May 13 - 10:00am EDT   Microsoft on Tuesday upgraded its LifeCams with the VX-5000. An unusual approach to webcams, the new add-on is unique in its use of a bendable stand; users can curve the stand to sit the camera on a desk or straighten out to varying degrees to clip to the back of different surfaces, including desktop LCDs and notebook lids. Although capped at 640x480 resolution, the camera supports panning, zooming, and tilting as well as simulated 1.3-megapixel still photos through interpolation. [full story]

May 13 - 9:10am EDT   Microsoft today kicked off the public beta of WorldWide Telescope, a downloadable app built for browsing the viewable universe. The software uses an Internet database to provide high-detail images of nebulas and other astronomical objects without requiring a large download; a unique approach stitches together images to create a seemingly unified view that uses terabytes' worth of data. The system is also unique in providing the views from specific telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and allowing users to switch between viewing X-rays and observable light. [full story]

May 13 - 3:05am EDT   The Microsoft Mac Business Unit on Tuesday announced the release of Microsoft Office 2008 Service Pack 1, a major update that provides increased stability, security, and performance enhancements. The update culminates several months worth of feedback from the Microsoft Error Reporting Protocol tool into optimization and improvements. Microsoft is posting the download on its website, but says it is also available through Microsoft Auto Update. [full story]

May 12 - 5:20pm EDT   Microsoft is launching a mystery device nicknamed "Lips" as part of a gaming event tomorrow, says a rumor reportedly confirmed by 8Bit Joystick. Nicknamed "Lips," the device is expected to be a voice communication add-on for the Xbox 360 but is unlikely to be a typical headset, which is either packed into higher-end Xbox models as a wired headset or sold separately for wireless versions. Speculation has the device offering some level of voice recognition or else a dedicated microphone for music games. [full story]

May 12 - 1:55pm EDT   Artificial limitations are being imposed on some forthcoming low-cost Windows PCs, according to documents Microsoft has sent to PC builders. Although the company plans to offer a sharp discount to ultra-low cost PC (ULPC) builders on the price of Windows XP Home, in order to foster the adoption of Windows over Linux on devices like the Eee PC, vendors are being asked to limit screen size to 10.2 inches, and hard drives to 80GB. Furthermore, no qualifying ULPCs with XP will be allowed to have a touchscreen, more than 1GB of RAM, or anything better than a single-core processor running at 1GHz, except for certain chips like Intel's Atom N270. [full story]

May 12 - 8:35am EDT   Research in Motion today continued a string of announcements for its Wireless Enterprise Symposium with word that it will start offering Microsoft's key Windows Live services on its smartphones. Both Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger will be available from the software and will only require a single sign-in to access both services when they sign in. The BlackBerry's trademark "push" technology will apply to Hotmail and will deliver mail almost in real-time to the phone, complete with full HTML and an optional separate inbox; Live Messenger in turn will have the same multi-chat and emoticon options as with other clients. [full story]

May 9 - 1:50pm EDT   Microsoft today said it would appeal the nearly $1.4 billion fine levied against it by the European Commission earlier this year. The company has not explained its specific motivations behind the objection, but says the move is an effort to "seek clarity" from the Commission's court and that Microsoft's opposition with the appeal is to the fine itself rather than the ultimate verdict. [full story]

May 9 - 1:15pm EDT   Google is interested in pursuing closer ties with Yahoo, according to the former company's founders. Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt made the observation before Google's annual general meeting on Thursday, in response to questions on whether they would move beyond a two-week trial of Google advertising on Yahoo's network. "We have been talking to Yahoo and we are very excited to be working with them," says Brin. He calls the trial program "successful," and suggests that it is a "good basis to talk to Yahoo some more." [full story]

May 9 - 11:45am EDT   A federal judge has reinstated one of two dismissed patent disputes against Microsoft and Dell from French-American telecommunications partnership Alcatel-Lucent. CNN Money writes that the San Diego district court made an error when deciding the definition of a "terminal device", so the case is being presented again to the federal court system. The dispute is situated over a communication protocol that allows a computer and a device to exchange information. [full story]

May 9 - 11:35am EDT   As part of its recent Zune update, Microsoft has revealed that it has sold two million of the music players since their launch in November 2006, revealing relatively flat growth for the device lineup. Although the company originally promised and slightly exceeded a target for its first million sales between the original launch date and June 2007, the company has largely remained silent on its data for its players in nearly a year. [full story]

May 8 - 6:25pm EDT   Microsoft has put the final nail in the coffin in terms of the Yahoo merger, as the proposed proxy board received notice from the software giant Thursday morning, dismissing any responsibilities the board would have had in the event of a hostile takeover. The Wall Street Journal writes that Microsoft's law firm Sullivan & Cromwell sent out the notice, indicating that company is firmly rooted in its decision to not make a hostile bid for Yahoo. [full story]

May 8 - 2:05pm EDT   Microsoft today discussed some of the details of a project it estimates could help address a lack of computing in developing countries. A plan so far known as Fone+ would give users a basic or mid-range smartphone with a dock or similar connection to a TV, giving them a potentially higher-resolution screen and a more comfortable distance to use the device as a budget computer. Doing so not only provides a relatively low cost PC but also a cellphone at the same time; this gives even farmers a way to compute without taking away phones they often use, Microsoft says. [full story]

May 8 - 12:50pm EDT   An improved Xbox 360 platform should arrive late this year, according to a Taiwanese publication. Industry news source CENS says that Microsoft has already begun contracting out the production of 65nm chips, which should form a part of the console's Jasper revision, said to be due in August. The timing is also said to be related to the depletion of chips for the current 360 design, dubbed Falcon. The Falcon's main processor uses 65nm technology, but most other components -- notably the graphics processor -- are built using 90nm manufacturing. A still superior design called the Valhalla is expected in fall of 2009. [full story]

May 8 - 10:05am EDT   Microsoft chair Bill Gates today noted at a European news conference that sales of Windows Vista have reached 140 million copies worldwide. The update is the first since the company crossed the 100 million mark at the start of the new year, although Gates doesn't clarify when the company reached the newer threshold. This demonstrates that Vista continues to sell at a "very rapid" rate, according to the Microsoft co-founder. [full story]

May 7 - 4:40pm EDT   Microsoft is reportedly strengthening its relationship with Parallels, and will offer Parallels Desktop for Mac for users who purchase a Microsoft Expression Professional Subscription. According to InfoWorld, this allows customers to run the full studio suite, rather than just Expression Media 2, which ships mid-May, which is also bundled with future versions of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Editions. A Microsoft Expression Professional Subscription will be available in June for $1000. [full story]