The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has rejected an attempt to invalidate a far-reaching browser patent controlled by Eolas, despite fears that the patent and others like it could lead to Internet chaos.

The decision is a serious blow to Microsoft Corp.'s hopes of avoiding paying millions in damages to Eolas Technologies Inc. and being forced to redesign its flagship Web browser.

A system allowing a user of a browser program on a computer connected to an open distributed hypermedia system to access and execute an embedded program object. The program object is embedded into a hypermedia document much like data objects. The user may select the program object from the screen. Once selected the program object executes on the user's (client) computer or may execute on a remote server or additional remote computers in a distributed processing arrangement. After launching the program object, the user is able to interact with the object as the invention provides for ongoing interprocess communication between the application object (program) and the browser program. One application of the embedded program object allows a user to view large and complex multi-dimensional objects from within the browser's window. The user can manipulate a control panel to change the viewpoint used to view the image. The invention allows a program to execute on a remote server or other computers to calculate the viewing transformations and send frame data to the client computer thus providing the user of the client computer with interactive features and allowing the user to have access to greater computing power than may be available at the user's client computer.

I'm not going to do any doom-and-gloom speculation on what this victory means, especially when the infringement case is being appealed to the Supreme Court; I'll let you guys handle the speculation in the discussion thread. I'll just wrap up by noting that the '906 patent appears to be vague enough to cover almost any program that's embedded in a Web page and that talks bidirectionally with a server. That means not just Microsoft's ActiveX, the technology that originally brought on the round of Eolas vs. Microsoft infringement lawsuits, but Flash, Java, and most of the other stuff that makes the Web interesting to use. So there's no doubt that if the Eolas folks can take this fight all the way, they'll be very, very rich. It remains to be seen, however, just how much headache they'll cause for the rest of us as Microsoft and everyone else rushes to work around the patent.

Microsoft Corp. showed off the preliminary work it has done on the second beta version of its popular Internet Explorer, version 7, at the Hack in the Box Security Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and came away with some good feedback, managers at the company said Thursday.

"It's the first time we've ever come out ahead of a product release to present and get feedback," said Tony Chor, group program manager at Microsoft's Internet Explorer team, referring to the company's presentation to a hacker-specific group.

Despite what some may think about Microsoft, I see the blogs as a demonstration that the company is trying to change. Blogging is becoming a part of the way they do business and if you ask me, they are doing it the right way through organic growth and openness.

An admitted counterfeiter has agreed to pay Microsoft and Symantec $1.1m in restitution, a victory in the software industry's fight against software piracy.

The award is part of a plea agreement in a criminal software piracy case in Houston, Symantec said on Tuesday. The case came to court after a one-year investigation by the Houston police and the FBI into the activities of Li Chen, who was found to have 5,100 copies of counterfeit Symantec software at his Houston business, Symantec said.

Two companies on opposite sides of the open-source philosophical divide, Microsoft and JBoss, have signed a partnership to make their server software work together better.

Microsoft and JBoss said Tuesday they'll work to make JBoss' Java application server software work well with Microsoft's Windows and higher-level software.

The Digital Locker on Windows Marketplace Labs provides a single location where you can purchase software, download the software you purchased, track your software purchases, and store license information. The Digital Locker on Windows Marketplace Labs consists of three primary components:
• Download Cart: allows you to purchase downloadable software products from multiple retailers with one entry of your billing information.
• Digital Locker: stores your purchase information in case you need to reinstall software or download the software to a new computer.
• Digital Locker Assistant: resides on your desktop and provides an easy-to-use interface where you can download, install, and back up the software you have purchased onto CDs.

Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp., the leading suppliers of chips and software for most of the world's personal computers, are throwing their support behind the next-generation DVD standard known as HD DVD.

After taking a neutral stance for months in the battle between the competing HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats, the companies said in statements today that they have joined the HD DVD Promotion Group that includes Toshiba Corp., Universal Studios and others.

The move means upcoming PCs running Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista operating system or Intel's Viiv entertainment technology will come with support for HD DVD drives. ...

Blu-ray is backed by Sony Corp. and a variety of other companies, including Apple Computer Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc.

Microsoft will unveil Monday its own system for selling Web advertising as it struggles to compete with Google and Yahoo in the expanding Web search business. The system, to be used by MSN, is meant to improve on those of Microsoft's rivals by allowing marketers to aim ads on Web search pages to users based on their sex, age or location.

Jim Allchin, a senior Microsoft Corp. executive, walked into Bill Gates's office here one day in July last year to deliver a bombshell about the next generation of Microsoft Windows.

