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Microsoft slams Google user data policy in new ads (AP)
AP - Microsoft Corp. slammed search rival Google Inc. with full-page newspaper ads Wednesday, saying that recent changes at Google that allow it to internally merge the data it collects on user activity across services such as YouTube and Gmail are meant to allow advertisers to better target customers.more
Microsoft cuts about 200 marketing employees (AP)
AP - Microsoft Corp. said it laid off some of its marketing staff on Wednesday as part of an effort to restructure its operations.more
Microsoft Begins Private Preview of Office 15 (Mashable)
Mashable - Microsoft says it's started a private preview program of the next version of Office to a "select group" of customers. Going far beyond just refining and enhancing existing applications, the next version of Microsoft Office, codenamed "Office 15," will unite the software suite with the company's cloud and mobile platforms. Announcing the move in a blog post, Microsoft says this is the first time the next version of Office will be seen by anyone outside the company, though it didn't identify any of its partners for the technical preview and mentions that they're all bound by non-disclosure agreements. Microsoft says its sales team nominated the participants, and they represent a broad range of industries and customer profiles.more
Kinect technology is heading to laptops (Digital Trends)
Digital Trends - According to a recent report from The Daily, Microsoft is working manufacturers third-party manufacturers on prototypes of laptops utilizing a built-in Kinect sensor. Microsoft has already discussed desktops that include Kinect functions while at CES this year, but this is the first mention of the motion controller in a portable solution. The prototypes appeared to be ASUS netbooks and they were running Windows 8, likely to use motion navigation within the metro style version of the operating system.more
Yahoo's income drops 5 pct during fourth quarter (Digital Trends)
Digital Trends - Although many earnings announcements may have been lost in the wake of Apple’s $46.3 billion quarter, struggling Internet giant Yahoo also posted its earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2011—and they weren’t nearly so rosey. The good news is that Yahoo managed to earn some $312 million during the quarter; the bad news is that figure is a five percent decrease from the same period in 2010. Although income from operations increased a bit year over year, Yahoo attributed the overall decline in revenue from decreasing revenues garnered from its search agreement with Microsoft. Measured by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Yahoo’s revenue for the quarter was $1.32 billion, and its revenue for the year some $4.98 billion—and that full-year figure represents a 21 percent decline compared to 2010.more
Microsoft's New Xbox 720 Will Be 6x More Powerful [REPORT] (Mashable)
Mashable - "More power!" You can imagine Steve Ballmer yelling it through Microsoft's halls but that's exactly what is happening with the Xbox 720, according to reports from IGN.more
Core suppliers savor bigger Apple pie (Reuters)
Reuters - Suppliers basked in the reflection of Apple's glowing results on Wednesday after the company's gold standard iPhones and iPads flew off the shelves over the holiday sales season.more
Will Microsoft Points be replaced with real-world currency? (Digital Trends)
Digital Trends - If you’re tired of trying to figure out the exchange rate between U.S. dollars and Microsoft Points, a new rumor making the rounds should give you hope.more
Microsoft announces the Arcade House Party lineup for XBL (Digital Trends)
Digital Trends - One day, years from now, we will be cleaning out our garage/attic/underwater pods (it could happen…), and discover an old game on a disc. We may then call the kids down to gaze in wonder at the relic in our hands, before throwing it in the trash and laughing about how quaint we used to be.more
Summary Box: IBM and Microsoft power Dow's rise (AP)
AP - EARNINGS: IBM and Microsoft drove the Dow Jones industrial average higher Friday after the tech giants reported stronger earnings than analysts expected.more
Microsoft and IBM push Dow up, Google falls (AP)
AP - IBM and Microsoft drove the Dow Jones industrial average higher Friday after the tech giants reported stronger earnings than analysts expected.
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Microsoft says it will fix Xbox color and streaming resolution issues - but not when (Digital Trends)
Digital Trends - Xbox recently upgraded its dashboard, adopting Windows metro style UI. It was a necessary change, as Microsoft needs to align its products with its operating system. However there were early complaints that post-upgrade, users were seeing inaccurate colors and poor HD streaming quality.more
Microsoft's Windows battles slack PC sales (Reuters)
Reuters - Microsoft Corp's fiscal second-quarter profit fell very slightly as lagging computer sales to cash-strapped consumers in the United States and Europe hurt its core Windows business.
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Microsoft 2Q beats Street despite soft PC market (AP)
AP - Microsoft Corp. battled through a weak PC market to post flat earnings in the final quarter of 2011, boosting sales of servers, Xbox games and its Office productivity software while trimming losses at its Bing search engine.
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Microsoft requiring Secure Boot for ARM devices, hamstringing Linux (Digital Trends)
Digital Trends - As Windows 8 gets closer to reality, more details of Microsoft’s make-it-or-break-it effort to translate its desktop computing success to ARM-driven tablets are emerging. First, Microsoft revealed that ARM-based Windows 8 devices won”t be able to run legacy Windows software—it’ll be the Metro way, or the highway. Now, Microsoft’s Windows 8 hardware certification requirements reveal another restriction: Microsoft plans to require ARM-based Windows 8 devices use UEFI secure booting technology, dubbed Secure Boot. Although the requirement is likely intended to protect consumers from firmware attacks and prevent so-called jailbreaks of ARM-based Windows 8 tablets, it will also make it difficult or impossible for owners to use the hardware with non-Windows operating systems, like Linux.more
Wintel tablets may cost $600+ because Microsoft and Intel are unwilling to take a pay cut (Digital Trends)
Digital Trends - Have you ever wondered why your PC is so expensive? Well, a good portion of that cash goes straight into the pockets of Intel for its processors and Microsoft for Windows. Unfortunately, while the market has seen that the days of expensive PCs are over, executives at Microsoft and Intel may fight to retain high PC prices as we move into the next era of the PC: tablets.more
Skype still only "coming soon" for Windows Phone 7, despite Microsoft ownership (Digital Trends)
Digital Trends - You could be forgiven for thinking that a Skype app was already be available for Windows Phone 7 devices, given that not only is it very popular, but also as the company is now owned by Microsoft. However, you’d be wrong, and a search of the Windows Marketplace still reveals nothing officially related to the VoIP service at all.more
Steve Ballmer's Glide Path to Normal (The Atlantic Wire)
The Atlantic Wire - Related: Hedge Fund Billionaire Wants Microsoft's Steve Ballmer Cannedmore
Microsoft adds LG to list of Android, Chrome licensees (Digital Trends)
Digital Trends - Software giant Microsoft announced today that it has executed a deal with South Korea’s LG Electronics that has LG paying royalties to Microsoft for it’s use of Google’s Android mobile operating system and Chrome OS, in exchange for immunity from litigation in the event Microsoft ever decides to sue Google for patent infringement. Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed, but Microsoft proudly trumpets that the deal now means that Microsoft is now being paid a royalty on 70 percent of Android smartphones on sale in the United States.more
LG the latest Android device maker to forge licensing deal with Microsoft (Appolicious)
Appolicious - LG is the latest to get locked-in to a licensing deal with Microsoft for Android or Chrome OS devices, including tablets and smartphones. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, but as we know from other licensing agreements, Microsoft could be receiving upwards of $5 per Android device in royalties from OEMs. This marks the eleventh such agreement between Microsoft and an Android device maker; other licensing deals were struck with Acer, Samsung and HTC.more