Valuable Support for IP from the White House

Posted by Steve Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer

President Obama on Thursday expanded on his National Export Initiative, calling attention to the importance of robust protection for intellectual property rights in assuring our nation’s prosperity. 

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Posted 13 March 2010 06:04 PM | 1 comment(s)
Successful Legal Action Helps Protect Microsoft Customers from ‘Spim’

Posted by Tim Cranton
Associate General Counsel

As you may recall, Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit last July  filed a lawsuit alleging that Hong Kong-based Funmobile Ltd. had improperly sent instant messaging spam – or “spim” – to  thousands of Windows Live Messenger customers since March 2009. 

I’m happy to report that this week, Microsoft has reached a settlement with Funmobile. Under the terms of the agreement,  Funmobile  will refrain from “spimming” customers or contacts of Windows Live Messenger and will make a cash payment to Microsoft.  The successful resolution of this case sends a clear signal that Microsoft does not tolerate this kind of activity on its networks and we will continue to take action to protect our customers.

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Posted 10 March 2010 08:26 PM | Post Comment
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Delivering Broadband Accessibility for People with Disabilities

Posted by Laura Ruby
Director, Accessibility Policy & Standards for Trustworthy Computing

How can the United States ensure that people with disabilities share fully in the benefits of broadband technologies and services? This was the focus of a conference today in Washington, DC, involving government officials, consumer advocates, industry leaders and academics. Speakers included Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski and Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy. I participated in a roundtable discussion moderated by representatives of two of the conference co-sponsors, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation and the American Association of People with Disabilities.

The conference was timely because next week the FCC will deliver to Congress a National Broadband Plan to extend the benefits of broadband to all Americans. The plan recommends steps to better understand and address the needs of people with disabilities, stimulate innovation in accessibility solutions, and ensure access to the government’s electronic and information technology.

The need for action is well documented. The FCC recently published findings that the online activities of broadband-using people with disabilities are comparatively narrow in scope; that is, they do fewer things online. They face barriers that will also hinder millions of other Americans as the nation’s population ages. Microsoft, which has been working to integrate accessibility into our processes and products for 20 years, commissioned a 2003 study by Forrester Research, which found that 60 percent (101.4 million) of working-age adults are likely or very likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology.

The FCC’s call for biannual reports and further studies of accessibility is important because the resulting data will help shape future product development. We hope the FCC will seek input from industry as to the kinds of data that will help us best meet customers’ needs.  The FCC’s plan to develop an online clearing house of information on accessible technologies will foster greater awareness of the variety of solutions available.

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Posted 10 March 2010 11:31 AM | 2 comment(s)
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Important Progress for the 520 Bridge

Posted by Brad Smith
Senior Vice President and General Counsel

We recently reached out to the people of the Puget Sound area to help advance a critical local and state issue: the timely replacement and expansion of the SR-520 bridge across Lake Washington. 

Many responded. I want to thank everyone who took the time to contact their elected officials and voice their support for the prompt completion of this critical project. Your efforts clearly helped legislators and local officials from both sides of the lake appreciate the need to forge a compromise that allows the project to move ahead on schedule.

I also want to thank our government and community leaders -- Governor Gregoire, state legislators and many others – for their collaborative efforts to bring this important project closer to reality.  By passing legislation to authorize tolling and allow Eastside construction to begin, lawmakers have taken a key step to improve public safety and have kept on track a design that has been 13 years in the making. 

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Posted 10 March 2010 09:59 AM | 3 comment(s)
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Telecentre.Org Launches to Bring Internet Access to the Next Billion

Posted by Akhtar Badshah
Senior Director, Global Community Affairs

Akhtar Badshah
Akhtar Badshah, Senior Director, Global Community Affairs

A milestone event took place last week in Manila, where Telecentre.org Foundation was officially launched as an independent organization. Celebrating with our hosts in the Philippines and colleagues from around the world, I reflected on this culmination of nearly six years of effort to help bring the benefits of technology to people in underserved communities around the world.

When I joined Microsoft as the new head of Community Affairs six years ago, one of my first tasks was to launch a global effort to increase public access to technology by supporting operators of local information kiosks (also known as telecentres, telecottages, community technology learning centers and nanosalas, among other names) that provide communities with Internet and other IT services.

In April 2004, I called Richard Fuchs at Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Richard is one of the best-known proponents of the telecentre movement, which he launched in Newfoundland to serve rural communities. The IDRC and Microsoft developed a working arrangement to promote telecentres based on a technology-neutral approach that helped build trust and collaboration among the various development donors, governments, NGOs and the private sector.

We were joined in this effort by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and its former Director General Walter Fust, who had just hosted a very successful World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva in late 2003. Together we launched Telecentre.org in 2005 at WSIS II in Tunis.

