Oh, thank the gods! Just as I was getting really mad at my computer and its diminishing returns, Microsoft delivers 100,000 quick thinkers, including myself, Windows Vista Build 5536, the Pre-RC1 build. Oh, wonder of wonders, thank you Microsoft! You have restored my faith, and my computer, to optimum levels.

If you think I’m laying it on thick, you don’t know jack. Sure, Vista isn’t perfect, and no operating system ever will be, but I will say this: Microsoft could package this operating system and sell it to me right now. Release Candidate? I vote yes!

Hello! Welcome to the official weblog for the Office for Mac team at Microsoft (a.k.a the Macintosh Business Unit, or simply MacBU). Our team is focused exclusively on developing software for the Macintosh platform. Our main product is, of course, Microsoft Office for Mac, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Entourage and Messenger for Mac. We also create the Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac, a free product available on our website.

Microsoft's recent alliance with Citrix Systems to develop wide area network (Wan) optimisation technology represents a declaration of war on Cisco in the "critical battleground" of the branch office, Gartner has reported.

According to the analyst firm, the Redmond giant's tie-up with thin client firm Citrix is the culmination of a "long-simmering rivalry" with Cisco, and has the potential to transform the Wan optimisation market. ...

"Cisco and Microsoft have avoided direct competition until recently, but the merging of networking, security, storage and applications made this confrontation inevitable.

Kevin Kutz, a director in Microsoft's Windows Client group, declined to comment specifically on the preorder pricing on Amazon.com, telling eWEEK.com that the Redmond, Wash., software giant was looking into the origin of the prices quoted by Amazon.com, but doesn't "have an answer to share at this time."

It is also still "too premature for us to comment on the final pricing for Windows Vista," he said, adding that the company plans to announce the U.S. pricing when it makes the first Vista Release Candidate available later this quarter.

FULL versions (all prices Canadian)

Windows Vista Ultimate $499

Windows XP Professional w/SP2 $429

Windows Vista Business $379

Windows Vista Home Premium $299

Windows Vista Home Basic $259

Windows XP Home w/SP2 $259

UPGRADE versions (all prices Canadian)

Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade $299

Windows XP Professional w/SP2 Upgrade $259

Windows Vista Business Upgrade $249

Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade $199

Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade $129

Windows XP Home w/SP2 Upgrade $129

After initial courtroom sparring in Symantec's trade secret lawsuit against Microsoft, the companies are now shaping up for the real fight. ...

"We want to drive this forward," Michael Schallop, director of legal affairs at Symantec, said in an interview Wednesday. "We think we're right, and we will be able to prove it. The sooner we get this resolved the better, whether through trial or through a negotiated resolution." ...

"Symantec's claims are unfounded because Microsoft actually purchased intellectual property rights for all relevant technologies from Veritas (Software) in 2004," Steve Aeschbacher, an associate general counsel at Microsoft, said in an interview Wednesday. "We believe Symantec is infringing on our intellectual property."

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has now confirmed that they would continue using the Microsoft Office suite in the near future.

Well, here's a bit of a surprise: a wireless PMP just showed up on the FCC, featuring a 30GB HDD, FM tuner and a strangely familiar 3-inch screen. And it ain't being manufactured by Microsoft. Instead it looks like Microsoft got their good pal Toshiba to produce the Zune, which not only saves Microsoft the job of gearing up some production lines for the thing, but seems to keep them from stepping on at least one PlayForSure licensee's toes.

The decision of whether to offer that support, the representative said, won't be made by Microsoft but rather by the third-party software makers that create DVD playback software, folks like CyberLink and InterVideo.

Microsoft is investigating how two internal training videos created by UK comedy duo Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have surfaced on the internet.

The humorous videos are titled 'The Office Values' and were made three years ago for Microsoft for training purposes. The pair agreed to write and appear in them, on the condition they were never made public. Although Microsoft did confirm their existence in 2004, it refused at the time to release any details.

