Science and technology news blog

The Microsoft Security Response Center plans to publish 12 security bulletins next Tuesday, according to Thursday’s advance notification.

At least four updates will address critical issues, Microsoft said—although Redmond was vague about just how many critical updates it plans to release. Microsoft lumped the bulletins into several groups: eight of which affect Windows, two of which affect Office, one of which affects both Windows and Office, and an assortment of others that affect Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), Microsoft’s malware and antivirus technologies (Microsoft Antigen, Microsoft Windows Defender, and Microsoft Forefront), and Visual Studio, among others.

Of the five Windows bulletins, the advance notification says that, “The highest Maximum Severity rating for these is Critical.” At least one Windows bulletin, one Office bulletin, along with the combined Windows-Office bulletin and the malware and antivirus bulletin, merit severity ratings of “Critical.”

Thursday’s advance notification isn’t always the last word in Patch Tuesday deliverables, of course. Last month, for example, Microsoft yanked several promised Windows patches from its Patch Tuesday payload. Redmond typically pulls a patch if it discovers problems during testing, or if it identifies other issues.

The software giant didn’t say whether next Tuesday’s patch haul will include fixes for any of several Word zero-day exploits now in circulation; nor did Microsoft indicate if next week’s Patch Tuesday payload will address an Excel zero-day attack that first came to light last week.

With two Office-related bulletins in the offing, as well as a combined Windows and Office bulletin coming too, it’s possible Microsoft plans to patch these vulnerabilities.

Microsoft customers will also see an update of the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Tuesday. In addition, Microsoft plans to distribute two non-security high-priority updates next week via Windows Update (WU) and Software Update Services (SUS); along with eight non-security high priority updates via Microsoft Update (MU) and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).

JAMES Gray was one of the world’s foremost computer scientists, a man whose work had helped build some of America’s most advanced technology. But he loved the low-tech world of wind, sail and sea.

Almost two weeks ago he set off in his 12-metre boat from San Francisco harbour, sailing towards the Farallon Islands, about 40 kilometres off the coast.

The weather was clear, the seas were less than 1.5 metres.

The 63-year-old Microsoft researcher was going to scatter the ashes of his mother, who had died the month before. He has not been seen since.

His wife reported him missing when he had not returned by that night. That set off not only a search by the US Coast Guard, but an unprecedented effort by America’s Silicon Valley elite, using the resources of Microsoft, Google, Amazon.com and NASA.

Dr Gray was a world leader in using databases and transaction processing systems to help scientists. He was also interested in building supercomputers using standard parts in order to reduce their cost.

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A new version of Windows Mobile with mostly minor interface and productivity enhancements will begin appearing on smart phones by midyear, Microsoft executives say.

Windows Mobile 6—previously known by the code name Crossbow—will make its formal debut at 3GSM, a major cell phone trade show that begins Monday in Barcelona, Spain. But details are already being widely reported.

A number of key improvements in Windows Mobile 6 will only benefit enterprise customers whose businesses invest in Exchange Server 2007. For example, with Windows Mobile 6 you search your Exchange 2007 mail folder remotely.

But Microsoft has also tried to make e-mail management easier for all Windows Mobile users. Setting up an e-mail account requires fewer clicks than ever, as you can begin the process from the main Messaging screen. A number of e-mail commands have been streamlined into shortcuts. You can also view a history of your activity with any of your contacts.

You can easily apply flags to messages, and address book entries show a history of your contact with them.

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Keeping information secure in this age of laptop-lugging workers is the tech industry’s most formidable challenge, Microsoft Corp Chairman Bill Gates said today.

Speaking to an annual gathering of 15,000 computer security experts in San Francisco, Gates invoked the metaphor of a medieval castle to explain the problem: Programmers build bigger moats and thicker fortress walls – but they don’t bother to protect the corporate crown jewels when members of their fiefdom exit the castle and leave the drawbridge open.

“We used to think of the data centre as a glass house that was very isolated,” Gates said. “But if we look (at) what actually goes on – consultants come into your company, employees who are not onsite need full access – we cannot think of that glass house as the way to define what can connect to what. We need a far more powerful paradigm.”

Gates repeated Microsoft’s claim that Windows Vista, which launched last month, was the most secure operating system in the company’s history. But he acknowledged that all software has “weak links” – particularly when thieves steal servers with confidential information, or when employees use simple, obvious passwords on multiple accounts.

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With the launch of Windows Vista, Bill Gates is giving it the proverbial ‘one hundred and ten percent’ in explaining to everyone in the world why they should care about the new operating system.

In response to analyst speculation that Windows Vista could be the last Microsoft operating system of its kind, as we know it, Gates replies to Newsweek, “Well, people have said that at every major Windows release. Java was going to eliminate Windows programming, or thin clients were going to eliminate people buying PCs.”

