Week in Review: Ballmer bullied, Skype screwed and PayPal payouts

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Bye bye Ballmer?

Normally, it’s the bolshie chief executive making the noise, but this week the head of Microsoft has had to deal with others shouting him down.

Prominent hedge fund manager David Einhorn has called on the CEO to step down, claiming he is holding the company back and should “give someone else a chance.”

Ballmer gained the backing of his board after the comments, including Mr Microsoft himself Bill Gates, but now the debate has been sparked, will the CEO be joining the dole queue anytime soon?

Hello? Skype? Can you hear me?

From one negative Microsoft headline to the next this week, as its latest acquisition hit the headlines for its failures.

Skype, the internet video calling service bought by Microsoft for a massive $8.5 million, faced major outages yesterday, with users unable to sign in and dropping calls.

A new version for Windows has been rolled out today, with Mac and Linux versions to follow, but it was an embarrassing setback for the newly acquired firm.

PayPal’s secrets unleashed

Google might have been trying to make the week about its launch of NFC mobile technologies with MasterCard but PayPal was quick to put the fly in the ointment.

The online payment service has launched a court case against the Silicon Valley giant, claiming it lured away one of its staff members to steal trade secrets on mobile payment plans.

Google has yet to comment but PayPal has made some pretty strong statements against the firm. Whose idea was it? It is for the courts to decide.

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