Microsoft

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Leap-Year Bug Zapped Zunes
Leap-Year Bug Zapped Zunes
Jan 1, 2009 6:21 AM CST

Leap-Year Bug Zapped Zunes

Microsoft advises Zune30 owners to drain batteries, then recharge

(Newser) - All 2006 model Zune30s froze up at midnight last night because of a problem handling the last day of leap years, according to Microsoft. The company advises owners to wait until 4pm PST today, drain the device's batteries, and then recharge, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Microsoft apologized for the inconvenience,...

All the World's Zune 30s Mysteriously Freeze Up

Bizarre bug struck mp3 players just after midnight last night

(Newser) - Microsoft’s Zune has a bizarre bug: Hundreds, if not thousands of the 30G models froze up simultaneously at 12am PST, CNET reports. The MP3 players all displayed a startup status bar frozen at 100%; the timing has prompted some Zune owners to call the problem “Z2K,” after...

Chinese Court Sentences Microsoft Pirates

11 jailed for counterfeit software ring with 'unprecedented' scope

(Newser) - A Chinese court has convicted 11 people of violating copyright laws and sentenced them to as much as 6 1/2  years of prison for working with a counterfeiting ring that sold fake Microsoft products around the world. Microsoft hailed the crackdown on the pirates, whose organization may have made $2...

Yahoo Will Keep Searchers' Info Only 3 Months
Yahoo Will Keep Searchers' Info Only 3 Months
ANALYSIS
Dec 17, 2008 3:38 PM CST

Yahoo Will Keep Searchers' Info Only 3 Months

Search firm now holds information for less time than Google, Microsoft

(Newser) - Yahoo will shorten the amount of time it will keep users’ personal data, Stacey Higginbotham reports for GigaOm. The firm will scrub page views, ad views, and search data after 90 days, though it will keep data flagged as suspicious for twice as long. Google and Microsoft recently proposed changes...

Hackers Trigger Security Panic for Internet Explorer

Experts suggest switching browsers until Microsoft issues emergency patch

(Newser) - A security flaw in Internet Explorer has so alarmed web experts that they are advising people to switch browsers until the problem is fixed, reports the BBC. Microsoft is preparing an emergency software patch to fix the flaw, which has allowed hackers to seize control of individual computers and steal...

Spellchecker Gaffes Add Sparkle to Serious Stories

(Newser) - The so-called Cupertino effect has been creeping into major US newspapers and government reports, at times adding unintended humor to serious stories, BoingBoing reports. The effect—named after Microsoft Word 97's habit of replacing "co-operation" with "Cupertino" in its spellchecker—has slipped spell-checker-related gaffes into Reuters...

Google Seeks Special Online 'Fast Lane'

Dumps 'Net neutrality' support; wants preferred treatment

(Newser) - Google is quietly negotiating for preferential treatment from Internet providers in an about-face from its staunch support of equal network access for all content providers. The move could spark an industry-wide race for Internet "fast lanes" that would discriminate against less-funded sites and potentially curb users' online choices, reports...

Humble Mouse Turns 40
 Humble Mouse 
 Turns 40 
Dec 9, 2008 2:39 PM CST

Humble Mouse Turns 40

A look at milestones in the life of that crucial computer accessory

(Newser) - It’s been 40 years since the computer mouse made its public debut, and though innovations have been legion, the basic concept is still the same. Macworld takes a look back at some key moments in the device’s evolution.
  • 1963: The first recognizable mouse prototype is built. It only
...

Google Cuts Spending, New Projects

Company plans cuts in contract workforce, tightens perks as it refocuses

(Newser) - Times are tough even at Google, forcing the company to refocus on its core business, the search advertising that generates 97% of its revenue, reports the Wall Street Journal. CEO Eric Schmidt says the company has begun to trim not only some of its legendary employee perks, but unprofitable products...

Ex-AOL Chief Seeks Funds to Buy Yahoo

$30B difficult to raise amid recession

(Newser) - After months of advising both Microsoft and Yahoo on a failed deal, former AOL chief Jonathan Miller is trying to put together a bid for Yahoo himself. The venture capitalist is asking private investors to help him amass the $30 billion needed to acquire the struggling, $10-a-share search engine group,...

