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).
If Linux really is in violation of Microsoft patents, as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said this week, I think Microsoft needs to show it and prove it by making some code snippets available for all to see.
It's not even November 30 (or January 30) yet. But Microsoft has made Windows Vista available for download to a substantial pool of individuals via the Microsoft Developer Network, TechNet Plus and Microsoft Connect.
It's surprising how little ink, virtual or otherwise, the "Voices for Innovation" (VFI) -- a Microsoft-supported group of partners and consumers who are "interested in promoting a positive technology agenda" -- has received.
Back to the name game. While names don't make a company cool or not, they can make a difference, even with geekier products like development tools. The Microsoft Expression tools team seems to understand that lesson quite well.
It seems like 'interoperability' is an easier pill for Microsoft to swallow when it's delivered in press releases than in real-world situations.
Microsoft's newly released PowerShell command-line shell and scripting language doesn't currently work with Windows Vista.
I really couldn't believe the tip a reader sent in earlier this month that Microsoft's Zune MP3 player would be incompatible with Windows Vista. But, dear readers, it's true!
Now that Vista's done, you might think that Windows Live Messenger and Windows Vista might be coexisting more peacefully. If you did, you would be wrong.
If Microsoft's Windows Server team is able to juggle service packs and new server releases, why can't the Windows client team do the same?
Given the long-standing rivalry between .Net and Java, one would assume that Sun's decision to release Java under the GPL would likely result in some kind of a reaction from the Redmondians. But what shou