South Korean antitrust regulators Wednesday ruled that Microsoft abused its market dominance, fined it 33 billion won ($32 million) and ordered the software giant to offer alternative versions of Windows. A Microsoft spokesman said the company would appeal the decision in court.

DeadMan’s Handle, the innovative concept in notebook security, has now been released as version 1.4. The software now inter operates with laptop tracking software, further enhancing its security capabilities. This advanced software protects sensitive notebook information when it is lost or stolen. It does so by invisibly erasing it, providing an additional layer of security that complements technologies now in use.

A new worm that targets users of America Online’s AOL Instant Messenger is believed to be the first that actually chats with the intended victim to dupe the target into activating a malicious payload, IM security vendor IMlogic warned4. According to IMlogic, the worm, dubbed IM.Myspace04.AIM, has arrived in instant messages that state: "lol thats cool" and included a URL to a malicious file "clarissa17.pif." When unsuspecting users have responded, perhaps asking if the attachment contained a virus, the worm has replied: "lol no its not its a virus", IMlogic said. The malicious file disables security software, installs a backdoor and tweaks system files, the company said. Then it starts sending itself to contacts on the victim’s buddy list.

Scribe Software announced its release of the Scribe Adapter for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. By integrating Microsoft CRM with other mission critical applications, companies can provide their employees access to essential customer data enabling them to sell more and service customers better. With Scribe Insight and the Scribe Adapter for Microsoft CRM, companies implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 can be confident in the ability to quickly migrate their existing data and seamlessly integrate with other applications.

Argon Technology announced that Microsoft has adopted Argon’s PXE Boot Agent into the BIOS of Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2, now available. By incorporating Argon’s Virtual PXE Boot Agent, system administrators using Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 can use the same deployment tools to service both real and virtual clients, and to perform unattended operating system installation and system updates.

Satyam Computer Services and Microsoft announced an industry enterprise readiness initiative, called EDGE, which is aimed at training and certifying Satyam’s engineering work force on Microsoft technologies. Managed by Satyam’s Microsoft Global Alliance and the Satyam Learning Center, EDGE will train up to 3,000 Microsoft Certified Professionals each year to fuel Satyam’s vision of ensuring execution excellence on the Microsoft .NET technology for enterprise solutions. Customers will benefit from enhanced IT optimization making the enterprise more efficient, agile and ultimately more competitive.

Microsoft’s research arm released a free tool to help users slog through email messages in their inbox in the order of importance. Created within Microsoft Research, the Social Relationship and Network Finder, or SNARF, is an application that uses the same database as a user’s email client to count the number of times users send and receive messages from people, says A.J. Brush, a researcher in the community technologies group at Microsoft Research. Calling this kind of email triage process "social sorting," researchers worked with graduate students, at least one of whom is studying sociology, to come up with the tool so that it will help users prioritize the email in their inbox based on how often they send and receive messages from contacts.

Microsoft announced the release to manufacturing of Windows Server 2003 R2. Based on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2003 R2 delivers new capabilities and value for customers in the areas of branch-office management, identity and access management, virtualization, data storage and Web platform technologies. The product will be generally available to customers within 60 days.

A Chicago man who bought Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 has sued the software maker, saying the new video game console has a design flaw that causes it to overheat and freeze up. The proposed class action suit claims that in Microsoft’s bid to gain share in the $25 billion global video game market, the company was so intent on releasing the Xbox 360 before competing next-generation machines from Sony and Nintendo that it sold a "defectively designed" product.

Microsoft will create a global network of 90 MICs (Microsoft Innovation Centers) designed to foster strong, self-sustaining local software economies. Microsoft will operate the centers in alliance with local governments, academic institutions, industry organizations and software vendors, with the ultimate goal of fueling long-term economic growth in regions where the centers are located. The MIC network will begin serving local regions immediately from 60 existing Microsoft facilities in Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, Malaysia and other countries–all of which have aligned their programs and services to help spur local software innovation and economic development. An additional 30 MICs will open in 2006, with facilities planned in Korea, India and South Africa.