DirectX 9.0c has now been updated for April to fix minor issues - this isn't a vital update, but it's recommended for those who are keen to keep their Windows install up-to-date or for those experiencing any problems with 3D applications.

Download: DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer [45 KB - 36.6 MB]
Download: DirectX Redist Runtimes [48.9 MB]
Download: DirectX SDK [441 MB]
Download: DirectX SDK: Symbol Files [36.1 MB]

Most users will only need to use the web installer, but any Vista users updating DirectX will need to download the redistributable (it isn't listed as being supported by the web installer) - it's unclear whether any DirectX 10 updates are included.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the launch of Windows Live Messenger on Xbox 360, connecting friends across Xbox 360 consoles, Microsoft Windows-based PCs and Windows Mobile-powered devices. With this update to Xbox 360, friends and families can easily connect and chat directly from their television using Windows Live Messenger, a network of more than 20 billion relationships and more than 260 million active accounts.

Microsoft has released an updated version of its MS07-017 patch that fixes some incompatibility problems with the animated cursor vulnerability patch. Early installers of the original 925902(MS07-017) patch that was issued on Tuesday reported seeing error messages with their Realtek HD Audio Control panel. In addition to Realtek, users of three lesser known programs could be affected. Those programs are ElsterFormular, TUGZip and CD-Tag. Microsoft says the problem appears because of the user32.dll and the hhctrl.ocx files have the same memory address after the patch. You can download the updated 935448 patch from here.

As most of you already know, EMI has liberated it's music from the DRM (Digital Rights Management) monster, and Apple is the first company to support it. Apple will be distributing DRM-free music through iTunes right as soon as they settle their problems with the EU. However, some people don't like being forced into low-quality encoding (128 KB/s AAC) just so they can listen to DRM free music. Microsoft may be the answer to this problem. They are trying to get DRM-free EMI music into their Zune Marketplace, and negotiations are looking hopeful. There is no word as to what encoding this DRM free music will be in.

Hardcore Windows XP fans will claim that Vista is currently buggy and bloated. Hardcore Mac OS X fans will claim that at least half of Vista is inspired by Mac OS X. Hardcore Linux fans laugh at all of this, and simply install the free Beryl user interface on the latest free distro of Ubuntu (or some other *nix distro). However, The Register has found some compelling reasons to move from whatever you're using to Windows Vista. The following is a shortened list, please click the source link for the full version of the list.

• UAC- It really makes the OS more secure, and despite how annoyed you may get with it, you have to admit it's a step in the right direction.
• Windows Aero- It's pretty and easy. Enough said.
• It comes with better bundled software- All the programs that come pre-loaded with Windows are either old favorites, or very new programs with great features.
• Vista Live = Xbox Live for the PC. Really.
• Halo 2- What Halo fans have been waiting for over the years is finally coming to the PC. And it looks better than most of us imagined.
• DirectX10 API- All new games/ graphics cards will eventually be exclusively for DX10 and Vista, so we better get used to it.
• Windows Vista search functions- Windows indexing the everything really helps when you misplace something.
• Windows Firewall- It's pretty good this time around, if you need a firewall.
• Lots of pretty hardware/laptops are coming out that are designed just for Vista.
• Microsoft is pushing for a complete move to Windows Vista, hence, they'll drop support for everything older just like they did for Windows 9x and ME.

Microsoft is planning to release a new range of Zunes, according to Browserden.co.uk. Called the Zune 360, the new device will look a lot more like Apple's iPhone. The Zune's screen will be extended to the full size of the device and controlled by a touch screen or with buttons on its side. It will have a stylus and handwriting recognition which you can use to search for music in your online library. It will not be able to make a call and will come with two disk sizes 40GB and 80GB. The default brown color will be changed to white. Microsoft also plans to capture the iPod Nano and cellphone market in one go, with the release of Zune 180. The machine will be based around Sony Ericson's Walkman W880 phone and will be able to make mobile calls as well as holding up to 2 GB of removable flash based storage. Microsoft will customize it with a Zune interface and the ability to play Zune Marketplace DRM encoded files. The new Zune players are planned to be released in June 2007.

When we first heard confirmation of a black Xbox360 with a 120GB hard drive and HDMI from Microsoft, we nearly forgot about our gaming friends in Europe. Europe is also promised the Elite version of Microsoft's latest console. Unfortunately, Europe will be seeing the Xbox360 Elite a lot later than the Americans will. While the USA will get Xbox360 Elite's on April 29th, Europe may not see the Xbox 360 Elite until at least "late summer". This is thanks to some insiders information from European retailer HMV. HMV will have more Xbox 360 Elite details for European customers as they come.

A news post at Heise online caught my attention earlier today. Linked below is a picture out of the first tab patent (patent # 1,435,664) from 1922. Over 70 years Later this patent merged into a patent (# 5,160,296) owned by the father of an opera developer which was the first web browser utilizing tabbed browsing. The developer later on switched to the Mozilla team and so they were allowed to implement tabbed browsing. As Microsoft introduced the internet explorer 7 it was time for the Mozilla foundation to strike back.

