Microsoft in overhaul mode; PC sales in 'longest decline'; Sport and the game of sexism

1 Microsoft in overhaul mode (Nick Wingfield in The New York Times) Microsoft will dissolve its eight product divisions in favor of four new ones arranged around broader functional themes, a change meant to encourage a tighter marriage among technologies as competitors like Apple and Google outflank it in the mobile and Internet markets. “To execute, we’ve got to move from multiple Microsofts to one Microsoft,” Steven A. Ballmer, the longtime chief executive, said in an interview.

The notion of organizing the company around the trinity of modern technology products — software, hardware and services — is most famously used by Apple. It is yet another sign of how deeply Apple’s way of doing things has seeped into every pore of the technology industry. And in the process, some of the biggest technology companies are starting to look much more alike organizationally. The goal is to get thousands of employees to collaborate more closely, to avoid some duplication and, as a result, to build their products to work more harmoniously together.

The changes at Microsoft, a giant in the tech industry for decades that has stalled in the last few years, echo similar moves at its biggest rivals, including some tweaking at Apple. But Microsoft’s charges are far more sweeping and involve many more people. “This is, in my mind, the biggest thing we’ve ever done,” said Lisa Brummel, a 24-year Microsoft veteran who leads its human resources department, noting that the company has nearly 100,000 employees. Rivalries among the Microsoft divisions had built up over time, sometimes resulting in needless duplication of efforts.

2 PC sales in ‘longest decline’ (BBC) Global personal computer (PC) sales have fallen for the fifth quarter in a row, making it the "longest duration of decline" in history. Worldwide PC shipments totalled 76 million units in the second quarter, a 10.9% drop from a year earlier, according to research firm Gartner. PC sales have been hurt in recent years by the growing popularity of tablets.

Gartner said the introduction of low-cost tablets had further hurt PC sales, especially in emerging economies. Separate data released by research firm IDC also showed an 11.4% decline in global PC shipments during the period, from a year earlier.

3 Sport and the game of sexism (Khaleej Times) Marion Bartoli’s spectacular win at Wimbledon at the age of 28 has shown that it is talent and hard work that will bolster a professional sportswoman to the heights of success, but it’s good looks that will make you popular with the spectators. But instead of lauding a late bloomer’s grit and spirit, people are busy deriding her. Interestingly, it’s not her eccentric style of playing that is attracting the criticism, it’s her physical appearance.

Veteran BBC radio and television show host John Inverdale brazenly remarked on Radio Five Live: “Do you think Bartoli’s dad told her when she was little: ‘You’re never going to be a looker – you’ll never be a Sharapova – so you have to be scrappy and fight?’” Even when she won the Wimbledon trophy the deluge of criticism did not subside. Many people could not believe how a “fat girl” had managed to bag the biggest honour in tennis.

When Andy Murray won the Wimbledon trophy, not a word was spoken about his physical appearance. So why are Bartoli’s looks attracting so much hostile publicity? This just unfortunately shows that we still live in a deeply sexist world, where bodies of powerful and popular women are subjected to intense scrutiny. And sadly, it is this scrutiny that will continue to overshadow their professional achievements.