Microsoft declined to comment Friday on post-Vista plans by releasing a comment -- a move bloggers attributed to buzz about a list of most-asked-for features to Vista's successor. The list was yanked from a Microsoft forum earlier this week.
The company's statement, attributed to Kevin Kutz, director of the Windows client team, was among the shortest on record from the company.
"The launch of Windows Vista was an incredibly exciting moment for our customers and partners around the world, and the company is focused on the value Windows Vista will bring to people today," Kutz said. "We are not giving official guidance to the public yet about the next version of Windows, other than that we're working on it. When we are ready, we will provide updates."
Qwest Communications announced that, as of Wednesday, it is offering Microsoft's Windows Live services as an add-on to its residential broadband packages. The service is available in all 14 states that Qwest covers, following a "soft launch" in Colorado in May, a company official said.
Qwest also said it is the first telecommunications carrier in the U.S. to offer Windows Live with its broadband services. Dubbed Qwest Connect Broadband with Windows Live, the service combines Qwest's DSL-based broadband service with Microsoft's MSN Premium ISP service and includes co-branded Windows Live services.
Even though Microsoft is launching SQL Server 2008, code-named "Katmai, in February 2008, the SQL Server 2008 code wont be released to manufacturing until Q2 2008.
Until its Worldwide Partner Conference this week, Microsoft officials had said to expect SQL Server 2008 to ship some time in 2008, after a number of Community Technology Preview releases. Now that due date is a little more clear.
In December 2006, Microsoft requested feedback from a select group of invitees regarding what they would like to see fixed, changed and/or added to future Windows builds. The Windows team got an earful: Nearly 800 new feature requests, another 560-plus change requests and almost 400 defects.
The Windows team has winnowed that That list has been winnowed down to about 70 items most likely to be moved forward, according to a list posted of the most popular requests and posted the week of July 9 to Microsofts Connect beta site. (I had a chance to see the line-up from someone with access to the list.)
Microsoft acquired in February 2007 Medstory, a search vendor focused on healthcare. Five months later, Microsoft has integrated fully into its MSN portal the Medstory search-engine technology.
Medstory, which was in beta at the time Microsoft acquired it, is aimed at both consumers and health professionals. Query results can be narrowed into categories such as clinical studies, procedures, personal-health information and more.
While rumors swirl that Microsoft might be considering buying FaceBook, the company is continuing to build out its own family of blogs, wikis, video and other community-outreach tools to connect with current and potential users.
Microsoft Developer Mark Johnston posted a teaser on his blog for the forthcoming site, which seems to be targeted at students.
"(Y)ou can probably guess who its targeted at given my new job focusing on students ;-), Johnston blogged.
So far, theres nothing but a logo on the site. No word yet on when it will go live. I put in a formal request for more info; no word back yet.
For years, Microsoft has offered certification and Dynamics exams through two official exam providers, Pearson Vue and Thomson Prometric. That's about to change next year, as Microsoft pares the offering to just one company in 2008: Prometric.
According to information posted on the Microsoft MCP Web site, exam takers can continue to register for MCP and Dynamics exams through Vue until Aug. 30, 2007, and take exams through Vue until Dec. 31, 2007. Thereafter, exam delivery worldwide will be through solely through Prometric centers.
Microsoft isn't quite ready to talk about plans for an ad-supported or online version of its Office franchise. But the company clearly is thinking about it.
"We've put more of our marketing IQ beyond alternative business models and alternative distribution strategies in the last two years," corporate vice president Chris Capossela said in an interview at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference taking place here.
"It's definitely something where we feel there is this whole population of people we are not reaching."
Microsoft is turning to an oversized red button in its latest bid to broaden the appeal of its Xbox 360 video-game console.
The company announced plans Tuesday to introduce an alternative Xbox 360 controller, featuring a large button in the style of a game-show buzzer, meant to be less intimidating to new gamers. Four controllers will come with an Xbox 360 adaptation of the "Scene It?" movie trivia game from Seattle-based Screenlife Games.
"It's super-easy to use," said Shane Kim, the corporate vice president in charge of Microsoft Game Studios. It was shown for the first time publicly at Microsoft's media event Tuesday night here at the E3 video-game conference.
On July 10, Microsoft announced that Asian Linux distributor Turbolinux is the latest Linux company to join its Ecma Open XML-Open Document Format Translator Project.
Unlike the earlier Microsoft/Linux partnershipsNovell, Xandros and Linspirethere's no patent agreement or any other technical partnerships. This project seeks to create tools to build a "technical bridge" between Microsoft's Open XML Formats and ODF.
This is not Turbolinux's first partnership with Microsoft. In 2004, Turbolinux made a deal with Microsoft to enable its desktop line, starting with Turbolinux 10 F, to ship a media player that's could legally play movies and music encoded in Microsoft's proprietary WMF.