$20B Yahoo Search Deal 'Total Fiction': Exec

Execs scoff at story of Microsoft dropping $20B on search biz

(Newser) - A report that Microsoft will buy Yahoo's search business and give two Internet execs a 30% share is "total fiction," one of the execs tells Kara Swisher at AllThingsDigital. Swisher agrees that the $20 billion deal, reported by the London Times, is likely non-existent. After all, board member...

Ballmer Quashes Yahoo Bid Rumors; Open to Partnership

Microsoft 'done' with acquisition attempts, even after Yang's resignation

(Newser) - Steve Ballmer quashed the rumor that Microsoft would make another offer to buy Yahoo now that Jerry Yang has quit as CEO, CNET reports. “We are done with all acquisition discussions with Yahoo,” the chief executive said today. “We did our best; we’ve moved on.”

For Yahoo, Question Is: Who's Yang's Yin?

The next Yahoo CEO will have to take the Web portal in a new direction to sate Wall Street

(Newser) - Yahoo’s successor to CEO Jerry Yang could come from outside the Internet industry, as long as he has a strong operations background and the decisiveness to break the company’s culture of indecision, reports the Wall Street Journal. But even before hiring a CEO, the company needs to decide...

Yang's Departure Gives Microsoft New Opening
Yang's Departure Gives Microsoft New Opening
ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2008 9:54 AM CST

Yang's Departure Gives Microsoft New Opening

Analysts see 'beginning of the end for Yahoo' as CEO steps down

(Newser) - Investors are hoping Jerry Yang’s departure will lead to renewed talks with Microsoft, BusinessWeek reports. “This is probably the beginning of the end for Yahoo,” said one. “Microsoft will probably come back with an offer.” Microsoft has repeatedly denied interest in reviving a deal, but...

Amazon Leads Charge Against Clamshell Packaging

(Newser) - Stories of angry and even injured customers have inspired companies to ditch sealed clamshell packaging for easy-to-open alternatives, the New York Times reports. Amazon leads the pack, working with suppliers to ship products in plain cardboard boxes ahead of the holidays. Even some offline companies, which rely on clamshells to...

$148M Loss Bites Into Crocs
 $148M Loss Bites Into Crocs 

Nov 13, 2008 3:02 AM CST

$148M Loss Bites Into Crocs

Demand for colorful clogs tanks

(Newser) - Crocs, the maker of hugely popular colorful plastic clogs, suffered a $148 million third quarter loss on a 32% drop in demand in Europe and the US. The Colorado-based company has shuttered a factory in Canada, will close another in Brazil next month, and has amassed extensive unsold inventory, reports...

Microsoft Likely to Provide Verizon Search

Software giant outbids Google as competition goes mobile

(Newser) - Insiders say Verizon Wireless is likely to pick Microsoft as the default search provider for its mobile phones, the Wall Street Journal reports today. Verizon had also been in talks with Google to provide the service, but Microsoft’s guarantee of about $600 million in annual ad revenue—about twice...

Amazon Fights 'Wrap Rage' With Less Packaging

Less bubbly stuff, fewer twisties better for impatient consumers, planet

(Newser) - Amazon.com has heard the exasperated sighs of customers digging through yards of bubble wrap and undoing twist tie upon twist tie to find that one tiny memory card. The online retailer today introduced “Frustration-Free Packaging,” by which it aims to make its shipping friendlier to both recipient...

Google, Yahoo May Ditch Talks on Ad Alliance

Unwilling to compromise, the Web giants may dissolve negotiations

(Newser) - Google and Yahoo's potential partnership is on the rocks. The two sides are still searching for a middle ground on an advertising deal, but both sides could walk away from the talks as early as next week, the Wall Street Journal reports. The main stumbling block is a consent decree,...

Microsoft Offers Early Peek at Vista's Successor

(Newser) - Microsoft offered an early look today of its new operating system, designed to smooth out the kinks of the much-maligned Vista. The company gave programmers test software of Windows 7, which CEO Steve Ballmer is pushing to release next year, CNET reports. Those with an early look have generally praised...

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