Alt-N Technologies announced the simultaneous releases of MDaemon 9.0 and Outlook Connector 2.1. MDaemon is Alt-N’s flagship messaging platform for small and mid-sized enterprises. Outlook Connector unlocks the collaborative potential of Microsoft Outlook by using MDaemon, rather than Exchange Server, as the email server platform. MDaemon 9.0 includes major improvements to overall performance, groupware functions, mobility services, security and administration. Outlook Connector 2.1 offers improved stability and performance, a reduced memory footprint and several user interface enhancements. These releases of MDaemon and Outlook Connector are free for license holders with current upgrade protection. MDaemon 9.0 and Outlook Connector 2.1, plus complete release notes, are available for download from the Alt-N Web site.

Microsoft is working to commercialize "BitVault," a Microsoft Research technology designed to store large volumes of seldom-changing information–the kind of material that overwhelms enterprises needing to house lots of compliance and reference data. BitVault is Microsoft’s code name for a "content-addressable retention platform for large volumes of reference data." BitVault incorporates P2P (peer-to-peer) technology for self-managing and self-healing and uses "massively parallel repair" to reduce the vulnerability of data loss, according to a white paper on the project. Much, if not all, of the work on the BitVault strategy and working prototype seems to be coming out of Microsoft Research Asia.

Apple is opening some Windows. The computer maker has begun offering software that will allow its latest Macs to run Microsoft’s Windows XP, in addition to the Apple Mac OS X. Apple on April 5 began offering a public beta of Boot Camp, software that allows Intel-processor Macs–which now include the iMac and Mac Mini desktops and MacBook Pro notebook–to boot either Mac OS X or Windows XP. After installing Windows XP via Boot Camp, users can select which operating systems they’d like to run at startup. With the release of Boot Camp, the company is sanctioning the use of Microsoft’s software on its hardware. Apple has said all along that it wouldn’t sell or support Windows, but that it also wouldn’t prevent the OS from running on its hardware. However, it believes the move will make its latest Macs more attractive to customers who might be reluctant to move from a PC to a Mac.

Microsoft is under increasing pressure to do something with Internet Explorer 7. The second you test it with your existing applications, you’ll see why this new release will cause so much developer heartburn. IE7 has inched a little closer to the standards provided by organizations such as the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), added privacy, and includes additional security. Even though the eye candy will delight users, the underlying changes will cause nightmares. This article can help reduce the pain.

While Microsoft’s Windows Hypervisor technology, code-named Viridian and currently under development, will not be ready when Windows "Longhorn" Server ships sometime next year, company officials are optimistic that it will be available "sooner rather than later." But they are not yet prepared to say exactly when "sooner" might be, especially in light of the recently announced slips in the release of Windows Vista and Office 2007. Viridian is technology that will run beneath the operating system and manage resources for multiple virtual machines.

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said on Tuesday he has sued Direct Revenue, charging the Internet marketer with secretly installing millions of spyware programs that sent unsolicited advertisements to users’ computers. Spitzer said in a statement that Direct Revenue secretly bundled spyware into offers for free games or other applications. The software tracked users’ Internet habits and caused pop-up ads to appear, he said.

Microsoft released an upgraded version of a wireless optical mouse intended for laptop users and plans to introduce two new desktop mice–one laser and one optical–by this summer. All of the new products rely on the company’s High Definition technology, which is aimed at supplying improved mouse responsiveness, at least six months of battery life, and smoother tracking over uneven surfaces.

In a rare discussion about the severity of the Windows malware scourge, a Microsoft security official said businesses should consider investing in an automated process to wipe hard drives and reinstall operating systems as a practical way to recover from malware infestation. Offensive rootkits, which are used hide malware programs and maintain an undetectable presence on an infected machine, have become the weapon of choice for virus and spyware writers and, because they often use kernel hooks to avoid detection, IT administrators may never know if all traces of a rootkit have been successfully removed.

Microsoft has again tapped the nether regions of the western half of the United States for software innovation. The company announced April 3 the acquisition of ProClarity of Boise, Idaho, a company that develops business intelligence software. More specifically, ProClarity develops analysis and visualization software that already works with the Microsoft technology that gathers and portrays intelligence data and comprises Microsoft’s BI platform: SQL Server 2005, Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005, Office Excel and Office SharePoint Portal Server.

Microsoft has a big surprise planned for not just those of its own customers using virtualization, but for those in the open-source community as well. The Redmond software giant announced at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo that it is making its Virtual Server 2005 R2 Enterprise Edition product available as a free download from the Microsoft Web site. Until now, Microsoft has sold the software, which was released in December 2005, at a suggested retail price of $199. The Standard Edition, which used to cost $99, is being dropped and will no longer be available.