Things were pretty quiet today right across the tech blogosphere let alone any news about, or from, Microsoft. This can make it a little difficult to find stuff for this daily round-up but I did manage to find a few things.

Microsoft:

• Is it time for Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer to go? – The Microsoft Blog
  He’s been called a genius, he’s been called Monkey Boy. Many love him, many hate him. Steve Ballmer has been Microsoft’s chief executive for 10 years; now he’s under mounting pressure to keep Microsoft relevant in the age of iPhones, iPads and Web services.
• Microsoft: Stop the shiny object syndrome – RIAgenic
  It’s soon time fore yet another product roll out, you’re in the marketing team and faced with a urgent issue – we need example demos to excite the developer base?.
• How my OneNote habit keeps me sane – The Microsoft Office Blog
  As a compulsive note taker who’s not nearly as good at organizing information as I am at collecting it, I rely on OneNote for every project at work and for most projects at home.
• Microsoft’s annual R&D spending dips for first time in five years – TechFlash
  A closer look at Microsoft’s earnings report from last week shows that the company spent $8.7 billion in research and development in its recently completed fiscal year — about 3 percent less than it spent in the prior year.

Windows Live:

• Messenger Companion – Have conversations with your friends directly in Internet Explorer – The Windows Blog
  In this release of Windows Live, you can now see your friends’ activity in all the social networks you use. Last week, for example, Douglas Pearce blogged about what this means for the new Messenger.

Windows Phone 7:

• Hubs vs. apps – Windows Phone Secrets
  I think that hubs, or “panoramic experiences,” are the number one selling point for Windows Phone.
• No official list of Windows Phone 7 device makers – LiveSide
  We reported last Friday that there would be 5 hardware partners with Windows Phone 7 handsets ready at launch. Turns out later that day Microsoft “turned back” on what was said.
• Sense On Windows Phone 7… What It Should NOT Look Like – WMPoweruser
  This just showed up on Pocketnow as a render of how HTC will modify their version of Windows Phone 7, and I think its stupid.

Related posts:

1. Microsoft and Windows Round-up – 22.7.2010
2. Microsoft and Windows round-up – 19.7.2010
3. Microsoft and Windows Round-up – 12.7.2010
4. Microsoft and Windows Round-up – 20.7.2010
5. Microsoft and Windows Round-up – 23.7.2010