Just when investors' sentiment turned utterly negative and seemingly could not get worse, the stock market rebounded on Wednesday.
Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft will cease development of its family of Zune-branded music players due to weak demand and a desire to focus on its smartphone platform.
Microsoft Corp. on Thursday reported that its quarterly sales soared, thanks to gains across all of its key product lines.
Microsoft's dominance as the tech industry's most valuable player has ended. On Wednesday, Apple's market capitalization edged past its longtime rival's as investors made official what consumers have long suggested: Microsoft is no longer the industry's alpha dog.
It was a big year for technology: Twitter and Facebook's popularity exploded, while new smartphones, e-readers and a host of other gadgets cropped up to compete for our plugged-in affection.
Microsoft's Zune HD, which went on sale Tuesday, is more than just another portable media player trying to unseat Apple's iPod.
In the early days of the Web, the mantra "information wants to be free" made the rounds. In music circles now, "music wants to be shared" seems to be the idea.
Many Zune owners successfully revived their failed music players Thursday morning, while others were still unable to overcome a leap year-related glitch that caused thousands of the devices to simultaneously stop working on New Year's Eve.
Zune meltdown
updated: Thu Jan 01 2009 11:22:00
iReporter Carlos Colon joins us from Puerto Rico to tell us about the problems with the Zune music player.
A leap-year related glitch caused thousands of Zune MP3 players to simultaneously stop working late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Microsoft said on the product's Web site.
Baffled consumers are griping about a mysterious glitch that appeared to cause thousands of Zune MP3 music players to simultaneously stop working late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
Slowly but surely, Microsoft's Zune is staking its claim as a legitimate alternative to Apple's iPod line of MP3 players.
When Microsoft introduced the Zune portable music player almost two years ago, even people at the company made light of it. Microsofties called it "the brick." The Zune was larger thanApple's sleek iPod. It also came in white, black...and brown.
Back in April, MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe vowed to create a groundbreaking new digital music service offering everything from ad-supported free songs to iTunes-like downloads to monthly subscriptions. But DeWolfe ended up jettisoning part of that plan.
It was easy to scoff two years ago when word leaked out that Amazon was launching its own digital music service. The Seattle-based online retailer wasn't just mulling an iTunes-like download store - it was supposedly drawing up plans for a branded iPod-like device.
Thanks to efforts from both Microsoft and Apple, podcasting is becoming a popular alternative in high schools to the classroom lecture
Pity the music industry. Between 99-cent downloads, free - if not always legal -file-sharing services and MP3 blogs, and an increasingly fragmented audience, it's desperately in need of a new revenue stream.
The Sony NWZ-A720 Walkman series is a subtle evolution of the NWZ-A810 series we enjoyed in 2007. This year, Sony is treating us with a larger screen and a more assertive design, offered in 4GB ($149), 8GB ($199), and 16GB ($299).
Happy Presidents' Day! Since the U.S. markets are closed, businesses don't usually make big announcements on this holiday.
He was just named producer of the year at Sunday's Grammy Awards but Mark Ronson recently earned another major designation – his American citizenship.
Having survived its freshman hazing, the Zune is back for its sophomore revenge, and the iPod has every reason to be frightened. The Zune 4 (4GB, $149) and Zune 8 (8GB, $199) offer a leaner, lighter version of Microsoft's full-size Zune 80 MP3 player (80GB, $249).
Sales are booming this year at FAO Schwarz, despite the fact that most of its toys are made in China, a country that's come under scrutiny for product safety.
It was only half an hour into Black Friday, and a customer at the Toys 'R' Us flagship store in Manhattan's Times Square was already yelling, "The Zunes are done!"
New York's Broadway strike hurts restaurants and hotels. CNN's Maggie Lake reports.
Web retailer Amazon.com Inc. launched its much-anticipated digital music store Tuesday with nearly 2.3 million songs, none of them protected against copying
Let's pause for a moment amid the worshipful buzz before the launch of Apple's iPhone in June to consider the heretical notion that Steve Jobs might be promising more than he can deliver.
Breaking the iPod's stranglehold on the digital-music business would be no mean feat. Apple's supremely simple device has 72 percent of the $21 billion market, and even Microsoft failed to make a d...
DLO, a company quite well-known for its plethora of iPod accessories, has really stepped up to the plate of choice by offering an array of add-ons for other MP3 players as well.
When the smartest businesspeople on the planet - the Google guys, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates - all say the future of their companies is in video, who are we to argue? Google is buying YouTube. Apple is...
Wall Street was poised to extend Wednesday's rally, after a tame inflation reading, record-breaking annual earnings from oil giant Exxon and upbeat news from the tech sector.
In the chaos of today's media and technology brawl - iPod-vs. Zune, Google vs. Yahoo, Windows vs. Linux, Intel vs. AMD - we can declare one unlikely winner.
The best of CESupdated: Fri Jan 12 2007 09:48:00
So many products, so little time.
Ford Motor is set to announce a partnership with Microsoft to provide greater wireless connectivity to its lineup of vehicles, according to a published report.
After Microsoft announced a delay in its new operating system, Vista, for consumers back in March, investors hacked more than 20 percent off the company's stock price in a matter of months.
Reports of lackluster sales of Microsoft's Zune that surfaced earlier this week might be a bit premature.
Microsoft has finally presented a challenger to Apple's ubiquitous iPod digital music players. It's bigger and heavier and more difficult to use.
While the clothing department and sporting goods sections were crowded at the Atlantic Terminal Mall's Target in Brooklyn, N.Y., early Friday, they didn't come close to the frenzy over in the area that's the perennial favorite for holiday shoppers: electronics.
Click on the iTunes music store and punch in "Beatles" under artist search. More than 50 albums will pop up, including Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Play the Beatles, but none are the real deal. Fans wishing to download the actual Fab Four in MP3 format have to search peer-to-peer sites like Limewire for unlicensed songs they can listen to free.
Apple may release an iPhone within the first six months of next year, according to a published report.
CNNMoney: Checking out a rallyupdated: Tue Nov 14 2006 05:41:00
Retailing is the focus for investors Tuesday as two of the nation's top retailers reported results that worried markets, and a key reading of retail sales came in stronger than forecasts, while producer prices fell more than they were expected to.
Fortune's Peter Lewis gives the new Microsoft Zune the iPod challenge.
Microsoft enters the digital music business Tuesday when it releases its new portable media player, Zune, in the U.S. as part of an effort to make a dent in rival Apple's market share.
Microsoft is opening up its arms to the music industry as it launches its new portable music player against rival Apple's iPod.
The big splash Microsoft is determined to make in the digital music player market this holiday may end up being a flop.
Okay does ANYONE think the Federal Reserve will do anything except leave interest rates alone this week? And will the price of oil and other commodities continue to plummet? Big deal questions....
Blue-chips stocks dipped Thursday, retreating a bit from four-month highs hit in the previous session.
Stocks were mixed Thursday afternoon, with investors unwilling to give up gains after a four-day advance that set the major gauges their highest levels since May.
At its annual financial analyst meeting, Microsoft's executives enthusiastically spoke of "a new era" in which the company will shift its focus from the PC to the Internet.
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