We cover Microsoft Research projects on the occasion here at TNWmicrosoft, usually when we see an example of technology that makes us scratch our head and ask how, once the research projects hits the market, we will have lived without it previously. Microsoftreleased the below cliptoday detailing a project called ‘OneVision’ that demonstrates some very interesting live, dynamic facial recognition technology. What we found striking is that it the technology does not work with still images, but video....

No, the title is not a joke. Microsoft’s open-source CMS platform, called Orchard, did hit its first full number release today, meaning that if you are in the market for a CMS there is one more option that you need to check out. In case you are unfamiliar with Orchard, Microsoft first showed off the platform inNovember of 2009. The company then transferred (gave) the project to theCodePlex Foundationthe next month, with a promise of three years’ support....

Earlier this year, a deputy of Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel approached a regional Microsoft representative to talk about open government initiatives. Just as an increasing number of local governments have recognized they hold a proliferation of data and the means with which to distribute it to citizens, Emanuel’s staff determined that there was no longer any excuse to hoard all of this information. Hence why they’ve turned to Microsoft, a company that has been leading many of the largest open government initiatives to emerge within the last two years....

TNW Quick Hit: In an expected move, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of the .Net platform, Scott Guthrie, will be heading over to lead the new Azure Application Platform team. This shuffling of personnel outlines how important the success of Azure is for Microsoft, as the company begins to spend more and more capital (financial and in terms of personnel) on its cloud initiatives. In a copy of the memo released to Microsoft employees announcing the reorganization, aspublished by ZDNet, Microsoft had this to say on Azure:...

The 22 year veteran of Microsoft, and current head of the company’s Server and Tools Business (STB) Bob Muglia is leaving the company, reportedly at the push of Ballmer. In a long note that did take the time to praise Muglia, Ballmer made it plain why he was shaking up the STB division and why Muglia was on the way out: The best time to think about change is when you are in a position of strength, and that’s where we are today with STB – leading the server business, successful with our developer tools, and poised to lead the rapidly emerging cloud future....