox 360. With a blockbuster title that will surely captivate millions across the globe, the Xbox 360 will be the most played video game console for the month of October and should catapult the system to the top of the video game world.

As we're all aware, Nintendo currently enjoys the top spot in the video game console war. With nearly 404,000 Wii units sold last month alone, Nintendo is hands down the most successful hardware company of this generation. And while Nintendo fans are quick to cite this number when their favorite console is under attack, they fail to mention how it compares to previous months.

According to The NPD Group, Nintendo Wii sales dropped 5 percent from July, while the Xbox 360, with 277,000 units sold, witnessed a sales increase of 63 percent from July. To round it out, the abysmal Playstation 3 sold just 131,000 units--a drop of nearly 18 percent.

Sure, the Nintendo Wii is doing well and it continues to sell better than the competition, but the main reason the Xbox 360 did so well last month was its software. Most notably, Madden. According to NPD, Electronic Arts sold 897,000 copies of the Xbox 360 version of Madden, representing the first time in years that a non-Sony console topped the Madden sales list.

I've said it once and I'll say it again--software and software alone will drive hardware sales after the initial hype dies down. And if the 5 percent drop in sales is any indication, maybe the Nintendo Wii's hype is finally dropping too.

Halo 3 will undoubtedly be the biggest game of the year. With millions already enjoying previous iterations, tomorrow's release could be the biggest we have ever seen. For many casual gamers, the release of Halo 3 means it's time to buy an Xbox 360. And it's this cadre of individuals that Microsoft has been waiting for.… Read more

One school district answers Microsoft's pricing with open source

What if your local school district had to choose between Microsoft software licenses or education for your children? This isn't far off from the choice Windsor Unified School District in California recently faced, as LinuxWorld Magazine details.

Facing a $100,000 price tag from Microsoft (half the district's IT budget) and another $200,000 for security software from Trend Micro, the district's new IT administrator turned to open source:

Carver dramatically reduced costs by moving about 60% of software to open source, while also saving on hardware expenses by employing virtualization and thin client technology....… Read more

Think tank to EU: Unbundle Windows on PCs

The Globalization Institute, a Brussels-based European Union think tank, has recommended the EU require all PCs to be sold without preloaded operating systems such as Microsoft Windows.

There is no reason why computer operating systems could not follow the same model as computer hard drives and processors, which comply with standards that allow for broad compatibility as well as competition in the market, said the report, which was submitted to the EU's regulatory body, the European Commission.

Such a policy would lead to increased competition and innovation in the area of computer operating systems, something the Globalization Institute report … Read more

Windows Server 2008 test release due next week

SAN FRANCISCO--Microsoft next week plans to issue its first Windows Server 2008 release candidate, a near-final version of its operating system, a senior executive at the software company said Thursday.

"We expect the release candidate next week," said Mike Neil, Microsoft's general manager of virtualization, in an appearance during a speech at the Intel Developer Forum here.

The release candidate will include a test version of software code-named Viridian and formally called Windows Server virtualization. This "hypervisor" allows multiple operating systems to run simultaneously, a useful technology in improving server efficiency and eventually leading toward … Read more

Microsoft stirs up a price war in the database market

Even as MySQL and PosgreSQL yank the carpet out from under Oracle and Microsoft, Microsoft is turning the other cheek by cutting Oracle off at the knees on price, as Mary Jo Foley reports:

Microsoft officials announced on September 19 that they have no plans to increase the price of SQL Server 2008 beyond what the company already charges for SQL Server 2005. Microsoft execs also announced that, starting today,… Read more

Google remains king of search

Hitwise released statistics today that showed Google has nearly 64 percent of the U.S. search market, compared to Yahoo's 23 percent, Microsoft's 8 percent and Ask's 3.5 percent. Year-over-year, Google's share inched up, Asks' and Yahoo's were fairly flat and Microsoft lost market share, nearly 4 percentage points.

Meanwhile, Nielsen/NetRatings figures for August 2007 put Google at 53.6 percent U.S. market share, Yahoo at 20 percent, Microsoft at 13 percent and AOL at 5.6 percent.