Microsoft

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Skype Blames Crash on Windows
Skype Blames Crash on Windows
Aug 20, 2007 12:49 PM CDT

Skype Blames Crash on Windows

Millions of updates, reboots fried VOIP service, company says

(Newser) - Skype's mysterious failure last week was caused by a routine Windows update, the company says. Millions of users downloaded the new software, rebooted their computers, and tried to log into Skype at the same time, crashing the net phone service, PC World reports. It's still unclear why previous Windows updates...

MSFT Grabs AQNT for $6B
MSFT Grabs AQNT for $6B
Aug 13, 2007 3:30 PM CDT

MSFT Grabs AQNT for $6B

(Newser) - Microsoft completed the largest buyout in its history today, snatching up online advertising firm aQuantive for $6B. Microsoft closed the deal on Friday and will dole out $66.50 in cash for each share of the Seattle-based company, which will de-list from the Nasdaq after nearly doubling in value after...

Microsoft Renews FCC Fight Over TV 'White Space'

New access to Web opens in 2009

(Newser) - Regulators won't OK Microsoft's plan to give consumers access to the Internet through unused TV airwaves, but the firm isn't taking no for an answer. The FCC has already nixed a protoype that caused static on existing broadcasts, but Microsoft says it now has a version that works, and a...

Search Engines Improve Privacy Policies

Sites, government still have some work to do, study finds

(Newser) - Search engines are beginning to take user privacy more seriously, but stronger federal privacy legislation is still necessary, a new study says. In the online marketplace, privacy policies have become competitive factors, with sites one-upping each other to make surfers feel that they're safe and have control over their personal...

Judge Declines to Dismiss Vista Lawsuit

Consumers may press case that 'Vista Capable' label was deceptive

(Newser) - A federal judge has denied Microsoft's motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging its "Vista Capable" campaign misled consumers, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. Although PCs bearing "Vista Capable" stickers run the new OS, many can handle only the bare-bones Vista Home Basic system, which lacks highly touted features included...

Microsoft Drops Price of Xbox 360
Microsoft
Drops Price
of Xbox 360
Aug 7, 2007 8:55 AM CDT

Microsoft Drops Price of Xbox 360

Trims $50 in wake of Sony's cuts to PlayStation3

(Newser) - Microsoft is shaving $50 off the price of Xbox 360 video game consoles in the US, just a month after Sony dropped the price of its PlayStation3 by $100. Both have faced unusually strong competition from Nintendo’s hot Wii, Reuters reports, and want to boost preholiday sales. Premiering in...

Gates Plans to Log Off as Scheduled
Gates Plans to Log Off as Scheduled
Jul 30, 2007 8:03 AM CDT

Gates Plans to Log Off as Scheduled

Despite most volatile market ever, Microsoft chairman will bow out

(Newser) - Bill Gates says that, despite a surge in competition from all sides of the market, his phased exit from Microsoft has been bug-free so far. His two-year transition period halfway done, the chairman and former CEO says that his handpicked successors have been successfully picking up the slack. But doubters...

10 Free Ways to Make Your Windows Computer Safer

These utilities can help put your mind at ease

(Newser) - The tech wizards at ZDNet offer their picks for security-conscious PC users on a budget:
  1. Secunia Personal Software Inspector (psi.secunia.com)
  2. OpenDNS (www.opendns.com)
  3. Active Virus Shield (www.activevirusshield.com/antivirus/freeav/index.adp?)
  4. Haute Secure (www.hautesecure.com)
  5. GMER anti-rootkit (www.gmer.net/index.php)

Online Maps Give Personal View of World

User-generated custom atlases are becoming guides to everything

(Newser) - Taking a page from Wikipedia, Internet users are harnessing the collective knowledge of millions and applying it to maps. On the rapidly growing "GeoWeb," surfers create custom atlases using mapping technology by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. The user-generated maps can highlight anything from stores to previously unavailable...

Vista Proves Profitable, Problematic

Microsoft's new OS leaving many users nostalgic for XP

(Newser) - Microsoft has reported quarterly revenues of $13.4 billion, crediting strong sales of its new Vista operating system, which offers new networking and security features as well as an overhauled interface. But many users are still reluctant to switch after tepid reviews and anecdotal complaints, instead seeking out the 6-year-old...

