Microsoft is readying the final service pack for it’s Office 2007 suite and Sharepoint 2007. Service Pack 3 is set to release sometime in quarter 4 of 2011, with a more specific date to be announced later.

Upgrading to Office 2010 is also an option for those who are still using Office 2007. Office 2010 will remain in mainstream support until 2015, and this path provides a much better option for those looking to upgrade from Office 2003 prior to its end of life, scheduled for April 2014.

The iconic Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, has passed away at age 56. Even as a Microsoft fan, everyone must admit Steve Jobs did a great job at the helm of Apple. He literally saved Apple from the trashcan and brought it back to life.

He will definitely be missed. He was definitely a marketing and management genius, even from his early days at Atari. RIP, Steve.

Debra Littlejohn Shinder has written a nice article on Microsoft fans, and how they need to stop being afraid and show their excitement for Windows and other Microsoft technologies more. I’ve been a fan of Microsoft for a long time (since early DOS days) and have been very vocal about it. I admit that Microsoft has come up with a few duds at times, or when a Linux server would be better suited for a situation, but Microsoft is a great company with great products.

I agree that there is a general “fad” for people to hate Microsoft, the “Evil Corporation”. But, when you get down to it and see why people think that, and their great alternative differs, you see that Microsoft isn’t really that bad and it’s a blind hate (or dislike).

Microsoft isn’t just Windows. It has a wide range of products designed to help people. From security to phones to word processors (and even car PC’s – Ford Sync). There is a lot to love with Microsoft. But, there is also a bit that isn’t so great. In my opinion, the marketing of Windows Phone 7 sucks (I own and love my HTC Trophy, powered by Windows Phone 7), Vista was a PR disaster (I loved the OS, though), Windows ME was pretty bad (yea, it was), and the Kin… well, Microsoft killed that one.

I keep telling people that it isn’t cool to hate Microsoft anymore. Time to try to stop looking like the cool guy and hating the “evil corporation” and enjoy Microsoft. I do. In my circle of colleagues, we get as excited when Microsoft announces new products like Apple zealots do when Steve Jobs poops out another iPhone.

If you’re a Microsoft fan and you’re constantly getting annoyed because Windows “don’t get no respect,” stop and consider that maybe you’re partly to blame. If you don’t get passionate about your OS – and express that enthusiasm – you can expect the press to continue in its ho-hum responses to the release of new version of Windows.

There has been a lot of very heated opinions and discussions on the new Windows 8 Start screen and lack of a Start button similar to the Windows 95-7 era. Microsoft has decided to give their two cents and explain their reasoning behind the new design. I enjoy the new Start screen, and I am sure it will be great on my new Windows 8 tablet when I get it, but for general day to day desktop PC use, I’m going to want my standard desktop and start button.

We’d like to share a series of blog posts on the how and why of reimagining Start. This first post talks about the history and evolution of the Start menu, and several of the problems and trends we’ve learned from you. We think it’s always important to understand where we’ve come from before we talk about where we’re headed. We’ll then have another post that dives into how we crafted the new Start screen, and then we’ll see where the discussion leads us from there. 

Microsoft has finally put the Zune to sleep. With the Windows Phone 7 doing duties as a music and video player (which is does very well), Microsoft doesn’t see a dedicated music player as profitable. I wouldn’t mind having both. I listen to music all day (and most of the time all night – insomnia), and having to keep the phone charging all the time is a pain.

We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players. So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing. Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices. Customer service has been, and will remain a top priority for us. To get the most out of your Zune player or for additional support, see the following sites:

• For information about your player, see Zune Players.

• If you need a repair or want to register your Zune player, see the Zune Online Service Center.

• If you recently placed an order for a Zune player through the Zune Originals website, your order will still be fulfilled. To check the status of your order, please contact us.

• If you have any other questions, ask Microsoft Answers.

So, let me get this straight… Microsoft patents technology, Google uses those patents without proper licensing or permission, and Microsoft takes a legal route or properly licenses patent users. I don’t see how that is extortion. Sure, in a perfect world everyone would share their findings, technology, inventions, products, food with the world for free to make it a better place. But, not in todays modern capitalistic world. Yes, Microsoft is wanting to make a profit, but so is Google.

“This is the same tactic we’ve seen time and again from Microsoft. Failing to succeed in the smartphone market, they are resorting to legal measures to extort profit from others’ achievements and hinder the pace of innovation. We remain focused on building new technology and supporting Android partners.”

UPDATE: Microsoft responds: “Waaaah.”

I have to say I am very impressed by the new Windows Live for Windows 8 using the Metro UI. Looks very easy to use, very user friendly and allows you to connect using Skydrive, your home PC, Facebook and your local device. So, you can be with your files every when you’re away from your files!

