The Statue of Liberty | blog

Apparently Microsoft isn’t doing everything with Windows 7 differently from how it did Windows Vista.

As was the case with Vista, Windows 7 will get its formal launch in the Big Apple. CEO Steve Ballmer will preside over the October 22 event, with the usual array of hardware partners showing off their latest wares.

But that’s not the only Gotham event for Microsoft in October. The company is also doing a consumer open house at the Park Avenue Armory, led by Robbie Bach, on October 6. Microsoft plans to highlight everything from the Zune and new phones to hardware products like keyboards and mice.

Microsoft is hoping to turn that event into an annual event.

By: news.cnet.com     Read more >>

IN the United States, politicians woo soccer moms. In Canada, they go after “Tim Hortons voters,” the folks who steer clear of lattes and start their day with a cruller and a double double (two creams, two sugars, one coffee) from the doughnut chain that’s come to represent no-frills value.

Timmies, as Canadians affectionately refer to it, is more than just a company to those who live north of the 49th parallel. It has a backstory — having been founded by Mr. Horton, a Hall of Fame hockey player, and Ron Joyce, a police officer. There’s even a sense of redemption, now that it’s once again a Canada-based company (Wendy’s owned it for years).

Oh, and it has coffee and doughnuts, which may not be quite the same here — a handful of Tim Hortons opened Monday in New York City — as they are farther north, and not exactly what they once were there, either.

By: nytimes.com      Read more >>

A federal bankruptcy judge has cleared the way for a sale of the bulk of General Motors Corp.’s assets to a new entity, opening the door for the troubled automaker to emerge from Chapter 11 early this week.

The decision, handed down by Judge Robert E. Gerber in New York late Sunday night, came over the objections of some 850 parties.
They argued in court last week that the sale would shortchange creditors, dealers, car owners and others.

GM countered by saying that the plan to emerge from bankruptcy in this manner was the best for all parties, and that delaying such a sale could jeopardize the automaker’s chances of receiving further aid from the federal government, potentially forcing a complete breakup of the company.

Indeed, last Harry Wilson, a member of the Treasury Department’s autos task force, testified last week that the government had no intentions of funding GM after July 10.

Judge Gerber, in his decision, clearly agreed with that opinion.

By: latimes.com      Read more >>

Citigroup Inc. is increasing the base salaries of many employees – reportedly by as much as 50 percent for some workers – as it restructures their compensation amid government restrictions on bonuses.

The higher salaries are not the equivalent of annual raises because bonuses are being lowered, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because the plans have not been made public.

Employee compensation at financial companies, particularly in the form of bonuses, has brought criticism after the government gave the banks hundreds of billions in bailout dollars. Citi and the other companies who still hold bailout funds face limits on bonuses as part of a new government compensation oversight plan. The Treasury Department had no immediate comment about Citi’s change in compensation plans.

By: theolympian.com    Read more >>