WinHEC is the only Microsoft conference that is exclusively focused on designing PCs, servers, and devices that run and interface with Windows. This year, the inclusion of Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded Devices into the conference agenda shows a further determination of Microsoft to extend the application of the much familiar operator interface and design logic to mobile commerce and smart home environment.

Ever since it rejected a buyout offer from Microsoft early this year, Yahoo! has seen its share price head straight down and suffered a huge talent drain. This week's resignation of co-founder Jerry Yang as chief executive had an air of inevitability to it, as did the recent collapse of its search deal with Google.

A federal judge in Seattle has ordered Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to testify in a class action lawsuit against Microsoft that alleges the company misled consumers in a marketing campaign for Windows Vista.

"Our preliminary reaction is that SearchPerks will likely result (in) a sub-standard outcome," Aggarwal wrote in a report Thursday. "In our view, attempts like this one can in fact hurt Microsoft's reputation in the eyes of end-users and advertisers."

...technology outlays will sink 20 percent to $17.6 billion next year from an estimated $21.9 billion in 2008, said Larry Tabb, founder of Tabb Group in New York, which tracks securities firm budgets. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s bankruptcy and Bank of America Corp.'s purchase of Merrill Lynch mark the beginning of stark spending cuts amid plans for a US$700 billion government bailout for Wall Street. More than 20% of global technology spending comes from the finance industry, said researcher Gartner...

Sony surprised some at the annual E3 conference on Tuesday by reducing the price of its high end PlayStation 3 (PS3) console, following Microsoft earlier move to reduce the price of its Xbox 360.

Microsoft announced the availability of Windows Embedded NavReady 2009, Microsoft's first embedded operating system designed specifically for OEMs building handheld portable navigation devices (PNDs).