Microsoft Unveils New 'Oslo' Approach to SOA
by Alex Woodie

Microsoft yesterday unveiled 'Oslo,' the codename of a new group of products and technologies for creating service-oriented architectures (SOAs). Oslo won't introduce any new products, but rather refers to new releases of existing products, including BizTalk Server, the .NET Framework, and its Visual Studio development tools. READ MORE >

Good Times Roll for Microsoft Financially
by Alex Woodie

Would somebody please remind Microsoft what year it is? The software giant hauled in the cash like it was 1999 during its most recent quarter, growing revenues by nearly 30 percent to nearly $14 billion, and increasing earnings per share by more than 25 percent, thereby beating Wall Street estimates and sending its stock climbing close to a six-year high. READ MORE >

Microsoft Concedes to EC, Slashes Protocol Pricing
by Alex Woodie

Following its legal defeat in Europe's second highest court last month, Microsoft elected to cut its losses last week when it withdrew the two remaining appeals it had with the European Court of First Instance. The move was applauded by the European Commission, which first brought the case against Microsoft in 2004. The EC, meanwhile, published new royalty guidelines and fees that Microsoft will be allowed to charge for its protocols. READ MORE >

'Viridian' Hypercall APIs to be Open Source, Microsoft Says
by Alex Woodie

Microsoft announced last week that it would deliver key APIs for the Windows Server Virtualization hypervisor it's developing (codenamed 'Viridian'), under an open source license. By making the critical 'hypercall' APIs available through its Open Specification Promise license, it will ensure a higher level of interoperability with third-party applications and operating systems, including Linux. READ MORE >