Microsoft

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer era has officially come to an end. The company's former chief executive officer, who stepped aside last year , has now announced that he will be resigning his position on Microsoft's board. Ballmer joined Microsoft more ... than thirty years ago, rising from the company's first business manager (hired by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates) to its chief executive in just under two decades. Ballmer was at Microsoft's helm for a number of important projects, including launches for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, the Xbox video game console ... (view more)

It appears Microsoft's August Patch Tuesday, which began rolling out last week, didn't quite go according to plan. In fact, the firm was recently forced to pull several updates after reports indicated that some users were experiencing severe system ... errors. This month's Patch Tuesday security updates addressed a total of 37 vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Office. Within days, it became apparent there was a problem; users reported that after the updates were downloaded and installed, they received the infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), which ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced plans to cut 18,000 jobs , or roughly 14 per cent of its total workforce, by June 2015. The bulk of the cuts will be in its phone unit Nokia, followed by firm's sales, marketing, and engineering divisions. The question is: ... will these job cuts help or hinder the company's growth? Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella says those affected by the cuts will be notified in the next six months. Microsoft is reportedly planning to offer affected employees generous severance and job transition packages worth an estimated $800 million. "The first step to ... (view more)

Market research firm Gartner says that Microsoft's Windows operating system (OS) will play a key role in reviving the struggling PC market in 2015. According to Gartner, Microsoft's termination of security support for Windows XP will be the key ... factor in that revival. There's no denying that the PC industry has been in a downward spiral for several years now. Back in April, one of Gartner's competitors, IDC, reported that quarterly PC shipments had fallen 4.4 per cent to 73.4 million. Businesses to Finally Ditch Windows XP, Gartner Predicts But Gartner says it now sees a light ... (view more)

A new report suggests that when it comes to Windows 8, consumers continue to be very hesitant about upgrading to Microsoft's latest operating system - even two years after its release. That has led some experts to suggest that there's no hope left ... for Windows 8, leaving Windows 9 to carry the slack (reportedly due in the spring of 2015). Windows 8 was released amid some controversy in the summer and fall of 2012. Perhaps the most debatable part of the operating system was its tile-based Metro user interface (now called "Modern"), which embraces touchscreen technology. It was part of ... (view more)

Microsoft is planning to release a slew of security fixes for Internet Explorer (IE) -- suggesting the web browser continues to face a torrent of security threats . Nevertheless, a recent study shows that Internet Explorer maintains a vice-like grip ... on the web browser market. Yesterday, Microsoft released a Security Bulletin Advance Notification for July 2014 , with plans to ship a total of six security updates to customers next Tuesday (July 8, 2014). The updates will patch security vulnerabilities present in every version of Internet Explorer and all supported editions of the Windows ... (view more)

Microsoft is drastically expanding the amount of cloud storage available to both its OneDrive users (formerly SkyDrive), and Office 365 software suite: from 7GB to 15GB, and from 25GB to 1TB respectively. The changes are likely made to increase ... awareness of Office 365, and slated to take effect some time next month. If you want to synchronize data across multiple devices for free, this is a great opportunity to experiment with cloud-based storage. Typical usage includes data backup and sharing documents or pictures. Microsoft OneDrive is available to the general public (for free), so long as ... (view more)

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates recently told Stanford University's graduating class to focus on more than amassing personal fortunes. It's an ironic statement for a man who, according to Forbes magazine, is worth an estimated $78.4 ... billion. Gates made his appeal on Sunday, June 15, in a commencement address before a crowd of 5,000 students departing one of America's most prestigious universities. Stanford University is one of the world's leading research universities known for both its entrepreneurial character and its relationship to Silicon Valley. Gates spoke ... (view more)

A special hack for the Window XP registry reportedly allows users of the aging operating system (OS) to access security updates -- even though Microsoft has officially stopped supporting the operating system as of April, 2014. The hack was first ... discovered last week. It 'tricks' Windows XP computers into believing they are running a special variant of the Windows XP operating system known as Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, which is often used for ATMs and cash registers. According to reports, Microsoft plans to support this unique off-shoot of Windows XP for another five years. Registry Hack ... (view more)

Earlier this week application analytics firm SoftWatch revealed a report which found that, at many businesses, workers rarely used the Microsoft Office software package . That prompted some experts to suggest companies move away from Office and ... instead use free business platforms, like Google Apps. Ditching Microsoft Too Costly, UK Official Says Now, the United Kingdom's Chief Information Officer (CIO) is defending the UK government's use of Microsoft products. In fact, Jos Creese says that the UK government has repeatedly explored the idea of abandoning Microsoft products, but always ... (view more)