Microsoft announced plans to acquire health-care search company Medstory Inc. this morning. It's the second acquisition for the company's relatively new Health Solutions Group, which bought the Azyxxi patient-information system last year.

Microsoft is trying to restrict customers’ flexibility and freedom to choose virtualization software by limiting who can run their software and how they can run it. Microsoft is leveraging its ownership of the market leading operating system and numerous applications that are market leaders in their respective categories (Exchange, SQL Server, Active Directory) to drive customers to use Microsoft virtualization products. Their tactics are focused on software licensing and distribution terms (for SQL Server, Exchange, Windows Server, Vista) and through the APIs and formats for virtualized Windows.

Microsoft is "very interested" in the Ruby programming language and also plans to expand its Expression design tools line, a Microsoft official said this week.

During an Internet chat with InfoWorld, Forest Key, Microsoft director of Web and client user experience marketing for the company's developer division, acknowledged Ruby is on the company's radar screen. Asked if the company would accommodate the Ruby on Rails Web framework, which is based on Ruby, in Expression, Key said, "Ruby is currently more of a 'developer' concept for us."

In a direct challenge to Adobe, Microsoft Corp. said on Friday that three major news publishers -- Associated Newspapers Ltd., Forbes Inc. and Hearst Corp. -- are planning to develop their own digital reader applications using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) display technology.

Microsoft Corp. has been sued for trademark infringement by a company called Office Live LLC. Office Live said in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in late December that it acquired the "Office Live" trademark in 2002.

Alcatel-Lucent shares rose Friday after a U.S jury ruled that Microsoft Corp. must pay the telecommunications equipment maker $1.52 billion in damages for violating two patents related to digital music.

Microsoft said Thursday that the patents in question govern the conversion of audio into the digital MP3 file format on personal computers.

A week after a test version of Microsoft's video site, Soapbox, went live, the company sized up at least one potential acquisition target, sources say. Last month, executives from MSN toured the Los Angeles headquarters of video-sharing site Revver, according to multiple sources. Rob Bennett, MSN's general manager of Entertainment and Video services, confirmed that a meeting occurred but declined to discuss specifics.

"MSN was there looking to see whether any of Revver's technology or staff could be rolled into Soapbox," said one source familiar with the talks between the companies.

Microsoft Corp. posted a slight gain in its share of the Internet search market, according to a note published Wednesday by Bear Stearns analyst Bob Peck. Peck wrote that Microsoft's share of the search market grew to 10.6% in January from 10.5% in December.

Given Microsoft's legal history, this may be difficult to fathom, but the company hasn't appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court prior to today's oral arguments in a patent dispute with AT&T. At issue is whether Microsoft should be required to pay U.S. patent royalties to AT&T on copies of Windows installed and sold outside the United States. Microsoft has agreed to pay the royalty for a speech-compression technology on Windows copies in the U.S., but it doesn't believe it should have to pay the same royalty for those outside the country.

MSN® today announced a collaboration with three-time NBA All-Star forward LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers to launch LeBron.msn.com, an inspirational, storybook-style Web site for kids and teens. LeBron.msn.com allows people to explore LeBron James’ road to athletic achievement, his dedication to basketball and academics, his devotion to his team, friends and family, and his role as a community activist and people’s champion. The site includes interactive content that provides James with the opportunity to share his experiences and encouraging messages with hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide who use MSN and Windows Live™ services.

“I’ve always wanted to have a place where kids can see all aspects of my personality — where I can really talk with them about where I came from, what I do and how I achieve my goals,” James said. “Working with MSN on LeBron.msn.com allows all my fans across the globe to share in my journey. My goal is to inspire people to achieve their goals and be part of something bigger than themselves.”

For those interested in hearing James discuss the new Web site, an audio clip is available at http://www.microsoft.com/winme/0702/29515/Lebron_QA.asx.

LeBron.msn.com features an area for kids and fans that is dedicated to highlighting James’ message of perseverance through a series of challenges and obstacles. As participants complete various activities — from starting a pickup basketball game to surfing the Web site — James urges them to take action, be inspired to overcome their own life struggles and make a real difference. Along the way, he will share the difficulties and successes he has faced as well as his thoughts on how to handle tough situations. James will issue new challenges on the Web site every few weeks, and kids will be able to keep track of their progress compared with other challengers. The Web site will also continue to evolve as James prepares to join the U.S. basketball team at the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, starting Aug. 8, 2008.

