Mary Jo

Are all blogs created equal? Is a private blog (plog?) just as valuable as a public one? And is Windows Live Spaces more of a WordPress or a MySpace competitor? Over the weekend, former Softie Robert Scoble kicked off a debate as to whether Microsoft really can claim to be hosting the greatest number of […]

Microsoft has made available a beta version of a gadget, or applet, that allows users to share their contact information across different Web services and Web sites – including non-Microsoft ones. Contacts (along with identity and storage) are the core building blocks for Windows Live, as Microsoft explained in March, when outlining its Windows Live […]

Microsoft is seeking community feedback on what it should name its AJAX toolkit that is currently code-named “Atlas.” Over on the Inside Microsoft blog, Nathan Weinberg weighs in with a suggestion that the final name incorporate the word “AJAX” in some way. We’d second that one.

A month ago, Microsoft officials said to expect the first service pack (SP) for Visual Studio 2003 to hit around Augusut 15. And SP1 made it out this week. VS 2003 SP1 includes more than 400 bug fixes. Next up: Visual Studio 2005 SP1. An update on the whereabouts of that fix pack is coming […]

There’s a timely reminder over on the Windows Connected blog. Microsoft is slated to cease delivering security updates to its Software Update Services (SUS) patch-distribution system, as of December 6, 2006. That gives admins three months to migrate to Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). WSUS 2.0 is the currently available version. But Microsoft also is […]

The fallout from last week’s Patch Tuesday continues. Among the myriad patches Microsoft released last week were, unbeknownst to many, a couple of the first Windows Vista patches. (Update: Not the first, however.) Meanwhile, given Microsoft’s need to give priority to the MS06-040 patch, Microsoft postponed distributing a number of its other “critical” patches, a […]

Is this really a Microsoft Zune portable media player “in the wild”? Is there really some kind of new Microsoft gaming device manufactured by Razer in the works? We don’t know. (And apparently, some of the folks at Microsoft don’t, either.) All we can say is it’s getting tougher and tougher to separate fakes from […]

After cutting through some technical difficulties, we’ve finally posted some screen shots of Windows Vista test build 5506, passed on to us by tester sources. The screens show how Microsoft is planning to integrate Windows Live download links in the Vista Welcome screen, as well as integrate Windows Live Messenger instant-messaging code into the operating […]

From Microsoft Watch: Microsoft is poised to release to a select group of testers a new interim test of Windows Vista any day now, we hear. That build could be No. 5506 – or something slightly later, according to testers. In any case, we’ve seen from a few screen shots of Vista build 5506 that […]

From the ‘Strange But (Possibly) True’ Microsoft Files: It’s summer and the rumors are flowing freely. Here’s a sampling of a few of the ‘crazy but possibly true’ leads that have come our way in recent days. The Next ‘Express’ Frontier: Windows Live?: Microsoft is stepping up its campaign to win over non-professional programmers. Could […]

Microsoft has begun making good on its commitment to extend its Genuine Advantage anti-piracy program to the PC maker channel. Microsoft has started distributing “Get Genuine” kits to its channel partners, providing “a cost-effective solution to help them get legal, deepen your customer relationship, and be there as a trusted advisor,” according to the Softies. […]

Microsoft’s first set of Office Live services, due out by year-end, is aimed squarely at small businesses. But Microsoft has bigger – and smaller – plans for its software-service add-ons. Microsoft is working on plans to create new Office Live packages that will appeal to individual consumers, as well as to work-groups within larger companies, […]