Yahoo! News: Microsoft

Microsoft

• Microsoft to let Zune owners keep 10 tracks a month (AFP)

  AFP - Microsoft, seeking to boost the popularity of its Zune music player, announced a new subscription offer on Thursday that will allow users to keep 10 tracks a month permanently.

  
  

• Microsoft says looking at raising debt (Reuters)

  Reuters - Microsoft Corp on Thursday filed plans with securities regulators to tap the debt markets, raising money to pay for working capital, share buybacks, or other types of general corporate expenses.

  
  

• Ballmer dismisses Yahoo buyout but open on search (AP)

  AP - Microsoft Corp. is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo Inc., CEO Steve Ballmer said Wednesday, though he told shareholders that the company would still be "very open" to a collaboration on Internet search. His comments sent Yahoo shares diving more than 20 percent.

  
  

• Microsoft Lowers Zune Prices, Tweaks Zune Pass (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - Microsoft cuts the price of its Zune media player and tweaks the Zune Pass model so that users can now own some songs permanently.

• Microsoft modifies Zune subscription model (Reuters)

  Reuters - Microsoft Corp on Thursday announced a new music subscription plan for owners of its Zune players, which would allow them to keep 10 tracks per month and add them to their permanent collection.

  
  

• Microsoft lets Zune music subscribers keep tunes (AP)

  AP - Microsoft Corp. is giving an early holiday gift to people who pay for all-you-can-listen access to the Zune digital music store: 10 songs to keep each month, included in the $14.99 monthly subscription fee.

  
  

• Microsoft: New software not Symantec, McAfee rival (Reuters)

  Reuters - Microsoft Corp's upcoming security software is not designed to take sales from Symantec Corp and McAfee Inc as it is a stripped-down, free product that focuses purely on anti-virus protection, a Microsoft executive said.

• Microsoft CEO rules out another Yahoo takeover bid (AFP)

  AFP - Microsoft Corp. chief executive Steve Ballmer on Wednesday ruled out making another takeover bid for Yahoo but said the US software giant remains open to a partnership on Internet search.

  
  

• Microsoft Will Replace OneCare with Security Software (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - Microsoft plans to stop accepting paid subscriptions to Windows Live OneCare in mid-2009. The security software is slated to be replaced by a free offering code-named Morro, which will focus on providing consumer PCs with core protection from viruses, spyware, rootkits, trojans and other forms of malware.

• Microsoft rules out buying Yahoo but likes search deal (Reuters)

  Reuters - Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer ruled out an acquisition of Yahoo Inc on Wednesday but said his company was interested in resuming talks on a Web search partnership.

  
  

• Microsoft, Novell eye Moonlight beta, system management (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - Marking the two-year anniversary of their controversial interoperability agreement, Microsoft and Novell this week are announcing upcoming availability of both the beta version of Moonlight, which puts Microsoft's Silverlight rich Internet application technology on Linux, and the general release of Advanced Management Pack for Suse Linux Enterprise for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2.

• Yahoo Could Thrive -- or Be Swallowed by Microsoft (NewsFactor)

  NewsFactor - It comes as little surprise to analysts who have been watching the Yahoo drama unfold over the past six months. CEO Jerry Yang, 40, is stepping down and the company is hunting for a new chief who can pull the Internet company up by its billion-dollar bootstraps and compete with Google.

• Microsoft to offer free anti-virus software (AFP)

  AFP - Microsoft has announced plans to offer free anti-virus software to PC users starting next year.

  
  

• New Yahoo CEO must be willing to do Microsoft deal (Reuters)

  Reuters - To impress shareholders, Yahoo Inc's next chief executive needs just one qualification: the willingness to do a deal with Microsoft Corp .

  
  

• Microsoft to offer free security software (Reuters)

  Reuters - Microsoft Corp said Wednesday it will discontinue sales of its subscription PC security service and instead offer free software to help protect computers from viruses, spyware and other threats.

  
  

• Subtract Yang; Add Microsoft? (Investor's Business Daily)

  Investor's Business Daily - Jerry Yang stepping down as Yahoo chief executive doesn't mean Microsoft will come back to the table, analysts say, though it sure heightens the speculation.

• Microsoft to Replace OneCare with Thin Alternative (PC Magazine)

  PC Magazine - Microsoft said Tuesday that it will discontinue its OneCare PC protection offering next June, replacing it with a thinner, free offering, "Morro," focused solely on anti-malware protection.

• Yahoo's fate riding on Yang's successor as CEO (AP)

  AP - With Jerry Yang quitting as Yahoo Inc.'s chief executive, the Internet company's board will confront pivotal questions as it looks for a new leader.

  
  

• The Microsoft-Novell Linux deal: Two years later (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - Two years ago this month, Microsoft forged its controversial partnership with Novell that, among other things, had the two companies agreeing not to sue each other over intellectual property issues, in part to protect Suse Linux users over any patent litigation from Microsoft.

• Test Center review: Silverlight, for real this time (InfoWorld)

  InfoWorld - Microsoft's answer to Adobe Flash and Flex and several other RIA (rich Internet application) and AJAX frameworks, Silverlight arrived with a flourish just over one year ago.