Xbox Price Cut in Asia

April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp., the maker of the Xbox 360 video-game console, cut prices on the system in four Asian markets to help stem market-share losses to Nintendo Co. and Sony Corp.

The Redmond, Washington-based company reduced estimated retail prices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, Brenda Hsieh, a Microsoft spokeswoman in Taipei, said today.
The cuts follow price reductions in Europe that led Xbox 360 sales to double. Microsoft has had trouble breaking into the Asian market because of the dominance of Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo and different game preferences in Asia, Jeff Bell, the vice president of global marketing for Microsoft's interactive entertainment business, said in an interview last week.

The price of a basic version will drop by 17 percent to NT$10,360 ($340) in Taiwan and by about 11 percent in Hong Kong effective today, Hsieh said. Prices will fall 5.1 percent to 369,000 won ($369) in Korea and by 20 percent to S$499 ($366) in Singapore, according to separate e-mailed statements.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aVqA1ezBWXoM&refer=japan

I highly doubt the Asian Market will care about this price cut. With the drastic rise in the price of rice, one of the main consumptions, I think they'll be more occupied with other pricing situations.

CSI: Microsoft

Microsoft has developed a small plug-in device that investigators can use to quickly extract forensic data from computers that may have been used in crimes.

The COFEE, which stands for Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor, is a USB "thumb drive" that was quietly distributed to a handful of law-enforcement agencies last June. Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith described its use to the 350 law-enforcement experts attending a company conference Monday.

The device contains 150 commands that can dramatically cut the time it takes to gather digital evidence, which is becoming more important in real-world crime, as well as cybercrime. It can decrypt passwords and analyze a computer's Internet activity, as well as data stored in the computer.

It also eliminates the need to seize a computer itself, which typically involves disconnecting from a network, turning off the power and potentially losing data. Instead, the investigator can scan for evidence on site.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2004379751_msftlaw29.html

Now Microsoft is reaching into the CSI files. They should stick with this as opposed to the Internet advertising because seemingly, they can't even start out on the right foot with that. In all seriousness though, this is innovative and probably will be in the next suspenseful - detective movie which will add recognition to this product/service.

Market Falls in Accordance With Microsoft

NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday as disappointing results from Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) weighed on the technology sector and a sharp rise in the price of oil hit industrial shares.

Crude oil futures rose above $119 per barrel after the U.S. Navy provided details of an encounter between a cargo ship chartered by the U.S. military and two small boats believed to be Iranian. For details see [ID:nN25305335]. A report on Iranian television said there was no confrontation.

Shares of heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) declined 0.6 percent to $81.34 on the New York Stock Exchange.

http://www.reuters.com/article/usMktRpt/idUSN2515620320080425

I find it extremely impressive and rather encouraging that an entire market can decline on the stock news of Microsoft.

Live Mesh - The Next Best Thing

SAN FRANCISCO (Fortune) -- One thing Microsoft isn't good at creating is buzz - that's Apple expertise. But if there's anything that set the crowd talking this week at Web 2.0 Expo, one of the year's largest gatherings, it was the software giant's upcoming Live Mesh service.

Live Mesh promises to let consumers connect and interact with all of their devices on the Internet. So a desktop at home, a PC at work, a laptop, a music/video player, a mobile phone - anything in theory that can connect to the Internet - gets linked and is available via the "mesh" to anything else. Another virtual device, what Microsoft calls a "Live desktop," resides on the Web and can be used to access all your other connected devices.

"In many respects this marks a sea-change for Microsoft," said Joshua Holbrook, Yankee Group's director of enterprise research, after Microsoft announced Live Mesh on Wednesday. "They are taking a huge step toward opening up" their software so that it permeates the Internet the way it dominates desktop computers.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/25/technology/microsoft_livemesh.fortune/?postversion=2008042514

I really think this is going to be big. Maybe not in the next couple of months, but when a buzz is created for this service/product - who knows how long that is going to take because Microsoft is horrible at creating a buzz - people will become desperate to connect all of their devices together.

