June 11 - 4:15pm EDT   Dell on Thursday announced users can now purchase and download Microsoft software from its Dell Download Store, and has thus become the first non-Microsoft site to offer authorized downloads of the software giant's products. Available to US clients only, users can choose from Microsoft Office programs such as Word, Excel and Outlook as well as Publisher, Access and OneNote, among others. [full story]

June 9 - 8:40pm EDT   Microsoft on Tuesday released updates to several of its Mac programs; Office 2008 and Open XML Converter. The Office 12.1.9 update focuses on improved security by addressing a vulnerability that can be used to overwrite the computer memory with malicious code. Users that intend to install Entourage 2008 Web Services Edition for Mac must also install the update for compatibility. The release applies to users of Office 2008, Home and Student Edition, Special Media Edition, Word 2008, Excel 2008, PowerPoint 2008 and Entourage 2008. [full story]

May 25 - 11:25am EDT   A leak of Sprint's guide to the Palm Pre for business late yesterday has revealed key details about the launch of the smartphone, including Sprint's attitude towards both the iPhone and T-Mobile G1. In its comparison unearthed by Engadget, the carrier touts less direct features as an advantage, including the built-in camera flash, a hardware keyboard and the Synergy feature that merges multiple contacts and calendars. Sprint also boasts the least expensive unlimited service with a $100 plan compared to the $150 for an iPhone on AT&T and $125 for T-Mobile. [full story]

May 15 - 11:05am EDT   Microsoft has drawn criticism over the timing of a new security patch, targeting the company's PowerPoint presentation software. Windows users can now download update MS09-017, which addresses a zero-day vulnerability known to have been used in real-world attacks. The patch is moreover said to reduce the vulnerability of Office and PowerPoint in general, by removing a mostly irrelevant PowerPoint 4 converter. The creation of PowerPoint 4 files has not been supported since Office XP. [full story]

April 15 - 8:45am EDT   Microsoft has released updates to both its Office 2008 and 2004 suites for the Mac. The Office 2008 12.1.7 and Office 2004 11.5.4 patches address issues with security and performance; among these are vulnerabilities which could be exploited with malicious code in order to overwrite a computer’s memory. [full story]

April 14 - 3:55pm EDT   Microsoft has released a trial edition of Office 2008 for Mac. The download is free, but operates only for 30 days before a paid registration key is required, at which point it can be converted into either a Standard or Home & Student edition. Included as part of the trial are versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Messenger and the Entourage mail client. [full story]

April 10 - 2:35pm EDT   German antitrust regulatory officials today fined Microsoft 9 million Euros, or the equivalent of $11.8 million, for alleged price fixing on its Office suite. The American software developer was found responsible for unfairly setting the price of Office 2007 Home and Student illegally by talking to Microsoft about the price before promptly promoting the software together. An official commentary defends the verdict by noting that it was Microsoft's particular approach to the deal and not the act of agreeing to a price itself that broke the law. [full story]

April 2 - 3:25pm EDT   Some form of Office may indeed be headed to the iPhone, Microsoft's Business Division president has suggested. Stephen Elop made comments to the effect at this week's Web 2.0 Expo, cautioning that while people should "keep watching," nothing is on track for a near-future release. Microsoft has hinted at some form of Office support for the iPhone for over a year. [full story]

March 16 - 12:30pm EDT   Microsoft may have instituted one of its first few delays in releasing Windows 7, a translated version of a Russian leak shows. Although internal Microsoft sources had pointed to an April 10th date for the lone release candidate version of the new OS, the software is now reportedly slated for internal completion as an "escrow" build by the very end of April and wouldn't be publicly available until the end of May. The version is expected to be the last major test version before Windows 7 is completed. [full story]

March 4 - 10:05am EST   The European Commission today said it would scale back its efforts to monitor Microsoft's compliance with a 2004 antitrust ruling that has forced the American software firm to provide code to third-party developers. In a statement, the European Union's legislative wing said it "no longer requires" a full-time monitoring agency to keep Microsoft in check and instead says it will rely on consultants as needed. The dedicated monitors had been in place since 2005. [full story]

February 24 - 12:55pm EST   Presenting today in a "Strategic Update Meeting" mainly intended for financial analysts, Microsoft has additionally revealed that Office 14, the next anticipated version of its productivity suite, will not ship this year. Rumors had suggested that the software would launch by the end of 2009, in keeping with an accelerated launch for Windows 7. A single release candidate for Windows 7 is scheduled for April 10th, which may foretell a summer ship date instead of one in late 2009 or early 2010. A simultaneous Office release could help spur corporate upgrades. [full story]

February 18 - 10:05am EST   AT&T this morning added the Pantech Matrix Pro to its cellphone roster. The phone upgrades the design with a smaller but more upscale body that adds a larger 2.4-inch display and better materials. It also gets a full smartphone-class operating system and uses Windows Mobile 6.1 instead of the feature phone OS of the original Matrix; the switch gives support for full third-party apps and editing Office documents. [full story]

January 22 - 10:25am EST   Microsoft today reported quarterly results that included a rare loss in its staple Windows and Office businesses. Although its revenue climbed slightly year-over-year to $16.63 billion this fall, the company's client group revenue dropped 8 percent in the same period along with an 11 percent drop in its net income, which sits at $4.17 billion. The company cites the poor world economy as a factor but specifically blames netbooks for the shortfall as buyers opted for the low-cost PCs, which often carry less expensive Windows XP Home licenses instead of Vista. [full story]

January 16 - 3:05pm EST   Microsoft recently provided testers with the alpha builds of its latest work suite, Office 14; as a result, screenshots have been leaked to the public, a report indicates. The images are specifically attributed to a Russian tester from wzor.net, and list a host of applications: Access 14, Excel 14, Groove 14, InfoPath Designer 14, InfoPath Filler 14, InterConnect 14, Outlook 14, OneNote 14, PowerPoint 14, Project 14, Publisher 14, Visio 14, Word 14 and SharePoint Designer 14. [full story]

January 14 - 12:45pm EST   Both Windows 7 and its Office 14 companion suite are all but certain to ship in 2009, an internal Microsoft source tells SAI. The tip supports notions of an accelerated launch and asserts that Microsoft's insistence on an early 2010 target for either release is just a public front to manage expectations, as both software packages are near-certain to arrive later in 2009. Microsoft's new Windows chief is credited with the speed-up courtesy of his discipline in releasing software early. [full story]