Due to a bug found in Microsoft Excel 2007, certain sets of multiplication is being displayed incorrectly to the user.
I heard this is some old floating point bug.
850 * 77.1 supposed to result in 65535. Unfortunately, Excel 2007 displays it as 100,000.
Only specific sets of multiplication is affected. Hope a patch would arrive soon though.
Microsoft is in talks to buy Facebook stake
SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft Corp. is in talks with Facebook Inc. about making an investment in the social-networking startup that could value Facebook at $10 billion or more, according to people familiar with the matter.
Microsoft’s approach to Facebook in recent weeks with proposals to invest in the fast-growing site is part of the software giant’s effort to catch up with the Internet rival Google. If successful, Microsoft’s talks with Facebook could give it an up-to-5% stake in the closely-held startup — a stake potentially valued at roughly $300 million to $500 million, the people familiar with those talks said.
The people familiar with the matter said that the discussions are still preliminary and Facebook could wind up not taking an investment from either Microsoft or Google. Factors in the discussions include the valuation the suitors would offer to Facebook and other business considerations they could contribute to sweeten any deal.
A Facebook spokeswoman and spokesmen for Microsoft and Google declined to comment.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Microsoft previously had an arrangement to serve advertisements at Facebook. Social Networking is kinda the in thing this year, isn’t it? Google has Orkut already, although the membership haven’t been exactly impressive. Somehow Facebook just have something special I guess.
A recent case of Microsoft updating Windows Vista and Windows XP has got quite a heated discussion on the internet. Apparently, Microsoft gives an option for users to choose not to update Windows automatically. However, there are several updates that seem to have some sort of a stealth ability and sneak through those options to update. And that really is a bad idea.
The Windows Update Program Manager has explained that the updates are pertaining to updating the Windows Update software only:
any user who chooses to use Windows Update either expected updates to be installed or to at least be notified that updates were available. Had we failed to update the service automatically, users would not have been able to successfully check for updates and, in turn, users would not have had updates installed automatically or received expected notifications. That result would not only fail to meet customer expectations but even worse, that result would lead users to believe that they were secure even though there was no installation and/or notification of upgrades. To avoid creating such a false impression, the Windows Update client is configured to automatically check for updates anytime a system uses the WU service, independent of the selected settings for handling updates (for example, âcheck for updates but let me choose whether to download or install themâ). This has been the case since we introduced the automatic update feature in Windows XP. In fact, WU has auto-updated itself many times in the past.
Some users’ computers are set to download for do not install them automatically. However Windows Update went ahead to install it anyway. The files updated are as follows:
This time Microsoft is in trouble with many techies beings rather upset. If you really do not want Windows Update to update itself, make sure you disable the download completely.
The option to download but not install is a good idea. It should have been a lot more clear. And allowing Windows Update to install itself without consent it just double standards and I’m sure no administrator is going to like that at all.
After a week of Ubuntu, I still couldn’t get used to the fonts. I guess I just didn’t like those fonts too much. Here is how you can install the Microsoft TrueType core fonts which include the following:
I am using Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) to do the installation.
Just finish the installation and your familiar Microsoft core fonts such as Georgia, Verdana and Trebuchet MS would be back. I prefer surfing the internet with Trebuchet MS. Hope it helps. 
Sony Pictures has openly invited Toshiba and Microsoft to join the Blu-ray Disc Association. The IFA event saw an official announcement from Toshiba and the HD DVD Promotion Group about the lowering of prices for both HD DVD stand-alone players as well as for laptops with HD DVD drives, trying to fight the format war on price points.
Here is some of the points Blue-ray camp brought up:
“Never thought the price was an issue… when it comes to investing in a state of the art entertainment system with HD-Ready television and surround sound system, having to spend a bit extra to get Blu-ray, we feel, isn’t going to drive customers away. It’s the bigger picture we are looking at”.
Never thought that price is an issue? Someone should be fired here.
“The DVD format was good, but profitability only lasted for a couple of years before there was no money to be had in the hardware market”, said Marty. “We believe consumers are smart enough to realise the benefits and pay the extra accordingly.”
Actually the Blue-ray camp is being rather honest isn’t it. Everyone wants profit. The point that “consumers are smart enough to realize the benefits and pay the extra accordingly” irks me though. I am apparent quite stupid so please enlighten me.
“People aren’t interested in downloading videos at the moment. The internet is a good way of delivering music but not video”, said Eklund. “Blu-ray has a good 8 to 10 years before the Internet catches up.”
What?! People not interested in downloading videos? They actually wanted to if the price actually is more friendly. Look at what they’re doing with BitTorrent. And YouTube, which streams video is quite popular isn’t it? I conclude that this guy don’t use the internet, spend all his fortune on Blue-ray disk and is stabbing a HD-DVD voodoo doll right now.
Full report at Pocket-lint
Just last week Venturer Electronics announced a US$199 HD-DVD player. HD-DVD is region free. I don’t support either formats, but I certainly feel paying a thousand for a player is ridiculous. We shall wait and see.
I was trying to copy a Expression Blend preview over to my thumbdrive and Windows Vista reports that it will take it 25802 days 5 hours. I still smile when I see the following screenshot:
Software is the only product that you actually purchase with the expection that there will be bugs. There are typically 2 types of software - buggy software and very buggy software. It almost seems excusable for companies to sell buggy products.
Oh yeah, it didn’t take 70 years of course. It took just a minute plus.
Symantec thinks Microsoft’s security suite is showing signs of monopolistic pricing? Haha, Symantec, you’re so funny, it’s just your anti-virus software being too expensive.
Remember the time when you disappointed me with your ugly yellow interface, your resource hogging tools. You have the most confusing set of products, your Antivirus software is cross-bundled in numerous of your flagship titles. Now you micmic the Windows Live OneCare idea and offer everything in one simple suite you call Norton 360 and you’re calling their price ‘monopolistic’.
Symantec CEO: Microsoft security ware pricing ‘monopolistic’
Symantec Chairman and CEO John Thompson blamed Microsoft on Tuesday for the current pricing competition his company faces in the consumer security market, suggesting Microsoft’s pricing scheme for its first entry into the space is “monopolistic.”
Speaking at the offices of the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York, Thompson said Microsoft’s decision last year to offer Windows Live OneCare, a service that combines firewall, antivirus and backup capabilities, for $49.95 per year for three PCs “clearly recast prior expectations for consumer security technology.”
“I don’t want to say it was monopolistic, but it looked that way to some of us,” Thompson said. (more…)