Microsoft

With the back-to-school shopping season upon us, Microsoft is dropping the price of its Surface Pro tablet computer. The $100 price drop is less substantial than the $150 the firm knocked off its Surface RT tablet, but it should arouse interest in a ... device that has received better reviews than its cheaper counterpart. The Surface Pro launched early this year and several months after the Surface RT. Unlike the Surface RT, which runs Windows RT, the Surface Pro runs a full-blown version of Windows 8. That means Surface Pro users -- unlike their Surface RT counterparts -- can download apps from ... (view more)

Microsoft SkyDrive is no more. However, it's not a case of Microsoft phasing out its popular cloud storage service -- instead, the firm is simply being forced to rename it after losing a trademark case. British Sky Broadcasting (or BSkyB, as it's ... often called) originally filed suit against Microsoft in 2011. It argued that the "Sky" portion of its own name could easily be confused with Microsoft's SkyDrive . Therefore, BSkyB said Microsoft had infringed on its trademark. Microsoft fought the matter in the English High Court but lost the case in June 2013. Now, an appeal by the Redmond, ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed it generated $853 million in revenue selling its Surface tablet computer. Embarrassingly, that's less than the amount it recently wrote off in stock it no longer expects to sell at full price. The revelations come just days ... after company chief executive officer Steve Ballmer reportedly told staff "we built a few more [Surface] devices than we could sell." That appears to be an understatement, to say the least. This is the first time Microsoft has publicly discussed Surface sales in any detail. The information was made available through a filing with the Securities and ... (view more)

According to sources within Microsoft, the company's top executives are not happy with sales of devices running the firm's Windows 8 operating system. Recently, chief executive officer Steve Ballmer was very blunt in discussing problems affecting ... the Surface tablet computer. Two technology blogs -- The Verge and Neowin -- say they've learned from sources who attended a recent internal town hall event that Microsoft's top brass is very upset with sales of Windows 8-based devices. "We built a few more devices than we could sell," Ballmer reportedly said in reference to the Surface RT tablet ... (view more)

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates says he believes the Internet is phasing out the traditional college experience. According to Gates, in this new educational environment downloading lessons and lectures (just as one would download a ... song or movie) will replace attending in-person lectures. Future Students to Download Courses, Gates Suggests Gates made the prediction during his keynote address at Microsoft's recent Research Faculty Summit 2013. The change, which Gates called "profound," could result in students using the Internet to download lessons or even entire courses from ... (view more)

Microsoft's quarterly earnings report has resulted in the company's shares plummeting by 10 per cent. Investors appear to have been spooked by fourth quarter results that revealed a $900 million loss on the company's Surface tablet computer. Last ... week Microsoft slashed the price of its Surface RT tablet by $150, dropping that price from $499 to $349. Recent reports have suggested the firm has sold only a tiny portion of the devices it expected to sell, forcing it to take a loss in order to clear out existing stock. For Microsoft, Mobile Market A Tough Nut to Crack The stock plunge is the ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed that poor sales of its Surface RT tablet computer will cost it $900 million -- making a significant dent in the company's quarterly profits. Earlier this week Microsoft revealed price cuts across the full range of its Surface ... RT devices. That's the type of Surface running Windows RT, a special, slimmed-down version of Windows 8. Microsoft has now published its accounts for the three months ending in June and has included a $900 million writedown for Surface RT "inventory adjustments." (Source: cnet.com ) A writedown is where a company decides one of its assets -- in ... (view more)

New rumors suggest Microsoft is planning to develop its own touchscreen watch employing the 'Surface' brand used by the firm's first tablet computer . The watch would reportedly use a modified version of Microsoft's newest operating system (OS), ... Windows 8. The first rumors about a Microsoft smartwatch emerged earlier this year when The Wall Street Journal reported that the Redmond, Washington-based firm was working with Asian electronics suppliers to secure components for such a device. Surface Watch to Use Extremely Durable Materials Now, technology blog The Verge says it has learned that ... (view more)

First, Microsoft threw in a portable keyboard that previously cost over $100. Now, the firm is trying to persuade consumers to buy the Surface RT tablet computer by cutting the price by $150. The Surface is Microsoft's first tablet computer based on ... the Windows 8 operating system (OS). There are two versions -- the Surface RT, which runs the slimmed-down Windows RT OS, and the Surface Pro, which runs a full-fledged version of Windows 8. Surface RT's Limitations a Problem for Consumers As you might expect, the Surface RT is much cheaper -- roughly $500 compared to the Surface Pro's $1,000 ... (view more)

Microsoft is hoping to increase consumers' trust in its new Windows Store by unveiling a strict policy for uploaded apps. According to the firm, it will remove any applications that it finds may be vulnerable to hackers. Specifically, Microsoft says ... that any apps with critical security vulnerabilities will be placed on probation for 180 days (though Microsoft admits that this window could be extended in special cases). If the app's maker has not fixed the problem within that time period, Microsoft says it will remove the app from the Windows Store. (Source: windowsitpro.com ) In ... (view more)