For Microsoft, there's a lot riding on Windows Phone 7 -- namely its future as a player in the world of mobile. So it's understandable that execs at the Redmond giant are a bit edgy, which probably explains why Microsoft COO Kevin Turner made a comment Wednesday at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference that will undoubtedly have a long shelf-life.

"It looks like iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I'm OK with that," said Turner about Apple's antenna woes in his keynote address. Turner added that "you're going be able to use a Windows Phone 7 and not have to worry about how you're holding it to make a phone call."

After being criticized for being slow to the cloud computing race, Microsoft has launched a full-scale cloud computing offensive.

At the company’s annual Worldwide Partner Conference in Washington, D.C., this week it made a number of announcements on the cloud computing front, including a new Azure appliance and a new application marketplace for users of its Microsoft Dynamics CRM software.

Apple's market value climbed past Microsoft's on Wednesday -- the first time that's happened in more than 20 years -- making it the biggest tech company in the world, according to Reuters.

At the end of the day, Apple's market value stood at around $222 billion, compared to Microsoft's $219 billion, reflecting the changing fortunes of the long-time rivals, as Apple's iPod, iPhone and now iPad have propelled the company into an enviable position.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says there are a lot of "opportunities for innovation" in the smartphone market, but putting all of your development efforts into mobile isn't a smart strategy.

In an interview with CNN Money, Ballmer started by offering Apple a sideways compliment, noting that although it has done some "good stuff" in the mobile business, Apple still trails Nokia and RIM in market share.

Invitations to use Google's new collaboration tool, Google Wave, have quickly become a hot commodity -- a fact that's hardly gone unnoticed by people looking to make a fast buck.

Much like a Gmail invite was a valuable must-have back in the Webmail service's early invitation-only days, people are falling all over themselves to nab a ticket to use Google Wave. Say what you will about Google, but sometimes it does hype right.

In case you hadn't heard, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has taken a pay cut. Kind of.

For Microsoft's fiscal 2009, Ballmer earned $1.28 million, down from $1.35 million a year earlier. But in a year in which Microsoft saw sales drop for the first time, Ballmer's salary actually rose, to about $655,000 from $640,000. Don't worry, though -- Ballmer's bonus was off $100,000 from last year's $600,000.