REDMOND, Wash . — August 7, 2012 — Microsoft Corp. has entered into an IP licensing agreement with Sharp Corp. to use the latest Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT). The agreement covers the use of exFAT in smartphones distributed by Sharp based on the Android platform. Today’s deal marks continued momentum by Microsoft for its exFAT technology licensing program.

exFAT is a modern file system that facilitates large files for audiovisual media and enables seamless data portability for an easy interchange of files between desktop PCs and other electronic devices. exFAT improves on its predecessor, the FAT file system, and greatly expands the size of files that flash memory devices can handle — by more than five times over the previous technology. It also greatly increases the speed with which those files can be accessed.

Today’s agreement allows Sharp to incorporate the latest file system from Microsoft in its product portfolio and deliver faster response times and greater storage capabilities to consumers around the globe.

“Consumers today move from mobile phones, to PCs, to home entertainment systems throughout their day — and they expect their media to move as seamlessly across those devices as they do,” said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, Intellectual Property Group at Microsoft. “This agreement allows Sharp to continue to stay ahead of the curve and give people around the world entertainment and productivity experiences that truly fit their lifestyles.”

Microsoft’s Commitment to Intellectual Property Collaboration

Microsoft offers flexible IP licensing programs that give companies access to many of the foundational technologies in its own products, allowing those companies to build devices, applications and services that work seamlessly with one another.

Since Microsoft launched its IP licensing program in December 2003, the company has entered into more than 1,100 licensing agreements and continues to develop programs that make it possible for customers, partners and competitors to access its IP portfolio. The program was developed to open access to Microsoft’s significant R&D investments and its growing, broad patent and IP portfolio.

Microsoft has entered into similar exFAT patent licensing agreements with several leading consumer electronics manufacturers through its IP licensing program, including Panasonic Corp., SANYO Electric Company Ltd., Sony Corp. and Canon Inc.

More information on Microsoft’s IP licensing program is available at http://www.microsoft.com/iplicensing, and information specifically related to Microsoft’s exFAT licensing program is available here.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services 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.

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The PostgreSQL Global Development Group announces the third beta release of PostgreSQL 9.2, which will include major increases in performance and both vertical and horizontal scalability. The PostgreSQL Project asks all users to download and begin testing 9.2 beta 3 as soon as possible.

9.2 Beta 3 includes multiple bug fixes to earlier beta releases, fixing almost all known outstanding issues as of last week. Among them are:

• Multiple documentation updates
• Apply translation updates
• Fixes to transaction log and replication issues with SP-GiST
• Replace libpq's "row processor" API with a "single row" mode.
• Fix WITH issue with set operations (UNION/INTERSECT/EXCEPT)
• Improvements to Autovacuum cancellation
• Multiple pg_upgrade fixes
• Fix memory leak in pg_recievexlog
• Restore statistics collection broken by change to bgwriter
• Prevent corner-case coredump with rfree().

If you previously tested 9.2 beta and found one or more bugs, please test 9.2 beta 3 and make sure that those issues are resolved. If you haven't yet tested 9.2, please help out the PostgreSQL project by testing it now! More information on how to test and report issues is on the Beta Page.

Get PostgreSQL 9.2 beta, 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.