The software giant Microsoft has a reason to celebrate. The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has rejected appeals against the file format of Open XML (OOXML). The countries such as Brazil, South Africa and Venezuela had challenged the ratification regarding file format of OOXML. The ISO had given OOXML as a title of international standard and asked the participant countries to file the appeal against the decision in two months.

A whole new version of SQL Server by Microsoft is soon to hit the market, which will be filled with new and exciting features like support for policy-based management, auditing, large-scale data warehousing, geospatial data, and advanced reporting and analysis services.

Everyone on the planet can be connected through seven links in a chain of contacts. It is established by the study conducted by Microsoft’s instant messaging network.

The researchers have confirmed that all persons are just six degrees from actor Kevin Bacon. The deep study of instant messaging networks used Microsoft's Messenger IM service to come to the conclusion.

Sources have announced that Microsoft has decided to cut the price of the Xbox 360 by next month.

But, the news is just rumor at this stage as there has been no official remark on this up till now.

While Microsoft won’t confirm the price cut, gaming sites are buzzing with rumor.

Art Technica reported that the software giant (Microsoft) would slash the price for its Xbox 360 consoles in September 2008.

Seattle - Microsoft intends to invest heavily in developing its search business after being freed from the 47.5-billion-dollar bill for buying Yahoo, company chief executive Steve Ballmer said Thursday.

Ballmer's comments at Microsoft's annual meeting with financial analysts were his first detailed assessment of the software giant's plans since the deal died in May, when Yahoo rejected the offer as too low.

A Yahoo acquisition would have helped Microsoft's bid to overtake Google in search, but any current merger plans are dead, Ballmer said Thursday.

London, July 24 : Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and New York city mayor Michael Bloomberg have pledged half a billion dollars to fight tobacco use in developing countries.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is going to invest 125 million dollars in the course of five years, on the other hand Bloomberg intends to boost his commitment to his Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use from 125 million dollars to 375 million dollars in four years.

Global estimates suggest that the ‘tobacco epidemic’ kills 5.4 million people a year and that by 2010, smoking will cause about 930,000 adult deaths each year in India.