Microsoft : Tech news from CNET News.com

U.K. standards body taken to court over OOXML

May 1, 2008 8:33 PM PDT

Group launches court challenge against decision by British Standards Institution to approve Microsoft's nascent document format.

With Mesh, Microsoft rethinks its place in the world

April 23, 2008 6:13 PM PDT

Redmond unveils its new Live Mesh service--and acknowledges that computing no longer revolves around the PC.
• Images: Hands-on with Live Mesh
• Live Mesh platform takes on Google, Adobe

Office 2007 fails OOXML conformance test

April 21, 2008 2:59 PM PDT

Test shows that Word documents generated by today's version of Office 2007 don't conform to the Office Open XML standard under development by the ISO.
(By Peter Judge of ZDNet UK)

Microsoft woos hobbyist developers

April 17, 2008 4:34 PM PDT

Company is trying to boost interest in noncommercial software development around Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 and Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition.

Week in review: Microhoo, Yahoogle, and Microspace, oh my!

April 11, 2008 10:41 PM PDT

The week was marked by a dizzying barrage of news on the future of Yahoo and its suitors, leaving industry watchers mostly scratching their heads. Also, RSA 2008.
(By CNET News.com's Michelle Meyers)

Microsoft: Vista feature designed to 'annoy users'

April 11, 2008 7:01 PM PDT

By way of the User Account Control feature, company set out to force independent software vendors to make their code more secure, says manager.

Week in review: Social media open for business

March 28, 2008 7:27 PM PDT

The formation of a group to promote universal standards for social-network apps stood out amid a slew of headlines this week about companies merging, collaborating, or restructuring.
(By CNET News.com's Michelle Meyers)

U.K. may make last-minute U-turn on OOXML

March 27, 2008 7:54 PM PDT

Microsoft's Office Open XML may win last-minute favor from a key British standards body, but Microsoft would need more votes to change before OOXML becomes a standard.

Microsoft offers free support for Vista SP1 installs

March 25, 2008 12:14 PM PDT

Software giant says it will give free support until March 18, 2009, to those experiencing difficulty installing Service Pack 1.
(By Suzanne Tindal of ZDNet Australia)

Gaps found in Microsoft Exchange API documentation

March 10, 2008 6:16 PM PDT

Companies providing alternatives to Exchange are expressing concern over missing information in recently published APIs for Microsoft volume server products.

Microsoft mixes it up at Web confab

March 10, 2008 4:00 PM PDT

Silverlight and IE 8 top the technology agenda at Redmond's Mix '08 developer event in Las Vegas.
Broader release of IE 8 coming this summer
Microsoft looking for a Silverlight bullet
Ozzie outlines Microsoft's cloud strategy

Ballmer: Microsoft is thinking green

March 5, 2008 5:00 PM PST

At the CeBit technology show in Hannover, the chief executive says the software giant is focusing on lowering energy consumption.

Microsoft COO downplays Vista update problems

March 5, 2008 1:14 AM PST

The software giant's chief operating officer says he is pleased with SP1's progress, despite it breaking some third-party programs.

Feeling the heat at Microsoft

February 29, 2008 6:08 PM PST

Antitrust woes, a protracted battle for Yahoo, and a shifting software market. Welcome to Steve Ballmer's world.

Q&A: 100-plus WiiWare titles in development

February 21, 2008 11:08 PM PST

Nintendo promising wide range of titles for North American WiiWare launch; says it doesn't want to place limits on developer ideas.

Making sense of Microsoft and open source

February 22, 2008 1:48 AM PST

The software giant's latest move offers a nice dose of kumbaya to open-source developers, but it goes only so far.

EU regulators cool on Microsoft open-source move

February 22, 2008 9:13 AM PST

Announcement won't affect its antitrust investigations against the software giant, says European Commission.

Microsoft: Vista SP1 will break these programs

February 21, 2008 6:46 PM PST

List of applications affected by service pack installation include Trend Micro's Internet Security 2008 and the Times Reader.

Gates explains why Microsoft needs Yahoo

February 20, 2008 10:58 PM PST

A main driver of the takeover bid is the desire for "great engineers," says Microsoft's chairman. Plus: Windows 7 and other future tech.

Microsoft pulls Vista SP1 update

February 21, 2008 1:03 AM PST

The company retracts a prerequisite update for downloading Vista Service Pack 1 after some customers complain of problems.