Microsoft Shares Fall 6%

Microsoft saw its shares fall 6% after it posted a fall in quarterly profits and earnings forecasts at the lower end of market expectations.

A day earlier the firm said profits fell 11% to $4.39bn (£2.22bn) in the first three months of the year.

Uncertainty about what will happen to the firm's $44.6bn-bid for Yahoo has added to market concerns.

Microsoft had given Yahoo until 26 April to respond but later implied it would wait a few days.
The deadline was due to expire on Saturday but by close of trade on Friday there had been no further statement from Microsoft.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7368343.stm

I wouldn't worry if I were Microsoft, the entire economy is going to hell in a handcart. They're just joining the masses. At least they did not have stake in any airline companies.

Investors Want Yahoo War to End

April 24 (Bloomberg) -- Shareholders of Microsoft Corp. may be more focused on news regarding the takeover of Yahoo Inc. than the software maker's earnings report and sales forecast today.

Microsoft has dropped 3.5 percent in Nasdaq trading since Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer's $44.6 billion offer to buy Yahoo on Jan. 31. Yahoo's repeated rejections and Ballmer's threat of a proxy fight have shifted investor attention from Microsoft's strengths, said Ken Smith, director of technology investment at Munder Capital Management.

``They need to quit fooling around and get the deal done,'' said Smith, whose Birmingham, Michigan-based firm owns Microsoft and Yahoo shares. ``The fundamentals of Microsoft's business are tremendous, but this has really capped the stock.''

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aRMEtAr7HAXk&refer=home

Everyone needs to follow Warren Buffet's strategy for business. Be discreet and act quickly. Microsoft is giving Yahoo way too much time to mount a defense and they, like i said would happen, have fought themselves right into a profitable situation with outsourcing their advertisement to Google.

Microsoft Can Go It Alone

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is sending more signals to Yahoo shareholders after the company's Tuesday earnings report. Take it or leave it was the message from Milan, Italy.

"We are offering a lot of money," Ballmer said today at a Microsoft conference, according to Bloomberg."If Yahoo's shareholders like it, that's great. We are prepared to go forward without a merger with Yahoo."

Observers, including Citi Investment Research analyst Brent Thill, whom I quoted in today's story, and a portfolio manager quoted by Bloomberg, don't see it that way.

"[Ballmer's] playing hardball, and I don't think he can win,'' Larry Haverty, an associate portfolio manager at Gamco Investors Inc. in Rye, New York, told Bloomberg. "Microsoft is doing very poorly in these businesses; they have to have Yahoo."

http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2008/04/globetrotting_ballmer_says_microsoft_can_go_forwar.html


OK, he admits that Microsoft can go it alone, yet Ballmer still persists even though analysts argue against the move and the price of Microsoft's stock declined directly after the offer went public. Hmmmm......Doesn't make too much sense

Yahoo Value's to Microsoft Not Affected by it's Performance

SKHIRAT, Morocco (AFP) — Steve Ballmer, head of US software giant Microsoft, said Tuesday latest quarterly performance results from the Internet company Yahoo would not influence the price his company was prepared to pay for a takeover.

"We have a strategy for the Internet that we are very excited about," he told a press conference in this Moroccan town launching a new portal product, MSN Maghreb.

"We think we can accelerate our strategy by buying Yahoo and we will pay what makes sense for us to pay for our shareholders.

"I wish Yahoo all success with the results today... but it does not really affect what the value of Yahoo is to Microsoft."

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jYZyBLLKTrPwfAmJXvGPX8koOizw

Isn't there a bit of a contradiction on Microsoft's part. On one end, in this article Ballmer says that Yahoo's performance will not affect the price is Microsoft is willing to pay because the price is reflective of Yahoo's worth to Microsoft's strategy.....On the other hand, in a letter wrote to Yahoo's Board of Directors, Microsoft stated that any further delays will result in a lower bid.

Survey of Innovation

Microsoft is a more innovative company than Nintendo or Sony, according to the results of a poll conducted by BusinessWeek.

Apple, which tops the list of the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies, Microsoft (number 4), Nintendo (number 7), and Sony (number 9) were all called out for their innovative products.

