Joris Evers

Microsoft Corp. this week will host 15 university students from around the world at its Redmond, Wash., headquarters to pick their brains on what the Office productivity suite should look like 10 years from now.

Microsoft Corp. released an updated test version of Windows XP Service Pack 2 late Monday and said it is on track to deliver the security-focused update in the third quarter.

Red Hat Inc. announced Monday that its chief financial officer (CFO), Kevin Thompson, will soon be leaving the company. The news came a few days before the Linux vendor is due to announce it quarterly financial results.

Microsoft Corp. will institute a new product lifecycle policy this month that extends support for Microsoft products to a minimum of 10 years from the current seven years, the vendor said at the recent Tech Ed conference.

South Korean regulators searched the offices of Microsoft Corp.'s subsidiary in that country on Thursday in connection with a probe into the vendor's bundling of instant messaging software with the Windows operating system.

In an apparent setback for WebEx Communications Inc., U.K. telecommunications company BT Group PLC is now promoting Microsoft Corp.'s Live Meeting as its primary Web conferencing service.

In a case that could have forced Linux vendor Lindows Inc. to change its business name worldwide, a Netherlands court on Thursday ruled that Lindows' current limited use of the Lindows name does not violate Microsoft Corp.'s Windows trademark.

Microsoft Corp. gave a sneak preview this week of new functionality in Windows Server 2003 R2, an update to Windows Server that the vendor plans to ship next year.