Microsoft plans to roll out its "Office Live" service in mid-November. Office Live, which doesn't include any online Office programs, is a set of online business services such as e-mail and web hosting. Over 100,000 people have enrolled in the beta which was unveiled earlier this year. Office Live Basics (free) will include 500MB's of storage, and 25 e-mails accounts with 2GB of storage available. There are also several other paid plans which include extra services such as a business conta...

Today, Microsoftreleased Windows Media Player 11.  This final release includesupdates and fixes to the previous public betas in which many havepreviously downloaded.   Microsoft has addedcompatibility with the Microsoft Zune, and more musicplayers.  They have also updated content and integration tothe URGE online store.

A couple of months ago I posted a story about a researcher at the "Black Hat" convention who showed how to bypass some security measures in the upcoming Windows Vista. Joanna Rutkowska, a Polish researcher, tried her exploit on the recently released Vista RC2 and discovered it no longer worked. However, she apparantly feels there could be some problems with Microsoft's "fix". Rutkowska said on her blog, "This is good news, but it might hold some problems. Microsoft appears to have thwa...

Google plans to build a solar-powered electricity system at it's Silicon Valley headquarters. When finished it will be the largest U.S. corporate complex powered by solar energy. The rooftop system will reportedly supply 1.6 megawatts of electricity to nearly a third of it's 1 million square foot complex. Read more at the article below.

Since Vista will obviously not be released for this upcoming holiday season, they have come up with a coupon plan to ease the minds of new computer buyers. Microsoft reportedly plans to offer coupons with new PC purchases valid for either a free upgrade to Vista, or a discounted upgrade. The upgrade program will begin on October 26, and will run until March 15. Only PC's cabable of running Vista will be eligible for the upgrade coupons. So if you plan on buying a new PC for the upcomin...

An EU review panel is investigating whether to bring antitrust charges for "unfair competing" against AMD. The Commission has been considering charges for months, but has been delayed because of doubts about the case. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission has shown little interest in pursuing this case. AMD has also sued Intel in the United States, and is also pursuing cases in other countries.

Halloween Skins Halloweenisapproaching and I wanted to put a list together of some great Halloweeninspired skins.  Please feel free add any you think are"scary"enough.   Bootskins HalloweenHades Halloween CursorXP HalloweenPumpkins MyHalloween HalloweenCursors Creepers DesktopX CreepersDesktop HalloweenLights AeroHalloween 2004 ...

At this years Tokyo Game Show , Sony President Ken Kutaragi announced the price cut of the PS3 in Japan by 20%. The 20GB model will sell for $429 (U.S. dollars), down from the original $515. It was also announced both models will feature the high-definition HDMI connector, which was originally only slated for the higher end model. This price cut is currently for the Japanese market only, but there was wide speculation on whether this will translate into a price cut for the U.S. also. So...

Microsoft released Vista RC1 (build 5600) to users who participated in the Customer Preview Program today. If you participated in the Beta 2 release, you should have received an e-mail with information on the RC1 release. You will need to use the key given to you in Vista Beta 2 for this new release If you were not part of the Customer Preview Program before don't worry. Microsoft will be taking new participants soon, so check the CPP website for information on signing up. Vista Custom...

Microsoft has recently started sending out reminders to Vista beta users that on June 1st, Vista will expire. Users are either going to have to upgrade to a full version of Vista, or "downgrade" back to Windows XP. Now you might be asking what will happen to your PC when the Vista beta does expire? Well Microsoft says your computer will reboot every 2 hours until you upgrade or downgrade your OS, and even that will be on a limited time basis. From the Microsoft website: "On May 31, 200...

Microsoft announced that the Spring update for the Xbox 360 will begin next month.  One of the biggest changes will be the addition of Live Messenger on Xbox Live.  This will allow Xbox 360 users to chat with their PC friends, and even see if those contacts have Xbox Live Gamertags. To make it easier to chat with your friends, Microsoft is also set to release a keyboard controller attachment in case you grow tired of using the on-screen keyboard.  Other improvements include upd...

A few days ago a U.S. District Court judge ordered the internet "phone company" Vonage to stop accepting new customers while it "infringes" on patents held by Verizon.  A federal appeals granted Vonage a temporary reprieve from the injunction while arguements were made about the the patent violation allegations. "The judge's order follows a federal jury finding on March 8 that Vonagehad infringed three Verizon patents. The New Jersey-based Internetphone provider was ordered to pay $58...

The "official" Windows Vista Resource Kit is now available and covers topics such as administering group policy, files and folders, programs, and deployment and configuration among many other useful topics. "The official Windows Vista Resource Kit walks corporate users through the deployment, configuration andmanagement of the operating system. The book dedicates more than 1,500pages to in-depth technical guidance on automating deployment,implementing security enhancements, and troublesho...

Yahoo! announced that in celebration of their 10th anniversary of Yahoo! Mail, that they will offer unlimited storage starting in May of this year.  When Yahoo! Mail launched they offered an amazing amount of storage......4mb to be exact.  Think about that for a minute.  How many times do you send or recieve an attachment that size?  Pretty often for me. "We’re psyched to be breaking new ground in the digital storage frontierby giving our users the freedom to never worry ...

Microsoft announced news from its initial sales figures that over 20 million licenses for Windows Vista were sold in the first month of general availability.  This is more than double than what Windows XP did in its release.  These numbers include sales to PC manufacturers, retail stores, and upgrades. "We are encouraged to see such a positive consumer response to WindowsVista right out of the gate," said Bill Veghte, corporate vicepresident of the Windows Business Group at Microso...