Posted on

Microsoft was Salesforce.com’s $55 billion suitor, but talks are off

Salesforce.com’s shares spiked last month amid reports from Bloomberg that an unspecified company was in talks to buy the Software-as-a-Service firm. There was a repeat earlier this month when Bloomberg reported that Microsoft was evaluating a bid for the firm, but had not started talks. CNBC is now reporting that talks between the companies have, in fact taken place, but that they’ve also come to an end with no agreement being reached.

Read on, source: Microsoft was Salesforce.com’s $55 billion suitor, but talks are off | Ars Technica

Posted on

FACT: Windows 10 will gobble up Android apps … and iOS apps, too

Build 2015 Microsoft does plan to get Android code working with Windows 10 – so the rumors are true, sort of.But what the software giant actually has planned is more nuanced than just borrowing apps from the Google Play store, and it involves courting iOS developers, too.At the Build developer conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, Microsoft executive VP of operating systems Terry Myerson outlined an ambitious plan to fill out the anemic Windows Store with new apps, and it involves reusing code from as many sources as possible.Note we said “reusing,” not “running.” This isn’t a strict Android-compatibility play like BlackBerry tried with its latest OS. Microsoft will get developers most of the way by allowing them to repurpose the Java and C++ code from their Android apps, but also wants them to tailor the apps to take advantage of what Windows has to offer.

Read on, source: FACT: Windows 10 will gobble up Android apps … and iOS apps, too • The Register

Posted on

Microsoft is BEATING Amazon’s cloud revenues. Er, how?

Microsoft’s cloud revenues are beating those of Amazon’s AWS. That’s if analyst-haus Stifel Nicolaus’s data is correct.Back in 2012’s third quarter Microsoft commercial cloud revenue was $254m, with Amazon Web Services (AWS) ahead at $530m. In the first quarter of 2015 AWS revenues totaled $1.566bn, with Microsoft nudging ahead for the first time at $1.575bn. So that’ll be Office 365 and other online services propping up Microsoft’s Azure cloud numbers.

Read on, source: Microsoft is BEATING Amazon’s cloud revenues. Er, how? • The Register

Posted on

Take a Moment of Silence for Google’s Discontinued

Popular Android device is officially defunctIt took some time before Android tablets hit their stride. In the beginning, they were expensive, as manufacturers tried to compete with Apple’s iPad on price, which negated one of the primary benefits of Android — it’s an open source platform and products should be cheaper than their proprietary counterparts. It took Amazon’s Kindle Fire (now just Fire) line to drive the point home, though it was Google’s Nexus 7 that finally got things right. Fast forward to today and Google’s Nexus 7 is sadly discontinued.

Read on, source: Take a Moment of Silence for Google’s Discontinued Nexus 7 Tablet | Maximum PC