Buffett gives $37 billion to Gates and other foundations (Reuters)
June 25, 2006
Reuters - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is
donating a total of $37 billion -- most of his personal fortune
-- to a foundation started by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and
to several family foundations, making it the largest-ever
individual charitable gift in the United States.
Utility Stamps Out Microsoft's "Phone Home" Anti-Piracy App (TechWeb)
June 25, 2006TechWeb - A French firewall testing site has posted a utility that disables the controversial Microsoft anti-piracy application that's been criticized for "phoning" home daily.
Positives seen in big Microsoft buy: Merrill (Reuters)
June 25, 2006
Reuters - With Google Inc. taking a
dominant lead in the Internet search market, it looks
increasingly likely that Microsoft Corp. could make a
large acquisition, such as of Yahoo Inc. , Merrill
Lynch said on Friday.
Microsoft Plans Vista Holiday Promotions (PC World)
June 25, 2006PC World - Company hopes to boost PC sales, despite the delay of the OS.
Microsoft Offers Free Copyright Add-In for Office (NewsFactor)
June 25, 2006NewsFactor - Microsoft and Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization that provides flexible copyright licenses, have hooked up to create an add-in for Microsoft Office applications that will enable people, particularly writers and other creators, to protect their creative works automatically.
Critical Security Flaw Found in Microsoft Excel (NewsFactor)
June 25, 2006NewsFactor - Microsoft is investigating reports of a serious security vulnerability in Excel that not only could cause the program to crash, if attacked remotely, but also could provide a way for hackers to take control of a system.
EU: No Adobe complaint about Microsoft (AP)
June 25, 2006AP - The European Commission said Thursday that software company Adobe Systems Inc. has not made any complaints so far about Microsoft Corp.'s plans to ship its new Office software without Adobe's PDF file reader.
XP Promotions May Give Clues To Vista 'Make Goods' (TechWeb)
June 25, 2006TechWeb - Look back to how Microsoft handled promotions for XP in 2001 for clues about how the developer and computer makers might offer free or discounted versions of Windows XP to PC buyers this fall and winter.
EU Talks With Microsoft About PDF And Vista (TechWeb)
June 25, 2006TechWeb - EU Competition Committee officials apparently have been in contact with the Microsoft and Adobe to discuss concerns about how Vista will treat PDF-type documents.
Microsoft Exec: Linux No Threat To Windows On Desktop (TechWeb)
June 25, 2006TechWeb - Linux isn't a threat to Windows on the desktop and is losing steam on the server as customers separate the operating system from the development model, according to Bill Hilf, Microsoft's chief platform strategist.
EU says got no complaint from Adobe vs Microsoft (Reuters)
June 25, 2006Reuters - The European Commission said on
Thursday it had received no complaint from Adobe Systems Inc.
against Microsoft over the treatment of PDF
documents in the U.S. software giant's forthcoming Windows
Vista operating system.
In Brief (PC World)
June 25, 2006PC World - Sony's Alpha A100 is the company's first single-lens reflex digital camera; Bill Gates plans to vacate his architect role at Microsoft.
Top Microsoft Exec Exits, Spawning Speculation (NewsFactor)
June 25, 2006NewsFactor - Martin Taylor, a top Microsoft executive, has abruptly departed the company, less than a week after Bill Gates declared that he would be backing off from his day-to-day role as chief software architect. Taylor, who was appointed in March to the position of corporate vice president of Windows Live and MSN marketing, was considered to be the right-hand man of CEO Steve Ballmer.
Entry By Microsoft Called Endorsement For Robotics Field (Investor's Business Daily)
June 25, 2006Investor's Business Daily - Microsoft marked its entry into the robotics business late Tuesday, unveiling software that can be used to create robotic applications for a variety of computing platforms.
Third Microsoft Excel Attack Posted (PC World)
June 25, 2006PC World - One week, three flaws in Microsoft's spreadsheet software.
Microsoft touts Entities to link business, data (InfoWorld)
June 25, 2006InfoWorld - Microsoft is working on a data mapping substrate for its Visual Studio developer tool platform called ADO.Net Entities, which will provide a data model focused on business terminology, a Microsoft executive said in his blog.
Microsoft Plans Link Between Directory, Live Services (PC World)
June 25, 2006PC World - Users would get a single sign-on for both the company's Active Directory and its Windows Live Web-based services.
Microsoft Adds Licensing Tool To Office (TechWeb)
June 25, 2006TechWeb - Microsoft add-in for Office hooks people up with Creative Commons.
Yahoo Messenger Gets an Overhaul (NewsFactor)
June 25, 2006NewsFactor - In the same week that Microsoft formally launched a complete overhaul to MSN Messenger, called Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo rolled out a beta version of its own next-generation instant-messaging application.
Rival Calls Microsoft's Security Pricing 'Predatory,' 'Ruthless' (TechWeb)
June 25, 2006TechWeb - Microsoft's low security software prices are putting the entire security software ecosystem at risk, the chief executive of a Florida company said Wednesday.
Gates allowed to skip NJ casino probe (AP)
June 25, 2006AP - New Jersey casino regulators exempted Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and Chief Executive Steve Ballmer from filing disclosure forms because they already have top-secret clearance from the U.S. Defense Department.