Microsoft

Apple has reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to Amahi over its use of the term "App Store."

Amahi offers home server software for those who want to store and share content across their personal network. The company also has an application marketplace where users can download apps to extend the use of its software.

A member of the Amahi team published a letter that he claimed was sent to the software developer by Apple lawyers, saying that Amahi's use of "App Store" was in violation of the iPhone maker's trademark.

"It has recently … Read more

Skype is down for the second time in a matter of a couple of weeks, the VoIP service provider confirmed on its Twitter account this morning, saying it is working to address the issue.

"A small number of you may have problems signing in to Skype," the company wrote on its Twitter page today. "We're investigating the cause, and hope to have more details to share soon."

Skype users on Twitter aren't so sure it's just a "small number" who've been affected. One user wrote that he and "all … Read more

After Microsoft unveiled details on Windows 8 development last week, developers quickly realized that Silverlight had been left out of the discussion. And that was proving worrisome.

And now, Mary Jo Foley from our sister site ZDNet is urging Microsoft to make sure the platform comes back into the discussion, and soon.

At issue is Microsoft's upcoming handling of app development for the application marketplace in Windows 8. Foley says that by staying mum on Silverlight in connection with work on "immersive apps," Microsoft has caused some to wonder whether the platform will be supported. But Foley … Read more

As Microsoft prepares for the E3 video game conference next week, the company is already taking the opportunity to promote its progress in that arena.

According to the software giant, it has now sold 55 million Xbox 360 units worldwide since the device's launch in 2005. Perhaps most importantly, sales are "accelerating," Microsoft said, and in the first four months of 2011, Xbox 360 sales were up 29 percent compared to the same period in 2010.

That success, partly due to the launch of the Kinect motion-gaming peripheral last year, is helping Microsoft claim that it's … Read more

Though Microsoft's Xbox brand has been synonymous with gaming since the original console's launch in 2001, the software giant is shifting its focus to entertainment.

"Xbox is the gateway to games, music, movies, and TV shows--in short, it is central to entertainment," Frank Shaw, Microsoft's vice president for corporate communications, wrote on his company's blog yesterday. "Put simply, Xbox [equals] entertainment and is core to our entertainment strategy."

It might make some sense when one considers the importance of non-gaming activity on the Xbox 360. According to Shaw, 40 percent of all … Read more

Microsoft plans to unveil a new operating system designed for tablets within days, according to Bloomberg.

Citing three anonymous sources, Bloomberg reported yesterday that the software giant will be discussing its plans for tablets at some point in the next week, though they weren't certain where or when it would happen. Bloomberg's sources told the publication that the tablet-friendly Windows version would be running on hardware boasting Nvidia's ARM-based Tegra processor.

If the tablets are, in fact, running a processor based on ARM architecture, the operating system Microsoft would be showing off would not be Windows 7. … Read more

Facebook is expanding its efforts to fight child pornography using Microsoft technology, Redmond announced in a blog post yesterday.

The world's largest social network has joined the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's PhotoDNA program. The service, which was developed by Microsoft Research and Dartmouth College in 2009, uses image-matching technology to find known depictions of child pornography across the Web. Facebook plans to use the technology across its network to ensure child pornography is not circulating through the site.

Microsoft has been using PhotoDNA with great success since the service's development. According to the company, … Read more

Microsoft's Bing search engine director, Stefan Weitz, made his stance on search very clear in a recent interview with the Huffington Post.

"Search itself hasn't changed fundamentally in the past 12 years," he told the Huffington Post in the interview published yesterday. "Traditional search is failing. The standard notion of search...looking at the texts in the page, the backlinks, all that stuff doesn't work anymore."

Weitz specifically targeted Google, saying that the company's idea of the "connection between" Web sites to determine results ranking was a "brilliant, brilliant … Read more

Microsoft is offering a deal to students on the edge of summer.

Starting May 22, students who buy a new PC for $699 or more will receive a free Xbox 360 4GB console, the software giant said in a blog post today. The offer is available to online shoppers who buy a PC from Dell.com, HP.com, or Microsoft's online store. Those who want to head to a retail outlet can find the deal at Best Buy or Microsoft's stores.

In order for students to get the free Xbox 360, they will need to have .edu e-mail … Read more