Even if you’re running 64-bit Windows 7 most users will have little reason to install the forthcoming Office 2010 suite in 64-bit mode, says Microsoft.

Office 2010 is about to step into the 64-bit fast lane but only people who push Excel to its limits should bother revving up the supercharged suite, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft confirmed on Tuesday a new flaw affecting version 6 and 7 of its Internet Explorer web browser that could allow remote code execution. The security advisory noted that targeted attacks using the flaw were already in the wild.

This information was confirmed by McAfee, reporting that exploitation of the flaw was originating from the domain topix21century dot com over both HTTP and HTTPS. The drive-by attacks install a backdoor which connects to a command-and-control server.

The US Federal Court of Appeals has once again upheld a jury's verdict that

The verdict, which the appeals court first affirmed in December, required Microsoft to pay more than $240 million in damages and forced it to remove a feature in versions of Microsoft Word 2007 starting in January. Microsoft had been charged with infringing a patent owned by i4i with a feature in Word 2003 and 2007 that lets people create custom XML documents.

While the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) may have certified over 50 USB 3.0 products, Intel believes it will be a couple of years before the new standard replaces its predecessor.

At CeBIT, the chipmaker revealed that it is working with Microsoft on USB 3.0 integration for Windows 8, which is expected to ship in 2012. Until then, Intel believes SuperSpeed USB support will only appear in high-end machines.

Citrix Systems has launched version 6 of XenApp, its platform for centralized application delivery that features centralized management and access to Windows applications from Android-based smartphones and Apple computers, the company said on Wednesday.

XenApp lets users access programs running on a server, and applications can be streamed to the client. It can also be used as an integrated part of XenDesktop, Citrix's platform for desktop virtualization.

Even though Microsoft has never formally announced when it expects to deliver the first service pack for Windows 7, for one reason or another many have been speculating about possible dates.

The latest comes courtesy of TechARP.com, which claims that the company has ditched its original plan of a 22-month development schedule and is now aiming for a release in the fourth quarter of 2010.