Microsoft Launches "Cloud" Version of Office

Microsoft Corp launched a fully online version of its popular Office suite of applications on Tuesday as it looks to extend its customer base and beat back rival Google Inc.

The new service, called Office 365, is available as a limited test from Tuesday, and will be on sale on a subscription basis worldwide next year.

Combining some of Microsoft's existing cloud-based services, it will be available through most browsers and on mobile devices.

That means customers can get access to Office programs like Outlook e-mail and SharePoint websites without installing software, from virtually anywhere.

The move strikes a blow against rival Google, which has had some success with its Google Apps service, which provides a low-cost, Web-based alternative to Microsoft's traditional Office software.

Shares of Microsoft were down 2.7 percent at $25.12 in morning trading, while Google fell 1.1 percent to $610.95.

Microsoft is doubling down on its commitment to the cloud with the launch of Office 365, a service that combines Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online with the cloud.

Announced at a press event in San Francisco by Kurt DelBane, president of Microsoft's office division, Office 365 is a subscription service that integrates cloud-based syncing, collaboration, and accessibility to businesses and organizations worldwide. So long as a device supports ActiveSync, customers can access their e-mail, calendars, team websites and office web apps from anywhere. The inclusion of Lync also means that Office 365 has videoconferencing capabilities.

There are two editions of Office 365. Office 365 for Small Businesses is designed for organizations of one to 25 people. It's a pre-built package that includes Office Web Apps, Lync, e-mail sync, and more. It doesn't require IT support on the user's end and will cost $6 per user per month.

The second version is Office 365 for Enterprises. Unlike the small business version, the enterprise edition can be customized based on an organization's needs. It can be customized so different teams have different access levels to Office 365's features. The enterprise edition comes with everything in the small business version, plus single sign-in, Office Pro Plus (via subscription), internal social networking tools, voicemail in the inbox, and more. It costs anywhere between $2 to $27 per user per month, depending on which features the company chooses to utilize.

The beta will be available to a few thousand organizations starting today; its full launch will occur sometime next year in 40 countries. Sometime in late 2011, Office 365 will add Microsoft Dynamics CRM to its suite of products.

Microsoft is extraordinarily bullish on the cloud. DelBane said that the company believes the cloud is as radical of an innovation as the graphical user interface. Office 365 just makes sense though; the rising demand for enterprise-level cloud apps like Dropbox and Box.net is due to its ability to help teams collaborate and coordinate their efforts.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 RC Leak On Web

It’s well known that Microsoft is prepping a service pack for Windows 7, and now it appears an RC version has leaked to the web. The current build weighs in at a hefty 353 MB and is currently making its rounds on your favorite torrent site. Microsoft is expected to release a SP1 build this week at PDC 2010 on October 28th. Just with any service pack, Windows 7 SP1 will contain all previous fixes and patches rolled up into one update, as well as bug and security fixes that are still currently being tested.

According to Wzor, the leaked Windows 7 service pack comes in at Build 6.1.7601.17105.100929-1730, which indicates that the release was blessed by Microsoft on September 29th, almost a month ago. This age could also indicate that there are possible revisions to the release that is currently circulating.

Wzor has an incredible track record for these types of things, its probably safe to say that this is the real deal. However, as with any leak, install at your own risk as this is not an official release by Microsoft and depending on who you download it from, the file could have been altered.

Microsoft Docs Support Facebook Groups Now

As we mentioned before that Microsoft soon going to integrate Facebook Group in its upcoming Microsoft Docs. Until now, sharing a Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF document with other FB users implied doing it individually or choosing every recipient one by one. Not anymore. With the new Facebook Groups integration you can now share a document with a pre-arranged group of peoples.

Unlike Office Web Apps, Docs.com enhances their service with several social networking features. When you share doc, this will post on the Group’s wall via Facebook’s newsfeed, and it will show up on each member’s indivdual wall too. People can also comment on the document on the post or beside the document itself. The coolest thing about this is that you don’t have to have Microsoft Office installed in your computer to use this application. Simply use Microsoft Office Web Apps via Docs and you’re set.

Microsoft Huge Hotmail Updates On The Way

The Hotmail team was hard a work over the summer, releasing a major update to Windows Live Hotmail that included a new design, faster inbox and many other cool features. Even though the update was released two months ago, the Hotmail team announced some more exciting changes, something that might just blow the competition away.

