Microsoft Corporation

[cyclone]

Microsoft Will Acquire Coding Site GitHub

By Dina Bass , Eric Newcomer , and Mark Bergen
June 4, 2018, 2:26 AM GMT+8 Updated on June 4, 2018, 1:37 PM GMT+8

For Microsoft Corp., acquiring GitHub Inc. would be both a return to the company’s earliest roots and a sharp turnaround from where it was a decade ago.

The software maker has agreed to acquire GitHub, the code-repository company popular with many software developers, and could announce the deal as soon as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter.

Microsoft’s origin story lies in the market for software-development tools. Decades before former Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer jumped up and down on a stage, cheering for "developers, developers, developers," Bill Gates and Paul Allen co-founded the company to give hobbyists a way to program a new micro-computer kit, the MITS Altair.

More details in https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...ite-github

[Wildreamz]

Devs are flooding to GitLab amidst Github Microsoft acquisition rumors
https://thenextweb.com/dd/2018/06/04/dev...on-rumors/
by MATTHEW HUGHES — 44 minutes ago in DESIGN & DEV

Last night, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft has acquired GitHub. The deal is still unconfirmed by both parties (I asked, they said “no comment“), but it’s believed Microsoft will announce it later today.

Suffice to say, not everyone is happy about it. A quick search on Twitter finds countless people proclaiming that Github is dead, and promising to move to rival services — like GitLab and Atlassian’s BitBucket.

---

Bad idea IMO. Microsoft is a closed platform, and Github is a neutral platform that mainly supports open-sourced software development. This move is kinda against the original intent of Github in the first place and will probably alienate majority of it's original user base.

[cyclone]

Microsoft opens first retail store in Europe – just down the street from Apple
* London will be Microsoft’s third flagship store destination, along with Sydney and New York City.
* Microsoft is among a growing list of tech companies expanding their physical presence to complement online sales.
* “There’s no doubt that a physical store is actually very good for choosing physical products and that’s part of why we’re here,” Microsoft CMO Chris Capossela said.

Elizabeth Schulze
PUBLISHED WED, JUL 10 2019  9:00 AM EDT
UPDATED WED, JUL 10 2019  9:07 AM EDT

Microsoft will open its first retail store in Europe on Thursday as the software giant looks to boost its physical presence and compete with other tech companies offering unique in-store experiences for customers.

The 21,932 square-foot Microsoft store will be located on Oxford Circus in the center of London’s famous shopping district – just down the street from Apple’s flagship Regent Street location. London will be Microsoft’s third flagship destination, along with Sydney and New York City.

“This is our very first foray into Europe, and we couldn’t be more pleased to be in London,” Microsoft CMO Chris Capossela said in an interview Tuesday.

Microsoft is among a growing list of tech companies expanding their physical presence to complement online sales. Amazon is reportedly planning to open up to 3,000 cashier-less grocery stores by 2021. Chinese tech giant Xiaomi told CNBC in February it plans to triple its European store count by the end of the year.

Richard Lim, CEO of research firm Retail Economics, said tech companies are looking to generate buzz and loyalty in their brands by offering new in-store experiences.

“Primary locations like Oxford Street, where there’s sustainable levels of footfall, where the experience is much more than retail, is one of the crucial ingredients for success,” Lim said.

Microsoft’s 3-floor store includes an Xbox gaming room, a customized McLaren, meeting rooms for enterprise clients and a digital classroom where students can learn how to code. Cindy Rose, CEO of Microsoft U.K., said the store appeals to general consumers, as well as the company’s more targeted customers like businesses and gamers.

The store also highlights Microsoft’s Surface computers and tablets, which have helped the software titan grow its hardware business. Sales of Surface devices increased 21 percent year-on-year last quarter.

“The Surface hardware that you see all throughout the store, that’s going to be a big big seller,” Capossela said. “There’s no doubt that a physical store is actually very good for choosing physical products and that’s part of why we’re here.”

More details in https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/10/microsof...ircus.html

[dreamybear]

Warren Buffett's Cash Pales Next To This
MATT KRANTZ 8:00 AM ET

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway turned heads with what one analyst called its "obscene" level of $128 billion in cash on hand at quarter's end. But one S&P 500 company has even more dough — and a bigger yield: Microsoft.

Thanks to its cloud-computing powered resurgence, Microsoft (MSFT) now has $136.6 billion in cash and short-term investments. That's more than any other non-financial in the S&P 500. The total is more than Apple's (AAPL) famous $100.6 billion mound of cash and U.S. Treasuries. And it's more than the $121.2 billion amassed by Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL)..........

https://www.investors.com/etfs-and-funds...ed-to-this

[cyclone]

Microsoft just unveiled its new Xbox, setting the stage for 2020 console war with Sony
* The Xbox Series X comes with a peculiar monolithic design, almost resembling a PC tower.
* Microsoft didn’t disclose a price but said the Xbox Series X will go on sale in the holidays next year.

