Microsoft News Tracker

Press release:

Consumer real estate Web site Zillow.com today announced the addition of 45-degree, low-altitude aerial photos to its home valuation and data with the integration of bird’s eye images from Microsoft’s Virtual Earth platform. The images, a first for any consumer real estate site, provide stunning views of a home and its surroundings from four directions, giving home buyers another valuable piece of information about a potential home purchase.

The images are shown on Zillow home details pages, alongside satellite maps, parcel information, Zestimate™ home valuations and individual home data. Currently, bird’s eye imagery can be found on home searches in major cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Boston and Las Vegas. Additional coverage will be added later this year.
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Bird’s eye images, taken by a Microsoft partner, Pictometry, one of the world’s largest digital, oblique aerial photography companies, are captured via cameras pointed at a 45-degree angle from low-flying airplanes. These photos are then shown on Zillow.com as 360-degree panoramas that can be viewed from four compass directions. Bird’s eye images are shown alongside Zillow’s satellite and street maps to give customers a much richer picture of the individual home and neighborhood.

Allison Linn at the Associated Press has more details:

The technology, which is the same offering found on Microsoft’s Live Local mapping site, provides photographic search results that are, in some areas, close-up enough to make out individual cars or the state of a neighbor’s hedge.

Such pictures could be useful for would-be home buyers eager to know if their prospective abode abuts, say, a lovely park, or a wrecking yard.

Spencer Rascoff, Zillow’s chief financial officer, said there would be no option for homeowners to remove their house from the site.

He acknowledged that Microsoft’s technology, which is still in test form, does not always show the correct house — an issue that may be less problematic for someone searching out driving directions that for a person who is considering buying a property.
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Redmond-based Microsoft’s technology covers only some metropolitan areas right now, but the company is aiming to expand its coverage by the end of the year.

Rascoff said the multiyear licensing deal isn’t exclusive, meaning competitors can strike similar deals with Microsoft. He declined to provide other details on the deal.

At least one competing product, realestateABC.com, also offers photographic search results; it uses online mapping technology from Microsoft’s rival, Google Inc.

Press release:

Microsoft Corp. today announced that Frank H. Brod is joining the company as corporate vice president, Finance and Administration, and chief accounting officer beginning May 1.

Brod brings with him a unique set of experiences, having most recently served as corporate vice president and controller of The Dow Chemical Company, where he was responsible for all of Dow’s global accounting activities.

The 8K filing is here and per Todd Bishop:

Here’s his bio on Dow Chemical’s Web site. He’s a 30-year veteran of the company. Microsoft’s previous chief accounting officer, Scott Di Valerio, now manages its dealings with PC makers as corporate vice president of its OEM Division.

PC World Canada:

The death of popular local film actor Rajkumar on Wednesday threw India’s IT hub Bangalore into disarray as fans went on a rampage, demanding that shops and other establishments close as a mark of mourning for the 78-year-old star.

The facility of Microsoft Research Lab India Pvt. Ltd. was stoned Wednesday evening by fans of the actor, according to a lab spokeswoman.

Expecting more unrest, a number of IT companies have declared today, when the actor’s funeral is scheduled, a day off for their staff.

Microsoft was among those closing according to Reuters:

Leading IT companies - including Wipro, iGATE and Infosys, India’s second-largest software company, along with multinationals Microsoft, Dell Inc and IBM - said they would stay closed today.

“Most companies are forced to close. Nobody wants to take a chance,” an official at a multinational firm said on the condition that that the person and company not be named.

More details by following the links, but the death toll is up to five.