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Microsoft Office offering online subscription for Microsoft Office 2013. The subscription fees are listed in its website. Sound good for SME, but not so for personal usage.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-sg/home-premium/

Will all MS Office users eventually migrate to this model? The same was done by Adobe's Photoshop previously. It has forced all its user to subscription model, instead of off-the-shelf packages. It is good for product owner, but not necessary for product users, imo

I am using it now, on trial of 1 month...

(not vested)

To reward shareholders amid settling down with its next CEO...

Microsoft to buy back S$50.4b of shares, boost dividend

NEW YORK — Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, announced a new US$40 billion (S$50.4 billion) stock buyback and increased its dividend 22 per cent, seeking to reward shareholders at a tumultuous time for the firm.

The new repurchase programme, which has no expiration date, replaces another US$40 billion buyback plan that was due to lapse at the end of this month, Microsoft said yesterday. The company’s quarterly dividend will rise 22 per cent to 28 cents a share, payable to shareholders on Dec 12.

“These actions reflect a continued commitment to returning cash to our shareholders,” said Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood.

After struggling to keep up with rivals in the smartphone and tablet markets, Microsoft is retooling its strategy and seeking a new Chief Executive Officer. Mr Steve Ballmer, who has run the company since 2000, announced plans last month to retire when a replacement is found. The firm also agreed to buy Nokia’s phone business for US$7.2 billion, aiming to bolster its position in mobile devices. BLOOMBERG
http://www.todayonline.com/business/micr...t-dividend

I hope they can offer scrip dividend so that I don't need pay 30% withholding tax and I can get more and more shares. Let the rest sell their shares and the company buy back all the rest. I will be the richest man in the world(unlikely to happen. There are too many smart investors around. haiz).

(18-09-2013, 10:00 AM)freedom Wrote: [ -> ]I hope they can offer scrip dividend so that I don't need pay 30% withholding tax and I can get more and more shares. Let the rest sell their shares and the company buy back all the rest. I will be the richest man in the world(unlikely to happen. There are too many smart investors around. haiz).

May be easier to be the richest man among your peers...

MS's effort on tablets continue, after the failed previous Surface ...

Microsoft unveils new Surface, fixes shortcomings

NEW YORK — Microsoft refreshed its Surface tablet computers yesterday (Sept 23), giving them longer battery life and better comfort on laps as the software giant continues its transformation into a devices and services company.

The company said it tried to address many shortcomings of the first-generation Surface models, sales of which have been slow. Microsoft needs to boost its tablet business to make up for sales declines in traditional desktop and laptop computers. IDC is forecasting a nearly 10 per cent decline in PC shipments this year. The research firm also said tablets will outsell traditional PCs in the last three months of the year.

The new tablet models come with a better built-in kickstand so they can rest more firmly on users’ laps while they sit on the couch. Microsoft is also making a docking station and a wireless mouse for business customers who need the mobility of tablets but also desire the traditional ways of using computers while in the office.

“We’ve definitely gotten a year smarter,” Mr Brian Hall, general manager of sales and marketing for Surface, said in an interview
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/gadgets/...ortcomings

Steve Ballmer gone, yes with a good reason. Should Bill Gates go?

Bill Gates must go, top Microsoft investors tell board

NEW YORK/SEATTLE — Three of the top 20 investors in Microsoft are lobbying the board to press for Mr Bill Gates to step down as chairman of the software company he co-founded 38 years ago, according to people familiar with matter.

While Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has been under pressure for years to improve the company’s performance and share price, this appears to be the first time that major shareholders are taking aim at Mr Gates, who remains one of the most respected and influential figures in technology.

A representative for Microsoft declined to comment yesterday (Oct 1).

There is no indication that Microsoft’s board would heed the wishes of the three investors, who collectively hold more than 5 per cent of the company’s stock, according to the sources. They requested the identity of the investors be kept anonymous because the discussions are private.

Mr Gates owns about 4.5 per cent of the US$277 billion (S$346.8 billion) company and is its largest individual shareholder.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/bill-gat...tell-board

The recent migration of web-site licensing of Office products, are using the cloud, and it is very useful for corporate road warrior.

MS might be moving in a right trend with cloud, instead of hardware products, IMO

Microsoft changes way it looks at cloud

REDMOND (washington) — Microsoft will soon launch a range of products to beef up its cloud computing business, said its Executive Vice-President for Cloud and Enterprise, Mr Satya Nadella, who highlighted the radical change in the way the software giant looked at the business.

“The big call we made was that my 10,000-person organisation focused on one thing — building software that powers Windows Azure. The software for Azure runs on the server, not the other way around,” he said. Azure is the name of the company’s cloud.

That was a big deal for the company that had a lot of legacy business.

All too often, as when Microsoft went into phones and tablets with an approach that stressed its PC operating system, the pressure is to make the dominant existing technology the centre of the new offering, whether or not it belongs there.

“You can rightfully criticise us on mobile and tablets,” Mr Nadella said.

“What does Windows Azure have to do with Windows Server?” he said, naming the older server product. “Nothing, besides the name Windows. Azure is a new operating system, designed not just for our cloud, but for anybody to build a cloud with.”

Two of the new products to be released on Oct 18 are designed to help create cloud-type data centres.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/microsof...ooks-cloud

(09-10-2013, 10:33 AM)CityFarmer Wrote: [ -> ]The recent migration of web-site licensing of Office products, are using the cloud, and it is very useful for corporate road warrior.

MS might be moving in a right trend with cloud, instead of hardware products, IMO

Microsoft changes way it looks at cloud

REDMOND (washington) — Microsoft will soon launch a range of products to beef up its cloud computing business, said its Executive Vice-President for Cloud and Enterprise, Mr Satya Nadella, who highlighted the radical change in the way the software giant looked at the business.

“The big call we made was that my 10,000-person organisation focused on one thing — building software that powers Windows Azure. The software for Azure runs on the server, not the other way around,” he said. Azure is the name of the company’s cloud.

That was a big deal for the company that had a lot of legacy business.

All too often, as when Microsoft went into phones and tablets with an approach that stressed its PC operating system, the pressure is to make the dominant existing technology the centre of the new offering, whether or not it belongs there.

“You can rightfully criticise us on mobile and tablets,” Mr Nadella said.

“What does Windows Azure have to do with Windows Server?” he said, naming the older server product. “Nothing, besides the name Windows. Azure is a new operating system, designed not just for our cloud, but for anybody to build a cloud with.”

Two of the new products to be released on Oct 18 are designed to help create cloud-type data centres.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/microsof...ooks-cloud

Yeah. Most analysts of the company think so too. Microsoft has never had a cool vibe required to breach the consumer devices market. They should try to be more like bloomberg lp I think, subscription model and services related.

If investors think straightly, Microsoft almost never made anything purely for consumer markets except Xbox. Consumers are chasing Microsoft products by their own choices, not pushed by Microsoft.

Microsoft still dominates on enterprise software and services. It has 12 1 billion+ business in its enterprise service alone.

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Microsoft is a completely different animal from Apple, which is mostly a consumer device and service company. People talking about Microsoft and Apple together is comparing apple to orange.

The PC business margin has declined for many years. Does it really impact the margin of Microsoft that much? I don't think so. That's the power of Microsoft people often ignored.

I think by Microsoft consumer devices, most people mean the Nokia acquisition. As you seem to be a shareholder, i'm sure you know what we are talking about.