steve ballmer

What do IBM and the ACLU have against Siri? Because every time you use your iPhone's Siri or Dictation functions, what you say gets recorded -- and sent to Apple.

For the past 14 years, Microsoft has kicked off the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with a a keynote address that set the tone for the exposition where tech companies showcase their latest wares. But Microsoft is announcing that next month's show will be its last.

Microsoft's next quarterly report arrives Thursday, and it's hard to get too excited. It's still the world's largest software company, and it's growing. It just happens to be as sexy as Abe Vigoda. But Microsoft could still innovate its way out of its slump. Here are four things we'd love to hear Microsoft say on Thursday.

There's no such thing as a summertime lull when earnings season is upon us. Next week will bring plenty of headlines -- among them box office receipts for the last Harry Potter film and quarterly results from Apple, Cintas, and Microsoft.

Among today's top online stories for investors: Eight reasons not to be a day trader, how Steve Ballmer saved $100 million, and why an economist who called the housing bust now sees a recovery.

Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer sold about $1.3 billion worth of his company shares recently, the first time he's done so in seven years.

The chief software architect was the perfect visionary foil to strategy-obsessed CEO Ballmer. His entrepreneurial mind pushed the stodgy software giant to innovate in cloud computing and more. That's a role Microsoft will sorely miss.

Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer's not-so-secret meeting with Abode CEO Shantanu Narayen to discuss a joint battle strategy against Apple raised the tantalizing possibility of an Adobe buyout. That deal wouldn't just be good for Microsoft, it would be good for the future of the Web overall.

Microsoft says the first tablets equipped with Windows 7 will hit stores this year. The so-called "slate" computing devices, launched in partnership with hardware companies such as Hewlett-Packard, will go on sale during this year's holiday season. Can they take market share away from Apple's iPad?

The investment firm wants to see Steve Ballmer & Co. jack up the dividend, design a coherent consumer strategy and lead in cloud computing. The launch of Windows Phone 7 will be a key indicator.