sinofsky

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 dropped some hints today that the commercial release of Windows 8 could come sooner rather than later, but critics are worried that it's not very business friendly.

Announcing the Windows 8 Release Preview, Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky wrote today in the Building Windows 8 blog that the final version is, at the very least, on track.

"If the feedback and telemetry on Windows 8 and Windows RT match our expectations, then we will enter the final phases of the RTM (release to manufacturing) process in about 2 months," Sinofsky wrote. (Windows RT refers to the version … Read more

Really fast boot times on Windows 8 hardly sounds like a problem. But it is. Here's why.

Startup can be so fast that you whiz by familiar sign posts that prompt for input, wrote Chris Clark, a program manager in the Windows User Experience team, today in a Building Windows 8 blog post.

"When you turn on a Windows 8 PC, there's no longer [enough time] to detect keystrokes like F2 or F8, much less time to read a message such as 'Press F2 for Setup'," Clark said.

On a solid-state drive-equipped ultrabook, for example, Windows … Read more

Microsoft published a "brief" history of the Windows interface in a blog post today that offered some flashes of candor about Vista and Windows 95 and argued that the tablet as we know it today is one device too many. Redmond also said it was dropping Aero Glass.

First and foremost, Microsoft said it has "moved beyond" Aero Glass on the Windows 8 desktop, in Friday's Building Windows 8 post.

"We spent a lot of energy carefully considering how substantially to update the appearance of the desktop in Windows 8...Our primary goal was … Read more

Those of you who couldn't make it to Spain for yesterday's Windows 8 Consumer Preview demo can now catch all the action through a series of online videos.

The event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona wasn't Webcast live, but Microsoft has posted several videos on its newsroom page showing off all the major highlights. Most of the videos can be viewed online or downloaded in a few different formats, though the "broadcast" links provide the highest quality.

The videos kick off with the entire 90-minute keynote with Windows President Steven Sinofsky introducing the … Read more

Microsoft made it clear today why Windows 8 on an Intel-based tablet will be different from competing tablets based on ARM chips.

After speaking in Barcelona for close to an hour today about how Windows 8 on Intel and Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) will be the same, two Microsoft executives addressed, albeit briefly, a much more sensitive topic: why they're also very different.

Windows 8 marks the first time that a mainstream Windows operating system will run on processors from ARM chip suppliers like Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Nvidia in addition to those from Intel and AMD.

First, … Read more

One thing was made crystal clear today by Microsoft. Windows 8 on ARM will not be the same experience as Windows 8 on Intel-AMD--despite a big effort by Microsoft to be consistent.

Windows 8 ARM devices will run on processors from Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, and Nvidia--marking the first time that a mainstream Windows operating system will run on processors from ARM chip suppliers in addition to those of Intel-AMD.

Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky said today that Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) will launch at the same time as Windows on Intel-AMD (x86)--though he didn't say when--and that ARM-based … Read more

Microsoft has been coy about certain details on Windows 8 ARM devices. But a new rumor suggests that some type of desktop interface may join the new Metro UI on such devices.

The folks in Redmond could be eyeing a limited or restricted desktop for Windows 8 ARM tablets and other devices, and one that will support only specific apps. At least, that's the scuttlebut from the Verge's Tom Warren, who wrote yesterday "that's exactly what we are hearing the software giant plans to do."

The move to Windows 8 initially stirred up confusion over … Read more

Windows Media Center has finally made its appearance in Windows 8.

Users at the My Digital Life forum apparently discovered the application in the latest pre-beta build of Windows 8, dubbed 8141. One poster said it seems to be the old Windows 7 version, while WinRumors noted that it appears to be a standalone desktop app.

The debut of Media Center in the latest Windows 8 build should comfort users who noticed that it was missing from the earlier builds. In response to concerned feedback sent to Microsoft, Windows Live President Steven Sinofsky confirmed in an early September blog that … Read more