Stats: Windows consumer sales down 21% in U.S. since Windows 8 launch

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Unit sales of Windows PCs and tablets to consumers in the U.S. are down 21 percent since the Windows 8 launch a month ago, compared with the same period last year, according to new numbers released this morning by the NPD Group market research firm. NPD notes in a news release that Windows 8 tablet sales… Read More…

Windows 8 in the clouds: Emirates giving 1,000 flight attendants HP ElitePad tablets

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Windows 8 might not be getting off to the start Microsoft had hoped for, but one major airline seems to be a big fan. At the Windows 8 launch event in Dubai, Emirates announced that it has developed a Windows 8 app called Knowledge Driven Inflight Service (KIS) to help crews provide better service and will… Read More…

Filing: Microsoft’s Sinofsky technically an employee through end of the year

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Just in case you were worried: It looks like Steven Sinofsky will still get his employee discount on Microsoft products for the holidays.  A Microsoft filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission gives the official word on the Windows president’s departure, saying he resigned on Nov. 12, as reported, but will “remain an employee until… Read More…

Poll: Is Windows chief’s exit good or bad for Microsoft?

Steven Sinofsky

Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky’s surprise departure from the company yesterday is generating all sorts of speculation, including a theory that he left after making an unsuccessful case to be designated Steve Ballmer’s successor as Microsoft’s chief executive. Sinofsky is a polarizing figure, with fans and critics, and the reaction to his departure is having… Read More…

Sinofsky Shocker: Windows President is Leaving Microsoft

sinofskys

So much for all that talk about Steven Sinofsky being the next CEO of Microsoft. In a surprise move this evening, Microsoft announced that the Windows president is leaving the company, effective immediately, less than three weeks after the release of Windows 8. “It is impossible to count the blessings I have received over my… Read More…

Nokia drops out of top 5 smartphone rankings

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It seems like only yesterday when you would hear that Nokia jingle in every coffee shop, but the latest numbers show that the Finnish company is free-falling out of the cell phone sphere. All Things D reports that the third quarter metrics from IDC show Nokia out of the top 5 smartphone vendors in the… Read More…

Skating on Surface, Rapping with Too Short: How Windows execs are blowing off steam

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The debut of Windows 8 next week will represent one of the biggest moments in the careers of Microsoft’s Windows team — a high-stakes and high-profile launch that will put years of their work and decision-making to the test. But the pressure isn’t keeping the executive team from having a little fun, apparently. First, the… Read More…

Ask Andru: How do I convert cassette tapes to digital format?

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With the move to cloud and digital content that’s taken the world by storm, older technologies have fallen by the wayside. The problem, though, is that there are still plenty of great pieces of content that are relegated to VHS, film reels, cassette tapes, and records. Today in my Ask Andru column, we have a… Read More…

How to break up Microsoft: Maybe it’s not such a crazy idea

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What if someone could create three large, nimble and profitable tech companies out of thin air, building each of them around a well-known and successful technology brand? Each company would be big enough to be an industry leader, but not so giant as to be weighed down by a massive corporate bureaucracy or ties to legacy… Read More…

Microsoft vets weigh in: Here’s what needs to change

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Stephen Toulouse worked at Microsoft for 18 years before leaving earlier this year, so he read Kurt Eichenwald’s Vanity Fair piece on the company’s “Lost Decade” with a former insider’s eye. And he agrees with its assessment about Microsoft’s stack-ranking system, which evaluates and compensates employees in a way that artificially pits them against each other…. Read More…