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Microsoft is offering the first look at the company’s latest .Net and Visual Studio releases.
The company has announced the newest versions of both developer tools, known as .Net Framework 4.0 and Visual Studio 2010. No official release dates for either product were given.

Team working will be the main focus for Visual Studio 2010. Microsoft plans to upgrade the collaboration and testing tools for the development suite, along with introducing a new modeling tool that is designed to allow non-technical users to model and understand the way in which a new application may function.

"With Visual Studio 2010 and the .NET Framework 4.0, we are focused on the core pillars of developer experience, support for the latest platforms spanning client, server, services and devices, targeted experiences for specific application types, and core architecture improvements," said Soma Somasegar, senior vice president of Microsoft’s developer division.

View: Vnunet

Microsoft has released a press statement urging Congress to reconsider its bailout decision, saying government action is "vitally important."

Brad Smith, Senior Vice President and General Counsel released the following statement:
"Microsoft strongly urges members of the U.S. House of Representatives to reconsider and to support legislation that will re-instil confidence and stability in the financial markets. This legislation is vitally important to the health and preservation of jobs in all sectors of the economy of Washington State and the nation, and we urge Congress to act swiftly.”

Microsoft shares fell 8.72% on Monday as Apple plummeted 17.92% on fears of profit margins. The U.S. House of Representatives voted down a $700 billion bailout plan by a vote of 228 to 205. The bailout plan is believed to be required to secure the future and stability of Wall Street.

View: Microsoft PressPass

Microsoft has gradually started rolling out the Windows Live Hotmail Wave 3 update but at some point in October every Hotmail user will have access to the new version. Part of the update are a new, clean look with themes support (not unlike the Windows Live Messenger Scenes in 9.0), a more convenient contact picker and overall faster performance.

Back in August there was some talk of bringing back WebMessenger to Hotmail, but from what we’ve seen there’s currently only the presence of Messenger Display Pictures at (see screenshot). The new About page promises more advanced Messenger integration starting early 2009:

"IM through Hotmail. See if your Messenger contacts are online and say "Hi!"

Community member Arkon was lucky enough to be one of the relatively few to have his Inbox updated to the new and much anticipated Windows Live Hotmail Wave 3 public beta, and he has much to share. Many notable changes include the integration of that spiffy “Scenes” picture that we’ve seen in messenger, the link “Manage Newsletters” that currently doesn’t work, and a new interface when selecting a contact to send an email to.

Explore the screenshots to see those features along with several others.

Sources:
http://www.mess.be/
http://www.geeksmack.net/?p=125

Despite the turmoil in the worldwide financial markets, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer believes the company has what it takes to weather the storm.
Speaking at the Churchill Club last week, Ballmer was questioned on internet advertising and said "Thank goodness! We have a chance to grow" in a market that Microsoft does not dominate.

"As I travel and talk to people in the industry, I would say given the current circumstances, people still see a certain buoyancy in the market," he said.

When questioned on Live Search Ballmer believes Microsoft has improved the relevance of its results in an "amazing fashion."

"I think the opportunity is great," Ballmer said. "Frankly speaking, if anyone is going to provide real competition … I think Microsoft might be unique in providing that competition."
Microsoft is due to unveil its long term strategy on cloud computing and its Windows Live services at its Professional Developers Conference in LA next month. The company will also unveil the next version of Windows, Windows 7.