The Microsoft chairman says that operating systems keep getting better and richer and that there are no shortages of radical things that will be happening in the next release. When asked if Microsoft will be back with a new OS in 2010-2011, Gates was confident enough to say, “Absolutely.”

Gates said that the next version of Windows “will be more user-centric,” meaning that users should be able to move from PC to PC, whether or not it is their own, and still be able to access much of their own information by using Live Services, regardless of where they are. “So even if you drop by a [public] kiosk or somebody else’s PC, we can bring down your home page, your files, your fonts, your favorites and those things.”

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Not to be outdone by their Windows counterparts at CES, Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit announced today at Macworld the release of a universal version of Office designed to run on both Power-PC and Intel-based Macs. Set for release in the second half of 2007, Office 2008 for Mac promises to implement new tools and introduce an Apple-centric look and feel, while retaining the program’s existing Windows-sharing capabilities.

Like the recently-introduced Office 2007 for Windows, Office 2008 will feature Office Art 2.0, a graphics engine that allows users to add professional level graphics with ease. Mac users will also receive their own, unique version of Office 2007’s popular user-friendly interface, Ribbon. Designed with Apple users is mind Elements attempts to make Office’s tools more easily discoverable by users, taking full advantage of Mac-specific technologies, and maintaining a look and feel familiar to its users.

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PCs and video game consoles aren’t enough for Microsoft anymore. The company wants its software to handle every bit of entertainment in a consumer’s home. That’s why Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates opened the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with a host of new products aimed at moving Microsoft from the home office, to the living room, to the kitchen and car.

Even though the consumer version of Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista, is still weeks from market, Gates on Jan. 7 unveiled a host of new products aimed at expanding its role in entertainment. Centermost is the company’s new Windows Home Server software, technology designed to back up photo, video, and music files and distribute them to devices around the house.

The idea is to give consumers—who shot 2 billion digital photos in 2006, by Microsoft’s count—a place to safely store and have access to pictures, videos, and music. “We think it’s a category that can explode in importance,” Gates said.

Microsoft has already signed Hewlett Packard to make a gadget called the Media Smart Server, due in the second half of this year. Prices weren’t disclosed.

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Bill Gates believes robots could become a “nearly ubiquitous part of our day-to-day-lives”, and he’s already jostling to lead the industry.

In an article he wrote for the January 2007 edition of Scientific American, titled “A Robot in Every Home”, the Microsoft chairman claims the robotics industry hasn’t achieved critical mass because it lacks common standards or platforms.

“Robotics companies have no standard operating software that could allow popular application programs to run in a variety of devices,” he wrote.

“Projects are complex, progress is slow and practical applications are relatively rare.”

Gates compared the current state of robotics to the early days of the computer industry 30 years ago: “think of the manufacturing robots currently used on automobile assembly lines as the equivalent of yesterday’s mainframes.”

Gates’ comments are unashamedly self-serving – around the same time the article was published, Microsoft announced its first commercial operating system for robots – Microsoft Robotics Studio.

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Some people testing Microsoft’s Windows Vista got an unexpected holiday surprise: their TVs stopped working.

Media Center, which is included in the Home Premium and Ultimate versions of the Vista operating system, allows remote-control access to a variety of entertainment options, including television, for machines that have a TV tuner.

However, for those running the “release candidate 1” version of the software—the most broadly distributed of the Vista test versions—the TV feature stopped working on December 31.

Microsoft blamed the issue on the fact that it has a paid license for the video decoder and Dolby sound technology, and it only licensed those through December 31. The overall RC1 software is not scheduled to expire until June.

“As of December 31, 2006, users running Windows Vista RC1 beta code will no longer have access to the Media Center functionality, due to the expiration of the MPEG 2 decoder and Dolby Digital components built into Windows Vista and used by the Media Center experience,” Microsoft said in a statement in response to inquiries by CNET News.com. “Because these technologies are licensed and royalty bearing, they will expire within a certain time period, according to our license agreements.”

A Microsoft representative declined to comment on whether the company could have extended its license, saying it doesn’t comment on the terms of such licensing deals.

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Gamers are invited to join the fight when the beta goes live this spring with Xbox Live and “Crackdown” providing the final two paths.

Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios are ringing in the year with a proverbial bang, as they announced today two new ways for gamers to receive an invitation to participate in the “Halo® 3” multiplayer beta program coming this spring through Xbox Live® Marketplace.