Shipment Tracking

First up on the changes is shipment tracking within your email. Hotmail will automatically detect the shipping tracking number and provide real-time shipping information. Once the update rolls out, users will be able to track USPS and Fedex shipments right from inside their email, without having to visit the shippers website. DHL and UPS are also supported, but will provide links to the shipper’s website for more detailed information.

Facebook Chat

Earlier this month, we posted information that Facebook Chat will soon be coming to Windows Live Hotmail, and now the Hotmail team is ready to roll out this major update. Users can already chat with Facebook friends through Windows Live Essentials 2011 and Windows Live Messenger for the iPhone.
Microsoft also mentioned that they will be making the signout button more noticeable for users to see, based on feedback from some users.

Attachment Upgrade

Windows Live Hotmail became the first email provider to allow up to 10GB of photos in a single email, by creating a new album inside of SkyDrive and connecting it with your email. This allows friends and family to share high resolution photos with one another. Hotmail users share more than 1.5 billion photos a month on Hotmail, and with the ever increasing demand, the Hotmail team is increasing total filesizes to 25MB per email. You’ll now be able to have larger attachments per email.

Dailymotion & Justin.tv

During the summer rollout, Hotmail announced you’ll be able to watch Hulu and YouTube videos right inside of an email. The next update rollout will now support videos from Dailymotion and Justin.tv.

Subfolders

The new Hotmail update will allow you to create subfolders in your inbox, so you can put folders in your folders (yo dawg yo). A great new feature for people wanting to stay organized, but have a massive list of folders in their inbox, now you’ll be able to separate your email using the Hotmail filters but keep a neat and tidy inbox.

Hotmail didn’t give an estimated time for the release, only saying they would be rolling out the update immediately. The process may take a few weeks to reflect on everyone’s account.

IE 9 Doesn't Require 7 SP1

Update: Microsoft reached out to us via email saying that IE9 will run on either Windows 7 RTM or Service Pack 1. It seems like IE9 could come out earlier than next year, and won’t actually require SP1 to work;

I want to follow up to let you know that the TechNet FAQ has been updated to provide further clarification about requirements for Internet Explorer 9.  Internet Explorer 9 will work on Windows 7 RTW and Windows 7 SP1.  When you install Internet Explorer 9 on a system that has Windows 7 RTM installed, additional operating system components are included as part of the installation of Internet Explorer 9.  Those “additional operating system components” will be part of Windows 7 SP1.  Either way, this will be a seamless process for the user.  Just wanted to make sure you had the latest.

Microsoft continues to push that it’s not essential for businesses to wait for SP1 and IE9, but to deploy now and roll out these updates later, when they are released. Microsoft explained on The Windows Blog why users shouldn’t wait for SP1 or IE9 to upgrade.

This gives an estimate of when a final IE9 release is expected, since Windows 7 SP1 isn’t due out until some time in the first half of 2011, but no specific date has been announced. A beta of Service Pack 1 is currently available.

Windows Phone 7 and Android Platform Competition

Encroaching competition
Microsoft (MSFT) has finally unveiled its Windows Phone 7 operating system, bringing another mobile platform to compete with Android. With a powerful 1GHz Snapdragon processor and hi-rez screens, the initial Windows Phone 7 devices will be fairly well equipped to match many features on Android devices. For gaming and entertainment especially, it’s clear that certain standards have been established for smartphones.

Android Market keeping pace
Hardly fazed by Microsoft’s launch today, Android rolled out a Market update for non-Froyo users. You now get tabbed app browsing, bulk updates for apps and auto-updates for apps you select. The changes are important towards improving navigation around the Android Market, making it easier to manage what some deem are the most important features on your device. With the likes of AppBrain making searchable apps for managing your marketplace, Android itself needs to keep pace.

Another entity that is interested in its own front for the Android Market is Best Buy (BBY). The electronics retailer mentioned interest in experimenting with an app store for Android, which would be a great way to interface and market to their customers. Coming off the heels of Amazon’s (AMZN) delve into Android Market storefronts, we’re sure to see a deep and ongoing evolution for Android’s economy.

