An Old Enemy Resurfaces, Windows 8 Leaks, Kin's Demise

First came the appearance of an old enemy: in its patent-infringement lawsuit against Microsoft, Salesforce.com has retained David Boies, who represented the Justice Department in its historic antitrust lawsuit against the software giant, as counsel. That lawsuit can be seen as a response to Microsoft's own intellectual-property suit filed in May against the cloud-computing company.

Although Microsoft's subsequent relationship with the Justice Department has become far more nuanced, with Microsoft executives complaining to regulators about their rivals' business practices, chances are good that Boies is still roundly hated in certain corners of Redmond.

Then came the alleged leaks about Windows 8. The cloud will be a big part of Windows 8, at least according to an alleged internal slide deck that leaked online this week, detailing Microsoft's discussions about the next-generation operating system.

On June 26, a Website called Microsoft Journal--which subsequently disappeared from its Windows Live Spaces host site--posted what it described as a leaked slide deck, dated April 2010, detailing internal discussions about Windows 8. Among the features apparently under consideration: ultra-fast booting, a "Microsoft Store" for downloading apps, fuller cloud integration, and the use of facial recognition for logins.

And then, of course, there is the death knell for the widely-touted but short-lived Kin smartphone.

To read the original eWeek article, click here: Windows 8 Rumors, Kin Death Marked Microsoft Week