U.S. immigration laws prompt Microsoft to set up shop in Canada
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Microsoft said it will open a software development center in Canada this fall, partly to help it recruit and then retain foreign workers who are affected by U.S. immigration laws.
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Microsoft has finally launched an online music store in the US, albeit in &#39;preview&#39; form, some 16 months after the debut of iTunes.
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia  - A Canadian province  has opened a fractious debate over whether a U.S.  anti-terrorism law invades its citizens' privacy, a move that  could affect how American firms do business with Canada.
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Microsoft said it had signed its first agreement to license its technology, almost three years after European Union antitrust regulators ordered the software company to share data to increase competition. Microsoft said the deal, with Quest Software of California, was meant to comply with an antitrust order issued in March 2004 that demanded licensing of software that helps desktop computers communicate with servers. But the deal was met with skepticism from adversaries, who questioned how a company with a longstanding relationship with Microsoft could be considered a rival. The European Commission threatened Microsoft last week with fines as high as 3 million euros ($3.9 million) a day for failing to comply with the order.
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Microsoft  Corp.  said on Thursday it will open a software  development center in Vancouver, giving it a place to employ  skilled workers snagged by U.S. immigration quotas.
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The store chain will launch a Web DVD rental service like Netflix -- only cheaper. Also: American troops get access to Napster & hellip;. Microsoft offers XP lite in Asia to recapture business lost to Linux, piracy & hellip;. and more.
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Xbox Live, Microsoftâs gaming network that serves some six million Xbox users, is scheduled to be opened to PC gamers on May 8.
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When Microsoft made what appeared to be a minor announcement last week that it would expand its Canadian operations with the creation of the Microsoft Canada Development Centre for software development based in the greater Vancouver, British Columbia area, it went mostly unnoticed.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich.  - When you walk through the doors of Borders' new concept store, the place feels familiar. As with any big-box bookstore, you'll find a coffee shop over here and some strategically placed leather chairs over there. And, of course, lots of books. But follow the table of books snaking off to the right, and you'll come face-to-face with Borders' newest retail strategy: a digital center where you can download music or books, burn CDs, research family histories, print pictures and order leather-bound books crammed with family photos - with help from clerks who know how to do those sorts of things and won't embarrass you if you don't.
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A pilot program at the Microsoft Download Center will require users to validate their Windows license in exchange for access to file downloads. Users with counterfeit software may find themselves locked out altogether.
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Under threat of new multimillion fines, Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that it had signed up its first licensee for a scheme EU regulators told it to set up three years ago to share code that helps servers work with the Windows operating platform.
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Microsoft is looking for additional European-based firms to file challenges against the European Union&#39;s US$600 million ruling against the software giant.
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By announcing plans to maintain its current per-processor server software licensing, Microsoft Corp. has pleased customers and, in the process, put serious pressure on competing software developers to do the same.
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Microsoft Corp.  on Tuesday agreed to require only a single license for server software that runs on computers powered by a new generation of chips that squeeze multiple processors into a single package.
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BANGALORE, INDIA - MicrosoftÂ is setting up a research lab in Bangalore, India, that will focus on areas including computing technologies for emerging markets, according to a company executive.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft continues to tweak its volume licensing programs to make it easier for business customers to purchase the company's software in bulk. This week, Microsoft said it was reducing the length of three of its volume-licensing agreements between 10 percent to 50 percent, changes that affect the Enterprise Agreement, Enterprise Subscription, Select License, Open Value, Open Value Subscription and Open License volume licensing agreements. Microsoft also has made it easier for customers to navigate license information and sign up online, the company said. The changes will be implemented in the course of its fiscal year 2008, which began July 1. Microsoft has been amending different aspects of its volume licensing programs over the last several years in an effort to make them less complicated and expensive for customers. Volume licensing is how business customers buy Microsoft products. The company also faces pressure from changing industry dynamics where products are being licensed on a subscription basis rather than through complicated, long-term licenses. Microsoft is keeping up with some of these changes by increasingly offering business software as subscription-based services but still has a history of complex product licensing to contend with. Specifically, Microsoft said it will reduce the number of price points and SKUs for each of its volume licensing programs, which will simplify customers' search for specific product pricing. Currently, Microsoft has more than 8 million price points worldwide, which makes it confusing for customers to navigate through them. To reduce the number of price points, individual product SKUs with the same pricing will change to one term, called "Single Language," the company said. For example, a product like the SQL Server database has versions for different languages. If the product is only for one language, such as English, and is priced the same as other versions for other languages, the products now will be listed as "SQL Server Single Language" rather than with each language version listed individually, Microsoft said. According to Microsoft, just doing this reduces price points in the Select program by 51 percent and the number of product SKUs by 72 percent. In the Open Value program, price points are reduced by 50 percent and SKUs by 51 percent, and in the Open License program, prices points are reduced by 32 percent and the number of SKUs by 33 percent, the company said. Microsoft also has made some content changes to all of its volume licensing agreements to streamline the language used in themÂ and has added a table of contents and summary titles to agreements to make them easier for customers to navigate. In addition to the changes, Microsoft also is launching a Volume Licensing Service Center online that will help customers manage their volume licenses. The service center will provide downloads to software that customers are eligible to receive under their agreements, and also allow them to view and request Volume Licensing Product Keys for software in their agreements. Additionally, customers can calculate license statements on the Web site.
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Apple Computer Inc., whose iTunes Web sites make up world&#39;s largest online music store, said it opened a version of the service for Canadian customers.