Microsoft launches Remote Desktop app for Android and iOS

Microsoft has quietly rolled out its Remote Desktop app for Android and iOS, allowing PC users to access their Windows desktop from their phone or tablet.

The Remote Desktop app, which can be downloaded for free from Google Play and Apple’s App Store, lets users connect to a remote PC while on the move.

It is mainly aimed at business users who want to access their work resources from wherever they are, but could also be used to access personal files such as photos and documents stored on a Windows PC.

Both the iOS and Android apps offers multi-touch controls, a secure connection to your data, simple management tools and high quality video and sound streaming. The iOS version also offers easy connection to external monitors or projectors for presentations.

Microsoft has offered remote access to Windows PCs and Macs for years, but this is the first time the functionality has been made available to mobile devices that are not running one of its operating systems.

The apps have not been widely publicised. Microsoft made a one-line mention of the app in a press release issued last week, but the company had not publicly announced their availability at the time of writing.

It is likely that Microsoft is playing down the new apps in order to retain focus on its Windows Phone 8 platform, which offers tight integration with Windows 8 on the desktop and allows users to sync files and apps between their Windows Phone and their Windows tablet or desktop PC.

The company also announced the launch of Windows 8.1 yesterday, which includes a range of refinements and functional improvements including a more customisable Start screen, enhanced Bing search, and a range of new apps and services.

Microsoft releases Windows 8.1 upgrade

SAN FRANCISCO—Microsoft released Windows 8.1 on Thursday, after tweaking the operating system designed for various devices that had confused some users.

The update is free for those using Windows 8, released last year to help Microsoft navigate the transition from traditional personal computers to mobile devices such as tablets.

The revamped version brings back the “start” button, which disappeared last year and prompted protests from some PC users unaccustomed to the tiled menu adapted for touchscreens.

“Windows 8.1 demonstrates our commitment to continuously improving the product to create a richer customer experience,” Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc wrote on the company blog.

“We are excited to have customers start updating their devices today and getting to experience new Windows devices this holiday season.”

A public preview of Windows 8.1 was made available June 26. At the time, Microsoft said it had sold more than 100 million licenses for Windows 8 but that the update was planned after listening to customers.

Some analysts say Microsoft was forced to act because of slow adoption of Windows 8, which made some radical changes to the design of the desktop.

With Windows 8, Microsoft was trying to create a system that could be used on mobile touch screen devices while also serving the users of traditional PCs.

Microsoft launched Windows 8 last October, revamping its flagship system in an effort to make inroads in the fast-growing mobile segment. At the same time, it released its Surface tablet computer.

Starting Friday, Windows 8.1 will be delivered on new devices using the Microsoft operating system.

Microsoft investors push for Gates defenestration: report

No Chairman Bill, no Ballmer really would be a post-PC world 

Three Microsoft investors that collectively own more than five per cent of the company are lobbying to fire founder Bill Gates from his role as Chairman.

The Reuters< report containing the news doesn't name the investors but says they are worried that Gates' influence as Chairman is disproportionate to his current 4.5 per cent stake in the company.

The investors are also worried that Gates is helping to recruit ousted CEO Steve Ballmer.

That worry seems legitimate: when Gates stepped down from Microsoft he effectively replaced himself with Ray Ozzie, a chap no-one had a bad word for but who was born in the same year as Gates and therefore had many of the same formative computing experiences. Were Gates to lobby for a Ballmer replacement with similar heritage investors could feel nervous that Microsoft senior leadership is too rooted in the past.

If Reuters' report is correct, it suggests investors' desire for change at Microsoft weren't satisfied by Steve Ballmer stepping aside.

That attitude is perversely, good news for Microsoft. Any public company's primary duty is to enhance shareholder value. That investors want more change at the company suggests they believe current management is not capable of enhancing shareholder value … but that the value is there to be found.

The cold financial calculus behind such thinking means little for those feel that Gates contribution to the computing industry and to Microsoft are enormous.

Microsoft may have made many a mis-step but the company's audacious early goal of putting a PC into every home came to fruition, bringing with it incalculable change, most of it for the good.

