Microsoft Livens up live search to battle competition

Microsoft began phasing in a slick new version of its live search service in a bid to gain ground on leading Internet search rivals Google and Yahoo. Microsoft improved live search will be available globally by the time you read this. According to vice president of search and advertising platform group Satya Nadella, " the core thing of us is to show user we made a quantum jump in search result, " Nadella said while demonstrating search at an invitation only gathering at Microsoft campus in mountain view, is the world's most popular Internet search engine. California based Yahoo ranks second . Live, which replaced Microsoft MSN search service in 2006, has been mired in distant third place.

Microsoft Releases Windows XP SP3 for testing

In yet another sign that Microsoft isn't planning a retirement party for its Windows XP operation system any time soon, The company has released a new service pack for windows vista predecessor. Windows XP SP3, build 3250, has been released to beta testers and contains more then one thousand patches and hot fixes, according to blogger at Newsmart.net. The build is available to beta testers for windows server 2008 and windows vista SP1 and has been published in English, German and Japanese language editions.
The enhancements includes a simplified activation system; a network access protection module that borrows from technology used in windows Vista, and improved support for cryptographic algorithms. The latest major update to operating system, Windows XP SP2, was released more than three year ago. Microsoft introduced a new licensing program designed to let users of fake or pirated copies of the business version of windows XP Upgrade to fully licensed copies. Under the plan, called "Get Genuine Windows Agreement, " software reseller can offer to their business customers a volume-licensing contract that will allow them to replace fake or "mislicensed" copies of windows XP professional with legitimate versions.

Google Spruces up corporate E-mail Service

Google Inc is sprucing up its corporate email service by adding new security tools and more than doubling the storage capacity of Email boxes. Underscoring the online search leader's ambition to enlarge its role in the business software market. The changes to the unveiled, mark Google's first attempt to capitalize on the technology that it picked up in its recently completed USD 625 million acquisition of email security specialist postini inc.

Google also is courting postinin's existing customers as it tries to drum up more interest in a suite of online software applications that cost each user USD 50 annually. The roughly 36000 business already using postini products can get the software bundle, which includes world processing, spread sheets and other program besides email free through June 2008 . After the free trial expires, mountain view-based Google hopes to retain many of those business, which include more than 11 million individual users, as customers. To make its corporate email product even more enticing, Google has boasted the storage capacity of each individual mail box to 25 GBs up from 10 GBs previously. The storage capacity of individual accounts with Google's free email service, Known as "Gmail, " will remain at just under 3 GBs without providing a breakdown, Google says hundreds of thousands of businesses, govt agencies and schools already use its software applications that includes users relying on a free bundle of program that are less sophisticated than the ones in the subscription version.