March 05, 2010, 2:30 PM — The big news this week out of Redmondland was CEO Steve Ballmer's Cloud Manifesto at the University of Washington. Big Steve was explicit in his remarks: Microsoft is betting its future on cloud computing.
Ballmer laid out the five dimensions of the cloud and how Microsoft's wares fit in to each dimension, from Bing Maps to Xbox to SQL server. Microsoft's new poker-influenced cloud tagline says it all: "We're all in."
Click here for a Webcast of Ballmer talking cloud.
[ For complete coverage on Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system -- including hands-on reviews, video tutorials and advice on enterprise rollouts -- see CIO.com's Windows 7 Bible. ]
Also in this first week of March 2010, Microsoft confirmed free upgrades to Office 2010 to customers who purchase an eligible copy of Office 2007 between March 5 and Sept. 30. Office 2010 launches in June.
On the rumor and speculation side of the fence, reports surfaced that Microsoft-branded, Sidekick-influenced smartphones geared for the younger crowd, codenamed Pink, will allegedly be launched in April and Verizon will be the carrier.
Also, some of Steve Ballmer's comments about Twitter from this week fanned the flames of acquisition chatter. MicroTweet, anyone? Ballmer's not saying yay or nay.
Here's a round up of this week's Microsoft stories from CIO.com and its sister publications.
Microsoft's Ballmer: 'For the Cloud, We're All In' Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer speaks at University of Washington about cloud computing, the company's strategy and why it's not just for techies.
Microsoft Confirms Free Office 2010 Upgrade Deal Microsoft's CFO confirmed today that the company will offer a free upgrade to the upcoming Office 2010 suite starting this month.
Microsoft to Spend $9.5 Billion on Research in 2010 Microsoft plans to spend $9.5 billion on research and development this year, which a senior executive said Thursday is more than any competitor.
Verizon Gets Microsoft 'Pink' Phones? Tipsters have outed Microsoft's social network-loving phones, codenamed "Pink," for an April launch on Verizon Wireless.
Microsoft Buy Twitter? Don't Be a Twit It's unclear what Microsoft would gain from acquiring Twitter other than an annoying nickname: MicroTweet (And you thought MicroHoo was bad).
Microsoft's Tax-for-Hacks 'Horrible' Idea, say Security Experts Microsoft's idea that the fight against malware could be funded by an Internet tax is "horrible," an analyst said Thursday as other experts weighed in on a recent comment by the company's security chief.
Typical Windows User Patches Every 5 Days The typical home user running Windows faces the "unreasonable" task of patching software an average of every five days, a security and vulnerability research company said.
Shane O'Neill is a senior writer at CIO.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/smoneill. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter at twitter.com/CIOonline.
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