http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/msn/ en-us Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:27:46 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2372172/posts After King County Superior Court Judge Gregory Canova awarded Microsoft an $8.7 million judgment in a 2008 lawsuit involving unpaid software licenses, he might have been surprised to learn that Microsoft isn’t actually in the software licensing business in Washington – or at least that’s what it reports to the state Department of Revenue. For tax purposes, Microsoft reports that it’s earned its estimated $143 billion in software licensing revenue in Nevada, where there is no licensing tax. However, for legal purposes, Microsoft executes its licensing contracts so they are governed by and rely on the protections of Washington law... Jeff Reifman http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2372172/posts#comment Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:27:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2369890/posts I think the saying goes that those that don’t learn from history are destined to repeat it. This is likely to point with Apple this month as they sit stunned that Windows 7 is doing so well and they are left looking foolish with products priced out of the segment. Their big news this week was a couple of PCs, a new keyboard and a multi-touch mouse. This last will likely go down in history as one of the lamest devices yet as they should know, given the iPhone, that touch is connected to the screen and not anything else.... TGDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2369890/posts#comment Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:16:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2367992/posts Computer Weekly, in association with ResearchNow Business, surveyed 500 users to discover which web browser they use at work and at home. Over half of the panellists predicted IE 8+ was the browser that they will be using by the end of 2010, both personally and for their business. Computer Weekly http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2367992/posts#comment Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:54:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2356326/posts OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Microsoft Corp. has donated $100,000 to the campaign supporting more partnership rights for Washington state gay couples. That's the largest single donation in favor of Referendum 71, which asks voters to approve or reject a new law that expands domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian couples. Seattle PI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2356326/posts#comment Tue, 6 Oct 2009 23:53:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2354889/posts Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows 7 computer operating system hopes to pull off a major trick with memory. Not computer memory, but ours. It's supposed to make us forget Vista. The Vista operating system, which Windows 7 will officially replace later this month, had a terrible reputation almost from the time it debuted in 2007. Because of Vista's technical foibles, sluggish operation and inability to play nicely with some other programs, consumers and professionals shunned it in droves, refusing to update from Microsoft's old, reliable XP operating system. Apple Inc. made fun of Vista in a set of hilarious TV commercials,... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2354889/posts#comment Mon, 5 Oct 2009 00:41:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2347451/posts Microsoft is promoting the release of Windows 7 by encouraging users to throw Tupperware-like house parties in celebration of the launch. The new campaign encourages participants to print out Windows 7 advertising banners for their home along with "host notes" outlining how to talk about Windows 7 in glowing terms. There's even a question and answer pamphlet, of which the official launch party web site recommends, "download and print this fun activity to keep the party going!" With the new security features in Windows 7, it's unlikely the parties will get too carried away. Interestingly, the quiz pamphlet has nothing... Apple Insider http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2347451/posts#comment Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:01:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2325351/posts I have recently switched to DSL and need to cancel my dial-up service (MSN). I've researched and researched, but I can't find a definitive answer to this question: When I cancel my dial-up service, what happens to my email account (msn.com address)? Will I still be able to access my old email account via Hotmail? How to proceed? Recommendations? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2325351/posts#comment Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:42:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2320396/posts Microsoft late Tuesday warned of "massive disruptions" to sales of Office, as well as to partners such as Best Buy, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard, if the injunction that prevents it from selling Word 2003 and Word 2007 in the U.S. after Oct. 10 is not set aside. In an emergency motion filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals, Microsoft asked that the injunction imposed last week by U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Davis be stayed, or temporarily put on hold, while its appeal is heard.Artwork: Chip TaylorMicrosoft's move was expected, as it had previously said it would appeal the verdict and... PC World http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2320396/posts#comment Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:19:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2301066/posts