Superheroes on-the-go
DC Comics is likely to reap the benefits of this marketplace maturation, with plans to release an Android app in the coming weeks. The publishing company has managed to remain relevant throughout the generations, and having a strong mobile front is just another wave of the future. A number of print media publishers have turned to the mobile industry lately, as it’s reached a point of reasonable distribution and montization.

Visual Studio SP1 Release Date Announced by Microsoft

Microsoft has announce the release date of Visual Studio Service Pack 1, Microsoft more said that they are going to release the first service pack for Visual studio 2010 this week on March, 10. According to ZDnet. Starting today, MSDN subscribers will get access to the update and the general public will get access on March 10.

Visual Studio Service Pack 1, which has been in beta since December 2010, includes improvements to developing in Silverlight 3 and 4, as well additional features that support Windows 7 based MFC (Microsoft Foundation Class) interfaces usable for Direct2D, DirectWrite, and Windows Animation. Microsoft also promises numerous bug fixes and overall improvements to responsiveness, stability, and performance.

Visual Studio is Microsoft’s flagship software development platform and it now supports development on a wide variety of languages and systems, including web and cloud based infrastructures, as well as the popular Visual basic, C# and other .NET Framework languages.

Windows 8 Screenshots Leak With Inside Informations

Everybody seems to be waiting for the first look of Windows 8. Microsoft is working hard on its next big operating system Windows 8. As we know Windows 8 due out in 2012, the closer we get to the product launch, the more information will surface about the included features.

Win7china, has leaked out the new information and screenshots of Microsoft Windows 8 operating system, according to the website Windows 8 will have a factory restore feature that will return the computer to its factory state in under 2 minutes and that the installation time of Windows 8 M3 took 8 minutes to install. This install time is approximately 2.5 times faster than Windows 7. The factory restore feature will not require a disk to be inserted to accomplish this task and the required hard disk space to do this is said to be minimal.

The Chinese site also confirmed several other items that we knew would be incorporated into Windows 8 including an app store and the ability to log in using Windows Live ID.  The picture below was also leaked that shows the Windows Live ID login in the task bar that confirms the Windows Live ID login.

Check out latest Windows 8 Screenshots:

Download Microsoft Windows 7 SP 1 Now - Final Build

Microsoft has released its much awaited Windows 7 Service Pack 1. Now users can Download Windows 7 Service Pack 1 live from Microsoft here.

One Week ago, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 became available for MSDN/TechNet subscribers.

Windows 7 SP1 only contains two major new features, which will not affect the majority of users. The first of the two is RemoteFX, a standalone product that requires Windows Server 2008 R2 to be used. RemoteFX allows users to watch high-quality video and interact with 3D applications over a remote desktop session -- this will change the way Virtual Machines are used, as they have had limited display capabilities until now.

The second feature is an update for HyperV in Windows Server 2008 R2 called "Dynamic Memory". The feature is as simple as it sounds -- it dynamically allocates memory to virtual machines as required and is able to remove memory from virtual machines when others need higher resources. You can read more about the new features over on the Windows Server Team Blog.

Download Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Now ..!!

Internet Explorer 9 Release Date Announced

Microsoft has officially confirmed today that, Internet Explorer 9 will be officially release on March 14 at 9 p.m PST. The launch will take place as part of their "Beauty of the Web" event, which will be hosted by the Internet Explorer 9 team in Austin City Limits Live. The event will begin at 9PM on Monday, March 14, 2011 at the Moody Theater.

Ryan Gavin, Senior director of Internet Explorer business and marketing also went on to say that the company have a number of additional surprises for those who head to the event. The Windows Team Blog also noted that Dean Hachamovitch would be the Day 1 keynoter at Mix 11 on April 12

Microsoft has also confirmed that the users would be able to download the final version of the Internet Explorer 9 at 9 p.m PST. Users who have already downloaded the release candidate version of the browser will automatically be updated to the final version, most likely via Windows Update.

Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office Released

Google once again comes up with its new feature Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office and giving advantage to MS Office customers to go beyond technology by using cloud service.

According to the Google Official Blog the new plug-in for Microsoft Office can be downloaded by everyone who have a Google Account. It allow users to sync all data of Office work from Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications and upload them to Google’s cloud. From there all users can collaborate on the same versions of the files at the same time.

