Microsoft

What makes the most valuable tech companies so valuable?

How do we value technology companies? Ingenuity and invention, quality of service, brand loyalty, manufacturing muscle, operating efficiency, supply-chain management, price, great place to work. There are lots of metrics.

For those unfamiliar with the wily ways of Wall Street, the stock market has its own way of expressing what it thinks of companies. It's called market capitalization or market cap for short.… Read more

The European Union's pro open-source stance

It's perhaps not surprising that the European Union, while long attempting to remain neutral on open source, has finally come out to suggest that it will favor open source. Like the US Navy, the EU recognizes the value in open source and open standards:

For all future IT developments and procurement procedures, the Commission shall promote the use of products that support open, well-documented standards. Interoperability is a critical issue for the Commission, and usage of well-established open standards is a key factor to achieve and endorse it.

Undoubtedly Steve Ballmer will be on a plane within days to try to hector the EU into ceding its sovereignty to Microsoft again. (Btw, Ballmer beat the pulpit at Accel's recent CEO day, accusing open source of stealing Microsoft's intellectual property. This man dearly needs to get a life...and a clue.)… Read more

Microsoft gets Rapt up in advertising management software

Microsoft on Friday announced that it has acquired Rapt, an advertising management software and services company.

Under the deal, whose terms were not disclosed, Rapt's software and services will be folded into Microsoft's Atlas Publisher Suite, which is part of its Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group.

Rapt's software and services are designed to aid online publishers with improving their ability to price, forecast and deliver ads. Microsoft plans to use Rapt's pricing analytics, inventory management, and business intelligence software on top of its Atlas ad-serving platform, thereby bolstering its presence among online publishers.

"With this … Read more

CNET News.com readers weigh in on smartphones

If CNET News.com's readers are any indication, Microsoft's Windows Mobile has a better base of support than one might think, but all the winds are blowing toward Apple.

The results of our first annual (maybe) smartphone survey are in, and thanks to everyone who left comments here on One More Thing or over on Crave, and those who flooded my inbox with responses. Yes, I know we should have a survey tool, but we're working on other stuff right now that's more important. (You'll have to trust me on that one.)

Between the comments … Read more

Start-up Xcerion offers a peek at the clouds

Those who want a glimpse of cloud computing's future might want to check out the work of a little-known Swedish start-up.

Xcerion has a browser-based environment known as icloud that looks a whole lot like a Windows or Linux desktop. There are files, folders, icons, and applications, but the data lives inside the cloud. Although some bristle at the notion of a "cloud OS," because such products inevitably still require a Linux or Windows-based PC, Xcerion's icloud does put all the kinds of things you do in a desktop operating system, running inside a browser window. … Read more

Zune 3 coming in '09

In an announcement that will surely test the patience of Zune fans, European newspaper GNT has quoted Microsoft France's Francois Ruault as saying the third generation of the Zune MP3 player will likely have a worldwide release during the holiday season of 2009. While folks in the European Union are probably happy to hear they'll be getting the Zune at all, the rest of us have just glimpsed a long wait for a Zune 3 hardware refresh.

The article goes on to hint that Microsoft's Zune Marketplace digital music download service will eventually be rolled into the … Read more

Forget Yahoo, Microsoft should acquire AOL

After today's announcement that AOL has acquired Bebo for $850 million in the hopes that it will be able to capitalize on the upswing in social networking, I had a thought. Knowing that AOL is trying to get a deal done with Yahoo and the company owns some solid properties, why doesn't Microsoft forget about Yahoo for a while and acquire AOL?

Sound crazy? If so, consider the fact that AOL has quickly become one of the largest competitors to Microsoft in its attempt to acquire Yahoo and at the same time, it's barely standing on the backs of sound editorial content from Weblogs, Inc. and now, social networking -- two areas Microsoft currently has no influence in.

In essence, the deal for AOL would be a good one for Microsoft and could actually help it in its negotiations for Yahoo. Here's why:… Read more

MSN executive departs for online ad agency

Joanne Bradford, who has headed the advertising sales efforts around MSN, is leaving the software maker to head to Los Angeles-based ad agency Spot Runner, where she will be executive vice president.

Bradford, who has been at Microsoft for six and a half years, was the company's public face last May at its annual Strategic Account Summit, where Microsoft met with MSN's largest advertisers.

"We wish Joanne Bradford all the best as she moves to Spot Runner," Microsoft Senior Vice President Satya Nadella said in a statement. "We thank her for her many contributions in … Read more

What's got Microsoft and Yahoo talking?

With Yahoo's potential dance partners all stepping away, it's not surprising that Yahoo is finding it harder to completely ignore the folks in Redmond. A source familiar with the talks has told CNET News.com that the two sides are having some preliminary discussions.

Another factor that could be coming into play is the fact that Yahoo has quarterly earnings next month. Given that the economy appears to be slowing, there is reason to think that Yahoo may have less than glowing things to say, an issue that could put pressure on Yahoo's stock. That could give … Read more