MicroTechXP

Microsoft Corp gauged Facebook’s interest in a possible acquisition after the software giant’s failed takeover attempt of Yahoo Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper reported on its Web site that Microsoft’s bankers put out subtle signals to Facebook, the social networking Web site, to see if it would be open to a full acquisition.
The talks were first reported by Web site All Things Digital, owned by Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones. Facebook spokeswoman Brandee Barker declined to comment on the report. Microsoft officials were not immediately available for comment.
In October, Microsoft took a $240 million stake in Facebook, which valued the start-up at $15 billion. Citing an unnamed source, the report said there are no active discussions between the two companies.
The news came a few days after Microsoft dropped its unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo for $47.5 billion. The aim of that proposal was to build an online advertising powerhouse to rival Google Inc.
Facebook, founded in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, has become one of the hottest properties on the Internet because of its rapid growth and the loyalty of its users. Facebook has more than 70 million active users.
In the past, Zuckerberg has resisted selling the entire company, opting to work toward an initial public offering. [Reuters]

Installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 sends some PCs into an endless series of reboots, according to posts to a Microsoft support forum.
Jesper Johansson, a former program manager for security policy at Microsoft and a prominent Windows blogger, has worked with users to tentatively identify the problem as involving only machines using processors from Advanced Micro Devices.
Messages from frustrated users began accumulating on the XP SP3 support newsgroup Wednesday, just a day after Microsoft released the update to the general public.
“I just installed Windows XP SP3 and after completing the processes and when the system reboots, the system cannot proceed to load the Windows,” said a user labeled as “Olin” in a message that kicked off a long thread. “It just displays the flash screen of Windows then after it reboots again.
Most users who left messages on the forum said that they were unable to boot into Windows Safe mode. [ComputerWorld]