Speculations about Microsoft’s iPhone beater are about as old as the iPhone itself. Rumors that both Microsoft and Nokia are worried about Apple’s advances aren’t dying down and if we believe the latest wave of speculations then both companies could be working together to prevent Apple from repeating even a fraction of the success the company had with the iPod. Microsoft's effort to integrate Zune Marketplace content with Windows Mobile and Nokia handsets is seen as part of this effort.

Interview - Last week, Microsoft held its annual XNA Gamefest developers conference.  During the conference, Microsoft announced major changes for its Games for Windows Live service. Also, the company announced DirectX 11, which is considered to be key API for next generation of PC and console games. We got the opportunity to chat with Microsoft’s Windows gaming guy about these changes and how they will affect the platform and gamers. And we learned that DX11 is perhaps the DX that should have been released with Windows Vista.

Analyst Opinion - Microsoft just released videos of the “Mojave Experiment”, which basically was a survey session aiming to convince a bunch of folks that Windows Vista is not as bad as they may have heard: People with a negative opinion about the software were shown what they thought was the next generation of Windows code-named Mojave. They loved this product and raved about it, only to find they were actually shown Vista. 

Here we go again. It appears that there is little good news about Windows Vista these days and Microsoft is not doing much to correct the doubt about Vista impressions that exist today. Market research firm Forrester apparently found that only 8.8% of corporations are using Windows Vista today, while 87% still use Windows XP. He went as far as describing Vista as a product that was rejected by customers and as a flop that may force Microsoft to revert its strategy. No surprise, Microsoft is unhappy.

Speculations about possible Zune-branded mobile phone from Microsoft have been discussed in the blogosphere since the iPhone was introduced last June. Microsoft on its part has avoided confirming or denying these rumors (which is usually an indication that such a device is in the works) but analysts warn that the software giant would jeopardize 20 million Windows Mobile licenses if it decided to make the Zune handset.

The Microsoft CEO has Apple, Yahoo and Google in his sights and will deliver a $300 million ad campaign to address any lingering doubts about Vista. He will try to copy-cat Apple's vertically integrated approach; turn Microsoft into the leading enterprise software company in the world, and squash Linux. He will push into subscription software services and will make sure that the cloud remains an extension of desktop applications, not a replacement. He stressed that Microsoft is still after search, against Google, with or without Yahoo. To show that he means business, he let one of his key generals leave, split his division into two and reshuffled executives. This is the summary of Steve Ballmer's leaked memo aimed at boosting his troops' morale. It also offers unique insight into Steve Ballmer's new head. Still as shiny as the old one, but perhaps a little wiser, and maybe more determined. Or, have we heard it all before?