Microsoft : NPR

Nearly 100 Tech Firms Ask Federal Court To Block Trump's Travel Ban

February 6, 2017 • The ban is unlawful, discriminatory and arbitrary — and hurts business, say 97 tech companies ranging from Apple and Facebook to Google and Uber.

Trump And Technology Executives Try To Reconcile Rough Relationship

President-elect Donald Trump speaks with technology leaders at Trump Tower in New York. Albin Lohr-Jones/Bloomberg/Getty Images hide caption

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Albin Lohr-Jones/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Trump And Technology Executives Try To Reconcile Rough Relationship

December 14, 2016 • The President-elect and the tech industry have clashed on many issues. But at the roundtable, Trump struck a conciliatory tone, saying he was "here to help you folks do well."

Trump And Technology Executives Try To Reconcile Rough Relationship

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Tech Companies Create Shared Database To Track, Remove 'Violent Terrorist Imagery'

Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., as seen in 2015. Alison Yin/Invision for Nintendo/Facebook hide caption

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Alison Yin/Invision for Nintendo/Facebook

Tech Companies Create Shared Database To Track, Remove 'Violent Terrorist Imagery'

December 6, 2016 • Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube announced they are cooperating to keep track of terrorist recruitment videos and violent images in order to remove them from search results and social media.

Making The Cloud Green: Tech Firms Push For Renewable Energy Sources

A car drives by a Switch data center in Las Vegas on Sept. 9, 2015. In 2013, data centers consumed 2 percent of all U.S. power — triple what they used in 2000. John Locher/AP hide caption

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John Locher/AP

Making The Cloud Green: Tech Firms Push For Renewable Energy Sources

Wyoming Public Radio

July 22, 2016 • Few people can demand what kind of electricity they get. But Microsoft and Facebook, which operate huge, power-hungry data centers, are trying to green up the electricity grid with their buying power.

Making The Cloud Green: Tech Firms Push For Renewable Energy Sources

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Microsoft To Buy LinkedIn For $26.2 Billion, Pursuing 'Productivity' Industry

June 13, 2016 • To put it in terms runners will understand, the price tag is roughly $1 billion for each mile of a marathon. It's a bet on a new kind of connected professional workplace.

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Can Web Search Predict Cancer? Promise And Worry Of Big Data And Health

June 10, 2016 • Microsoft researchers say in a new study that Bing searches held clues to pancreatic cancer diagnoses. But what role should new data streams like Web searches and social media play in public health?

Microsoft Sues Justice Dept., Seeking To Inform Customers About Seized Data

Microsoft is asking a judge to declare part of a federal law unconstitutional under both the First and Fourth Amendments. Sean Gallup/Getty Images hide caption

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Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Microsoft Sues Justice Dept., Seeking To Inform Customers About Seized Data

April 14, 2016 • Microsoft is asking a judge to declare part of a 1986 federal law unconstitutional under both the First and Fourth Amendments.

Microsoft Chatbot Snafu Shows Our Robot Overlords Aren't Ready Yet

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Microsoft/Screenshot by NPR

Microsoft Chatbot Snafu Shows Our Robot Overlords Aren't Ready Yet

March 24, 2016 • Kids these days: Microsoft's millennial chatbot, Tay, turns into a genocidal maniac. A day later, the company took it offline, with a final tweet: "c u soon humans need sleep now."

Siri And Other Phone Assistants Don't Always Help In A Crisis

Smartphone assistants like Siri will give you a national help line to call when you bring up suicide. But they have trouble recognizing other things, like rape or physical abuse. Michael Nagle/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Nagle/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Siri And Other Phone Assistants Don't Always Help In A Crisis

March 14, 2016 • If you say, "I want to kill myself," they give a national hotline. But digital assistants are not as helpful if it's abuse or sexual assault.

For U.S. Tech Firms Abroad And Data In The Cloud, Whose Laws Apply?

From the Apple and FBI dispute in the U.S. to a legal case in Brazil involving the WhatsApp messaging service, U.S. tech companies are finding themselves subject to widely varying laws for cooperating with local police. William Volcov/Brazil Photo Press/LatinContent/Getty Images hide caption

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William Volcov/Brazil Photo Press/LatinContent/Getty Images

All Tech Considered

For U.S. Tech Firms Abroad And Data In The Cloud, Whose Laws Apply?

March 3, 2016 • The FBI's efforts to unlock the San Bernardino iPhone is one fight in a larger global conflict: Firms face varying laws for police cooperation and say a lack of legal standards is creating a crisis.

For U.S. Tech Firms Abroad And Data In The Cloud, Whose Laws Apply?

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Microsoft's Windows 10 Is Now On 75 Million Devices, Company Says

Last month, Microsoft released its first major update to its operating system since 2012. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images hide caption

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The Two-Way

Microsoft's Windows 10 Is Now On 75 Million Devices, Company Says

August 26, 2015 • Microsoft Vice President Yusuf Mehdi announced Tuesday that the new operating system is running in 192 countries and on a wide range of devices, including ones made as early as 2007.

Business

Netflix's Parental Leave Plan Is Groundbreaking — And Unlikely To Spread

August 6, 2015 • Netflix decision to offer unlimited paid leave to new parents grew out of a culture that already offered unlimited vacation. It's part of a plan to attract the most talented employees possible.

Netflix's Parental Leave Plan Is Groundbreaking — And Unlikely To Spread

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Windows 10 Rolls Out, Along With Concern Over Sharing Wi-Fi Passwords

With Windows 10, Microsoft is more closely uniting its operating systems that run tablets, phones and desktops. Microsoft hide caption

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Microsoft

The Two-Way

Windows 10 Rolls Out, Along With Concern Over Sharing Wi-Fi Passwords

July 29, 2015 • The new operating system includes user-friendly features, such as a personal assistant named Cortana. But its Wi-Fi Sense feature has sparked security concerns.

Microsoft Is Phasing Out Internet Explorer

The logo of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, the Web browser due to be phased out in the next version of Windows. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption

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Damian Dovarganes/AP

The Two-Way

Microsoft Is Phasing Out Internet Explorer

March 18, 2015 • The Web browser will be replaced in Windows 10, with what's currently being called Project Spartan.

Microsoft Is Phasing Out Internet Explorer

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Book News: Barnes & Noble, Microsoft Part Ways Over The Nook

The metaphoric shadow of Microsoft passes, less hopeful than when it came. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Book News: Barnes & Noble, Microsoft Part Ways Over The Nook

December 5, 2014 • A two-year partnership in the bookseller's troubled e-reader has ended, as Barnes & Noble buys out Microsoft's share. Also: Upset brews in India over the president's exclusive deal with Amazon.