Cloud Connect for Office also has revision history and offline editing, letting you sync documents at a later date if you don’t have Internet access at the time of writing.

Google has also announced a 90-day Appsperience program that will let businesses test out all of the Google Apps for a small fee. The three month long test drive will cost $7,000 for companies that have 50 to 500 people or $15,000 for companies with more than 500 people.

Appsperience allows access to Google Apps, Google sites and to Google cloud connect along with new collaboration analytics that can be accessed directly through the Google Apps control panel.

As the Google Appsperience website states, at just $50 per user per year, the costs for using Google Apps for businesses is pretty low already, and the figures for the test drive don’t really show off the savings companies can make. The difference is that the Appsperience users can make use of additional support options that many businesses may well need when first starting out cloud based setups.

Google Cloud Connect can be installed on most versions of Office 2003, 2007 and 2010, but not with Office 2010 starter edition or any version that Microsoft’s Click-to-Run service has been used with.

Download & Install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Through Windows Update Now

As we reported earlier about release of Windows 7 SP 1 from Microsoft website. Now users can also get Windows 7 SP 1 from their Windows Update section. The service pack is now available online through Windows Update.

Windows update was the likely method of download as the standalone installer required up to 8GB of free disk space to install whereas it seems through Windows update requires a maximum of 540MB. For users with only a few PC’s to worry about, Windows update is the likely route however those with a greater amount can choose between the standalone installer or online installation which requires up to 1GB to install.

As reported earlier, SP1 only comes with two major new features, those being RemoteFX and HyperV - features that shouldn’t affect the majority of users. However likewise with most SP’s that Microsoft release for Windows it comes with some security fixes and other minor tweaks.

Microsoft has also provided a spreadsheet of the changes and security fixes in which we can see in detail the changes that have been made.

To download the Windows Service Pack 1:

x86 standalone installer (microsoft.com)
x64 standalone installer (microsoft.com)

Access Facebook Chat Within Hotmail Now

Microsoft Hotmail has just introduced its new Social Media feature in Hotmail. Now hotmail users can chat with their facebook friends instantly within hotmail.

Just a few days after announcing social media functionality in the newest version of the Bing toolbar, Microsoft announced that the ability to access Facebook chat within Hotmail is now available in every part of the world that the social network reaches.

According to Microsoft Windows Blog news:


When we first announced the ability to chat with Facebook friends from Hotmail, we were only able to offer this to customers in six regions. Since then, we’ve been working with Facebook to increase availability, and a few weeks ago, we announced that the feature was available globally through Messenger. Today this is available around the world through Hotmail too. And while Gmail beat us to bringing their own chat into the inbox, we have now gone a step further and brought both our own chat and Facebook chat into your inbox. Starting now, we will be displaying notifications of this update in Hotmail.


Since announcing the availability of Facebook chat in Messenger worldwide two weeks ago, nearly 2.5 more million people connected their Facebook accounts to Windows Live, bringing the total to over 20 million customers. And with three out of four Hotmail customers using Facebook, we expect that many more people will want to take advantage of this feature, now that it’s available from your Hotmail inbox.

What do you think about this new chat feature? Do you use Hotmail Chat while checking out your E-mails??

Download Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac - Buy from Amazon

Microsoft has released the Mac version of Office 2011 in trial format. The trial version lets you assess Office for Mac 2011 for a 30-day period; once this period is over, you get the choice of uninstalling the program, buying the suite from a store or purchasing a product key online.

The 30-day period is half the length of time that Microsoft currently allows Office for Windows users to test out the Office 2010 suite, as they get a full 60-day test drive.

The trial version of Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 includes the new versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, the suite's word processor, spreadsheet, presentation programs respectively, and revamped and renamed e-mail client

Although some Mac users may have been put off from having any Microsoft software near their computers, Office for the Mac has not only been selling extremely well, the reviews of the latest version have been glowing. The only real competition on the Mac at the moment is the now dated iWork suite and Microsoft believes it is the perfect time to give Office for Mac a try.

Those who are interested in trying out the Office suite can download the free version from the Microsoft Office for Mac website. The cost of a product key or full-boxed edition of Office for the Mac 2011 varies from site to site, so it is well worth shopping around once your trial has ended.

You can also Buy Genuine Microsoft Office 2011 with Product Key here.

