Microsoft issued the following statement regarding the Preliminary Injunction Order issued today by the Superior Court of the State of Washington:

We are pleased with our victory in court today. The court entered an injunction that restricts the work Dr. Lee can do for Google, preventing him from working on speech, natural language and search technologies, as well as setting the overall research and development course for Google China. Today’s injunction is broader than the Temporary Restraining Order, which was granted to Microsoft in July, and imposes further restrictions on Dr. Lee’s activities in China. The injunction restricts Dr. Lee to limited interviewing and site location activities.

We are gratified that the court found Dr. Lee “misled Microsoft�? and misused confidential information, even while he was still employed by Microsoft.

Dr. Lee was hired to serve as the President of Google China’s operation, and today’s injunction severely restricts his ability to perform the role for which he is hired.

On the other hand Google said that Dr. Kai-Fu Lee can immediately begin working for Google. “…after listening to evidence at a two-day hearing last week and reviewing various documents and court briefs, the judge decided today in his ruling on Microsoft’s request for a preliminary injunction to allow Dr. Lee to work on a much broader range of things for Google. There are some restrictions, but the ruling basically allows Dr. Lee to do what we’ve wanted him to be able to do. The judge said that Microsoft had “not sufficiently shown that it has a clear legal or equitable right to enjoin Dr. Lee, pending trial, from Establishing and Staffing a Google Development Facility Center.” A trial is still set for January to get a final decision.”

Microsoft Max looks and acts differently than programs you’ve used before. Microsoft’s next-generation WinFX technology is built into Max, which allows you to create stunning visualizations of your pictures, and share and update them with your friends and family automatically.

With just a few clicks, you can create lists of your favorite photos, arrange them in the layout of your choice, and express them in beautiful views. Preview your photo lists as you build them until your presentation is perfect.

Max makes it easy to share your memories with friends and family around the world. You can send any photo list to your friends so they can view the photos in your desired presentation. When you update the list, they get the new photos automatically. You just need a Microsoft Passport® network (or MSN® Hotmail) account.

Download Microsoft Max

Do you hate the annoying clip that pops up on Microsoft Office suggesting stupid suggestions? Well unless there is going to be a radical UI design change, Office 12 could be much worse.

The latest version of Microsoft Corp.’s Office software will try to anticipate and automatically offer the tools a user is most likely to want during a specific task, in one of several enhancements designed to help the company best one of its biggest competitors: itself.

For years, Microsoft has struggled to give users a good reason to update from previous versions of Office, the software suite that includes Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Excel. With Office 12, due out in the second half of 2006, Microsoft is hoping to entice users with a new system that automatically pops up what it thinks are the most relevant commands based on whether the user appears to be typing a list, editing someone else’s work or performing some other job.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was scheduled to unveil an early prototype of the new Office software at a conference for software developers Tuesday in Los Angeles

Source: AP

San Francisco, CA - September 13, 2005 - Macromedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACR) today announced the immediate availability of Macromedia Studio 8, the essential suite for web designers, developers, video professionals, and graphic artists to design, develop, and maintain interactive online experiences. Combining the latest releases of Macromedia Dreamweaver, Macromedia Flash Professional, and Macromedia Fireworks, and key productivity tools Macromedia Contribute and Macromedia FlashPaper, Studio 8 offers a new level of expressiveness, efficiency, and simplified workflow to create websites, interactive media, and mobile content.

“Studio 8 exemplifies our continued focus on delivering the best solutions for communicating rich information to global audiences across multiple mediums,” said Stephen Elop, chief executive officer, Macromedia. “With tremendous improvements to features and performance, we believe Studio 8 will fundamentally change the way people create and deliver digital content all over the world.”

Studio 8 contains feature firsts, workflow enhancements, and new products. Studio 8 includes groundbreaking new video encoding tools, which give customers an easier method for creating and publishing high-quality interactive video for truly memorable online experiences. New CSS enhancements and visual authoring tools for XML add style and sophistication to websites and applications. New tools for authoring and testing mobile content give Studio 8 the market lead in helping businesses reach the widest audience possible across multiple platforms. The addition of Contribute and FlashPaper allows designers and developers a streamlined approach to maintaining web content, making the upkeep of sites created with the suite even more cost effective.