Microsoft investors reportedly press for Bill Gates to step down

Unnamed investors said to be lobbying the board for the departure of the technology giant's co-founder

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

The outgoing Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has been under pressure for years to improve the company's performance and share price, but this appears to be the first time that major shareholders are taking aim at Gates, who remains one of the most respected and influential figures in technology.

A representative for Microsoft declined to comment on Tuesday.

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

Gates owns about 4.5% of the $277bn company and is its largest individual shareholder.

The three investors are concerned that Gates's presence on the board effectively blocks the adoption of new strategies and would limit the power of a new chief executive to make substantial changes. In particular, they point to Gates's role on the special committee searching for Ballmer's successor.

They are also worried that Gates – who spends most of his time on his philanthropic foundation – wields power out of proportion to his declining shareholding.

Gates, who owned 49% of Microsoft before it went public in 1986, sells about 80m Microsoft shares a year under a pre-set plan, which if continued would leave him with no financial stake in the company by 2018.

Gates lowered his profile at Microsoft after he handed the chief executive role to Ballmer in 2000, giving up his day-to-day work there in 2008 to focus on the $38bn Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In August, Ballmer said he would retire within 12 months, amid pressure from activist fund manager ValueAct Capital Management.

Microsoft is now looking for a replacement, though its board has said Ballmer's strategy will go forward. He has focused on making devices, such as the Surface tablet and Xbox gaming console, and turning key software into services provided over the internet. Some investors say that a new chief should not be bound by that strategy.

News that some investors were pushing for Gates's departure as chairman provoked mixed reactions from other shareholders.

"This is long overdue," said Todd Lowenstein, a portfolio manager at HighMark Capital Management, which owns Microsoft shares. "Replacing the old guard with some fresh eyes can provide the oxygen needed to properly evaluate their corporate strategy."

Kim Caughey Forrest, senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group, suggested now was not the time for Microsoft to ditch Gates, and that he could even play a larger role.

"I've thought that the company has been missing a technology visionary," she said. "Bill [Gates] would fit the bill."

Microsoft is still one of the world's most valuable technology companies, making a net profit of $22bn last fiscal year. But its core Windows computing operating system, and to a lesser extent the Office software suite, are under pressure from the decline in personal computers as smartphones and tablets grow more popular.

Shares of Microsoft have been essentially static for a decade, and the company has lost ground to Apple and Google in the move toward mobile computing.

One of the sources said Gates was one of the technology industry's greatest pioneers, but the investors felt he was more effective as chief executive than as chairman.

WACKY Ballmer Dirty Dances off stage at mega Microsoft leaving do

Nobody puts outgoing Steve in the corner

A tearful Steve Ballmer bid official farewell to thousands of Microsofties at a stadium bash with a booming sound track.

Shy and (literally) retiring CEO Ballmer hosted the software giant's annual staff meeting at Seattle’s KeyArena yesterday, attended by 13,000 employees. This is the last mass gathering for Ballmer and his troops after the big man announced his retirement as chief executive in August.

During an hour-long talk to the emotionally charged masses, Ballmer promised them “we will deliver the next big thing … we will change the world again”.

“We have unbelievable potential in front of us, we have an unbelievable destiny," said a visibly moved Ballmer, reusing a quote from the very first Microsoft staff meeting in 1983.

"Only our company and a handful of others are poised to write the future," he continued. "We're going to think big, we're going to bet big," he is reported to have said.

He wisecracked about rivals he either failed to anticipate or beat, and whose success helped shove him towards the exit door.

Ballmer dismissed Apple as being “fashionable”, Amazon for being “cheap”, and Google for “knowing more” whereas Microsoft is about “doing more”.

But, as ever, it was Ballmer’s moves rather than his words that delighted. The CEO who gave us the Monkey Boy dance is reported to have jumped about the stage to Michael Jackson’s Wanna be startin’ somethin’ – the song he played at that fateful 1983 meeting – while screaming “the sound of Microsoft!”

Reports talk of tears streaming down Steve's face as he gave his final speech.

Ballmer closed on (I’ve had) the time of my life from Dirty Dancing, continuing to dance and run around the stage. Employees were shaking hands with Ballmer and screaming “we love you” through the routine, we're so reliably informed.

