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A News.com report on the influential software maker.

December 9, 2005 3:33 PM PST

Calling all coders

Microsoft on Friday put out a call for tech students in India to enter its "Code 4 Bill" contest, as the software giant seeks to tap the brain trust of up-and-coming technologists in that region, according to an article in the HindustanTimes.com.

The contest is seeking students who are nearly ready for "primetime," targeting pre-final and final year students, according to the report. Students will be tested on their technical and analytical know-how, as well as undergo intensive interview with representatives of Microsoft. The contest is set to begin in January, the report states.

Microsoft will cherry pick the top 20 candidates, who will receive a one-year internship at the software giant. They will first delve into their new corporate surroundings at Microsoft's Indian operations, before heading to rainy Redmond, Wash., to hang with Bill Gates at the company's headquarters, according to the report.

As India becomes a powerhouse in churning out top technologists, one begins to wonder if the internship cycle should go in reverse - a brief training at company X in the U.S, before more extensive work at that company's Indian operation.

Posted by Dawn Kawamoto
December 8, 2005 11:49 AM PST

Will the real Bill Gates please stand up

There are those who aspire to be the next Bill Gates, but few who literally get to play the role.

Kiyaan Vazirzadeh, a 10-year-old from Simi Valley, Calif., is the exception. The youngster recently had three wishes granted, as part of the reality show "Three Wishes." And, so, several weeks ago, young Varzirzadeh spent the day on Microsoft's campus, where he served as Microsoft CEO for one day.

There were Microsoft employees to greet, a board meeting to attend, and, of course, chewing the fat with his hero Gates. The two discussed careers, technology and Gates own recollections of his own prepubescent days.

Vazirzadeh's brief day as Microsoft CEO in training will be aired Friday at 9 p.m. (EST) on NBC.

Posted by Dawn Kawamoto
December 7, 2005 2:54 PM PST

Escape yesterworld with Microsoft?

In the inspired silliness category, Microsoft is attempting a little humor to market its otherwise serious server and developer tools, Sequel Server and Visual Studio 2005.

At Escapeyesterworld.com, a seemingly unpromoted Web site hosted by Microsoft, video episodes like "Evil Wears a Cape" and "Repetitive Tasks of Doom" feature clips and characters from old Flash Gorden shows. Voiceovers tell of the benefits of the technology, such as "freedom for developers who toil in DLL hell."

Maybe this is why a search for "evil" at Google now renders results other than Microsoft.

Posted by Stefanie Olsen
December 5, 2005 6:19 AM PST

Test version of Windows file system updated

Microsoft has posted an updated test version of its new Windows file system, called WinFS.

The company, in a blog posting, said the beta test refresh now works with Microsoft's .Net Framework 2.0.

The test version of WinFS is available to Microsoft Developer Network subscribers. An initial test version was posted in August.

The software giant had originally planned to release WinFS--which it said would make for better desktop file searching--as part of the next version of Windows, once called Longhorn but now known as Vista. However, in August 2004, Microsoft announced it was pulling WinFS out of Longhorn in order to let the OS ship in 2006. Of WinFS, the company said only that it would be in beta form by the time Longhorn shipped.

Posted by Mike Ricciuti
December 2, 2005 9:19 AM PST

Microsoft's switches shared source execs

The leader of Microsoft's efforts to release some of its code into the open source world is moving into a new gig at the software maker.

Jason Matusow, who has headed Microsoft's Shared Source project since its inception five years ago, said on his blog Friday that he is taking up a new role as a director on Microsoft's corporate standards strategy team.

"I'll be looking at the issues surrounding standards from strategy, policy, and communications points of view," he said.

Bill Hilf, who runs Microsoft's Linux lab, will take on the added responsibility for the shared source work.

Posted by Ina Fried
November 29, 2005 1:37 PM PST

Microsoft sets timing for Vista beta

Microsoft said Tuesday it is aiming to have all of the features that will ship in Vista, the next edition of Windows, completed by end of this year. A feature-complete beta will be ready early in 2006, it added. The full release is still slated for later that year.

However, the next release in its to the Community Technology Preview of Vista will not come until December, but will happen before the holidays. The first release in the CTP testing program was in October, and community testers had expected a monthly update in November.

CTP enables Microsoft to gather feedback more quickly than would be possible from using only a traditional beta program.

Posted by Karen Said
November 28, 2005 6:40 AM PST

Microsoft moves further into hosting

Microsoft continues to expand its lineup of hosted services.

The company on Monday announced Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration version 3.5, which lets service providers offer small and midsize businesses what Microsoft terms "enterprise-quality" email, calendaring, contacts, real time collaboration and mobility capabilities.

The product is aimed at companies with between 10 and 250 users, and will be offered by telecommunications companies and other service providers, Microsoft said.

In addition, Microsoft launched a free hosted partner program, which provides hosters with software, tools and documentation. The company said that members in the program become eligible for the Services Provider License Agreement, a licensing program that enables them to license Microsoft products on a monthly basis to offer services and hosted applications to their end customers.

Last week, Microsoft launched a domain hosting program, targeted at consumers, as part of its Live.com product lineup.

Posted by Mike Ricciuti
November 17, 2005 3:42 PM PST

Kick the Microsoft habit in 12 steps

Do you know you want to beat your Microsoft addiction but don't know where to start?

Well, there is a new book with all the answers: "Just say no to Microsoft: How to ditch Microsoft and why it's not as hard as you think."

The tome begins with the most obvious of tips--Get a Mac--but moves on to offer suggestions on how to run a standard PC using operating systems, media software, browsers, office suites and all other manner of technology that Bill Gates and Co. had nothing to do with.

The book's author, Tony Bove, even offers a 12-step approach for those who know they have a Microsoft problem. Step one is to "admit that you are powerless over your addiction--and that your computer system and software have become unmanageable."

And the book practices what it preaches. It was written in OpenOffice.org and laid out using Adobe's FrameMaker. (But was that a Linux box?)

Bove is going to be speaking Sunday at the Hillside Club in Berkeley, Calif. The event's organizers initially had trouble lining up a pro-Microsoft speaker, though apparently they now have three lined up.

Posted by Ina Fried
November 16, 2005 7:54 AM PST

No-frills Windows heads to Egypt, Turkey

Microsoft has added two new versions of its stripped-down Windows XP Starter Edition operating system.

The company said on Tuesday that the software is now available in Arabic and Turkish editions for sale in Egypt and Turkey.

Starter Edition is a critical part of Microsoft's attempts to grow sales of Windows in developing countries. The software is already offered in Thailand, Malaysi, Indonesia, India, Brazil, Mexico and Spanish-speaking Latin America.

In July, Microsoft said it had sold 100,000 copies of Starter Edition.

Posted by Mike Ricciuti
November 15, 2005 10:37 AM PST

New Exchange coming next year (or the year after)

After earlier stating that the next version of its Exchange Server was coming in 2006, Microsoft is back to saying it could be until 2007 before the e-mail server software debuts.

In a roadmap slide presented on Tuesday at its IT Forum in Barcelona, Microsoft listed Exchange Server "12" as due in "Late 2006/Early 2007," according to Windows enthusiast Steven Bink. In a March speech in San Francisco, corporate VP Andy Lees had said the software would arrive sometime next year .

Microsoft also presented a demo of using a phone to call into an Exchange 12 server, which Bink described as "super cool." He pledged to post video and audio soon.

The company also noted that Exchange 12, like several other upcoming software releases, will be 64-bit only. Exchange 12 is also slated to handle voice mail and faxes, according to earlier statements by Microsoft.

Posted by Ina Fried
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