The PostgreSQL Global Development Group has made available the second beta release of PostgreSQL 9.4. This beta contains previews of all of the features which will be available in version 9.4, plus corrections for many of the issues discovered by users who tested 9.4 Beta 1. Please download, test, and report what you find.

Among the changes made since 9.4 Beta 1 are:

• Fix handling of two-phase commit and prepared statements for logical decoding
• Multiple fixes for bugs in pg_recvlogical
• Change slot handling logic for replication slots
• Add support for BSD and e2fsprogs UUID libraries.
• Multiple jsonb bug fixes
• Remove use_json_as_text options from json functions
• Make json_build_* functions STABLE instead of IMMUTABLE
• Prevent ALTER SYSTEM from changing the data directory
• Prevent autovacuum-related crash
• Many documentation improvements and changes

Beta 2 includes changes to pg_control and to the system catalogs. As such, users who have been testing Beta 1 will need to upgrade in order to test Beta 2. We suggest using pg_upgrade for this upgrade in order to test that as well.

For a full listing of the features in version 9.4 Beta, please see the release notes. Additional descriptions and notes on the new features are available on the 9.4 Features Wiki Page.

We depend on our community to help test the next version in order to guarantee that it is high-performance and bug-free. Please download PostgreSQL 9.4 Beta 2 and try it with your workloads and applications as soon as you can, and give feedback to the PostgreSQL developers. Features and APIs in Beta 2 will not change substantially before final release, so it is now safe to start building applications against the new features. More information on how to test and report issues

Get the PostgreSQL 9.4 Beta 2, including binaries and installers for Windows, Linux and Mac from our download page.

Full documentation of the new version is available online, and also installs with PostgreSQL.

The PostgreSQL Global Development Group has released an update to all supported version of the database system, including versions 9.3.5, 9.2.9, 9.1.14, 9.0.18, and 8.4.22. This minor release fixes a number of issues discovered and reported by users over the last four months, including some data corruption issues, and is the last update of version 8.4. Users of version 9.3 will want to update at the earliest opportunity; users of version 8.4 will want to schedule an upgrade to a supported PostgreSQL version.

Among the notable issues fixed in this release are:

PostgreSQL 9.3 and pg_upgrade: Users who upgraded to version 9.3 using pg_upgrade may have an issue with transaction information which causes VACUUM to eventually fail. These users should run the script provided in the release notes to determine if their installation is affected, and then take the remedy steps outlined there.

PostgreSQL 9.3 crash recovery: Three issues which could compromise data integrity during crash recovery on master or standby servers in PostgreSQL 9.3 have been fixed.

GIN and GiST indexes: Three issues with GIN and GiST indexes, used for PostGIS and full text indexing, can cause corruption or incorrect query responses. Any indexes on bit or bit varying columns should be rebuilt following the instructions in the release notes.

Security during make check: The insecure socket permissions during "make check", reported in a previous security announcement, have now been fixed.

With this release, version 8.4 is now End-of-Life (EOL), per our Versioning Policy. This means that no additional updates will be released for version 8.4, and users should plan to upgrade to a later version very soon.

In addition the above, this update release includes the following fixes which affect multiple PostgreSQL versions:

• Fix race condition with concurrent tuple updating
• Prevent "could not find pathkey item to sort" planner error
• Properly optimize subqueries with set-returning functions
• Repair planner regression in optimizing AND/OR NULL
• Fix planner handling of VARIADIC functions
• Make json_populate_recordset handle nested JSON properly
• Prevent corruption of TOAST values when creating complex types
• Prevent "record type has not been registered" query error
• Fix a possible crash condition with functions and rewinding cursors
• Patch three memory leaks
• Fix row checks for rows deleted by subtransactions
• Change how pg_stat_activity displays sessions during PREPARE TRANSACTION
• Prevent multixact ID corruption during VACUUM FULL
• Fix indentation when displaying complex view definitions
• Fix client hostname lookup in pg_hba.conf
• Fix libpython linking on OSX
• Avoid buffer bloat in libpq
• Fix an issue with dumping materialized views
• Fix pg_upgrade's handling of multixact IDs
• Make sure that pgcrypto clears sensitive information from memory
• Time zone updates for Crimea, Egypt, and Morocco

Four Windows-specific fixes are included in this release:

• Prevent tablespace creation recovery errors
• Fix detection of socket failures
• Allow users to change parameters after startup
• Properly quote executable names so they don't fail

A few of the issues above require post-update steps to be carried out by affected users. Please see the release notes for details.

