Mary Jo Foley Resources on ZDNet

ZDNet Author Biography: Mary Jo Foley has covered the tech industry for 20 years for a variety ofpublications, including ZDNet News, eWeek and Baseline. She has kept close tabson Microsoft strategy, products and technologies for the past 10 years. In thelate 1990s, she penned the award-winning "At The Evil Empire" column for ZDNet,and...; more about Mary Jo Foley »

ZDNet Resources

Mark your calendars: Microsoft to push Office 2007 SP1 on June 16: Systems administrators: Mark your calendars. Microsoft is going to start pushing the first service packs for Office 2007 and SharePoint 2007 next month. In December, when Microsoft rolled out Service Pack (SP) 1 for the 2007 Office System, company officials said they'd give customers a minimum 30-day...; Tags: Microsoft Office 2007, Service Pack, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Update, Microsoft Office, Office Suites, Software, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-08
Microsoft shares more IE8 security details: When Microsoft officials released a first test build of Internet Explorer (IE) 8 back in March, they said they were intentionally refraining from talking specifics about new security features and functionality that would be part of the next browser release. In the past few weeks, however, Microsoft...; Tags: Security, ActiveX Control, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Corp., Beta 2, Web Browsers, ActiveX/COM/COM+/DCOM, Internet, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-08
Data Portability: The Microsoft angle: MySpace unveiled on May 8 yet another industry initiative to allow users and developers to share their social-networking data -- a goal Microsoft also has in its sights. The first partners announcing their participation in MySpace's Data Portability initiative include Yahoo, eBay, Photobucket (also owned by News...; Tags: Microsoft Corp., MySpace, Microsoft Windows, Advertising & Promotion, Strategy, Operating Systems, Software, Marketing, Management, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-08
Microsoft trickling out its Spring Live Search update: Last we heard from the Live Search team, Microsoft's plan of record was to deliver an annual Fall update and an annual Spring update. The Spring update has started arriving slowly in pieces. On May 3, Microsoft refreshed its Live QnA search functionality. On May 7, Microsoft...; Tags: Advertisement, Microsoft Corp., Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-08
Microsoft going it alone? Not exactly: Trying to parse Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates' every utterance in search of clues about what Microsoft is doing next is a dangeous game. (Remember the recent Windows 7 date confusion spurred by a recent Gates' utterance?) On May 6, headlines across the Web declared that Gates told...; Tags: Facebook, Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp., Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Law, Investment, Finance, Business Operations, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-07

