Rank	Company	Job growth	U.S. employees
1	NetApp	12%	5,014
2	Edward Jones	9%	34,496
3	Boston Consulting Group	10%	1,680
4	Google	40%	12,580
5	Wegmans Food Markets	6%	37,195
6	Cisco Systems	7%	37,123
7	Genentech	5%	10,969
8	Methodist Hospital System	1%	10,535
9	Goldman Sachs	2%	14,088
10	Nugget Market	22%	1,536
11	Adobe Systems	9%	4,255
12	Recreational Equipment (REI)	11%	9,780
13	Devon Energy	11%	3,752
14	Robert W. Baird	4%	2,184
15	W. L. Gore & Associates	5%	5,481
16	Qualcomm	19%	11,932
17	Principal Financial Group	-1%	13,343
18	Shared Technologies	12%	1,568
19	OhioHealth	7%	11,858
20	SAS	5%	5,381
21	Arnold & Porter	3%	1,296
22	Whole Foods Market	22%	51,967
23	Zappos.com	39%	1,655
24	Starbucks	-6%	146,700
25	Johnson Financial Group	4%	1,300
26	Aflac	1%	4,493
27	QuikTrip	33%	10,159
28	PCL Construction Enterprises	24%	4,420
29	Quicken Loans	-41%	2,890
30	Bingham McCutchen	-2%	1,605
31	CarMax	14%	16,107
32	Container Store	4%	3,286
33	JM Family Enterprises	-1%	4,577
34	Umpqua Bank	-4%	1,707
35	Kimley-Horn & Associates	-8%	2,190
36	Alston & Bird	7%	1,718
37	TDIndustries	7%	1,713
38	Microsoft	15%	55,237
39	Paychex	5%	12,207
40	EOG Resources	30%	1,803
41	Camden Property Trust	-1%	1,849
42	Plante & Moran	4%	1,558
43	Rackspace Hosting	59%	1,992
44	NuStar Energy	23%	1,319
45	King's Daughters Medical Cntr.	4%	3,041
46	American Fidelity Assurance	10%	1,509
47	DreamWorks Animation SKG	18%	1,614
48	Mattel	N.A.%	5,552
49	Intuit	0%	7,637
50	Burns & McDonnell	16%	2,840
51	Ernst & Young	0%	26,090
52	Booz Allen Hamilton	9%	19,243
53	Stew Leonard's	-2%	2,219
54	Erickson Retirement Communities	18%	10,871
55	Salesforce.com	24%	1,958
56	KPMG	7%	24,442
57	Novo Nordisk	11%	3,053
58	PricewaterhouseCoopers	-2%	29,144
59	Scripps Health	6%	10,374
60	Scottrade	25%	1,946
61	Deloitte	7%	38,903
62	Griffin Hospital	-2%	1,143
63	Mayo Clinic	3%	41,955
64	Milliken	-6%	8,150
65	Texas Instruments	-4%	14,379
66	MITRE	6%	6,420
67	Children's Healthcare of Atlanta	8%	5,850
68	Southern Ohio Medical Center	4%	2,188
69	National Instruments	8%	2,527
70	Stanley	65%	4,590
71	Men's Wearhouse	-1%	16,477
72	Nordstrom	-8%	49,236
73	Chesapeake Energy	23%	6,850
74	Alcon Laboratories	5%	7,160
75	Atlantic Health	2%	6,968
76	Lehigh Valley Hospital & Health Network	6%	8,897
77	Northwest Community Hospital	-3%	3,372
78	Marriott International	2%	124,247
79	Baptist Health South Florida	9%	10,641
80	Bright Horizons	-1%	14,437
81	S.C. Johnson & Son	-1%	3,368
82	Perkins Coie	3%	1,696
83	eBay	9%	9,089
84	Juniper Networks	15%	3,743
85	Arkansas Children's Hospital	6%	3,527
86	CH2M HILL	14%	19,011
87	Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe	8%	1,609
88	Publix Super Markets	3%	141,314
89	Herman Miller	-7%	5,646
90	FedEx	-1%	233,457
91	Gilbane	12%	2,169
92	Four Seasons Hotels	4%	13,401
93	Valero Energy	-4%	16,881
94	Build-A-Bear Workshop	2%	4,886
95	Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants	4%	6,298
96	T-Mobile	12%	39,822
97	Accenture	7%	32,318
98	Vanderbilt University	5%	21,041
99	General Mills	-1%	17,018
100	SRA International	21%	6,266

Modest revenue growth despite difficult economy; announces cost management initiatives.

Microsoft Corp. announced revenue of $16.63 billion for the second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008, a 2% increase over the same period of the prior year. Operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $5.94 billion, $4.17 billion and $0.47, declines of 8%, 11% and 6%, respectively, compared with the prior year.

Client revenue declined 8% as a result of PC market weakness and a continued shift to lower priced netbooks. However, strong annuity licensing drove Server & Tools revenue growth of 15%. Entertainment and Devices revenue grew 3% driven by strong holiday demand for Xbox 360 consoles with a record 6 million units sold in the quarter.

