NewsTrust - Microsoft - Most Recent Stories: News (Mainstream)

Microsoft Near Deal to Acquire Skype

Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Wall Street Journal - By Anupreeta Das, Nick Wingfield - May. 10 (News) - Microsoft is close to a deal to buy Internet phone company Skype for more than $7 billion, and a deal could be announced as early as Tuesday.

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Microsoft files complaint against Google

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Politico - By Tony Romm, Mike Zapler - Mar. 31 (News) - Microsoft asked European regulators Thursday to go after Google on antitrust grounds, accusing the search giant of trying to “entrench its dominance” on the Web.

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Microsoft: virus-infected computers should be quarantined

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Josh Halliday - Oct. 07 (News Report) - Software giant wants people cut off from the internet and health certificates issued Virus-infected computers should be blocked from the internet and kept in quarantine until they are given a "health certificate", a top Microsoft security researcher suggested on Thursday. Under the proposed security regime, put forward by the technology giant's trustworthy computing team, an individual's internet connection would be "throttled" to prevent the virus spreading to other computers. But security experts today warned that cutting people off from the internet could be a drastic step too far – and that the question of who would issue and verify the "health certificate" was troubling. Millions of computers around the world running versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system are infected by viruses without their user's knowledge and used to generate billions of spam emails and attacks against websites, such as that used against a British law company earlier this month. The infected ...

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The end of Wintel

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Economist - Aug. 03 (Special Report) - THEY were the Macbeths of information technology (IT): a wicked couple who seized power and abused it in bloody and avaricious ways. Or so critics of Microsoft and Intel used to say, citing the two firms’ supposed love of monopoly profits and dead rivals. But in recent years, the story has changed. Bill Gates, Microsoft’s founder, has retired to give away his billions. The “Wintel” couple (short for “Windows”, Microsoft’s flagship operating system, and “Intel”) are increasingly seen as yesterday’s tyrants. Rumours persist that a coup is brewing to oust Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s current boss.

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Microsoft's two-pronged strategy for Office 2010

Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - By Tim Weber - May. 12 (News Analysis) - Why Microsoft bets that free software will be big business

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Geek Power

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Wired - By Steven Levy - Apr. 20 (Special Report) - When I embarked on my project, I thought of hackers as little more than an interesting subculture. But as I researched them, I found that their playfulness, as well as their blithe disregard for what others said was impossible, led to the breakthroughs that would define the computing experience for millions of people. Early MIT hackers realized it was possible to use computers for what we now call word processing. (Their initial program was called Expensive Typewriter, appropriate since the one machine it ran on cost $120,000.) They also invented the digital videogame. The rebel engineers of the Homebrew Computer Club in Silicon Valley were the first to take advantage of new low-cost chips to build personal computers. They may have begun as a fringe cohort, but hackers alchemized the hard math of Moore’s law into a relentless series of technological advances that changed the world and touched all of our lives. And most of them did it simply for the joy of pulling off an awesome trick. But behind the inventiveness was something even more marvelous — all real hackers shared a set of values that has turned out to be a credo for the information age. I attempted to codify this unspoken ethos into a series of principles called the hacker ethic. Some of the notions now seem forehead-smackingly obvious but at the time were far from accepted (”You can create art and beauty on a computer”). Others spoke to the meritocratic possibilities of a digital age (”Hackers should be judged by their hacking, not bogus criteria such as degrees, age, race, or position”). Another axiom identified computers as instruments of insurrection, granting power to any individual with a keyboard and sufficient brainpower (”Mistrust authority — promote decentralization”). But the precept I perceived as most central to hacker culture turned out to be the most controversial: “All information should be free.”

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Google co-founder Sergey Brin urges US to act over China web censorship

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Bobbie Johnson, Ian Katz - Mar. 23 (News Report) - • Obama administration urged to make issue high priority • Brin says Microsoft co-operation with Beijing 'disappointing'

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France adds to Explorer warning. Don't use it!

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - By Jonathan Fildes - Jan. 18 (News) - France echoes calls by the German government for web users to find an alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

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NSA helped with Windows 7 development

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - By Gregg Keizer - Nov. 25 (News Report) - The National Security Agency (NSA) worked with Microsoft on the development of Windows 7, an agency official acknowledged yesterday during testimony before Congress.

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Forecast for Microsoft: Partly Cloudy

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Ashlee Vance - Oct. 18 (Special Report) - These days, however, Microsoft has legions of doubters. While it still commands a prominent and profitable position in computing, brand experts say consumers stumble when trying to define what the company stands for and whether it can create a grander technological future.

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Former Microsoft exec grows global literacy effort

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

KING5.com - By Charlotte Starck - Feb. 06 (News Report) - This morning, 250 million children around the world didn't go to school. And that's something that must change says the one time director of Microsoft's Business Development for Greater China, John Wood. Room To Read brings philanthropists, business and even students attending a "Students Helping Students" breakfast event together to put a dent in illiteracy in seven different countries, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zambia.

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Microsoft cutting 1,400 jobs today; up to 5,000 in next 18 months as recession hits harder

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By Benjamin J. Romano - Jan. 22 (News Report) - In a press release issued moments ago, Microsoft announced that it is cutting up to 5,000 jobs in research and development, marketing, sales, finance, legal, human resources and IT in the next 18 months, starting with 1,400 today. It marks the first company-wide layoff in Microsoft's history and comes as the company reports fiscal second-quarter earnings that missed the low-end of its own guidance for sales and earnings per share. It's Windows business declined 8 percent as PC sales growth ground to a virtual halt in the quarter ended Dec. 31. "While we are not immune to the effects of the economy, I am confident in the strength of our product portfolio and soundness of our approach," CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement. "We will continue to manage expenses and invest in long-term opportunities to deliver value to customers and shareholders, and we will emerge an even stronger industry leader than we are today."

