Business

Gay marriage is always going to be a heated debate. But what rights do gays have when it comes to their video game consoles? Microsoft was recently forced to change a policy that prevented gay gamers from stating their sexual orientation in their ... Xbox Live profiles. Xbox Live is Microsoft's popular online platform for its console, the Xbox 360. When anyone links their Xbox 360 to a cable or a broadband Internet connection, they're automatically prompted to fill out an online profile that can be seen by other gamers, including friends and foes alike. Although users aren't allowed to play ... (view more)

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has called out to Yahoo, asking them to join his company in a fight against mutual foe Google. As recently reported, Microsoft decided not to compete with Apple on the smartphone battlefield, opting instead to praise the ... iPhone for its innovative features. Now it appears Ballmer is addressing another rival, Yahoo, in the hopes of bettering the Internet-search figures of both companies. Google is the current leader of the Internet-search market with 63% of all queries. Microsoft controls just under 10%, while Yahoo controls just over 20%. If the two corporations ... (view more)

Nokia, the world's top mobile phone maker, is reportedly contemplating entering the laptop business. In a recent interview with Finnish national broadcaster YLE, Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said they were actively looking at producing ... notebook computers in the future. Rumors about Nokia entering the PC industry have been circulating since last year, but Kallasvuo's comment was the first official admittance of such plans. Mobile Phones and PCs Converging During the interview, Kallasvuo said "we don't have to look even for five years from now to see what we know as a mobile phone and ... (view more)

"He'll be back." Although that might sound like a line ripped straight out of Christian Bale's forthcoming Terminator movie, the resurrection that has everyone talking this week concerns none other than Apple chief Steve Jobs. And according to ... Apple, the boss never really left. For the last nine months or so, speculation has been rampant that Jobs, whose face is as synonymous with Apple as the nibbled fruit, might not return to his lofty post atop the Cupertino, California-based company. Ever since the false Bloomberg report that Jobs was dead , the media has buzzed that the ... (view more)

Microsoft's newest lawsuit is the first on record to involve patent infringement based on usage of the Linux kernel -- proving that open source software is becoming the biggest fox in Microsoft's henhouse. Microsoft filed District Court charges and ... International Trade Commission charges Tuesday against in-car GPS navigation company TomTom Inc., claiming that TomTom is violating eight Microsoft patents. While Linux is not specifically mentioned as the focus of the charges, three out of eight alleged patent violations relate to TomTom's usage of the Linux kernel. (Source: zdnet.com ) The case ... (view more)

Windows 7 beta testers are disputing whether or not Microsoft's is taking notice of their feedback. The dispute follows a blog post by Steven Sinofsky, the man in charge of engineering Windows 7 . He notes that in one week in January Microsoft ... received data through Windows 7's automatic feedback system every 15 seconds. According to Sinofsky, it's impossible to keep everyone happy. That's partly because there are only so many changes Microsoft can make to the system and still finish it, and partly because in many cases testers often have opposing views about a feature. (Source: msdn.com ) Ina ... (view more)

Microsoft has waved the white flag of surrender and will not compete with Apple by building a smartphone of their own. Many people felt that the time was right to release a new smartphone, especially since Microsoft could have capitalized on the ... iPhone's numerous shortcomings. However, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer feels that the iPhone is too popular right now. The combination of a struggling economy and the mentality that "everyone who wanted a smartphone now owns a smartphone" led to Microsoft's final decision. Ballmer says that the decision is the result of careful financial ... (view more)

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced today that the new and improved Windows 7 will be made available for netbooks, those tiny laptops currently out-selling conventional PCs. With the current economic crunch, consumers are cutting down on purchases ... of more expensive notebooks and desktops. Ballmer and the rest of the Microsoft family are feeling the strain, since PCs account for one of the largest markets for Windows software. Ballmer has apparently taken note of the surge in netbook popularity and plans to release a full (if somewhat "lighter") version of Windows 7 that will be able to run ... (view more)

The long-running "Vista Capable" lawsuit challenging Microsoft's marketing of PCs capable of running only the most basic version of the Windows Vista operating system has reportedly lost its class-action status. Federal judge Marsha Pechman ... decertified the class-action lawsuit, saying that plaintiffs had failed to show that consumers paid more for PCs with the "Vista Capable" label than they would have otherwise. Judge Pechman deemed that instead of quantifying a specific change in demand for PCs because of the marketing program, an expert witness for the plaintiffs relied on ... (view more)

In response to the current economic crisis , Microsoft Corp. has come out with a stimulus plan of their own. Their goal is to help a large group of individuals use their computers to land employment in ways other than to generate a compelling ... resume. The new online initiative, Elevate America, is set to equip close to 2 million people (over the next three years) with the skills needed to succeed in the field of technology. (Source: microsoft.com ) Elevate America offers two programs, one that will start training tech hopefuls immediately and one that will take some time but offer patient ... (view more)