Microsoft Archive

The Inside Story of How Microsoft Killed its Courier Tablet

Thom Holwerda 2011-11-01 Microsoft 44 Comments

"Steve Ballmer had a dilemma. He had two groups at Microsoft pursuing competing visions for tablet computers. One group, led by Xbox godfather J Allard, was pushing for a sleek, two-screen tablet called the Courier that users controlled with their finger or a pen. But it had a problem: it was running a modified version of Windows. That ran headlong into the vision of tablet computing laid out by Steven Sinofsky, the head of Microsoft's Windows division. Sinofsky was wary of any product - let alone one from inside Microsoft's walls - that threatened the foundation of Microsoft's flagship operating system. But Sinofsky's tablet-friendly version of Windows was more than two years away." I'm still mad at Microsoft for this one.

Microsoft Praises Its Own Patent Troll Behaviour

Thom Holwerda 2011-10-23 Microsoft 68 Comments

I'll just link to this. Microsoft chest-thumping about being a patent troll.

Microsoft Patent Covers Streaming OS Plans

David Adams 2011-08-17 Microsoft 6 Comments

Though the patent has only surfaced now, Microsoft has been working on this concept for quite some time. As far back as 2009 similar systems have been discussed on various Microsoft blogs. There was also the Midori OS project that had bloggers buzzing about its post-Windows potential and integration with Microsoft's cloud platform, Azure. Steve Ballmer himself has called Windows 8 Microsoft's riskiest bet yet -- could this streaming tech make make an appearance in the upcoming OS?

Microsoft Downgrades Linux To Threat Level Green

David Adams 2011-08-12 Microsoft 55 Comments

Microsoft no longer thinks Linux poses a threat to its desktop Windows business. Directions on Microsoft's Wes Miller pointed out via Twitter how Microsoft has changed the boilerplate "Competition" section in its last two annual financial filings with the SEC.

Microsoft Posts Record Quarterly Results

Thom Holwerda 2011-07-21 Microsoft 10 Comments

"Microsoft Corp. today announced record fourth-quarter revenue of $17.37 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, an 8% increase from the same period of the prior year. Operating income, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $6.17 billion, $5.87 billion, and $0.69 per share, which represented increases of 4%, 30%, and 35%, respectively, when compared with the prior year period. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, Microsoft reported record revenue of $69.94 billion, a 12% increase from the prior year. Operating income, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the year were $27.16 billion, $23.15 billion, and $2.69, which represented increases of 13%, 23%, and 28%, respectively, when compared with the prior year."

Why Microsoft’s ‘Cloud Bribes’ Are the Right Idea

Guest post by Jennimc 2011-07-13 Microsoft 12 Comments

"InfoWorld's Woody Leonhard uncovered the fact that Microsoft is paying some organizations to adopt its Office 365 cloud service, mostly in funds that Microsoft earmarks for their customers' migration costs and other required consulting. Although this raised the eyebrows of some bloggers - and I'm sure Google wasn't thrilled - I think this is both smart and ethical. Here's why."

Microsoft, ETH Zurich Publish Barrelfish’s Source Code

Submitted by moondevil 2011-07-10 Microsoft 37 Comments

"The Microsoft and ETH Zurich research teams have published the source code of Barrelfish, a multikernel operating system for the multicore heterogeneous hardware of the future. Today's operating systems have been adapted to work on multiprocessor and multicore hardware, but they were not initially designed with multicore in mind, and they are not ready for heterogeneous hardware with hundreds of cores that is to come in the following ten years. The main problem is the concept of shared-memory and the contention arising from accessing the same data protected by locks. This is the problem that Barrelfish wants to address."

Microsoft Demands $15 for Every Samsung Android Phone Sold

Thom Holwerda 2011-07-06 Microsoft 172 Comments

Well, paint me red and call me a girl scout, I totally did not see this one coming at all. This is so utterly surprising it made my brain explode. Hold on to your panties, because this will rock your world. After pressuring several smaller Android vendors into submission (and yes, HTC is still relatively small compared to other players), Microsoft is now moving on to the big one: Redmond is demanding $15 for every Samsung Android device sold. Samsung's choices are simple: pay up, or face another epic lawsuit.

Microsoft’s Extortion Campaign Against Android, ChromeOS

Thom Holwerda 2011-07-05 Microsoft 164 Comments

"One of Microsoft's hottest new profit centers is a smartphone platform you've definitely heard of: Android. Google's Linux-based mobile operating system is a favorite target for Microsoft's patent attorneys, who are suing numerous Android vendors and just today announced that another manufacturer has agreed to write checks to Microsoft every time it ships an Android device. Microsoft's latest target is Wistron Corp., which has signed a patent agreement 'that provides broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for Wistron's tablets, mobile phones, e-readers and other consumer devices running the Android or Chrome platform', Microsoft announced." That's the reality we live in, folks. This is at least as criminal - if not more so - than Microsoft's monopoly abuse late last century. After the Nortel crap, it's completely left the black helicopter camp for me: Microsoft, Apple, and several others are working together to fight Android the only way they know how: with underhand mafia tactics. Absolutely sickening. Hey Anonymous, are you listening? YES I WENT THERE.