Xbox Guru Quits Microsoft
Xbox Guru
Quits Microsoft
Jul 18, 2007 6:16 PM CDT

Xbox Guru Quits Microsoft

Redmond claims charismatic exec's departure unrelated to warranty woes

(Newser) - Microsoft's former entertainment honcho Peter Moore has decamped, the company confirmed today, after a four-year tenure highlighted by the release of the wildly popular Xbox 360. The announcement comes two weeks after Microsoft answered persistent Xbox hardware defects with a massively expensive warranty extension.

Dow Breaks 14K, Briefly
Dow Breaks 14K, Briefly
Jul 17, 2007 3:56 PM CDT

Dow Breaks 14K, Briefly

Strong earnings, weak inflation boost markets

(Newser) - The Dow shattered the 14,000 mark for the first time in its history today, floating 22 points above the milestone but dipping just before the bell to close at 13,971.55—still a 20.57-point gain. A projection of relatively docile inflation, combined with continued encouraging earnings reports...

Sony Slashes Price of PlayStation 3

Floundering console still costs twice as much as a Wii

(Newser) - Sony is easing up on the retail price of its struggling PlayStation 3 by $100. The console will now cost $500—$20 more than the Xbox 360 and twice as much as the bestselling Nintendo Wii. Sony's CEO had promised to hold the price, but poor receipts appeared to necessitate...

Microsoft Will Drop $1B on Xbox Warranties

Company calls number of defective consoles 'unacceptable'

(Newser) - Microsoft will respond to complaints from around the world by extending the warranty on its faulty Xbox 360 gaming console, at a potential cost to the company of over $1 billion, USAToday reports. The company will extend warranty coverage from 1 year to 3 in response to buyer reports that...

Google Court Filing Cranks Up Heat on Microsoft

Request to extend consent decree points to potential problems with Vista changes

(Newser) - As if their relations weren't frosty enough, Google has asked a federal judge to extend the consent decree and judicial supervision Microsoft has operated under for nearly 5 years. Microsoft responded to a Google complaint last week by agreeing to modify the desktop-search function in its new Vista OS, but...

Mobile Servers Save Energy, Add Capacity

Sun packages extra processing power in steel shipping containers

(Newser) - Sun Microsystems has a solution for the booming demand for network space, and as a bonus, it lowers energy use: packing servers into steel shipping containers that can be parked wherever they're needed. It's called Project Blackbox, and Sun says it reduces power consumption by 20%. The giant 20-foot boxes...

Google Complaint Spurs Vista Revision

Microsoft responds to antitrust action with change to desktop search feature

(Newser) - Microsoft has caved in to Google's antitrust complaints and agreed to alter the search tools in its new Vista operating system by the end of the year. The move is a victory for Google, which complained to antitrust regulators that Vista's hard-drive indexing was difficult to switch off and made...

Apple Wants to Send Windows Users on Safari

Jobs sees chance to grab larger share of browser market

(Newser) - Apple will venture into Microsoft's turf again, this time making a version of its web browser Safari compatible with Windows. Microsoft's Internet Explorer commands 78% of the browser market compared to Safari's 5%, reports the Wall Street Journal, but Apple's interest in expanding its share is only part of the...

Google Grabs for Microsoft Territory

With new app, Schmidt and company gear up for offline revolution

(Newser) - Google is releasing its first ever hard-drive-based application, in what some tech watchers are calling a charge onto Microsoft's turf. Google Gears, an open-source browser extension now in beta, will allow users to operate Google programs without a web connection—a domain Gates, Ballmer, and co. have traditionally ruled.

Gates and Jobs Banter in Rare Face-to-Face

Tech gods praise each other, discuss the PC guy from the Mac ads

(Newser) - Long-time rivals Bill Gates and Steve Jobs quipped and reminisced their way through their first joint public appearance in two decades at last night's D: All Things Digital conference in San Diego. The two tech kings ditched their traditional rivalry for a cozy, back-and-forth love fest. We've been "secretly...

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