Microsoft

Yahoo is expected to reject Microsoft's $44.6 billion takeover bid today, believing the offer seriously undervalues the company. But analysts believe Microsoft will not give up easily, and may increase the $31-per-share offer that it proposed ... earlier. Other strategies include a direct offer to shareholders, or an attempt to overthrow Yahoo's board of directors. In the increasing war for online advertising, Microsoft is looking to purchase Yahoo to gain a competitive advantage against dominant ad provider, Google. (Source: nytimes.com ) For its part Yahoo seems willing to stave off Microsoft's ... (view more)

Microsoft researchers are working on ways to make web advertising even smarter. They want to teach computers to do a more accurate job of targeting ads, by specifying which to put into video clips, and those for more specific users. They ... demonstrated the techniques at their headquarters this week. The timing may be an intentional effort to boost their bid for Yahoo which, if successful, would make Microsoft the second biggest Internet ad seller behind Google. (Source: informationweek.com ) The demonstration included a 'dashboard' which advertisers can use to predict how well particular ... (view more)

Microsoft is hoping that its acquisition of Yahoo will help it gain ground on the advertising and search front, and adding Yahoo's 500 million users to its base. But assuming that Jerry Yang and Co. yield to the Redmond giant, will it be enough? The ... New York Times recently ran a picture depicting the Microsoft and Google as two large sharks consuming everything in their path: aQuantive, DoubleClick, and MultiMap. Then there are the smaller exclusivity agreements with prominent tech companies such as The Wall Street Journal and Facebook for Microsoft, and Google's deals with MySpace, Fox, and ... (view more)

In a move that could change the pecking order of the Internet search and advertising marketplace, Microsoft has made an unsolicited bid to purchase ailing Yahoo. In a letter sent to Yahoo's board of directors, Microsoft offered $44.6 billion in cash ... and stock for the troubled company; what's more, it has also been revealed that Microsoft explored an offer a year previous only to be rebuffed by Yahoo because of their confidence in the operational changes they were making at the time. (Source: cnn.com ) The last year, however, has been difficult for Yahoo. Their new ad delivery platform was ... (view more)

Rumor has it the first service pack update for Windows Vista will be out on 15 February. A 'service pack' is a single download produced by Microsoft to fix many different problems and add general improvements to a version of its Windows operating ... system. Microsoft have so far only confirmed that the update will be out in the current quarter (by the end of March). It's thought Microsoft may be confident about releasing Service Pack 1 early because a test version, which users download at their discretion from the company website, has proven successful. The official service pack releases ... (view more)

Microsoft is currently experimenting with one of their first "technovations" of 2008 which, if successful, could forever change the way we go about our grocery shopping. The new device is a technologically advanced console that assists customers in ... finding various items on their shopping list. The consumer can also use their cart-mounted device to scan the products as they lift them off the shelves and place them into the cart. With the push of a button, the consumer can also pay for their groceries directly on the cart itself. (Source: yahoo.com ) These new "smart" carts have been one of ... (view more)

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That seems to be the attitude of Microsoft now that Warner Bros has decided to back Sony's Blu-ray in the high definition movie format war. Although the Redmond-based company once stood firmly behind Toshiba's rival ... HD-DVD, things appear to be changing very quickly in the Pacific northwest. For those who haven't heard, Warner Bros recently dealt Blu-ray a pair of aces ('bullets') in the high stakes game for next generation's movie format. By turning its nose up at HD-DVD, Warner may have finally put the final nail in Toshiba's coffin; although the tech company ... (view more)

While in Las Vegas this past weekend, Gates boasted that Microsoft has served more than 100 million copies of Windows Vista since the OS was launched to consumers last January. At first 100 million sounds impressive, but in fact it indicates that ... Microsoft's once dominant grip on the operating system is loosening. Based on what Gates said, Windows Vista was only on 39% of PCs that shipped in 2007. Statements at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) by Bill Gates this week show that Windows Vista is proving far less popular with new PC buyers than Windows XP did during its first year in the ... (view more)

Having etched his own place in tech history, Bill Gates' 'swan song' is now playing at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The famous (and to some, infamous) Microsoft leader gave his final speech to the media Sunday night at the Venetian ... Hotel's Palazzo Ballroom. Ending a dominant legacy that to some was marked my monopoly more than success, Gates' address took time to both look back at his own history and the future of a company he made the most powerful in the world. With the former cutesy McDonald's tune "Do You Believe in Magic" thumping from speakers, Gates and his executives ... (view more)

CNET has an interesting article article praising the release of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), encouraging Windows Vista users to upgrade to Windows XP. In comparing Windows Vista to utter "crap," the report details what a substantial and ... extremely helpful upgrade Windows XP SP3 is -- going so far as to exclaim that it creates the best windows experience the author has ever had. Windows Vista still receives, for the most part, a lukewarm reception from consumers, even less from businesses. Windows Vista SP1 will be released early this year in hopes of gaining a greater customer base, but ... (view more)