"It's not going to work," Mr. Allchin says he told the Microsoft chairman. The new version, code-named Longhorn, was so complex its writers would never be able to make it run properly.

The news got even worse: Longhorn was irredeemable because Microsoft engineers were building it just as they had always built software. Throughout its history, Microsoft had let thousands of programmers each produce their own piece of computer code, then stitched it together into one sprawling program. Now, Mr. Allchin argued, the jig was up. Microsoft needed to start over.

Kai-Fu Lee, the center of an ongoing legal battle between Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp., has taken up his post as head of Google's China operations, about two weeks after a judge ruled that the former Microsoft vice president could work for the search engine, China's state news agency reported Thursday. ...

A Washington state court ruled that Lee could begin work for Google, under a number of restrictions, while Microsoft's suit against Lee and Google winds through the courts. Microsoft sued Google and Lee, accusing the latter of violating the non-compete clause in his contract when he left for the search engine.

Microsoft – built from the dream of a computer on every desk and in every home – commemorates 30 years at its annual Company Meeting on Friday, Sept. 23 at Safeco Field in Seattle. Over 16,000 Redmond-based employees will attend to take time to reflect on a strong and memorable history and celebrate the company’s future, which promises to be the most incredible period of technological innovation yet. Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates and Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer will congratulate employees for their contributions to date and share their vision for a prosperous future, primed by investments in areas as diverse and vital to the future of technology innovation as graphics, speech recognition, signal processing, facial-expression mapping and quantum computing. ...

“As I think about the last 30 years," said Gates, commenting on the anniversary, "I’m most proud of our making 'big bets' on technologies like the graphical user interface or Web services and watching them grow into something people rely on every day. And the long-term research we’re doing today on some of computer science’s toughest challenges – such as helping computers listen, speak, learn and understand – will lead to what I think will be the next wave of growth and innovation for our industry.”

The first version of Internet Explorer was not included with Windows 95 when the operating system was officially launched on August 24, 1995. Rather, we were introduced to Microsoft's first Web browser when the Windows 95 Plus! Pack was released.

Internet Explorer 1.0 was part of what was then called the Internet Jumpstart Kit. Jumpstart was later replaced by the Internet Connection Wizard.

In order to drive greater agility in the execution of its software and services strategy, Microsoft Corp. today announced a realignment of the company into three newly formed divisions, each of which will be led by its own president. The Microsoft Platform Products & Services Division will be led by Kevin Johnson and Jim Allchin as co-presidents; Jeff Raikes has been named president of the Microsoft Business Division; and Robbie Bach has been named as president of Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division. In addition, the company said Ray Ozzie will expand his role as chief technical officer by assuming responsibility for helping drive its software-based services strategy and execution across all three divisions.

The company also announced that Allchin plans to retire at the end of calendar year 2006 following the commercial availability of Windows Vista™, the next-generation Microsoft® Windows® operating system. ...

Microsoft Platform Products & Services Division

Johnson will succeed Allchin, taking ownership of the Microsoft Platform Products & Services Division, which comprises Windows Client, Server and Tools, and MSN®. To ensure a smooth transition, Johnson and Allchin will serve as co-presidents until Allchin’s retirement next year. The new division’s mission is to enable exciting user experiences and drive customer value through continued innovation in the software platform and software services delivered over the Internet. ...

The company also announced that Eric Rudder, senior vice president of Server and Tools, will be taking on a new role working directly for Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect. Rudder will focus on some of the company’s key advanced development efforts as well as overall technical strategy. Rudder will transition into his new role following the launch of Visual Studio® and SQL Server™ 2005 later this year.

Microsoft Business Division

The Information Worker business and Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) will combine to form the Microsoft Business Division, with Doug Burgum, senior vice president, reporting to Raikes. This division will deliver software and software-based services that enable organizations to succeed in today’s constantly evolving workplace by amplifying the impact of their people. Microsoft is uniquely positioned for this opportunity with the new division’s programs, servers and software-based services addressing the spectrum from structured business processes to personal productivity needs.

Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division

The new Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division, which combines the current Home and Entertainment Division with the current Mobile and Embedded Devices Division, will consolidate Microsoft’s industry engagement around devices to deliver even richer and more relevant scenarios for individuals at work, at home and when they’re mobile. It will also bring more focus to the company’s efforts in entertainment and related devices and services. Accordingly, the senior vice president of Microsoft’s Mobile and Embedded Devices Division, Pieter Knook, will report to Bach.