I am writing to let you know that I will retire as CEO of Microsoft within the next 12 months, after a successor is chosen. There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our transformation to a devices and services company focused on empowering customers in the activities they value most. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction. You can read the press release on Microsoft News Center.

This is a time of important transformation for Microsoft. Our new Senior Leadership team is amazing. The strategy we have generated is first class. Our new organization, which is centered on functions and engineering areas, is right for the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Microsoft is an amazing place. I love this company. I love the way we helped invent and popularize computing and the PC. I love the bigness and boldness of our bets. I love our people and their talent and our willingness to accept and embrace their range of capabilities, including their quirks. I love the way we embrace and work with other companies to change the world and succeed together. I love the breadth and diversity of our customers, from consumer to enterprise, across industries, countries, and people of all backgrounds and age groups.

I am proud of what we have achieved. We have grown from $7.5 million to nearly $78 billion since I joined Microsoft, and we have grown from employing just over 30 people to almost 100,000. I feel good about playing a role in that success and having committed 100 percent emotionally all the way. We have more than 1 billion users and earn a great profit for our shareholders. We have delivered more profit and cash return to shareholders than virtually any other company in history.

I am excited by our mission of empowering the world and believe in our future success. I cherish my Microsoft ownership, and look forward to continuing as one of Microsoft’s largest owners.

This is an emotional and difficult thing for me to do. I take this step in the best interests of the company I love; it is the thing outside of my family and closest friends that matters to me most.

Microsoft has all its best days ahead. Know you are part of the best team in the industry and have the right technology assets. We cannot and will not miss a beat in these transitions. I am focused and driving hard and know I can count on all of you to do the same. Let’s do ourselves proud.

Steve

REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 23, 2013 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer has decided to retire as CEO within the next 12 months, upon the completion of a process to choose his successor. In the meantime, Ballmer will continue as CEO and will lead Microsoft through the next steps of its transformation to a devices and services company that empowers people for the activities they value most.

“There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time,” Ballmer said. “We have embarked on a new strategy with a new organization and we have an amazing Senior Leadership Team. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company’s transformation to a devices and services company. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction.”

The Board of Directors has appointed a special committee to direct the process. This committee is chaired by John Thompson, the board’s lead independent director, and includes Chairman of the Board Bill Gates, Chairman of the Audit Committee Chuck Noski and Chairman of the Compensation Committee Steve Luczo. The special committee is working with Heidrick & Struggles International Inc., a leading executive recruiting firm, and will consider both external and internal candidates.

“The board is committed to the effective transformation of Microsoft to a successful devices and services company,” Thompson said. “As this work continues, we are focused on selecting a new CEO to work with the company’s senior leadership team to chart the company’s course and execute on it in a highly competitive industry.”

“As a member of the succession planning committee, I’ll work closely with the other members of the board to identify a great new CEO,” said Gates. “We’re fortunate to have Steve in his role until the new CEO assumes these duties.”

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.

Release Candidate 1 of the next version of PostgreSQL is now available. All of the features of version 9.3 should be available and stable in the this release. We need your assistance to verify that all of these features are bug free.

Information on these features can be found at:

• PostgreSQL 9.3 Release Notes
• What's New in 9.3

Please download 9.3rc1 as soon as possible and report any bugs, deficiencies, missing documentation, or regressions you find. We're hoping to have a trouble-free 9.3.0 release in just a few weeks, but that depends on your testing. Report any issues you find to pgsql-bugs@postgresql.org, or using our bug reporting form.

Source code and binary installers for most platforms are available from our downloads page.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Aug. 21, 2013 — IDC has released its Mobile Phone Tracker report for the second quarter of 2013, in which it shows that Windows Phone is now the second most widely used operating system in the region.

August 20, 2013 There are more than 20 countries in Latin America where the Windows Phone range of devices is available.

The report shows that Windows Phone has been ranked second in Mexico for the second consecutive quarter. Furthermore, in the previous quarter, Windows Phone was also ranked second in both Colombia and Peru. It is important to highlight the fact that Colombia is one of the countries with the highest user preference ratings, with 25.6 percent of the market share. In other countries, such as Argentina, Chile and Brazil, Microsoft’s mobile platform has also grown in popularity, ranking in third place during the previous quarter.

