Peter Galli

While Microsoft officials say the worst of the problems regarding the daylight-saving time change that took place March 11 have passed, some customers are still complaining of “nightmare” issues with Outlook and their calendars. This year, DST (daylight-saving time) started three weeks earlier than customary, and will end a week later than usual on Nov. […]

The extension of daylight-saving time by a month in the United States is causing enormous grief for some IT administrators running Microsoft software, as many of the software programs running on their users systems need to be individually patched to reflect the change. This year, DST (daylight-saving time) starts on Sunday, March 11—three weeks earlier […]

Microsoft will distribute the public beta of its voice over IP and unified communications server, Office Communications Server 2007, and its unified communications client, Office Communicator 2007, to millions of testers later this month. Microsoft is also, for the first time, making the interoperability specifications for both products available to partners. The move should help […]

The next version of Microsofts budgeting and planning software, Microsoft Forecaster 7.0, will be released to manufacturing March 28 and will be generally available in early April. Pricing for the software, developed by Microsoft subsidiary FRx Software, starts at $8,500 for the server plus one user, with each additional user costing $500. Those customers currently […]

Microsoft has released an open letter that accuses IBM of driving the effort to force the OpenDocument Format on users through public procurement mandates, which the Redmond, Wash., software maker views as an attempt to restrict choice and limit adoption of its Office Open XML format. Microsoft is also speaking out against what it sees […]

Sun microsystems will release a preview version of its OpenDocument Format plug-in that facilitates two-way conversion of Microsoft Word documents to ODF in February, with the final release expected in April. The technology, known as the StarOffice 8 Conversion Technology Preview plug-in application for Microsoft Office 2003, will be made available as a free download. […]

Microsoft will announce three new Windows Live services for mobile devices at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona on Feb. 12: Live Search on Windows Mobile, Live Search on Java and Windows Live for Windows Mobile. The new services will provide new search and communications capabilities to help people more easily and efficiently access information […]

IBM has a new open client offering that runs on Linux, Microsoft Windows and, later this year, the Apple Macintosh, and which is supported by services from IBM, Red Hat and Novell. Customers will be able to select technologies and applications from IBM and some of its business partners. These include IBM productivity tools that […]

More information is leaking out about the content of the comments, complaints and formal contradictions that 19 countries submitted to the International Standards Organization under the fast-track approval process for Microsofts Office Open XML format. Office Open XML was approved as a standard by Ecma International in December 2006, and in early January that standards […]

Microsofts goal of getting governments across the globe to embrace its Office Open XML format has hit roadblocks in both the United States and abroad. In the United States, legislation was introduced in Texas and Minnesota the week of Feb. 5 to mandate the adoption of open document formats that will essentially preserve all documents […]