Microsoft

There are reports that Microsoft is about to hand out an ultra-portable computer running Windows 8 and containing a quad-core processor. If true, it could serve as a very effective way of promoting the new system on portable devices. The rumors ... center on BUILD, a Microsoft event that takes place in California in September designed to help both hardware and software developers work better with Windows. The event also serves as a source of feedback for Microsoft about how it could improve the operating system (OS), including those still in development. This year's event is going to be built ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 8 will include support for a smartphone-like "app store". But it's not yet clear what the implications will be for app developers. The app store is simply a central marketplace through which users can purchase ... software and then have it automatically installed on a device like a PC. The term app store was made popular on smartphones, most notably the Apple iPhone. (Source: sfgate.com ) Although leaked screenshots of Windows 8 suggested such a feature was on the way, Microsoft has now all but made that certain. It's published a list of the teams it has ... (view more)

The PC is 30 years old this month. But IBM, the company that established the system, believes the PC will soon be outdated. Until 1981, the "personal computer" was simply another term, like microcomputer, for any machine that was small enough and ... cheap enough that consumers could own one at home rather than it being a purely business tool. At the time, there were many different architectures for computers, meaning rival models weren't just different in design, but were largely incompatible. IBM's 5150 machine, however, changed all that. Also known as the IBM Personal Computer, the ... (view more)

Microsoft's August Patch Tuesday will be relatively moderate, though it does address 22 flaws. According to Microsoft, 13 of the patches addressed in August Patch Tuesday will address 22 flaws in a number of different programs, including Windows, ... Internet Explorer (IE), Visio and Visual Studio. Compared to last month's Patch Tuesday , the one set for release next Tuesday (August 9th) is only slightly larger: there are more patches offered, but the number of vulnerabilities remains the same. The number of fixes released this month is somewhat unusual as historically, Microsoft doles out fixes ... (view more)

A recent study suggested that Internet Explorer user IQs are lower than those who do not use Internet Explorer. Now, those responsible for the post are informing the public that everything from the results of the study to the company itself (called ... "AptiQuant") was a hoax. The report went viral in large part due to the attractive headline used to describe the report: "Is Internet Explorer for the Dumb? A New Study Suggests Exactly That." The news should provide some semblance of relief for Microsoft as the results of the fake study claimed that users of the aging Internet Explorer 6 browser ... (view more)

Microsoft's online services division, which includes the Bing search engine, has lost more than $2.5 billion in the past year. But the company is continuing to fight to attract search users by adding special features for mobile users. In its press ... release covering financial performance, Microsoft proudly announces that revenue from the online services edition grew by 17 per cent in the last three months of the year, and 15 per cent over the year as a whole. Bing Revenue Still Far Below Expenses Unfortunately, what it doesn't mention in the main release, but is detailed in the full financial ... (view more)

For the first time in years, Microsoft's Windows XP operating system has sunk below a majority share of the operating system market. The report comes just as a new study finds that Microsoft Internet Explorer users are slightly less savvy than users ... of other web browsers. According to Microsoft, Windows XP is now used by 49.84 per cent of all Internet users world-wide. Although the operating system (OS) is still the most widely-used system in the world, that percentage of the total market represents its lowest point in several years. Luckily for Microsoft, the damage hasn't been done by ... (view more)

Fact: Houses get cold in the winter months. Fact: The exhaust from a rack of cloud servers carries an average temperature between 104-122F. Microsoft is proposing that the racks (called "Data Furnaces") would be hot enough to replace the entire ... heating system of a home or office. Internet properties like Facebook and Google have already come up with large-scale solutions to combat unwanted exhaust, pumping steady streams of hot air into the skies of chilly cities around the U.S. But this act serves to rid the surrounding area of this waste without putting it to good use as Microsoft has since ... (view more)

Less than three months after its initial launch, Microsoft has partnered with Gigwalk, a mobile phone application that allows different brands to post odd jobs (called "gigs"). Ironically, Microsoft will soon offer financial compensation to those ... who tackle gigs on behalf of their Bing search engine, and since the app is currently available exclusively on the Apple iPhone, Microsoft is actually paying rival consumers to complete these odd jobs. The Bing search engine will soon add photographs to its map results, so Microsoft will need people living in select metropolitan cities to snap ... (view more)

Microsoft has posted record sales for fiscal year 2011 based on strong showings for its Office software suite, server programs, and Xbox 360 video game console. It's a somewhat surprising result, given that Windows sales had actually started to ... decline. According to reports, for the fiscal year ending in June Microsoft amassed $69.4 billion in total revenue, a record high and an increase of 12 per cent compared to fiscal year 2010. Of the total, approximately $23 billion was net income, also a substantial increase (23 per cent) from last year. (Source: computerworld.com ) Net Income ... (view more)