Though a statement by Microsoft suggested the forthcoming retirement of Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has been in consideration for some time, a new report says the reality is Ballmer did not intend to leave the company so soon.

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Microsoft announced on Friday that its chief executive Steve Ballmer will retire within the next 12 months, once his successor has been chosen, bringing to an end a 13-year reign over the software giant.

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Microsoft is looking to make a bigger splash in the education segment for both its hardware and search divisions, offering schools the ability to earn free Surface RT units in exchange for regular use of its Bing search platform.

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Over the past fifteen years, both Apple and Microsoft have invested in Apple, while Microsoft has also invested in itself. Here's a look at how those investments worked out, with particular attention to stock buybacks, a panacea certain billionaire investors are prescribing for Apple.

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After taking over as Microsoft's chief executive in 2000, Steve Ballmer presided over the liquidation of Apple's stock his company had acquired three years earlier in its $150 million investment in Apple. In retrospect, that was a fantastically bad idea.

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Even as it prepares a critical update to its Windows 8 platform, Microsoft has become the target of a lawsuit alleging that the software giant misled investors regarding both Windows RT and the Surface RT device it released last year.

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Microsoft continued to bash the iPad in its latest Surface RT commercial, this time digging up and re-airing old arguments against the Apple tablet, like a lack of keyboard and higher price point.

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While efforts by Apple and Samsung to enforce their respective patent rights are often equated as back-and-forth arguments among twin giants who irrationally refuse to settle their legal disputes rather than innovate and compete in the market, there's a vast difference between the legitimacy of their respective intellectual property claims and what each company is demanding.

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While market research firms publicly report that Apple's iPad is "losing market share" in tablet shipments, their data also says something else: Apple continues to obliterate Samsung, Google's Android, Microsoft, Amazon and the rest of the industry in tablet profits.

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It was revealed on Tuesday that Microsoft has made only $853 million on its Surface tablet since the product line was introduce eight months ago, a number less than the company's write-down to adjust for unsold inventory, as well as an ad campaign pushing the device and Windows 8.

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High stakes in an impending iPhone 4 ban by the International Trade Commission have created some unlikely bedfellows, with a trade group representing Microsoft coming to the defense of rival Apple.

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Apple's new automotive initiative with iOS in the Car a prime focus for the company. Here's a look at the strategy behind it, and the company's options for bringing the new feature to market next year.

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Apple's chief executive Tim Cook described the company's 2014 launch of iOS in the Car as "very, very important" and a "key focus for us." Here's a look at what the industry thinks, the competition Apple faces in automotive, and why it's pushing so hard for an immediate launch next year.

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This last week, Microsoft announced disappointing earnings that reflected the battered market for PCs and the company's inability to gain traction in smartphones. But most notable was the $900 million "inventory adjustment" related to Surface RT, Microsoft's beleaguered iPad contender. How could it have failed so badly?

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It seems Microsoft is becoming increasingly aggressive in pushing its Surface tablet lineup, and on Friday released a new ad targeting the iPad's lack of keyboard, USB slot and high cost compared to the recently discounted Surface RT.

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Two tech giants and Apple competitors revealed their earnings for the past quarter today, with Google missing estimates despite solid revenues and improved profit, while one of Microsoft's first in-house tablet attempt was shown to be a certifiable failure.

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Microsoft on Tuesday launched its official Outlook Web App mail applications on the iOS App Store, with separate downloads optimized for both Apple's iPhone and iPad.

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As reports claim Apple is gearing up to launch a so-called "iWatch," another rumor claims that Microsoft is late enough in the development stage of its own smart watch that testing of the device has moved over to the company's Surface hardware development team.

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Having failed to gain traction in the tablet market, Microsoft has cut the price of its Surface RT tablet so low that the 10.6-inch device now costs nearly the same amount as Apple's entry-level iPad mini.

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The two year old Windows Phone partnership between Nokia and Microsoft, once lampooned by Google Vic Gundotra in a tweet that "two turkeys do not make an eagle," is facing new problems on both the hardware and software fronts.

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