NEW DELHI (AFP) – Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he was forced to give up on the social networking phenomenon Facebook after too many people wanted to be his friend. Gates, the billionaire computer geek-turned-philanthropist who was honoured Saturday by India for his charity work, told an audience in New Delhi he had tried out Facebook but ended up with "10,000 people wanting to be my friends". Gates, who remains Microsoft chairman, said he had trouble figuring out whether he "knew this person, did I not know this person". Yahoo! News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2301066/posts#comment Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:35:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2299781/posts Microsoft Can’t Evade Downturn’s Tight Grip By ASHLEE VANCE July 23, 2009 Microsoft, the once-swaggering giant of the personal computer industry, has been humbled, both by the recession and by problems of its own making. On Thursday, the world’s largest software company reported its worst fiscal year since it initially sold stock to the public in 1986. Year-over-year revenue and full-year sales of Microsoft’s flagship Windows software dropped for the first time. “Clearly, Microsoft is not immune to the economic downturn,” said Brendan Barnicle, a software analyst with Pacific Crest Securities. Many prominent companies tied to the PC industry have... NYTimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2299781/posts#comment Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:12:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266465/posts It takes an incredibly powerful company to threaten the U.S. government in hopes of impacting a significant decision, but that's precisely what Microsoft is doing. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made headlines when he publicly attacked President Barack Obama's plan to cut tax breaks on U.S. companies' foreign profits, a plan which is currently awaiting Congressional approval. dailytech http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266465/posts#comment Sun, 7 Jun 2009 03:18:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264857/posts Microsoft Corp. chief executive Steven Ballmer said the world's largest software company would move some employees offshore if Congress enacts President Barack Obama's plans to impose higher taxes on U.S. companies' foreign profits. "It makes U.S. jobs more expensive," Mr. Ballmer said in an interview. "We're better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the U.S. as opposed to keeping them inside the U.S." Financial Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264857/posts#comment Thu, 4 Jun 2009 19:36:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261964/posts With the murder of Dr. Tiller there will now be a full scale assault on pro-life advocates. I urge you not to be taken in by the mainstream media on this. Almost all of us who profess to be pro-life would never have advocated the murder of Dr. Tiller. Murder is murder and is wrong whether you are killing millions of unborn children of someone like Dr. Tiller. Now there will be a full scale effort to blame this murder on the entire pro-life movement instead of on the one person responsible. That one person should be prosecuted to the... The Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261964/posts#comment Mon, 1 Jun 2009 07:14:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2260044/posts REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft has been bloodied and repeatedly humbled in its battle with Google in online search. That explains why Steven A. Ballmer, the typically bullish and boisterous chief executive of Microsoft, is speaking cautiously about his company’s latest volley against Google, a new version of its search engine that Mr. Ballmer was scheduled to demonstrate publicly for the first time at a technology conference on Thursday. The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2260044/posts#comment Thu, 28 May 2009 19:42:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2249880/posts The new law gives newspaper printers and publishers a 40 percent cut in the state's main business tax. http://www.butasforme.com/2009/05/10/obama-prepares-way-to-bailout-liberal-media/ http://www.butasforme.com/2009/05/10/obama-prepares-way-to-bailout-liberal-media/ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2249880/posts#comment Wed, 13 May 2009 11:08:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2249451/posts When Dublin university student Shane Fitzgerald posted a poetic but phony quote on Wikipedia, he said he was testing how our globalized, increasingly Internet-dependent media was upholding accuracy and accountability in an age of instant news. His report card: Wikipedia passed. Journalism flunked. They used the fabricated material, Fitzgerald said, even though administrators at the free online encyclopedia quickly caught the quote's lack of attribution and removed it, but not quickly enough to keep some journalists from cutting and pasting it first. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30699302/wid/11915829?GT1=40006 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2249451/posts#comment Tue, 12 May 2009 19:24:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2248841/posts The link goes to the story page. I couldn't link directly to voting page since I already voted, wasn't sure if it would "work" then. Scroll down, you'll see the link written in red font, "Vote: Did Sykes' dinner performance go too far?" msn.