This post was written by Jeff Johnston
Awareness Inc. has launched its platform that has been integrated with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. This integration, developed by working with Microsoft Inc., brings the value of social media to Microsoft Office SharePoint Products and Technologies and enables users to directly engage with Awareness-powered, external-facing Web 2.0 communities. The scalable and searchable backend of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, ideal for broad information-sharing within an enterprise, combined with Awareness’ expertise in powering social media communities, gives companies an effective way to tie their internal collaboration closely to their external Web communities.
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To complement its Windows Vista operating system, software giant Microsoft Corporation recently launched its latest suite of hardware products composed of two mouse pads, a keyboard and a webcam. In a press briefing last week, Katherine Teu, regional marketing manager of Microsoft Hardware Southeast Asia, said the products were made with a combination of innovation, style, and functionality aimed at delivering high performance and comfortable use, be it for work or entertainment. Teu said the products were designed to enhance the PC user’s experience and complement the capabilities of its Windows Vista operating system.
Microsoft Inc. has launched version 2 of Zune portable digital media player in Canada. Zune version 2 is much improved in design and function and its unique, cool and intuitive WiFi-based music sharing and synchronization between computers and players within a one-block range sets it apart from the crowd. Since the company has not indicated the launch date of the Canadian online Zune Marketplace store, customers may need to download your music, without from digital copyright protection, either from other Windows compatible sites or iTunes.
Microsoft has announced survey findings from the Xbox 360 Holiday Entertainment Survey along with the launch of some weird tools. With the Xbox Holiday Value Finder you can very visually compare the Xbox value with a dinner out and other things. The Xbox 360 Holiday Gift Influencer is a new tool that allows you to answer a series of questions and then receive a customized letter that you can provide to the gift-giver in your life to prove why you need an Xbox 360 console.
The latest version of Microsoft Inc.’s application virtualization technology has reached release candidate status and is now ready. Microsoft had acquired the technology through its takeover of Softricity and its SoftGrid application in 2006. With the new 4.5 version of SoftGrid, Microsoft has decided to change things up a bit and call the product Microsoft Application Virtualization, rather than sticking with its original name.
Microsoft is to launch a free anti-virus product to replace its OneCare software. Morro is a new consumer security offering focused on core anti-malware protection that will secure against malware including viruses, spyware, rootkits and Trojans. The company claimed that it needed to ‘address the growing need for a PC security solution tailored to the demands of emerging markets, smaller PC form factors and rapid increases in the incidence of malware’. The company will discontinue retail sales of its Windows Live OneCare subscription service effective June 30, 2009.
Microsoft Inc. has released the file format converters that allow Office 2004 for Mac to read the Open XML file formats that were introduced in Office 2007 for Windows. The converters were originally due to be available close to the launch of Office 2007, but have been delayed several times. The converters are now available for download, along with some other updates for both Office 2004 and Office 2008.
Microsoft Corp. has introduced a subscription-based version of its Office software for U.S. consumers as competitors crowd its core desktop product suites. The new service, called Equipt, combines office tools such as its Microsoft Word word-processing program and the Excel spreadsheet application. A subscription, priced at about $70, lasts for one year and allows users to operate the software on three personal computers, Microsoft said.
Nintex ( www.nintex.com), which is a leading global innovator of software products that extend Microsoft technology, has announced the commercial availability of Nintex Reporting 2008. Designed to provide insight on demand, the Nintex Reporting 2008 software collects and analyzes SharePoint site structure, content and usage data for adoption monitoring, capacity planning, and a variety of other governance applications.