A toolkit containing documentation and sample code will help developers incorporate SharePoint Web Parts in sites built on non-Microsoft Web portal server platforms, such as SAP's Enterprise Portal. The Web Services for Remote Portlets (WSRP) Toolkit for SharePoint 2007 updates a similar toolkit for the previous version of Microsoft's portal and collaboration platform and provides a starting point for interoperability in organizations with heterogeneous Web platform infrastructures. Read more...

The first service pack for Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2007 adds backup to third-party sites, Hyper-V support, enhanced protection for Microsoft application servers, and lower-cost client protection. DPM 2007 is designed to capture frequent backups of application data by enabling network backup of files from Windows file servers to tape-based or disk-based storage, and it is capable of taking backups many times per day, thereby reducing file restore times and the risk of lost data in case of failure. The new features, including off-site storage and branch office protection, give customers a more comprehensive Microsoft backup solution.

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BizTalk Server 2009, available now as a feature-complete beta, promises improved clustering and failover support, enhanced application connectivity, and a better developer experience. The final product, planned for general release in the first half of 2009 depending on beta feedback, is the first full release since BizTalk Server 2006 shipped in June 2006. However, overlapping functionality with a planned set of extensions for Windows Server call into question BizTalk Server's long-term future as a stand-alone product. Read more...

A third service pack for Microsoft's SQL Server 2005 database management system delivers several minor new features in the product's Reporting Services, Replication, and Notification Services components. The service pack also delivers the usual host of bug fixes, rolling up fixes previously delivered in cumulative updates. Read more...

The Language Integrated Query (LINQ) to SQL data access technology will be replaced by the ADO.NET Entity Framework and will not be recommended for development on future versions of the .NET Framework, according to Microsoft. LINQ to SQL enables application access to SQL Server via LINQ, a feature of languages such as C# that simplifies data access coding. Applications built on LINQ to SQL will continue to work but might not benefit from future Microsoft technologies.  Read more...

Technical documentation for Exchange ActiveSync, Microsoft's protocol for enabling mobile devices to synchronize e-mail, calendar, and other information with Exchange Server, is now freely available. The information, which previously required a license, will help handset makers and mobile software developers create prototype phones and applications that interoperate with Exchange.  Read more...

The former head of engineering for Yahoo's search and advertising group, Qi Lu, will become the new leader of Microsoft's Online Services Group starting in Jan. 2009. Lu's appointment, along with the hire of another top executive from Yahoo Search, Sean Suchter, shows that Internet search remains a top priority at the company, and that Microsoft's interest in Yahoo may have been driven in part by its interest in Yahoo's search team. Read more...