iPhone or iPad-toting users worldwide can now tap into their virtual Microsoft Azure cloud environments anywhere with the release of an open source toolkit for developers.

Dell has announced plans to develop a Windows Azure appliance for enterprise-scale customers.

Microsoft has released Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 and Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Beta 2 to MSDN subscribers. The company also announced a simplification of the Visual Studio 2010 line.

Ray Ozzie, the man behind Lotus Domino/Lotus Notes and now Bill Gates' replacement as Microsoft Chief Software Architect has voiced his take on Google Wave during an interview at Silicon Valley's Churchill Club. He claims Wave is anti-Web while Microsoft’s Live Mesh is web friendly.

Two prominent software houses showed off their latest online wares this last week. Yet, it was not simply products on display but vision and innovation, or rather in one case, the lack of it. Can Microsoft keep pace with Google’s thought leadership?

Microsoft has finally confirmed its crazy 3-app limit idea is being removed from Win 7 Starter Edition, now letting netbook owners run as many apps as they want, but Microsoft’s mentality in still offering the Starter Edition at all is still the real problem!

In an exclusive, long sought after interview with Microsoft’s CEO and Lord of the Dance, Steve Ballmer, a startling revelation on the future of Windows has emerged, set to shock, surprise, delight and dismay. Which emotion will you feel today?

Out of nowhere, an independent software developer has produced his own fast and fancy netbook operating system. It promises lightning boot times, an iPhone-esque icon-studded interface, modern cloud apps. The secret ingredient is Linux.

With a select group of beta testers around the world supposedly already using the Windows 7 7000.0.081212-1400 official beta 1 build, global impatience over the non-appearance of a torrent is reaching boiling point – at least for some - but no download is yet available, and people are getting impatient!

As reported last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was in town, but statements he made on Webkit and App Store-like software stores for distribution and profits have made waves in the media and developer worlds, while Ballmer has confirmed WM 6.5 is coming before 7.