Microsoft News Tracker

Ina Fried at CNET has the story (which is on all the wire services as well):

The allegation, filed in Washington state court, is the latest salvo in an increasingly nasty court fight triggered when Microsoft executive Kai-Fu Lee jumped to Google in July in what Microsoft claims is a violation of a one-year, non-compete agreement.

In a sworn statement made public Friday, Mark Lucovsky, another Microsoft senior engineer who left for Google in November 2004, recounted Ballmer’s angry reaction when Lucovsky told Ballmer he was going to work for the search engine company.

“At some point in the conversation, Mr. Ballmer said: ‘Just tell me it’s not Google,’” Lucovosky said in his statement. Lucovosky replied that he was joining Google.

“At that point, Mr. Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it across the room hitting a table in his office,” Lucovosky recounted, adding that Ballmer then launched into a tirade about Google CEO Eric Schmidt. “I’m going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I’m going to f***ing kill Google.” Schmidt previously worked for Sun Microsystems and was the CEO of Novell.

Late Friday, Ballmer issued a statement disputing Lucovsky’s declaration.

More on the continuing Kai-Fu Lee saga by following the link.

(Via Outside the Cube) Eurogamer interviews Chris Satchell, general manager of Microsoft’s Game Developer Group and Lots And Lots Of Questions Answered. There is more information there than I can reasonably summarize, but it is confirmed that a hard disk is required for Xbox 1 compatibility.

Speaking of governmental relations, here’s a Q&A with Microsoft Managing Director of Federal Government Affairs Jack Krumholtz discussing Microsoft’s top legislative issues – free trade, spyware, cybersecurity, patent reform and research.

Media Alert: President Hu and Chinese Delegation Invited to Visit Microsoft:

Microsoft Corp. looks forward to welcoming President Hu Jintao and a delegation of government officials from China to Microsoft’s Redmond, Wash., campus on Monday.* Microsoft has invited President Hu to campus to discuss the relationship of Microsoft and China and how the company and the government can work together to foster innovation that will benefit the U.S., China and people throughout the world.

If the president accepts Microsoft’s invitation, the company will make the arrival of the president and his delegation to campus open to attendance from all preregistered and credentialed media. There will be a photo opportunity of the president and Bill Gates in the lobby of Microsoft’s Executive Briefing Center. There will not be any opportunity for questions.