Stories about: Windows Live

Microsoft is putting the Windows client OS on a diet as a way to bring the PC OS into the age of cloud computing.

Microsoft on Tuesday for the first time publicly demonstrated Windows 7, the next major release of its OS for PCs that Microsoft insists will reflect lessons learned from the widely panned Windows Vista.

Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie has officially filled the shoes previously worn by founder and Chairman Bill Gates, stepping in as leader of the company's vast developer network, which is its lifeblood and crucial to the enormous success of Windows. Ozzie delivered Monday's keynote speech at the company's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles, introducing Windows Azure, a cloud-computing development and hosting environment that integrates Ozzie's vision for the future of the Web, which he began building at his company Groove Networks before he joined Microsoft.

With the first public alpha release of Windows 7 due Monday at the Microsoft PDC2008 conference, the outline of the new operating system is taking shape. What you won't see when that alpha comes out is the way that Microsoft will try to use Windows 7 as a Trojan horse in its war against Google.

At first glance, the T-Mobile G1 (US$179) doesn't seem to merit much attention. It looks like just another bland, HTC-manufactured phone. But use the G1--the first phone to run Google's Android operating system -- for 5 minutes, and you'll start to see why it's one of the best-designed phones you can buy. Not only is the G1 intuitive to use, but its customization options (via Android) makes it a tweaker's delight.

A small business is not necessarily a simple business. That rather basic lesson has taken much of the computer industry far too many years to learn. Successful SaaS vendors have realized that small businesses need the same sort of functions and support that large enterprises get -- just in smaller quantities. Clearly Microsoft has come to the same realization with the release of Small Business Server 2008.

Microsoft Wednesday launched a rewards program to entice consumers to its Live Search site that requires Internet Explorer, and bars users of rival browsers including Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome.

Microsoft Wednesday squelched speculation on when the public would get its hands on Windows 7 code by confirming that attendees at its Professional Developers Conference would receive a pre-beta version.

Chrome's share of the browser market is fading as users who abandoned Internet Explorer and Firefox start to return, an Internet measurement company said Tuesday.

Yahoo Mail isn't the only Web-based mail service that could be duped into giving up someone else's account password, the tactic that some have argued was used to break into Sarah Palin's e-mail last week.

Microsoft Friday said that it made a mistake when it tagged one of its own programs as incompatible with Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, the browser preview it unveiled Wednesday.