Users Won’t Switch To Windows 8
According to International Data Corporation (IDC), Windows 8 will be about as popular with users as Win2k or Vista. Users who are happy with Win7 will be unlikely to want to upgrade to Win8 for their desktop and laptop machines.
Microsoft updates Exchange 2010
Microsoft has released Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2. The service pack includes a number of bug fixes, enhancements, and new features.
Windows 8 tablets will target what market again?
The iPad and Android tablets are often described as consumer "toys", not business devices. Some hope that Win8 on ARM will provide a more "business-like" solution. The problem seems to be that Microsoft, and developers, haven’t really decided how people want to use the devices.
Piracy Pays for Itself
The Swiss government studied the copyright infringement issues, and reports from various content creators, and decided not to put any more laws in place. It seems that while people may download some things illegally, they may use the money "saved" to buy more content of the same type.
Windows 8 Beta Expected in Early 2012
While the news is not official, it does seem reasonable. Microsoft appears to be aiming for a beta release in January or February with a final release closer to October or November.
Microsoft Uses the Web to Showcase ‘Metro’
If you want to know what Metro might look like on your phone, Microsoft has a demo site. The site is designed for phone browsers, so it may not work from your desktop.
Microsoft to drop Desktop App from Win8 ARM tablets?
A few months ago Microsoft was saying that non-Metro apps would be able to run on Win8 ARM-based devices. Now they seem to have changed their mind. The result may be a "different" operating system on ARM than on x86 machines.
Duqu hackers wipe all servers going back to 2009
Security researchers made their finding of the Duqu botnet public and just a few days later the hackers erased their command-and-control (C&C) servers to avoid being tracked.
Certified IT jobs are paying less
Some surveys still seem to show a premium being paid for IT certifications but, overall, there has been a steady decline in pay. One reason cited is the increase in IT workers in business units instead of a central IT department.
MS Office Could Be Available as iPad App
Sometime next year Microsoft plans to release a version of Office for the iPad. This would be in addition to versions for Win8 and an updated version for OS X.