Legal Commentary

  First quarter results are out and Microsoft beat Wall Street predictions, with a net income rise of 16% to $5.4 billion (or 62 centers per share), reports The Associated Press. That figure excludes the impact of revenue deferrals last year. Its revenue jumped 25% to $16.2 billion, AP notes.

Why? Sales of Windows 7, Office, and server software helped fuel the spike. Experts seem to agree that businesses are pulling out the checkbooks again and finally moving to Windows 7.

"We are seeing improved business demand and adoption. Our enterprise agreement rates were strong, reflecting business commitment to Windows 7, Office 2010, and our server and database products," said COO Kevin Turner on Microsoft's press release. "Customer demand and excitement for our cloud and commercial online services continue to grow as demonstrated by major new customer wins this quarter for Windows Azure and by the significant customer interest in our recently announced Office 365 service."