Microsoft

Report: Microsoft Looks to Extend Yahoo Deal Beyond U.S.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 10:35am.
Tokyo - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) is looking to expanding its search partnership with Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) beyond the U.S., provided it is able to gain approval from antitrust regulators in other territories, CEO Steve Ballmer said on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Report: Apple Stores to Utilize iPod Touch as Checkout Scanner

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2009 - 12:31pm.
Los Angeles - Apple (NASD: AAPL) plans to switch from using Microsoft Windows-based computers to register customers' checkout transactions in its retail stores to using its own iPod touch, Apple Insider reported. The device will be used to scan barcodes and swipe credit cards, while customers will sign for credit card purchases right on the iPod touch's screen, using the Pogo stylus accessory.

Microsoft Opens First New Retail Store in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 23, 2009 - 10:44am.
Scottsdale, Ariz. - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) opened its first in a new line of retail stores in Scottsdale, Arizona on Thursday, which saw a line of around 500 people waiting for the official opening, Reuters reported. The company experimented with a retail store concept ten years ago with Sony at San Francisco's Metreon, but did not expand the initiative. The new line of retail stores, which carry Xbox 360 game consoles, Windows-powered laptops from Dell and HP, and the new Windows 7 operating system, among other items, will expand next to Orange County, Califorina.

Google to Include Real-time Twitter Data in Search Results

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 22, 2009 - 8:57am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Shortly after Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) announced a similar deal, Google (NASD: GOOG) yesterday said that it had signed a deal with Twitter, to include real-time status updates in its search results. "We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months," Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search products and user experience, wrote in a blog post.

Microsoft to Add Facebook, Twitter Data to Bing Search Results

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2009 - 8:54am.
San Francisco - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) announced on Wednesday that it has signed separate deals with Facebook and Twitter, to bring real-time status updates from the services to its Bing search engine. While financial terms of the nonexclusive agreements were not disclosed,  PaidContent cited earlier reports pegging Twitter's take as "several million dollars," in addition to a share of ad revenue.

Report: U.S. Game Sales Up 1%; Sony PS3 Leads for First Time

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2009 - 7:43am.
Port Washington, N.Y. - Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 for the first time ever led U.S. video game sales in September, which on the whole rose 1% from a year ago after several months of  decline, according to sales figures compiled by market research firm NPD Group. Overall sales were $1.28 billion in September; despite Sony's success, game hardware sales fell 6% from a year ago, to $472 million.

Report: Twitter in Talks with Microsoft, Google on Search Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 8, 2009 - 9:00am.
New York - Twitter is in "advanced" talks with both Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and Google (NASD: GOOG) to add Twitter results to their search services, All Things D reports. Compensation deals being discussed reportedly include an upfront payment of "several million dollars," "along with various revenue-sharing proposals that would give Twitter a piece of the revenue made from search results."

Paltalk Sues Multiplayer Game Publishers Over Chat Technology

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 18, 2009 - 10:35am.
New York - Paltalk, a provider of online chat and instant messaging technology, has filed patent infringement claims against a number of massively multiplayer online game publishers, alleging they are using its real-time messaging technology without licenses, Mass High Tech reported.

European Lobby, U.S. State AGs Oppose Google Book Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 18, 2009 - 9:53am.
Los Angeles - A Microsoft-sponsored (NASD: MSFT) lobby group in Europe has asked the European Commission to investigate antitrust concerns related to Google's (NASD: GOOG) proposed $125 million settlement with authors empowering it to create a digital books index, Reuters reported. ICOMP, whose members also include PR firm Burson-Marsteller, and the U.K's Premier League, Foundem and Double Jump Media, said in a statement that the settlement "is unacceptable in its present form as it violates the rights of copyright holders and authors and would lead to a de facto monopoly" in areas like search advertising.

Microsoft Introduces Zune HD Player

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 15, 2009 - 11:40am.
Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) on Tuesday released its Zune HD digital media player, which features a 3.3-inch touch screen and comes in 16GB ($220) and 32GB ($290) models. The device features an HD radio tuner, and can output full 720p resolution HD video when connected to a television. Wired.com's review notes that Microsoft has enabled Xbox users who purchase video content on the Xbox Live Marketplace to download a free mobile copy for their Zune, and vice versa. An application marketplace for the device is currently "very thinly populated," according to Wired.com, but Microsoft has promised Twitter and Facebook applications are coming soon.

