Microsoft sought on Friday to enlist support for its opposition to a new advertising collaboration deal between Google and Yahoo!
Four developing countries have appealed against the adoption of Microsoft’s Office Open XML document format as an international standard, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) said on Monday.
Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer said his company was still holding talks with Yahoo!, although no longer about efforts to take over the internet giant. Ballmer, speaking during a conference hosted by the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> on Tuesday, recalled that Microsoft had dropped its bid to buy Yahoo! after Yahoo! rejected its takeover offer.
Microsoft plans to give users of the next version of its Windows operating system touch screen controls as one option for controlling the software, its top executives said on Tuesday. Chairperson Bill Gates and chief executive Steve Ballmer showed off new Windows features based on software it calls ”multi-touch” that will be part of Windows 7.
The internet company Yahoo! has postponed its annual meeting as it grapples with the prospect of a shareholder rebellion in which as many as 30 candidates may try their luck in getting elected to its board of directors. A potentially rowdy gathering in California was due to be held on July 3 but Yahoo! has put it off to an unspecified date ”expected to be around the end of July 2008”.
Google on Monday unveiled Google Health, a long-anticipated United States health information service that combines the leading web company’s classic search services with a user’s personal health records online. The password-protected service stores a user’s basic medical history and gathers relevant information connected to their health conditions.
Microsoft is not looking to bid to buy all of Yahoo! but is in talks about other types of deals with the United States number two search engine, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said on Wednesday. Earlier this month, Microsoft walked away from a proposal to acquire Yahoo! for ,5-billion, or per share.
With Yahoo! facing pressure from a corporate raider, the internet giant has reopened discussions on a tie-up with Microsoft, but for a new deal that would probably not be an outright takeover. The two firms said over the weekend that they were exploring new options two weeks after Microsoft withdrew its offer to acquire the struggling internet pioneer.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stressed his company’s independent spirit on Monday, after a report the social networking site might be sold to software giant Microsoft, which is hunting for ways to beef up its internet business. Asked specifically about the prospect of a sale, Zuckerberg declined to comment.
Apple has scooped up Time Warner’s HBO to feed television shows to its online iTunes store, reeling in one of the last holdouts among major channels and agreeing to a rare pricing concession to land hit shows such as The Sopranos, Sex and the City and The Wire.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is considering mounting a proxy campaign to replace Yahoo! board members after the company failed to reach a deal to merge with Microsoft. The veteran investor has built up a stake in Yahoo! in the last week and would run a slate in an effort to force the company back to the negotiating table.
A British government agency has told the European Commission that Microsoft Office works poorly with rival software used in British schools. Programs must meet the same standards to work together but the British agency said Microsoft offers only its own ”open standard” rather than effective support for Open Document Format.
Powerset on Sunday unveiled tools for searching Wikipedia that use conversational phrasing instead of keywords, marking the first step of its challenge to established web-search services such as Google. Powerset’s technology breaks down the meaning of words and sentences into related concepts, freeing users from always needing to type the exact words they want to find.
Microsoft on Friday lodged an appeal at a European court against the record €899-million fine imposed on it by the EU Commission for defying a landmark anti-trust ruling. "Microsoft today filed with the Court of First Instance an application to annul the Commission decision of February 27," a spokesperson for the US software giant said in Brussels.
Microsoft chairperson Bill Gates on Wednesday played down the chances of a fresh takeover bid for Yahoo!, saying the United States software giant would focus on an independent strategy. "We put a lot of effort into talking to Yahoo! and the conclusion was reached that we should pursue our own independent path," he told reporters during a visit to Tokyo.
Yahoo! is willing to negotiate further with Microsoft, top executive Jerry Yang said in an interview on Tuesday, as he defended his handling of the aborted takeover bid. "We were totally willing to do a transaction, and they walked away," Yahoo! CEO Yang told the <i>Financial Times</i>, adding that he is open to renewing negotiations with Microsoft.