The hallmarks of an innovative company, says BusinessWeek, include nurturing culture that values creative people, developing a portfolio of diverse projects, and taking economic risks. \

A company's rank in the survey was determined using the votes from a 17-question survey, three-year revenue, margin growth, and stock returns. The survey was sent to the 2,500 largest corporations by market share; nearly 3,000 executives responded.

http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/04/poll-microsoft.html

Concerning the criteria for how the results from this test were gathered - is it me or is this a very very ineffective and even stupid way of seeing how innovative a company is.

Yahoo's Time Running Out

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) faces a critical week that could decide whether the pioneering Web company can remain independent or must surrender to an unsolicited takeover by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research).

Yahoo is racing to forge a credible alternative that lets it stay independent or at least forces Microsoft to raise its $31 a share cash-and-stock bid, now valued at $42.8 billion.

"Yahoo is willing to try things at the 11th hour, that it never felt the urgency to try," Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay said. "Shareholders win, either way."

http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSN2036511520080420

I think its foolish of a company to, instead of building a strategy right from the door to wait and try to hit the shot at the buzzer when your still down by 20. What the hell is Jerry Yang thinking.

Microsoft buys Farecast

Microsoft, the world's largest software company, acquired travel Web site Farecast, gaining technology that predicts whether air fares will rise or fall. Farecast Chief Executive Officer Hugh Crean announced the purchase Thursday on the company's blog. He didn't disclose a price or other terms. Microsoft added the Seattle-based company's prediction and planning services to its MSN Travel Web site in July. Microsoft is making acquisitions to attract more Web users and boost online ad revenue. Microsoft is making acquisitions to attract more Web users and boost online ad revenue. After buying AQuantive for $6 billion last year, Microsoft is now trying to acquire Yahoo. The moves are an effort to catch up with Google in the $40.9 billion global online ad market. "We look forward to working closely with the Farecast team to incorporate and apply its technology in new and interesting ways," Whitney Burk, a spokeswoman for Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft, said in an e-mailed statement. She declined to comment further.

http://www.mercurynews.com/businessheadlines/ci_8982732

How are you supposed to predict air fares.....IF ALL FUCKING FLIGHTS ARE CANCELLED BECAUSE OF BANKRUPTCY. THEY SHOULD GET TECHNOLOGY TO SEE HOW THE PRICES OF STOCKS FOR THESE AIRLINES ARE GOING TO NOSEDIVE OUT OF CONTROL

Ballmer: Vista Sucks

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has admitted that Windows Vista is an incomplete product, even though the operating system has been on the market for more than a year.

Speaking at the firm's annual Most Valuable Professionals event in Seattle yesterday, Big Steve told the gathered crowd that the unloved OS was "a work in progress". According to reports, he also promised that Microsoft would learn from the mistakes it has made with Vista.

"It's a very important piece of work. We did a lot of things right and have a lot of things we need to learn from," said Ballmer. "Certainly, you never want to let five years go between releases."
He acknowledged that "Vista is bigger than XP", but he wasn't referring to the popularity of the product. Instead, he was pinpointing one of the major issues many customers saddled with the product have complained about: performance.

"We have to make sure it doesn't get bigger still and that the performance and the battery and the compatibility we're driving on the things that we need to drive hard to improve."

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/04/18/ballmer_vista_incomplete/

Now I know this is perfect grounds for my usual Vista bashing but instead of that today, I'll just commend Ballmer on his honesty and integrity for identifying faults in a Microsoft product. They don't often do that

Microsoft vs. Alzheimers

Microsoft Research is supporting work into the causes of neurodegenerative illnesses such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's through its Computational Challenges of Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) programme.

A second project will attempt to predict and prevent adverse drug responses with prescription medicines.

Microsoft has selected six projects to support out of a total of 40 proposals submitted from 39 academic institutions worldwide.

The goal is to aid researchers in the correlation of genetic patterns with patients' responses to drugs, diseases, aging and the expression of genetic disorders to enable lifesaving research through the use of technology.


http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2214635/microsoft-aims-help-tackle

Great cause marketing scheme. I'm sure the informative/persuasive advertisement will be broad casted through the proper channels soon.

