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Visual J# .NET is a development tool for Java-language developers who want to build applications and services on the .NET Framework. Visual J# .NET joins more than 20 previously announced languages with its ability to target the .NET Framework and first-class XML Web services. Visual J# .NET provides the easiest transition for Java developers into the world of XML Web services and dramatically improves the interoperability of Java-language programs with existing software written in a variety of other programming languages. Visual J# .NET enables Microsoft Visual J++ customers and other Java-language programmers to take advantage of existing investments in skills and code while fully exploiting the Microsoft platform today and into the future.

Microsoft on Wednesday said it has invested $51 million in Groove Networks, taking another step toward solidifying its strategy to let customers share files and data with Web-based collaborative software. Privately held Groove Networks, located in Beverly, Mass., makes software that takes a Napster-like approach to sharing files, ideas and data. The company's software is likely to play a central role in Microsoft's .Net strategy, a wide-ranging plan for moving business computing applications onto the Web. The software giant's $51 million investment gives it a minority stake in Groove, a company founded in 1997 by Lotus Notes creator Ray Ozzie. Previous investors include Accel Partners and Intel.

Microsoft announced this week that its controversial Product Activation technology, included in Windows XP, Office XP, and Visio 2002, has passed an independent security audit conducted by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an accounting and auditing firm. Deloitte & Touche conducted an examination, in keeping with standards set by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant, of Microsoft public assertions regarding the activation process, and found that the technology worked as advertised, maintaining user privacy.

The European Commission has told Microsoft the company obstructed the EU executive's investigation of the software giant's practices, a source familiar with the case said Wednesday. The allegations, reported in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, were contained in the formal statement of objections sent to the company in August. The European antitrust enforcers could seek a massive fine from Microsoft and demand that it drop some features from its dominant Windows software, according to the newspaper. The commission, the European Union's executive body, has authority to impose a fine of as much as 10 percent of Microsoft's annual revenue, or $2.5 billion, the report said.

Microsoft plans to make available this week a test version of a new tool intended to attract Java developers to the company's .Net Web services plan. The limited capability of Visual J#.Net lets Microsoft sidestep licensing issues with Java's creator, Sun Microsystems. The two companies have been sparring over Java for years. Sun sued Microsoft for $35 million in 1997, saying Microsoft breached its contract by trying to extend Java so it would work differently on Windows computers. A Sun representative warned Tuesday that Java developers using Visual J#.Net will fall prey to a Microsoft lock-in strategy.

Microsoft have released a few updates for Office XP. Browse to the product you have installed to see the KB article at Microsoft and further instructions on how to download software and update

Microsoft has released an update that resolves an error which occurs when the Windows XP Step By Step Interactive (SBSI) training program is installed on an NTFS partition and you are not logged on with Owner, Administrator or Power User privileges. A user who attempts to launch the SBSI training program and receives an "Error Opening Database" error message should download the update.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Microsoft's request to hear an appeal of its antitrust case. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant had appealed not on the merits of the case but because of comments that U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson had made to the media. "We're disappointed that our petition is not one of the few the Supreme Court chose to review this term," said Microsoft spokesman Vivek Varma. "We will continue to move forward with the case at the District (Court) level and comply with the court's order to work in good faith with the government to settle the case.

AMD today announced that AMD and Microsoft will collaborate on the marketing of the new AMD Athlon XP processor and Microsoft's upcoming Windows XP operating system, which will be available worldwide on October 25. The joint marketing plans include select retail and small business programs and system builder and distributor promotions.

"Microsoft is pleased to work with AMD to deliver our customers a great computing experience,'' said John Frederiksen, general manager of PC Experience, Microsoft Corp. "Windows XP and the AMD Athlon XP processor make it easier for users to realize the full potential of their PCs.''

Bowing to customer pressure, Microsoft has extended the deadline for business customers to sign up for a licensing program, just days after backing off a controversial provision that forced some customers to pay twice for software they purchased. The change pushes back to July 31, 2002, a deadline to switch to the new program. Microsoft recently had extended the deadline from October to next February. "Customers helped us understand that we underestimated the amount of time needed to launch this new program, especially in light of current economic conditions," spokesman Dan Leach told Reuters.

Today's rollout of the Microsoft .NET Alerts preview promises an improved Internet experience for consumers and businesses. The .NET Alerts service is already live on eBay the online auction site that boasts 34 million registered users, and one of more than 20 providers who are planning to deploy .NET Alerts to their users. What, exactly, is .NET Alerts, and how does this new Web service fit into Microsoft's overall .NET offering? PressPass spoke with Christopher Payne, vice president of the Microsoft .NET My Services Platform.

The .NET Alerts service delivers instant, on-screen notification of an event that someone considers important and that might require action. It's a new technology, based on our .NET platform, that makes it easy for people to get personalized alerts at their request. It works by enabling a Web site to send simple XML messages to the .NET Alerts service. This service then intelligently routes the message to a person's desktop computer, cell phone, mobile device or e-mail address, based on his or her preferences and presence.