Hard drives are living on borrowed time and will be replaced with solid-state Flash memory, according to Samsung’s semi-conductor CEO Dr Chang Gyu Hwang.

Hwang’s company has just launched a 16Gb NAND Flash chip using 50nm technology, something he used to make his prediction.

“NAND flash technology development continues to double density growth on an average of every 12 months,” Hwang stated. Which means his 16Gb Flash chips will move up from mobile devices, like PDAs and MP3 players to laptop hard drives.

We will, he claimed, see laptop memory cards with 32GB of memory, based on nineteen 16Gb flash chips. These will appear late in 2006 or in 2007, based on mass production of the new Samsung chips in the second part of 2006.

Source: TechWorld

They’re announcing a new program that lets customers take their loose change and bills and exchange them for gift certificates they can redeem at Amazon. Coinstar is the operator of those green machines at supermarkets, drugstores, and other locations that take change and pay for products in the store or convert the cash into stored-value cards that can be used at chains such as Starbucks and Hollywood Video. Now, Amazon is joining the party.

With the Amazon deal, customers won’t have to pay the usual 8.9% exchange fee, so the whole value goes into the certificate, which has a code that can be used immediately on Amazon. The Amazon certificates will be available at 3,500 machines nationally, expanding to 5,000 by year-end.

Source: businessweek

Microsoft has pledged to ‘put the game back into Windows’, admitting that its lack of investment in PC has been ‘killing’ the platform.

The firm has outlined to MCV details of an 18-month drive to establish Games For Windows as a platform with the credibility of PlayStation and Xbox, ahead of the launch of the Vista operating system.

“It’s our biggest ever investment in Windows gaming,�? said product manager Kelly Stanmore. “The Windows business is down 10 per cent year-on-year and we’ve lost shelves of space. We’re killing off that community without the retail support.�?

Microsoft has neglected PC gamers as it pushed forward with Xbox, but the advent of 360 will mark a defining moment for its gaming ambitions.

“We’re putting the ‘game’ back in Windows,�? explained group manager Chris Donohue. “We’re over the hump with Xbox 360 so now ready to build Windows as a platform.�?

Source: MVC

Google launched two new search features designed specifically for finding information about the hurricane’s aftermath more quickly. With the ongoing help of the American Red Cross, Microsoft, Yahoo and many other organizations, Google indexed a large number of public Katrina databases, including KatrinaSafe.com, which helps the hurricane victims to reunite with lost loved ones.

The new Katrina People Search helps people to search across all of these databases at once to find information on friends or family who may have been affected by the hurricane.

Google also built a special search index that only returns results from Katrina-related web pages, so you can search on any keyword and know all the results will be relevant.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has identified a possible safety concern with certain AC Adaptor units supplied with the black slimline PlayStation®2. These units have the potential to overheat and may cause an injury hazard to consumers. To ensure the quality and safety of PlayStation products for all consumers, SCEE has taken the decision to recall all AC Adaptors that might be affected in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australasia.

The only AC Adaptors that might be affected are those identified as:

• Manufactured between August 2004 and December 2004 and
• Supplied with the black slimline PlayStation 2 models SCPH70002, 70003 and 70004 and
• Bearing the product identification code HP – ATH048H03 and
• Bearing one of the following date stamps: 2004.08, 2004.09, 2004.10, 2004.11, 2004.12

This is how to find your module number (click on image to enlarge)

The fault was discovered from a small number of cases, reported to the customer service centres in North America, of the AC Adaptor overheating, and in several cases, melting. In Europe, Middle East, Africa or Australasia, SCEE has received 4 reports of overheating. These 4 incidents are minor and have not lead to any severe consequence but as a precautionary measure SCEE have taken the decision to recall the affected units from these territories.

To find out more about the replacement program visit http://www.ps2ac.com