Ryan Browne
PUBLISHED FRI, DEC 13 20192:16 AM EST

Microsoft pulled the wraps off its new console, the Xbox Series X, charging ahead of Sony in debuting next-generation gaming hardware.

The Xbox Series X was revealed at the company’s press conference for industry awards ceremony The Game Awards in Los Angeles, and sets off an inevitable battle with its Japanese rival as 2020 approaches.

The gadget comes with a peculiar monolithic design, almost resembling a PC tower, while its new wireless controller looks like something Xbox fans will be more familiar with. One new thing Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox controller contains is a share button that lets users capture screenshots and game footage, something the PlayStation 4 controller already features.

More details in https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/13/microsof...nsole.html

[weijian]

Under Satya Nadella, Microsoft hasn't really gotten much of their capital allocation decisions wrong.

Activision Blizzard in games, is like the HBO of TV series.

Five reasons Microsoft is making Activision Blizzard its biggest deal

Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard in a US$68.7 billion all-cash acquisition, uniting 2 of the biggest forces in video games. It's the software maker's biggest deal ever, almost 3 times as large as the 2016 purchase of LinkedIn. Here are 5 key reasons why it happened.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technol...ggest-deal

[BlueKelah]

Under Satya Nadella, Microsoft hasn't really gotten much of their capital allocation decisions wrong.

Activision Blizzard in games, is like the HBO of TV series.

Five reasons Microsoft is making Activision Blizzard its biggest deal

Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard in a US$68.7 billion all-cash acquisition, uniting 2 of the biggest forces in video games. It's the software maker's biggest deal ever, almost 3 times as large as the 2016 purchase of LinkedIn. Here are 5 key reasons why it happened.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technol...ggest-deal

Its not that smart a move really, considering that microsoft already has its own gaming studios and houses. BUt i guess they have excess cash and need to use it for M&A activities. Activision is also making profits so MS will enjoy any future cash flows.

For the online gaming sector, Gamers are actually moving on from Acitvision big games like World of Warcraft to other worlds like Final fantasy. Activision really only has Call of Duty Franschise left to milk ( the recent WW2 releases are not that impressive IMO). 

But there is also growth in the esports segment, which maybe microsoft is aiming for as they are lacking in that department.

[weijian]

Besides focusing on cloud computing, one of the other greatest move by Microsoft (or Satya Nadella's era) would actually be moving from 1 time purchase of software to subscription based (a win-win situation where the providers get a recurring income that is highly valued by investors, and subscribers get to reduce their one time capital expenditure).

When Activision and Blizzard merged many years back, their blockbuster was just COD and WOW respectively. Now that they are bought over, excluding Candy Crush (which they acquired through King Digital), it is still COD and WOW as their blockbusters. Looking at it in isolation, maybe they are "in decline". But with the combination of a strong distribution channel and a bigger stable of games, the sum of parts would probably be bigger than the individual parts themselves.

[Wildreamz]

.. Looking at it in isolation, maybe they are "in decline". But with the combination of a strong distribution channel and a bigger stable of games, the sum of parts would probably be bigger than the individual parts themselves.

Not sure if either Activision-Blizzard or Microsoft is in decline. Both reported consistent topline and bottom line growth in recent years. 

That said, Activision is indeed fighting a reputation decline, employee walkouts, and lawsuits. This will hopefully/like addresses that by some form of corporate restructuring.

This acquisition, if goes through, will be accretive for Microsoft, since Activision actually has lower PE than Microsoft; much better than simply holding cash for Microsoft at low interest rates. And will strategically strength them in their competition with Sony (current generation of Xbox is lagging behind the PS5) via possible future exclusive games.

But there is a limit to that strategy, and Microsoft cannot afford to get too aggressive in hogging (once multi-platform) exclusives to their platform, in the event of losing potential sales and gamer backlash (it's a very anti-consumer, and anti-competitive move that will draw legal attention).

Final point, there is a good probability that this deal will not pass Anti-trust; due to increase scrutiny with Big Tech in recent years. The (widening) gap (~13 to 14%) between Microsoft's acquisition price ($95) and Activision's current price ($82) also shows market skepticism. 

We shall see.

(not vested)

[weijian]

.. Looking at it in isolation, maybe they are "in decline". But with the combination of a strong distribution channel and a bigger stable of games, the sum of parts would probably be bigger than the individual parts themselves.

Not sure if either Activision-Blizzard or Microsoft is in decline. Both reported consistent topline and bottom line growth in recent years. 

Sorry, if I didn't make it very clear - The "they" that I am referring to actually COD and WOW games. It is a direct response to BlueKelah's previous response on these games.

I use the word "maybe" because I haven't played games for a long time nor up to date with what's hot (or not).