ballmer

Microsoft boss confirms more hardware on the way

Microsoft's top brass confirmed that the software giant turned tablet maker plans to develop and build more devices.

Speaking to the BBC News' technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said that the company, which will later today debut the Windows 8-powered Surface tablet, will build more devices under its name. (CNET will be live-blogging Microsoft's New York event later this morning.)

Is it fair to say we're going to do more hardware? Obviously we are. We did our first piece of non-Xbox hardware when we launch the Surface. Where we see important opportunities to … Read more

Microsoft tries to play leapfrog with Windows 8

Steve Ballmer and his lieutenants have been planning for this day for years. On October 26, Windows 8 officially goes on sale, and Microsoft is back in the game. For several years, Microsoft has been a wallflower, watching as Apple, Google, and others executed on the shift from desktop to mobile and the cloud. That's not to say business was bad for Microsoft. The company has held a 95 percent share of the desktop market, and its enterprise and Xbox businesses are strong. But that's not where the puck, and future massive growth, is headed.

The future … Read more

Steven Sinofsky: Microsoft's controversial Mr. Windows 8

Two years ago, Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie was working on a file synchronization technology that would make stashing and grabbing pictures, documents, and music from any device a cinch.

Ozzie, hand-picked by Microsoft co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates to succeed him as the corporate visionary, gathered a team of 50 or so employees to piece together the concept. Something of an industry legend, Ozzie was a co-creator of Lotus Notes, and he joined Microsoft in 2005 after the company bought his startup, Groove Networks. To hear Microsoft insiders tell it, Ozzie was stepping straight into one of the … Read more

Microsoft is now your 'devices and services' company

Microsoft really wants to make sure its shareholders, customers, partners, and competitors realize it's not just a big software company anymore.

In an October 9 letter to shareholders, part of Microsoft's just-released fiscal 2012 annual report, CEO Steve Ballmer repeated his new "devices and services company" mantra to drive it home.

Ballmer hasn't (yet) chanted "devices, devices, devices" in front of any public or private audiences (that we know of, at least) in the way he once, in 2006, infamously chanted "developers, developers, developers."

But he told The Seattle Times a … Read more

Ballmer, Sinofsky see pay dinged over browser-ballot issue

It's interesting to see how Microsoft evaluates and pays its top executives. The latest proxy statement for Microsoft's fiscal 2012, which came out today in advance of the annual shareholder meeting on November 28, shines a good light on this.

The statement includes detailed information on how its top "named executive officers" were graded and compensated, per Microsoft's review process.

Here's this year's comparative compensation chart from the proxy:

CEO Steve Ballmer received an "incentive plan award" of $620,000 for fiscal 2012, which was 91 percent of his eligible target … Read more

Microsoft Surface tablet pops up on product pages

Microsoft is teasing its Surface tablet by listing the device on several product pages around the world.

Microsoft product sites in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, and Italy are just some of those showing Surface as an item under the product category.

But clicking on the link for the tablet simply brings you to a U.S. page on Surface with the note "Coming Soon."

Microsoft has been mum on about the price of its upcoming tablet.

CEO Steve Ballmer recently said that Surface would probably carry a price between $300 and $800. That's … Read more

Ballmer hints at price range for Microsoft's Surface tablet

If you had hoped for truth behind the rumors that Microsoft's tablet would sport a sub-$200 price tag, Steve Ballmer has dashed those hopes.

Microsoft CEO's has been pretty outspoken about how his company was going use its new Surface tablet to turn up the heat on Apple, but he's been pretty tight-lipped about how much it expects its Surface to cost -- until now. Noting that "we haven't announced pricing," Ballmer, Seattle Times during an interview, did give a better idea what the company has in mind for a target price.

"… Read more

Microsoft's jazzed up Office to run on tablets, cloud

With the newest version of Office, Microsoft is touting more flexibility regarding where and on what device you can access its key productivity software.

Office remains a crown jewel for Microsoft, and its latest revamp puts the software in line with the new Microsoft look, where it fits in with Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and the updated Xbox, among other products. While Office remains a dominant product used by most people in businesses, it faces competition from low-cost alternatives, including Google's suite of Web-based office applications.

Microsoft hopes to keep its lead going with Office and is embracing … Read more

Microsoft to host press event on Monday (live blog)

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will reportedly appear at an invitation-only press event the company will host in San Francisco on Monday.

The press conference, which starts at noon PT and is set to end at 12:45 p.m., promises that attendees will get some form of news from Microsoft. The company didn't disclose details about the event on the invitation.

While Microsoft remains mum, USA Today has reported that Ballmer is expected to unveil Office 15, a new version of its suite of productivity programs.

Attendees will have a chance to speak with Microsoft experts and customers from … Read more