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Microsoft

Started by S Goldstein; Last updated by D Lim

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Microsoft

Besieged on all fronts by Google, hacked at by other competitors

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 342

1 2 3 4 5 ... 18 Next >>

June 2009
- Users Prefer Bing to Google But Won't Switch: Study
  
  TechCrunch | Jun 26, 09 3:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine, impresses users—but not enough to make them switch from Google, TechCrunch reports. Asked to rate Bing’s features, users in a study by the Catalyst Group thought Bing beat Google in almost every category, including visual design, organization, and filtering options. The exception was search result relevance, in which they found Google and Bing to be equal. More »
- Bing's Week 2: Not So Bad
  
  CNET | Jun 17, 09 2:43 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Bing's second week wasn't such a bad one, CNET reports. Microsoft’s brand-new search engine has eaten into the market share of its competition, tacking on a 1% gain in both number of searchers and results returned last week, putting it up about 3% in both categories since launch: It captured 16.7% of search users and returned 12.1% of all results pages. More »
- Microsoft Move Won't Derail Antitrust Case
  
  CNET | Jun 12, 09 10:33 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The European Commission is moving forward with its antitrust case against Microsoft even after the company's promise to sell its Windows 7 operating system without Internet Explorer in Europe. The commission "notes with interest" Microsoft's announcement, CNET News reports, but adds that "Microsoft has apparently decided to supply retail consumers with a version of Windows without a Web browser at all." More »
- Microsoft to Release Free Anti-Virus Software Soon
  
  Reuters | Jun 11, 09 2:08 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft is developing free anti-virus software to compete with subscription services from Symantec and McAfee, Reuters reports. The program, codenamed Morro, will be released in beta “soon” and will likely have similar features to other companies’ entry-level products that cost about $40 a year. Microsoft made an attempt to enter the subscription market in 2006 with the poorly received Live OneCare, which the company is scrapping. More »
- Microsoft Blows It With Bizarre Bing Ads
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jun 9, 09 8:22 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft is thrashing Google in new TV spots for its "decision engine" Bing—understandably, since from Microsoft's perspective their rival is single-handedly responsible for the global financial crisis. "While everyone was searching, there was bailing," says an announcer, as images of fleeting Internet memes give way to frenzied traders and foreclosure signs. Apparently, writes Dan Neil in the Los Angeles Times , "the boys and girls at the Treasury were too busy downloading cute squirrel videos to notice the end of civilization." More »
- Twitter and Facebook Come to Xbox 360
  
  Ars Technica | Jun 1, 09 4:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In a bid to make its Xbox 360 more interactive, Microsoft is bringing Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm, a lightning-speed video service, and—brace yourself—a motion-sensing camera that knows who you are just by reading your face to the console, Ars Technica reports. The company even brought in Steven Spielberg to demonstrate the camera today at a conference in Los Angeles. More »
- Microsoft's New Search Engine Brings Back Porn
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Jun 1, 09 3:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Some in the technology world are questioning Microsoft’s decision to enable its new search engine, Bing, to display video on the site itself, the Telegraph reports. The new technology—not shared by Google and the like—allows for pornographic film to run on the search page should the searcher input the proper terms. Though “safe search” is on by default, it’s easily disabled. More »
May 2009
- Microsoft's Bing: Life-Saver, or Big Brother?
  
  PC World | May 30, 09 6:07 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Reviewers say Microsoft's new Bing search engine—still not officially released—is great for shopping and answering tricky questions. It's also Big Brother in disguise: "There's much to like," writes Mike Elgan in PC World , except Bing's top search matches—chosen by Microsoft, not popularity rankings. "It's always easy to have someone else choose your values and make your decisions. But is that good for society?" More »
- EU Going After Microsoft, Again
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 30, 09 8:47 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - European Union regulators are taking yet another shot at Microsoft, and this time they’re hoping to do more than fine the software giant, the Wall Street Journal reports. Their latest strategy: forcing Microsoft to bundle alternative web browsers with Windows, thereby diluting Internet Explorer’s inherent advantage. They may also demand a “ballot screen” that would ask new users which browsers they’d like installed. More »
- Microsoft's New Search Engine: Bing
  
  PC World | May 28, 09 1:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft wants “Bing” to replace “Google” as your verb of choice for Internet search, PC World reports, with CEO Steve Ballmer unveiling the search engine today at a conference in California. Bing—already available for a test run—will be fully rolled out by Wednesday. The runner-up name was Kumo, Japanese for “cloud.” More »
- Microsoft May Unveil Wii-Like Remote in June
  
  BBC | May 19, 09 5:55 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Just-released patent applications suggest Microsoft has indeed created a so-called “Magic Wand” to rival the Wii remote, the BBC reports. It could come out at next month's industry expo in Los Angeles. The applications say the wand has "biometric sensors" that would detect "fingerprint, hand geometry, hand vein pattern, palm pattern, and grip configuration," and would have a "facial thermogram, a facial feature, a retinal feature, or an iris feature.” More »
- Drop the Remote: Xbox Plans Motion-Sensing 3-D Camera
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 12, 09 5:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft is developing a 3-D camera for its Xbox 360 that would allow users to control games through body movements instead of a remote, the Wall Street Journal reports. Unlike the Wii, gamers would not hold any type of hardware to swing a tennis racket or the like. Insiders think the device could be unveiled at an expo in June, but the unit will likely not be released until next year. More »
April 2009
- Microsoft, Verizon Look to Launch iPhone Competitor
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 28, 09 1:46 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Bill Gates Senior: Bill Junior Was a Brat
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 25, 09 10:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Bill Gates stopped being a kid right about age 11, his father tells Wall Street Journal . And then he turned into a royal pain, at least for a while. In the most famous bit of family lore, Bill Gates Sr. says he had to chuck a glass of cold water over the head of his 12-year-old son during an outbreak of "utter, total sarcastic, smart-ass kid rudeness" at the dinner table. Soon after, the family enrolled him in a private school where he had more freedom—and discovered computers. More »
- Microsoft's Revenue Drops for First Time
  