Yahoo! faced growing pressure on Sunday to find an alternative strategy to Microsoft’s ,5-billion takeover offer after the software maker walked away over a disagreement on price. Yahoo! shares could fall by more than 30% on Monday over the breakdown of talks.
Microsoft walked away from its bid to buy Yahoo! on Saturday after the internet company turned down its offer to raise the price by -billion to ,5-billion. Microsoft’s offer was for a share but Yahoo! would not lower its demand below , Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said.
Microsoft can build a competitive online advertising business without Yahoo! but it "could just take more time", CEO Steve Ballmer told the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> in an interview published on Friday. The comment came as analysts and industry watchers awaited an imminent announcement on Microsoft’s next move in its unresolved quest to acquire Yahoo!
There’s a difference between an action plan and … action. There’s a difference between spending your days making PowerPoint presentations and spending it breaking rocks with the sharp end of a pick. Microsoft products might be hell, but one job isn’t just different to the other. It’s easier.
Wall Street expects Microsoft to enter a protracted period of ”trench warfare” in its attempt to buy Yahoo! after the failure of its three-month-long attempt to bring the online company’s board to the negotiating table. It is expected to launch a proxy battle and try to oust the Yahoo! executive team while encouraging investors to accept its original -a-share offer.
Google believes regulators would not bar a potential business deal with Yahoo! because it would be ”non-exclusive” and falls short of an outright merger, a person familiar with Google’s thinking said on Friday. Yahoo! is exploring alternatives to Microsoft’s ,7-billion takeover offer, which the web pioneer has rejected for being too low.
Yahoo! is working to rewire the dozens of services across its site so that users can manage all information about themselves in a single place and share it with friends across the web. ”We are not building another social network,” said chief technology officer Ari Balogh.
Sharon Sarmiento knew it was time to unplug when she realised she was blogging in her dreams and hearing imaginary instant messages. She is part of a new grassroots movement in which tech geeks, internet addicts, Blackberry thumbers and compulsive IMers are wresting back control of their lives by daring to switch off — if only for a day.
Sony is reportedly negotiating licensing deals with studios to distribute videos online through a long-promised service for the PlayStation 3. Citing studio executives, the Los Angeles Times newspaper reported on Monday that Sony could launch the service as early as summer.
The internet company Google has defied predictions of economic doom by delivering a 31% surge in quarterly profits, which appeared to vindicate the company’s claims that people will continue searching the web in a recession. Google’s first-quarter earnings jumped from -billion to ,31-billion.
Making a Windows-based computer truly personal takes both time and money. Not only do you have to buy the computer, but you also spend many hours setting it up just the way you like it. That’s why it’s frustrating when, over time, your well-tuned Windows box starts to get sluggish or unreliable.
Manhattan is a famously elitist place when it comes to fine dining. Who you know is often the key to securing a table at one of the hot new restaurants. Imagine the horror then, when the latest hyper-chic establishment of New York’s most happening chef opted for an egalitarian alternative.
Microsoft plans on Thursday to unveil a web-based service for driving directions that uses sophisticated software to help its users avoid traffic jams, the New York Times reported. The software technology system, called Clearflow, will provide drivers with alternative information for routes that takes into account prevailing traffic patterns.
Yahoo! will begin showing homemade videos on its online photo-sharing site, Flickr, in a long-anticipated move that may be too late to lure most people away from the internet’s dominant video channel, Google’s YouTube. Flickr’s video technology is the latest example of Yahoo! trying to catch up to Google in a crucial battleground.
United States internet company Yahoo! on Monday rejected software giant Microsoft’s three-week ultimatum to accept a takeover offer, but left the door open to a higher bid. "We continue to believe that your proposal is not in the best interests of Yahoo! and our stockholders," it said in a letter to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.
The maker of the popular photo-editing software Photoshop on Thursday launched a basic version available for free online. San Jose, California-based Adobe Systems says it hopes to boost its name recognition among a new generation of consumers who edit, store and share photos online.