Corporate report

Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, expected to unveil new software for tablets at the Consumer Electronics Show at once week, will face skeptics who say his company won't in the near future narrow Apple's iPad lead. "By the time Microsoft gets it figured out, everybody will already own an iPad," said Keith Goddard, CEO of Capital Advisors Inc. an investing firm in Tulsa, Okla., that holds Apple shares. Microsoft will announce a full version of the Windows computer operating system that runs on ARM Holdings innovation at the show, which begins in Las Vegas on Jan. 6, two people familiar with Microsoft's plans said last week. The new Windows version would be tailored for battery-powered devices, just as tablets and wireless handsets, the people said. Chips based on ARM research are made by Qualcomm Inc., Texas Instruments Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Frank Shaw, a spokesman for Microsoft, declined to comment, pointing instead to remarks by Ballmer in July. "We're tuning Windows 7 to new slate hardware designs," Ballmer told analysts at the time. On the whole, an introduction at CES gives Microsoft a chance to win over some of the more than 100,000 people expected to attend the premier research trade show. Microsoft shares closed Monday at $28.07, down 23 cents.

Dell Inc. -- Founder and CEO Michael Dell is assembling the high-tech elements he needs to transform his computer company into a player in the cloud computing game. Dell aims to build a big data center in Quincy, Wash., which has become a data center haven in recent years, in some cases because it has cheap and abundant electricity from nearby hydropower sources. In Eden Prairie, Minn., Dell is in buying Compellent Technologies Inc., which develops innovative storage solutions. In Wallingford, Conn., Dell is buying InSite One Inc., a growing provider of cloud-based archiving software for the health care industry. Analyst Roger Kay describes Dell's cloud services plans as "aspirational statements" -- a target the company is shooting for. Shares were $13.77, down 2 cents.