Bit by Bit

Encrypt an entire system partition with Microsoft's BitLocker for Windows Vista. 08/01/2006

To Serve and to Virtualize

Virtualization on the server side can add up to big savings in hardware costs. 08/01/2006

Microsoft Hands Documents Over to EU

Microsoft Corp. has given the European Union more documents in response to a 2004 antitrust order, but regulators said they do not know yet whether the company will avoid additional fines. 08/01/2006

BlackHat, DefCon Pranks Underlie Larger Security Message

The middle-aged G-men who wear crisp suits and consort with teenage hackers sporting purple hair can make the two conferences that will converge in Las Vegas this week look like a scene from a science-fiction movie. 08/01/2006

Back to Basics Quiz

Are you the master of your Windows domain? 08/01/2006

Let's Get Small

Upcoming Microsoft products will be more powerful and larger than their predecessors -- but with such great size comes great responsibilities. 08/01/2006

Going to the Bench: Can Redmond's Backups Keep 'Em in the Game?

New management team must fill the void left by Gates. 08/01/2006

Deja Vu

ISA Server 2006 is similar to its predecessor, but there's enough new stuff to make it worth a look. 08/01/2006

Get Your Shell On

Automate admin tasks easier with the new Windows PowerShell. 08/01/2006

Adesso Looks to Mobilize Application Development

A Q&A with John Landry, co-founder of Adesso Systems. 08/01/2006

Microsoft's Future Is ... Robotics?

Mary Jo talks with Microsoft about a world of robots. 08/01/2006

Get a Grip on Those Gripes

From software packaging to lying users, the world can be an annoying place for IT admins. 08/01/2006

Microsoft Recalls Small Business Server 2003 R2

Microsoft has recalled Small Business Server 2003 Release 2 from manufacturing last week after the company discovered some of the files were not the most up-to-date. 08/01/2006

Second Time Around

Windows Server 2003 R2 and the new DFS. 08/01/2006

Virtual Panic

On one sunny summer day, this IT manager's network turned slow and lazy -- to his consternation. 08/01/2006

Reminder: Ballmer's In Charge

He's not just some guy hanging out behind the curtain. 08/01/2006

Ray of Sunshine

"Live" paves Ozzie's yellow brick road. 08/01/2006

Buck-Fifty a Beta for Office 2007

It's for cost recovery, says Redmond 08/01/2006

Working with Microsoft's Services for Unix, Part 1

In this first installment of a two-part series, Emmett explains how this free tool is essential for any integrator's toolbox. 07/31/2006

Programmer Stole, Sold Sentry Insurance Customer Data, Company Says

Personal information on 72 worker's compensation claimants was stolen from Sentry Insurance and later sold over the Internet, the company said. 07/31/2006

Microsoft: No Quick Payoff on iPod Rival

Microsoft's plans to offer an iPod competitor could take up to five years of investment, but the spending is worth it in part because it will help the software maker's broader entertainment agenda, a company executive said Thursday. 07/31/2006

China Cracks Down on Foreign Internet Investors

China is trying to tighten control over foreign investors in Internet ventures in a crackdown that a state newspaper said Friday could see some companies stripped of operating licenses. 07/30/2006

Ozzie: 'Live' Not Risky for Microsoft

While industry observers have viewed Microsoft's Windows and Office Live initiative as risky business, newly installed Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie on Thursday said it is much closer to a natural evolution given the company's capabilities and heritage as a software platforms company. 07/28/2006

Intel Unveils New Core 2 Duo Chips

Intel Corp. introduced its most important product line in six years Thursday, unveiling 10 microprocessors that are expected to help the world's largest chip maker retake ground lost to smaller competitor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. 07/27/2006

Microsoft: IE7 To Be High Priority Automatic Update

Microsoft quietly announced this week that it will distribute Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP as a high priority update via Automatic Updates when the new browser version is complete. 07/27/2006

Ballmer Heralds a New Era for Microsoft

Saying both he personally and his company were entering a new era, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said he will take a much more active role in championing innovation within the company as chairman Bill Gates gradually backs away from his role as chairman over the next two years. 07/27/2006

New-Generation BizTalk Exam Now Live

Microsoft releases exam for business process management experts after a successful beta test last month. 07/27/2006

