Microsoft

Microsoft is experimenting with the idea of renting its software rather than only having it available to buy out-right. The scheme, codenamed Albany, would allow US users to pay a monthly subscription for a package of software which would likely ... comprise Word, Excel, PowerPoint and anti-virus software. Users in some developing countries can already rent Office, and Microsoft's OneCare security package is already available for annual subscription in America. However, this would be the first time Office could be rented in a major market like the US. The company believes the biggest selling ... (view more)

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is reportedly poised to join Microsoft in its bid to takeover Yahoo. The talks between News Corporation and Microsoft are hush-hush, but insiders say an eventual deal might see Murdoch chip in some cash for the ... takeover and hand over his Interactive Media division, which owns MySpace. That could mean MySpace, the MSN network, and the Yahoo search engine would all be owned by the same group. Yahoo had already been talking with News Corporation themselves, but only in the hope of forming a partnership. They are trying to avoid the type of complete takeover ... (view more)

On April 5, Microsoft sent Yahoo an ultimatum to enter buyout negotiations or suffer a prolonged proxy contest for control. Less than 48 hours later, Microsoft received a response: sweeten the offer. Refuting Microsoft's claims that Yahoo was ... avoiding a takeover offer and that shareholders were interested in an agreement with Microsoft, CEO Jerry Yang wrote, "Contrary to statements in your letter, stockholders representing a significant portion of our outstanding shares have indicated to us that your proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo." (Source: shareholder.com ) However, Yang is not ... (view more)

Microsoft's CEO Steven Ballmer sent a strongly worded letter to Yahoo's Board of Directors on Saturday declaring his frustration over the lack of progress on his company's offer to acquire the Internet portal. On Jan. 31, Microsoft made an offer to ... purchase Yahoo with a mix of cash and stocks worth $44.6 billion, 62 percent above Yahoo's market value. Since that time, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang has been busy considering alternatives to save the company including partnerships with Google, News Corp, and AOL. (Source: businessweek.com ) However, no substantive agreements have resulted and Microsoft's ... (view more)

Think Microsoft is unfazed by the criticism of the now one-year-old Windows Vista? Doesn't look like it, given recent rumblings that the company is speedily working towards the release of a completely new operating system (OS), tentatively titled ... 'Windows 7' perhaps as early as next year. Those rumblings are coming straight from the the lips of company chairman Bill Gates, who recently hinted to Reuters that Windows 7 might ship as soon as 2009. That's a huge jump forward for an OS originally dated for the year following. In response to Gates' alleged quote to Reuters starting all the rumors ... (view more)

Hoping to answer a number of concerns about its popular Office software, Microsoft has released a slew of fixes meant to patch up some fairly significant holes. A total of twelve flaws, four "critical", have been addressed by the new update. These ... are meant to fix gaps that could potentially give an attacker the ability to execute code without authorization. Given the software's immense popularity, that certainly makes for a lot of systems. (Source: macworld.com ) One of the most "critical" fixes is meant to save future headaches for Outlook email users. Again, remote execution ... (view more)

It seems that Yahoo is simply staving off an inevitable takeover by Microsoft, while it desperately searches for a partner in a last ditch attempt to fortify its defenses against the hostile bid. As Redmond-based Microsoft prepares to apply more ... pressure to its rival, Yahoo has responded by postponing the nomination of new members to its board. (Source: mercurynews.com ) In a statement released on March 5, Yahoo announced that it has amended its bylaws to extend the nominating process to elect directors to its board. Problem is, the company has given no fixed date to the end of this ... (view more)

After directing his company to sink $240 million into a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook last year, the company's iconic leader has personally abandoned the social networking site in favor of the more business oriented LinkedIn. As a company, Microsoft ... is still working with Facebook of course; however, Gates himself has decided to set aside his profile because of the massive amounts of friend requests he was receiving; no doubt his 'FB friends' were also driving him crazy with constant invitations for mindless applications, but that's another story. The LinkedIn community seems to be very ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced surprise price cuts to its Windows Vista operating system, in some cases slashing the cost almost by half. In the United States, the price will drop from $399 to $319 for the hi-spec Ultimate edition. The standard Home ... edition price is falling from $259 to $219. The price cuts vary in other countries, and the new prices will take effect once Service Pack 1, the first major update to Vista, is released. For emerging markets such as Russia and India, Microsoft is dropping its upgrade option, by which existing Windows users can get Vista for a reduced price. They've found ... (view more)

Microsoft is going OpenSource, sort of. On Thursday, the Redmond-based company announced that it would make key components of its application programming interfaces available online; over 30, 000 pages of documentation will be available detailing ... Windows client and server protocols. Before the announcement, software developers had to pay for access to the information, but now the company is hoping this move will make it easier for third-party software makers to ensure their programs will work smoothly on Windows operating systems. (Source: news.com ) Microsoft's decision is motivated in part ... (view more)