Wall Street punished Yahoo on Monday for Microsoft's withdrawal of its acquisition bid, as each company began to move toward an uncertain future, independent of the other.
On the first business day since Microsoft's surprise move, Yahoo's shares fell more than 15 percent, giving back a big chunk of the value they gained after the Jan. 31 bid. Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang sought to address shareholder criticism and dispel the notion that the company was to blame for Microsoft's decision to walk away.
Anyone interested in working for Microsoft on the next and future editions of SQL Server might want to check out this blog post from Lead Program Manager Debra Dove.
According to Dove, Microsoft is looking to hire several "Data Programmability" program managers this year. Candidates will work with the data access stacks across the SQL Server line.
"We're gearing up for the next release of the SQL Server, and we are looking for people that have a passion for building great data access technologies and frameworks to help with the effort," Dove wrote.
The next phase in Microsoft's efforts to scale games across Windows to a certain portable device, begins this week with the introduction of a preview of the next XNA Game Studio. But as we discovered, it could use some help.
Since its introduction almost two years ago, Microsoft's Zune has provoked industry observers to wonder whether the company would be inspired to follow up with a portable game system, a la Sony's PlayStation Portable, or whether the Zune would actually become its handheld game system.
Microsoft will increase its focus on making mobile phones part of its strategy to spread IT to people in developing nations,
based partly on a prototype already developed for the purpose called Fone+ .
It's a subtle change from the past now that Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft, has taken over
the company's Unlimited Potential Group, which focuses on the developing world. The group used to focus on ultra-low-cost laptops, shared computing and other initiatives,
but the leadership change appears to put Windows Mobile and handsets into a primary role to spread computing to poor areas
of the world.
Microsoft is shipping an update to its Automated Service Agent that adds new features meant to enhance its ability to provide unattended, chat-based customer care to Web users.
The ASA is a conversational service agent that is driven by natural language technology which Microsoft acquired in 2006 when it bought out tiny Colloquis.
Users can carry on conversational chat sessions with the ASA, thus cutting down on the number of individual sessions that live support personnel need to handle, a Microsoft official said.
Microsoft released Community Technology Preview 2 for Windows PowerShell Version 2, according to an announcement issued last Friday.
Windows PowerShell is a shell environment for network administrators with a command-line interface that can be used to automate server management and reporting functions. It works in conjunction with the .NET Framework (specifically .NET 2.0 in the case of CTP2) and features its own dynamically typed scripting language.
Microsoft is releasing the CTP2 of Windows PowerShell V2 to get feedback from users prior to the beta release. This CTP2 is not a beta and should not be run in a production environment, warned a Microsoft blog.
Microsoft does not rule out partnerships with other companies but has nothing imminent, Chairman Bill Gates said on Tuesday, after the software company pulled a $47.5 billion bid for Yahoo.
Microsoft walked away from its bid to buy Yahoo on Saturday, after the Internet company turned down its $33-per-share offer.
"The key decisions on that will be made by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who took a look at Yahoo and decided that, on our own, he likes the stuff that we're doing," Gates said in response to a reporter's question about Microsoft's plans.
With no warning whatsoever, Microsoft on Tuesday released a major update to its Zune 2 platform, providing new versions of its PC-based software, device-based firmware, online music and video store, and social networking service. The update addresses a few of the major issues with the digital media platform and adds a feature iPod and iTunes users have enjoyed for years: The ability to purchase TV shows.
The addition of a very limited selection of TV shows to the Zune--less than 40 series, compared to several hundred on iTunes--is somewhat a coup for Microsoft, as one of the networks involved, NBC, is boycotting Apple's service over pricing issues.
When it comes to data mining and predictive analytics, Microsoft might not be the first company that comes to mind.
That could change, however, especially if Donald Farmer, Redmond's principal program manager for SQL Server Data Mining, has his way.
Microsoft has come a long way in the data mining and predictive analytics segment, Farmer says, and with a game-changing Excel 2007 release under its belt -- and a promising SQL Server 2008 revision in the pipeline -- Redmond hopes to challenge established powers SAS Institute Inc. and SPSS Inc. for data mining and predictive analytic bragging rights.
A Microsoft executive involved with the company's Windows Live efforts outlined some of the company's ideas about cloud-based computing and social networking technologies today. The talk was presented by Brian Hall, general manager of the Windows Live Business Group, at the 2008 Merrill Lynch Technology Conference on May 6.
Hall predicted that applications will be moving to a world that combines the "best of the PC" with "the best of the Web."
He depicted a software past in which social networking was once typically enabled by just a few "siloed applications," such as e-mail and instant messaging. Microsoft entered this space early on with its Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger...
Parallels Desktop for Mac will be made available as part of the Microsoft Expression Professional Subscription.
The move means Mac users will be able to use Microsoft's Expression Studio to design desktop and Web-based graphical interfaces.
The partnership strengthens the Parallels/Microsoft partnership by providing even deeper support for Microsoft Windows and
Microsoft applications running in Parallels virtual machines.
Parallels Desktop for Mac enables users to run Windows on any Intel Mac. In excess of 1 million copies of the software have
been sold so far.
The Windows Live Mail team recently announced the phase-out of the legacy DAV protocol would draw to a close on June 30. That date, however, has now been postponed.
Like the extension of XP's lifespan, Microsoft says the extended date to the Outlook Express DAV Deprecation has been the result of customer feedback. The transition away from the protocol would end Outlook Express' access to a user's Hotmail inbox, and customers were originally encouraged to switch to Windows Live Mail. Instead of using the Distributed Authoring and Versioning protocol, Live Mail uses Deltasynch, which is ultimately more efficient.
Microsoft said late Monday that it has struck a deal with Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group to develop new automotive "infotainment" systems. The company said the first product to result from the partnership will be introduced in North America in 2010, focusing on voice control of mobile devices inside the car. The companies say they also plan to expand into Asian and European markets, adding support for multimedia and navigation devices.Microsoft already has an arrangement with Ford Motor Co. to offer its Microsoft Auto system in North America under the Sync brand name. Fiat Auto Group also uses Microsoft's technology in Europe and South America.
Microsoft says it will start selling downloadable television shows for its Zune portable media device -- including selected programs from NBC, the network that split from market leader Apple Inc.
The move comes more than two years after Apple introduced television shows and movies for its dominant iTunes store and iPod -- reflecting Zune's latecomer status. Microsoft introduced the device in late 2006, after devices from its hardware partners struggled to gain any significant traction against Apple's iPod.
Microsoft continues to eat its own dog food to promote the adoption of its Silverlight technology.
The company is beta-testing a new version of its Microsoft Download Center Web site using the technology, a browser plug-in
and development runtime for adding multimedia and high-definition video to Web-based applications.
A visit to the Microsoft Download Center on Tuesday opened a page inviting users to test the new site, which Microsoft said is being enhanced by Silverlight.
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