Yahoo's Scenarios

BURLINGAME, CALIF. -- Who knew Yahoo! Chief Executive Jerry Yang had it in him? Two months after Microsoft took its effort to snare Yahoo! public--unveiling a more than US$40-billion offer for the struggling Web portal--Yang has put the company he co-founded at the center of a host of takeover scenarios.

Will Microsoft buy Yahoo! ? Will Yahoo! strike a mega-deal with Google to keep Microsoft away? Or will Yahoo! hook up with AOL? Finally, there's the prospect of Microsoft pulling in News Corp. into the fray to help it nail down Yahoo!.

http://www.financialpost.com/reports/dealmakers/story.html?id=450399

On one of my blogs a couple of months ago, I stated that it is possible that Microsoft will push Yahoo into a corner where it will be forced to look at other options and those options could possibly catapult Yahoo into an again-extremely successful company. This article holds proof that prediction is coming to fruition.

Microsoft Pulling XP

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp.'s operating systems run most personal computers around the globe and are a cash cow for the world's largest software maker. But you'd never confuse a Windows user with the passionate fans of Mac OS X or even the free Linux operating system. Unless it's someone running Windows XP, a version Microsoft wants to retire.

Fans of the six-year-old operating system set to be pulled off store shelves in June have papered the Internet with blog posts, cartoons and petitions recently. They trumpet its superiority to Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest PC operating system, whose consumer launch last January was greeted with lukewarm reviews.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080414/ap_on_hi_te/microsoft_save_xp

I really hope all these efforts to save Microsoft helps because if not then I'm just going to buy a MacBook. At least I know that I'm not the only one who has such a disdain for Vista

Windows XP Service Pack 3

Microsoft Corp. will release Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) to computer makers and some IT professionals next week and offer it to all users via Windows Update April 29, according to an internal schedule obtained by the Neowin.net Web site.

Although others had previously pegged SP3's release to the last half of April, Neowin's dates are the most specific seen so far.

According to the site, the service pack will debut April 21, when it's shipped to computer manufacturers, offered to volume licensing customers and posted for download on TechNet and Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN), subscription services for IT staff and developers, respectively.

Most users, however, will first be able to obtain SP3 on April 29, when Microsoft lists it on Windows Update (WU) for download.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/144691/microsoft_readies_windows_xp_update.html

Wait.....XP?.....how come I have Vista and others have XP?....i don't care if their computers are older....with XP, theirs still probably runs better. This is not fair.....

Microsoft still #1 Contender

That potential three-way alliance was almost immediately offset by the revelation former Yahoo suitor News Corp was in talks to back Microsoft instead. “Everyone is just exploring. The best option is to accept the Microsoft deal,” Thrivent Financial fund manager Mike Binger told Reuters. “I just see Yahoo as a mature brand and AOL as a declining brand.”

Yahoo’s board met Friday to discuss strategy but a formal decision is unlikely to come prior to a quarterly earnings report slated for 22 April. Yahoo staff is known to be even less keen on an AOL tie than a Microsoft deal, viewing both companies as dusty but AOL as futureless. Shareholders are expected to share that view, despite a proposal to merge Yahoo with AOL's Internet operations in a cash deal that would leave the portal with 80 per cent control and an unspecified wedge of cash.

http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=42982&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10&view=news

I honestly think all this resistance from Yahoo is simply a thing of ego. There is no reason to suspect that this harm Yahoo in any way. They have not been doing a very good job of running themselves and even from the announcement of the deal, their shares jump a considerable percentage so I really am not understanding all the negotiations.

Microsoft vs. EU

The undeclared war between the Microsoft and the European Union has been relatively quiet for the past few months; we haven't heard much from either party since the EU fined Microsoft $1.36 billion. The scarcely settled cauldron between the two organizations, however, is about to receive a good stirring, due to the actions of EU Parliment representative and Green Party member, Heide Rühle. Rühle has filed a question (PDF) with the Parliament, raising the issue of whether the EU's legal findings against the company preclude it from taking part in future public procurement discussions.

