Customer grumbles prompt Microsoft to extend its Step-up Licence promotion

In the face of continuing customer discontent over its Software Assurance (SA) programme, Microsoft has decided to make its Step-up Licence promotion a permanent part of its licensing programme. The Enterprise Edition Step-up License was due to expire at the end of August. Corporate customers with Software Assurance, an Enterprise Agreement, Select License or Open License Value can choose to upgrade from Standard Edition software to Professional or Enterprise Edition software while keeping their Software Assurance coverage on a given product. ...more

Microsoft sets 2007 schedule for Office 2008

Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit has announced that the new, Universal version is scheduled to be released in the second half of 2007. Office 2008 for Mac will share a new graphics engine with Office for Windows. Office Art 2. ...more

The top 20 security threats identified for Windows and Unix

The SANS Institute has delivered its annual top 20 security threats list for Windows and Unix, to an audience of security experts at a conference at the Department of Trade and Industry this morning. On the Windows platform side new entries to the list include Instant Messaging and the LSASS vulnerabilities exploited so successfully by network-aware worms such as Sasser. For Linux/Unix-based platforms, threats to the kernel and to version control systems are new. ...more

Wanted: 30,000 redundant PCs

Computer Aid International, which claims to be the biggest supplier of professionally refurbished computers to schools and community organisations in developing countries, is asking British companies to donate unwanted Pentium 3 and 4 PCs rather than throw them in a skip. So far, the organisation has re-equipped and shipped out 70,000 PCs to the developing world. The new campaign, groaningly called 'Make IT Happen', has set itself a target of refurbishing 100,000 PCs by its 10th birthday on the 10th October 2007 and so needs to find around 30,000 more unwanted bits of kit in 15 months. ...more

Nvidia to buy PortalPlayer

Nvidia has announced that it is to pay $357 million to acquire PortalPlayer, a manufacturer of processors, firmware and software for portable devices. PortalPlayer was founded in 1999 and is credited with pioneering technologies such as system-on-chip (SoC) that enabled the current generation of high-performance handhelds, including iPods, many of which also make use of graphics technology from Nvidia. Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of Nvidia said that modern mobile devices are miniaturised yet powerful multimedia computers based on the integration of technologies. ...more