Microsoft

As Research in Motion (RIM) stock continues its free-fall, speculation about a possible acquisition of the Canadian company by Microsoft persists. RIM insists it remains a profitable firm; however, recent criticisms of the company's strategy have ... experts wondering if the firm needs a little help moving forward. "RIM's business is profitable and remains solid overall with growing market share in numerous markets around the world and a strong balance sheet with almost $3 billion in cash," said Jim Balsillie, RIM's co-CEO, in a recent presentation. "We believe that with the new products ... (view more)

A Microsoft executive has hinted that Windows 8 could be released next fall. But it's not clear if the comments are based on genuine insider information or if they merely represent speculation. The comments came from Dan'l Lewin, a corporate vice ... president responsible for Microsoft's relationships with other businesses, both major firms and start-up companies. Regarding the Windows timescale he said, " ... if you look at the crystal ball and just say what happened in the past is a reasonable indicator of what our forward looking timelines will be .... we've made the point about having a ... (view more)

Mike Delman, Microsoft VP of Global Marketing for Interactive Entertainment Business, recently revealed to the Seattle Times that Xbox Live will soon be integrated with Windows 8, making it available to users via PC for the first time. The Xbox Live ... offering for PCs falls in line with Microsoft's new plan to begin live television , expected to make its way to Xbox 360 consoles this fall. "Live has been successful on the Windows Phone and Live will be built into the PC. It will be the service where you get your entertainment," said Delman. (Source: latimes.com ) Billions of Entertainment Hours ... (view more)

Microsoft is joining Seattle-based Boeing in pledging $50 million to help send Washington State students to a local college or university. The program, which was both authorized and partially funded by the state, will provide 10,000/$1,000 ... scholarships, starting this December. The new initiative, which is being called Opportunity Scholarship, is a response to steadily rising tuition rates in the Pacific Northwest state. Not long ago the Washington State Legislature slashed $500 million of funding to various colleges and universities, cuts that have made their way down the chain to students. ... (view more)

According to a new report, Microsoft Security Essentials has been downloaded 30 million times and is ranked as one of the most widely-used, free antivirus programs for Windows. The report comes from OPSWAT, a San Francisco-based software security ... firm. In the study, 43,000 computer users were surveyed. Of those surveyed, just under 11 per cent were running Microsoft Security Essentials free antivirus software. Coming in second place was Avira Antivir Personal at 10.18 per cent, followed by AVAST! Free antivirus at 8.66 per cent. (Source: planetinsane.com ) The report, however, is not without ... (view more)

Last week the Supreme Court put an end to Microsoft's long-running attempt to avoid paying a hefty $290 million decision over its use of XML technology found in Microsoft Word, which also affects the Microsoft Office Suite. The court ruling marks ... the end of a long journey for the Redmond-based software giant, which has been trying desperately to overturn the decision since last year . (Source: reuters.com ) This decision is said to have a major impact on future cases involving similar conflicts. Microsoft Supported by Apple, Google Surprisingly, both Apple and Google supported Microsoft in ... (view more)

Microsoft plans to release a heavy Patch Tuesday, with 16 security updates addressing a total of 34 different vulnerabilities in Windows, the Internet Explorer web browser, Office software, SQL Server and various other products. The patches will ... begin to roll out starting June 14, 2011 via Windows Updates. Andrew Storms, nCircle Security director of security operations, says he isn't surprised by the weight of this month's Patch Tuesday. "It's the usual mishmash for an even-numbered month," Storms said. "But to some degree, we expected a big month. And they stayed true to form." (Source: ... (view more)

It's rumored Microsoft may soon launch its own iPad-style tablet device. The gadget would run Windows 8 and be specifically marketed as a Microsoft machine. Such a measure would be a major change in Microsoft's business strategy. In the past it has ... steered clear of producing its own computers, the polar opposite of Apple's strategy of having a monopoly on its hardware and software. According to Digitimes, a Taiwan-based technology newspaper, the device would be made in association with Texas Instruments and hardware manufacturers based in Taiwan. Their report is based on sources from the " ... (view more)

It's rumored that Microsoft will unveil a subscription-based TV service for its Xbox 360 video game console at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at Los Angeles' Convention Center. Word of the possible unveiling comes from Winrumors, ... which suggests that Microsoft is currently in last-minute discussions to secure critical agreements giving the TV service its go-ahead. It's believed the subscription service would be called Xbox LIVE Diamond and would act like a "virtual cable operator." (Source: pcworld.com ) Diamond Offers Remain Unclear It's unclear precisely what that means, but ... (view more)

Some third-party developers have expressed concern with what they see as a lack of direction on the part of Microsoft in designing Windows 8. Many feel it's not clear how applications will be developed for the upcoming operating system. Current ... Windows software developers are most concerned with a new web standards-based development platform Microsoft says it will deploy for Windows 8. Rumors suggest that the main focus will be on HTML 5 and JavaScript because these languages are platform independent, meaning that it can run on virtually any hardware or operating system. "The new [ ... (view more)