Microsoft has released firmware 1.3 for its Zune media player. The new firmware improves device and software reliability, such as device detection and synchronization. The new firmware also corrects a skipping problem with content downloaded from the Zune Marketplace as well as the FM tuner which no longer drains the battery when running in sleep mode. Zune users can update their devices from within the Zune software package.

Despite dropping out of Harvard College in 1975 aged 20, Bill Gates will finally be receiving a degree there on June 7th this year. After Gates made the mistake of quitting Harvard, he went on to reclaim some of his pride by setting up a multi-national software empire and becoming the richest man in the world, so the school has decided that he deserves an honorary degree for his efforts. The details of the degree won't be announced until the morning before it is awarded to Gates - it will be given to him when he delivers the school's main commencement speech. "His contributions to the world of business and technology, and the great example he has set through his far-reaching philanthropy, will rightfully put him center stage in Harvard Yard," said Paul Finnegan, president of the Harvard Alumni Association.

Microsoft Corp. issued the following statement, attributable to Kevin Johnson, President, Platform and Services Division, after the announcement today that Microsoft would join forces with a newly formed Fox/Newscorp and NBC/Universal joint venture to distribute a vast library of online video content to MSN consumers:

Today's announcement is a great win for MSN's more than 460 million consumers and for online video more broadly. When launched, this new venture will provide free access to an unprecedented library of high-quality video content.

Microsoft and Bungie have announced the full details behind the highly anticipated Xbox 360 version of Halo 3. There will be three three-edition releases of the game. First the limited Legendary Edition, now priced at $129.99, will provide two bonus discs with the game, the first of which will include both a HD 'Making of Halo 3' documentary and an audio-visual calibration tool "custom designed by the Halo 3 graphics and audio team to make the most of fans' high-definition home theaters. The second disc, exclusive to the Legendary Edition, will include remastered cinematic material from the first two volumes in the Halo series with developer commentary, as well as some exclusive contents. Next the Limited Edition of the game, set at $69.99 will come more modestly packaged in a metal case, and will include the 'Making Of' bonus disc seen in the legendary edition, as well as a Halo fiction and art book which serves as an 'elaborate' guide to the Halo universe with new art and story elements. Finally, a Standard Edition will be made available to consumers for $59.99 that will consist simply of the Halo 3 game with no bonus discs, books, or features. No release date was revealed in the edition information, but Halo 3 is expected to launch in fall of this year.

Steve Balmer, a CEO of Microsoft, has some choice words to say about Google. In a speech addressed to Stanford University yesterday, Balmer calls Google's growth plans "insane", and claims that Google is merely a "one-trick pony" that only focuses on making searching easier. The Inquirer says that Mr.Balmer needs to be careful with stones in his "big glass house", and wants to remind everyone what IBM considered Microsoft just a decade or two ago. IBM considered Microsoft a "pretty humble bunch", that only focused on clients and servers. Even today, you could still argue that Microsoft still "only" focuses on clients and servers.

With the release of Windows Vista, DirectX10 almost seems like old news now. XNA techs are acting like it as well. At CeBIT, they discussed their plans for DirectX10.1 and DirectX11. I'll keep it simple for everyone.

• DirectX10.1 will work on fixing various coding issues, will force compatible hardware to be capable of a certain level of AntiAliasing (4x?), and will accelerate various methods of texture rendering.
• DirectX11 takes all the issues Microsoft noticed as DirectX10 started making it's way to market, and addresses them. DirectX11's main goal is to change the way textures are rendered, to help bring the cost of developing games down. Microsoft also plans on implementing a feature I think will become very significant for gamers who can't run their games at one specific setting, erm, setting. Basically, DirectX11 will detect when a game goes below a certain framerate, and then turns down settings to help compensate.

Editors note:
I'd like to remind everyone that these are merely plans for future versions of DirectX, which will come out in either several months, or a few years. Don't expect this to be something you'll see hosted on Microsoft's download site say, tomorrow night.

Anyone who's really been paying attention to the recent things coming through Windows Update knows that an update to the Windows Media Player 11 runtime recently has been released (say, wasn't patch Tuesday a few days ago?). Anyone who's been wondering what this update does need not look much further. There was apparently a problem with the way Windows Media Player "metered" the times a song bought over subscription services was put on a digital device. This led to all sorts of issues, such as entire music stores not working (it's not fun, trust me), and sometimes outright failures of Windows Media Player library to MP3 player transfers. You can read the full details from Microsoft as to how exactly they fixed this problem here. Or, you could just be glad that if you go through the trouble of paying for your music, you can rest assured you'll actually be allowed to listen to it.