As with other minor releases, users are not required to dump and reload their database or use pg_upgrade in order to apply this update release; you may simply shut down PostgreSQL and update its binaries. Users who have skipped multiple update releases may need to perform additional post-update steps; see the Release Notes for details.

Links:

• Download Updates
• Release Notes

REDMOND, Wash. — July 29, 2014 — Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday announced the winners and finalists of the Sales Achievement program. Winners and finalists were recognized at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2014, the company’s annual event for industry partners, July 13–17 in Washington, D.C. The Sales Achievement program recognizes global Microsoft partners for achieving exceptional sales results in fiscal year 2014.

“Partners that won this year’s Sales Achievement recognition have demonstrated extraordinary commitment in transforming their businesses to support customers worldwide with Microsoft technology,” said Phil Sorgen, corporate vice president, Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft. “As customers’ needs evolved, these partners made the right investments to grow their businesses with Microsoft and are now well-positioned to take advantage of new opportunities in fiscal year 2015 and beyond.”

Categories, winners and finalists appear below:

Azure Sales Achievement
Winner: Softbank
Finalists: ATEA and NEC Corp.

Cloud LSP Sales Achievement
Co-Winners: Insight Enterprises and SoftwareONE
Finalist: Bytes Technology Group

Corporate Accounts LSP Sales Achievement
Winner: Crayon
Finalists: Comparex and PC Connection

EPG Global ISV Sales Achievement
Winner: Redknee
Finalist: Jeppesen, A Boeing Company

EPG System Integrators Sales Achievement
Winner: Hewlett-Packard Company
Finalist: Dimension Data

Office 365 Sales Achievement
Winner: CDW LLC
Finalists: Adelior France and Phoenix Software Ltd.

OEM MNA Sales Achievement
Winner: Fujitsu
Finalists: Dell and Panasonic

OEM Named Sales Achievement
Winner: Trigem
Finalists: Seiko Epson and Wortmann

SMB Distribution Sales Achievement
Winner: Tech Data Europe
Finalists: ComPortal and Synnex, US

SMB RESELLER Sales Achievement
Winner: PERSPICUITY
Finalists: CCB and Palmetto Technology Group

About the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference

The Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference provides Microsoft’s partner community the opportunity to interact with leaders from around the globe: innovative partners, Microsoft team members and tech visionaries. Partners have access to key marketing and business strategies, leadership, and information regarding specific customer solutions designed to help partners succeed in the marketplace. Along with informative learning opportunities covering sales, marketing, services and technology, the Worldwide Partner Conference is an ideal setting for to network with thousands of partners from across the world. Attendees come from over 150 countries and represent many of the most successful, top-tier Microsoft partners. More information can be found at http://www.digitalwpc.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

REDMOND, Wash. — July 23, 2014 — Microsoft Devices Group today announced the Lumia 530, the most affordable Lumia to date, delivering an uncompromised smartphone experience with the latest Microsoft and Lumia innovations. It is expected to be available for an estimated retail price of 85 euros before taxes and subsidies, beginning in August 2014.

Available in both single-SIM 3G and dual-SIM 3G variants, Lumia 530 will expand the reach of Windows Phone as the first Lumia introduced below 100 euros, allowing more people to enjoy the innovations and Microsoft services found in high-end Lumia smartphones, which includes the following:

• The latest version of Windows Phone 8.1 including one-swipe notifications from Action Center, and the fast Word Flow keyboard
  

• A powerful quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor that delivers a fast user experience of favorite apps, gaming and Internet browsing on the 4-inch LCD display
  

• Seamless integration with Microsoft services such as Skype and Microsoft Office, available right out of the box
  

• Popular social apps such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Viber and WeChat, plus key gaming apps such as Asphalt 8, available in the Windows Phone Store.
  

• The dual-SIM 3G variant for easy switching between two SIM cards, helping people manage their data costs
  

• Smooth performance with signature Lumia apps such as Creative Studio and Glam Me, which help people take voice-guided selfies with the 5-megapixel rear camera
  

• More content and apps with 4 GB of onboard memory, expandable with SD cards up to 128 GB, and an additional 15 GB of free cloud storage on Microsoft OneDrive that lets people sync, store, access and share files between Lumia 530 and computers, laptops and tablets
  

“We are moving quickly to help more people experience the uncompromised Lumia technologies, third-party apps and Microsoft services that we deliver on our flagship products,” said Jo Harlow, corporate vice president of Microsoft Devices Group. “Lumia 530 underscores our commitment to making affordable smartphones for everyone, and introducing more people to the best of Microsoft.”

