Stories about: NPD Group

For some users, the new generation of ultraportable notebooks comes close to embodying the Holy Grail for road warriors. Their laptop-like keyboards make them more usable for typing tasks than smart phones, but they are lighter and cheaper than traditional laptops. The original Asus Eee PC, for instance, cost about US$400 and weighed about two pounds when it was introduced last October.

Security software customers are speaking with their feet: They want security updates and other security interruptions out of their faces, and they won't hesitate to dump their security suites because of performance drag -- whether or not it's actually the security software that's to blame.

The march toward Windows XP's retail and OEM June 30 retirement party continues. Four weeks from today is Microsoft's deadline for mainstream computer makers to stop selling new PCs with the old OS, and the date the Redmond Wash.-based developer will stop shipping boxed copies to retailers.

Microsoft on Tuesday began letting advertisers display banner ads to mobile users of Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Hotmail, following other companies already supporting mobile banner ads.

Microsoft is pushing ahead with plans to expand its enterprise and Internet search offerings even as its quest to purchase Yahoo remains uncertain and could get uglier.

For Jake Basile, a computer science major at the University of Akron, being an outspoken fan of Microsoft's .Net programming tools sometimes feels as lonely as being a young Republican, which he also is.

The wait is nearly over for the first service pack for Windows Vista, according to sources close to Microsoft.

Microsoft on yesterday dropped its prohibition on running the least expensive versions of Windows Vista in virtual machines, doubling the choices for Mac owners who run the rival operating system in VMware's Fusion or Parallels's Parallels.

Everex may not be releasing its first US$399 ultraportable CloudBook until the end of January, but the Taiwanese PC maker is already talking about a supersize successor due later this year that will sport a bigger screen but stay under $500.

Stephen Elop, the new head of Microsoft's business division, may be a mystery man to those outside of Silicon Valley. But those who have worked for him say Elop, 44, is a no-nonsense, hardworking sales executive who helped take Flash maker Macromedia to new heights during the dot-com boom and, as short-term CEO during the subsequent downturn, helped the company survive by engineering its acquisition by rival Adobe Systems.

The elegant minimalism of Google Inc.'s search engine is a huge reason for its unparalleled popularity.