Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:57 PM/CST
New data from research company ComScore suggests that Bing's share of the online search market held steady in October, reinforcing similar data from Experian Hitwise. Meanwhile, Yahoo's market share degraded despite a massive ad campaign, leading one to wonder: Despite this summer's Microsoft-Yahoo deal over online search and advertising, does Microsoft really need Yahoo in order to present a viable alternative to Google?
Monday, November 16, 2009 3:15 PM/CST
Microsoft plans to release a Zune-branded video service internationally on Nov. 17, but will not release the Zune HD to those same global markets. While this suggests that Microsoft is indeed pushing a cloud-based services strategy, it also signifies that the Zune HD is an increasingly marginalized product within the Microsoft ecosystem. A marginalized Zune HD, combined with weak adoption of Windows Mobile, could spell trouble for one part of Microsoft's cloud strategy.
Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:50 AM/CST
A Microsoft employee said in an interview with a British publication that the designers of Windows 7 drew inspiration from Apple's Mac OS X, throwing Microsoft into damage-control mode. In addition to dismissing the employee's comments as "inaccurate," Microsoft took pains in a blog post to insist that Windows 7 was wholly a product of Redmond's internal design processes.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 2:50 PM/CST
Microsoft's share of the U.S. search-engine market gained incrementally in October, reaching 9.57 percent, according to new figures released by Experian Hitwise. Google maintained 70.60 percent, while Yahoo stood at 16.14 percent. New Bing features, including local weather, a boosted video page of Wolfram Alpha search results, could allow Microsoft to maintain or gain its share before the end of 2009.
Monday, November 09, 2009 12:27 PM/CST
Microsoft continued the "New Efficiency" theme, originally voiced by CEO Steve Ballmer, during the company's TechEd Europe conference. During the keynote address, Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop suggested that Exchange Server 2010 would help businesses improve efficiency and increase productivity on the way to fueling growth. Microsoft also displayed a few whimsical videos during the conference that proved, well, rather eccentric.
Friday, November 06, 2009 4:57 PM/CST
Microsoft's much-rumored Courier tablet, slides and video of which leaked online this week, suggests that Redmond could be preparing a robust competitor in the tablet PC market. Scuttlebutt suggests that the Courier will run on Windows 7 and Microsoft-engineered hardware. Microsoft could potentially intend the Courier as a competitor to Apple's own (alleged) Tablet PC, which some analysts have predicted will roll out sometime in 2010.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009 5:27 PM/CST
Microsoft rolled out a revised version of its MSN home page on Nov. 4, embracing in the process the same ethos of personalization and streamlining that governed Yahoo's own home page redesign in September. Microsoft also cut down on the number of hyperlinks and seeded the interface with in-line connections to Twitter and Facebook.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009 5:12 PM/CST
Microsoft executive Eric Ligman responded in a new Microsoft SMB Community Blog posting to criticism from the Windows community, after he suggested last week that using Windows 7 upgrade discs to install a full version of the operating system on a blank hard drive was ultimately an illegal "hack." Ligman's new missive suggests some commenters to the original post were making pre-determined conclusions about some of his words.
Monday, November 02, 2009 5:02 PM/CST
Microsoft's most recent deal, with OpenX Technologies, which will see OpenX promoting Microsoft's Content Ads, is another partnership on Redmond's part designed to more effectively challenge Google in the online space. Just as with its July Yahoo deal, Microsoft could see partnerships as the best way to gain market share in online search and advertising.
Thursday, October 29, 2009 5:04 PM/CST
Microsoft expanded its retail foray with the Oct. 29 opening of its store in Mission Viejo, Calif., in a mall that also contains an Apple Store. Despite the massive crowds that attended the opening, time will tell whether Microsoft's strategy of aggressively challenging Apple in the retail space will succeed.
