Microsoft Corp announced another 800 job cuts on Wednesday, on top of 5,000 jobs already eliminated under a plan to reduce costs that was announced back in January. the job cuts are spread across Microsoft's global operations, but about 200 are in and around its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Microsoft has teamed up with Burger King to celebrate the release of Windows 7 in Japan. The celebration features a 7 layer whopper being sold at Burger Kings in Japan for the next - yes you guessed it - 7 days.

Windows 7 launches today and Microsoft hopes it will be a positive upgrade from the now outdated XP. If you bought a Windows Vista-based PC in the last four months, it's likely that you're eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7. Getting the free upgrade to Windows 7 might involve some work, and for some, the Windows 7 upgrade won't be totally free.

You might think that there is no way a company like Microsoft could lose your data, but Sidekick users can tell you that's not necessarily the case. Still, a few lawsuits, bad PR, Perez Hilton, and suddenly, today, Microsoft says they "might" have rescued users' data.

An item that appeared in a LinkedIn member's resume is fueling speculation that Microsoft is already working on Windows 8, a new, more powerful successor to the just-released Windows 7 - and that the new operating system will work on a new, more powerful generation of chips yet to be designed.

If you have a Microsoft Hotmail email account you should change your password immediately. In fact, whatever service you use for email -- Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL -- change your password. There is a hacking attack finding its way to many email services that might cause your password to be compromised.

Microsoft has confirmed that its free security software, codenamed Morro and now known as Security Essentials, ships Tuesday. The free offering replaces the highly criticized OneCare Live product, which never really caught on (and which I wouldn't have trusted with my PC).

Some small system builders are advertising that they will start shipping Windows 7 early, basically building systems as soon as they gain access to the code. Microsoft will start shipping Windows 7 to OEMs starting Oct. 12th, though the much-hyped new OS is not scheduled to launch until Oct. 22nd.

Many have been waited with bated breath for an upcoming Apple tablet that been strongly rumored for early in 2010. Of course, we haven't even seen that device. On the other hand, we've now seen images and video of a Microsoft tablet-style PC called the Microsoft Courier that might actually excite people (I know that's hard to believe).

Zune 4.0 software is now available for free download.