Letter suggests that the Yahoo acquisition may close by the second half of 2008, if approved by regulators.
New service enables "lifecycle development" of Web-based applications, providing a complete environment, company officials say.
Redmond's stated policy shift suggests better interoperability with open source solutions may happen, some say.
CEO Ballmer described a company shift toward promoting open connections, data portability, standards and community engagement.
The update eventually will be needed to install Vista SP1.
Official suggests both will be unveiled at the next Professional Developers Conference in October.
Features and fixes are now available for Visual Studio Team System 2008 and Visual Basic.
The tactic is seen as cheaper way for Redmond to acquire the company.
New Web page defines Microsoft's vision for Software Plus Services.
A product line preview is planned for the second half of 2008.
Product extends application performance monitoring to service-oriented architectures.
CTP of database server product is available for download.
Xignite Inc., a provider of component-based financial services software, this month will roll out a hosted offering that will let corporate developers build and share composite .NET-based Web services.
A public beta of Microsoft's solution for developing rich Internet applications is expected soon.
A beta version conversion tool, starting with Microsoft Word, is expected at the end of June.
Most IT professionals have concerns about Windows Vista, a survey found, and many are considering using other operating systems rather than migrate to Microsoft's newest OS.
Several key executives step up as head of Web initiatives departs.
Upcoming framework to add URL routing improvements, blogger said.
Redmond picks up a company and unveils a new SDK for Windows Live development.
E-mails suggest that Microsoft execs had concerns about labeling plans for Vista versions.