MICROSOFT

Microsoft Corp's chief executive attempted to laugh off the challenge of Google Inc's planned computer operating system on Tuesday, conceding only that it was interesting.

Microsoft has seen an 8 percent unique user's increased on its Bing search engine since its launch a month ago.

In a response to Google's announcement last week, Microsoft said it would offer Office software accessible via Web for free.

Microsoft Corp will release three versions of its dominant Office software that users can access over the Web, catching up with products that rival Google Inc launched three years ago.

Microsoft Corp will release a free version of its dominant Office software that users can access over the Web, catching up with products that arch rival Google Inc launched three years ago.

Six in 10 companies in a survey plan to skip the purchase of Microsoft Corp's Windows 7 computer operating system, many of them to pinch pennies and others over concern about compatibility with their existing applications.

Microsoft Corp is pitching to five of the world's biggest advertising companies a deal to buy Razorfish, its digital ad agency, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing executives familiar with the situation.

Silicon Valley startups, increasingly dropping Microsof and turning to Web-based software, may be the crucial opening Google needs for its Chrome operating system.

Sprint Nextel Corp. has reached a long-rumored deal worth as much as $5 billion to turn over day-to-day management of its network to Ericsson. Ericsson will take over daily operations and maintenance of Sprint's voice, data, and wireline networks. It will also take on 6,000 Sprint employees.

Google Inc plans to attack Microsoft Corp's core business by taking on the software giant's globally dominant Windows operating system for personal computers.

Microsoft on Wednesday said Steven Sinofsky has been promoted as President to the Windows Division, and will lead its business, from development and marketing functions for Windows, to Windows Live and the Internet Explorer.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors scooped up bargains in the commodities sectors a day after Wall Street slid to a 10-week low, but sentiment was dampened by the start of the quarterly earnings season.

Google is preparing to launch an operating system for personal computers next year, taking direct aim at the dominance of Microsoft Corp's Windows franchise.

Netscape founder Marc Andreessen said in an interview that he expects Facebook's revenue to be in excess of $500 million in 2009, and estimates that in five years, it'll be well into the billions.

In the search engine area, Google has reined king for most of recently memory but new moves from Microsoft and its Bing search engine is heating up competition.

Microsoft Bing Travel is unavailable for services due to an accidental fire at a Seattle building where Bing Travel data reside.

Intel Corp's former chief executive and chairman, Craig Barrett, said on Thursday it would take a few years to see whether Intel's technology partnership with Nokia succeeds. Last week Intel announced a technology partnership with Nokia that could potentially give the chip maker the breakthrough it has been looking for into the mobile market.

Analysis surveyed by StatCounter.com on Wednesday said Google still dominates the search engine markets despite its slide back from April from 79.07 to 78.48 percent share last month.

Microsoft Corp's new Bing search engine gained U.S. market share in its first month in operation but still trails dominant rival Google Inc, according to data released on Wednesday.

Cisco Systems Inc is considering offering Web-based alternatives to Microsoft Corp's popular Office software as the networking giant expands on the Internet.

Cisco Systems Inc is considering offering Web-based alternatives to Microsoft Corp's popular Office software as the networking giant expands on the Internet.