Pedro Hernandez

While the surprise Microsoft-Nokia deal continues to dominate headlines, Redmond’s business software division keeps setting the stage for new releases. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2, the latest version of the company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software suite, is set to arrive in October, the company announced at its Directions EMEA 2013 conference in Vienna. The […]

Microsoft is acquiring Nokia’s Devices & Services business for 3.79 billion euros, or an estimated $5 billion, the companies announced late Monday, Sept. 2. The software giant is also paying Nokia 1.65 billion euros, or $2.1 billion, to license the Finnish device manufacturer’s patents and mapping technologies. Nokia will also assign to Microsoft its long-term […]

Microsoft is on a cloud storage binge. Mere days after Microsoft more than tripled the storage capacity on default SkyDrive Pro accounts, the company announced that its cloud-based Exchange Online email service was following suit with an increase of its own. Businesses that have settled on Office 365 can now offer their users roomier inboxes […]

Microsoft is celebrating the “decade of meaningful conversations” that Skype, its VOIP software, has enabled during its time on the market. On its Website, the company recalled that on Aug. 29, 2003, “Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis founded what was to become an indispensable communications solution for more than 300 million people worldwide.” The software […]

Office 365 users have a bigger cloud storage pool to wade in after Microsoft more than tripled the default allocation. Now, instead of 7GB of storage, SkyDrive Pro accounts are entitled to 25GB worth of space to store their documents and files. Mark Kashman and Tejas Mehta, both Microsoft SharePoint marketing senior product managers, broke […]

It’s official. Microsoft has finally announced that development on Windows 8.1 has reached a critical stage: release to manufacturing (RTM). Leaks related to an internal RTM build of the OS update first surfaced last week but were eclipsed by Steve Ballmer, who in a surprise announcement Friday, Aug. 23, revealed that he was retiring from […]

Last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s surprise announcement eclipsed the news of some progress on the Windows front. As the tech world weighed the impact of Ballmer’s impending retirement from the software giant, the company took one step closer to the Oct. 17 release of Windows 8.1. According to insiders, Microsoft has released to manufacturing […]

In an unexpected move, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced Friday, Aug. 23 that he was retiring within 12 months, giving up the chief executive post that he has occupied for more than 13 years. “There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time,” said Ballmer in an […]

Steve Ballmer is retiring from Microsoft within 12 months, the software giant announced today. Ballmer has held the CEO position since January 2000. “There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time. We have embarked on a new strategy with a new organization and we have an […]

Microsoft on Aug. 21 announced the launch of a new educational program called Bing for Schools. Under the initiative, which is currently in the pilot stage, select schools can access Bing without advertisements and other protections that preserve privacy and fend against adult content. In a blog post, Bing behavioral scientist Matt Wallaert, noted the […]

Nearly four months after announcing plans to integrate Outlook.com and Skype video calling, Microsoft finally flipped the switch, allowing users in select countries to initiate Webcam sessions straight from the Outlook.com interface. Dawn Martynuik, group product manager for Outlook.com, revealed in an Aug. 19 blog post that Skype for Outlook.com is now available in the […]

Come April 2014, organizations that are still running Windows XP will face not only a support cutoff, but a security nightmare, cautions Microsoft. And the company’s warnings are growing louder. “There is a sense of urgency because after April 8, Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) customers will no longer receive new security updates, non-security […]