Microsoft also announced the rechargeable Bang by Coloud speaker. Perfect for enjoying music with friends, Bang by Coloud is portable so people can connect multiple speakers together for a loud daisy chain of sound.

The Lumia 530 comes with changeable cover shells in bright orange, bright green, and stylish neutrals dark grey and white. The Lumia 530 will be available globally and begins rolling out in select markets in August 2014.

Tech specs summary

About Microsoft Devices

The Microsoft Devices Group includes award-winning hardware used by over a billion people around the world, including Lumia smartphones and tablets, Nokia mobile phones, Xbox hardware, Surface, Perceptive Pixel products, and accessories.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

REDMOND, Wash. — July 22, 2014 — Microsoft Corp. today announced revenue of $23.38 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. Gross margin, operating income, and diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) for the quarter were $15.79 billion, $6.48 billion, and $0.55 per share, respectively.

Microsoft completed the acquisition of substantially all of the Nokia Devices and Services (“NDS”) business on April 25, 2014. Revenue and cost of revenue from the acquired business, including amortization of intangible assets, are reported in the new Phone Hardware segment. For the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014, the results of NDS contributed revenue, gross margin, operating income, and diluted EPS of $1.99 billion, $54 million, $(692) million, and $(0.08), respectively.

“We are galvanized around our core as a productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first world, and we are driving growth with disciplined decisions, bold innovation, and focused execution,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft. “I’m proud that our aggressive move to the cloud is paying off – our commercial cloud revenue doubled again this year to a $4.4 billion annual run rate.”

“Our solid execution and expense discipline allowed us to deliver a strong finish to the fiscal year,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Microsoft. “As we enter fiscal 2015, we are focused on aligning our resources to strategic investments that we believe will deliver the next wave of innovation, growth, and long-term shareholder value.”

The following table reconciles these financial results reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) to Non-GAAP financial results. We have provided this Non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance. All growth comparisons relate to the corresponding period in the last fiscal year.

Additionally, we note below certain operational items that also impacted the company’s financial performance (“Noted Items”). Noted Items and the Non-GAAP measures are defined following the financial tables and highlights.

Devices and Consumer revenue grew 42% to $10.00 billion, with the following business highlights:

• Windows OEM revenue grew 3%, driven by 11% growth in Windows OEM Pro revenue.
  

• Office 365 Home and Personal subscribers totaled more than 5.6 million, adding more than 1 million subscribers again this quarter.
  

• The acquired Phone Hardware business contributed $1.99 billion to current year revenue.
  

• Bing search advertising revenue grew 40%, and U.S. search share grew to 19.2%.
  

Commercial revenue grew 11% to $13.48 billion, with the following business highlights:

• Commercial cloud revenue grew 147% with an annualized run rate that exceeds $4.4 billion.
  

• Windows volume licensing revenue grew 11%.
  

• Server products revenue, including Azure, grew 16%, with double-digit growth for SQL Server and System Center.
  

“Our results reflect our customers’ long-term commitments to our products and services, and strong execution by our field teams. We are thrilled with the tremendous momentum of our cloud offerings with Office 365 and Azure both growing over 100% again,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. “Looking forward, we are excited by the amazing opportunities enabled by our technology roadmap and our strong engagement across partners, customers, and developers.”

For Microsoft’s fiscal year 2014, the company’s revenue, gross margin, operating income, and diluted EPS were $86.83 billion, $59.90 billion, $27.76 billion, and $2.63 per share, respectively.

The following table reconciles these financial results reported in accordance with GAAP to Non-GAAP financial results. We have provided this Non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance.

The impact of Noted Items on the financial results was the same for the fourth quarter and for fiscal year 2014.

Business Outlook

Microsoft will provide forward-looking guidance in connection with this quarterly earnings announcement on its earnings conference call and webcast.

On July 17, 2014, Microsoft announced a restructuring plan to streamline and simplify its operations and align the recently acquired NDS business with the company’s overall strategy. The pre-tax costs associated with this plan are estimated to be between $1.1 billion and $1.6 billion and will be recorded in fiscal year 2015, substantially in the first half of the fiscal year.

