Corporate stuff

q&a Mark Kingdon became Linden Lab CEO in May, when founder Philip Rosedale stepped aside to take a more active role in developing Second Life.

The hype surrounding virtual worlds a year ago appears to have died down in recent months, but when Silicon.com caught up with him, Kingdon was keen to point out that there's still life in Second Life.

Q: What's happened to the hype? Kingdon: It would be a huge mistake to assume hype and success are interchangeable. Hype is born from anticipation, intrigue, and excitement, and as such, it naturally settles … Read more

While its crystal ball is no clearer than anyone else's, Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell told financial analysts the company is committed to faring better than the overall IT industry, whatever the economy brings.

The company, in its quarterly earnings report, lowered its growth outlook for the year, but not as much as some had feared. It is now forecasting at least a mild recession, as opposed the economic growth it once saw coming in the second half of its fiscal year.

At the same time, Liddell, in a call with analysts following the earnings report, pointed out … Read more

Microsoft on Thursday reported first-quarter earnings that narrowly topped estimates, while saying that it expects the holiday season results to be slightly lower than analysts were projecting.

The company lowered its estimates of both PC and server growth by a couple of percentage points, but said it continues to see relatively healthy enterprise demand.

"There are indications out there that business is fairly strong, but there is also concern about what could happen," Chief Accounting Officer Frank Brod told CNET News.

For the quarter that ended September 30, the software maker said it earned $6 billion, or 48 … Read more

With Microsoft earnings due after the market closes Thursday, here's my top five list of things to watch for:

1. The economy It's obviously top of mind for everyone right now and it will be interesting to see how one of the companies with the strongest balance sheets and most predictable revenue streams expects to be affected.

2. Hiring plans Microsoft has already said it is "rethinking" its staffing plans in the wake of the economy. Word is that some departments have been told to put the brakes on hiring, while Microsoft has said there is … Read more

Former Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Todd Bishop launched his new Web site on Wednesday with an interesting post on what Bill Gates is up to.

The software icon and philanthropist is affiliated with something called BGC3, essentially the name given to Gates' non-Microsoft, non-foundation office. Bishop's source says it's not a commercial venture, while the company's trademark application covers "think tank services."

The company applied for a trademark on the BGC3 name and a C3 logo on September 29. Just what the company plans to do with that trademark remains to be seen.

Gates told CNET … Read more

Microsoft plans on Tuesday to announce "Global Anti-Piracy Day," an effort to gain attention for the steps the company undertakes in order to thwart those who would profit from illegitimate software.

As part of the event, Microsoft is highlighting recent antipiracy efforts in 49 countries, ranging from the filing of lawsuits in the U.S. to a seminar for journalists in Pakistan.

It's the kind of thing that Microsoft does all the time, although the company is aiming for some added ink by grouping together so many actions at once.

"One of the things we want … Read more

Microsoft got another &#@*%-ing patent.

The software maker last week was granted U.S. patent No. 7437290 for, essentially, a technology that lets the company bleep out words in an audio stream that match a list of predefined bad words.

Ars Technica, which reported on the patent both when Microsoft applied for it in 2004 as well as now that it has been granted, notes that the technology could be used for more than just censoring profanity, suggesting that perhaps China or another government would want it employed for other phrases, such as Tibet or free speech.

Ars notes … Read more

Microsoft's recently acquired Fast Search & Transfer was charged on Thursday with accounting fraud by Norwegian officials, Reuters reported Thursday.

According to the Reuters report, police raided Fast's offices in Oslo in order to preserve evidence.

Microsoft didn't mention the charges in a statement, but it confirmed that police showed up at its offices Thursday.

"We can confirm that the Norwegian Police for Economic Crime this morning conducted inquiries at Fast's offices in Oslo," the software maker said in a statement. "Microsoft and its subsidiary Fast Search & Transfer (are) cooperating fully with … Read more

NEW YORK--This may be the last year that video game giant Electronic Arts releases a title that doesn't log on to the Internet, CEO John Riccitiello said in a keynote address at the Media & Money Conference here Tuesday.

That's a testament to how quickly the game industry is evolving, Riccitiello explained. "If you go back three, five, seven years ago, a video game was entirely captured on a disc that we sold. We were in the packaged goods business." Things have changed: "Today what we do, more typically, is we build an online game … Read more