This Month in Tech News Highlights – July 2011

Ron

This month is nearly at an end and has brought us many interesting Microsoft related news. We learned of Windows 8 build 8042 and 8047. Microsoft bribed a University to adopt Office 365, and Tulalip was accidentally revealed. Before we embrace yet another new month of exciting tech news, lets look back at this months 10 most popular news headlines.

Windows 8: Build 8042 and More
As Microsoft continues to keep quiet, we learn more and more about the company’s next operating system via leaked information and screenshots. Last time, we talked about Windows 8 build 8030. This time, lets see whats been going on inside Microsoft as of late.

Microsoft social media site Tulalip accidentally revealed
Looks like Microsoft is trying to steal the spotlight from Google, as a new social media site from the company was accidentally revealed. Microsoft’s new social media site, Tulalip, was accidentally revealed and appears to be a “social search” service by the company.

Microsoft Pays University $250,000 To Adopt Office 365
Microsoft has offered to give the University of Nebraska $250,000 dollars to make the switch from IBM Lotus Notes to a much more feature-rich Office 365, which offers newer technology, greater flexibility, and operational savings. Microsoft did this in hopes that the University would not make the transition over to Google Apps.

Android Still Slaughtering Apple and Microsoft
As we already know, Google’s Android operating system has dominated in the mobile operating system market share for nearly a year now. A new report indicates that Google’s Android mobile operating system is still number 1 with a 54% share. This beats out Apple’s iOS which is at 26% and Microsoft at 2%.

Microsoft Seeks Patent for Wiretapping Technology
Microsoft is looking to attain a patent for technology that allows the company to eavesdrop on VoIP calls, only weeks after the purchase of Skype for $8.5 billion dollars. Apparently, Microsoft applied for this patent back in 2009. Microsoft has been working on intercepting calls on similar voice messaging software such as Microsoft Voice and Unified Communications.

Windows 8: Build 8047 and More
As Microsoft continues to keep quiet, we learn more and more about the company’s next operating system via leaked information and screenshots. We talked about Windows 8 Build 8042 last week. Let’s see what the latest build is now and go over an interesting idea for Windows 8’s installation process.

25% of car accidents are because of gadgets
In a recent study by the Governors Highway Safety Association, driving distractions such as cell phones and other electronic devices, cause as much as 25% of all US car accidents. It is common knowledge that driving while distracted is not a safe thing to do, but now we have some scientific data that goes in-depth on the topic.

Apple Back to School Promo Beating Microsoft
For those looking for a new computer before going back to college this fall, you most likely noticed the promo in which Apple offered a $100 gift card while Microsoft offered a free Xbox. Both companies had neat deals to sway your decision, but who is winning? According to researchers, Apple is beating Microsoft 8 to 2.

PayPal Predicts The End of the Wallet By 2015
As new technology emerges, one can safely assume that the days of carrying a wallet will soon end. In fact, PayPal believes that by the year 2015, no one will be carrying a wallet anymore. Instead, mobile payment methods will be taking over.

Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 End of Life Nears
If you are one of the few users who are still using Windows Vista, make sure you are using Service Pack 2 or migrate to Windows 7. Microsoft plans on ending support for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 on July 12th.

You can view all past monthly news highlights by going to this page.