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Bill Gates promised frequent updates way back when they were doing the final testing of IE7. Yet somehow, it’s been almost two years before they finally released the beta mode of Internet Explorer 8 just today. Some will hurrah, some will cringe, some won’t care one way or the other. But...it’s out...and along with actually seeming to be an improvement over the previous version...it’s pretty clear that the folks at Microsoft are also using their latest browser as a clever little way to try to take over some Google ground.

I admit, I’m a diehard Firefox user. And when I checked out IE8 beta, I immediately recognized the same thing others seem to be seeing. The Smart Address Bar is very similar to the Awesome Bar in Firefox 3. When you start to type in the address bar, it tries to guess where you want to go, based on where you’ve been before. Although I have to give it to Microsoft, their Smart Bar seems to do the job even a little better. It shows history items, autocomplete suggestions, and your saved Favorites all in lists that you can collapse or expand with just a click. Also, you can delete an address from the Smart Bar with just a click as well, which is really handy for any addresses you may have in there that were typed incorrectly or if you have bookmarks you just don’t use anymore. 

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Microsoft has once again brought back their “Ultimate Steal” deal for Office Ultimate 2007, which allows students to purchase the full retail version for just $59.95. Keep in mind this is the regular version and not the normal student edition, this version includes Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access, Accounting Express, Groove, InfoPath, OneNote and Publisher.

In order to qualify students must use an email address ending in .edu when placing their order, be actively enrolled in at least 0.5 course credit and provide proof of enrollment should Microsoft decide to follow up.

While I could not find an exact ending date, according to the press release the Ultimate Steal is running “throughout the academic school year,” so it seems you have some time to decide if you want to part with your 60 bucks.

Of course keep in mind that if you are not a student and decide to try and fool the system and fail, you will be held accountable for the full retail price, and considering this is an Office product its safe to say that will be expensive.

Product [The Ultimate Steal] Read [Microsoft]

Seems as though the folks over there at Microsoft have really been busy as of late. Their Office Labs recently released the the Speed Launch Program , and now Microsoft ‘s Live Labs just released their Photosynth program for consumers.

What was once just a “oh isn’t that so pretty” tech demo, the program is now something that just about anyone can actually go on and use now. While before, the process took weeks of stitching photos together on specially configured server arrays; it is now able to be done by taking groups of photos that you’ve taken with your digital camera or even your mobile phone, and the program then stitches them into a faux 3D environment converted right onto your computer. 

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Long annoyed with Apple’s barbs and those “Get a Mac” ads, Microsoft has called in the help of comedian Jerry Seinfield for their latest ad campaign. Along with retired Bill Gates, Seinfield will be helping to promote their new “Windows not walls” tagline.

Their newest ad campaign is running them $300 million, which makes it one of their biggest ever; and $10 million of that is going straight to “key celebrity pitchman” Jerry Seinfield for his assistance. Not a shabby paycheck there Jerry, especially since you usually displayed Macs in your apartment on your show. 

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Only ten days left of August. Microsoft claimed Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 would be out some time this month. Well, the countdown is on. And hmmmm...there are rumors flying around that it is going to be a special version. Private. Yeah, code name for “porn mode”.

Private browsing lets a user go anywhere they want without leaving any tracks. It’s like they were just magically never there.  Firefox decided not to go with it, and currently Safari is the only browser sporting this feature. The Mozilla Foundation, however does argue that “although while viewing pornography may be a popular use case due to the nature of content on the Web, assuming that this is the only reason that users need private browsing trivializes the overall feature. For instance, users may wish to begin a private browsing session to research a medical condition, or plan a surprise vacation or birthday party for a loved one.”

If trademark filings are any indications...the rumors of IE taking on private browsing may indeed be based on fact. July 30th filings by Microsoft:

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Apparently in their spare time, Microsoft employees still work on techie projects. These projects are called “Community prototypes.” The first such prototype, from Office Labs, is called Speed Launch. This program allows users to download the program and utilize it to work as a quick-start activation program.

It works with any file, website or program.  Users simply drag what they want to add to the program to the Speed Launch “Bull’s Eye” to create a shortcut, and name it. Then, whenever they want to access a shortcut, simply press Windows-C and type the shortcut name...and voila!  There you go.  You are also able to use the program to open multiple items with the same name. Simply give the items the same name in the “naming stage” of the process, and when prompted to replace or merge the files, select merge.  That way, when you select that file name from the bull’s eye, any files given that name will open for you.

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Microsoft is facing yet another antitrust investigation, this time from Taiwan. Their Fair Trade Commission is investigating whether Microsoft is monopolizing the island’s software market, and is also investigating whether the software giant is abusing that position. The agency launched its investigation after receiving numerous complaints about unfair pricing and the company’s decision to discontinue sales of Windows XP.

“We fully intend to comply with the process and make sure they get all the information they need,” said Matt Pilla, Microsoft’s director of public relations in Asia.

Should Microsoft be found guilt of the charges, they will face a fine of up to $797,361 and be forced to change it’s business practices in Taiwan. This is not the first time Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission has taken aim at Microsoft. In 2004 they were involved in resolving disputes about Windows Media Player, and in 2003 reached a settlement regarding the bundling of Microsoft Office.

Read [ComputerWorld]

Recently, a 120GB Microsoft Zune cleared the FCC, who first began testing the new Zune on June 19th. Unfortunately, for Zune fanatics, the new player by Microsoft doesn’t seem to be too different than the 80GB Zune, which it is speculated to replace.

It is an interesting ploy by making this hard drive 120GB, as their main competitor, Apple, has iPod’s with storage of 80GB and 160GB. In case you want a device with a lot of storage, and for minimal cost, you may want to consider the Zune now. In addition, no information has been announced regarding pricing or availability. However, since the 80GB Zune costs $249, it would make sense that the new 120GB Zune would sell for $299. As for launch date, it could be slated for a Fall launch.

Via [istartedsomething]

A new video and image was recently released showing off a little more of what makes the new Microsoft Sphere work. The latest video goes a little more in depth and shows off some of the features, but also gives us a little insight as to how it works. It even shows a computer that is off to the side that shows us what the Sphere was seeing as it was touched.

The video includes some info on the omni-directional camera, the circular menu that appears when users place both hands on the top of the Sphere and the mysterious sounding send-to-the-darkside gesture. A few other points, which are similar to what we have seen with the Surface were highlighted are the object auto-rotation which causes an image to rotate as it is pushed away, and also the photo and video browsers which are able to be dragged around, dropped where you want them and resized with two fingers.

Keep reading to check out the video below…

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Remaining somewhat elusive thus far, Jon DeVaan and Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft engineering managers of the new Engineering Windows 7 (E7) are writing a blog to “open a line of two-way communication between the Windows 7 engineering team and Windows developers.” They are offering little bits and pieces of what we might expect in Windows 7, but to be expected; they aren’t willing to jump out on a limb and divulge to much information on the chance that what they advertise doesn’t come to fruition. (Something we’ve seen happen in the past from Microsoft). 

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