Your upgrade options are dependent on the version of Windows that is currently running on your PC. Below is some information to help you start planning for an upgrade to Windows Vista. As we get closer to the launch of Windows Vista, we will provide even more detailed guidance to help ensure a smooth upgrade experience.

Special-edition cans of Talking Rain sparkling water, sporting the logo for the upcoming operating system, have been stocked among the other free sodas available to the company's employees. It's a promotion for the preliminary version of the program, pointing employees to an internal Windows Vista site.

Microsoft's plan with Zune is to emulate the integrated Xbox/Xbox Live hardware/software/services model, Bach said. Bach told analysts to expect it to take Microsoft at least three to five years to start making a dent in the portable-player market. Its first entry will be one new product which it will launch in the fall in the U.S., he said. Microsoft plans to expand its Zune line to encompass more kinds of players and other geographies next year.

Without any fanfare, Microsoft updated the employee count on its Web page of corporate data Wednesday. The new numbers reflect a net addition of more than 10,000 people worldwide in the fiscal year ended June 30, bringing the total to 71,553. In raw figures, it's the biggest annual increase in the company's history.

As we get close to the final availability of Internet Explorer 7, I want to provide an update on our distribution plans. To help our customers become more secure and up-to-date, we will distribute IE7 as a high-priority update via Automatic Updates (AU) shortly after the final version is released for Windows XP, planned for the fourth quarter of this year.

Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has agreed to acquire the health intelligence software Azyxxi™ and to forge a strategic alliance with MedStar Health.

Designed by doctors for doctors in one of the country’s busiest hospitals, Azyxxi (rhymes with “Trixie”) was created by Craig Feied, M.D., Mark Smith, M.D., and Fidrik Iskandar using Microsoft® development tools. It brings together all types of patient data from hundreds of sources and makes them instantly available at the point of care.

Azyxxi was first deployed in 1996 in the emergency department of one of MedStar Health’s hospitals, Washington Hospital Center, in Washington, D.C. In addition to serving as a repository for all of a patient’s routine clinical information, Azyxxi provides caregivers with instant access to a comprehensive view of each patient that includes EKGs, scanned documents, X-rays, CT scans, MRI scans, PET scans and even dynamic angiograms and ultrasound images. The acquisition of Azyxxi deepens Microsoft’s commitment to the healthcare industry while making a proven solution more widely available to its customers. Financial terms were not disclosed as part of the agreement between the organizations.

Under the terms of the acquisition, the Azyxxi creators will continue to support the development and expansion of the Azyxxi solution. Drs. Feied and Iskandar, along with approximately 40 employees from the development team at Washington Hospital Center, will join Microsoft and continue to work on research and future enhancements to the product. Dr. Smith will remain as chairman of the emergency medicine department at Washington Hospital Center and will also serve as chief clinical liaison to Microsoft.

A newly formed division at Microsoft led by Peter Neupert, corporate vice president of the health solutions group, will incorporate the new employees and manage product development and delivery. Neupert rejoined Microsoft in September 2005 to coordinate its global health strategy. He reports to Craig Mundie, the company’s chief research and strategy officer.

I am happy to announce the Beta 3 release of Internet Explorer Administration Kit 7 [IEAK 7]. IEAK 7 allows enterprises, ISPs, ICPs, OEMs to create custom packages of IE 7 on XP or IE 7+ on Windows Vista. If you are looking to provide your IE 7 users with your own default set of preferences, toolbars etc, read on.
Some of the common customization scenarios for IE 7 are:
* Customize your users’ IE 7 with related home pages, feeds, etc. Create a version of IE 7 that has these values and make it available to your users.
* Install a specific toolbar as part of the IE 7 install.

Microsoft Corp. ... said on Friday it plans to release a new music and entertainment player and accompanying software under the "Zune" brand this year, in a belated attempt to challenge the dominance of Apple Computer Inc.'s ... iPod player.

Microsoft Corp. today announced record fourth quarter revenue of $11.80 billion for the period ended June 30, 2006, a 16% increase over the same quarter of the prior year. Operating income for the quarter was $3.88 billion, a 30% increase compared with $2.99 billion in the prior year period. Operating income for the fourth quarter included certain legal charges of $351 million, compared with $756 million in the prior year period. Net income for the fourth quarter was $2.83 billion and diluted earnings per share were $0.28, which included $0.03 of certain legal charges. For the same quarter of the previous year, net income was $3.70 billion and diluted earnings per share were $0.34, which included $0.05 of certain legal charges and $0.09 of tax benefits.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006, the company announced revenue of $44.28 billion, an 11% increase over the prior year. Operating income for the fiscal year was $16.47 billion, or 13% over the prior year period. Operating income for the fiscal year included $1.11 billion for certain legal charges, compared with $2.06 billion in the prior year period. Net income for the fiscal year was $12.60 billion and diluted earnings per share were $1.20, which included $0.08 of certain legal charges and $0.01 of tax benefits. For the previous fiscal year, net income and diluted earnings per share were $12.25 billion and $1.12, which included $0.13 of certain legal charges and $0.09 of tax benefits.

“We delivered a very strong finish to the fiscal year highlighted by customer demand for our recently launched products of Xbox 360™, SQL Server™ 2005, Visual Studio® 2005 and Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 3.0, which fueled a combined 31% revenue growth of their business groups for the quarter,” said Chris Liddell, chief financial officer of Microsoft. “Our upcoming launches of Windows Vista™, Microsoft® Office 2007, Exchange Server 2007, and other key products position us to continue to deliver strong revenue growth in fiscal year 2007. We are also very pleased that both the Microsoft Business Solutions and the Mobile and Embedded Devices businesses achieved profitability for the full fiscal year.”

