Microsoft – News Stories About Microsoft - Page 31

Buffet Unseats Gates as Richest Man on Earth

Mar 5, 2008 7:44 PM CST

Buffet Unseats Gates as Richest Man on Earth

He's worth $62B; Gates is now third with $58B.

(Newser) - Bill Gates has passed the gilded torch: Warren Buffett and Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim have ended the Microsoft founder's 13-year reign as richest man on earth, Forbes reports. Buffett's fortune grew $10 billion this year to $62 billion, while Slim weighs in with an estimated $60 billion. Gates trails...

Even Google Not Immune
in Downturn

Mar 5, 2008 6:48 PM CST

Even Google Not Immune in Downturn

Its shares off 40% since November, 'the shine is off' search behemoth

(Newser) - After a hitting record high in November, Google shares have fallen 40%, reports the Los Angeles Times. Investors are concerned that a downturn in consumer spending could slow Google's growth—previously thought to be recession-proof. "Now the shine is off Google, whether deservedly or not," one media analyst...

Yahoo Buys Time to Delay Proxy Battle

Mar 5, 2008 9:13 AM CST

Yahoo Buys Time to Delay Proxy Battle

May postpone meeting to pursue talks with Microsoft, AOL

(Newser) - Yahoo may postpone its annual meeting to delay a proxy battle with Microsoft, reports the New York Times. The move would temporarily fend off a hostile takeover bid by the computer giant, and buy Yahoo some time to weigh its options, including a negotiated deal with Microsoft and a merger...

World's Biggest Tech Show Goes Green

Mar 3, 2008 8:19 AM CST

World's Biggest Tech Show Goes Green

Top IT companies will display environmental friendliness at CeBIT

(Newser) - Greener tech solutions are a focus of this year’s CeBIT technology trade fair, which opens tomorrow in Germany. Tech companies from around the world will showcase products like servers that use less electricity alongside their hot new gadgets, AP reports. The emphasis on green ideas sets the tone for...

Come See the Softer Side of Microsoft

Mar 2, 2008 8:18 AM CST

Come See the Softer Side of Microsoft

Company tries more cooperative approach to lure Yahoo execs

(Newser) - Yahoo executives, take note: Microsoft is trying to shed its bully reputation in Silicon Valley in favor of a kinder, gentler, hands-off approach to the smaller start-ups it acquires, the San Jose Mercury News says. Company officials want it known that this isn’t your older brother’s Microsoft—the...

Microsoft Document Format Faces Uphill Battle

Mar 1, 2008 2:35 PM CST

Microsoft Document Format Faces Uphill Battle

International certification group struggles to agree on how to agree to discuss process

(Newser) - A meeting addressing concerns that has delayed Microsoft’s Office Open format from being adopted as an international standard since September went awry as delegates, in addition to studying the 6,000 pages of code, also battled over more than 1,000 points of order in an epic example of...

Vista Stumped Microsoft Bosses

Feb 29, 2008 3:00 AM CST

Vista Stumped Microsoft Bosses

Company emails reveal execs struggled to get OS working on PCs

(Newser) - Many Windows Vista users have struggled to make the operating system work with their hardware, and emails released this week reveal that even Microsoft bosses had a tough time, PC World reports. The emails have been made public as part of a lawsuit that claims Microsoft deliberately misled consumers by...

Higher Bid Could Rattle Yahoo Holders

Feb 27, 2008 9:24 PM CST

Higher Bid Could Rattle Yahoo Holders

Many also hold Microsoft stock and could lose money

(Newser) - A new Microsoft bid to take over Yahoo will do little to quash Yahoo holders' worries— primarily because many of them have greater holdings in Microsoft itself, reports MarketWatch. Eighteen of Yahoo's top shareholders—comprising 42% of its shares—have greater investments in the software Goliath "and could likely...

Asia May Be Yahoo's Trump Card

Feb 27, 2008 8:37 AM CST

Asia May Be Yahoo's Trump Card

Value of Asian partnerships could justify higher valuation from Microsoft

(Newser) - A revised Microsoft bid for Yahoo may be heavily influenced by Yahoo’s Asian interests, reports the Wall Street Journal. Microsoft execs toured Asia in December and concluded that they needed a local partner there. Yahoo holds large stakes in a Korean auction site, a major Chinese search engine, and...

EU Fines Microsoft Record $1.3B

UPDATED

Feb 27, 2008 5:01 AM CST

EU Fines Microsoft Record $1.3B

Regulators punish company for overcharging Windows developers

(Newser) - The European Commission fined Microsoft today a record $1.35 billion for failing to comply with its 2004 antitrust ruling. The EU's executive branch said that the company continued to charge "unreasonable prices" to developers building programs for Windows despite both the earlier ruling and a court verdict last...