As the event finished, the question of who will succeed the chair-flinging CEO was once again in the headlines. The reason is that one report claimed that Ford CEO Alan Mulally is now in line to the throne. Other candidates are believed to include ex-Microsoft group president and soon-to-be-ex-Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop, currently fighting a rearguard action over the size of his package upon leaving the Finnish mobe-maker.

Company chairman Bill Gates, meanwhile, has denied he’s interested in the role. The billionaire software baron is actually one of the three members of a special committee tasked with selecting the new CEO.

We invite Reg readers to submit their own suggestions for suitable songs on Ballmer's time at Microsoft and on his exit in the comments section. 

Microsoft CEO Says Working to Keep PC ‘Device of Choice’

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, who will be retiring within a year, said the company is still working to make sure that the personal computer remains relevant as “the device of choice.”

He made his comment as Windows, which dominated computing for more than two decades, now makes up 25 percent of revenue. The operating system slipped to become Microsoft’s third-largest business after Office, which generated 32 percent of sales, and Server and Tools, which garnered 26 percent for the latest fiscal year through June.

Ballmer’s remarks were being closely watched as he shakes up the world’s largest software maker amid a shift by consumers toward smartphones and tablets and away from PCs running Windows. The CEO overhauled Microsoft’s management and strategy to accelerate development of hardware and services, agreeing this month to buy Nokia Oyj (NOK1V)’s handset unit for $7.2 billion.

“We must do the work to ensure that the PC stays the device of choice when they’re trying to be productive in life,” Ballmer said at a meeting for analysts and institutional shareholders yesterday, the first in two years. Ballmer said the company will have to work hard to keep the industry “north of 300 million” units.

PC shipments will decline 9.7 percent this year to 315.4 million and won’t ever return to the peak levels it reached in 2011, according to researcher IDC. The market will shrink until 2015, it said. The slumping popularity of the devices is coming as consumers increasingly turn to smartphones and tablets, two markets where Microsoft and the PC industry have lagged.

Challenging Environment

Windows accounted for 3.7 percent of smartphone operating-system shipments in the second quarter, according to IDC. In the tablet market, that figure was 4.5 percent, IDC said. Microsoft’s first-ever computer hardware, the Surface tablet, sold so poorly the company had to write down $900 million of unsold inventory. Introduced in October, the handheld device was aimed at taking on Apple Inc.’s iPad, as well as touchscreen computers running Google Inc.’s Android software.

“The challenges are fairly obvious and the questions are about how to execute,” said Sid Parakh, an analyst at McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle. “They’ve laid out a strategy of being more of a devices- and services-focused company, and started to execute on that. Nokia is part of that. Investors can debate whether that’s the right approach, but regardless, the company is going to move on.”

Hardware Evolution

Some shareholders have been seeking more of a say in Microsoft’s strategy and finances. The company said earlier this week it will raise quarterly dividends by 22 percent to 28 cents a share, exceeding the average analyst estimate of 26 cents. Microsoft sought to head off shareholder dissent last month by reaching a cooperation agreement with ValueAct Holdings LP, which would let the activist investor claim a board seat starting next year.

Ballmer told analysts that the company will perform better in the future by having its business, consumer, software and device units work together.

“Hardware and software will kind of need to evolve together,” he said.

There are only a few companies making the investments in data centers and technology needed to provide future devices and services that consumers and companies will demand, Ballmer said. Microsoft won’t be “religious” about having its services work only with Microsoft hardware, and will continue offering them on smartphones and tablets from Apple and Google, he said.

Long Microsoft

Microsoft will continue to challenge Google, which has secured pole position in Internet search and is one of the few companies with the breadth to take on Microsoft, Ballmer said. Regulators should look at what he called Google’s “monopoly” in search, he said.

Microsoft said it’s still seeking a new CEO, and didn’t offer any updates on the process.

“The board continues on the process that we laid out in late August,” Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said at yesterday’s conference, which was delayed by a power failure at the venue in Bellevue, Washington. “We’ll update you when appropriate.”

Hood said she’ll give more detailed information on the company’s new financial-reporting structure on a Sept. 26 conference call with analysts.