Microsoft Buys Medical Records System

Microsoft Corp. has acquired a patient information system that the world's largest software maker plans to sell to health care providers worldwide. 07/27/2006

AOL Co-Founder Offers Merger Apology

AOL co-founder Steve Case has offered a qualified apology for his role in architecting the online company's disastrous combination with Time Warner Inc. "Yes, I'm sorry I did it," Case said on PBS's "The Charlie Rose Show" last Friday. 07/27/2006

Students Face Jail for Hacking Professor's Computer

Two students each face up to a year in jail for a prank that involved hacking into a professor's computer, giving grades to other students and sending pizza, magazine subscriptions and CDs to the professor's home. 07/27/2006

Key IBM Growth Engine Appears to Sputter

A growth engine in IBM Corp. appears to be sputtering, illustrating the challenges with the company's broader strategy of enticing businesses to let Big Blue take over vital operations from designing products to handling payroll and customer service. 07/26/2006

Microsoft To Host Annual Financial Analyst Meeting

Microsoft will host a crowd of financial analysts on campus Thursday for its annual financial analyst meeting. 07/26/2006

Microsoft Completes Whale Acquisition

In a move meant to strengthen its enterprise security message, Microsoft said this week it has completed the acquisition of a leading secure access software firm. 07/26/2006

Forrester on Office 2007: Real Deal for Microsoft Developers

ADT Senior Editor Kathleen Richards talks with Forrester's John R. Rymer about what makes Office 2007 such a promising development platform. 07/26/2006

AOL May Forego Subscriptions for Advertising Revenue

The company responsible for introducing millions of people to the Internet is poised to undergo a transformation that would likely accelerate its decline as a gatekeeper of access to the information superhighway. 07/25/2006

Beta 1 of SP2 for Windows Server 2003 Begins

Microsoft announced it has begun shipping Beta 1 of Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional x64 edition. However, the beta is billed as "private." 07/25/2006

AMD To Buy Graphics Chip Maker ATI

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. struck another blow at Intel Corp., its bigger rival in the market for personal-computer microprocessors, as it disclosed plans Monday to buy one of the dominant makers of graphics chips in a $5.4 billion deal that analysts said could fundamentally alter competition in the semiconductor industry. 07/25/2006

Microsoft Ships Betas of Exchange Server 2007, Forefront Server

Microsoft announced this week it is shipping the second beta test version -- which is also the first public beta test -- of Exchange Server 2007, as well as Forefront Server for Exchange Server. 07/25/2006

Don't Play SAM Again

Needed: Your thoughts on software asset management 07/25/2006

True Tales of Software Piracy

Microsoft nabs pirates, but others continue to run free for now. 07/25/2006

Microsoft Confirms iPod Rival

Microsoft Corp. confirmed Friday it's working on music and entertainment products that are expected to compete with Apple Computer Inc.'s wildly popular iPod and iTunes music service. 07/24/2006

What You're Watching

Star Trek, the Sopranos, Seinfeld and ... the Smurfs? 07/24/2006

Building a New Certification

Microsoft Certified Architect makes its officiial debut at launch event. 07/24/2006

Partners Get Their Marching Orders on Marketing Vista

Is Microsoft's SAM Just a Shakedown in Disguise?

While Software Asset Management once showed promise for customers, Braden warns that the way Microsoft appears to be implementing the program should raise red flags. 07/24/2006

SAP Reports 43 Percent Profit Jump

Business software maker SAP AG said its net profit rose 43 percent in the second quarter on higher U.S. revenues and better margins. 07/21/2006

Analysts Seek Microsoft Spending Details

The demand at Microsoft Corp.'s annual meeting of financial analysts next week won't be so much to "show me the money" as to "show me what you're doing with the money." 07/21/2006

Dell Shares Plunge on Lowered 2Q Outlook

Shares of Dell Inc. plunged to their lowest level in nearly five years Friday after the world's largest computer maker lowered its second-quarter earnings outlook below Wall Street's estimates, due mainly to aggressive price cuts in a slowing market. 07/21/2006

Microsoft Completes Softricity Buyout

Microsoft has completed its purchase of application virtualization vendor Softricity, the company said this week. 07/20/2006

AMD 2Q Profit Rises as Revenue Dips

Computer chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s second-quarter profit rose sharply but sales dipped as it struggled amid the aggressive price cuts of larger rival Intel Corp. 07/20/2006