Specifically, gamers will be able to receive an invitation by doing one of the following:

· Qualifying over Xbox Live and then being one of the first 13,333 “Halo 2” gamers to register for the “Rule of Three” program at http://www.halo3.com in early February

· Purchasing the upcoming game “Crackdown™,” which hits store shelves in the U.S. on Feb. 20

The “Halo 3” multiplayer beta, which is a pre-release version of the multiplayer experience of “Halo 3,” is scheduled for availability in spring 2007 exclusively on Xbox 360™. The beta also represents an opportunity for gamers to participate in the testing and refinement of the multiplayer gameplay of “Halo 3,” the most anticipated game of 2007. Through the resulting feedback, Bungie Studios will be able to further hone the end result of “Halo 3.”

Beginning Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007, at 12:01 a.m. EST, all gamers need to do is participate in at least three hours of “Halo 2” multiplayer sessions, via Xbox Live, before Feb. 3, 2007, at 11:59 p.m. EST and then be among the first 13,333 to register at http://www.halo3.com. The “Rule of Three” program is currently planned for gamers in the 50 United States (includes District of Columbia) age 17 years and older who have access to an Xbox 360 Pro console or an Xbox 360 Core console with hard drive, a valid Xbox Live Gold subscription and the “Halo 2” game. Gamers around the world are encouraged to visit http://www.halo3.com in the coming weeks for more information on the “Rule of Three” program in their region.

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Chris and Tim Stamper, which were among the founders of the British gaming company Rare back in 1982, have departed, 1UP reported.

Rare was founded in 1982 by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper as Ashby Computer Graphics (ACG). Rare eventually became a second-party developer for the Nintendo gaming platforms, but in 2002 was acquired by Microsoft. The Redmond giant paid US$377 million for the company, a record for a video game developer.

Microsoft declared to 1UP that the founders’ departure has nothing to do with the lagging sales of the last Viva Pinata game for Xbox 360 (the original idea for the game belonged to Tim Stamper).

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Despite recently reported security  issues with Windows Vista, Microsoft has expressed confidence that its new operating system is secure and reliable.
The Vista vulnerability that was reported by Microsoft just before the Christmas holidays has the capacity for letting a malicious hacker gain access to change user privileges.

Although proof-of-concept code has been posted online, the company has not seen any malware that takes advantage of the flaw, noted Mike Reavey, operations manager at Microsoft’s Security Response Center (MSRC), in a blog posting.

Reavey stated that even though the vulnerability impacts Windows Vista, he still believes that Vista is the company’s most secure platform to date. The MSRC encourages all users to enable a firewall, and apply all security updates.

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Ford Motor Co. (F.N: Quote, Profile , Research) plans to unveil a deal with Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile , Research) in January that will put the software company’s technology into some of the automaker’s cars, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The system, to be called “Sync,” includes a hands-free Bluetooth wireless system and an in-vehicle operating system that eventually will be an option for the entire Ford brand lineup, the WSJ said.

Sync is designed to allow hands-free mobile phone communication and other wireless information transfers in the car, including email and music downloads, the sources told the WSJ.

It will debut next year as an option on at least two Ford brand models, the Focus and Five Hundred sedans, a person familiar with the matter told the Journal. The paper also said the system would be an option on the entire lineup, including trucks starting in the 2008 model year.

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MICROSOFT says the 90 laptops it handed out to bloggers around the world just before Christmas were not part of a tech-for-comment deal to win favourable reviews for the forthcoming consumer release of its Windows Vista operating system.

Blog istartedsomething, run by Melbourne student Long Zheng, reported Microsoft had handed out the laptops to a wide range of bloggers.

A Microsoft Australia spokeswoman said six Australian bloggers had been on the list to receive the Acer “Ferrari” laptops, worth more than $2000 each.

But the laptop program, run from the US in conjunction with Microsoft’s “Vanishing Point” game for developers, was designed as an evaluation program, not a bribe for positive comments, the company said.

“The blogging community, in general, is highly intelligent and quite cynical. Anyone who thinks they can be easily swayed is fooling themselves,” the spokeswoman said.

“No editorial commentary was expected or required.” (more…)

Microsoft’s venerable web browser, Internet Explorer, has been derided in the web universe for so long that it makes sense for the competition to have snuck in and stolen away some of the software kingpin’s marketshare.

While Microsoft’s IE web browser still has the largest marketshare of any web browser in the world, it has lost quite a few points in recent years to Mozilla’s Firefox web browser, which many believe has much better security features, as well as an entire universe of developers that make “extensions” to the actual browser—letting the customer customize their web experience as only they can.

And how about Opera, the stalwart Finnish company that many think is the best web browser on the planet? Opera used to charge for its web browser but then joined the competition (IE and Firefox) in giving it away for free.

Would Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) have been better served by acquiring Opera a few years ago? By doing so, it would have effectively taken a competitor out of the market, and also offered its millions of Windows users a much better web experience than what they already endure using IE. Sure, anti-competitive folks might have had a problem with Microsoft buying a web browser maker with a tiny marketshare percentage, but if serving customers the best possible product was the goal, perhaps Microsoft should have bought Opera.