Microsoft

Gates spreads malaria message with mosquitoes

Bill Gates opened a jar of mosquitoes on stage at an elite tech conference Wednesday to draw attention to the plight of malaria victims.

The Microsoft co-founder released the insects, which are notorious for spreading the deadly disease, during the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Conference in Long Beach, Calif.

"Not only poor people should experience this," Gates told the audience before assuring them that the insects were malaria-free.

The insect release, which was first reported on Twitter by Facebook's Dave Morin, was initially characterized in some reports as a swarm, but some in the audience reported seeing … Read more

Criticism mounting over Windows 7 security

Microsoft is facing increasing heat over the security implications of a change designed to make Windows 7 less annoying than its predecessor.

One of the chief complaints with Windows Vista is frustration with all the warnings that pop up to notify users that changes are being made to the operating system. With Windows 7, Microsoft has changed the feature so that users see fewer messages by default and also so they have more control in deciding how often they are notified.

The problem, say some, is that by making the prompts less frequent by default, Microsoft is potentially paving the way for malicious software … Read more

Microsoft and EMC renew their vows

This following is a transcript of the full CNET interview with Tucci and Ballmer, which was conducted by Marguerite Reardon, reporting from New York, and Ina Fried, reporting from San Francisco.

NEW YORK--It was a lovefest Tuesday here at the Plaza Hotel where Microsoft and storage company EMC announced that they are extending their strategic partnership another three years.

The software giant and information management company have been working closely together for years, but they didn't formalize their relationship until 2006. Now things are going so well for the companies, they've decided to extend the formal relationship. As … Read more

Windows Starter gets new market: Netbooks

For many years now, Microsoft has offered a "starter edition" of Windows aimed at first-time PC buyers in emerging markets. Though low-cost, the starter version has limitations such as only working on low-end processors, smaller screen resolutions and a cap on the number of programs that can run at one time.

Similar restrictions will remain with Windows 7, but Microsoft will allow the operating system to be used in a new way--to power low-cost computers, particularly Netbooks, in developed countries.

Microsoft confirmed its plans for Windows 7 Starter on Tuesday, as part of its announcement that it will … Read more

Windows 7 will come in many flavors

Despite criticism that Windows Vista came in too many versions, Microsoft is moving ahead with plans to offer just as many editions of Windows 7.

Although the software maker will offer at least six distinct versions of the new operating system, Microsoft said to expect almost all PCs sold in the U.S. to come with either the Home Premium or Professional editions of the operating system.

"We're going to focus on two versions," Microsoft Senior Vice President Bill Veghte said in an interview, noting that those two versions will likely account for 80 percent of Windows … Read more

Ballmer: Tech is economy's eventual savior

NEW YORK--The tech industry may not stop the economy from slowing, but it will be a big part of the eventual recovery, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said on Tuesday.

"Nothing is going to stop deleveraging; the economy has to reset," Ballmer said, as part of a joint interview with EMC CEO Joe Tucci. "At the same time you've got to say where do you get economic growth. The truth is, you only get economic growth from the following things. Population growth, inflation, productivity increases...and financial leverage."

There's no question, Ballmer said, that there … Read more

EMC, Microsoft team for share of IT budgets

NEW YORK--While tech spending has not evaporated, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said on Tuesday that most companies have mandated that their IT departments cut a significant percentage from their budgets.

"To save 5 (percent) to 10 percent, you have to save a little bit on a lot of things," Ballmer told CNET News on Tuesday, in a joint interview with EMC CEO Joe Tucci, "It's not like there's nothing new getting done. Some new projects are getting killed. There's pressure on vendors to reduce prices."

Tucci said he is seeing similar pressures due … Read more

Microsoft aims to show Windows 7 'readiness'

After getting dinged for constantly changing plans with Windows Vista, Microsoft is taking the opposite approach with Windows 7.

The software maker is being extremely conservative with what it says publicly about the operating system--a move it says is deliberate.

"The lack of a predictable schedule combined with the churn of features late in the the process made it hard for partners to know is this the real Windows Vista," said Mike Nash, Microsoft's vice president for Windows product management. "The result of our lack of predictability was everybody (saying) 'Let's wait for this thing … Read more

Windows 7, Mac OS make gains in January

January was a good month for both the emerging Windows 7 and the venerable Mac OS, according to Web metrics company Net Applications.

The Mac OS is now hovering around the 10 percent mark among operating systems accessing the Web.

In its Operating System Market Share report for January, Net Applications showed the Mac OS at 9.93 percent, up from 9.63 percent in December. The iPhone also trended upward to 0.48 percent in January, from 0.44 percent in December.

In its recap of the Net Applications numbers, Fortune highlighted the ground gained by Apple's iPod … Read more