Microsoft to Partner with China’s Leading Search Engine

Thom Holwerda 2011-07-04 Microsoft 9 Comments

"A year and a half after Google pulled its popular search engine out of mainland China, partly over concerns about censorship, its rival Microsoft has struck a deal with the biggest Chinese search engine, Baidu.com, to offer Web search services in English. Baidu, previously primarily a Chinese-language search engine, made the announcement Monday afternoon, saying Microsoft's search engine, Bing, was expected to appear on Baidu's Web pages by the end of this year."

Microsoft Has Acquisition Deal with Nvidia

Guest post by timl 2011-06-05 Microsoft 30 Comments

"Microsoft and Nvidia have an agreement in place that spells out terms relating to a possible acquisition of the graphics and mobile processor manufacturer, regulatory documents indicate. The deal gives Microsoft the exclusive right to match any offer for 30% or more of Nvidia's outstanding shares by a third-party." The agreement appears to be over 10 years old, dating back to the time of the contract for the GPU of the original X-Box. It has likely gained relevance again now that Microsoft allegedly wants to more closely control hardware of tablets running its upcoming Windows 8 OS.

Microsoft Earns More from Android than Windows Phone 7

Submitted by teigetje 2011-05-29 Microsoft 79 Comments

It turns out that a lot of people haven't been paying attention. Over the weekend, a story about how Microsoft is earning more from HTC's Android devices than from its own Windows Phone 7 sales spread all across the web, with surprised reactions everywhere. Anyone who has been paying attention to Microsoft's recent patent trolling regarding Android could've seen this coming.

The Ballmer Days Are Over

David Adams 2011-05-13 Microsoft 73 Comments

In business school the first thing they teach you about CEOs is: it is the CEO’s job to increase the shareholder value of the company. Since taking the position Ballmer has decreased shareholder value, as reflected by stock price, by -56.63%. That. Is. Not. Good . . . Microsoft should be searching for a new CEO right now.

Microsoft To Acquire Skype for $8.5 Billion

Submitted by porcel 2011-05-10 Microsoft 103 Comments

So, the biggest acquisition in Microsoft's history. The Wall Street Journal reports - and it has been confirmed - that Microsoft and Skype will announce today that Redmond will buy Skype for $8.5 billion. That's a lot of money for a company that hasn't ever actually made any profits. Update: and it's official: yay on Skype on the Xbox360 and Windows Phone, and this: "Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms." Let's hope this includes Linux.

Microsoft Drawbridge: OS Modularity

Guest post by Dan Massameno 2011-05-04 Microsoft 31 Comments

Microsoft has released new details on an experimental operating system concept named Drawbridge. In early March Microsoft researchers presented a paper entitled Rethinking the Library OS from the Top Down. The paper describes a new interaction between a user-level application and its OS. The paper can be found at the ACM Digital Library . It describes an ambitious plan to separate the traditional API parts of an OS from the underlying kernel of the OS. But a full analysis requires some background.

Microsoft Makes Portable Anti-Virus Tool Available

Guest post by fran 2011-04-20 Microsoft 11 Comments

"Microsoft has released its free Microsoft Safety Scanner. This scans for and removes malware from Windows systems without requiring prior installation. According to AV-Test's Andreas Marx, the on-demand anti-virus scanner appears to be based on the Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT), but with the addition of a complete signature database. MSRT used a mini database of widely distributed threats and is distributed monthly via the automatic update function."

Microsoft Files Antitrust Complaint About Google

Thom Holwerda 2011-03-31 Microsoft 39 Comments

Oh irony, thy silver thorn strikes like the moonlight through my delicate skin. While this complaint could actually hold merit, the fact it's coming from Microsoft lessens its validity somewhat. Redmond has just filed an antitrust complaint about Google in Europe.

Microsoft Announces Kinect for Windows SDK

Thom Holwerda 2011-02-21 Microsoft 22 Comments

Microsoft's Kinect is awesome. Not because of the stupid minigames you can play with it on your Xbox360, but because of all the cool stuff hackers have been able to do with it. As entirely predicted, Microsoft has announced today that it will launch an official Kinect SDK for Windows. The device was already purposefully easy to hack, but official support is always a boon.

Microsoft Announces Q2 Financial Results

Thom Holwerda 2011-01-27 Microsoft 7 Comments

"Microsoft today announced record second-quarter revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010. Operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $8.17 billion, $6.63 billion and $0.77 per share, respectively."

Microsoft Research: a Year of Accomplishment

Submitted by poundsmack 2010-12-23 Microsoft 28 Comments

"From its inception in 1991, Microsoft Research has hewed to a remarkably unwavering mission. Its tenets are threefold: to invest in basic research to advance the state of the art in computer science, to transfer technologies into Microsoft products when appropriate, and to collaborate openly with the scientific community. The year 2010 has not varied from this established, successful tradition. But unlike 1991, when Microsoft Research was in its nascent stage, the organization is now fully mature, has grown into a worldwide presence, and has gained eminence as that modern-day rarity: an industrial research unit dedicated to pursuing pure research, in dozens of areas, that is helping to transform the future. Such a track record, naturally, has its own rewards. It's little surprise, then, that a review of Microsoft Research's 2010 highlights are bookended by a pair of illustrious awards, with others - including the biggest - sprinkled throughout the year."