News (125)

Firefox: 1 billion downloads only part of the story

At about 8am PDT on Friday, Firefox crossed the billion-download threshold -- a notably large number for Mozilla's open-source web browser but one that doesn't tell the whole story. Read more »

Microsoft and Yahoo agree search deal

Microsoft and Yahoo have agreed to merge their search technology and advertising operations, with Microsoft's Bing engine powering Yahoo's search and Yahoo handling worldwide search advertising for both companies. Read more »

Microsoft agrees to rival browsers in Windows

In a reversal on Friday, Microsoft said it is now open to giving users in Europe a selection of browsers in Windows 7. Read more »

IE6 forcing Bing as default search engine

Microsoft confirmed on Tuesday that it is looking into an issue in which users of Internet Explorer 6 are forced into having Bing as their default search engine. Read more »

Sun rejects IBM buyout offer, bid withdrawn

Sun rejected IBM's formal buyout offer on Saturday, calling the bid insufficient and putting future deal talks at risk, according to a report on Sunday in The Wall Street Journal. Read more »

Microsoft: Lots to turn off in Windows 7

It turns out it is not just Internet Explorer that users will be able to turn off in Windows 7. Read more »

Microsoft hunts Aussie pirate fighter

Microsoft is on the hunt for an experienced attorney to help the software giant protect its intellectual property within Australia and New Zealand. Read more »

Microsoft's Europe prices attract lawsuit

A Dutch software dealer has filed a complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission, arguing that the company's pricing policy in Europe violates antitrust laws. Read more »

Yahoo to chop at least 1,400 jobs

Yahoo yesterday in the US reported a 64 per cent drop in net income for the third quarter, issued cautions about a weakening advertising market, and confirmed that layoffs were indeed on the way. Read more »

No email program for Windows 7

Microsoft has decided that Windows 7 won't include built-in programs for e-mail, photo editing, and movie making, as was done with Windows Vista. Read more »

Features (13)

Mozilla chairman unfazed by Google Chrome

Things just got a lot more complicated for Mitchell Baker, the Mozilla Foundation's chairman and "chief lizard wrangler." Read more »

Microsoft plays open but patent jaws still have teeth

Despite Microsoft's claim it will not sue developers that build free open source software on Microsoft platforms, a caveat leaves a yawning space for its legal teeth to gnash those that commercialise the software. Read more »

Going long on Longhorn

CNET News.com's Charles Cooper explains why the upcoming OS is so important to Microsoft and the rest of the tech industry. Read more »

James Gosling Q & A

James Gosling was in Australia this week to give two question-and-answer session to local developers. A rare opportunity for local developers, Builder AU was on hand to transcribe the event for those who couldn't make it. Read more »

Linux hassle-free and enterprise-ready

Linux has come a long way with regard to ease of installation and use. In an interview, Robin Miller, author of Point & Click Linux, and chapter author Joe Barr, discuss Linux in the enterprise. Read more »

The beginning of the end for Microsoft?

Franklin Fisher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology economics professor, once said Microsoft's customers believed there were no serious commercial contenders to the Windows operating system. Read more »

Developing components: Namespacing and code organisation

Managing code and namespaces is an important aspect of application development that doesn't always get proper attention. See how one company uses Workspaces to their advantage. Read more »

Will MS Longhorn outflank Java rivals?

The debut of a new Windows operating system won't necessarily determine the outcome of the jockeying between Microsoft, IBM, Sun and BEA. Read more »

Microsoft's singing in C#

Microsoft and its allies have quietly expanded an effort to gain acceptance for C#, the software giant's competitor to Java and a foundation for its next-generation Internet services. Read more »

Top ten reasons why Microsoft is a good citizen

Why does everyone have to dump on Microsoft? Despite its antitrust troubles, the company has done some very good things for us all. Read more »

Video (15)

Europe probes again -- Club Builder

Europe takes another look at Microsoft with new anti-trust claims while we look back at the OLPC at linux.conf.au 2007. Read more »

European Commission reacts to Microsoft ruling

  Read more »

Looking forward to IIS7

We caught up with Eric Deily and Eric Woersching to discuss the new modular IIS7 and the features that developers can look forward to. Read more »

Windows Live Service with Dr. Neil

Dr. Neil Roodyn discusses Windows Live Services, how Microsoft competes against other Web platforms and the future of Web services. Read more »

Microsoft denies OOXML has 'proprietary hooks'

As Australia and various other nations prepare to vote on whether Microsoft's Open Office XML becomes an ISO standard, the Redmond giant is attempting to downplay fears that OOXML adopters will be hooked into the company's technology. Read more »

Microsoft Office executive claims OOXML provides greater security than alternative document formats

Redmond-based group project manager of Microsoft Office, Gray Knowlton, told ZDNet Australia that OOXML provides higher levels of security. "One of the benefits we have with the OpenOffice XML formats is that we know when we read and write and document because we have an XML based representation of what's in that content -- we know what should and should not be there," he said. Read more »

Model Driven Development

Ron Jacobs explains how Model Driven Development can improve a developer's approach to testing GUIs and what the future has in store for Model View Presenter Read more »

The missing LINQ

Coming out with the next version of Visual Studio and .NET, LINQ is a new feature that allows developers to iterate through data sources using an SQL-like syntax. Read more »

Discussing IronPython

IronPython is an implementation of Python on the .NET platform. Lead Program Manager, Mahesh Prakiya talks about the future of IronPython and how they work with the Python community. Read more »

Coming up in Visual Studio 2008

Frank Arrigo discusses what features of the upcoming Visual Studio 2008 (Orcas) that he is looking forward to. Read more »

Blog (7)

Browsers and operating systems

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- Google is planning to enter the operating system market with Chrome OS, meanwhile Microsoft believes that the browser should start acting more like an operating system. Read more »

Is Google asking for antitrust?

Chris Duckett [blogs:betaliving] -- Google has announced a new Chrome Operating System, designed for the web and with a browser baked directly into it — so much so that the entire OS is named after it. But the search giant should watch out: this decision seems designed to attract antitrust attention. Read more »

Microsoft says "open sesame"

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- While you may have been out last night watching the latest Rambo adventure with Sly Stallone making war for war's sake, Microsoft was busy declaring a truce with the open source community. Read more »

Web continues to stagnate

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- If you are in the Internet Explorer development team, you are faced with a conundrum -- the choice is either break the Web or give standards compatibility a lower priority. Read more »

Samba gets an inside look at Microsoft documentation

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- A complicated third-party arrangement means that the open-source Samba project will be able to make use of proprietary documents describing Microsoft file-sharing software. Read more »

Conference time goes Hollywood

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- Conference season hit a high this week with three major conferences underway. Read more »

Google joins Microsoft's mixed bag

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- It certainly has not been all roses and glory at Microsoft and Google this week. Read more »

Log in


Sign up | Forgot your password?

  • Staff Microsoft shows off IE9 preview

    This week, highlights from Microsoft's MIX10 conference and more in the Roundup. Read more »

    -- posted by Staff

  • Chris Duckett IE9's H.264 vote killed Ogg

    In a split decision by the judges, the winner of the W3C/WHATWG video codec consensus is H.264, taking home the future of video playback on the internet while loser Ogg goes home with nothing but thoughts of what might have been. Read more »

    -- posted by Chris Duckett

  • Staff Google launches Apps Marketplace

    Google launches and app store, while Mozilla plans to re-write its open-source license. More of this week's news in the Roundup. Read more »

    -- posted by Staff

What's on?

  • Optus Deal

    Broadband + home phone + PlayStation®3 in a single package price!