Tag Archives: WindowsServer

Microsoft borrows from Xbox and PCs to improve enterprise services

Posted on by
Microsoft is taking inspiration from its Xbox and desktop beta tests, and bringing faster updates to its (admittedly tamer) Windows Server arm. Starting later this year, the company plans to deliver two rounds of updates each year, one in spring and...

Windows RT and Server 2012 updates mentioned in recent 8.1 leak

Posted on by

Windows RT and Server 2012 updates

Windows Blue, Windows 8.1, Windows 8 SP1... whatever Microsoft wants to call it, it's coming soon. And along with it there will be updates to its RT and Server products too. References to Windows RT 8.1 Preview and Windows Server 2012 R2 were found buried in a DLL of a leaked build of Blue. (Build number 9374, to be specific.) The mentions turned up in basebrd.dll.mui, if you're wondering what file to start rifling through. Don't get too excited, though: there's basically no info to glean other than their existence -- which is no surprise at all. Hopefully all of the much whispered about updates will arrive sooner, rather than later, and pack a few tweaks that will make the Microsoft faithful feel a little bit more at home.

Filed under: ,

Comments

Via: WinBeta

Source: @Windows4Live (Twitter)

Microsoft announces Q1 earnings with $5.31 billion in profit, braces for Windows 8 surge

Posted on by

Steve Ballmer at Microsoft Surface event

It's Microsoft's turn at quiet-before-the-storm quarterly results, and that's evident in the fiscal first quarter earnings it just dropped on our laps. The Redmond team is reporting $16.01 billion in revenue, but a more modest than usual $5.31 billion in profit over the summer -- while it's healthier than the Q4 loss stemming from the aQuantive write-off, it's not as impressive as the $7.2 billion profit from a year ago. While a tough PC market is partly to blame, it's equally hard to say that Microsoft couldn't have done better. There's a real chance that some of its customers have been holding back on purchases in anticipation of the Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 launches; it's already setting aside $1.36 billion in revenue for Windows and Office upgrades. The company is unquestionably preparing itself for a giant spike in demand once at least Windows 8 rolls around later this month, so we'd say that the real litmus test will be the results we get after the holidays.

Continue reading Microsoft announces Q1 earnings with $5.31 billion in profit, braces for Windows 8 surge

Filed under: , , , , ,

Microsoft announces Q1 earnings with $5.31 billion in profit, braces for Windows 8 surge originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 16:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Microsoft extends free Windows Server 2008 support through January 15th, 2015

Posted on by

Microsoft extends free Windows Server 2008 support through January 15th, 2015

Now that its successor is available, you're unlikely to hear much excitement for Windows Server 2008 around IT water coolers, but that's not to suggest it'll fade into oblivion anytime soon. In fact, Microsoft has extended its mainstream support of the server OS -- previously set to expire on July 9th, 2013 -- through January 15th, 2015. The company will continue to deliver free security fixes for the operating system beyond this cutoff date, however maintenance updates will require the purchase of extended support from Microsoft. According to the company's revised product lifecycle, paid updates for Windows Server 2008 will now be available through January 14th, 2020. For those curious, the new dates were largely determined by Microsoft guidelines, which guarantee a minimum five years of support, or in this case, two years of mainstream support beyond the release of the successor product. Naturally, it pains us to imagine firms chugging along with Windows Server 2008 into 2020, but you just know it'll happen. Now, at least someone in Redmond will be watching out for them.

Filed under:

Microsoft extends free Windows Server 2008 support through January 15th, 2015 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ZDNet  |  sourceMicrosoft  | Email this | Comments

Windows Server 2012 pares back to four versions, looks to give small businesses more bang for the buck

Posted on by

Windows Server 2012 pares back to four versions, looks to give small businesses more bang for the buck

Microsoft has been devoting most of its OS update attention this year to Windows 8, not its suit-wearing Windows Server 2012 counterpart. Some of the mystery has been cleared up through word of a greatly simplified server OS lineup. Just four versions of Windows Server will sit in IT backrooms versus the whopping 12 from Server 2008 R2, with an emphasis on making the feature slope a little gentler. The biggest improvement is the near-identical feature set of Windows Server 2012 Standard compared to its Datacenter equivalent: the only advantage of Datacenter is the jump to unlimited virtual machines, giving smaller businesses a way to save some cash. Foundation and Essentials will cover the basics for these outfits if just 15 or 25 very real machines need to hop onboard. The base prices of $425 to $4,809 per copy for all but the OEM-only Foundation still make it doubtful that we'll be loading Server 2012 on a PC tucked into a closet at home, but it's evident between this and the streamlined Windows 8 selection that Microsoft wants to avoid the flood of versions that confused buyers during the Windows Vista and 7 days.

Windows Server 2012 pares back to four versions, looks to give small businesses more bang for the buck originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 14:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Geekzone, ZDNet  |  sourceMicrosoft  | Email this | Comments