Microsoft shares rose 1 percent to $33.64 at the close in New York, leaving them up 26 percent this year. The stock rose 7.3 percent the day Ballmer announced his retirement, then declined 4.6 percent when Microsoft said it would buy Nokia.

“I’m long Microsoft,” said Ballmer, who owns about 4 percent of the company. “I treasure it as an investor, too.”

Microsoft sees phones as the future of Windows RT

The man in charge of Windows promises unified apps across all devices

One of the big changes in Microsoft's recent reorg is the merging of the traditional Windows business with Windows Phone. While Microsoft has long promised a "common app platform" between the two, the company has placed Terry Myerson, former Windows Phone chief, in charge of the newly formed operating systems group. Myerson took to the stage during Microsoft's financial analysts meeting yesterday to detail his thoughts on the future of Windows RT and a promise of common apps and developer tools across Windows and Windows Phone.

Myerson says Microsoft is organizing its OS groups around three key beliefs: commonality, the cloud, and tailored experiences for devices. "The first of those is that we really should have one silicon interface for all of our devices," says Myerson. "We should have one set of developer APIs on all of our devices. And all of the apps we bring to end users should be available on all of our devices." The promise of all apps available across all devices is one that Microsoft has merely hinted at previously, without committing to specifics. While Myerson didn't extend further, it's clear Microsoft is finally working on ensuring a Windows Phone app could run on a Windows 8 tablet in the same way that an iPhone app can run on an iPad.

"The second belief was that all of our devices are becoming more cloud-powered," explains Myerson. "So whether we're branding them Windows or Xbox, we really need one core service which is enabling all of our devices." This core service sounds like the same "service-enabled shell" that Steve Ballmer has discussed previously, and one that Bing will likely play a huge role in. The third belief is that while Microsoft using a common Live Tiles interface across Windows, Xbox, and Windows Phone, the experience needs to be tailored per device. "We want to facilitate the creation of a common, a familiar experience across all of those devices, but a fundamentally tailored and unique experience for each device," says Myerson.

While these are all promises for the future of Windows, Microsoft had big plans for its Windows RT operating system before it debuted last year. A "no compromise" experience across multiple manufacturers was promised, but a year on and there's little sign of any future Windows RT devices from manufacturers. Samsung has dropped out, Nvidia isn't impressed, and it looks like Nokia might be the only brave ally alongside Microsoft's upcoming Surface 2. While Microsoft has previously defended RT, Myerson didn't address the lack of Windows RT devices from PC manufacturers, but he did provide hints at Microsoft's vision for the future of ARM-powered Windows devices.

"The ARM devices in particular in phones have incredible share given their battery life and the connectivity options available with the system-on-a-chip ecosystem," says Myerson. "Windows RT was our first ARM tablet. And as phones extend into tablets, expect us to see many more ARM tablets, Windows ARM tablets in the future." Nokia's 6-inch Lumia 1520, expected to be unveiled next month, will likely be the first example of Windows Phone extending into larger devices. It appears that Microsoft sees the future of RT in phones, but it's not immediately clear how Windows Phone and Windows RT will merge, or when. On the subject of progression overall with Windows, Myerson notes that the company is focused on executing quickly. "We have a very clear vision of what we want to get done, and we're moving very fast."

Microsoft reports IE zero-day attacks

All versions of Internet Explorer are vulnerable to remote code execution through a memory corruption bug. Attacks are currently being conducted with exploits that work on IE8 and IE9.

Microsoft is reporting an unpatched vulnerability in all versions of Internet Explorer. All versions of IE, other than those running on Windows Server, are vulnerable. This includes Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 8.1 and RT.

The vulnerability comes from a memory corruption bug which could lead to remote code execution. Microsoft says that they are aware of targeted attacks exploiting this vulnerability on Internet Explorer 8 and 9. Exploits such as these are often version-specific, even if the vulnerability affects multiple versions.

Attacks may be blocked by running a Microsoft "Fix it" solution for an earlier vulnerability: CVE-2013-1347 MSHTML Shim Workaround.

The company has not decided how to respond to the vulnerability. Certainly they will write a patch, but whether they schedule it for a Patch Tuesday or go "out of band" is not yet clear.

Microsoft's advisory also says that EMET (the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit) may be used to mitigate against the vulnerability.

