Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

News Sections

Newser Specials

Mr. Softy

Started by Imperator; Last updated Feb 22, 08 7:53 AM CST by S Goldstein | View history

Rate it:

Print

E-mail

|

Digg

Seed this on Newsvine

Add this link to Del.icio.us

StumbleUpon

| Edit thread | Notify editors | + Start a new thread

Mr. Softy

"Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one." - Bill Gates

It created the de facto official operating system for all personal computers and made its powerful suite of business applications, Office, into the dominant tool for business computing worldwide. But the company once thought to be an unstoppable monopolist has failed to make a smooth transition to the Internet and has seen its market leadership challenged by Google. Even Apple, once all but waylaid by Microsoft, has come back to beat it in online music and video and consumer devices. Can the house of Gates recover—especially as Bill himself transitions to a supporting role?

Stories

Stories 61 - 80 of 105

<< Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

November 2007
- Microsoft Debuts Free Web Services
  
  Reuters | Nov 7, 07 11:20 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft took its latest stab at marrying Windows and the web yesterday, debuting “Windows Live,” a new take on web applications that aims to complement Microsoft’s bread-and-butter Windows and Office offerings, rather than competing with them as other web services strive to. The company plans to heavily promote the suite, which includes programs for e-mail, blogging, photo sharing, messaging, and event planning. More »
- Microsoft Fires CIO
  
  Associated Press | Nov 6, 07 10:16 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft sacked its chief information officer, Stuart Scott, "after an investigation for violation of company policies," according to an email response to press inquiries. The company refuses to elaborate further, but since Scott appeared onstage with his boss at a technology conference less than a month ago, it seems his downfall was rather abrupt. More »
October 2007
- Will Costly Options Hurt Facebook?
  
  Wall Street Journal | Oct 28, 07 10:16 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft's recently purchased stake in Facebook may make it harder for the social networking site to hire talented employees, reports the Wall Street Journal . By selling a 1.6% stake for $240 million, Facebook increased its valuation to $15 billion, in turn radically increasing the cost of stock options, which are a vital part of many Silicon Valley compensation packages. More »
- Vista, Office Spur Microsoft to Huge Growth
  
  Wall Street Journal | Oct 26, 07 3:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft yesterday reported a 23% leap in net income and its best revenue growth since the dot-com boom, making it an isolated winner in a tumbling market. The announcement drove up the company's shares 10% in after-hours trading. The sales of new PCs with Windows installed helped drive the gains, especially in developing countries creating large new markets for computers. More »
- Microsoft Deal Overshadows Google's Analyst Day
  
  CNET | Oct 25, 07 12:30 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Google made some noteworthy announcements at its Google Analyst Day yesterday, but they were overshadowed by Microsoft's announcement earlier in the day that it was acquiring a $240 million stake in Facebook, a prize for which the two companies had reportedly engaged in a heated bidding war. Among Google's news: the early success of its Apps business. More »
- Microsoft Caves on EU Antitrust Suit
  
  Wall Street Journal | Oct 22, 07 10:25 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft is conceding its 9-year antitrust battle with the EU after striking a deal that will force the software giant to license its software secrets to anyone who asks at drastically reduced rates. In exchange, the EU has stopped the daily variable fines of up to 3 million euro that have been piling up, the Journal reports. More »
- Microsoft Sees Office Phone as Next Frontier
  
  Fortune Magazine | Oct 17, 07 11:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft is famous for ever-more-complicated programs for ever-faster computers, and now it's taking aim at an overlooked piece of hardware: the phone. Yesterday, Bill Gates launched a line of software designed for office telephones that aims to make phone tag a thing of the past. It's a multi-billion-dollar sector, Fortune writes, but one in which rival Cisco is already well invested. More »
- Hey, Google, Search for This: Competitors
  
  CNN | Oct 12, 07 4:08 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With more and more businesses reliant on Google for advertising and search services, there may be regulation on the horizon for the online Goliath. The solution? Healthy competition, Fortune columnist David Kirkpatrick says, which it's not getting enough of. Major innovation by Microsoft and Yahoo may be precisely what it needs to avoid the monopoly label. More »
- Anti-Vista Mom Corners Hapless Microsoft CEO
  
  PC World | Oct 11, 07 5:46 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Though he may rule the boardroom, all it took to unravel Microsoft’s chief executive was a mom on a rampage about his new Vista operating system. An analyst questioning Steve Ballmer at a conference said she’d become an early Vista adopter at her 13-year-old daughter’s request—only to revert to XP due to the new OS’ built-in difficulties, PC World reports. More »
- Tech Firms Court Aging Boomers
  
  CNET | Oct 9, 07 1:51 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Technology companies are beginning to target the over-50 audience, as was on display at the 2007 AARP convention last month, where Microsoft, Google, and for the first time, Nintendo all pitched products to the retiree crowd. "This is the first tech-savvy retirement generation...they have been living with it for the past 15 years," an industry researcher told cNet. More »
- Halo Makers Cut Microsoft Cord
  
  Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Oct 5, 07 1:12 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft is parting ways with Bungie Studios, masterminds behind the Halo video-game franchise, which it acquired in 2000. The software giant announced the news just one day after proclaiming that “Halo 3” had eclipsed the $300-million mark in global sales. Though Bungie goes independent, Gates-led Microsoft will maintain an undisclosed ownership stake. More »
- 'Halo 3' Hits $300M in Sales
  
  Wall Street Journal | Oct 4, 07 4:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Video-game phenomenon "Halo 3" earned more than $300 million in global sales during its first week, Microsoft announced today. Although specific figures were not released, the Wall Street Journal reports, the game surely also drove up sales of its Xbox 360 console, which previously had been flagging in competition with Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 systems. More »
- Microsoft Armed to Fight Google in Ad Wars
  
  New York Times | Oct 3, 07 7:13 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft is planning to bump up its commitment to the ad industry, proclaiming that within a few years advertising will account for a quarter of its business, the New York Times reports. Buying an internet ad company last August was not a speculative play, CEO Steve Ballmer told a gathering of European agencies yesterday; Microsoft is quite serious about expanding its presence in a field dominated by its arch-rival, Google. More »
September 2007
- Microsoft Updates Search Engine
  
  CNET | Sep 27, 07 3:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In attempt to stay viable in the search market, Microsoft revealed changes to its Live Search site yesterday, the first since it was launched last year. The changes include integration of streaming video into top searches, instant answers on health-related queries, a rating and review index for product searches, as well as improvements to core search relevancy. More »
- Microsoft Plots to Dent Google Ad Lead
  
  New York Times | Sep 26, 07 4:05 PM CDT