XP in new trouble

Even as Microsoft defended itself this week against charges that it is trying to corner the media player and server markets, new trouble was brewing for XP, reports AP.

The service reports that European Union anti-trust officials are pursuing charges from rivals that the latest desktop operating system is designed to help extend Microsoft`s dominance into new markets such as instant messaging, e-mail and handheld devices like mobile phones.

Aiming to unsnarl database administrators` jobs, Microsoft revealed a new database tool and enhanced another at its Professional Association for SQL Server Community Summit in Seattle yesterday.

eWeek reports that Microsoft`s ETL (extract, transform and load) technology, known as Data Transformation Services, is getting an overhaul. Microsoft also announced availability of the Best Practices Analyser for SQL Server 2000, a tool designed to help database administrators avoid common errors when managing SQL Server installations.

In an unusual twist of timing, reports crn.com, Microsoft issued its monthly security bulletin on the same day that it formally launched its key patch management platform, Systems Management Server 2003, at the IT Forum in Copenhagen.

The long-awaited SMS 2003 software is a distribution platform for deploying updates for all types of Windows systems. Its role for patch management is, however, crucial in light of the barrage of virus and worm attacks aimed at Windows over the past year.

Customers include Dell, and say SMS 2003 "vastly" reduces the time to prepare and deploy Microsoft`s security patches, operating system and application updates into a production environment. While SMS is optimised for Windows, a Microsoft partner, Vintela, has announced Vintela Management Extensions for the software. "It takes SMS and extends it to Unix and Linux," said the company.