Rühle's complaint rests on the fact that Microsoft was convicted in 2004 of "abusing its dominant position in the software market, causing a huge damage both on competitors and consumers." Redmond appealed that decision, but the Court of First Instance (CFI) rejected the company's appeal in September, 2007. Microsoft chose not to appeal that ruling, which, according to Rühle, gives the court's decision res judicata status. The term refers to a situation in which the validity of the court's findings, and the evidence of Microsoft's abuse, is considered settled and is no longer contested.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080414-microsoft-may-be-barred-from-eu-public-procurement-procedure.html

I don't know what the hell the European Union has against Microsoft but this fight has gotten to round 2,457. Its getting a little sickening. I really wonder why they have such a vendetta against poor old Bill and Ballmer.

Cheapest Laptop

Microsoft Corp India and HCL Infosystems Ltd have announced a set of joint initiatives, including the launch of world's cheapest Windows enabled laptop computer and the setting up of a center of excellence (CoE) to create a customized solution framework for India.

Making the announcement in Mumbai on Friday, Ajai Chowdhry, chairman and CEO of HCL, said, "The laptop will be launched under HCL's MiLeap brand and will cost Rs 16,990."

Microsoft Corp COO Kevin Turner said that Microsoft and HCL have partnered to promote the use of IT in India for over two decades. According to him, the CoE will have over 500 software professionals who will create and deploy Microsoft technologies in various sectors, such as banking, telecom, defence, and railways.

http://www.tech2.com/india/news/laptps/micrst-hcl-t-launch-wrlds-cheapest-laptp/33851/0

First Microsoft is still offering XP to lower-cost PC's and now they are offering a low-cost laptop. I would not be surprised if Microsoft setups a low-cost SBU sometime in the near future

Microsoft Wins OOXML battle

There's been some heated rhetoric: On April 2, standards organization Ecma International said that Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s Office Open XML garnered positive votes from 75% of ISO/IEC Joint Technology Committee 1 members, making OOXML an official standard. However, opponents vow the fight isn't over. The European Union is investigating the methods Microsoft used to lobby for support, and some countries, including Norway, are crying foul. Serious technical concerns remain, including doubts over Microsoft's maintenance standards.

And much of the industry still cleaves to the Open Document Format (ODF) standard, which is supported by the OpenDoc Society and used in OpenOffice, KOffice, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Docs, IBM (NYSE: IBM) Lotus Symphony, and other productivity suites.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207100727

Seemingly Microsoft has an opponent for every 1 Gigabyte of software they've ever produced.

Advertisements

In doing assignment 10, I came across these advertisements and I just had to share them somewhere. The first one was actually banned and is hilarious for obvious reasons. The second one is just a really good commercial

Microsoft Growing Impatient

Bloomberg News reports that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has threatened to start a proxy war for Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and to drop its offer price if it does not get a response from its board. CNNMoney reports that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has set a three-week deadline for a response from Yahoo! Microsoft is making noises about cutting its $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo!, arguing that the U.S. economic slowdown has hurt Yahoo!'s business.

Microsoft offered Yahoo! $31 a share on January 31st -- 62% above its price the day before -- and Yahoo! rejected the offer on February 11. Meanwhile, Yahoo! and Microsoft have lost share in the U.S. search market while Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has gained share. Specifically, Yahoo!'s share fell from 22.2% in January to 21.6% in February while Microsoft 's dropped from 9.8% to 9.6%. Google's rose to 59.2% from 58.5% in January.

The market remains unconvinced and I have little doubt that if the Microsoft deal unravels, Yahoo!'s stock price will drop back to around $19 -- where it was the day before Microsoft announced its bid. And if that happens, Yahoo!'s board will be facing a tidal wave of shareholder lawsuits.

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/04/05/microsoft-grows-impatient-threatens-to-drop-its-offer-price-for/

That last paragraph - Pulitzer Prize material. Couldnt have said it any clearer

More Rumors Concerning Blu-Ray to Deny

Redmond, WA (AHN) - Technology company Microsoft has again quelled rumors of an up-and-coming Xbox 360 running on Blu-ray technology.