Launch Date Of Internet Explorer 9 RC - '10 February'

Microsoft is all set ready for the launch of its most awaited browser Internet Explorer 9 as it attempts to remain competitive in the browser marketplace. Microsoft delivers everything in its latest browser IE9 to compete with other browser platform and become browser king with its contenders Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 RC build was leaked out earlier and Winreview.ru has posted some screenshots of that leak. The version which will be going to hit the web is 9.00.8073.6018 (WIN7_IE9_Partner.110121-2300). It is believed by many that Microsoft is gearing up for the release of IE 9 and the RC builds are of near final quality. Microsoft is also taking privacy to a new level, allowing the browser to block a website's ability to use location based services too.

Microsoft has just announced through its media press release about Internet Explorer 9 event on February 10th. The announcement will take place in San Francisco.

Microsoft is gearing up for the launch of IE 9 as it attempts to remain competitive in the browser marketplace. For Microsoft, IE 9 represents its latest attempt to remain the browser king while it fights off contenders Firefox, Chrome and a host of others. If Microsoft does not find a way to stop users from leaving the platform, its market share will continue to drop until it is no longer the market leader.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Update List Leaks

The rumors about latest Windows 7 Service Pack still continues. Now Russian website Wzor has leaked a list of updates which compiled Windows 7 Service Pack 2 (SP2), the site claims that work on Windows 7 SP2 started in the fall of 2010, ahead of the finalization of SP1. We have already mentioned before in our blog about Release Date of Windows 7 SP 2 in middle of 2012.

Microsoft is said to include no less than 132 updates for x86 Windows 7 SP2, as much as 171 updates for x64 Windows 7 SP2 and 114 updates for IA-64 Windows Server 2008 R2 SP2 systems.

Microsoft had previously released an RC version of its upcoming service pack last October. The version, windows6.1-KB976932, had been officially released possibly due to the leaked version surfacing earlier in the same week. The Service Pack will provide several enhancements to Windows 7 including Remote FX and many incremental updates to the platform. The Release Candidate can be found here and weighs in at 865.4MB for the 64 bit version and 514.7MB for the 32 bit version.

The build reportedly went final on January 18, 2011, according to Techarp, and subsequently leaked to torrent sites on January 20th.

Here are the details of the reportedly final RTM build:

x86

Build: 7601.17514.101119-1850

File: Windows6.1-KB976932-X86.exe

Size: 563,934,504 bytes

SHA-1: C3516BC5C9E69FEE6D9AC4F981F5B95977A8A2FA

MD5: 4BF28FC00D86C936C89E2D91EF46758B

CRC: 5EB0FA87

x64

Build: 7601.17514.101119-1850

File: Windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe

Size: 947,070,088 bytes

SHA-1: 74865EF2562006E51D7F9333B4A8D45B7A749DAB

MD5: 28D3932F714BF71D78E75D36AA2E0FB8

CRC: 068C79C6

Microsoft have yet to announce a date to ship Windows 7 SP1 stating rather vaguely that it will be made available in the first half of 2011 as an integrated release.

As this release is an RC, a release candidate, it should be a stable version of the service pack, but as with any software that is not the final release version, install at your own risk.

Update: You can Download and Install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 here

90% of Windows copies are pirated in China says Microsoft

According to Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, when he met with a number of high ranking government officials, including United States president Barak Obama, and Chinese president Hu Jintao, according to NetworkWorld.com.

Steve Ballmer raised some issues and concerns with Chinese president Hu, discussing how 90% out of 100% copies of Windows in China are pirated and only 10% is legit. Microsoft estimates that 90% of China uses some form of pirated software on their computer, with over half of the countries residents still using Windows XP and Internet Explorer 6, a claim which is backed up by StatsCounter.com.

84% of Chinese users still running Windows XP and over 50% using Internet Explorer 6, Microsoft addresses the concern that these users may be at risk of worms, Trojans, spyware and other malicious software running on their computers. The reason for China still running dated software on their computers is because of piracy. Some users are too afraid to upgrade, in case they can't bypass the security system on the operating system.

White House quoted Obama raising the concerns from Steve Ballmer says;

"We're making progress on making sure that the government procurement process in China is open and fair to American businesses. And we've made progress as a consequence of this state visit".


