MICROSOFT

Microsoft?s Windows 8 is set for a release date this October, and as the summer comes to a close more information about the next-generation operating system has begun to leak. The newest bit of information concerns the higher-end version of the software, known as Windows 8 Pro.

The Apple stock (AAPL) has emerged a market favorite ahead of the September 12 event, cited to be the probable launch date for next-generation iPhone, iPhone 5 and iPad Mini. Witnessing a huge rally for the last few days, the stock closed August 20 at an all-time high of $665.15 resulting in a market capitalization value of $665.15 billion.

David Sacks took to Facebook over the weekend to air his grievances about the state of the revered San Franciso Bay Area long assumed to be the centerpiece for innovation within the tech industry, giving a gloomy prediction of the tech industry's future shortly after selling his own company to Microsoft.

The Windows Phone is all set to garner a third rank in the mobile OS race in the U.S. by November 2012, due to the continuous downslide of the BlackBerry market share, web usage data from StatCounter revealed.

Dell is scheduled to report second-quarter results Tuesday below last year?s. For the first time, the company founded by Chairman Michael S. Dell nearly 30 years ago in a dorm room will be ranked No. 3 in PC sales, having lost its No. 2 ranking last quarter to China?s Lenovo Group.

Apple Inc's market value climbed past $623 billion on Monday, surpassing the record set by Microsoft Corp during the heyday of technology stocks in 1999.

Don?t say technology companies aren?t enormously profitable. An IBTimes review of the cash and investment holdings of 11 of the top technology leaders shows they are sitting atop nearly $375 billion in cash and investments ? or about 24 percent more since the last survey nine months ago.

After enjoying a record-breaking quarter earlier this year, Apple posted yet another milestone on Monday, this time for its stock. With its stock reaching $660.73 a share early Monday morning, Apple finally surpassed Microsoft as the most valuable publicly-traded stock ever, achieving a market capitalization of $619.37 billion, the largest cap ever recorded.

Microsoft?s next line of Windows Phone 8 devices are expected for a fall release date alongside its new Windows 8 operating system. Rumors of these Microsoft-branded smartphones from manufacturer Samsung have been circulating for some time now, and a recent leak has revealed the names of these devices.

Hulu, the popular television and film streaming service, is changing the way it does business. In an internal document leaked to Variety, the company is not only restructuring, but will also apparently lose some of its most popular content providers.

The rags-to-riches, self-publishing story of "Fifty Shades of Grey" has garnered plenty of industry attention, with articles dedicated to how the phenomenon is sounding the death knell for printed books and traditional publishing houses.

The Gates Foundation is aiming to address a prevalent problem for the urban poor and the developing world: the lack of a hygienic place to poop.

The release date for Microsoft’s Windows 8 is drawing near, and another purported leak of what will be featured in the new operating system has surfaced online. The long-time PC manufacturer seems to be crafting a new version of video chat service Skype catered to the new Windows 8 user interface.

Sony Corp. is doing its best to maintain Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita performance in the lead-up to next year's anticipated launch of its next-generation console by cutting costs and introducing a wide range of new intellectual property for the rapidly aging devices.

Samsung Electronics (Seoul: 005930) started shipping its $499 Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet in a bid for market share against the iPad from Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company. On of its innovations is an electronic stylus called the S Pen, first unveiled at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Pro Apple customers have been waiting for some good news for a long time, especially after Apple disappointed that particular demographic at WWDC in June, when it didn't update the iMac or the Mac Pro lines as it was expected to do. Fortunately, a new "jaw-dropping" patent released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday reveals Apple is indeed working on addressing the needs of its professional customers with some radical new software that will challenge Adobe Photoshop and...

Apple fans are expecting a brand-new mini iPad to be unveiled alongside the iPhone 5 next month, but on Wednesday, 9 to 5 Mac posted concept images of what it believes the iPad Mini will look like, based on tips from inside sources. The tips also happen to line up with schematics and cases, which can give us a clearer picture of the features and specs of the upcoming iPad Mini.

Microsoft released the final version of Windows 8 to MSDN and TechNet subscribers August 15. There is also a 90-day trial version for the general consumers.

The upcoming “Mass Effect 3” DLC known as “Leviathan” has just been given a release date—August 28. On that day, the single-player expansion will roll out to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC players.

Bill Gates, the man responsible for bringing software to the masses with Microsoft and Windows, has plans to reinvent another industry: Sanitation. Gates, whose philanthropic efforts have helped bring clean water and resources to developing countries via the foundation founded by he and his wife Melinda, said on Wednesday that he plans to build a toilet that's better suited to developing countries in an effort to cut down on disease and death in those regions.

Wall Street powerhouse Standard & Poor’s lowered its opinion of Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), the No. 3 PC maker, because it’s becoming “more bearish of the PC industry in general,” the ratings agency said Wednesday. It trimmed its 12-month target price for Dell shares to $14 from $15.