REDMOND, W ash. — May 18, 2012 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the return of its successful student offer that allows students buying a qualifying Windows 7-based PC to also get a free Xbox 360 4GB console. The offer is available for current students while supplies last, starting May 20 at participating retailers in the U.S.; a similar offer will be available starting May 18 at participating retailers in Canada. Terms and conditions will vary by participating retailer.

Together, a Windows 7-based PC and an Xbox 360 console provide students the functionality they need for school while also helping them stay connected to friends and family far away. To take advantage of this offer, students or their parents must provide valid student identification as defined by the participating retailer. Participating retailers may change over the course of the promotion, but will include Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics, Dell.com, HPDirect.com, Microsoft Stores and NewEgg.com in the U.S., and Best Buy, Dell.ca, Future Shop, Staples and The Source in Canada.

Windows 7-based PCs come in a wide variety of styles, sizes and colors; many new thin and light options such as the Dell XPS 13, HP ENVY15 and Samsung Series 5 ULTRA boast high-definition displays and fast boot-up times, and are super lightweight for great mobility. With an Xbox 360 console, students can have fun gaming while also enjoying a range of entertainment options, including streaming videos, sports, music and more.

Customers can check with participating retailers for more information about this offer.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

REDMOND, Wash., and BEIJING — May 16, 2012 — The Chinese government has dealt a strong blow against intellectual property crime, penalizing counterfeiter Shang Yajun for copyright infringement and the sale of illegally manufactured registered trademarks. The 1st Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing upheld the Haidian District Court’s decision that sentenced Shang to seven years and six months imprisonment, representing the longest-ever criminal sentence in China for selling and distributing counterfeit software products.

In its July 2011 raid of storage facilities belonging to Shang, the Haidian District Public Security Bureau in Beijing confiscated more than 360,000 partially finished certificates of authenticity (COAs). Although product names and product identification had not been added yet, it is estimated that when finished and packed, their worth would be approximately 513.5 million RMB, or $79 million (U.S.).

Also during this raid, law enforcement discovered counterfeit products and finished COAs valued at approximately 10.4 million RMB, or $1.6 million (U.S.). This included 4,400 Channel OEM and OEM products for Dell, HP and Lenovo, including Simplified Chinese and English-language versions of Windows XP Professional, Windows 7 (Home, Professional and Ultimate), as well as Windows Server 2008 Standard, Windows Server 2003 Standard and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise. In addition to packaging equipment and materials, approximately 200 finished Windows XP Professional Simplified Chinese COAs and 200 finished Windows Server Standard COAs were seized.

“Shang Yajun was no casual counterfeiter; he ran a large-scale, sophisticated criminal enterprise,” said David Finn, associate general counsel, Worldwide Anti-Piracy and Anti-Counterfeiting at Microsoft Corp. “Microsoft is encouraged by the successful resolution of the case and appreciates the help and support of the Chinese government.

Wang Changlin, the deputy prosecutor general of Haidian District, directly guided the prosecution of this case.

“This case proved the efficiency and effectiveness of the Procuratorate of Haidian District’s innovative approach of having one single department to handle intellectual property rights (IPR) cases from arrest to prosecution, and reflected the full-fledged efforts of our dedicated IPR crime prosecutors,” Wang said. “Moving forward, we will ramp up judicial efforts to protect IP rights and deter IP crimes.”

“This case has set a precedent and an exemplary role for similar cases, demonstrating the fact that judicial authorities in China have been increasing the penalties for piracy,” said Huang Jingping, executive director of Criminal Law Research Center of Renmin University of China and vice president of China Criminal Law Society. “The law must deal a harsh hand to those who pirate, as it hinders fair competition, disrupts the order of market economy and stifles innovation.”

Microsoft is committed to assisting law enforcement with their investigations of suspected pirates. Since 2005, more than 400,000 consumers worldwide have contacted Microsoft through its How to Tell website to offer details about an inadvertent purchase of fake software that left computers infected with viruses and malware or that simply didn’t work as advertised. The installation of malicious code, which may lead to data loss, breaches of privacy and identify theft, and system instability, can be an unexpected consequence of using counterfeit software.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

KYIV, Ukraine — May 17, 2012 — Incom Co., a leader in the Ukraine IT market, has implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM to fit the needs of different business units and connect with the company’s information systems.

As a result of dynamic growth, Incom needed to support business processes and complex relationships with customers. Incom chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM for its seamless interoperability with other Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft SharePoint; for its ability to connect with Incom’s existing accounting system; and for its low total cost of ownership.

“The most effective way for our business to achieve its goals is through the implementation of CRM systems,” said Oleg Skichenko, director of business solutions, Incom. “We required broad functionality, scalability and simplicity when evaluating CRM systems, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM fit the bill. Additionally, the solution provides us a reliable basis for decision-making and strategic business management.”

To meet the service requirements of its customers, Incom has established 30 branches in major cities throughout Ukraine, providing effective and optimal solutions throughout the country. Incom needed to consolidate data associated with its network of customers, partners and contacts within a single system for efficient information management, and needed to control access to client and other crucial data.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM has allowed Incom to improve performance levels and reliability, as well as position its business to scale as needed. The solution helps Incom with planning and operations, forecasting cash flows, monitoring the performance of subsales, monitoring key agreements, and creating quality relationships with customers.

“The use of Microsoft Office software, including Outlook, will remain a priority for employees,” said Skichenko. “Tight interoperability of the CRM system with existing Microsoft Office products simplifies our IT work, freeing up time to support customer relationships.”

Standardized tools for sales and marketing save time in training and performing routine tasks, and Incom has now established standardized business processes and business intelligence capabilities. In addition, Incom has established a single space for collaboration by connecting Microsoft Dynamics CRM with its existing accounting system and its Microsoft SharePoint portal.

“Microsoft Dynamics CRM has helped the company unify and standardize the way we interact with sellers, technicians and leaders at various levels who are involved in sales,” said Alexander Dmitruk, head of marketing for Incom. “For example, a seller no longer has to remember that it is time to perform a specific function. The system will simply provide a reminder for both current and future phases of the sale.”

More information on Incom’s Microsoft Dynamics CRM deployment, and additional Microsoft customer implementation news, is available on the Microsoft Customer Spotlight Newsroom.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

DALLAS — May 16, 2012 — Pariveda Solutions, a leading technology consulting firm delivering strategic services and technology solutions, has delivered several customer applications built on Windows Azure. The company has utilized Windows Azure on numerous customer projects and plans to use it in additional solutions in the future. Pariveda uses Windows Azure for its own mission-critical applications such as a recruiting tablet application that leverages HTML5, the Microsoft Sync Framework, SQL Database and Windows Azure.

“With the desire to write systems in .NET and the desire to include platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offerings while avoiding having to manage the infrastructure for the solutions, Windows Azure is a perfect match — not to mention the very attractive pricing that you get with Windows Azure,” said Tim Ehlen, manager at Pariveda.

Pariveda’s technology solutions include custom application development in areas such as cloud computing, business intelligence, mobility, portals and enterprise content management, and customer relationship management. In addition, Pariveda provides strategic services around business systems planning and program management. Pariveda has developed solutions combining PaaS with mobility front ends for a great user experience that leverages Windows Azure.

Windows Azure provides many benefits when the company builds a solution for clients, including flexibility, a manageable development lifecycle, scalability and price. Pariveda’s developers have also praised Windows Azure after working with the solution.

“The developers really enjoyed working with Azure,” Ehlen said. “It removed a lot of pain points for them with the deployment and test environments.”

More information on the Pariveda’s move to Windows Azure is available on the Microsoft Customer Spotlight Newsroom and in this video.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.