Microsoft has launched beta testing for a service called Vine, which was originally conceived after Hurricane Katrina. Some are comparing the service to Twitter, but I don’t exactly see the connection other than it lets you communicate with your friends, which could pretty much be said of any social network, email service, or telephone.
Microsoft Reports Quarterly Year-to-Year Revenue Drop For First Time In 30 Years
Microsoft reported its first ever year-over-year quarterly drop in revenue, in its entire 30-year history!
I’ll let that sink in for a second.
In its three decades of existence, Microsoft had never before seen a year-over-year quarterly drop, so if you needed a sign of just how bad this recession is, this is it!
Google’s Dominance and Microsoft’s Perseverance
Year after year, and month after month we keep an eye on the search engine market share picture. Over and over again in the US, we see Google completely dominating (more so with each year it seems), Yahoo a ways back, and Microsoft even further back.
Microsoft, Mayo Clinic Partner On Health Records Tool
The Mayo Clinic has partnered with Microsoft to launch a free online tool that allows people to manage their medical information on the Web.
The application called the "Mayo Clinic Health Manager" allows users to organize health information for multiple family members, access information from one location, and proactively manage their health.
Microsoft Throwing Another Log Onto the Brand Fire
Here we go again with the whirlwind of search engine brands from Microsoft. Joseph Tartakoff with paidContent.org is reporting that Microsoft has trademarked what appears to be a new brand name of an upcoming mobile search engine. And that name is "Sift." He writes:
Digg Decides It No Longer Needs Microsoft
Back in the summer of ’07, Digg and Microsoft announced a partnership that would see Microsoft selling and serving ads on Digg, not unlike Microsoft’s deal with Facebook inked the previous year. The deal was to last until the summer of 2010, but Digg has now pulled the plug according to ClickZ.
Microsoft Nets Ad Deal With Discovery Channel
Microsoft is running its first ad campaign that simultaneously combines Internet, mobile and video game ads to promote the Discovery Channel’s fifth season of the fishing documentary "Deadliest Catch."
Microsoft says the one-day campaign with the Discovery Channel has enabled it to sell 90 percent of its advertising inventory. The advertising campaign will be on MSN, MSN Mobile, Windows Live Hotmail, Microsoft Live Search and Xbox Live.
Microsoft Employees Demonstrate Fondness For Google
There once when a time when it was a very bad idea for American autoworkers to own foreign vehicles. A lone Toyota in the employee parking lot might, according to some stories, get mysteriously overturned. Fanatical Microsoft employees shouldn’t even think about enforcing a similar rule set, though, because almost half of the corporation’s workers use Google.
Google and Microsoft Competing for Twitter Deal?
Kara Swisher at Boomtown claims to have a scoop from "many sources with knowledge of the situation" that Google and Microsoft are battling for a search advertising deal with Twitter. Swisher recently dispelled rumors that Google was close to acquiring Twitter, but the "talks" that the two companies were in could have easily been regarding something like this.
Microsoft Partners With NASA To Put Images Online
Microsoft has partnered with NASA to put the space agency’s most interesting content, such as high- resolution images of Mars and the moon online.
Microsoft’s online virtual telescope, WorldWide Telescope will feature the images. Under the agreement, NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California will process and host the data.