This morning we released our first public release candidate, IE7 RC1, for Windows XP. You can download it at http://www.microsoft.com/ie.

The RC1 build includes improvements in performance, stability, security, and application compatibility. You may not notice many visible changes from the Beta 3 release; all we did was listen to your feedback, fix bugs that you reported, and make final adjustments to our CSS support. I do want to call attention to two changes in particular.

Facebook and Microsoft Corp. today announced a strategic alliance in which the two companies will collaborate to bring relevant advertising to the more than 9 million registered users of Facebook, the Internet’s leading social directory. Microsoft’s advanced advertising technology and Facebook’s unique social network make possible the multiyear collaboration grounded in the two companies’ commitment to technological innovation.

As part of the relationship, Microsoft will be the exclusive provider of banner advertising and sponsored links on Facebook using Microsoft’s digital advertising solutions and the Microsoft® adCenter platform. The two companies also agreed to work together on future technology and advertising initiatives.

“Our collaboration with Facebook is about joining our cutting-edge advertising technology and sales force with a true innovator in social networking,” said Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president of the Online Services Group at Microsoft. “We believe that the combination of Microsoft and Facebook strengths will be incredibly attractive to advertisers as they forge more meaningful connections with one of the largest, most engaged audiences on the Internet. The consumer assets brought to bear by this relationship will be very hard to match.”

Games for PlayStation 2 continue to dominate the market. No big surprise there, considering the Sony console's gigantic number of existing users, an installed base of more than 100 million units. But at least among this sampling of publishers, PS2 game sales have declined enough to make the situation somewhat less lopsided than it was a year earlier. The question is whether this is the start of a trend for the overall PlayStation franchise, or just a temporary reflection of the Xbox 360's head start and the industry's transition to the new hardware generation.

Microsoft Corp. and Electronic Arts Inc. today declared “Maddenoliday” in Madden, Miss. (pop. 74), joining forces to celebrate the launch of “Madden NFL™ 07” on Xbox 360™, the only next-generation console available at the beginning of the football season for fans to experience the new and exciting features of the most popular sports game in the country. As part of the celebration, NFL greats Jerry Rice, Warren Moon and Marshall Faulk surprised the town by giving away free Xbox 360 units to all Madden residents in a small-town ceremony, while hundreds of families from surrounding communities were among the first in the country to play “Madden NFL 07” on Xbox 360 kiosks.

“After 16 years of fanaticism for the ‘Madden NFL’ franchise, Xbox 360 felt that Madden, Miss., was the perfect place to memorialize the annual pigskin tradition of fans rushing to get the latest version of ‘Madden NFL’ before football season starts,” said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division of Microsoft. “Madden, Miss., has enormous enthusiasm for enjoying football with friends and family, and now all the residents of Madden can enjoy ‘Madden NFL 07’ as it was meant to be played: on Xbox 360.”

OneStat.com ( www.onestat.com ), the number one provider of real-time intelligence web analytics, today reported that Microsoft's Windows dominates the operating system market with a global usage share of 96.97 percent. The leading operating system on the web is Microsoft's Windows XP with a global usage share of 86.80 percent. Microsoft's Windows 2000 has a global usage share of 6.09 percent and is the second most popular OS on the web.

The global usage share of Apple's Macintosh is 2.47 percent and the global usage share of Linux is 0.36 percent.

One of the world's richest men says there are four main reasons for his success in life.

Passion. Hard work. Seeing the big picture.

And the fourth?

"It doesn't hurt to go to college with Bill Gates," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said, roaring with laughter. "In my case, that was helpful."

Madden, Miss., population 74, will be in the media spotlight Tuesday, thanks to its name and a Microsoft marketing stunt. The small town will be the site of a big celebration staged by Microsoft and Electronic Arts to mark the release of Madden NFL 07, the latest installment in the blockbuster franchise.

A new viral Web site at notfornoobs.com has launched that appears to tease an upcoming game-related device by Microsoft and hardware manufacturer Razer.