Microsoft recently announced that they plan to cut the price on several retail versions of their newest operating system, Windows Vista. As you can imagine, this is a move that comes to a shock to many. In fact, this move is one that nobody saw coming; even though Vista has been struggling to keep up, and it has taken a lot of flack from first time users.

In the United States, Microsoft has decided to greatly reduce the price of the high end version known as Vista Ultimate. The price of Vista Ultimate has fallen to $219 from a previous retail price of $299. Additionally, prices for the popular Home Premium addition are also being reduced from $159 to $129. As you can see, these are no small price reductions.

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Although the Apple iPhone has only been on store shelves for eight months or so, it has made a big dent in the mobile phone industry. Apple did such a great job with marketing that consumers were clamoring to get their hands on this product the second that it was made available to the public. And although the iPhone has done quite well in a short period of time, it is safe to say that Apple is not going to stop there. Instead, they have announced that new software development is going to offer many enterprise features that are sure to get people in the business sector excited.

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Microsoft has been fined $1.35 billion by the European Union for failing to comply with sanctions. Believe it or not, this is a record fine, and one that the European Union and Microsoft are taking seriously. After all, anytime that a company is fined in excess of one billion dollars it is sure to be big news.

Although this news is moving into the public eye once again, it stems from a 2004 ruling. Generally speaking, Microsoft is being fined because they neglected to share information with its competition on how to interoperate with its many software applications.

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If you know anything about the internet, you know that Google has become a super power over the past couple of years. Not only do they dominate the online search world, but the same thing holds true of online advertising. Of course, a company like this never slows down. Next in line: a joint venture with Cleveland Clinic which will bring Google to the forefront of the electronic health records industry.

Just last week, the two companies announced that they have joined together for a PHR pilot program that will be tested be a small group of patients at Cleveland Clinic who have been using another system.

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Electronic Arts (EA) is one of the most popular and powerful video game manufacturers in the world. Although they have a strong hold on the industry, EA has no plans of slowing down. In October of 2007, the company acquired BioWare and Pandemic. While it has only been a few months since this takeover, the company is once again on the move. This time around, EA has their sites set on Take Two Interactive. But even though EA is interested in moving forward, it does not appear that Take Two has the same idea in mind.

Judging by how much EA is willing to spend, they must be pretty confident in how much success this acquisition would bring the company. Most recently, EA upped their bid to $26 per share. This works out to a cash offer of approximately $2 billion.

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World-famous high energy drink, Red Bull, reached its peak in terms of sales last year. High record sales had been currently reported by its Austrian owner. A record-breaking sales performance in Asia, South America and Africa had greatly contributed to the significant success of this energy drink over the past year.

Red Bull’s sales had been reported to reach a 17% to 3bn euros increase which is equivalent to $4.4bn. This success happened amidst certain issues that were linked to the product.

Red Bull, the high energy drink that is said to give you “wings” was able to sell to the worldwide market a total of 3.5 billion units. This company is a private firm wherein 49% is solely owned by Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz. The firm’s enormous success can be attributed to its avid fans and loyal consumers. It proved that drinkers of this popular energy-boosting beverage continued to patronize the product despite speculations and rumors concerning its caffeine levels.

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Facebook, one of the most popular social networking site; had a taste of its very first fall in the number of UK users at the start of the year as indicated by data from new industry.

Data gathered by Nielsen Online showed that the number of Facebook users went down by 5% to 8.5 million in January based from its 8.9 million users last December. This is the very first decline in the number of Facebook users ever recorded since Nielsen Online had started gathering data from the site in the month of July in 2006.

Facebook website lost its popularity and appeal among its main audience which mainly consisted of young people as stated by Nic Howell, industry magazine New Media Age’s deputy editor. Moreover, Mr. Howell also commented that when Tory MP’s and other important corporations build profiles in the website, the value of the brand somewhat declines. It drives its core user base to new alternatives which are more credible.

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