Microsoft Live Mesh to get more competition -- from Sun: At the opening day of JavaOne on May 6, Sun officials began laying out their vision for a future cloud-computing platform, code-named Hydrazine, that Sun plans to field against competitive offerings from Microsoft, Google, Amazon and others. Robert Brewin, Sun Chief Technology Officer and Distinguished Engineer, described...; Tags: Developer, Sun Microsystems Inc., Microsoft Corp., Hydrazine, Productivity, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-07
XP SP3: Now on Windows Update: A week after deciding not to release Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download site as planned, Microsoft has begun pushing the collection of updates and fixes through those channels again. On May 6, Microsoft both released officially SP3 and resumed...; Tags: Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Windows Update, Service Pack, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services, Microsoft Windows, Digital Rights Management (DRM), Microsoft Windows XP, Operating Systems, Software, Security, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-06
Microsoft delivers a first piece of 'Zune VideoX' via new Zune update: Microsoft has delivered the first pieces of its anticipated Zune VideoX video store as part of its new Zune 2.5 software update, rolled out on May 6. The 2.5 update allows Zune owners to download TV shows, but not movies (so far) from the Zune online store....; Tags: Microsoft Zune, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Game Players, Advertising & Promotion, Corporate Communications, Handhelds, Software, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Marketing, Hardware, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-06
Microsoft postpones Hotmail-Outlook Express cut-off: Following user outcry over the company's plan to ax access to Windows Live Hotmail from inside Outlook Express e-mail accounts, Microsoft has postponed its planned June 30 cut-off date. As LiveSide.Net notes, Microsoft hasn't provided a new date by which it plans to disable the Outlook Express...; Tags: Microsoft Windows Live, Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Windows, Groupware, Microsoft Office, Office Suites, Software, Operating Systems, Enterprise Software, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-06
Poll: Post-Yahoo, what should Microsoft do?: Now that the Microsoft-Yahoo deal is tabled, what is Microsoft's next move? Many are assuming Microsoft is waiting for Yahoo's stock to tank in order to sweep in and make another pass at Yahoo. Others are counting on Microsoft buying another Web 2.0 powerhouse in Yahoo's stead...; Tags: Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft Corp., Web 2.0, Internet, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-05
More on what's next for Microsoft, podcast style: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte interviewed me on this week's Windows Weekly podcast about my new Microsoft 2.0 book. We chatted for over an hour about everything from Windows 7, to Mesh, to why the Yahoo acquisition looked likely (at least it did on Thursday last week)...; Tags: Microsoft Corp., Podcasts, Microsoft Windows, Internet, Operating Systems, Software, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-04
Microsoft takes its ball and leaves Yahoo on the Web 2.0 playground: Some -- probably many -- are going to portray Microsoft's decision announced on May 3 to withdraw its Yahoo bid as a victory for Yahoo and a defeat for Microsoft Chairman Steve Ballmer & Co. Me? I see this as the smartest thing Microsoft could do. In...; Tags: Web, Steve Ballmer, Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft Corp., Web 2.0, Corporate Governance, Financial Accounting, Investment, Internet, Business Operations, Corporate Law, Finance, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-03
Why Yahoo's ad inventory is so important to Microsoft: With all the threats, promises and negotiations around the pending acquisition of Yahoo by Microsoft, it's easy to lose sight of the key driver of the deal: Increased ad inventory. While folks trying to read the tea leaves for signs of CEO Steve Ballmer's moods or Yahoo...; Tags: Advertisement, Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft Zune, Video, Microsoft Corp., Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-02
How can Microsoft overcome Vista's lingering image problem?: Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management, has a tough problem on his hands. Microsoft and its hardware/software partners have done a lot in the past 16 months to make Windows Vista a better operating system. With Service Pack (SP) 1, Microsoft has addressed some...; Tags: Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Corp., Nash & Co., Windows Team, Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), Operating Systems, Microsoft Windows, Software, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-01
Ballmer still claims Microsoft might walk away from Yahoo: On May 1, Microsoft held an internal Town Hall meeting, largely (but not exclusively) focused on the company's bid for Yahoo. Silicon Alley Insider Henry Blodget managed to dial into the call long enough to hear CEO Steve Ballmer say the sky's not the limit for Yahoo. ...; Tags: Steve Ballmer, Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft Corp., Leadership, Microsoft Windows XP, Management, Operating Systems, Microsoft Windows, Software, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-05-01
Office streaming: What Microsoft will and won't say: Last week, there was talk that Microsoft was considering broadening the way it makes Microsoft Office available over the Web using streaming technology. (For the record, it wasn't Microsoft doing the talking; it was some overly enthused partners.) On April 30, Microsoft shared a...; Tags: Softricity SoftGrid, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, Microsoft Office, Office Suites, Software, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-04-30
What would you change (first) about Windows' look and feel?: If you were hired by Microsoft to make the Windows experience less annoying, what would be on your to-do list? Mark Hamburg, the Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom guru recently hired by Microsoft, is tasked with figuring out how to improve the way Microsoft's operating system works. ...; Tags: Operating System, Microsoft Corp., David Vaskevitch, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-04-30
New test releases out of Microsoft virtualization, mid-size Windows wares: Microsoft is rolling out new beta builds of various virtualization, management and mid-size server wares. System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008: On April 29, Microsoft delivered a public beta of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (creatively code-named "Virtual Machine Manager vNext"). The new SCVMM release will...; Tags: Virtualization, Microsoft Corp., Beta, Microsoft Windows, Servers, Operating Systems, Software, Hardware, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-04-29
XP SP3 not generally available yet, after all: Microsoft has decided not to release Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 to Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center as planned on April 29. The reason? A last-minute compatibility issue with a Microsoft application -- Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS). Here's the latest from a...; Tags: Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Windows Update, Microsoft Windows Vista, Customer, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows Vista SP1, Retail Management System, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), Operating Systems, Software, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-04-29
Microsoft's competitor to Adobe Lightroom gets another champion: What's Microsoft want with Adobe Photoshop guru Mark Hamburg, who recently joined the Redmond juggernaut? Hamburg a programmer who has been part of the Adobe Photoshop team since version 2.0 and helped lead the Photoshop Lightroom one, is now a Softie, as News.com's Stephen Shankland reported on...; Tags: Adobe Systems Inc., Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Lightroom, Microsoft Corp., Team Management, Management, Mary Jo Foley; Blog posts 2008-04-29