Webcast Details

Satya Nadella, chief executive officer, Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Frank Brod, chief accounting officer, John Seethoff, deputy general counsel, and Chris Suh, general manager of Investor Relations, will host a conference call and webcast at 2:30 p.m. PDT (5:30 p.m. EDT) today to discuss details of the company’s performance for the quarter and certain forward-looking information. The session may be accessed at http://www.microsoft.com/investor/. The webcast will be available for replay through the close of business on July 22, 2015.

Adjusted Financial Results and Non-GAAP Measures

During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, GAAP revenue, gross margin, operating income, and diluted EPS included the recognition of previously deferred revenue for the Office Upgrade Offer. For fiscal year 2013, the financial results included the recognition of previously deferred revenue related to the Windows Upgrade Offer as well as the European Commission Fine. These items are defined below. In addition to these financial results reported in accordance with GAAP, we have provided certain Non-GAAP financial information to aid investors in better understanding the company’s performance. Presenting these measures without the impact of these items gives additional insight into operational performance and helps clarify trends affecting the company’s business. For comparability of reporting, management considers this information in conjunction with GAAP amounts in evaluating business performance. These Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Non-GAAP Definitions

Revenue recognition of $782 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013 related to the revenue deferred on sales of the previous version of the Microsoft Office system with a guarantee to be upgraded to the new Office at minimal or no cost (“Office Upgrade Offer”).

Revenue recognition of $540 million in fiscal year 2013 related to the revenue deferred on sales of Windows 7 with an option to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro at a discounted price (“Windows Upgrade Offer”).

Fine of €561 million ($733 million) assessed by the European Commission in the third quarter of fiscal year 2013 for violation of an order to provide a browser choice screen with Internet Explorer on PCs sold in Europe (“European Commission Fine”).

Noted Items Definitions

Charge of $900 million recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013 for Surface RT Inventory Adjustments (“Surface RT Inventory Adjustments”).

Revenue recognition of $382 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014 from the contractual relationship between Nokia and Microsoft related to joint strategic initiatives which was terminated in conjunction with the acquisition of substantially all of the NDS business (“End of Nokia Commercial Agreement”).

Expenses of $127 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014 associated with the acquisition and integration of NDS. These expenses consist of transaction fees and direct acquisition costs, including legal, finance, consulting and other professional fees. These costs also include employee compensation and termination costs associated with certain reorganization activities ("Integration and Restructuring”).

Tax provision adjustment of $458 million, or a $(0.05) per share impact, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 related to adjustments to prior years’ liabilities for intercompany transfer pricing that increased taxable income in more highly taxed jurisdictions (“Adjustment to Prior Years’ Taxes”).

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release that are “forward-looking statements” are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors such as:

• intense competition in all of Microsoft’s markets;
  

• increasing focus on services presents execution and competitive risks;
  

• significant investments in new products and services that may not be profitable;
  

• acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances may have an adverse effect on our business;
  

• impairment of goodwill or amortizable intangible assets causing a significant charge to earnings;
  

• Microsoft’s continued ability to protect its intellectual property rights;
  

• claims that Microsoft has infringed the intellectual property rights of others;
  

• the possibility of unauthorized disclosure of significant portions of Microsoft’s source code;
  

• cyber-attacks and security vulnerabilities in Microsoft products that could reduce revenue or lead to liability;
  

• disclosure of personal data that could cause liability and harm to Microsoft’s reputation;
  

• outages, data losses, and disruptions of our online services if we fail to maintain an adequate operations infrastructure;
  

• government litigation and regulation that may limit how Microsoft designs and markets its products;
  

• potential liability under trade protection and anti-corruption laws resulting from our international operations;
  

• Microsoft’s ability to attract and retain talented employees;
  

• adverse results in legal disputes;
  

• unanticipated tax liabilities;
  

• our hardware and software products may experience quality or supply problems;
  

• exposure to increased economic and operational uncertainties from operating a global business;
  

• catastrophic events or geo-political conditions may disrupt our business; and
  

• adverse economic or market conditions may harm our business.
  

For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft’s Investor Relations website at http://www.microsoft.com/investor/.

All information in this release is as of July 22, 2014. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company’s expectations.

For more information, financial analysts and investors only:

Chris Suh, general manager, Investor Relations, (425) 706-4400

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news/. Web links, telephone numbers, and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. Shareholder and financial information, as well as today’s 2:30 p.m. PDT conference call with investors and analysts, is available at http://www.microsoft.com/investor/.