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Posted 08 March 2010 05:02 PM | 1 comment(s)
Elevating America one veteran at a time

Posted by Pamela Passman
Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs

Pamela Passman
Pamela Passman, Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs

Earlier today while speaking to the annual conference of the National Association of Workforce Boards in Washington, D.C.,  I announced that Microsoft is forming a coalition of public, private and non-profit organizations to help our country’s veterans and their spouses get the additional skills they need to succeed in today’s economy.  

The initiative is an extension of Elevate America, a program Microsoft launched just over a year ago.   Working in partnership with state governments, Elevate America provides free technology training and certification to help workers secure, and retain,  21st century jobs.

The need is particularly acute among former soldiers transitioning to civilian life.  Today, nearly 185,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are unemployed,  and the unemployment rate among veterans is 20 percent higher than the rest of the population.  Our servicemen and women possess strong military and leadership skills, but many lack the formal education, technology training and certification employers seek.  There is a great opportunity for the public and private sector to partner to ease the transition for veterans and provide more skilled workers for U.S. employers. 

The coalition we are forming will include businesses,  veterans groups, workforce agencies, non-profit organizations and community colleges.   The coalition will provide not only job training but also placement, counseling and other support services, including childcare and transportation assistance.  Our efforts will target members of the armed services and their spouses who are separating from the military and re-integrating into their communities.  We will assist both former active-duty soldiers and members of the National Guard and reserves returning to civilian jobs.

As part of our commitment, Microsoft will contribute $2 million in cash and up to $6 million in software to support these programs.  We will issue a request for proposals to determine how we will award cash, software and other resources to eligible organizations.

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Posted 08 March 2010 11:00 AM | Post Comment
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Steve Ballmer’s Thoughts on Cloud Computing

Posted by David Bowermaster
Administrator, Microsoft on the Issues

In late January, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith delivered a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. on the burgeoning field of cloud computing.  Brad outlined specific industry and legislative actions that Microsoft believes should be acted upon promptly to advance the potential of cloud computing, while protecting users’ privacy and enhancing the security of their data.

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Posted 04 March 2010 10:00 AM | 3 comment(s)
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UPDATE: The Browser Choice Screen for Europe

Posted by David Bowermaster
Administrator, Microsoft on the Issues

The European Commission issued a statement this morning welcoming Microsoft’s rollout of a browser choice screen for Windows PC users in Europe who have Internet Explorer as their default browser. 

“Giving consumers the possibility to switch or try a browser other than that included in Windows will bring more competition and innovation in this important area to the benefit of European internet users,” said European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.

As detailed in Dave Heiner’s February 19 blog post, below, the choice screen presents a list of leading browsers and enables users to install and set any of the browsers as their default.  The browers are presented in random order.

To read the Commission’s full statement, click here.

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Posted 02 March 2010 11:45 AM | 8 comment(s)
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Liberate the Data Part II – Perspectives from Eclipsys and Microsoft on Health IT

Posted by Peter Neupert
Corporate Vice President, Health Solutions Group

(Cross-posted from Neupert on Health)

Peter Neupert
Peter Neupert, Corporate Vice President, Health Solutions Group

It was just about a year ago at last year’s HIMSS (Health Information Management Systems Society) conference that I posted about the need to “liberate the data” within health IT systems – separating data from applications and making it available for reuse in different contexts.  What I said then holds true now.  For health enterprises and consumers, health data is a vital asset that can move us toward a more efficient, higher quality, evidence-based future for medicine.

While we still have a long way to go, a year later I’m encouraged by a couple of developments that indicate we’re moving in the right direction – and actually making some real progress!

First, the draft regulations on “meaningful use” include a focus on the exchange of data – acknowledging that physicians need real-time access to comprehensive patient data to improve quality, safety and efficiency, and to coordinate care effectively.  The draft legislation also recognizes that engaging patients and families in managing their own health is paramount – requiring that providers make patient data accessible soon after those visits happen.  For the first time, the proposed rule-making puts a stake in the ground with real ‘sticks’ and ‘carrots’ – a significant milestone in putting the foundational drivers for change in place.

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Posted 01 March 2010 03:17 PM | Post Comment
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U.S. Public Sector CIO Summit 2010: Government in the Cloud

Posted by Curt Kolcun
Vice President, U.S. Public Sector

More than 300 chief information officers (CIOs) from public-sector organizations around the United States were gathered on the Microsoft campus this week for presentations and to share their experiences in using technology to enhance collaboration, open government, business intelligence and security.

Microsoft unveiled our latest offerings to support governments in moving services to the cloud in ways that meet or exceed the key security standards and certifications. But with governments in 48 of the 50 U.S. states already using our cloud services, the conference was most exciting as a showcase for the amazing things that public-sector CIOs are doing to leverage their existing IT investments and provide enhanced services to their citizens.

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Posted 27 February 2010 11:30 AM | Post Comment
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