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Microsoft's corporate Windows business is losing ground to Apple. Apple is hiring sales executives across the U.S. to get more of its products into Fortune 1,000 companies.

Microsoft has traditionally dominated the corporate workplace, and more than 85% of corporate computers still run some version of Windows software. But products based on Apple operating systems -- including Macintosh computers, iPads and iPhones -- are increasing in demand.

Apple declined to comment on its hiring moves. But Forrester Research analyst Frank Gillett said a rash of recent want-ads by Apple is "strong evidence that Apple is responding to the demands of companies for a direct, formal relationship" with the company rather than buying products from the Apple Store.

The growing appetite for Apple products in the workplace underscores the changing nature of the corporate market. Workers want lighter laptops, tablet computers with longer-lasting batteries and smartphones with apps in the office environment. And information technology departments and buyers are listening.

Last year, 46% of companies in North America and Europe issued Macs to employees, according to a survey from Forrester Research.

That survey of nearly 10,000 workers worldwide found that 11% are using iPhones at work; 9%, iPads; and 8%, Macs.

Younger workers and those near or at the top of the corporate ladder were more likely to use Apple products in the office, according to the survey. Forty-one percent of Apple users were directors, 43% earned more than $150,000 a year, and 28% were between the ages of 18 and 24.

IT support for Apple products is also on the rise. Some 30% of workplaces support Macs, 27% support iPads, and 37% support iPhones.

Apple's gains, coupled with Microsoft misses on mobile devices, which increasingly are issued by companies and used by workers, may signal that "Windows' dominance is at an end," says Forrester's report.

However, Microsoft Office, including...

Our love for apps, it turns out, is fleeting. Faster data networks and fancier phones have steered more Americans to embrace the apps software craze born of our fondness for the computer-in-my-pocket. But like other shopping experiences done impulsively, the appeal of instantly downloading the latest apps -- prompted by recommendations from neighbors, cousins, blogs and news stories -- loses its luster quickly, industry data show.

Of smartphone owners, 68% open only five or fewer apps at least once a week, finds a survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Seventeen percent don't use any apps. About 42% of all U.S. adults have phones with apps, Pew estimates.

"The novelty wears off," Pew researcher Kristen Purcell says. "Most apps don't have sticking power."

But the ones that do, really engage users. Android phone users spend about 90 minutes a day on their phones, about two-thirds of that on apps, says Monica Bannan, a vice president at media research firm Nielsen. "We see a very familiar behavior with (iPhone users)."

An app that's retained by 30% of downloaders is considered "sticky," says Anindya Datta, founder of Mobilewalla, an app analytic firm.

"We are constantly deleting them. That's why the number of downloads is a very poor measure of how popular an app is," he says, estimating 80% to 90% of apps are eventually deleted.

Ghada Elnajjar, a newsletter writer in Atlanta, has downloaded 26 apps since she bought an iPhone 4 in June. She now uses only two regularly: Facebook and MyFitnessPal. "After a while, the fun is not there anymore, and you go back to your phone, e-mail and the browser."

Many of Elnajjar's apps are for her two sons, ages 3 and 5. They've got app burnout, too. "They went back to their toys."

Datta says there are about 1 million apps for...

In its quest to spread its stores around the world, Apple is reaching over the Atlantic to snatch the CEO of a British electronics chain to head its retail operations.

Apple Inc. said Tuesday that Dixons Retail PLC's John Browett will become its top retail executive on April 20. He will report directly to CEO Tim Cook.

Browett fills a job left open when Ron Johnson left to become the CEO of J.C. Penney Co. in November. Johnson pioneered Apple's highly successful retail stores, known for their stark design and their Genius Bar, where Apple customers get technology advice and support.

About two-thirds of Apple's 361 stores are in the U.S. However, of the 40 stores Apple expects to open this fiscal year, three-quarters will be outside the U.S., with China being a major focus. Apple currently has stores in only 12 countries, including the U.S.

Browett has served as CEO of Dixons since 2007. During his tenure, the company continued an aggressive expansion in Europe. It has about 1,200 stores and is Europe's second-largest electronics retailer, after Germany's Media Markt.

Dixons' brands include Currys in the U.K., Elkjop in Norway, Kotsovolos in Greece, Unieuro in Italy and Electro World in Turkey and the Czech Republic.

Analysts give Browett credit for improving customer service at Dixons.

"Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we've met," Cook said in a statement Tuesday.

The chain hasn't seen much financial success during his tenure, however, as it has been undercut by the recession and subsequent belt-tightening in Europe.

Dixons' sales have risen only 8 percent in the past five years, and profits are down sharply. Its stock has lost more than 90 percent of its value in that time. It fell 7.6 percent further in London trading Tuesday after news of Browett's...

Seeking cooperation in a polarized climate, President Barack Obama called on Congress Tuesday to act quickly on bipartisan measures that would extend tax breaks for small businesses and help startup companies raise money. He said he would sign the legislation "right away."