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer tempered the expectations of analysts at an event Thursday, telling them their predictions for sales of the company's new operating system are too high, while those for its operating expenses may be too low.
The New York event was held by Microsoft ... MSFT to lend insight into the company's strategy for its fiscal 2008 beginning in July.

Without offering a specific differing forecast, Ballmer told assembled analysts their estimates for 2008 sales of the new Windows operating system, called Vista, are too high.

"The thing people forget is a new Windows release is a chance to sustain the revenue we have, every new Windows release is not necessarily a huge revenue opportunity," Ballmer said, adding that, "people are a little bit over optimistic, or more optimistic than we are about Windows revenue."

After working as an industry analyst for more than decade, I’m leaving JupiterResearch to join Microsoft as an enthusiast evangelist. What is an enthusiast evangelist? Our job is to find, engage and work with enthusiasts and other influencers and show them all the cool stuff that Microsoft is doing. In short, it’s our job to act as the bridge between Microsoft and end users. I’ll be based in NY but will have close ties to folks like Jeff Sandquist in Redmond.

“The launch of Windows Vista was an incredibly exciting moment for our customers and partners around the world, and the company is focused on the value Windows Vista will bring to people today. We are not giving official guidance to the public yet about the next version of Windows, other than that we’re working on it. When we are ready, we will provide updates.”

Microsoft Corp. today unveiled Windows Mobile® 6, the newest version of its mobile software platform. By improving usability and adding support for Microsoft® Office features previously available only on PCs, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 delivers to the small screen a familiar and rich experience that meets the needs of work and life while on the go, all with a single device.

“A work force that is both mobile and connected is becoming essential for business success,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. “That’s why we’re integrating innovative mobile technologies into all our key products, with Windows Mobile as the centerpiece.”

Windows Mobile 6 delivers the ability to view e-mails in their original rich HTML format with live links to Web and SharePoint® sites, which means text and images are displayed as they would be on a PC, and are available from a corporate e-mail server such as Exchange Server 2007, from Web-based accounts such as Windows Live™ Hotmail or from a myriad of other popular service providers. Windows Mobile 6 also includes Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which provides customers with a rich set of Windows Live services. For example, now through Windows Live Messenger, people can chat with more than one person at one time, express themselves through animated figures, quickly send a file or image, or record and send voice notes.

The newest version of the platform offers the most genuine Microsoft Office system experience in the mobile versions of Office Outlook®, Office Word, Office Excel® and Office PowerPoint® by bringing capabilities once available only on the PC versions of these products to the small screen. This allows users to neatly view, navigate and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in their original formatting, without affecting tables, images or text, and to view PowerPoint presentations on their device.

All Windows Mobile 6 powered devices include Direct Push Technology for up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server. Windows Mobile 6 also offers a set of important device security and management features that include the capability to remotely wipe all data from a device should it be lost or stolen, helping ensure that confidential information remains that way.

Microsoft Corp., Google Inc. and four other technology companies plan to submit a prototype of a new handheld device to U.S. regulators for testing, as they press the government to free up airwaves for wireless Internet access.

Microsoft is developing the prototype, which the coalition will submit to the Federal Communications Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology, according to a Feb. 5 letter the companies filed with the FCC. The device would ``provide consumer broadband access and networking,'' the filing said.

Just on the heels of another great release for the beta (M9), I’d like to share some interesting news to our loyal users. When we launch the mail service worldwide, it will be named Windows Live Hotmail. That’s right! And for starters, some of you will begin to see the Windows Live Hotmail brand show up in the beta – first in our Microsoft internal version (dogfood) and eventually in the public version in the coming weeks.

Prince NPG Keyboardists Morris Hayes and Renato Neto to Play the Open Labs® Gen3 MiKo™ and NeKo® During Pepsi Super Bowl XLI Halftime Performance; First Windows®-Based Keyboard Workstation is First Musical Instrument to Use Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processors