SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – It looks like Microsoft’s aggressive campaign to promote Windows 10 is paying off. The software has been deployed on more than 200 million devices since its release last summer and analysts says its played a role in a multi-pronged strategy that could be leading to a financial turnaround. Microsoft is reporting nearly $5 billion in profit on nearly $24 billion in sales for the holiday quarter of 2015. Revenue was down 10 percent from a year ago, but after adjustments, the numbers are better than Wall Street analysts expected. Microsoft broke with tradition last year by releasing Windows 10 as a free upgrade for older PCs, with no charge for future updates. It’s also redesigned other popular products, such as the Office word-processing and spreadsheet programs, to work as mobile apps for devices running operating systems made by Apple and Google.
