Microsoft

Microsoft plans to show off its forthcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile this week at CTIA 2009, as well as its ties to the fashion world.

Microsoft's Robbie Bach plans Thursday to discuss Microsoft's take on the mobile phone application store, an old concept that is being reinvented for the smartphone following the success of Apple's App Store. Windows Marketplace for Mobile won't arrive until later this year, along with Windows Mobile 6.5, but this week the company will demonstrate how users can select, purchase, and download an application from their Windows Mobile handsets.

We've already heard a bit … Read more

Microsoft has hired Dayne Sampson, a Yahoo vice president of operations since 2006, the software giant said Monday.

"We're very excited to have Dayne Sampson join the team, reporting to Debra Chrapaty, corporate vice president of Global Foundation Services (GFS). Operations and foundation services are key to delivering the Microsoft software plus services vision, and Dayne's extensive operations and industry experience will be a strong asset for GFS and the company," the company said in a statement.

GFS, which runs Microsoft's data centers, is an important part of Microsoft's effort to expand from software … Read more

Microsoft has quietly confirmed that it is getting out of the encyclopedia business, ending its long-standing Encarta product.

As noted by Ars Technica, the software maker says it will discontinue all its online Encarta products by October, with the exception of Encarta Japan, which will run through the end of the year. It will also stop selling Microsoft Student and Encarta Premium, paid software products that included the online encyclopedia.

In a posting on its Web site, Microsoft said that the move reflected the change in the way people use reference material. It didn't mention Wikipedia by name, but … Read more

Microsoft has backed off plans to charge Windows Mobile developers $99 for submitting even minor updates to their applications.

Last week, Microsoft said that unless developers submitted updates to their applications within 7 days of their release, the company would charge developers $99 to get those updates onto the Windows Marketplace for Mobile application store, which is expected to debut later this year. But the company has decided to back off that policy, which did not seem like it would be all that popular with mobile developers trying to decide where to focus their attention amid lots of competition.

Now … Read more

While reaction to Microsoft's settlement with TomTom was varied on Monday, there seemed to be a consensus that it will do little to settle the many questions related to whether Linux infringes on Microsoft's intellectual property.

Attorney James Gatto, the leader of the intellectual property section at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, said the quick settlement in the case may have as much to do with a pragmatic business decision by TomTom as it does with the legal merits of Microsoft's case. Complex litigation, such as the patent suit and countersuit in this case, could easily add up to $10 million to $15 million in costs, Gatto said.

"I don't think this answers any questions in terms of whether Microsoft's patents in any way cover Linux," Gatto said. Microsoft has long asserted that various implementations of Linux do infringe on its intellectual property and has struck a number of patent deals with companies that either distribute Linux or use it in their products.

The TomTom case, however, marked the first time that Microsoft had made those allegations in court papers.

Open-source pioneer Bruce Perens criticized the settlement, saying that it may instill fear in other companies that are using embedded Linux and thus have something of a chilling effect.

"What strikes me is the un-justice of it all," said Perens, who is the chief executive of open-source software development company Kiloboot. "Microsoft's patents (in the TomTom case) are not innovative, yet TomTom is forced to pay for the patents when a court would probably find them invalid. But rather than spend the money to prove the patents are invalid, because they probably can't afford to go to court and fight it, TomTom licenses the patents."

Gatto said that Microsoft's TomTom move doesn't necessarily mean the company is ready to go to war with Linux. … Read more

Microsoft and TomTom have reached a settlement in their respective patent suits, the companies said Monday.

As part of the deal, as TomTom will pay Microsoft for patent protection related to mapping patents and file-management patents that Microsoft claimed were infringed by TomTom's use of the Linux kernel. Microsoft will also get access to the TomTom patents that were cited in TomTom's countersuit against Microsoft, although Microsoft won't make any payment to TomTom.

In a statement, the two companies said that the settlement provides TomTom patent coverage "in a manner that is fully compliant with TomTom'… Read more

Updated 2:20 p.m. PDT, with comment from Microsoft and at 2:35 with more details on where that draft came from.

For those who want to find out what all the cloud-computing fuss is about, a copy of the Open Cloud Manifesto is now online.

After a flowery introduction, the document talks about a couple of key concepts, including the ability for data and applications from one cloud vendor to be able to be ported to another cloud vendor. It also calls for interoperability from one cloud vendor to another, as well as consistent ways to meter and … Read more

Updated with a link to the Open Cloud Manifesto document.

The cloud-computing field may be in its infancy, but there is a fight breaking out at the preschool.

A group of Web services providers, reportedly including IBM, is set to unveil a "manifesto" next week that lays out a number of principles for open cloud computing. Two of the biggest names in the field, though, say they aren't signing on.

Microsoft posted blog message to that effect on Wednesday night, while Amazon.com on Friday said it, too, is not among the companies signing the document.

"… Read more

After launching its most direct TV assault yet on Apple, Microsoft is extending the battle onto the Web.

The software maker has launched an online spot, in which Web surfers spin a wheel and compare what they can buy for the same amount of money. In each case, users can get a Mac and, say, pocket lint, or they can get a PC and two other things of value.

In one "spin," a user is told they can choose from a shoelace, pen cap, and MacBook, or get a Lenovo Y530, a photo scanner, and pair of Supras (… Read more