Microsoft slams Google user data policy in new ads (AP)
February 1, 2012AP - Microsoft Corp. slammed search rival Google Inc. with full-page newspaper ads Wednesday, saying that recent changes at Google that allow it to internally merge the data it collects on user activity across services such as YouTube and Gmail are meant to allow advertisers to better target customers.
Microsoft cuts about 200 marketing employees (AP)
February 1, 2012AP - Microsoft Corp. said it laid off some of its marketing staff on Wednesday as part of an effort to restructure its operations.
Microsoft Begins Private Preview of Office 15 (Mashable)
January 31, 2012Mashable - Microsoft says it's started a private preview program of the next version of Office to a "select group" of customers. Going far beyond just refining and enhancing existing applications, the next version of Microsoft Office, codenamed "Office 15," will unite the software suite with the company's cloud and mobile platforms. Announcing the move in a blog post, Microsoft says this is the first time the next version of Office will be seen by anyone outside the company, though it didn't identify any of its partners for the technical preview and mentions that they're all bound by non-disclosure agreements. Microsoft says its sales team nominated the participants, and they represent a broad range of industries and customer profiles.
Kinect technology is heading to laptops (Digital Trends)
January 28, 2012Digital Trends - According to a recent report from The Daily, Microsoft is working manufacturers third-party manufacturers on prototypes of laptops utilizing a built-in Kinect sensor. Microsoft has already discussed desktops that include Kinect functions while at CES this year, but this is the first mention of the motion controller in a portable solution. The prototypes appeared to be ASUS netbooks and they were running Windows 8, likely to use motion navigation within the metro style version of the operating system.Â
Microsoft's New Xbox 720 Will Be 6x More Powerful [REPORT] (Mashable)
January 26, 2012Mashable - "More power!" You can imagine Steve Ballmer yelling it through Microsoft's halls but that's exactly what is happening with the Xbox 720, according to reports from IGN.
Yahoo's income drops 5 pct during fourth quarter (Digital Trends)
January 25, 2012Digital Trends - Although many earnings announcements may have been lost in the wake of Appleâs $46.3 billion quarter, struggling Internet giant Yahoo also posted its earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2011âand they werenât nearly so rosey. The good news is that Yahoo managed to earn some $312 million during the quarter; the bad news is that figure is a five percent decrease from the same period in 2010. Although income from operations increased a bit year over year, Yahoo attributed the overall decline in revenue from decreasing revenues garnered from its search agreement with Microsoft. Measured by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Yahooâs revenue for the quarter was $1.32 billion, and its revenue for the year some $4.98 billionâand that full-year figure represents a 21 percent decline compared to 2010.
Core suppliers savor bigger Apple pie (Reuters)
January 25, 2012Reuters - Suppliers basked in the reflection of Apple's glowing results on Wednesday after the company's gold standard iPhones and iPads flew off the shelves over the holiday sales season.
Will Microsoft Points be replaced with real-world currency? (Digital Trends)
January 25, 2012Digital Trends - If youâre tired of trying to figure out the exchange rate between U.S. dollars and Microsoft Points, a new rumor making the rounds should give you hope.
Microsoft announces the Arcade House Party lineup for XBL (Digital Trends)
January 23, 2012Digital Trends - One day, years from now, we will be cleaning out our garage/attic/underwater pods (it could happenâ¦), and discover an old game on a disc. We may then call the kids down to gaze in wonder at the relic in our hands, before throwing it in the trash and laughing about how quaint we used to be.
Summary Box: IBM and Microsoft power Dow's rise (AP)
January 20, 2012AP - EARNINGS: IBM and Microsoft drove the Dow Jones industrial average higher Friday after the tech giants reported stronger earnings than analysts expected.