Microsoft quietly rolled out SP2 for Windows Server 2003 today as part of its critical updates list. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) is a cumulative service pack that includes the latest updates and provides enhancements to security and stability. In addition, it adds new features and updates to existing Windows Server 2003 features and utilities. The SP2 update can be applied to all Windows Server 2003/Windows XP Professional x64 Edition products.

Microsoft founder Bill gates has remained as the richest man in the world for yet another year, giving him 13 years at the top. Gates himself is worth an impressive $56 billion, up $2 billion from the year before. Warren Buffet holds the second spot with $52 billion, whilst Carlos Slim Helu is just behind on $49 billion. Although Gates' wealth increased less than it has done in previous years - Windows Vista may help to line his pockets a little more after the huge development costs stalled Microsoft's profits for a short while - at 50 years of age, he's still well below the average billionaire which is 62 years old. It's also worth remembering that Gates has donated billions of dollars to charity, and him and his wife even set up their own charity known as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Microsoft, the corporation that has copyrighted the scroll wheel and double click, recently criticized Google for being too slack on enforcing copyright law. Microsoft claimed that Google "systematically violates copyright" law, citing Google book search and Youtube as examples.

At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2007, which runs in San Francisco from March 5 to 9, Microsoft announced plans to launch a 512MB memory unit for the Xbox 360 game console. The company also said it will allow an increase in the official size limit of Xbox LIVE Arcade games from 50MB to 150MB.

The 512MB memory unit, available worldwide beginning April 3, 2007, will retail for an estimated retail price of US$49.99 in North America, according to Microsoft. The 512MB memory unit will be pre-loaded with the Xbox LIVE Arcade game "Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved" from developer Bizarre Creations for a limited time. The original 64MB memory unit will simultaneously drop in price from an estimated retail price of US$39.99 to US$29.99, according to Microsoft.

Beginning today, the Xbox LIVE Arcade game size limit has increased from 50MB to 150MB, giving developers greater flexibility in game design, as well as expanding the opportunity to add advanced game features while still keeping games compact, noted Microsoft.

Microsoft has launched a new website designed to encourage more people to learn basic programming. The site offers free tutorials aimed to help people with no programming experience learn how to build websites and Windows applications in Visual Studio 2005 (the Express Editions are also free to download from Microsoft). Altogether there are 45 lessons which take between 20 and 40 minutes, along with 31 short videos accompanying the service. Users can chose between two main options: Windows Development and Web Development. By progressing through the tiers, users will start off learning the basics, before moving onto move advanced programming, including .Net development techniques. You can get started by visiting the Beginner Developer Learning Center.

Seattle- A US federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Microsoft by Alcatel-Lucent, alleging that Microsoft infringed on Alcatel-Lucent's patents on speech to text technology.

This ruling comes one week after a jury awarded Alcatel-Lucent $1.52 billion in a seperate lawsuit, the largest ever in a US patent case. Microsoft plans to appeal that ruling.

A while ago, the European Union said that to avoid gigantic lawsuits for making Windows Vista available, Microsoft would have to post the inner workings of it's operating system for the public. Microsoft claims that they did it, and hosts a 1,500 page document on their website. Unfortunately, the European Union doesn't think that it's enough. And so, they are giving Microsoft two choices. The first choice for Microsoft is to detail their documents a bit more thoroughly. Their second choice is to accept the $4 million USD a day fine.

NEW ORLEANS - Feb. 26, 2007 - The Gulf Coast region's economic revitalization after Hurricane Katrina was boosted by an announcement today by Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer of $1.7 million in donations of cash, software and specialized curriculum to several nonprofit partners in Louisiana and Texas. Microsoft is supporting existing local government, academic and nonprofit organizations as they rebuild and establish community infrastructure, technology and work-force training centers. These centers support displaced residents in accessing the technology skills training they need to succeed in today's technology-driven economy.

The most recent version of Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) software was met with a lot of complaints. The worst one by far was how WGA claimed that a copy of Windows was pirated when it wasn't (especially among corporate owners). There were also several instances when a simple hardware change (such as a WiFi card or a video card) made WGA demand a re-activation of Windows. Microsoft has listened to the consumer, and in response to these recent complaints, is morphing WGA to better fit the consumer. Instead of registering a copy of Windows as either Genuine or non-Genuine, it will now register it as Genuine, non-Genuine, or "unsure". There are no details of the functionality of an "unsure" copy of Windows. WGA is also much more relaxed when it comes to a recent hardware change. You can download the latest version of WGA here.

Someone has dedicated the past year of their life to searching for a very simple thing: the actual place where a Windows XP wallpaper was shot. New York resident Nick Tosches took one look at "Autumn", and knew he wanted to find the place where Microsoft photographers got the picture. He searched long and hard, calling Microsoft PR's, inn owners, and local farmers. He eventually found the background "just west of Toronto in the Burlington suburb of Kilbride". In regards to his search, Tosches says "It was insane. Something that would appear very simple at first probably turned out to be one of the most difficult searches of my life." The picture of the actual Windows XP background is below.