VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Former Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson livened up the technology company's annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, grabbing the spotlight from the current leaders on stage.

Tech giant Microsoft invested $15 million in location-based social networking app Foursquare and inked a licensing deal to use the latter's places database in their products and services.

Ford Motor Co. chief executive Alan Mulally, once and for all, said that he will not replace Microsoft Corp.'s retiring CEO Steve Ballmer and will remain at the US automaker through 2014. Some prominent Microsoft investors had campaigned for Mulally's candidacy for the top job at the software giant.

A CNET report detailed how big the decisions the next chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp needs to make in order to get back into the technology race.

Outgoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer presented the nine startups who composed the first batch of Microsoft Ventures Accelerator in Berlin.

Co-founding chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer had sought for re-election in Microsoft's board of directors, said a Reuters report.

In a company-wide employee meeting Thursday, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer made his final farewell with songs, dances and quips against the company's rivals.

In a interview at a Harvard fundraising campaign, Microsoft chairman and founder Bill Gates admitted that the keyboard combination of Control, Alt and Delete keys to log into a PC was a mistake and should had only been one key.

The search for the new head of Microsoft would be a closely-watched development in the technology industry.

According to several sources who told Reuters, Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally and Computer Sciences Corp CEO Mike Lawrie were endorsed by at least three of Microsoft Corp's top 20 investors for the CEO role.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally said he would remain as the company's head at least through 2014 following reports that Microsoft Corp. had recruited him.

According to a Bloomberg report, shareholder pressure would most likely influence the incoming CEO of Microsoft to take drastic measures to increase shareholder value and possibly spin off the XBox video game division.

CEO Steve Ballmer had announced resignation from Microsoft leaving the company with no apparent heir.

An analysis by Bloomberg said that the next CEO of Microsoft would face a lot of big choices to make after Steve Ballmer's resignation.

Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer announced leaving the company within 12 months which also left the software maker in woes to find a replacement.