Ryan Gavin, the General Manager for Internet Explorer Business and Marketing, has written in the Windows Blog that starting from January, Microsoft will automatically update older Internet Explorer versions on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.  This will take place for Australia and Brazil first and then, roll out to the rest of the world. Automatic Updates setting in Windows Update is required to turn on.

Ryan Gavin wrote below :

Microsoft released two new applications for the iPhone, with "Kinectimals" representing the first iOS game from the company and SkyDrive offering users the ability to access their cloud storage.

Microsoft has told TechRadar that its current Windows Phone 7.5 platform already supports Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, but no manufacturer has enabled it as yet.

Will Coleman, developer evangelist and product manager at Microsoft UK, told us that it was simply a matter of time before the technology was harnessed by manufacturers in Windows Phone devices:

"As far as I'm aware, NFC is supported by [Windows Phone], but needs to be enabled by the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). So, if any OEM wants to enable it, that can be done by all means."

After release Silverlight 5 Beta in April 2011 at the MIX11 conference, today, Microsoft releases a final version of Silverlight 5.

Silverlight is part of a rich offering of technologies from Microsoft helping developers deliver applications for the web, desktop and mobile devices. Download Silverlight 5, a free plug-in less than 7 MB in size that can be installed in less than 10 seconds.

Windows 8 will certainly contain a number of new features and one of them is being set up as a safety net against any Windows 8 apps that might cause a security risk. In the Terms of Use document posted up for the upcoming Windows Store feature, Microsoft says that any application purchased and downloaded from the store can be disabled or even deleted from Windows 8 remotely by the company.

In the document, Microsoft says: