Business

Industry insiders are warning potential buyers of Microsoft Office 2013 to carefully read the software's licensing agreement. According to reports, users of the popular software package could be prevented from installing programs like Excel, ... PowerPoint, and Word on more than a single PC. In a recent report, InfoWorld's Woody Leonhard notes that, according to the Microsoft Office 2013 licensing terms, users may have to re-purchase the software if their computer (the PC they originally installed the Office software on) breaks down. (Source: infoworld.com ) New Terms of Service for Home Users ... (view more)

A former Microsoft executive insists that the firm has "lost its coolness." As a step towards improving the situation, Joachim Kempin is calling for Microsoft chief financial officer Steve Ballmer to resign. Kempin formerly led Microsoft's OEM ... group, where he played a key role in overseeing the firm's relationship with its many hardware partners. Kempin left Microsoft in 2002 and has since turned to writing about his experiences in the consumer technology business. Microsoft's "Secret Power Broker" Speaks Out His most recent book, "Resolve and Fortitude: Microsoft's 'Secret Power ... (view more)

An analyst believes Microsoft may be passing up $2.5 billion a year by refusing to make its Office software package available for Apple's iPad tablet computer. The Redmond, Washington-based firm is trying to use the software to make its own Surface ... tablet devices more desirable -- a strategy critics are calling short-sighted. Part of the thinking at Microsoft seems to be that keeping Office off the iPad gives many customers who like to work on their devices a reason not to buy the Apple tablet. That makes them more likely to stick with Windows laptops or to try out Microsoft's own tablet, the ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed that its newly-released Surface Pro tablet computer will receive hardware support for roughly four-and-a-half years. However, the firm says it will support the Windows 8 Pro software for much longer. Microsoft's announcement ... that it will support Surface Pro hardware until July 2017 is in line with a similar announcement made about the Surface RT tablet last year. The Surface RT will be supported until April 2017. Hardware Repairs to End in 2017 Microsoft says that it will offer hardware repairs for the Surface Pro during that 4.5-year window. Those repairs won't cost ... (view more)

As part of its monthly Patch Tuesday security update, yesterday Microsoft released several fixes for its various software products. At the top of the list: fixes for five security flaws that could allow hackers to bypass system security and take ... remote control of a computer. Microsoft has rated five of the security vulnerabilities 'critical,' which is the firm's highest security rating. Two of these updates address flaws in the Internet Explorer (IE) web browser, including versions IE6 through IE10 (the latter being available for Windows 8- and Windows RT-based machines exclusively). IE ... (view more)

Former Google chief executive officer and current executive chairman Eric Schmidt has been given the option to sell off almost half of his shares in the search firm. The company says that's no reason to be concerned, however. Until recently, Schmidt ... owned roughly 7.6 million Google shares, representing 2.3 per cent of Google's outstanding capital stock. That gave Schmidt roughly 8 per cent of the firm's voting power. Former CEO Stands to Make $2.5 Billion from Stock Sale However, late last year he adopted a new stock trading plan that opened up the option of selling an estimated 3.2 million ... (view more)

In a recent "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit, Microsoft's Surface team addressed concerns about the Surface Pro, which hit stores over the weekend. At the top of the list: worries about the device's storage capacity. As we reported a few weeks ... ago, while Microsoft advertises that the Surface Pro ships with either 64GB or 128GB of storage space, the actual space available to end users is much lower. Microsoft Clarifies Storage Situation At the time, reports indicated that buyers of the 64GB version would be left with just 23GB of available storage space. Those picking up the 128GB version, ... (view more)

Consumers continue to show a reluctance to upgrade their computers to Microsoft's newest operating system (OS), Windows 8. According to a new report, Windows 8's uptake rate continues to slip behind that of Windows Vista. Analyst firm Net ... Applications reports that in January 2013 Windows 8's share of all Windows PCs was approximately 2.5 per cent. That represents an increase from December 2012, when Windows 8 accounted for 1.9 per cent of all Windows-based PCs. Add Windows RT-based computers to the list and Windows 8 is bumped up to a 2.6 per cent share. (Source: computerworld.co.nz ) ... (view more)

A Harvard professor says the ads Google delivers on Internet web pages encourage racial stereotyping. But she adds that this could be related to social prejudices and may not be due to racism on the part of Google. Latanya Sweeney has investigated ... racism extensively. Her previous findings suggested that people with 'black' names were less likely to get a job interview than those with 'white' names, even when submitting an identical resume. More recently Sweeney examined the Google advertisements appearing alongside the company's search results. She also investigated Reuters' own search tool, ... (view more)

Microsoft's promotional pricing for its new Windows 8 operating system (OS) has come to an end. However, the company has announced that, starting February 1, 2013, students in the United States will have access to a special Windows 8 upgrade rate. ... Microsoft on Wednesday announced that the deal will allow students to purchase the Windows 8 upgrade edition for just $69.99. Students can access the bargain by visiting the Microsoft Store. Windows Campus Tour to Visit 150 Universities To promote the deal, Microsoft says that, starting February 18, it will be kicking off a Windows Campus Tour. That ... (view more)