Corporate stuff

Microsoft has chosen to fill its executive vacancies from within, elevating three current business unit heads to president of their respective divisions.

In a statement this morning, the company said it is naming Kurt DelBene to head the Microsoft Office Division, Don Mattrick to head the Interactive Entertainment Business, and Andy Lees to head the Mobile Communications Business, effectively leaving things as they have been following the departure of Stephen Elop (who was named Nokia CEO last month) and the announced retirement of Robbie Bach.

"One key to Microsoft's success over the years has been our ability to … Read more

Tens of thousands of Microsoft's workers took a field trip today, heading to Seattle's Safeco Field, where the company is just wrapping up its annual employee meeting.

Amy Sedaris provided comic relief as emcee. (Past hosts include Seth Meyers of "Saturday Night Live" and Rainn Wilson of "The Office.") As usual, the focus was on the series of speeches and demos from company executives. Microsoft issued a no-tweeting edict, but some tipsters were kind enough to send a long a few tidbits.

Among the highlights were a demo of a business intelligence app for … Read more

Activision Blizzard, which is prepping the release of M-rated Call of Duty: Black Ops later this year, has joined the games industry's fight against a California law that blocks the sale of violent video games to minors.

Back in 2005, California passed a law that banned the sale of "violent and inappropriate" video games to minors. At the time, the bill was challenged by the gaming industry, which said that it violated First Amendment rights. The bill was blocked by a U.S. District Court in 2005 and again by the U.S. Appeals Court in 2009.

Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case on November 2. In preparation, Activision Blizzard has filed a "friend-of-the-court" brief to show its support for the games industry. The industry is also supported by 10 state attorneys general, Activision said.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is outspoken about the California law.

"Our First Amendment has survived intact for 219 years amid far greater technological, historical and social challenges," Kotick said today in a statement. "The argument that video games present some kind of new ominous threat that requires a wholesale reassessment of one of our nation's most treasured freedoms, and to take that freedom away indiscriminately from an entire group of our population based on nothing but age, is beyond absurd."… Read more

Microsoft on Wednesday is launching Redu, a Bing-powered site that aims to act as a "homeroom" for people interested in learning more about the state of American schools. The Web site, to which Microsoft plans to link from Bing.com, aspires to be an online hub for those looking to donate to schools, volunteer locally, or work in education.

"This new site is a great way to galvanize interest and focus on public education," Pamela Passman, vice president of corporate affairs at Microsoft, said in an interview Tuesday.

Among its features is a Bing Map that … Read more

Not even the Jedi Mind trick could get LucasFilm to change its opinion on Jedi Mind's name.

The small software developer announced on Tuesday that it has changed its name to Mind Technologies. In a statement, the company said it decided to change its name "to avoid potential infringement of trademarks owned by LucasFilm."

Mind Technologies has also redirected its former Web site, JediMindinc.com, to its new MindTechnologies.com.

Mind Technologies' name was just one part of the issue LucasFilm had with the company. It also didn't like that it used "Jedi" in … Read more

Google has bought an awful lot of companies in 2010, but it hasn't been hard to spot a theme to its purchases over the last few months.

Inside Social Games spotted news posted on the home page of SocialDeck, a mobile-game developer, that Google has acquired the company for an undisclosed sum.

"We're super excited to announce that someone found our social games as fun as you have--in this case, that 'someone' is Google," the company wrote.

SocialDeck has created mobile games, such as Pet Hero, and Shake and Spell, on the back of a "… Read more

TRUCKEE, Calif.--Google CEO Eric Schmidt declined to confirm a deal has been reached on Net neutrality between Google and Verizon but said his company is trying to bring together various factions.

"We're trying to find solutions that bridge between sort of the 'hard-core Net neutrality or else' view and the historic telecom view of no such agreement," Schmidt told reporters on the sidelines of the Techonomy conference following his appearance on a panel here.

Bloomberg and others reported earlier Wednesday that a deal was in the works.

Schmidt wouldn't say whether such a deal might … Read more

Microsoft said Wednesday that it has settled a patent dispute with Salesforce.com, with both companies licensing each other's patents and the cloud software firm paying an undisclosed sum to Redmond.

Financial details were not disclosed.

"We are pleased to reach this agreement with Salesforce.com to put an end to the litigation between our two companies," said Microsoft deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez in a statement. "Microsoft's patent portfolio is the strongest in the software industry and is the result of decades of software innovation. Today's agreement is an example of how companies … Read more

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison is among dozens of billionaires who have signed on to give away the bulk of their wealth to charity.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have been lobbying the world's megarich to sign a "Giving Pledge" to eventually donate at least half of their fortunes. The Wall Street Journal noted on Wednesday that there are now about 40 signatories to the pledge, including Ellison, filmmaker George Lucas, IAC chief Barry Diller, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, oil tycoon (and onetime Yahoo investor) T. Boone Pickens, and more.

"We've really just started, but already … Read more