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2248841/posts#comment Mon, 11 May 2009 22:45:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247605/posts As Washington prepares for President Barack Obama’s first White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, members of the White House press corps are grumbling about a spate of background briefings by “senior administration officials” who can’t be quoted by name. But will they do anything about it? After a “senior administration official” briefed reporters on a conference call about Chrysler last week, the Associated Press’s Jennifer Loven circulated an email among her colleagues suggesting some kind of joint action to protest the use of not-for-attribution sessions. “We’ve been concerned about the needless use of ‘on-background’ briefings when it comes to sharing straightforward... http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22279.html http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247605/posts#comment Sat, 9 May 2009 16:24:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242680/posts We're still in the first hundred days of the joyous observances of Barack Obama's first hundred days, and many weeks of celebration lie ahead, so here are my thoughts: President Obama's strongest talent is not his speechifying, which is frankly a bit of a snoozeroo. In Europe, he left 'em wanting less pretty much every time (headline from Britain's Daily Telegraph: "Barack Obama Really Does Go On A Bit"). That uptilted chin combined with the left-right teleprompter neck swivel you can set your watch by makes him look like an emaciated Mussolini umpiring an endless rally of high lobs on... OCRegister http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242680/posts#comment Sat, 2 May 2009 13:34:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2240223/posts It looks like Microsoft is working on a top-secret smartphone deal with Verizon to take on Apple's iPhone. The project's code-name is "Pink." The goal... CBS47 NEWS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2240223/posts#comment Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:41:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2238347/posts As Apple celebrated, Microsoft canceled the company picnic. As Apple announced results that beat expectations, Microsoft had its first ever year-over-year dip in sales . As Apple announced a billion app downloads, Microsoft gritted its molars with a view to finally shaking a little of the smugness from Apple's chops. So you might be wondering, as you sip your weekend cocktail and ponder why the NBA playoffs are even longer than the regular season, just how much each company's advertising might have contributed to these slightly diverse results. In recent weeks, Microsoft has turned to a strategy of death by... cnet http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2238347/posts#comment Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:55:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2237828/posts April 25, 2009 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. will unveil an add-on to Windows 7 that lets users run applications designed for Windows XP in a virtual machine, the company confirmed Friday -- the first time Microsoft has relied on virtualization to provide backward compatibility. computerWorld http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2237828/posts#comment Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:40:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228038/posts theodp writes "Just three days before the Spitfire pub was to open on Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division campus, TechFlash reports that Microsoft got cold feet and pulled the plug on the project, leaving the bar's owner and his 22 employees in the lurch. 'I am completely stunned and disappointed by the decision,' said now lease-less owner Jonathan Sposato, who's stuck with space built out as a pub, complete with a giant bar, a fireplace, and eight beer taps. (He says it wouldn't be economically viable to refit it as a restaurant.) Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos confirmed the company's sudden... Slashdor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228038/posts#comment Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:37:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2196579/posts It's official, Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system gets the prize for being the most overhyped, underperforming information and communication technology (ICT) project. Windows Vista garnered 5,222 of 6,043 votes (86 percent) entered via the Web to snag top honors in the first-ever Fiasco Awards announced in Barcelona, Spain, today, beating out other contenders, including Google's Lively virtual world, the One Laptop per Child computer (developed by the Nicholas Negroponte-chaired One Laptop Per Child Association, Inc.) and Second Life. Second prize went to SAGA, the oft-malfunctioning administration and academic management system developed by Spain's Catalan Education Department for public school teachers... Scientific American http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2196579/posts#comment Sun, 1 Mar 2009 07:10:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192490/posts SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp has dropped an attempt to recoup some severance money from 25 recently fired workers it mistakenly overpaid. The Redmond, Washington-based company, which announced a plan to cut up to 5,000 jobs in January, acknowledged on Sunday that it had tried to get the overpaid workers to return the extra money. But late on Monday, it reversed course. "This was a mistake on our part," said a Microsoft spokesman reuters.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192490/posts#comment Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:36:48 GMT