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, Microsoft Corp. plans to offer a new consumer security offering focused on core anti-malware protection.

Code-named “Morro,” this streamlined solution will be available in the second half of 2009 and will provide comprehensive protection from malware including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans. This new solution, to be offered at no charge to consumers, will be architected for a smaller footprint that will use fewer computing resources, making it ideal for low-bandwidth scenarios or less powerful PCs. As part of Microsoft’s move to focus on this simplified offering, the company also announced today that it will discontinue retail sales of its Windows Live OneCare subscription service effective June 30, 2009.

“Customers around the world have told us that they need comprehensive, ongoing protection from new and existing threats, and we take that concern seriously,” said Amy Barzdukas, senior director of product management for the Online Services and Windows Division at Microsoft. “This new, no-cost offering will give us the ability to protect an even greater number of consumers, especially in markets where the growth of new PC purchases is outpaced only by the growth of malware.”

Source: Microsoft Press Pass

• 0 Comments

New site gives customers a single online destination to shop for and compare products across entire Microsoft lineup.

This week consumers are getting a new, easy way to access Microsoft products: The Microsoft Store.

Microsoft Store offers Microsoft’s entire consumer catalog, including desktop software, the Xbox console and its related game titles, the Microsoft Zune, and all of the company’s hardware, including mice, keyboards, web cameras, and joysticks. Along with a fast, secure buying experience, customers will enjoy an easy-to-use interface and useful product comparisons.

“Microsoft Store gives customers a trusted environment to discover, learn, try, download and buy from the largest selection of Microsoft software, devices and hardware,” says Larry Engel, general manager, Microsoft Store & Marketplaces. “For the first time, customers will have one place to find and purchase everything from Microsoft, rather than seeing just a list of products.”

According to Engel, one of the most compelling features of the new store is that it will offer many products, including Windows and Office, as a digital download. “We think customers will enjoy the immediate satisfaction of purchasing, downloading and installing these products within minutes,” he says.

Although the Microsoft Store will price all its products at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), customers still see benefits, says Engel

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/

• 0 Comments

Is Microsoft going to take a revenue hit when it releases Windows 7 because of the changing mix of PCs in the market? That’s the expectation of many company watchers, though I have to admit I’m not quite so sure. Here’s why.

Even though Microsoft is trying to stir up excitement for Windows 7’s prospects on new (and most likely more expensive) multi-touch-enabled PCs, there is more interest among users and industry watchers around the next release of Windows running on netbooks. Microsoft officials demonstrated a full-fledged version (we don’t know which pre-beta build number) of Windows 7 running onan Asus Eee with 1 GB of RAM. Netbooks  — which I’ll use here to refer to low-cost, low-end PCs capable of running email and a Web browser, but little else — are quickly becoming an increasingly large part of the overall PC market.

Source: All About Microsoft

• 0 Comments

Photo Gallery and Movie Maker apps, released today as part of the new Windows Live ‘Wave 3’ family, are the first to replace their Vista counterparts in Microsoft’s next-gen OS

Included in today’s worldwide launch of Windows Live Wave 3, the third generation of Microsoft’s online services, are the cloud-based apps that will take care of your email, photos and home movies in Windows 7 rather than use OS-resident software.

Windows Live Mail has been out for some time, of course, but now you can download the new Windows Live Photo Gallery app plus a beta of Windows Live Movie Maker.

Unlike pure cloud apps that live only online, each of these has a fully functional offline mode. However, they also have extensive hooks into an online equivalent.

Source: APC Mag

• 0 Comments

Since September we’ve know that Windows Live would be replacing some built-in Windows applications with the release of Windows 7.

At PDC, we got further details: Microsoft is making this move in order to eliminate confusion between having similar applications (Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail for example), to avoid any potential lawsuits for stunting competition, and to be able to release and update these programs without having to tie their timelines to the operating system.

The Windows Live applications, Family Safety, Mail, Messenger, Movie Maker, Photo Gallery, Toolbar, Writer, as well as Microsoft Office Outlook Connector, will be bundled under the moniker “Windows Live Essentials.”

Source: One Microsoft Way

• 0 Comments