Following reports that Microsoft recently released the "Milestone 1" code for Windows 7 -- its next desktop operating system following Vista -- to several partners, TG Daily is reporting that a new roadmap for the software shows a release during the second half of 2009.
Microsoft has said previously that Windows 7 (previously code-named "Blackcomb" and "Vienna") is scheduled for release in 2010. The roadmap showing the 2009 schedule was provided to TG Daily by a source; Microsoft refused to comment on the date.
Microsoft said this week that it is now allowing developers to examine source code for .Net Framework libraries as a way to
help developers build better software. But developers first will need to upgrade to the newly released Visual Studio 2008
software development platform.
Through the .Net Reference Source project, developers will be able to view and debug the source code with the .Net Framework
Reference license in a read-only format. Among the software projects covered by the arrangement are: The .Net Base Class Libraries,
including System, System.CodeDom and System.ComponentModel; ASP.Net, including System.Web.Extensions; Windows Forms; and Windows
Presentation Foundation. Also offered are ADO.Net and XML.
The Redmond company announced Thursday that it had penned a deal with financial data provider EDGAR Online to bring the reports to its service. While EDGAR will supply the actual data to MSN, Microsoft will present those reports in context along with s from its own network. The revenues would likely then be used to balance out any expenses for bringing the content to its users.
The new functionality will launch later this year. The deal may not be all that surprising, considering in March, EDGAR Online plans to switch over its Web advertising to Microsoft's adCenter system.Among EDGAR's pre-existing customers are Yahoo, Google, Forbes, MarketWatch, CNN Money and Smart Money.
Microsoft has tapped a former executive at Walt Disney to fill its CIO position, a move that shows the company continuing
to fill top executive positions from outside the company.
Tony Scott, who most recently was CIO at Walt Disney, will take over that same role at Microsoft in February, reporting to
Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner. Scott, who also will be a corporate vice president at Microsoft, replaces Stuart Scott,
who departed the company in November. The two are not related.
Last month Microsoft helped form an industry association focused on helping developers make hardware and software more accessible. On Thursday, Microsoft announced more tangible steps to help that effort along.
The Accessibility Interoperability Alliance, formed in December, includes such Microsoft rivals as Adobe, Novell and Oracle. Specifically, Microsoft said it would grant a royalty-free license for any Microsoft patents necessary to implement required portions of the AIA's UI Automation Specification still in development.
Secunia has found that the number of security bugs in the open source Red Hat Linux operating system and Firefox browsers
far outstripped comparable products from Microsoft last year.
In a report released this week, Secunia also criticized CA for the quality of the code in its anti-virus products, saying
that "inherent" code problems are exposing CA products to ongoing security vulnerabilities.
On the other hand, "zero-day" security bugs in Firefox were patched more quickly than in Microsoft Internet Explorer, according
to the Secunia 2007 Report, released this week.
Microsoft has warned corporate administrators that it will push a new version of Internet Explorer 7 their way next month,
and it has posted guidelines on how to ward off the automatic update if admins want to keep the older IE6 browser on their
companies' machines.
The IE7 upgrade scheduled to roll out via WSUS on Feb. 12 was announced last October, when
Microsoft said it would no longer require users to prove they owned a legitimate copy of Windows XP before they were allowed
to download the newer browser. Microsoft explained that the move was prompted by security concerns.
Exact details of the patents in the agreement were not disclosed, although the two companies say it covers a "broad range" of products either company offers.
Financial terms of the deal were also not disclosed, although the companies say that the agreement results in a net financial benefit for Microsoft. The two companies had already been collaborating on certain technologies in the past.
Microsoft confirmed on Tuesday that a long-standing and influential member of the Windows OS team has left, one of several
recent and imminent executive departures that together represent a changing of the guard at the company.
Rob Short, former corporate vice president of the Windows Core Technology group, left the company last month, according to
a spokeswoman from Microsoft's public relations firm.
Short had helped develop the Windows OS at Microsoft since joining the company in 1988. He was on the original Windows NT
development team, which did some of the early work to optimize Windows for the PC architecture.
In what it calls a response to the "consumer excitement" for the Zune 80, Microsoft said Tuesday that it will ship a red colored model in time for Valentine's Day. Along with the debut of the red Zune, Microsoft also has made available 20 different Valentine's Day themed engraving options through its Zune Originals program. The company will also offer special playlists for the holiday through its online store.
Among the playlists to be offered include "Hip Hop Valentine," "80's Love," "Broken Love," and a Barry White themed playlist appropriately titled "Talk to Me, Barry.