On the Windows Live Blog today there was a short post that admitted there was a service interruption earlier today that (in their words) caused some customers not to be able to log into services that use Windows Live ID for authentication.  What I found curious about this post is that it points the problem to a single server, as if that minimizes the gravity of the problem!  Really?  One server fails and takes down likely thousands (or more likely hundreds of thousands) of user’s ability to authenticate?  Once again, I’m disheartened by the ability of Windows Live ID to evolve both technically and functionally with consumer and enterprise requirements. (more…)

Great demo of what Windows Phone 7 Series will be bringing to the smartphone market later this year.  In fact, I think they offered more specifics and impactful examples of its potential than we saw of the Apple iPad or Google Nexus One!

But as with all things technology-related, it remains to be seen what actually ships and from whom – Microsoft has in the past distanced themselves from what actually becomes available to consumers & businesses, so it’s quite possible that many won’t get a chance to use the new OS until…2011? (more…)

Microsoft issued a press release today, taking responsibility for the code theft from the startup microblogging service Plurk, but blaming the actions on a vendor firm contracted to write code for a competing product launching in China called Juku.  This is the second time in the past few weeks wherein Redmond has been dealt an embarrassing blow because of contractors they hire being too lazy (or stupid) to come up with their own ideas.

While I think the way Microsoft is handling this straight-up is good, it raises serious questions about who is minding the code base Microsoft is putting their name behind.  What is troubling about both of these occurrences is that they were not found by Microsoft, which points to a serious lack in the code review process, particularly code being brought in from outside sources.  What if this had been a rogue developer, bent on erasing data or planting a virus?  For Microsoft, it’s a may be just a financial and PR concern, but for enterprise IT it is two occurrences of something that never should have happened and hopefully never will again.