The next few weeks could be crucial in the evolution of Windows Vista, Microsoft's next client operating system. Microsoft engineers will crunch through feedback from 500,000 beta testers who evaluated the latest Windows Vista Community Technology Preview (CTP). At stake is a "feature complete" Windows Vista CTP due for release in "early" 2006. At last, after three years of big promises and broken dreams, we should be able to cut away the hype and get a realistic idea of Windows Vista's features and capabilities.

The big news this week regarding Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 software was that it features picture passwords, something that drew widespread attention but also some skepticism. Otherwise it was a week of rumors about what other features Microsoft's next big software release might contain and devices that might be coming out specifically to support it.

Microsoft is touting very fast boot times for Windows 8, thanks to the clever trick of writing the kernel state to disk at shutdown.

Microsoft has told customers that it's time to stop using Windows XP, reminding people on its official blog that there is less than 1,000 days of support left for the ageing OS.

Microsoft is tipped to announce the launch of an IPTV service accessed through its Xbox games console at the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) video games conference, which is being held in Las Vegas this week.

Microsoft’s Windows 8 will offer new start screen optimized for tablet/slate computers that uses a tile interface reminiscent of the company’s Windows Phone interface.

Microsoft will make at least four different versions of Windows 8 for devices with ARM processors, but you won't be running older Windows apps on any them, according to an Intel executive.

At the end of a typically bombastic blog post, famed Nokia watcher, Eldar Murtazin has suggested that the company is in talks with Microsoft to sell its handset division.

Microsoft has launched a "Do the math" campaign in an effort to highlight why consumers should choose a Windows PC rather than an Apple Mac.

The fascinating re-fashioning of Microsoft from a software company into an information leviathan is gathering pace with news that Redmond plans to send a fleet of camera cars down European streets to create a rival to Google’s Street View.

After launching in November 2010 on the Xbox, Kinect became the fastest selling electronics device ever - eclipsing the iPad in units sold. News of the Kinect SDK for Windows first came out in January and today Microsoft announced that it will be released in spring. The SDK will enable third party software to hook into Kinect. In other words, Kinect becomes a platform.

Microsoft has reason to be weary of tablets. 10 years ago the company made a big bet on them and lost. Then Apple came along last year and completely reinvented the category, making tablets all the rage overnight. Speaking rather honestly at a lunch in Sydney, Australia earlier today, Microsoft’s global chief research and strategy office, Craig Mundie questioned whether the fevered excitement over tablets will last.

Microsoft has shipped the first test version of Windows 8 to PC makers, according to posts on online forums, which means it's on track for a late 2012 release.

The news from Between the Lines that Microsoft has sued Barnes & Noble over its Android e-reader is significant. The folks at Redmond, who have previously gone after Android phone makers, are making it clear they are coming after the Android tablet space which is heating up.

Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft will cease development of its family of Zune-branded music players due to weak demand and a desire to focus on its smartphone platform.

Microsoft has started a website dedicated to help and track the reduction of use of what it calls an old security-lapsed browser, Internet Explorer 6 (IE6). Microsoft has said "it's time to say goodbye" to IE6. The creator of the browser urges users to upgrade to a newer version such as IE 8 or 9.

There has been some back and forth as people try to sort out the details of the Microsoft-Nokia deal. Some said that Nokia was only accepting software and marketing assistance from Microsoft, but many suspected there was a cold, hard cash payoff going on. Today Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft has committed to pay the Finnish company $1 billion to promote and develop Windows Phone 7 devices.

Microsoft is to open up its XBox Kinect technology to allow amateur software developers to experiment with it. The company is to release a software development kit in the spring, which will give developers access to the secrets behind the technology.

This barrier has just been crossed, with Windows' market share now at 89.7%, according to Net Applications.

Earlier this year, Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft, was asked whether he had plans to release a PC-compatible edition of the Kinect, a popular Xbox 360 peripheral. Ballmer replied only that the Kinect would hit the PC "at the right time." And by the "right time," he apparently meant really soon. As in 2011. According to the tech site Win Rumors, Microsoft is preparing a Kinect software development kit in advance of a Kinect roll-out for the PC.