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European standoff over search engine data

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

International Herald Tribune - By Kevin J. O'Brien - Oct. 05 (News Report) - Now, as the U.S. titans Google, Microsoft and Yahoo continue to retain personal data beyond the six-month time limit established this year by the European Commission, regulators say their patience is running thin.

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The Many (Geeky) Faces of Bill Gates

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Wired - By Betsy Schiffman - Jun. 28 (Special Report) - In reality, Gates is a smooth operator who, despite his uncombed hair, baby face and disheveled appearance, knew exactly what he was doing every step of the way. He successfully transitioned from cocky college dropout to brass-knuckle negotiator to seasoned captain of industry, eventually becoming the richest man in the world and a model philanthropist.

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Microsoft Revives Yahoo Fight Considers More Limited Deal

Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Wall Street Journal - By Robert A. Guth, Kevin J. Delaney, Matthew Karnitschnig - May. 19 (Special Report) - The move by Microsoft appears to be an attempt to stop Google from entering a search-related deal with Yahoo that's now under discussion and could be announced in coming days.

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Is Microsoft stalking Powerset's search technology?

Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

CNET News - By Dan Farber - May. 10 (News Report) - Powerset raises the bar on search based on a preview that I had of the service last month. Powerset differs from the Google in that it extracts and indexes concepts, relationships, and meaning, rather than keywords. It's able to create connections and pivot in some cases in ways that elude Google's proficient engine, which favors more of a statistical approach.

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Higher Offer by Microsoft Brings Yahoo to Table

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Andrew Ross Sorking, Miguel Helft - May. 03 (News Report) - After a three-month standoff, Microsoft was in active merger talks with Yahoo on Friday, several people involved in the discussions said. Microsoft, which had threatened to abandon its bid or initiate an attempt to oust Yahoo's board, has increased its offer "by several dollars," one of the people said. But a deal was still far from certain. A person involved in the discussions said the chances of a friendly deal being reached were "still no better than 50-50."

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Murdoch's Role in Yahoo Fight

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Portfolio - By Jeff Bercovici - Apr. 12 (Special Report) - ...when Murdoch took control of New York magazine, muscling out founder Clay Felker in a move that drew national attention. Felker, who owned about 10 percent of New York's parent company, considered Murdoch a friend and ally, and appealed to him for help when his board starting leaning on him to improve profits. Recognizing opportunity, Murdoch instead went behind Felker's back and bought up more than half the company's shares. Felker, one of the magazine industry's towering figures, soon resigned.

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Major Yahoo holder boosts stake as board meets to discuss options.

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MarketWatch - By Benjamin Pimentel - Apr. 12 (News Report) - The move [to double holdings to 10% of shares] made Capital World Yahoo's largest institutional shareholder...it will also likely give the fund an even more powerful voice in the merger battle...Capital World [is]... the second largest institutional shareholder of Microsoft, with control of about 3% of the company's shares outstanding as of Dec. 31. "That was smart," analyst David Hilal of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co....I'm still of the belief that Microsoft is going to buy Yahoo and they're going to raise their bid. And I'm assuming they're making the same bet over there [at Capital World]."

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Gaming the 'net

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

New York Post - By Peter Lauria, Zachery Kouwe - Apr. 11 (News Analysis) - Battle lines are being drawn over control of the Internet, with Microsoft on one side, Google on the other and Yahoo!, Time Warner's AOL, and News Corp. racing to align with one or the other.

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News Corp., AOL Pursue Yahoo Deals

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Wall Street Journal - By Matthew Karnitschnig, Kevin J. Delaney, Merissa Marr - Apr. 10 (News Report) - Yahoo Inc. and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL are closing in on a deal to combine their Internet operations, a move aimed at thwarting Microsoft Corp.'s effort to acquire Yahoo, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

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Microsoft Combined With Intel For A Vista Logo Disaster

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

InformationWeek - By Dave Methvin - Feb. 29 (News Report) - Earlier, I said Microsoft, OEMs, and retailers all deserved blame in the logo disaster, but these insider e-mails have changed my opinion on apportioning blame. Many OEMs and retailers tried to do the right thing, but were both ignored and double-crossed by Microsoft's final Vista logo program so that Intel would be happy and make more money.

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Web Surfer, Heal Thyself

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Newsweek - By Steven Levy - Feb. 23 (News Analysis) - Marc Rotenberg, head of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, says that companies like Google and Microsoft should not start their services until Congress extends the HIPAA protections to cover such businesses.,,,Both firms also vow that the customers will have total control over their records--no releases without explicit permission. But the very existence of a detailed health dossier accessible in an instant can make control difficult. What if the government subpoenas the records? What if a potential insurer demands to see all the records, telling you that you can't get a policy if you don't provide them? What if your spouse--or even someone you're dating--demands to see all your records?

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Yahoo's Rejection Pressures Microsoft To Mull a New Bid

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Wall Street Journal - By Robert A. Guth, Kevin J. Delaney, Matthew Karnitschnig - Feb. 11 (News Report) - The decision to reject the offer, reported Saturday, signals that Yahoo's board is digging in for what could be a long battle. The directors have been considering various other scenarios to avoid selling to Microsoft, including outsourcing its search advertising to Google Inc. to boost revenue and provide greater latitude to try to remain independent, say people familiar with the matter.

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Microsoft, the sleeping giant, wakes again

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - By Jim Puzzanghera, Jessica Guynn - Feb. 09 (News Report) - Bill Gates worried that something like Google would come along before it even existed. In 1995, the Microsoft leader recognized how a powerful Internet player could topple his company from the high-tech pyramid and launched an attack on all potential threats. Netscape, Sun Microsystems and other competitors paid the price.

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