France

A recent vacation took me to France with some friends from university and some new faces. We rented a villa on the outskirts of Bar sur Loup, near Grasse, near Nice.

The villa was fantastic: Our own private pool, a big garden, sun loungers, pool table, table football, kitchen, everything...

Highlights included a trip to Cannes for a look round and swim in the sea, Monaco to admire boats and big cars and visit a cool cocktail bar (as featured in Around the World in 80 Bars) and climbing a lot of steps in Grasse.

Microsoft to start up Vancouver software development centre this fall

From http://www.cbc.ca/cp/technology/070705/z070502A.html

TORONTO (CP) - Microsoft Corp. plans to set up house in the Vancouver area this fall with a new software development centre that would attract talent without encountering U.S. immigration issues.

The location will be one of only a few development centres outside the company's headquarters in Redmond, Wash., Microsoft said Thursday in a release.

Microsoft added Vancouver to its expansion list, which already includes plans to build new sites in Boston and Bellevue, Wash.

Other centres exist in North Carolina, Ireland, Denmark and Israel, while full research-and-development locations exist in the U.K., India, China and California's Silicon Valley.

The company said the new location will "allow the company to continue to recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by the immigration issues in the U.S."

Financial details for the Vancouver office were not disclosed.

"In collaboration with our Redmond head office, we determined that opening a regional development centre in Canada would create a tremendous opportunity for Canada," said Phil Sorgen, president of Microsoft Canada.

"This centre will help Microsoft remain globally competitive while providing strong economic benefits to British Columbia and Canada."