This year's COMDEX trade show in Las Vegas will be a relatively subdued affair, given the terrorist attacks earlier this year, but lower attendance won't be the only major change from previous shows. The COMDEX organizers are trying to prepare attendees for the ramped up security they'll see at the show, including the controversial move of banning laptops from the show.
"Please leave bags, briefcases, backpacks, [and] laptops at home or in your hotel room," a message on the COMDEX Web site reads. "People carrying purses and fanny packs must enter through a separate security check."
Now Features Windows CE 3.0 and DOCSIS Compatibility to Enable Network Operators To Deploy Revenue-Generating iTV Services More Quickly
Microsoft Corp. today announced it has extended its interactive TV (iTV) software offering with the release of Microsoft TV Advanced 1.5, making it faster and easier for network operators to deploy advanced iTV services and add new revenue streams to their current businesses. Being unveiled at the Microsoft TV Developer Conference in Amsterdam, Nov. 8-9, and at the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus, Dec. 6-7, Microsoft TV Advanced 1.5 is designed to better meet the needs of network operator customers worldwide. Also at the conferences, Microsoft TV will roll out the newest additions to its Developer Program tailored to meet different iTV development needs.
Today, Yuval Neeman, vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft Corp., kicked off the seventh annual Microsoft Developer Days, the company's largest-ever developer event aimed toward providing the latest Microsoft .NET technology and training to its developer community. The two-day event will take place in 34 cities across the United States and Canada this week, providing more than 22,000 developers firsthand experience building applications for the .NET Platform with the Visual Studio .NET development system. In the weeks that follow, as many as 100,000 developers worldwide will have the chance to attend DevDays as it moves to venues around the globe.
Microsoft has sold its stake in wireless software maker Wireless Knowledge, which the software giant and Qualcomm created together in 1998. Wireless Knowledge, which bought the shares from Microsoft, will become a subsidiary of Qualcomm, both companies announced Monday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, nor was the size of Microsoft's stake in Wireless Knowledge. Southern California-based Wireless Knowledge is one of many wireless software makers selling ways to access corporate e-mail accounts or computer systems from wireless devices. The company markets its products under the name "WorkStyle."
The response by the state attorneys general to the proposed antitrust settlement deal between Microsoft and the Justice Department remained up in the air at a crucial hearing Tuesday before a federal judge. Brendan Sullivan, the lead attorney for the states, said that the 18 attorneys general are divided into three groups--one wants to accept the settlement as it is, the second is undecided, and the third wants to litigate. "An extraordinary amount of work was done over the weekend," Sullivan said. "They negotiated until (12:30 PT) this morning, and a redline (amended) version was dispatched to the Justice Department and the remaining states at (5:30 PT) this morning."
Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has launched a highly provocative broadcast advertising campaign for the Microsoft Xbox video game system. The extensive campaign, produced by McCann-Erickson Worldwide Inc., began airing Nov. 4, with a series of highly stylized teaser ads centered on the glowing green Xbox jewel. The teaser ads will be followed by ads showcasing the games available on Xbox when the system launches Nov. 15. The campaign will run throughout the holiday season and will give gamers an unadulterated window on the excitement and the realism of the Xbox gaming experience.
Advanced Micro Devices has again upped the stakes in its processor performance race with rival Intel. AMD on Monday launched the new Athlon XP 1900+, its highest performance desktop processor issued to date. The new 1900+ chip runs at a clock speed of 1.6GHz. The resulting megahertz boost over its 1.53GHz Athlon XP 1800+ is expected by many to push the chip's performance ahead of that of Intel's Pentium 4. AMD argues that its Athlon provides better overall performance, even though its clock speed is lower than Pentium 4's. This argument, in part, was the influence behind the launch of the company's new Athlon XP naming scheme, which granted model numbers to various versions of the chip in place of clock-speed measurements.
As reported previously, Microsoft announced Friday that it had reached a settlement with the United States government in its three-year antitrust case. If approved by the Judge overseeing this case, the settlement will have sweeping ramifications in the computer industry and beyond. But the big issue is whether the settlement effectively punishes Microsoft for its illegal activities and prevents it from continuing such activities in the future. I feel that it fails miserably on the first of these two qualifications, though it appears to satisfy the second. But as with its 1995 consent decree, the text of this settlement--the so-called Final Judgment--contains language that is clearly designed to give Microsoft some wiggle room in the future. Given this, the settlement is a travesty of justice that leaves an illegal monopoly in a position of power, where it can continue harming competitors, partners, and even customers.
Microsoft fields questions from the press about the software giant's settlement with the Department of Justice.
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Computer users with the newest equipment and most recent versions of the Windows operating systems are the ones who should notice changes as a result of the Microsoft antitrust settlement. It could take a while and require patience, though, and depend on whether computer makers take advantage of the chance to modify Windows components and appearance. The settlement announced Friday by the Justice Department and the company is designed to restore competition in the software industry. The judge overseeing the case gave 18 states also suing Microsoft until Tuesday to decide whether to sign on to the deal.