Justice Dept. Seeks More Info on Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 14, 2009 - 8:45am.
Washington - The U.S. Justice Department has requested additional information from Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and Yahoo (NASD: YHOO), related to their proposed deal that would see Microsoft's Bing search engine power Yahoo search results and the two companies share advertising revenue. Both Microsoft and Yahoo confirmed for CNET News.com that they had received requests from additional information from the Justice Department, and that they would cooperate fully with the requests.

Report: U.S. Video Games Sales Sink for 6th Straight Month

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 11, 2009 - 7:03am.
Port Washington, N.Y. - U.S. video game sales slid for the six month in a row in August, down 16% from a year ago to $909 million, and are now down 14% year-to-date, according to sales data compiled by market research firm NPD Group. Hardware sales fell 25%, to $298 million, although NPD noted that all consoles except Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PS2 realized sales increases over July levels.

Microsoft, U.K. Retailer Tesco Team on 'Virtual DVD' Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 9, 2009 - 12:06pm.
London - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with U.K. retail chain Tesco on a new "Virtual DVD" service, that will allow Tesco customers who purchase DVD and Blu-ray movies to download a digital copy to their computers. The digital copies will have "a similar level of video quality, interactivity and bonus content" as the hard copy, in addition to network-connected features like auto-updated trailers, viewing parties with online chat, MP3s, ringtones and networked games.

Microsoft Discontinuing Current Models After Zune HD Release

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 12:02pm.
San Francisco - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) is discontinuing its current line of Zune media players as it releases the new Zune HD player, Wired.com reports. The new line of Zune HD players are slated to go on sale Sept. 15, sporting price tags of $220 (16GB) and $290 (32GB). Meanwhile, rival Apple is expected to update its own line of iPods at an event next week.

tags: Music | Microsoft | Zune | Zune HD |

Report: Xbox 360 Console Most Likely to Fail; Wii is Most Reliable

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 10:33am.
San Francisco - Microsoft's (NASD: MSFT) Xbox 360 consoles fail at a rate of 23.7% during their first two years of use, compared with a failure rate of 10% for Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 and just 2.7% for Nintendo's Wii, according to a survey of 16,000 failed consoles conducted by warranty provider Square Trade.

Sony to Support Google in Settlement with Authors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 31, 2009 - 7:32am.
New York - Sony (NYSE: SNE) intends to file a brief supporting Google's (NASD: GOOG) position in its landmark settlement with authors, over the use of copyrighted works in its massive book-scanning project, Wired.com reported.

Report: U.S. Breaks Web Video Viewing Records in July

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 28, 2009 - 10:12am.
Reston, Va. - Over 158 million U.S. Internet users watched online videos during July -- the largest audience ever recorded -- and streamed a record 21.4 billion videos during the month, according to a report from Internet audience measurement firm comScore.

Microsoft Knocks $100 Off Price of Xbox 360 Elite

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 27, 2009 - 8:11am.
Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) on Thursday announced plans to drop the price of its Xbox 360 video game consoles, knocking $100 off the cost of its 120GB Elite model, which will now sell for $300.

Microsoft's Bing to Use Wolfram Alpha Search Content

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 21, 2009 - 12:04pm.
San Francisco - Microsoft's (NASD: MSFT) Bing search engine has struck a deal with science-focused search start-up Wolfram Alpha, which will see Bing display some of the newcomer's content, TechCrunch reported. It's unclear how Wolfram's data will be integrated with Bing, although TechCrunch speculated that Microsoft could create a science category with Wolfram content on Bing, which separates and presents results according to categories.

Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo to Oppose Google Book Settlement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 21, 2009 - 10:03am.
San Francisco - Google's (NASD: GOOG) proposed settlement with authors that would create a massive online database of many of the world's books will see new opposition from the likes of Internet heavyweights Amazon (NASD: AMZN), Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and Yahoo (NASD: YHOO), The New York Times reported. The companies plan to join the Open Book Alliance, a group that includes the Internet Archive, which is expected to ask the court to block the settlement on the grounds it is anticompetitive.