Obama plans to include a series of business measures that have been percolating in Congress in his 2013 budget proposal later this month to flesh out a year-old initiative to give entrepreneurs incentives to expand their businesses or start new ones.

Obama made his remarks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. He noted that for the first time, the head of the Small Business Administration, Karen Mills, was participating as a full member of the Cabinet.

"It is a symbol of how important it is for us to spur entrepreneurship, to help startups, to move aggressively so that we can assure more companies that create the most jobs in our economy are getting a leg up from various programs that we have in our government," Obama said.

The White House legislative agenda for small businesses includes permanently eliminating tax rates on capital gains for investments in small businesses and a one-year extension on the ability of all businesses to immediately deduct all of the costs of equipment and software purchases.

The Obama administration also is seeking a new 10 percent tax credit for small businesses that add jobs or increase wages in 2012. In addition, the legislation would make it easier for new startup companies to raise money and to go public. It also would expand a government small business investment program from $3 billion to $4 billion.

"The president has made small businesses and particularly startups a key aspect of his economic growth agenda because he understands how much the newest and fastest-growing small businesses drive job growth in our economy,"...

Coca-Cola has plastered ads on bus shelters and billboards. Honda and Volkswagen have posted online videos. Kia has launched movie theater ads.

Yet the ads don't specifically tout cars or cola. They hype the brands' Super Bowl marketing plans. In a trend sure to thrill sellers of ad space, and irk anti-commercialism activists, marketers are running ads for their ads.

Big Game advertisers, who paid an average of $3.5 million for each 30 seconds of airtime on NBC, are working ahead of Sunday's game more than ever before. They want viewers to actively seek out their big-budget TV ads and to get involved with the digital and social-media efforts of which the commercials are a centerpiece.

"You want to make sure that you get the most out of what is a very big and a very expensive event," says Pio Schunker, Coke North America head of integrated marketing.

By touting their ads early, marketers hope to stand out from the game-day commercial clutter, says Brad Adgate, research director at marketing agency Horizon Media. And unlike some other live events, consumers are hungry to see Super Bowl-related content and welcome these promotions, he says.

Says Coke's Schunker, "People want to feel that they've gotten inside and advanced information."

They also readily share it via social media. After VW posted its teaser ad on its Facebook page -- it showed dogs barking the Imperial March tune from Star Wars in its 2011 ad -- the video was "shared" more than 676,000 times.

"That's all free advertising," Adgate says.

Among pre-game efforts:

Online videos. Both VW and Honda's teasers end with "2.5.12" references to the game. Audi's video hyped its ad and included clips from its past Big Game spots. "Every February a new chapter unfolds," said Audi's ad. "But nothing has prepared you for this."

Outdoor ads. Coke's ads promote the polar...

The iPhone 5 isn't close to being released yet, but if the past is any guide, its production may be well under way. So, after a New York Times report about "labor in harsh conditions" at the Chengdu, China, plant that assembles Apple products, including iPhones and Pads, a global organization that calls for fair labor conditions is gathering an online petition calling for improvements.

"Every day, tens of millions of people will swipe the screens of their iPhones to unlock them," reads the petition by SumOfUs. "On the other side of the world, a young girl is also swiping those screens. In fact, every day, during her 12+ hour shifts, six days a week, she repetitively swipes tens of thousands of them. She spends those hours inhaling n-hexane, a potent neurotoxin used to clean iPhone glass, because it dries a few seconds faster than a safe alternative."

Heat's on Cook

While the group wants Apple to make all its products ethically, it says it chose this time for the petition because the iPhone 5, the first product to be launched by new CEO Tim Cook, is due later this year and "he can't afford for anything to go wrong."

The Times reported on explosions at the Chengdu plant attributed to aluminum dust, which killed four workers and injured 77. The group says it garnered 35,000 signatures in the first 24 hours but updated figures were not available. The Times report cited unnamed Apple sources saying the company could improve conditions if it wanted to.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. MSNBC.com reported that Cook sent an e-mail to employees in response to the Times story, saying, "We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain....Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is...

Get ready for the new Microsoft Office. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant has started its technical preview of the new version, which is code-named Office 15, and speculation is starting to build.

The technical preview offers the software to a select group of customers, under non-disclosure agreements. On its official Office blog, PJ Hough, corporate vice president for Office program development, posted Monday about the technical preview, calling it the "most ambitious undertaking yet for the Office Division."

Tile or Not?

He said the new update will include revisions to Office-related cloud services, servers, mobile and PC clients, Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, Project, and Visio. A public beta test release is expected this summer.

While Microsoft isn't ready to release details about the changes, speculation is rampant on the Web.

A key question is the degree to which the new Office will be designed for the new tile-based, touch-oriented Metro style of Windows 8, or whether it will be primarily targeted for use in Windows 8's more traditional desktop mode.