There was 12 percent growth compared to the previous quarter, during which the platform was ranked fourth on the Latin American market.

“Reports show an important increase in the positioning of this operating system in Latin America. The market availability of new devices will be a factor in ensuring this trend endures over the next three months,” said Oliver Flores, regional manager for Mobile Phones at IDC Latin America.

Liliana González, director of the Windows Phone Division for Latin America, stated that “during this year’s Mobile World Congress, we set ourselves the goal of being the second most widely used mobile platform in Latin America by the end of 2013, and we are overjoyed to be able to announce that these reports show that we have achieved this five months before the end of the year.” She also commented that: “We will continue working alongside Nokia to offer more and more people in Latin America the holistic experience which Windows Phone has for them, in order to offer a more personalized smartphone which is the best for the Windows environment and the best hardware for people and companies.”

In Latin America, there are more than 20 countries where the Windows Phone range of devices is available, from low-end smartphones, such as the Nokia Lumia 520, to those with the most advanced features available on the market, such as the Nokia Lumia 920, but all of which offer the same experience, thanks to the Microsoft platform.

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.

SANTA CLARA, CA - NVIDIA today announced an alliance with Ubisoft to offer PC gamers the best gaming experiences possible for Ubisoft's biggest fall titles, including Tom Clancy's™ Splinter Cell® Blacklist™, Assassins Creed® IV Black Flag and Watch Dogs™.

REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 2 1 , 2013 — Bing launched a free, national pilot program — Bing for Schools — today that gives districts across America the choice to have ad-free search in their schools. Bing for Schools offers K–12 public and private schools in the U.S. the choice to avoid the commercialization of student Web searches performed on the school network by removing all advertisements from search results. Bing is the first and only major search engine to give schools such a choice.

Bing for Schools also enhances privacy protections, sets strict filters to help block adult content and adds specialized learning features to promote digital literacy. Schools can request to be part of the initial Bing for Schools pilot program at http://www.bing.com/schools. Search is an important tool for students; a November 2012 Pew Poll study found that 94 percent of teachers believe their students are very likely to use a search engine in a typical assignment.

Several school districts across the U.S. have already signed up for the ad-free pilot program, including Los Angeles Unified School District (Calif.), Atlanta Public Schools, Fresno (Calif.) Unified School District and Detroit Country Day School.

“In the Los Angeles Unified School District, we strive to stay on top of new and innovative ways to leverage technology to promote high-quality teaching and learning,” said Ronald S. Chandler, chief information officer, Los Angeles Unified School District. “Collaborating with community partners like Microsoft is an essential part of bringing the best possible educational experience we can to our students. I look forward to supporting the Bing for Schools program, which is designed to promote digital literacy by helping to put new devices into the hands of students, teach them how to use them well, and facilitating learning in a safe and supportive environment.”

“Bing for Schools offers teachers the freedom to empower students through a 21st century learning environment,” said Aleigha Henderson-Rosser, director of Instructional Technology at Atlanta Public Schools. “This educational search engine adds an extra layer of security and provides safe search options for our students in an ad-free learning space.”

“As of today, we’ll be bringing ad-free, safer, privacy-enhanced Bing to over 800,000 students with Bing for Schools,” said Mike Nichols, chief marketing officer for Bing at Microsoft Corp.

Bing for Schools includes the following elements:

• Ad-free search. Upon activating Bing for Schools, Bing searches from within the school network will have three key enhancements: - Removal of all advertisements from Bing search results - Automatic strict filtering to help block adult content - Augmented privacy protections

• Earn Bing Rewards credits for schools. You can help the school of your choice earn credits toward Bing Rewards just by searching the Web from home or your mobile device. Bing Rewards allows you to choose a school to support and will aggregate the credits for everyone supporting that school. When 30,000 credits are accrued through Bing Rewards, Bing will send a Microsoft Surface RT tablet with Touch Cover directly to the school. The more people search, the more credits they earn for their schools. About 60 regular Bing Rewards users can earn a Surface RT each month for a school.

• Daily lesson plans based on the Bing daily homepage image. Bing is well-known for having a big, beautiful homepage image that changes daily and inspires visitors to explore their world. Bing for Schools makes it easier to incorporate digital literacy into the classroom by offering three learning activities every school day, targeted at kindergarten through fourth, fifth through eighth and ninth through 12th grades. The activities are free, aligned with Common Core State Standards and use the Bing homepage image of the day to pose a critical-thinking question that can be solved using search tools. In addition to being linked from the homepage image, Bing will keep a growing archive of the lessons on the Microsoft Partners in Learning site.

