The News Review:
- Microsoft makes boldest move yet embracing open source
- Microsoft New Zealand partners with MARVIN
- Around Town – Juneau Empire
- Gates explains why Microsoft needs Yahoo
- Microsoft ffice for Mac 2008
Microsoft makes boldest move yet embracing open source
Washington Post – Feb 21, 2008
The company said Thursday that developers will be able to use the documentation for free to develop products. However companies that want to commercially distribute implementations of the protocols still must obtain a patent license from Microsoft it said. n the XML front Microsoft promised Thursday to design new APIs for its Word Excel and PowerPoint applications so developers can plug in additional document formats and enable users to set these formats as their default for saving documents. While there are add-on technologies that can translate between XML — the default file format in ffice 2007 — and other file formats Microsoft has not included the ability to set other file formats as default in the product suite. Microsoft said Thursday it will use a new pen Source Interoperability Initiative to provide resources facilities and events to the community including labs technical content and opportunities for ongoing cooperative development. Microsoft also is seeking an ongoing dialogue with customers developers and open-source communities through an online Interoperability Forum. And Microsoft will launch a Document Interoperability Initiative to address the issue of data exchange between widely deployed formats the company saidMicrosoft’s Interoperability Executive Customer (IEC) Council will oversee the new principles and initiatives to help keep the company honest.
Microsoft New Zealand partners with MARVIN
Scoop.co.nz – Scoop.co.nz (press release) – Feb 21, 2008
The software created in Australia by theNorthern Territory government local software developers andMicrosoft is an avatar-based animation tool allowing usersto design animations in minutes. Adopting a multi-sensoryapproach through the integration of real voice computergenerated voice written text images video and MicrosoftPowerPoint® presentations users can quickly and easilycreate or customise presentations that accurately reflectthe cultural lingual and social attributes of targetaudiences. Nils Beehre Microsoft New Zealand’sEducation Manager says students and teachers will be ableto create educational resources and content which are bothengaging and culturally specific. These resources can bepersonalised and customised for New Zealandstudents. “Schools are becoming more innovative in theirteaching methods with teachers who encourage students’passion for technology. The use of MARVIN in classroomswill engage students and help to improve teaching andlearning in New Zealand schools.
Around Town – Juneau Empire
Juneau Empire – Juneau Empire (subscription) – Feb 21, 2008
Author of “Smile When You’re Lying: Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer. ” Details: Katrina 789-2605. “Introduction to Microsoft PowerPoint 2007″ class 5-7 p. The Learning Connection 210 Ferry Way.
Gates explains why Microsoft needs Yahoo
ZDNet.com.au – Feb 21, 2008
The Microsoft chairman is looking ahead to the time later this year when he will be focused full-time on fighting disease and poverty while also trying to do everything he can to help his software company in its battle against Google. These days that includes trying to sell… So yes the advertisers and the number of end users is good but we’d put the people in the engineering as the key thing that we say yes what can we get when we put their brilliant people and our brilliant people together. Since you mentioned the people how big of an issue do you think the cultural difference is? Because I mean obviously the key to retaining people is making sure that they actually want to work for Microsoft. Do you think there are significant cultural differences?We’ve had an extremely successful group here in Silicon Valley that’s done brilliant product work like Mediaroom and PowerPoint and we have a research lab down here. Yahoo wants to do breakthrough software. The engineers there want to compete very effectively against Google or any other thing that comes along. So I don’t think there’s really a different culture. If Yahoo had gone the direction of just being a media company and not said that software innovation was important to them then no there wouldn’t be that intersection because we’re about breakthrough software.
Microsoft ffice for Mac 2008
Free with registration – Personal Computer World – AccessMyLibrary.com – Feb 21, 2008
Byline: Cliff Joseph Microsoft ffice for Mac 2008 A long-awaited update that works on Intel Macs and has loads of new features The hullabaloo surrounding the ultra-thin Macbook Air has rather overshadowed another important Mac product that was also released during the Mac World Expo in San Francisco last month. Microsoft finally got around to launching a new version of Microsoft ffice for the Mac – the first upgrade to the Mac suite for almost four years. A lot has happened in those four years including Apple’s decision to abandon IBM’s PowerPC processors and cosy up to Intel instead. So the biggest single change.