June 27 - 4:50pm EDT   At an employee event held today, Bill Gates said farewell to the company he co-founded back in 1975. Gates will move from one giant to another, as he will turn his focus on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is the world's largest charity. Reports say Gates and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer delivered speeches to the assembled employees and press, each choking back tears as they spoke. [full story]

May 14 - 7:20pm EDT   Microsoft is preparing to unveil a vertically-oriented, wall-mountable version of its Surface multitouch computing system, which the company calls TouchWall. PC World writes that Microsoft's Research and Office Labs department developed a prototype for the technology, citing that it is ideal for board rooms or other locations where interactive presentations are given. TouchWall uses integrated hardware, which includes laser and infrared lights which pick up touches to the display, through the embedded Plex software. [full story]