Here’s How Microsoft Plans On Expanding Its Device and OS Business

by on

206

So PC sales are down 14%. Microsoft MSFT +2.98%, a major beneficiary of the PC environment, didn’t break step.

Microsoft is one of the luckier companies when it comes to riding out a long term shift. It’s been around a while. It’s entrenched. Been there and done that.

Of course, size and longevity can count against a company but you have to assume senior management now get that. We’ve heard it often enough. And some are smart enough to adapt. Does that apply to Ballmer’s team?

While the popular press talks about the decline of the PC and the rise of mobile,  Microsoft is betting on a different demand structure, one where devices of all kinds have a role to play, especially in what we used to call emerging markets.     More

Why Windows Blue heralds the death of the desktop

by on

B10

PCWorld – Brace yourselves, faithful PC enthusiasts. You aren’t going to like what I’m about to say. Heck, I don’t really like what I’m about to say. In fact, I’m almost terrified to lay out my case in black and white. But that doesn’t change the fact that it needs to be said.

There’s a very good chance that Microsoft will kill the desktop in Windows 9. No more Task Manager. No more File Explorer. No more legacy compatibility. It’ll be 100 percent Live Tiles, 100 percent of the time.
That day is still on the distant horizon, but it is coming. Indeed, if Windows Blue, the just-leaked update to Windows 8, shows us anything, it’s that Microsoft is willing to de-emphasize desktop functionality in deference to the modern UI.

A finger-friendly Windows
By now, everyone knows that Windows 8 (and its dumbed-down cousin, Windows RT) is Microsoft’s answer to the massive success of smartphones and tablets. A touch-friendly interface! An app store! Bing Maps! Even an airplane mode! How mobile.

The very introduction of the modern-style Start screen was a bad omen for desktop diehards, but the clouds truly darken when you consider how much of Windows core functionality is already being leeched away from the traditional desktop interface.

Apple iOS 6 vs. Android vs. Windows Phone (Comparison Chart)

by on

ios6-android-windows-thumb-113MR71641

PCWorld -

Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) kicked off today with the unveiling of iOS 6 for the iPhone and iPad. Apple is promising over 200 new features in the latest version of its mobile operating system, but only a few of them were highlighted in the keynote.

June is an exciting month for smartphone fanatics as Microsoft is expected to unveil the next generation of Windows Phone at an event next Wednesday, June 20 while Google is expected to reveal its plans for the next version of Android, codenamed “Jellybean.”

Read More & See the Comparison Chart

 

Android 5.0 (Jelly Bean) Will Launch this Fall with Five Nexus Devices: Report

by on

android_logo_180-113001MR39

PCWorld -

When Android 5.0 “Jelly Bean” launches this fall, it will appear first on several new mobile devices sold by Google itself as part of the “Nexus” line.

That’s according to a Tuesday story in the Wall Street Journal, which reports that Google is shifting its Android strategy so that it will not only give select mobile-device makers early access to new releases, but will also sell the resulting devices unlocked directly to consumers.            More

Ex-Microsoft Employee Launches ‘Fixing Windows 8′ Campaign

by on

MRwin8-app_606-11333413

Not everyone is happy with Windows 8′s sweeping design changes, including one former Microsoft employee who thinks the company can do better.
The former employee has launched a website called “Fixing Windows 8” with suggestions on how Microsoft could improve the user interface, particularly for a mouse and keyboard. According to Tom’s Hardware, the website’s founder is Mike Bibik, a user interface designer.

“During the MWC keynote, Microsoft made it very clear that Windows 8 will work fantastically if you are using touch, mouse or keyboard,” Bibik wrote in his first post. “Unfortunately, that’s not entirely true.”

Among the site’s complaints:

-New users won’t know how to navigate the interface because so many choices are hidden from view, including the Charms menu, master apps list and Start button

-Metro apps don’t have window controls, so users can’t minimize or exit an app

-The Charms menu hides vital functions such as searching within an app

“Power users should be able to figure out how the mouse works in Windows 8. Novices and new users will be completely lost,” Bibik wrote. As evidence, he linked to a video posted by tech personality Chris Pirillo, in which Pirillo’s father can’t find the Windows 8 Start menu because Microsoft removed the Start button from the desktop.        More