Xbox One: Live from Microsoft’s new console unveiling in Redmond

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The doors are about to open here in Redmond for the much-anticipated unveiling of Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox. I’m here along with hundreds of others for the day. Follow along here as the news unfolds, and stay tuned for updates throughout the day. See this post by Xbox Live’s Major Nelson for information about watching the… Read More…

Customer satisfaction with Microsoft software declines slightly after Windows 8

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New data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index shows satisfaction with Microsoft software declining slightly this year, falling 1.3 points to a score of 74 on a scale of 100. The result follows the release of Windows 8 last fall, with a new interface that creates a learning curve for many longtime Windows users. David VanAmburg,… Read More…

Here’s what Microsoft is paying its new CFO Amy Hood

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Microsoft’s newly appointed chief financial officer, Amy Hood, will start at an annual base salary of $570,000, along with Microsoft stock valued around $6.5 million based on today’s share price, according to regulatory filings from the company today and last week. That’s in addition to a potential cash bonus based on future performance. Hood was… Read More…

Study: The biggest social collaboration tool inside big companies is … Facebook?

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Salesforce.com, Microsoft, IBM and many smaller companies are competing aggressively in the market for enterprise social collaboration, offering advanced tools specifically designed to help workers communicate and share insights. But it turns out the dominate social collaboration tool inside big companies is plain old Facebook, followed by Twitter. That’s one of the takeaways from a… Read More…

Take a picture with your voice? Microsoft wants a patent on it

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Tired of using a timer to snap a picture? Microsoft has a solution for you. Well, it’s not a particularly original solution, at least not at this point. But the company is hoping to patent the approach. A newly surfaced patent application, first reported by Patent Bolt, describes a method for “voice-controlled camera operations,” in… Read More…

Microsoft: Global video-game market hits $65 billion, and consoles still lead the way

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Microsoft is getting ready to reveal the next generation of the Xbox next week, and despite signs that the console market is struggling, the company this afternoon released a big batch of stats to make the case that the industry is very much alive and kicking. Spending on all types of video games (including hardware… Read More…

Microsoft’s Windows Phone inches past BlackBerry for #3 in IDC’s global rankings

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Microsoft’s Windows Phone is making modest but steady progress in the smartphone market, according to the latest numbers from the IDC research firm. Shipments of Windows Phone reached 7 million units in the first quarter, the firm says. That gave Microsoft 3.2 percent market share and put Windows Phone ahead of BlackBerry, which came in… Read More…

The next Xbox: Why this launch is so critical for Microsoft

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Next Tuesday, May 21, is a Very Big Day for Microsoft. With the rest of the technology world watching, the company will take the stage at 10 a.m. Pacific time in Redmond to reveal the new generation of Xbox, whatever form (or name) it may take. This is the world into which this new Xbox… Read More…

Patent gurus weigh in: Is the market for deals cooling off?

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Patents are one of the central topics at the spring meeting of the Licensing Executives Society of the U.S.A. and Canada, taking place in downtown Seattle this week. Many of the executives are heavily involved in patent licensing, acquisitions and sales. When you get them together, they talk about the patent market in much the… Read More…