New GfK Roper p oll : Americans b elieve s chools s hould have the c hoice to m ake s earch a d- f ree

A new public GfK Roper poll shows that a large majority of Americans (84 percent) are unaware that students searching on classroom computers will see the same ads as they would on a public computer, and 79 percent of parents of children who search the Web in school agree that schools should have the choice to make their students’ searches ad-free.

The poll also indicated that nearly nine out of 10 (87 percent) agree that being able to effectively search for information on the Internet is an important skill for children to learn to be successful in today’s world, and 85 percent feel parents should be concerned about their children possibly seeing inappropriate content when searching online. Full survey results can be found here.

Get i nvolved

Early enrollment for Bing for Schools starts today; a limited number of schools will be accepted into the initial pilot. More information on Bing for Schools, including how to sign up for Bing Rewards and choose a school to support, is available at http://www.scroogled.com.

About the GfK Roper study

The random digit dialing telephone survey was conducted Aug. 16–18, 2013, by GfK’s Public Affairs & Corporate Communications division among a nationally representative sample of 1,006 adults ages 18 or older. Interviews were conducted with 753 respondents on landlines and 253 respondents on cellphones. The data were weighted on age, sex, education, race and geographic region. The margin of error on results based on the full sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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.

More Support for Bing for Schools

The announcement of Bing for Schools has received notice and praise from educators and community leaders.

“Providing ad-free, safer searches to the educational resources of the world for our teachers and students — it makes sense that it would come from our partners at Microsoft.”

— Jamilah Fraser, Fresno Unified School District

“Detroit Country Day School is excited to partner with Microsoft to launch Bing for Schools and provide our community an ad-free search zone while providing this additional layer of Internet search security to our content filtering systems already in place.”

— Susan Moran Murphy, Director of External Affairs, Detroit Country Day School

“In the Los Angeles Unified School District, we strive to stay on top of new and innovative ways to leverage technology to promote high-quality teaching and learning. Collaborating with community partners like Microsoft is an essential part of bringing the best possible educational experience we can to our students. I look forward to supporting the Bing for Schools program, which is designed to promote digital literacy by helping to put new devices into the hands of students, teach them how to use them well, and facilitating learning in a safe and supportive environment.”

— Ronald S. Chandler, Chief Information Officer, Los Angeles Unified School District

“As the use of technology in schools across the country continues to expand, I am pleased that the Bing for Schools initiative will help foster safe and invaluable learning experiences. With the removal of advertisements and inappropriate adult content from Internet searches, students can capture the material they need to excel in class. While we work to increase the number of schools and libraries with high-speed broadband access, the Bing program is an excellent opportunity to promote effective digital media engagement.” 

— Dan Domenech, Executive Director, American Association of School Administrators

“Family and Consumer Sciences teachers consider digital literacy and search skills key to the success of our students as they prepare for leadership roles in their families, careers and communities. Bing’s safe search tool, which is free of ads and protects students from exposure to bad influences present on the Internet, is a great resource for our educators. Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is honored to promote this great resource from Microsoft and encourage parents to sign up to earn points for free Surface tools for their schools.”

— Sandy Spavone, Executive Director, FCCLA

“National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) applauds Microsoft's strong commitment to protecting the privacy of children and providing a safe and secure platform to access educational content. All children, especially those living in communities and attending schools with limited broadband, must be given the opportunity to take advantage of innovative technology resources with the assistance of great corporate partners like Microsoft. Bing for Schools is a great example of assuring maximum educational outcomes and at the same time protecting children and families.”

— Greg Roberts, Executive Director, NABSE

“I personally enjoy using Microsoft Surface Pro with Windows 8 and Bing search. Our FBLA-PBL advisers are always looking for creative ways to use technology in the classroom to support their teaching methods. The effective use of technology also helps prepare our members to use that technology in their future business careers. The ad-free environment, along with the ability for students to search safely without accessing inappropriate content is an important classroom feature that I believe will be well-received by our members.”

— Jean Buckley, President/CEO, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)