  Associated Press | Apr 23, 09 4:15 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - Microsoft Corp. said today its quarterly revenue fell from the previous year for the first time in its 23-year history as a public company, while its profit dived 32 percent. The shortfall illustrated the toll the recession has taken on the world's largest software maker, even though it remains one of the richest and most profitable companies. Microsoft, which cut 5,000 jobs in January, said today it would do away with merit pay increases in the next fiscal year. More »
- Face It: Font Inspires a Certain Type of Backlash
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 19, 09 3:36 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Comic Sans is a lighthearted font, easy to read and very popular. Too popular, if you believe its legions of detractors. Like many other comics-related entities, it even has a sworn enemy—the 10-year-old Ban Comic Sans movement, which compares misuse of the typeface "to showing up for a black-tie event in a clown costume," reports the Wall Street Journal. More »
- Tech Leaders Unite Against Microsoft
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Apr 15, 09 1:31 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A technology consortium whose members include IBM, Nokia, and Oracle has joined the European Commission’s antitrust case against Microsoft, the Financial Times reports. The consortium, Ecis, joins Google and the Mozilla Foundation in accusing Microsoft of using Windows to distort the web browser market in favor of Internet Explorer. Ecis member firms will testify against Microsoft, which was notified of the complaint by the EU's executive branch in January. More »
- Microsoft to Apple: Bring It On
  
  BusinessWeek | Apr 11, 09 9:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With its snazzy ads and iPhone groupies, Apple has been winning the Mac vs. PC wars, but Microsoft is ready to strike back, Peter Burrows writes in BusinessWeek . Positioning itself as a cheaper alternative, the company has launched its own slate of “uncharacteristically cool” TV ads and is offering a version of Windows, normally about $70, for $15. More »
- Microsoft, Yahoo Discuss Ad Partnership
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 10, 09 1:59 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Microsoft and Yahoo have returned to the bargaining table, but their latest discussions concern advertising sales, the Wall Street Journal reports. The advanced, though informal, negotiations have included both firms' CEOs but likely don’t involve talk of Microsoft acquiring Yahoo’s search business, which it tried to do last year. Instead, Microsoft wants a narrower relationship. More »
- Computer Virus Phobia Leads to ... Computer Viruses
  
  Reuters | Apr 8, 09 1:03 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Fear of computer viruses is now one of the major reasons people are getting them in the first place, Reuters reports. According to Microsoft, seven of the 25 top threats come in the form of fake security programs, which users terrified of malware like Conficker are installing indiscriminately. Losing market share to the bugs they try to defend against has flummoxed above-board Internet security firms. More »

Stories 1 - 20 of 342

1 2 3 4 5 ... 18 Next >>

[Images (5)]

[Videos (2)]

GERMANY-US-EU-IT-MICROSOFT-FILE

GERMANY-US-EU-IT-MICROSOFT-FILE (Getty Images (by Event))

US-CONGRESS-MICROSOFT-GATES

US-CONGRESS-MICROSOFT-GATES (Getty Images (by Event))

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates speaks in this Feb. 26, 2007 file photo in Seattle. Gates was taking part in

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates speaks in this Feb. 26, 2007 file photo in Seattle. Gates was taking part in "Launch Tour 2007" to tout the release of Microsoft Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office... (Associated Press)

Film director James Cameron is silhouetted on stage while watching a video on uses for the new Windows Media 9 software, in this Sept. 4, 2002 file photo, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. The EU's Court of First Instance on Monday Sept. 17, 2007 dismissed Microsoft Corp.'s...

Film director James Cameron is silhouetted on stage while watching a video on uses for the new Windows Media 9 software, in this Sept. 4, 2002 file photo, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. The... (Associated Press)

This hand out file picture released Wednesday, June 22, 2005, by Microsoft Corporation shows packaging of Microsoft's new operating system _ Windows XP N, the

This hand out file picture released Wednesday, June 22, 2005, by Microsoft Corporation shows packaging of Microsoft's new operating system _ Windows XP N, the "N" standing for "Not with Media Player."... (Associated Press)

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Bill Gates: the last day at Microsoft (engadget (YouTube))

Video of Bill Gates last day at Microsoft - CES 2008 (SlashGear (YouTube))

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Related Threads

Mr. Softy • Microsoft Wants Yahoo • The Internet • Google vs. Microsoft • Yahoo's Yang Years • Mergers & Acquisitions • Ga Ga for Google • PC vs. Mac • Vista Stinks • Internet News

Background

Bill Gates: a timeline
BBC

"As Bill Gates announces he will leave his day-to-day role at Microsoft by July 2008, it signals an end to his running of the firm which has lasted over 20 years."

» Read more about Bill Gates: a timeline at BBC

» Read more about at Encyclopedia.com

» Read more about at Encyclopedia.com

» Read more about at Encyclopedia.com

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Links

Microsoft's Official Website
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