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Windows IT Pro Confirming rumors that began blossoming late last week, Microsoft this morning announced that it will purchase Internet communications firm Skype for $8.5 billion. The software giant lauded the deal's potential to increase the accessibility of real-time video and voice communications for both consumers and enterprises, but let's be clear here: This deal is about one thing and one thing only. And that is to keep Skype out of the hands of competitors like Facebook and Google. ... View the full article

The rumors were right. Microsoft announced on May 10 that it bought Skype, an Internet communications vendor, for $8.5 billion. View the full article

Bulletin Severity Rating:Important - This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft PowerPoint. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted PowerPoint file. An attacker who successfully exploited either of these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the logged-on user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. Installing and configuring Office File Validation (OFV) to prevent the opening of suspicious files blocks the attack vectors for exploiting the vulnerabilities d…

Bulletin Severity Rating:Critical - This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS). The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user received a specially crafted WINS replication packet on an affected system running the WINS service. By default, WINS is not installed on any affected operating system. Only customers who manually installed this component are affected by this issue. View the full article

The Wall Street Journal — citing those infamous “people familiar with the matter” — is reporting on May 9 that Microsoft is close to buying Skype. View the full article

Microsoft is launching a new phase of its “I’m a PC” campaign on prime-time TV in the U.S. tonight. Here’s the spot. View the full article

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Windows IT Pro In the tech industry, the current industry superpower always believes that it won't succumb to the same mistakes as its once-dominant predecessor. Microsoft, thus, was eager to prove it wouldn't become the next IBM, and of course it became just that over the next decade. And Google has publicly stated its own goal to avoid becoming the next Microsoft. ... View the full article

Microsoft officials have demonstrated the upcoming “Mango” Windows Phone update a number of times in recent months. But the official VIP Mango preview for press and analysts is May 24 in New York. View the full article

On the heels of its release of a first version of Windows Azure toolkit for Windows Phone, Microsoft has created a comparable Azure tookit for Apple’s iOS — and has another in the works for Android. View the full article

There’s been more fallout from Microsoft’s rejiggering of its advertising game plan. According to AdAge, Microsoft has decided to switch ad agencies for both its Bing and Office accounts. Windows Mobile might be next. View the full article

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Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows In the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Leo and I discuss Derek K. Miller, Microsoft's earnings and the Apple effect, stupid Windows Phone sales estimates, Microsoft's and RIM's partnership on Bing, Windows Thin PC, the wonders of SharePoint 2010, how to choose between Windows Home Server and Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, Intel's "reinvention" of the microprocessor, and an update on the Sony fiasco. ... View the full article

Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows Tasks At Last provides full support for Exchange 2007- and Exchange 2010-based tasks on Windows Phone 7, allowing you to finally be able to sync, complete, and delete Exchange-based tasks with your mobile device of choice. ... View the full article

Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows Microsoft's PowerToys for Windows XP included a neat little utility called Image Resizer. And now it's back, but in modern guise, and ready to address your image resizing needs. ... View the full article

Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows Today it is consumers, not businesses, that are determining what technology is important. And as these consumers embrace entertaining hardware like the iPhone and iPad, and simple and free web services like those from Google and Facebook, they are also turning towards technology to solve life's other problems. Here are three areas in which I've found interesting technological solutions. ... View the full article

It wasn’t a great week to be a Windows Phone 7 user, with two seemingly unrelated Marketplace and Xbox Live access issues hitting Microsoft customers and developers. View the full article