At the moment, indications are that most apps in the Office suite will not be extensively rebuilt as a touch-based app, and will primarily use traditional Windows interaction, although there likely will be some visual simplification.

Even on ARM-based Windows 8 tablets, a key target platform for the Metro style, Office apps are expected to run in a traditional desktop mode. Various online reports indicate that a more complete overhaul of Office, which would have to be fully redesigned to take advantage of the Metro style, would require more development time than Microsoft is prepared to spend on the next release.

Tile vs. Desktop Mode

Some observers are expressing relief that Office will not be completely redesigned for Metro, because using productivity apps via an interface that is designed for tablets is, at best, an approach that...

Google responded Tuesday to a number of concerns raised by members of Congress about the company's plan to fold more than 60 product-specific privacy policies into one, beginning March 1.

The change, said Pablo Chavez, director of public policy at Google, is about treating each user as a single entity across all of the company's Web properties -- from Gmail, Google Maps, Google Apps and Blogger to Chrome, Android, YouTube and Google+.

The aim is to enable the company to deliver a simpler, more understandable and intuitive Google experience, Chavez said.

"By folding more than 60 product-specific privacy policies into our main Google one, we're explaining our privacy commitments to users of those products in 85 percent fewer words," Chavez said in a blog post Tuesday. This is "something that lawmakers and regulators have asked technology companies to do."

Congressional Questions

The search engine giant has been publicizing the policy change on its Search homepage as well as through e-mails and notifications to users of its numerous online services.

Eight members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, including Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., had questioned whether consumers would be able to opt out of Google's data-sharing system, either globally or on a product-by-product basis.

"We believe that consumers should have the ability to opt-out of data collection when they are not comfortable with a company's terms of service, and that the ability to exercise that choice should be simple and straightforward," they wrote in a letter Thursday to Google CEO Larry Page.

Limited to Google Account Holders

In his letter responding to the House committee, Chavez said the numerous privacy policies currently in effect restrict Google's ability to combine information within any single account for two or more different services. By moving to a single privacy policy, Google will be able...

In a move to beef up its enterprise mobile capabilities to meet a growing demand for all things mobile, IBM on Tuesday announced an agreement to acquire Worklight. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Worklight acquisition sets the stage for Big Blue to offer mobile application development, integration, security and management at higher levels.

By integrating Worklight into IBM's mobility strategy, clients can tap an open platform that aims to help hasten the delivery of existing and new mobile apps to multiple devices while also safeguarding the connections between smartphone and tablet apps in enterprise IT systems. In other words, it's all about rapid deployment and security.

"If you think about what people expect from IBM, they expect a breadth of vision and implementation," said Bob Sutor, vice president of IBM Mobile Platform. "They don't want one mobile solution. They want the full range of what you need to build apps, build them securely, communicate to the back end, and connect to the database. We found Worklight to be extremely consistent with how we view the world of mobile."

A Spending Priority

IBM has done its homework on the mobile front. In a recent IBM study of more than 3,000 global CIOs, 75 percent of respondents identified mobility solutions as one of their top spending priorities. In fact, IBM noted, for the first time ever, shipments of smartphones exceeded total PC shipments in 2011.

Worklight supports both consumer and employee-facing applications. A bank, for example, can create a single application that offers features to enable its customers to securely connect to their account, pay bills and manage their investments, regardless of whether they are using an iPhone or Android device. A hospital could use Worklight technology to extend its existing IT system to allow direct input of health history, allergies, and prescriptions...

Move over Hewlett-Packard, and move over desktops and notebooks. If tablets are counted, Apple is now the leading computer vendor in the world.

According to industry research firm Canalys, Apple's 15 million iPads and 5 million Macs shipped globally in the fourth quarter represent 17 percent of the total 120 million personal computing devices.

Tablets were 22 percent of all PC shipments, including Amazon's Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet. The entire PC market, which includes netbooks, grew by 16 percent compared with a year ago.

HP and Tablets

The Canalys report also indicated the importance of tablets to the overall computer market. If tablets are excluded, PC shipments actually dropped by 0.4 percent. One reason: Floods in Thailand affected the output of hard drive assembly plants there, which caused some disruption in total PC shipments.

Lenovo was the only other PC vendor among the top five to have shown a market share increase, but that was only by two points. By contrast, Apple posted a six point increase year-over-year. The other three -- HP, Acer, and Dell -- showed declines in market share.

HP, which has stopped making its TouchPad tablet, dropped to second place. If HP is to regain its previous top place, or even stay in the running, clearly it has to get back into the tablet game. Canalys analyst Tim Coulling noted in a statement that the computer maker is now focusing on enterprise-oriented, Windows 7-based tablets, such as its recently launched Slate 2, and it intends to join the Windows 8 bandwagon once that OS is launched.

But, Coulling said, while early demonstrations of Windows 8 "seem promising," the technology giant needs to create "an intuitive user experience that is far less resource intensive."

What's a PC?

Canalys also noted that Lenovo's adoption of the flourishing Android platform for its...