Massachusetts, which recently led the charge against Microsoft's proprietary document format, has decided that Microsoft's latest format may meet its standards.
In a new draft proposal, the state says that Microsoft's XML-based format known as Office Open XML (also known as OOXML and Ecma-376) fits its definition of an open standard and is acceptable for government employees and agencies to use.
The draft states that "The Ecma-376 Office Open XML File Formats is another standardized XML-based file format specification suitable for office applications. It covers the features required by text, spreadsheets, charts, and graphical documents."
With a rather lackluster list of the so-called "Ultimate Extras," Microsoft took the step of assuring its user base that it still remained committed to the idea on Monday.Since Vista's launch in January 2007, only four extras have been released, including Windows Hold'Em, 16 language packs for the Windows multi-language UI, Secure Online Key Backuip, and Windows BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool - not exactly exciting additions to Vista.
Standards body Ecma International has formed a technical committee to develop a standard built on Microsoft's XML Paper Specification, a rival file format to Adobe Systems' Portable Document Format.
According to Ecma's Web site, the goal of the TC46 - XPS Technical Committee is to create "a formal standard for an XML-based electronic paper format and XML-based page description language which is consistent with existing implementations of the format called the XML Paper Specification."
XPS is one of many file formats natively supported in Microsoft's Office 2007 productivity suite and was developed internally by the company. Currently, Microsoft has the only implementation of XPS.
When talking about Windows Vista momentum, Microsoft often mentions the 40 million licenses of the operating system that it's sold, with 20 million moving in the first month. The big question mark is how many of those licenses go out on the books as Windows Vista shipments, but involve users exercising the "downgrade rights" that allow them to install the well-tested and well-understood Windows XP operating system on their new desktops.
What has been clear is that Microsoft partners have been unhappy with the process that Microsoft has made them go through to exercise downgrade rights on behalf of clients.
A hacker successfully attacked a Web page within Microsoft's U.K. domain on Wednesday, resulting in the display of a photograph of a child waving the flag of Saudi Arabia.
It was "unfortunate" that the site was vulnerable, said Roger Halbheer, chief security advisor for Microsoft in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, on Friday.
The problem has since been fixed. However, the hack highlights how large software companies with technical expertise can still prove vulnerable to hackers.
Microsoft is naming Kirill Tatarinovas its top business solutions executive, according to documents examined by RCP.
Tatarinov's ascension will doubtless surprise many Microsoft Business Solutions partners who had anticipated that MBS long-timer, and Microsoft corporate vice president Tami Reller, would get this job. Reller joined Microsoft by way of that company's acquisition of Great Plains Software six years ago. She has been a familiar face to MBS partners ever since. Several partners lobbied Microsoft to name her to the position, joking about printing up "Vote For Tami" buttons.
Microsoft used the unveiling of its Unlimited Potential initiative in India on June 28 to announce the pilot program for a new PC for schoolchildren, known as the IQ PC, in partnership with hardware maker Advanced Micro Devices.
Microsoft's Unlimited Potential initiative aims to give an additional billion people access to computers by the year 2015.
The IQ PC will be loaded with a selection of software from Microsoft and partners, including Windows, Office/Works, Encarta, Student 2007 and specialized education solutions.
IBM is joining Hewlett- Packard to offer Microsoft's Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 for its high-performance computer products.
The partnership was presaged by IBM's February announcement that it would start supporting Microsoft's Compute Cluster, and IBM said the software suite would now start shipping with its System Cluster 1350.
IBM, whose products dominated the top 10 list of world's fastest supercomputers when the list was announced this week at the International Supercomputing Conference in Germany, is looking to expand its cluster and HPC offering to more enterprise and midmarket companies. At the same time, Microsoft is looking to break into a field ? HPC ? that has long been dominated by Linux.
For David Heckerman, a funny thing happened on the way toward embarking on a biomedical research career: he went to work at Microsoft.
Armed with medical and doctorate degrees from Stanford University, Heckerman has virtually come full circle in the last 15 years. As lead researcher of Microsoft's Machine Learning and Applied Statistics Group, Heckerman has seen technology he helped develop serve as analytical tools in HIV research.
And earlier this month, Microsoft made the technology available to the research community, as open-source code for four analytical software tools to develop a vaccine for the disease.
If Microsoft's latest efforts are any indication, a Web-based iteration of its desktop franchise won't be ready any time soon. Microsoft late Tuesday announced two new Windows Live services, one for sharing photos and the other an online storage service. The two services, both in private testing, represent the start of a new push by the software maker to make its Web services more compelling. But their release also suggests that Microsoft is still at the early stages of its Web services effort.