During the quarter, Microsoft showcased significant new product innovations by debuting Windows 7, Windows Azure, Office Web applications, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Office Communications Server 2007 R2. Microsoft also announced general availability of Silverlight 2, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Windows Small Business Server 2008, Windows Essential Business Server 2008 and a new release of Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

“While we are not immune to the effects of the economy, I am confident in the strength of our product portfolio and soundness of our approach,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “We will continue to manage expenses and invest in long-term opportunities to deliver value to customers and shareholders, and we will emerge an even stronger industry leader than we are today.”

In light of the further deterioration of global economic conditions, Microsoft announced additional steps to manage costs, including the reduction of headcount-related expenses, vendors and contingent staff, facilities, capital expenditures and marketing. As part of this plan, Microsoft will eliminate up to 5,000 jobs in R&D, marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, and IT over the next 18 months, including 1,400 jobs today. These initiatives will reduce the company’s annual operating expense run rate by approximately $1.5 billion and reduce fiscal year 2009 capital expenditures by $700 million.

Microsoft technologies such as Silverlight and Photosynth extend the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, to millions around the world.

•	Browse Photosynths from the Inauguration Events
•	“The Moment” on CNN.com: inaugural swearing in ceremony photos in 3D via Microsoft Photosynth
•	Press Release: Microsoft Silverlight Selected by Presidential Inaugural Committee to Enable Online Video Streaming of Inauguration Events – Jan. 16, 2009

With Windows 7 Beta , users that have installed the operating system have undoubtedly noticed that the installation process has evolved compared to what was available in Windows Vista. However, Patrick Azzarello, Senior Program Manager/ Windows Deployment, Microsoft, described the changes between the setup of Windows Vista RTM and Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 as only minor. But at the same time, Azzarello emphasized that “minor” is by no means an equivalent of insignificant in terms of the effort Microsoft poured into taking the deployment process one step further, or the actual impact of the changes. “In Windows 7 we moved the license key to the Windows Welcome page, so you can enter it after the install. This makes it easier for people to evaluate and get started with Windows. We also provide a better experience when upgrading editions (i.e., from Home Premium to Ultimate) by enabling specific, licensed components, not reimaging the system,” Azzarello stated.
In comparison to Windows Vista, Windows 7 introduces an additional hidden partition by default, Azzarello stated, explaining that the next version of the Windows client offers increased support for Bitlocker and recovery environments. Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 creates a 200-megabyte partition which is being hidden from the end users. However, Azzarello pointed out that the hidden partition would be visible through the operating system's Disk Management. Microsoft intends to decrease the size occupied on disk by the hidden partition when it ships the RTM (release to manufacturing) Build of Windows 7.
More @ here

Custom 'Resident Evil 5' Xbox 360 bundle on the way?


"The Mole" -- a favorite Ars Technica source for all things game related -- has some curiosity-piquing info on the possibility of a Resident Evil 5-themed Xbox 360 headed to market. So says the site's Deep Throat, not only will a demo version of the game come to US Xboxen first (a move that must seriously unnerve Sony), but following the sneak-peak will be an RE5 package hardcore fans should die for. Literally. According to Ars, the bundle will include a custom red Xbox (with matching controller), a copy of Resident Evil 5, a special NXE RE5 theme, and a bonus Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD download. Of course, this is pure rumor right now, but if this package comes to fruition, we can bet on at least a few zombie-loving members of the Engadget staff getting in line when it hits shelves. Make it happen, people.

Availability for Windows 7 beta extended

Microsoft Windows Communications Manager, Brandon LeBlanc, has announced that availability for the Windows 7 beta download has been extended until February 10th, 2009. Microsoft noted that they have extended the availability as "enthusiasm continues to be so high for the Windows 7 Beta and we don't want anyone to miss... Read on »

After the release of the Internet giants first web browser, titled Chrome, Google is hard at work on making their next version of Chrome up to standards with other browsers. The team at Google has taken the feedback received from the first official release, and made changes accordingly.

If you downloaded the ISO file of Windows 7 but then discovered you didn’t have a blank DVD to burn it to, you’ll be happy to know that there are other ways available. Specifically, you can use a USB stick to install the OS – a handy trick, especially for installing Windows 7 on a netbook, which don’t typically have optical drives. For the full instructions on how to do this,Dennis Chung has posted a video over on TechNet Edge that explains what you need to do, step-by-step. Be sure to read through the comments, too, for more advice and tips that may not have been covered in the original video.

Psst...here's how to get your Windows 7 beta key

Thanks to our ever wonderful forum posters who are currently discussing the Windows 7 beta and Helmers Blog we now know a method of acquiring an official Windows 7 beta key. We have posted direct links to the downloads earlier today: Download: Windows 7 x86 (32bit) and x64 (64... Read on »

Here are direct download links to the official ISO images of Windows 7 public beta. Right click and copy the URL and paste it in your browser window to download. If you direct click on the following URL, it'll redirect to Microsoft website:

Download Windows 7 Public Beta ISO (x86)

Download Windows 7 Public Beta ISO (x64)

More Info: Windows 7 Public Beta Direct Download Links

Windows Vista 7 public beta is available for download.

You can download your FREE copy from following link:

Download Windows 7 Public Beta

Remember its available for a limited time only, so grab your copy as fast as you can. Also the download is available in ISO format, so you'll need to burn the image. You can upgrade to Windows 7 Beta from Vista SP1.

And don't forget to read a detailed review of Windows 7 at following link:

Windows 7 Review