Displaying items by tag: Windows 8

Back in October of 2011 just before the launch of Windows 8 and RT, Steve Ballmer was working very hard to convince other people that his vision for Windows 8 was an accurate one. Ballmer was convinced that Windows 8 and RT would be in millions of homes and be the most successful OS that Microsoft had released. For many people this was just business as usual simply because a company would never say anything otherwise. Can you imagine a company coming out and saying “yeah, we know this is a crappy bit of software, but we want you to buy it anyway”? Still even with that in mind Microsoft was working on building up some good hype behind Windows 8.

There has been a few articles that popped up over the weekend crowing about Microsoft’s Windows 8 and how it has jumped in numbers from 0 to 7.4% market share in a single quarter. The claim is interesting and also very misleading if you actually take the time to read the data used as a basis for this claim. In most of the articles that we read the data source is from Strategy Analytics which does not show ANY data that represents Q4 12 to Q1 13 they instead cover same quarter year to year (Q1 12 compared to Q3 13).

According to unnamed sources close to Microsoft, Redmont giant will in the coming update of Windows 8, colloquially called Windows 8.1, restore the Start button to its original position - first spot in the taskbar. Ejecting the Start button from the taskbar has been one of the most controversial releases of Windows 8, and in parallel with the release of a new version of Microsoft operating system appeared a great number of applications that have brought it back (Start8, StartIsBack, Pokki, StartMenu8 and others).

At times it seems that the words Microsoft and Malware go hand-in-hand. I do not think that a day goes by that we do not hear about a new malware threat (often simply an old threat that has been modified). This has put Microsoft in an interesting position. They are always working to shore up holes in their operating systems we can see this by the continuous patches and hotfixes that are in existence for Windows (all versions). Of course it is not an easy task to develop an OS that is safe(er) or secure(ish) and still make it easy to operate. However recently we have seen Microsoft go to some extremes in trying to keep up with things… sometimes they appear to go way too far.

One of the great arguments in the PC industry is always who (or what) is faster. We all want to know what CPU, GPU, HDD, SDD, etc., is the fastest. We might not be able to buy that particular product, but we want to know, and we will scour the internet in the hopes of finding out which is truly the king. In these cases, the issue is often settled by the smallest margin (1-2 frames per second) which might not even be noticeable to the average person. However, there is a new term that is being swapped out for speed, and that is responsiveness. Unfortunately, responsiveness is not the same as speed or power, but this term is being used very often. During a recent trip to a local box store it was used to push a system that while responsive, was actually quite slow when put it to the test.

The PC is dead, PC sales are declining, and we are entering the post PC era; these are all headlines that are getting pushed around the internet right now. These are the same headlines that we have heard every year around the same time and by the same people for the last 15 or so years. They are just as wrong now as they were then, at least mostly wrong. What has happened is that we have hit an interesting time in the market. This is a time when we have too many new and “cool” technologies that are not cheap to make, but no idea on how to implement them (or an OS that really takes advantage of them). This is not the first time we have seen this and it won’t be the last either and it also comes at a time when the market is flooded with companion devices that are being marketed as standalone products.

Is Microsoft starting to change Windows 8 and RT? Back when Windows 8 was being broken out into the three main categories (“Home”, Pro and RT) we noticed that Microsoft was making some rather unusual moves and changes to the way that Windows worked. One of the first ones we noticed is that with Windows 8 you no longer get the Media Center component like you used to. This feature is only available for purchase if you have Windows 8 Pro or if you want to buy the Windows 8 Pro Pack (if you have the basic edition). This is odd in that most people that would want Windows 8 Pro are probably not interested in having Media Center. Sill Microsoft wants you to have the “pro” version of Windows 8 before you can have that feature. It is pretty obvious that they are trying to kill of that little feature and replace it with their Xbox Live Services. With Windows RT Microsoft pushed this as a great productivity device because it comes with a stripped down version of Office 2013. Unfortunately Microsoft messed this one up too as we found out very soon after they announced the full details on Windows RT.

Microsoft’s upgrade of Windows, known by the codename Windows Blue, could allow several innovations in the mobile segment. Microsoft through Windows Blue intends to begin issuing new versions or major upgrades of Windows, on an annual basis, which applies to operating systems for mobile devices.

Timing is everything, at least that is what they used to tell me when I would ask for new hardware or upgrades for equipment. This is a very simple rule that extends into many corners of life and is a core part of almost every business strategy. If we take this as true then what are we to think about the timing behind EA CEO John Riccitiello’s resignation?

"The future belongs to Android" says the director of Samsung, J.K. Shin in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, in which he complained that the market demand for tablets with Microsoft's Windows 8 and RT are very poor, and it apparently applies to mobile phones with WindowsPhone operating system as well.