(Reuters) - Software giant Microsoft Corp. sees the future and it is robots. The Seattle-based company on Tuesday previewed a set of new software tools that aims to give developers a simpler way to design robots and to create and test programs that operate a wide range of machines -- from toys to floor sweepers to those used in factory production lines

Yahoo fired back at rival Microsoft by unveiling a test version of an enhanced, customizable online instant messaging (IM) service. The worldwide roll-out of Yahoo Messenger with Voice came a day after Microsoft launched its next-generation online messaging service with new features like Internet telephony, group searching, and file and photo sharing

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> said on Tuesday the executive leading the software maker's marketing strategy to challenge rival Google Inc. <GOOG.O> has left the company. Microsoft did not give details on why Martin Taylor left the world's biggest software maker after the 13-year company veteran was appointed in March to lead marketing efforts for Windows Live

According to a Novell Inc. confidential memo dated June 14, Novell will be slightly delaying its next release of both the server and desktop versions of SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 "to address final issues with our new package management, registration, and update system and also fix the remaining blocker defects." SUSE has a new update and package management system, which has not worked well in its initial release in the free, community OpenSUSE 10.1 release

Cisco has unveiled a new appliance that aims to make it easier for enterprises to manage and roll out wireless networks while adding new features that make them safer and easier to manage. Wireless networks within enterprises are on the rise, but companies often shy away from them because of the maintenance cost. The new Catalyst 3750g merges a company's wired and wireless network, allowing them to have uniform security settings across both while making them easier to maintain

AOL is revamping its Netscape.com Web portal to give visitors a greater role in determining what news articles get readily shown to others. Visitors will be able to submit links to neat articles they find elsewhere and vote on the ones they like most. The items receiving the most votes will appear on the home page as well as in separate sections focusing on technology, food and other topics

Internet retailer Amazon.com has started selling groceries on its Web site, a cautious step into a business that was one of the biggest casualties of the dot-com collapse. The service is limited to non-perishable goods such as cereal, pasta and canned soup, but Amazon can ship those items to any customer, unlike online grocers that only deliver to limited areas

The folks at the Yahoo Search Directory have had their blog, The Spark, running for about 6 months now, but today I received an email from them about showcasing it on BlogSearchEngine.com and thought that the blog was good enough to share with all of the search engine folks out there as well

Microsoft Corp. released eight critical updates Tuesday to patch security holes in its Windows operating system, Internet Explorer browser, Windows Media Player and Office productivity software. The critical patches - so called because they address problems deemed to pose the highest threat in Microsoft's security warning system - all are designed to prevent an attacker from taking control of another person's computer without that user's permission. The Redmond, Wash

Reading feedback from Picasa users is one of the best parts of my job. And lately the feedback has been especially clear and direct: please offer an easy way to share photos online. Today, we’re delighted to begin testing a new Picasa feature that does just that. It’s called Picasa Web Albums. In case you’re not familiar with Picasa, it’s Google’s free desktop photo management software