Lync

Microsoft has finally unveiled Microsoft Office 2013. CNET's already had a chance to do an in-depth review of Office 365, the subscription version of Office 2013. Have more questions? Check out our answers below.… Read more

Microsoft is aiming Office 2013 at touch-screen devices as well as PCs. So the company is starting to pull out the stops to convince tablet users that the new Office is just right for them.

In a blog post yesterday, Clint Covington, a lead program manager for Microsoft's User Experience team, explained how touch works in the new suite. Products such as OneNote and Lync have been redesigned from the ground up to fully support touch. The other applications in Office have been "touch-enabled," which means they support certain touch features but remain true to their roots … Read more

Cisco said that the European Commission should have imposed restrictions on Microsoft's purchase of Skype in fear of a potential monopoly on video calling.

The networking giant, which competes with Skype and Microsoft with its WebEx software, said it doesn't oppose the EU's approval of the merger, but wanted restrictions.

Cisco's Marthin De Beer, senior vice president of Cisco's video and collaboration group, said in a blog post:

Imagine how difficult it would be if you were limited to calling people who only use the same carrier or if your phone could only call certain … Read more

If you use Microsoft's Lync enterprise messaging and conferencing tool, you may experience crashes with the program if you update your Mac to OS X 10.7.2.

Microsoft is reporting on its Office for Mac blog that OS X 10.7.2 contains some invalid certificates that result in a conflict with its enterprise messaging program that is causing the crashes.

A true fix to this issue will require Microsoft to update its software to properly contend with invalid certificates if and when they arise, but until then if you need to use the software you can implement … Read more

Several free Microsoft apps will be hopping aboard Nokia's Symbian phones by the end of the year.

As described in a blog yesterday, Microsoft and Nokia will deliver the apps in the form of free updates sometime during the fourth quarter. The updates will only be available to owners of phones running Symbian Belle, the latest update to the Symbian OS, or to those who upgrade from Symbian Anna to Belle.

The mobile apps and updates scheduled to roll out this year include:

Microsoft will officially launch Office 365 on June 28 at an event in New York City.

Hosted by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the event will start at 10 a.m. local time (7 a.m. PT) and be available via a live Webcast.

Announced in October, Office 365 is Microsoft's effort to offer business customers a cloud-based alternative to its traditional desktop and server products. Office 365 unites Microsoft's Office Web Apps with hosted versions of Exchange and SharePoint along with Lync, which kicks in the online communication and collaboration piece.

Microsoft's announcement of the launch event … Read more

Microsoft has opened the tap on its cloud-based Office 365 and is now offering the service as a public beta for anyone to try out.

Available in 38 countries and in 17 languages, the new beta follows several months of limited testing among a couple thousand businesses that were able to kick the tires on the service. After the public beta, Office 365 will officially launch later this year.

Unveiled last October, Office 365 is Microsoft's attempt to offer businesses a cloud-based alternative to some of its traditional desktop and server products. The service combines Office Web Apps with … Read more

Microsoft this morning unveiled the latest version of its Office Communicator product, which now goes by the name Lync.

The rebranding actually happened earlier this year, but the product was not finalized and released to manufacturers until late October. This morning's event centered around the news that Lync will be available for sale in 150 countries beginning December 1.

Lync is made up of three different products: an instant messaging system with presence; an audio and video conferencing tool; and a voice call service. The product has been in development for the past five to six years, according to … Read more