microsoft

Microsoft's Mac unit is getting a new boss.

The software maker said on Friday that Craig Eisler, a former Softie who rejoined the company in February, will take the helm of the Macintosh Business Unit, as the company works to finish Office 2008 for Mac in time for a release in the second half of the year.

Eisler replaces Roz Ho, who has led the group for several years. Ho is moving to an unspecified role in Robbie Bach's Entertainment and Devices unit, working on "special projects," according to a Microsoft rep. Eisler posted his own … Read more

Microsoft on Thursday said it has acquired privately held Stratature, a company that specializes in so-called master data management software.

Through the acquisition of the Alpharetta, Ga.-based company, Microsoft will build master data management tools into its Office System line. The move complements the company's strategy to bulk up the business intelligence tools in Office and SQL Server.

Master data management describes a way to store information according to certain attributes so it's easier to retrieve and work with. For example, information from various sources can be aggregated relating to customer, product or partner.

The idea is … Read more

After finishing dead last in a comparative antivirus test, Microsoft Windows Live OneCare recently garnered some positive press. The latest tests performed by AV-Comparatives.org seem to show an improvement, with OneCare moving up two places. While OneCare is certified by West Coast Labs and ICSA, it is the competitive independent antivirus testing results that mean more in terms of how well a product performs in the real world against real malware. Thus, some might argue that things are looking up for the nascent Redmond antimalware team.

That's until you look closer at the tests. AV-Comparatives performed two different … Read more

Adobe Acrobat 8, which shipped two months before the January release of Windows Vista, can now run on Vista and Citrix 64-bit systems. Acrobat and Reader version 8.1 enhancements will download with Adobe update notifications and can be found at Adobe's Web site.

There's also new integration with Microsoft Office 2007, such as the capability to create a PDF file by right-clicking the mouse from within supported applications. Microsoft Outlook 2007 can now preview multipage PDF files within e-mail messages, just as it already displays Office documents. And Mac users will be able to view Flash movies … Read more

At least 80 employees in Sony Computer Entertainment of America's Foster City, California PlayStation unit have been laid off, according to a report in the popular video game blog, Kotaku.

But Kotaku quoted SCEA spokesman Dave Karraker as saying, "In an effort to accurately align the company to meet the changing needs of our consumers and our industry, (SCEA) has found it necessary to...restructure the company as necessary to continue our standing as the market leader."

And in an email to CNET News.com, Karraker confirmed the report Wednesday morning.

Given Sony's troubles--the much-hyped PlayStation … Read more

Microsoft loves developers, just ask CEO Steve Ballmer. But while the company has been making some of its tools available for free, it also likes to draw the line on just how much gets given away.

According to a report in The Register, the software company has taken an aversion to TestDriven.Net, an add-on to its Visual Studio developer tools. In particular, Microsoft doesn't like the fact that the software works with Visual Studio Express, the free version of the tools. E-mail exchanges between Microsoft and the small, U.K.-based software maker have gotten increasingly testy, having … Read more

Microsoft, together with Namco Bandai Games America, on Tuesday announced a new version of the classic arcade Pac-Man at the Pac-Man World Championships in New York's Times Square. Pac-Man Championship Edition will have the first new mazes in 26 years. The new title is set to be available Wednesday morning on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 Microsoft points.

Finalists Robert Glashuettner from Austria (age 28) and Carlos Romero from Mexico (age 27) went head to head on the new version, in lieu of the classic '80s title. Both were competing for the chance to win 100,000 Microsoft … Read more

Microsoft announced Tuesday a new service designed to help the small businesses that use Office Live get their Web site professionally designed. Microsoft said it is partnering with Website Pros to offer an $80 monthly service to allow businesses to set up and maintain their Web site using the Microsoft tools.

As part of the new service, users get a five-page Web site designed for them by Website Pros, with that site then submitted to MSN, Google, Yahoo and 100 other search engines, as well as business cards and a listing in Yahoo's yellow pages.

It is common knowledge that IT security is made up of isolated security islands that don't talk to each other and must be managed on a one-off basis.

Why is this? Best I can figure is that it is a historical combination of budget and behavior. Security budgets are notoriously tight, so tools tend to be brought in on an as-needed basis. As for behavior, security professionals grew up with a "best of breed" mindset. If security widgets 1 and 2 are deemed to be the best products available, they buy them. Security benefits tend to trump … Read more