The company also announced that its board of directors has authorized new share repurchase programs, comprised of a $20 billion tender offer scheduled to be completed on August 17, 2006, as well as authorization for up to an additional $20 billion ongoing share repurchase program with an expiration of June 30, 2011. Furthermore, the company also announced today that it completed its previously announced $30 billion stock repurchase program.

Microsoft's so-called "iPod killer" could be unveiled as early as late next month, with the company preparing to build momentum towards an October launch, sources close to the situation have told BetaNews.

These latest developments indicate that Apple has only a short period of time to react before a barrage of marketing and publicity surrounds Microsoft's new device. To its defense, Apple told analysts in an earnings call Wednesday night that it "wasn't standing still."

The principles, which consist of 12 tenets, are divided into the following three general categories:

• Choice for Computer Manufacturers and Customers. Microsoft is committed to designing Windows and licensing it on contractual terms so as to make it easy to install non-Microsoft® programs and to configure Windows-based PCs to use non-Microsoft programs instead of or in addition to Windows features.

• Opportunity for Developers. Microsoft is committed to designing and licensing Windows (and all the parts of the Windows platform) on terms that create and preserve opportunities for applications developers and Web site creators to build innovative products on the Windows platform — including products that directly compete with Microsoft’s own products.

• Interoperability for Users. Microsoft is committed to meeting customer interoperability needs and will do so in ways that enable customers to control their data and exchange information securely and reliably across diverse computer systems and applications.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the acquisition of Winternals Software LP, a privately held company based in Austin, Texas, that provides Windows®-based enterprises with systems recovery and data protection solutions in addition to offering a freeware tools Web site called Sysinternals. The addition of Winternals is a significant advance in Microsoft’s promise to lower customers’ total cost of ownership of the Microsoft® Windows platform. Customers will be able to continue building on Sysinternals’ advanced utilities, technical information and source code for utilities related to Windows. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Winternals was established in 1996 by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell, who are recognized industry leaders in the areas of operating system design and architecture. Russinovich will join the Microsoft Platforms & Services Division as a technical fellow, working with numerous technology teams across Microsoft, and Cogswell will join the Windows Component Platform Team in the role of software architect.

The mystery partnership that Microsoft alluded to yesterday is with Nortel Networks Corp., the Toronto-based communications equipment and software company. The companies said this morning that they will work together to make and sell unified communications systems -- business phones, computer software and related technologies that combine voice, messaging and conferencing.

"a significant industry partnership that will accelerate the company's vision for unified communications and strategy for migrating voice, video and data communications into a unified experience."

Microsoft Corporation today announced upcoming changes in its financial reporting structure reflecting completion of previously announced organizational changes. Beginning in fiscal year 2007, the company will report its financial performance based on five operating segments: Client, Server and Tools, Online Services Group, Microsoft Business Division, and Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division.

Today’s news further aligns the company around three operating divisions – Microsoft Platforms and Services Division, Microsoft Business Division, and Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division – previously created to achieve greater agility in managing future growth and execute on Microsoft’s software-based services strategy.

The Microsoft Platforms and Services Division includes the operating segments of Client, Server and Tools, and the Online Services Group. The Online Services Group includes MSN® as well as Windows Live™. The company will continue to report results for each of these three segments, which is consistent with the way they are managed and reported within Microsoft.

The Microsoft Business Division includes the Information Worker and Microsoft Business Solutions businesses. These businesses have been merged and the financial results for these two businesses will be presented as one operating segment.

The Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division includes the Home and Entertainment and Mobile and Embedded Devices businesses. These businesses have been merged and the financial results for these two businesses will be presented as one operating segment.

And some of the slides that were part of Byrum's presentation at his Microsoft WPC session said that the Expression Graphic Designer and Expression Interactive Designer will be available in "FY08," or Microsoft's fiscal year 2008.

Those same slides said Expression Web Designer would be available in 2006, or "at the end of this calendar year," as Byrum said.

However, when asked by an attendee what partners should use for graphic design and interactive design until 2008, Byrum would only respond that "the availability for these products has not yet been established."

Subsequently, a Microsoft spokesperson reiterated: "There are no official ship dates established for either Expression Graphic Designer or Expression Interactive Designer."

Microsoft Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP) is a Windows-based operating system designed for enterprise customers with legacy PCs who are not in a position to purchase new hardware. WinFLP provides the same security and manageability as Microsoft Windows XP SP2 while providing a smooth migration path to the latest hardware and operating system.

Laundry Time, an eight-week pilot program from the Internet Home Alliance, will eventually include nine families and feature the technology and services of Microsoft, HP, Panasonic, Proctor & Gamble and Whirlpool. The idea is to allow family members to receive alerts and control certain laundry functions from their PCs, cell phones and television sets, thus freeing up more time to spend with their PCs, cell phones and television sets. (They actually sell the idea better than I do, of course.)

The Redmond, Wash., software giant's Cybersecurity and Systems Management Research Group has taken the wraps off Strider Search Defender, an experimental project that automates the discovery of search spammers through non-content analysis.

The project integrates technology from two previous Microsoft Research prototypes—Strider HoneyMonkey and Strider URL Tracer—and promises a new approach to removing junk results from search engine queries.

As If Windows Live Messenger, the world’s largest Instant Messaging network, wasn’t big enough... Later tonight, it will get a whole lot bigger. We've joined forces with Yahoo! Messenger with Voice, which means that you can use Windows Live Messenger to talk to your friends who use either. We are talking about over 300 Million users around the world that you can now communicate with through one client.