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Some Microsoft news items from this week that did not find a post of their own:
As expected, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted the extension of Microsoft oversight in the US antitrust case that both parties had requested.
Microsoft’s patches DRM with record speed, but FairUse4WM counters. This time the crack isn’t as extensive, but it’s enough to make record label and Microsoft execs very nervous.
In Windows Live news, Windows Live Messenger 8.1 beta is now available for invited testers, but MSN hasn’t been forgotten:
Former Microsoft security strategist Window Snyder is joining Mozilla to lead the company’s effort to protect its range of desktop applications from malicious hacker attacks. More details here.
Microsoft is planning to release a cheaper Xbox 360 in Japan in November. A November surprise to coincide with Sony’s PS3 launch is a nice idea, but it’ll take more than a cheap barebones unit to jumpstart the Xbox 360 in Japan.
Microsoft patents verb-conjugation technology. By way of LatestPatents.com, it is patent number 20060195313.
Update: Microsoft posted free add-ons for Office 2007 that allowed documents to be saved in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) and Microsoft’s XML Paper Specification (XPS) format. You may recall that the functionality was removed from Office 2007 after Adobe threatened to sue.
Microsoft Corp. said it expected Adobe Systems Inc. to file an antitrust suit in Europe after talks to use Adobe’s technology broke down this week, according to the Wall Street Journal.The two companies have been in discussions over the use of Adobe’s Portable Document Format, or PDF, within Microsoft’s Office suite of applications, the Journal reported, quoting Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith.
Adobe wants Microsoft to remove the feature and offer Adobe’s technology separately for a fee. Microsoft has agreed to remove the feature, but is unwilling to charge for it, the Journal reported.
This refers to the feature of the upcoming Office 2007 that enables documents to be published in Adobe’s Portable Document Format (i.e. as pdf files). The offer to remove the feature will be tough news to the Microsoft folks (e.g. here) who have been working on the feature.
Update 6/5: Microsoft confirms the removal:
Microsoft will not only pull its Save As PDF feature from Office 2007, but will bow to Adobe and let computer makers strip its own rival electronic document format from Windows Vista.
Friday, Microsoft Office developers confirmed that the Save As feature will be dropped from future versions of Office 2007, which recently debuted in Beta 2 format with the export tool intact. Later that day, a Microsoft manager in the Windows development team acknowledged that Microsoft will also give computer manufacturers the option of dropping XPS (XML Paper Specification) from the Vista.
Both moves — as well as the decision to also toss out a Save As XPS command in Office 2007 — were forced on Microsoft, the company said, by Adobe’s threat of a lawsuit.
New Color Management System for Windows Vista Highlights Alliance Between Microsoft and Canon
Microsoft Corp. and Canon Inc. today announced another major milestone resulting from the companies’ strategic alliance: a new color management system for the upcoming Microsoft® Windows Vista™ operating system. The new Windows® Color System will enable greater fidelity and predictability of color throughout Microsoft’s new operating system. The system will provide better screen-to-print matching, better overall color appearance, and support for higher fidelity printing, giving users new tools to take advantage of the capabilities of today’s powerful color devices such as digital cameras and color printers.
“Devices such as digital cameras, color printers, high-definition displays and cell phones all have made the use of color pervasive across many walks of life,” said Will Poole, senior vice president of Windows Client Business at Microsoft. “The relationship between Microsoft and Canon is a natural outgrowth of this synergy. The Windows Color System in Windows Vista is one way that Microsoft and Canon are working together to deliver great innovations for our customers.”
As a result of the alliance, the two companies are working on a host of technologies to enhance consumers’ experiences with digital photography, including native support for Canon RAW images. Other developments, including products utilizing connectivity innovations based on Extensible Markup Language (XML) Web services, and offerings using the XML Paper Specification, are expected to come to fruition in the Windows Vista time frame.
XML Paper Specification (XPS) was formerly codenamed Metro.
(Via ActiveWin) Microsoft has released a new white paper, XPS and Color Printing Enhancements in Windows Vista:
The print architecture for the next client version of the Microsoft® Windows Vista™ operating system takes advantage of the new open XML Paper Specification (XPS, formerly codenamed “Metro”) and the new Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly codenamed “Avalon”). These technologies enable rich end-to-end color document and photo printing and address many limitations of the existing Microsoft Windows® Graphics Device Interface (GDI)-based print path in Windows Vista, with limited down-level support in Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 and Microsoft Windows® XP.
This paper provides an overview of printing enhancements enabled by XPS. Application developers and hardware vendors can use this paper to prepare to support XPS in their product plans.
