Microsoft starts test of new VoIP server
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Microsoft Corp.  started  testing on Monday a new computer server software that allows  corporate customers to make Web-based phone calls through its  Office suite of business software.
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The online giant is quietly calling on beta testers to try out its take on VoIP.
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Redmond-based Microsoft Corp. on Thursday launched a test version of its new MSN Search service, hoping to compete with Google and other major Web search services.
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Microsoft is developing a front-end application for its upcoming Live Communications Server (LCS) 2005 instant messaging server that links LCS 2005 with end-users&#39; telephones.
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Microsoft Corp. said it is  launching on Tuesday its second major test version of the  Windows Vista operating system, which the company has said it  plans to debut next year.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft's goal to provide a unified communications infrastructure for the enterprise moved forward Tuesday with the release of a private beta of software it sees as its communications hub. The company released Office Communications Server 2007 to about 2,500 IT professionals in a private beta, said Paul Duffy, a group product manager at Microsoft. It's the first time Microsoft has offered software for making voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) part of integrated communications services alongside corporate instant messaging, e-mail, and video conferencing all running on one IP network, he said. Office Communications Server 2007 runs in conjunction with Office Communicator 2007, which is the accompanying desktop software. In July, Microsoft announced aÂ strategic alliance with Nortel NetworksÂ calling for interoperability between Microsoft communications software and networking infrastructure from Nortel. Office Communications Server 2007 also will interoperate with products from Avaya, NEC Phillips, and Siemens CommunicationsÂ through partnerships Microsoft has with those vendors, Duffy said. "Customers can deploy Office Communications Server and Communicator with infrastructure they have -- with IP telephony that they might have from one of those vendors -- or they can deploy it in conjunction with an IP PSTN (public switched telephone network) gateway," he said. Though Microsoft is working with vendors on VOIP, there is some belief in the industry that the company eventually will look to provide the entire software infrastructure for VOIP and other communications offerings. Such a move would hardly be a stretch, as Microsoft's strategy for entering new markets has often been to partner with companies that specialize in certain software until it is able to build out its own portfolio. Microsoft does not just aim to enter the VOIP-enablement market with Office Communications Server 2007, but rather provide a software hub that will allow the various facets of network communication to interoperate, Duffy said. For instance, by using Office Communications Server with Microsoft's Exchange Server messaging software and Outlook e-mail client, a user can respond to an e-mail received in Exchange with a VOIP call using Communications Server and Communicator, he said. Office Communications Server and Office Communicator 2007 are expected to be available in the second calendar quarter of 2007.
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Microsoft tests photo sharing, hosted storage in Windows Live services.
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Servers running an early version of company's Windows Server 2008 operating system are powering Microsoft.com.
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Microsoft Corp. next month will release Virtual Server 2005, its first foray into server virtualization and a key element of the broad management platform the company is creating for Windows.
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SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft Corp. has started recruiting testers for the first beta of Windows Server 2003 R2, an update to Windows Server that the vendor plans to ship in October next year.
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After a major delay in the early spring which threw off the development cycle of Windows Server 2008, a public beta -- as opposed to a technology preview -- is being released by Microsoft this morning.
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Voice over IP service releases beta client that accommodates Windows Mobile handsets.
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As part of its much-touted new MSN Music offering, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is testing a Web-based radio service that mimics nearly 1,000 local radio stations, allowing users to hear a version of their favorite radio station with far fewer interruptions.
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Jive Software is set to unveil a new version of its corporate collaboration server that will allow voice calls to be initiated from its IM system.
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Software maker is ready with a test version of its server software for running business phone systems.
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Microsoft&#39;s MSN division has launched a test version of a free blogging service aimed at consumers, its first attempt to provide this popular activity for the mass consumer market.
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The new BlackBerry device can support VoIP over an 802.11b-based wireless network.