Posted by Brad Smith and Horacio GutierrezExecutive Vice President and General Counsel & Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft
Today, Microsoft announced its tenth license agreement providing coverage under our patent portfolio for Android mobile phones and tablets. Today's agreement is with Compal, one of the world’s largest Original Design Manufacturers, or ODMs. Compal is based in Taiwan, where it produces smartphones and tablet computers for third parties and has revenue of roughly $28 billion per year.
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Posted by Brad SmithExecutive Vice President & General Counsel, Microsoft
Today, I joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Richard Burr in Washington, D.C. to co-host a veterans roundtable, where we brought together veterans, veteran services organizations and nonprofit organizations to discuss the challenges veterans face returning to the workforce and learn how the public and private sector can work together to give them the opportunities they deserve.
The economic downturn has been particularly hard on the men and women returning from serving our country in the armed forces. The unemployment rate for post 9/11-era veterans has averaged 11.6 percent over the past year – significantly higher than their non-veteran counterparts.
Posted by Bill HarmonAssociate General Counsel, Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit
A recent report shows the global cost of cybercrime is greater than the combined effect on the global economy of trafficking in marijuana, heroin and cocaine. That staggering statistic underscores the need for the industry, academic community and law enforcement – those working to combat cybercrime – to come together to share ideas and strategize on ways to fight the threat and make the online world safer for everyone.
That’s one of the reasons the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit hosts the Digital Crimes Consortium (DCC), an annual, week-long conference that provides a rare opportunity for hundreds of law enforcement officials and members of the technology security community from around the world to come together to discuss and demonstrate the latest issues facing disruption and enforcement efforts involving cybercrime worldwide. This year’s event has included 340 attendees from 33 countries around the world. The topics covered at DCC are wide ranging, including everything from analyzing targeted attacks to industry efforts, like recent botnet takedowns, and new threats like mobile malware and security challenges posed by the cloud.
Did you know that only eight states in the country have a higher percentage of functionally obsolete bridges than Washington? The fact is, over the past two decades, the Puget Sound region’s transportation infrastructure has failed to keep pace with the region’s population and job growth.
Enhanced mobility across the region is an important local priority for Microsoft. With nearly 40,000 employees based in the Puget Sound region, the company and our people need an efficient transportation system. It is important to our own business, and it’s important to economic growth, job creation and the quality of life across our state.
As a company, we’re opposing Initiative 1125 on the Washington state ballot this November because it would seriously undermine improvements to our transportation infrastructure, unfairly eliminate options for commuters, and impact the state’s economy.
Posted by Laura RubyDirector, Trustworthy Computing - Accessibility Policy & Standards, Microsoft
Today, in a ceremony hosted by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski , Microsoft received a Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility in recognition of the company’s work in creating a set of Accessibility Tools and Training Resources.
The awards were presented for the development of individual mainstream or assistive technologies introduced into the marketplace, the development of standards, or the implementation of best practices that foster accessibility. The timing of the a ceremony was very fitting because October is Disability Employment Awareness Month, and also marks the first anniversary of the Twenty-First Communications and Video Programming Accessibility Act (CVAA).