Microsoft to Apple: Bring It On

It's best not to let the boss know (unless he's got one, too)

(NEWSER) - If Microsoft executives want a reminder of how they've been trumped by Apple in the mobile business, they need only look around at their own employees. Chances are, they'll see quite a few iPhones in use, reports the Wall Street Journal . Insiders say 10,000 Microsoft workers used their iPhones to access the company's email system, a figure that represents about 10% of the total workforce. More»

Apple looks to cooperate with Microsoft as Google rivalry heats up

(NEWSER) - In a sign of just how tense Apple’s rivalry with Google has gotten, the software giant is in talks with archrival Microsoft to make Bing the primary search engine on the iPhone. The negotiations have been underway for weeks, sources tell Businessweek. “Apple and Google know the other is their primary enemy,” says an anonymous Apple insider. “Microsoft is now a pawn in that battle.” More»

(NEWSER) - Apple is closing in on a $700 million, all-cash deal to buy Twitter, Gawker reports. Silicon Valley sources say an agreement could be announced as early as next month at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, and the iPhone is reportedly the force behind the deal: Its users already post countless Twitter messages on Tweetie and other Apple apps. More»

(NEWSER) - Microsoft and Verizon are in talks to launch a smartphone on the carrier’s network early next year, the Wall Street Journal reports. The phone would likely run on a souped-up version of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system, and have access to Windows Marketplace, its version of Apple’s App Store. A third party will likely manufacture the device with Microsoft input, as with Google’s G1 Android phone. More»

Apple's wares illegal in Gates household

(NEWSER) - Apple products are banned in the Gates home, the New York Post reports—but Melinda “wouldn’t mind” picking up an iPhone, she told Vogue. There isn’t much “on the banned list in our household. But iPods and iPhones are two things we don't get for our kids,” she said. But “every now and then I look at my friends and say, 'Ooh, I wouldn't mind having that iPhone.’” More»