I know, I know - Microsoft again, but what can I do? No matter if we love or hate them, Microsoft is an unstoppable force in the IT world, and it seems that only... Microsoft can stop Microsoft (see what's happening with Vista and you'll get the meaning of that!), but now I don't have anything negative to say about them, because I just found out that the Redmond giant is expanding its Web services offer for business users!


Earlier today, Microsoft said they are going to allow smaller businesses use some of their key products over the Internet, but this is only going to happen later this year. Microsoft's hosted software program was initiated last September, to allow companies with less than 5,000 users access applications hosted on Microsoft's server, for a fee.

Obviously, these subscription-based services are cheaper than installing the same programs on the company's hardware, maintenance costs are also smaller, while updates are much easier to accomplish, since they are done directly on the server.

For now, small US companies can subscribe to the limited beta trial available here, and the last thing to say about this topic goes here - Exchange Server 2007, Office SharePoint Server 2007, and Office Live Meeting - these are the applications hosted on Microsoft's servers for this hosted software program.

If you want to create a search engine for your website and you have no idea where to start, today I may have a clue for you. Its name is Search Engine Studio, a software application for Windows built to help you create search engines, and since it just got a new version, everything fits in just fine, don't you think?


The German software company Xtreeme GmbH released Search Engine Studio 5.0.5 a few days ago, but this is only a minor update, so all the features of the program remain the same. Anyway, there's plenty to talk about, when it comes to what can be done by using Search Engine Studio...

Search Engine Studio uses its own database engine, so you don't have to install anything on the server, but simply follow a few easy steps to allow the program automatically index your site and upload the required files to your server, so you can use the online search engine. The search results won't have any ads, and they are also fully customizable.

I could tell you about this program for an entire hour, and still there would be enough left, but I won't do that. After all, there's a free demo version for you to try, and since Search Engine Studio works with virtually any Windows version since Windows 95, and only needs 100MB of free memory, I am sure you have what it takes to give it a try!