Online services

Users of Microsoft's hosted versions of Exchange and SharePoint have had to endure a bumpy last couple of weeks, with at least three service interruptions or outages.

Microsoft said in a blog post this week that all of the issues were related to a change in networking infrastructure that the company made last month. The company attempted to fix the issue after a two-hour service interruption on August 23, but the fix didn't solve everything and there were further problems on September 3 and again on Tuesday.

"We aspire to deliver quality services, and in the last … Read more

Microsoft on Wednesday is launching Redu, a Bing-powered site that aims to act as a "homeroom" for people interested in learning more about the state of American schools. The Web site, to which Microsoft plans to link from Bing.com, aspires to be an online hub for those looking to donate to schools, volunteer locally, or work in education.

"This new site is a great way to galvanize interest and focus on public education," Pamela Passman, vice president of corporate affairs at Microsoft, said in an interview Tuesday.

Among its features is a Bing Map that … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Microsoft is tired of seeing Salesforce.com get all the headlines by dishing out a combination of pithy quotes and branded chocolates to the technology press.

Although Redmond has no plans to one-up Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff in the candy distribution business, it is starting to speak out more strongly.

"I think Marc and Salesforce have done a good job of getting out there and telling their vision, their story," Corporate Vice President Michael Park told CNET in an interview this week. "I think we have an opportunity to do better."

Of course, Salesforce.… Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--It's a little hard to write more about the movie "Catfish" without spoiling its thrilling twists, but I'm going to try, because really, who likes spoiled catfish?

The documentary that tells the tale of Nev Schulman, a New York City photographer who develops a close online relationship with three members of a rural Michigan family. It begins when the young daughter of the family, Abby, starts painting adaptations of some of the photographer's work. Schulman also starts an intense cell phone, text message, and Facebook relationship with Abby's older sister, while conversing with … Read more

As an eagle-eyed CNET reader noted, Amazon is selling some TV shows for the same price that Apple plans to charge for rentals.

A number of ABC and Fox shows, including hits like "Glee," are available on Amazon's service for 99 cents per episode--the same price as Apple's coming rental option. But with Amazon, the episodes can be downloaded or streamed and do not expire.

Other shows, such as AMC's Mad Men, still fetch $1.99 on Amazon's site.

Here's what Amazon says of the rights that come with videos sold on its site, … Read more

Digg confirmed on Tuesday that it has named former Amazon executive Matt Williams as its next CEO, replacing Kevin Rose, who has been acting chief executive since Jay Adelson stepped down in April.

"After several months of searching, we are excited to announce that Matt Williams will become the CEO of Digg," Rose said in a blog post. "As you know, I have been the interim CEO, while we looked for the right person, and I will still remain actively involved in the product, but am handing over the day-to-day running of the business to Matt." … Read more

As VMware prepares for this week's annual conference, Microsoft is looking to steal both the company's thunder and its customers.

In an advertisement in Tuesday's USA Today, Microsoft urges VMware customers to think twice before signing a new long-term contract with the virtualization company.

"VMware is asking many of you to sign three-year license agreements for your virtualization projects," Microsoft vice president Brad Anderson writes in an open letter to VMware customers. "But with the arrival of cloud computing, signing up for a three-year virtualization commitment may lock you into a vendor that cannot … Read more

Microsoft has confirmed plans to build a large new data center in Mecklenburg County, Va., as the company is once again expanding its data center operations.

In a press release from the Virginia governor's office, Microsoft said it will spend up to $499 million to open the facility, which will use its latest modular, fourth-generation approach and will be located near the town of Boydton. The governor's office touted the plant as "the largest economic investment in Southern Virginia history."

Microsoft was quite vague in its description of the center, saying only that it would use … Read more

Game-streaming technology company InstantAction is launching its very own title on Monday that puts a Guitar Hero-like experience inside of Facebook, and soon on any other site.

Called "Instant Jam," the new title brings the same general gameplay as most music rhythm games, with users having to key in the notes from popular songs as they rush towards the screen against colorful, and animated backdrops.

It requires no special software downloads or hardware on the part of gamers. Instead, it uses the embedded game technology the company debuted early last year to stream visuals from its server farm.… Read more