A released statement denying the rumors counts as the second time the company has battled against hearsay, all of which circled around the assumption that the Xbox 360 will be adapting to the newer Blu-ray upon the death of its original HD DVD format.

The rumors this time involved technology manufacturer Lite-On, which would supposedly be creating the Blu-ray format products for Microsoft.

"Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray devices for Xbox 360," said a spokesperson for the company, as quoted by Bit-Tech. "As we have stated, games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available."

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010536866

This is like the heartbroken boyfriend whose ex is throwing a big party that EVERYONE is going to and no matter how much it seems like the best thing to do, that heartbroken boyfriend just cant commit to doing anything involving any part of that relationship

XP to run on Low-Budget computers

SEATTLE -- Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it will keep selling a version of Windows XP for use on a new breed of low-cost computers for at least two years longer than the older operating system will be available on mainstream PCs.

The software maker said Windows XP Home will be available through June 2010, or for a year beyond the release of the next version of Windows, for computers like Intel Corp.'s Classmate PC and ASUSTek Computer Inc.'s Eee PC. Those machines have smaller hard drives, less memory and slower processors than most Windows computers sold today, and most would have a hard time running the bulkier Windows Vista.

The Classmate PC is currently marketed with Windows XP Professional, and the newest editions sell for between $300 and $500. The Eee PC, which costs around $400, comes with a Linux operating system.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_microsoft_xp_extension.html

OK so the lower-income families get to have the better version of Windows while the people who invest a little more in their computers get stuck with Vista. Why don't I just quit my job and stand on the unemployment line, maybe I'll have a computer with software that i can actually stand to tolerate

Hostility in the Air

Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer has threatened directly Yahoo's board with a hostile takeover which may reduce the company's value below their initial takeover offer. In a letter, the software leader has said through its ruthless chief executive that it will take those measures if a deal will not be reached within three weeks.

"If we are forced to take an offer directly to your shareholders, that action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal," Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer wrote in a letter sent to Yahoo's board yesterday.

The initial offer made by Microsoft on February 1 was $31 a share, adding up to a grand total of approximately $44.6 billion but after a downfall in Microsoft’s shares, it is now worth about $42 billion, still making it, if finalized, the biggest-ever takeover in the high-tech industry.

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Microsoft_Readies_to_Push_Yahoo_for_Hostile_Takeover_16020.html

Its about time that Microsoft backed them into a corner. In my opinion Yahoo should just give up and save the time and energy and possibly even money, fighting a losing battle. Aside from the anti-trust laws, I don't see any possible way that Yahoo could avoid this from happening.

Microsoft says its Not Worried About Apple Smartphone

Microsoft has welcomed Apple's iPhone as a good thing for the smartphone market.

Lynette Kucsma, senior marketing manager for Microsoft's Communications Business group, said at the launch of Windows Mobile 6.1 that the company is "not at all worried by Apple entering the market".

"Apple has opened up awareness of smartphones to a wider market and that helps everyone," she said.

Kucsma explained that Microsoft is also unconcerned about Apple's foray into the business market, maintaining that Apple has a long way to go before it could match Redmond on business software.

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2213354/microsoft-welcomes-apple

Although this sounds pretty noble and laudable of Microsoft, it also sounds like pure bullshit....Since when has Microsoft never been worried about a competitor being the leader in an industry......I can't help but wonder how long it'll be before Microsoft threatens cingular with a hostile takeover

$368 Million

San Diego, CA. (AHN) - Software giant Microsoft was ordered Friday by a federal court to pay $368 Million in fines for infringing two patents owned by Alcatel-Lucent SA for touch- screen form entry and use of a stylus on computers. Alcatel-Lucent had asked for about $1.75 billion from Microsoft and Dell Inc. after claiming four of its patents were violated. U.S. District Judge Marilyn L. Huff also ruled that Dell infringed the stylus patent and owed Alcatel-Lucent $51,000. The court, however, rejected claims of infringement on two other patents related to video controls.