An important aspect of our applications is that they are connected to the services you use every day, so you can quickly get a view of what’s happening. We know most people have more than one mail address, and Mail connects to multiple mail accounts, at home or at work. Calendar connects to your work and personal calendar, as well as calendars from friends, co-workers, or family members who have a Windows Live ID. People is a connected address book, bringing together contacts from work, home, and popular networks including Facebook and LinkedIn. Messaging keeps track of all of your IM conversations across Messenger, Facebook, and other connected IM networks. And Photos lets you view your photos, whether on your PC, another PC, SkyDrive, or other popular services. 

Steven Sinofsky has updated the Windows 8 Blog with some new detailed information on the boot and shutdown of the new Windows 8 operating system. They are thoroughly updating the boot experience to the 21st century instead of the bland, age old text based boot process.

Windows 8 will also enter the market in a time when the industry is shifting to the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) for BIOS on all new client systems. We will continue to support the legacy BIOS interface, but machines using the UEFI interface will have significantly richer capabilities. For instance, UEFI systems can render rich graphical experiences in native resolution via the Graphic Output Protocol (GOP) driver. With UEFI, the OS can finally communicate with boot firmware in a standard way; this work is strongly supported by standards work in UEFI and the TCG (Trusted Computing Group). This enables such features as secure boot, where the OS and firmware cooperate in creating a secure handoff mechanism. It also enables a seamless visual experience from the time you hit the power button – one experience owned by two distinct components.

The boot experience has not been thoroughly revamped, well, ever. The BIOS menus have been stuck in time for nearly 30 years while OSes and hardware have advanced at a logarithmic pace. We’ve introduced many features of the pre-OS environment over several releases of Windows, each designed with a different set of capabilities and limitations. For instance, due to the lack of full graphics capabilities, the Multi-OS and Advanced Boot Options menus displayed by the boot manager shown below appear as if they were from the MS-DOS era:

Microsoft has confirmed service outages for the Xbox Live and Zune services. I noticed there was a bit of chatter yesterday regarding the Zune issues, and figured it was a small hiccup. Seems it may be more serious than previously thought.

Users may experience difficulties with the following services:

• You might be unable to access the Zune marketplace or manage your account, including buying Microsoft Points and viewing or changing your personal information. We’re working on the problem. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience.
• You might be unable to manage your account, including buying Microsoft Points and viewing or changing your personal information. We’re working on the problem. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience.

• Your playlists, most-played songs, and other personal stuff in the Social might be outdated. Please check back soon. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience.

We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience

Xbox LIVE:

Users may experience difficulties with the following services:

• Signing into Games for Windows – LIVE on a PC
• Accessing the Xbox.com Web site
• Posting or viewing entries in the Xbox.com forums
• Signing into the Xbox LIVE forums
• Signing into Xbox LIVE from Xbox.com
• Searching for Web pages that are on Xbox.com

We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience

Xbox LIVE Marketplace:

Users may experience difficulties with the following services:

• Browsing Indie Games from the Xbox 360 console or Xbox.com
• Browsing the Games for Windows – LIVE Marketplace on a PC
• Browsing Games Marketplace from the Xbox 360 console or Xbox.com

We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience

Account:

Users may experience difficulties with the following services:

• Creating new Xbox LIVE accounts, managing those accounts, or recovering an account on a different console

We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience

ZDNet has once again declared that the PC is dead. They claim that with the introduction of the Metro UI in Windows 8 that the traditional desktop PC is dead. One question I have, though: without the traditional use of the mouse and keyboard and only using a touch interface, how will working with Excel, Visual Studio, databases or Photoshop be efficient? It can’t with the low DPI resolution of a finger compared to the high resolution of a mouse. I can use a touchscreen keyboard fairly well, but there is no way I could reach my 80+ WPM that I can on a physical keyboard. I won’t even go into ergonomics…

Death of the PC? No. Maybe the death of the old Windows desktop. But, of course, that is the evolution of the OS. I also doubt that Intel will give up to ARM without a fight.

Now that I’ve seen Microsoft’s next-generation Windows desktop systems architecture, it’s become very apparent that Metro fits quite well into the Post-PC vision that I described earlier. It would be entirely possible for a “PC” to be built entirely without Intel legacy architecture, based on the new “Green” foundation.

Within several years, the Wintel architecture on the desktop is going to cease to exist. Microsoft has not issued a timeframe for when this transition is going to occur, but I suspect it will happen within two consecutive versions of the OS. That’s certainly within the scope of ten years or less.