Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley's blog covers the products, people and strategies that make Microsoft tick.
Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).
It's definitely a balancing act for Microsoft. The company wants to encourage users to upgrade (preferably via new PC preloads), but doesn't want to scare off the ones who are interested in running Vista on older machines.
Starting with Exchange Server 2007, the Exchange team is committing to delivering multiple fixes and updates in the form of single "roll up" delivered once every six to eight weeks. Under the current model, the Exchange team has been releasing multiple, near-simultaneous hot fixes, some of which are incompatible with others.
There are two different "Crossbow" projects at Microsoft. One has to do with Windows Mobile and the other with Windows development tools. I cover both projects in the fifth installment of my "Code Name a Day" report.
There's definitely a move underfoot at many -- might I dare say, "most" -- divisions at Microsoft to squelch the practice of providing to the public ship-date targets by which the company may be measured. Good idea or not?
Mac users: Don't feel singled out, re: Microsoft's failure to provide file-format compatibility between Office for Mac and Office 2007 for Windows documents until 2007.
"Cider" is a Microsoft code name with an interesting origin. It all goes back to Windows Presentation Foundation, code-named "Avalon," and an apple-producing region of medieval England ....
At this week's Lehman Brothers Technology Conference, keynoter Steve Berkowitz, Microsoft's Senior Vice President of Online Services, made the reasons behind Microsoft's renewed appreciation for MSN.com crystal clear.
Today's "All About Microsoft" code name of the day is "Magnesium." And it's the perfect time to mention it -- given yesterday's flap over Mac-Windows Office file-format compatibility.
Microsoft decided -- after a number of "alarmist news stories" (the Mac Business Unit teams' words, not mine) -- to share publicly the timetable for releasing the Office-file format converters needed by Office for Mac users to read the new Office 2007 default document formats.
Reports are cropping up all over that Office 2004 for Mac users cannot exchange documents created with the new Microsoft Office 2007 suite for Windows, due to file-format incompatibilities. Microsoft is continuing to decline to comment on when it plans to fix the problem.