Companies carefully time the release of key financial information to comply with complex Securities and Exchanges Commission rules. Much of Microsoft's business depends on selling copies of the Windows operating system and Office desktop software, both of which are tied to the health of the personal computer market. Revenue in the Windows division plunged 30 percent to $5.1 billion. Microsoft launched Windows 7 in the same quarter of 2009, making for a tough comparison. Meanwhile, in the 2010 quarter, worldwide personal computer shipments only grew about 3 percent as Apple Inc .'s iPad and the promise of more tablet devices to come made consumers think twice about what kind of device to buy. Sid Parakh, an analyst for McAdams Wright Ragen, said Microsoft's revenue was weighed down by the rising share of sales coming from emerging markets where prices are lower. The division that sells Office software and other programs, however, saw revenue rise 24 percent to $6 billion.