Microsoft to buy Ciao.com for $486 Million.
Microsoft Corp. is buying Germany-based Web comparison shopping site Ciao and its parent company Greenfield for about $486 million in cash. Microsoft says the acquisition of Ciao, a collection of European price-comparison, shopping and consumer reviews sites in seven countries and languages, will boost its search presence in Europe. Google dominates the search industry with 62 percent of the global search market and 79 percent in Europe. Ciao.com gets more than 26 million unique visitors a month.
Microsot Resosponds to Mac ad, enlists Seinfeld
The “Get a Mac” campaign may one of the reasons behind Apple’s rising market share in computer industry. Now Microsoft is fighting back with its own ad campaign. Seinfeld will be one of the key celebrity pitchmen in the $300 million ad campaign which is going to be launched soon. The new ad effort is expected to use some variation of the slogan “Windows, Not Walls.” But its doubtful that $300 million is sufficient to reverse the negative public perception of Windows Vista.
Microsoft PhotoSynth Goes Public
PhotoSynth a web service by Microsoft which has been available as a technology preview until now opens for everyone now. The technology takes a grouping of photographs and stitches them into a virtual 3D environment. Each user is given a 20 GB online storage for the PhotoSynth collection. Users have to download a special plugin to view the Synths. Previously, the process of combining photos together took days of processing on specially configured machines. PhotoSynth can be said as one of the innovative application from Microsoft after a long time.
Record Setting in Downgrading.
Performance and metrics researcher Devil Mountain Software reports that its survey of over 3,000 Vista PCs revealed nearly 35 percent to be running XP. That means one in three PCs with Vista is downgraded to XP. PC makers have been selling Vista license but actually shipping them with XP installed. Customers want XP so vendors are using the loop holes to provide it. But the survey I’m looking for is..how many people chose Mac because of Vista?
Taiwan wants XP forever
Taiwanese Consumer Foundation filed a complaint against Microsoft claiming the company is effectively using its monopoly to force sales of Vista. According to the foundation 59 percent of consumers buying new PCs, with Vista on, would later put XP on their machine. It also claimed that 67 percent of the consumers prefer XP than Vista. If found guilty Microsoft could be fined 25m Taiwanese Dollars.
Midori Web based OS by MicroSoft
MicroSoft researchers are working on a new operating system code named Midori. Midori is said to be a web based operating system. With more and more web based applications taking the place of individual applications, client operating systems like Windows will become obsolete soon. It seems Microsoft is getting ready for that day. Although Microsoft won’t comment publicly on what Midori is, the company has confirmed that it exists. The current version of Windows Vista, has been poorly received by IT managers.
Gates left MicroSoft
Bill Gates, founder of the software giant MicroSoft left the company last Friday. He’s retiring from the company to dedicate more time to his charitable foundation,Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation a $37 billion foundation created by Bill and his wife a decade ago. Gates will remain Microsoft’s chairman on a part-time basis. Gates began programming computers when he was 13 and a student living in the northwestern US state of Washington. He founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975.
He made a comic video “Bill’s Last Day at Work”. Watch it here:
Bill Gates Last Day Of Work - Watch more free videos
Microsoft buys television ad Firm Navic
Navic developed a technology to deliver interactive ads on Television. Their ads are interactive overlays targeted by zip code to each cable subscriber. Microsoft Corp says it has purchased Navic Networks. Navic will join Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions (APS) Group, which is responsible for its digital media advertising platform. Google has already got into TV ads market through it AdWords program.
Microsoft’s ‘Telescope’
The WorldWide Telescope (WWT), Microsoft’s response to Google Sky is a Web 2.0 visualization software environment that enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope—bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world for a seamless exploration of the universe. The service, which opened to the public on May 13, lets people explore the cosmos through any computer with an Internet connection. It combines about 12 terabytes of data, including 50 surveys and 1,000 high-resolution studies, with links to astronomy research on sites around the Web. Google Sky leverages Google Maps. In addition to a 3D looks at stars and galaxies, Google Sky offers infrared, microwave, and historical views of the sky.
Microsoft Withdraws Yahoo bid
Microsoft announced today that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc. In a final meeting occurred today at Microsoft headquarters, Yahoo said the lowest price they could accept was $37/share. Microsoft said that the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for them. Microsoft made a public offer to buy Yahoo on Jan. 31 this year. Both Microsoft and Yahoo have struggled to compete with Google for the billions of online advertising dollars.
No more Hotmail Access via Outlook Express
Microsoft announced last week that it will turn off access to its Web-based hotmail service from the desktop e-mail software Outlook Express at the end of June. Users will still be able to use Outlook, to read their Hotmail messages offline. Outlook Express users who want to continue to access their Hotmail accounts offline after June 30 can download Microsoft’s free Windows Live Mail software.
Google ads on Yahoo
Google and Yahoo announced a two week experiment to show Google ads on Yahoo searches in US. By partnering with Google, Yahoo is trying to signal it has other options besides succumbing to Microsoft. Yahoo also has discussed deals with MySpace.com and AOL. Yahoo insists it’s worth more than the initial bid of $44.6 billion, or $31 per share, that Microsoft made more than two months ago.
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