Microsoft

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To Appease EU, Microsoft Offers Browser Choice With Windows 7

Company allows rivals, settles antitrust case

(Newser) - Microsoft will offer a choice of web browsers to European users of the new Windows 7 operating system to avoid an antitrust fine, Bloomberg reports. “When you’re looking at ongoing fines in a downturn, it makes more sense to settle,” one analyst says. The EU says the...

Laptop Hunter Ads Tweaked After Apple Gripe

(Newser) - Microsoft has changed at least one of its highly successful "Laptop Hunter" ads after Apple called to complain about it, Advertising Age reports. In the original, a law student shopping for a laptop observes: "This Mac is $2,000, and that's before adding anything." Her mother adds,...

Microsoft Posts First Yearly Sales Decline

(Newser) - Microsoft Corp. said today its profit in the last quarter plunged 29% because of weak computer sales, ending a fiscal year in which the software maker's revenue fell for the first time since the company went public in 1986. The results reflect how Microsoft's fortunes are tied to the PC...

Switchover to Windows 7 a Big Pain
 Switchover to 
 Windows 7 a Big Pain 
Tech review

Switchover to Windows 7 a Big Pain

Move from XP may require external hard drive, patience

(Newser) - The latest Windows incarnation beats Vista and XP, but don’t expect a smooth transition: upgrading from XP to Windows 7 is an ordeal, writes Walt Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal. “In fact, the process will be so painful that, for many XP users, the easiest solution may...

Microsoft Ad Campaign Gets Under Apple's Skin

Laptop-browsing spot may be boosting Microsoft's 'value perception'

(Newser) - Apple demanded Microsoft ditch TV ads featuring shoppers mulling the relative value of PCs and Macs, CNET reports. In the ads, which Microsoft’s chief operating officer calls “completely unscripted,” shoppers get to keep money they save by choosing a PC over a Mac. “We got a...

Firefox Loses Some of Its Edge: Mossberg
 Firefox Loses 
 Some of Its 
 Edge: Mossberg 
TECH REVIEW

Firefox Loses Some of Its Edge: Mossberg

It's not the fastest browser anymore

(Newser) - Mozilla's Firefox is still good, but it doesn't stand out as much as it used to, Walter S. Mossberg writes in the Wall Street Journal. The latest edition of the web browser, version 3.5, works well on both PCs and Macs, but "Firefox has lost its traditionally biggest...

Microsoft to Give Away New Web-Based Office

Goes head-to-head with Google's online apps

(Newser) - Microsoft, the “king of paid software,” is going free with an online version of Office next year, Fortune reports. “The sleeping giant in Redmond has clearly woken up to the Internet threat,” writes Jon Fortt. Microsoft is risking “cannibalizing its own Office business,” but...

Why Google's OS Won't Beat Microsoft
 Why Google's OS 
 Won't Beat Microsoft 
OPINION

Why Google's OS Won't Beat Microsoft

Windows 7, open-source competition hold Chrome OS back

(Newser) - Microsoft needn’t stress about Google’s planned operating system, writes Joseph Tartakoff for paidContent. Five reasons why:
  • Windows 7 will put Microsoft on firmer ground, having won great reviews so far—and it will have been out 9 months by the time Chrome OS appears.
  • Google’s not the
...

With New OS, Google Looks More Like a Monopoly
With New OS, Google Looks More Like a Monopoly
OPINION

With New OS, Google Looks More Like a Monopoly

(Newser) - Google’s latest project, a Web-based lightweight OS to rival Windows, sounds pretty cool at first. “But that’s why you should be worried,” writes David Lazarus of the Los Angeles Times. The search giant has simply become too powerful for comfort. “Google accounts for an ungodly...

Why Bing Is Better

 Why Bing Is Better 
opinion

Why Bing Is Better

Helpful features make Microsoft's search engine more than a Google copy

(Newser) - It's easy to mock Bing as Microsoft's latest attempt to rip off a competitor. Bloggers, in fact, have christened the search engine "But It's Not Google." That’s actually true, writes David Pogue in the New York Times. "In many ways, Bing is better." Here's how:...

Google Launches Web-Based OS, Takes Aim at Windows

Fast-booting Chrome may push Vista out of the market

(Newser) - Google has doubled down in its battle with Microsoft. The search giant announced it is bringing out an open-source operating system, named Google Chrome OS, that looks to go head-to-head with long-dominant Windows. Chrome OS is Google's biggest push yet onto traditional Microsoft turf, reports the Financial Times, following free...

Users Prefer Bing to Google But Won't Switch: Study

Focus group users prefer design, organization of Microsoft search engine

(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...

Microsoft's Windows 7 Prices Include Early-Bird Discount

Free upgrades for Vista PC buyers starting Friday

(Newser) - A pre-ordered upgrade to Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system will cost US customers $49 or $99 from tomorrow until July 11, depending on version: Home premium or Professional, CNET reports. Also starting tomorrow, anyone who buys a new Vista PC will get a free upgrade to Windows 7 when...

Bing's Week 2: Not So Bad
 Bing's Week 2: Not So Bad 

Bing's Week 2: Not So Bad

(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...

Microsoft Move Won't Derail Antitrust Case

Company has unfair advantage, European Commission says

(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...

Microsoft to Release Free Anti-Virus Software Soon

(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...

Microsoft Blows It With Bizarre Bing Ads

Blame Google for the collapse of global financial architecture

(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...

Microsoft's New Search Engine Brings Back Porn

(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...

Microsoft's Bing: Life-Saver, or Big Brother?
Microsoft's Bing: Life-Saver, or Big Brother?
product review

Microsoft's Bing: Life-Saver, or Big Brother?

(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
...

EU Going After Microsoft, Again
 EU Going After Microsoft, Again 

EU Going After Microsoft, Again

(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...

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