PCs and Internet Are Merging

Feb 25, 2008 4:25 PM CST

PCs and Internet Are Merging

New Adobe AIR platform would blur the line between the two

(Newser) - The line between the Internet and PCs is blurring with the release today of Adobe AIR, a software development system for creating applications that can merge data between the two. AIR applications will have Web browser functionality without launching a browser, and users’ files will be "in the cloud,...

Quiet on Microsoft, Yahoo Teases Debut of Digg Rival

Feb 25, 2008 3:15 PM CST

Quiet on Microsoft, Yahoo Teases Debut of Digg Rival

Social news aggregator is Yahoo's latest product launch

(Newser) - Yahoo’s top execs were tight-lipped on the Microsoft buyout bid in addresses to an online ad conference today, but hinted at a new service set to debut this week which may be Yahoo Buzz, the company’s reported social news aggregator, writes cNet. Jerry Yang said he had been...

Microsoft
Pioneer Leaves $65M to Gay Rights Groups

Feb 25, 2008 6:07 AM CST

Microsoft Pioneer Leaves $65M to Gay Rights Groups

Gates' high school pal leaves a record gift

(Newser) - One of the first five Microsoft employees has left $65 million of his estate to gay rights groups, the Seattle Times reports. Ric Weiland, who helped high school friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen launch Microsoft, committed suicide in 2006 at age 53. His donation is believed to be the...

Microsoft's Math Genius Talks Shop, Opens New Lab

Feb 22, 2008 2:50 PM CST

Microsoft's Math Genius Talks Shop, Opens New Lab

It's all about phase transitions, psychology

(Newser) - When Microsoft hired math professor Jennifer Chayes 11 years ago, the company couldn’t have realized how prescient they were, to the degree that her high-level research would impact applications as diverse as search, keyword advertising, and social networks. “Who would have thought?” Chayes tells Technology Review in a...

Microsoft: Vista Update May Screw Up Your Programs

Feb 22, 2008 12:48 PM CST

Microsoft: Vista Update May Screw Up Your Programs

First service pack shuts down virus protection programs

(Newser) - Vista’s first major service pack may do more harm than good. Microsoft is warning that its upcoming update may disable various third party programs, particularly virus protection and security software, which accounted for half of the dozen programs Microsoft listed as victims. Microsoft said that list wasn’t comprehensive,...

Microsoft Tries to Appease EU With Blueprints

Feb 21, 2008 5:41 PM CST

Microsoft Tries to Appease EU With Blueprints

But skeptical regulators say it's deja vu from US software giant

(Newser) - Microsoft plans to share the secrets of its most popular products, the company announced today, in an effort to satisfy EU regulators who want the software giant to improve its interoperability. The European Commission did cautiously applaud the move, but noted that Microsoft has already made at least four similar...

Google Tests Web Med Records

Feb 21, 2008 12:24 PM CST

Google Tests Web Med Records

The company will post health info for up to 10,000 Cleveland volunteers

(Newser) - In a test of a long-anticipated medical-records program, Google will offer up to 10,000 patients at the Cleveland Clinic the chance to create an online medical profile, making it easier for them to share information with doctors or pharmacies, the Wall Street Journal reports today. In the pilot program,...

Microsoft Opens Game Creation to Users

Feb 21, 2008 4:01 AM CST

Microsoft Opens Game Creation to Users

Games made by gamers for gamers coming to XBox Live

(Newser) - Microsoft says it's going to bring democracy to video game creation and distribution, MSNBC reports. Microsoft's game-making kit has been a popular download, and the company is now introducing a way for gamers to share the games they make with millions of fellow enthusiasts. They plan to launch a YouTube-style...

Microsoft Talks Tough; Proxy Battle Likely

Feb 20, 2008 9:53 AM CST

Microsoft Talks Tough; Proxy Battle Likely

Gates says Yahoo should 'take a hard look' at $41.6B bid

(Newser) - Microsoft, at loggerheads with Yahoo over its $41.6-billion offer for the popular web portal, is talking tough, threatening a proxy battle to unseat Yahoo’s reticent board of directors, reports the Wall Street Journal. But even a win, which experts say would be relatively cheap to achieve, could cost...

H-P Posts Big Numbers Despite Slowing Market

Feb 19, 2008 8:10 PM CST

H-P Posts Big Numbers Despite Slowing Market

PC and overseas sales boost earnings

(Newser) - Hewlett-Packard thumbed its nose at concerns over falling tech spending today, posting a 38% rise in earnings and 15% revenue jump in its first quarter, the Wall Street Journal reports. The health of the tech giant, boosted by PC and overseas sales, is good news for an industry whose leaders,...