"Some of it has to do with intellectual property protection. So we were just in a meeting with business leaders, and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft pointed out that their estimate is that only 1 customer in every 10 of their products is actually paying for it in China. And so can we get better enforcement, since that is an area where America excels intellectual property and high-value added products and services."

Microsoft has been battling piracy for years in America, and has gained tremendous ground in the market.

Release Date of Windows 8 and Windows 7 SP Leaked Out

The latest news and information about Windows 8 and Windows 7 SP2 Launch Date has been leaked out by Wzor.net, who is very well known for as Infamous Leaker. Wzor.net has confirmed the news about the launching of Windows 8 pre beta and about Windows 7 SP2 launch.

According to Wzor.net Windows 7 SP2 is already actively underway since the autumn of 2010, and if all goes according to plan then the appearance of a second service pack, Service Pack 2 for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 is expected in mid-2012 " and looking forward to Windows 8, Wzor states, " Windows 8 is scheduled for the very end of 2012, so it really can be called: Microsoft Windows 2012 Apocalypse Edition, at least the server version will be named as Windows Server 2012."

Further, for more recent information, the site states that Microsoft is planning two betas for Windows 8 and states that at least one, if not both versions, will be for public consumption and three months after the RC is released, Windows 8 will go RTM. Specific dates were not mentioned.

By far the biggest bombshell is that "according to our information, Microsoft will plan to begin selling boxed retail versions of Microsoft Windows on Monday January 7, 2013!”

Again all this information comes from a reputable leaker but as with any information, its subject to verification. Hopefully the information is on track but as for Windows 8 leaks, Wzor states, “Possible leaks in the network of test assemblies may be expected only close to the appearance of the first beta version of Windows 8 Beta 1"

Intel To Integrate Windows 8 Into Phones

In Intel financials conference call with CEO Paul Otellini, Intel has shared information about Windows 8 to put into Mobile Phones. Otellini discussed the company’s future plans for products, including mobile phones.

Intel openly talked about the possibility of having a mobile phone running Windows 8. The only holdback in the near future with a full OS running on a mobile device is battery life. Intel was quoted, via ZDnet.com that Windows 8 could run on their lowest-power Intel processor.

We have the ability to put our lowest-power Intel processors running Windows 8, or “next-generation Windows,” into phones, because it's the same OS stack. And I look at that as an upside opportunity for us.

After Microsoft announced that Windows 8 will be able to run on a wide variety of processors, including ARM, the possibilities of running Windows 8 anywhere became a reality.

It's still unclear what direction Microsoft wishes to pursue with Windows 8 on mobile devices. Although it would be great to have Windows 8 running on a tablet PC, would Microsoft ever want to release a line of mobile phones running Windows 8? Windows 8 is still more than a year away, and with Microsoft's newly launched Windows Phone 7 operating system, it wouldn't make much sense to replace the OS after a years time, but perhaps a slimmed down version of Windows 8 might be ideal for a dual-OS phone.

Enter Into Microsoft Speller Challenge & Win $10K

Microsoft have started a new competition between users knows as "Speller Challenge". In this competition people have to correct incorrect spelling of Bing Search Engine for better search results and the top five winners can win upto a prize of $10,000.

Bing feels that there is a lot of room for improvement in this area of their search engine as they are teaming up with Microsoft Research to offer a reward to the team that develops the best spelling alteration technique. They are calling it the Speller Challenge and goal is to "develop a spelling alteration system suitable for large-scale statistical data mining-based web search."

A common approach to spelling alteration is the noisy channel model, in which the received query (q) is treated as a noise-corrupted version of the target query (c). In this model, the spelling alteration system alters q into c and returns the latter's results. The techniques to best identify query/target pairs and best estimate these statistics are the active research problem that underlies this challenge. But that's just the foundation. Place the spelling alteration task in the context of web search, and you have another dimension to consider. The effectiveness of using a fixed lexicon is a known problem because it can lead the speller not only to miss "real word" errors but also misrecognize out-of-vocabulary tokens as errors.

If this challenge sounds like something up your alley Microsoft is offering a sample dataset for developers and researchers to use, a similar dataset will be used to test the effectiveness of the spelling alteration engine. There will be five winners with the first prize winner getting $10,000.

Click here to Enter into Challenge!