Based on Bloomberg data, the Alcatel-Lucent verdict stands as the second-biggest patent award this year, and the fifth-biggest in U.S. history. Interestingly, the record is also held Alcatel-Lucent, a $1.52 billion case against Microsoft..

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010547050

$368 million.....HA....i wouldn't be surprised if Bill Gates took that out of his pocket as the judge slammed the gavel on this case and then told Alcatel to go kick rocks.

More Antitrust issues For Microsoft

Microsoft may have won a year-long quest to make its Office Open XML document format an ISO-recognized international standard, but claims of foul play in the voting process may come back to haunt the software giant when the European Commission concludes its latest antitrust investigation of Microsoft's business practices.

When the Commission, Europe's top antitrust authority, opened a probe into Microsoft's business practices in January, it said part of the investigation would examine whether OOXML, as the format is known, is "sufficiently interoperable with competitors' products."

A month later the Commission sent a confidential request for information to all the national divisions of the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) in Europe, asking for information about the ongoing process of assessing OOXML.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/02/AR2008040201515.html

1. If Microsoft is innocent in all of these antitrust claims then why does the European Commission seem obsessed with Microsoft
2. If Microsoft is in fact guilty of all of these claims then are they too stupid to get it right. It just cause them a huge percentage of their profit last year....is that not motivation enough

New Surface tabletop Coming to AT&T stores

Microsoft's multitouch Surface tabletop computer may be coming to an AT&T store near you. In the first public deployment of the technology, AT&T will put 22 of Microsoft's Surface computers in four cities around the United States on April 17.

When customers place one or more of eight mobile devices -- not yet including the Apple iPhone -- labeled with a special optical tag onto the Surface, the computer will recognize the objects and let customers explore device features. AT&T has also created another customized application that will allow customers to explore its coverage map, zooming in and out and navigating across the country by using hand gestures on the Surface's multitouch screen.

Initially, AT&T will deploy the Surface computers in two stores in New York as well as one each in San Antonio, Atlanta, and San Francisco. If customers warm to the application, AT&T is looking to expand to more cities and stores moving forward.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/business/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=3XBZK2K1W2BJCQSNDLOSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=207001259&_requestid=273736

Microsoft is seemingly tiptoeing their way into the mobile device world, first with windows programs compatible with phones now an interactive device for exploring the features of compatible mobile phones

Microsoft New Zealand Sets Revenue Record at $64 million

Microsoft New Zealand has reported a 20 per cent jump in profits on record revenues, which were up 18 per cent.

Managing director Kevin Ackhurst meanwhile confirmed he had been shoulder-tapped to take a leading-role in establishing a new representative body for the ICT industry.

The subsidiary posted a profit of $6.5 million on sales of $64.6 million for the year to June, up from a profit of $5.4 million on sales of $54.8 million in 2006.

Profits are still short of the record set in 2003, when the subsidiary made $9.6 million.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4455889a28.html

Setting records: who cares
Setting records in places no one cares about: now that's cool. two thumbs up for the MD

Microsoft hopes Update will Stimulate Vista Sales

Mar. 31, 2008 (Investor's Business Daily delivered by Newstex) --

Microsoft's year-old Windows Vista operating system could get a boost now that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has issued the first set of bug fixes for the product.

Many users, particularly businesses and other enterprises, won't consider installing a new Microsoft MSFT operating system until the company has released at least one set of fixes, which the industry calls a service pack.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 has been available for download from Microsoft's Windows Update Web site since March 18. Microsoft plans to push the fixes out to Windows Vista users who have chosen to get automatic updates starting in mid-April. PC makers have begun to include the updates on new PCs.

Service Pack 1, or SP1, addresses some of the biggest complaints about the new operating system, particularly performance, reliability and support for newer hardware and standards.


http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/IBD-0001-24108187.htm

It seems as if Microsoft has been trying to force people to adapt to Vista. There is no reason that customers still have to offer their consumers the predecessor platform, Windows XP, due to consumer demand. That's a sure sign that something is wrong with Vista and should be completely revised or replaced.