Matt Berger

Microsoft Corp. released a tool kit Monday that enables users of Exchange 2000 server software to build and access Web services as the company continues to further integrate its .Net initiative into its product line.

Microsoft Corp. set a date Thursday for the official unveiling of its embedded operating system based on Windows XP.

The computer industry can't stop talking about it, software makers can't stop promoting it, but there are few instances in which the concept of delivering services across the Web has become a reality. Apple Computer Inc.'s new Mac OS X operating system is one of those.

The clock is ticking for Apple Computer Corp. as the hardware and software vendor this month is expected to release a tuned-up version of its Mac OS X operating system, a major upgrade to the company's flagship operating system first unveiled in March.

Bending under the weight of mounting legal and industry criticism, Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday it will alter its Passport authentication system to interoperate with similar services from competing companies.

As the market awaits Apple Computer Inc.'s release of a tuned-up version of its new Mac OS X operating system, Microsoft Corp. Wednesday took the wraps off its desktop software applications that will run on that operating system.

A variety of major PC vendors have begun taking orders for new PCs and laptops that feature Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows XP operating system, but analysts and economists now worry that the anticipated operating system may face a cold consumer market in the wake of Tuesday's terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

Software makers like Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp., which are building applications and software development tools for an increasingly diverse pool of worldwide developers, gathered in San Jose, Calif., last week to discuss the latest advances surrounding a technology called Unicode. The technology allows developers to make "culturally sensitive" products.