Microsoft Bing's New Look, Tools

Microsoft's search engine still ranks a distant second to Google, but the company calls Bing a key part of its reorg strategy.

Microsoft announced late Monday that it is revamping its Bing search engine with not only new features but also a redesigned logo.

In a blog post, Lawrence Ripsher, Bing general manager of user experiences, said the overhaul demonstrates why Bing is "no longer just a search engine on a web page." He also said Bing's new look "integrates" outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer's "One Microsoft" strategy, which sees the company's various products and services coalescing into a unified user experience, and which is the basis for the company's restructuring plan.

The new features include Page Zero, which is designed to help a user fine-tune a query before he's even submitted a search. Page Zero works like a more robust version of the auto-fill suggestions typical of most search engines. If a user begins to type a celebrity's name, for example, Page Zero displays not only recommended searches, but also a quick glance at the celebrity's biography, as well as other commonly searched-for content. Ripsher said the feature could allow someone typing "Jon Stewart" to more quickly differentiate results about the man from those about "The Daily Show."

"We think the time people will save using Page Zero instead of navigating a search results page will be significant," he wrote.

Whereas Page Zero is potentially useful for clarifying vague queries, Pole Position, another new feature, focuses on searches in which Bing has "a high confidence on a user's intent." When Bing detects an unambiguous query, such as one that asks the weather in a particular city, it will provide the answer in a large space at the top of the page. Links and other results will be listed less prominently below.

Bing will also merge its Snapshot and Sidebar functions into a single panel. Currently, Bing results populate three columns: one with the typical list of links; another with Snapshot, which includes facts and media relevant to the search, as well as tangential content; and a third with Sidebar, which includes related content drawn from the user's social media networks. By combining the second and third columns, Ripsher said Bing will give users "all the supporting context they'll need for any given query."

He said the new Bing "looks as beautiful on a Surface or iPad as [it does] on a PC or phone."

In another blog post, Microsoft senior director Scott Erickson said the new logo is meant to evoke clarity and energy, as well as the Microsoft logo, with which it shares colors, fonts and other design cues.

Some Microsoft shareholders have grown skeptical of Bing, which has lost billions of dollars over the years. According to comScore, Microsoft's search engine accounted for only 17.9% of U.S. Web searches in August, a distant second behind Google's dominant 66.9% share.

Despite criticism, Bing has persisted. Steve Ballmer suggested in his "One Microsoft" memo that Bing, in combination with Azure, will fuel a "magical" and personalized Windows experience that anticipates user needs and delivers useful information at exactly the right moment.

Bing has also become more than a search engine, as Ripsher said. It not only provides contextually relevant returns on Windows Phone, for instance, but also enables many of the Xbox's interactive functions. It also integrates images and maps into Office, and could one day be the basis for Cortana, Microsoft's rumored competitor to the iPhone's Siri. Earlier this summer, Microsoft also opened Bing as an app development platform. Time will tell if it all helps the "one Microsoft" vision come to fruition, let alone if Microsoft can challenge Google in the search engine business. But Microsoft appears committed to Bing's place in its portfolio of products and services.

Redesigned Bing results soon will begin appearing in U.S. search returns, but in the meantime, Microsoft has established a preview site for anyone who wants to check out the new look.

Microsoft pulls 'fly on the wall' anti-iPhone ads

Microsoft's online video ads that mocked Apple's latest crop of iPhones have been yanked, following what appears to be a poor reception by viewers.

Microsoft has removed a series of online video advertisements that were critical of Apple's latest iPhones, after they were up for just a few hours.

The videos, which began with the title "A fly on the wall in Cupertino?" depicted fictional meetings supposedly taking place at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. They were posted from Microsoft's Windows Phone YouTube account, and at nearly two minutes were unlikely to be shown on TV.

The advertisements were ill-received, and even mocked, on numerous social networks. Some observers also suggested that similarities between one of the fictional executives -- seen only from behind -- and late Apple CEO Steve Jobs were in poor taste.

The campaign "was intended to be a lighthearted poke at our friends from Cupertino. But it was off the mark, and we've decided to pull it down," a Microsoft representative told CNET.

For those who missed it, here's a mirrored version of the main video: