This may push me into fanboy status but I just saw a quote I had to share with you guys.
It's on Forbes.com and it's a quote from Eric Jackson, the founder and managing member of Ironfire Capital (a long/short and corporate governance-focused investment firm).
Speaking of Apple:
Jackson, whose firm owns 10,000 shares of Apple, anticipates other product launches as well.
View the Original article
Microsoft has just released applications for its SkyDrive cloud hosting service that allow users to access and synchronize files with desktop and mobile applications. On the desktop, both a Windows and Macintosh version was released. Windows users need to know that SkyDrive for Windows supports Windows Vista and newer operating systems, and not Windows XP.
But there are additional changes that are important to all Skydrive users. Microsoft has for instance reduced the available storage for all SkyDrive users who were using less than 4 Gigabytes of the available 25 Gigabytes to 7 Gigabyte. Users who log into their account right now and access the new Manage Storage option there can increase the storage again to 25 Gigabyte of storage. Plus, they can subscribe to additional storage:
20 Gigabytes extra cost $10 per year50 Gigabytes extra cost $25 per year100 Gigabytes extra cost $50 per yearMicrosoft accepts both credit card payments and payments via PayPal in some markets.
As far as the Windows app goes, it works similar to the Dropbox service. Windows users need to install the app on their system and link their account to it by entering their Windows Live username and password. Once linked, a SkyDrive folder is created under the user folder of the operating system. The folder is automatically available in the Favorites listing in Windows Explorer, and all files and folders currently hosted on SkyDrive will be synced with the system.
View the Original article
Microsoft has just confirmed that the company intents to make available the third public preview of their upcoming Windows 8 operating system in the first week of June. The Release Preview marks the third step in the development progress. While the company did not reveal information about new features that ship in the release preview, nor an exact date for the release, it is reassuring that Microsoft seems to be right on track to release the final version of Windows 8 later this year.
Microsoft confirmed the news later the day with a post on the company’s own Twitter account: Announce…Windows 8 Release Preview first week of June. Here’s the announce from Japan’s Windows 8 Dev Days
View the Original article
The Microsoft Azure Cloud is making an impact on a lot of companies. Here is how three companies found that the Azure cloud technology was just the right system for them to use.
CredenzaStart with 30 customers, and in one year go to 600. Can’t be done? Well Credenza says it can.This software firm specializes in providing customer service with Microsoft Outlook. The service added features to Outlook with tools for logging phone calls, opening client-related documents, and tracking billable time among other services. While the service was doing well, it was not climbing up the ladder of market attainment. There were just too many limitations on their product. But that was when they decided to change their focus from a client app to a cloud app.The result? Their app became affordable and scalable. And they did climb up the ladder of market attainment. They went from 30 customers to 600 in one year.
View the Original article
Microsoft has detailed the various paid storage options for its SkyDrive cloud service.
Here are some of the details of the new Skydrive.
7GB free for all new SkyDrive users. Microsoft believe 7GB provides enough space for over 99% of people to store their entire Office document library and share photos for several years, along with room for growth. To put things in perspective, 99.94% of SkyDrive customers today use 7GB or lessApple yesterday announced its Q1 2012 results.
They reported $11.6 billion in profit from $39.2 billion revenue
View the Original article
I think Microsoft’s recent earnings announcement even surprised them a little bit. While there’s been plenty of hype around the completely revamped Windows 8 OS, it looks like Windows 7 sales are still going strong for them.
Microsoft reported a stronger than expected set of earnings for the first quarter of this year, raking in an impressive $17.41B USD in revenue and a net profit of $5.11B USD ($0.60 USD per share). Revenue was up 6 percent from last year and easily beat analyst expectations. Profit is actually down 1 percent from last year but that’s mainly due to Microsoft’s increased spending.
Windows 7 sales were partly responsible for the increase in revenue. Even though Windows 7 is starting to near the end of its life cycle, sales for it rose to $4.62B USD, which is an increase of 4 percent from last year. Windows 7 is the fastest selling operating system of all time and is currently on around 40 percent of PCs.
The Skype app for Windows Phone finally grew up today and broke out of its “Beta” shell and graduated to Version 1.0. As of today you can now head on over to the Windows Phone Store and download Skype for your Windows Phone.
The free download is available for all Windows Phone 7.5 or higher phones and will work over both Wi-Fi and 3G. Skype was originally available as a Beta app on the store since last February, so just under two months later it’s hit Version 1.0.
Version 1.0 now adds the ability to search for and add new contacts as well as the ability to call landlines.
View the Original article
I'm glad to see that there's news about Skype.
A month ago I was asking about Microsoft's use of Skype after the acquisition. Now it seems we're starting to see some movement.
Today, Microsoft released version 1.0 of Skype for Windows Phone, taking the client out of beta and into a final shipping version.
The 6 MB free Skype for Windows Phone app runs on Windows Phone 7.5 devices and higher. It works over WiFi or 3G. Version 1.0 replaces the beta of the app which Microsoft rolled out at the end of February.
This release adds the ability to search for and add new contacts and call land lines. It does have some limitations however - it doesn't allow background calling, meaning you can only receive calls when the app is running.
TheVerge are quoting a Skype spokesperson as saying (regarding the limitation) that it's due to:
"a combination of how Skype works and how the Windows Phone OS works."
Analyst expect much deeper integration with Windows Phone 8.
So an anonymous source sent us a few photos of a build of what looks like the next version of Microsoft Office - Office 15.
The build from the screenshots looks like 15.0.3919.1011 (Technical Preview).
I am not sure these are real images, they may be fake!
The pictures seem to indicate that Microsoft is really hard at work on this new release. You can click on any of these pictures for a larger preview of the image.
There's an image of Microsoft Word that seems like typical Microsoft Word to me.
As I said before, there's more Skype news.
Those job postings will reveal the truth every time it seems.
Microsoft recently posted a job ad (in London) for an Xbox software developer.
What was interesting was how the ad read:
"We're building the next generations of our products and technology right here in London and Skype is looking to hire a Software Development Engineer to contribute to the development of our experiences on Xbox."
Later on in the ad:
"You will be designing and developing next generation scalable services for millions of end users."
Microsoft haven't provided any guidance on what the "next generation services" are, when they are scheduled to arrive and what platform they will occupy (Xbox 360, 720,1080 etc).
I fully expect that the Xbox will be integrated with Skype and Windows 8 as part of an overall push from the Redmond giant to unify their platforms.
The good folks from Syncfusion were nice enough to give us a heads up to this FREE Windows 8 whitepaper from their company.
Syncfusion's mission is to produce enterprise-class components that enable developers to produce quality software, while saving their organizations time and money.
With Syncfusion products, developers can move beyond simply coding applications to delivering real business innovation in the form of the elegant user interfaces, business intelligence dashboards, and sophisticated reporting that today's business users need, in the formats they demand.
Very cool.
Bitdefender Total Security 2012 is the newest PC protection suite from Bitdefender LLC
This suite is actually pretty darn comprehensive with the following options Antivirus, Antispam, Privacy Controls, Parental Controls, Firewall, Tune-ups/Optimizers, Network Mapping and much more.
Security FeaturesActive Virus ControlI love these quotes.
I just wrote about the confusion that users will inevitably face if the Windows Phones they bought this year can't be upgraded to Windows Phone 8.
In response to the same issue on Wired, Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg had this to say:
View the Original article
Microsoft have opened up the kimono just a bit on features we can expect from the Windows 8 Enterprise SKU.
This comes in an April 18 post to the
View the Original article
So apparently Taiwan-based ODMs are claiming that Intel and Microsoft are partnering together closer than ever to work to reduce the iPad's huge share of the global tablet market. Right now it has about 70%, supposedly they hope to drop it below 50% by 2013.
The bigger question here is whether or not that is possible. Intel and Microsoft both have had less-than-great success in the mobile smartphone and tablet world, though both haven't given up. Later this week, actually, Intel will launch its first Medfield smartphones in India and China.
Windows Phone isn't a huge success but it is a very solid operating system that is finally starting to see some growth. So it's clear that both still are very invested and interested in the tablet and smartphone scene.
When you think about it, is 20% really that much to ask for when it comes to about a year? Windows 8 is going to have ARM and x86 variants giving it the ability to have a wide price and model range, something the iPad doesn't have.
I suspect that Windows 8 can actually accomplish this goal, but I don't think Intel will have THAT much to do with it, to be honest. There is a reason why Microsoft went out of its way to port Windows to ARM. ARM just seems to work better as a mobile processor.
Of course you could argue that MS went out of its way so it would have the widest range of options and to better compete with Google, who soon would have Intel, MIPS, and ARM options (okay, so the Intel options are still arriving, not there yet).
So let's talk about what it will take for Microsoft to knock down iPad to 50%:
Wide acceptance on an enterprise level. While iPad has become to become popular in the business world, it isn't nearly as flexible of a platform, from an application and multi-tasking viewpoint, as desktop Windows can be.
This is where I believe Intel and Microsoft will shine together. If Windows RT Metro interface is well-received as a good touch option, businesses will consider an x86 machine, which will play nicely with the business' existing custom applications and networking structure.
While there is certainly a profitable market for the enterprise, I'd still wager than the majority of iPads are used for more 'casual' uses like daily browsing, apps, games and such. I could be wrong though. On the casual side, Intel probably has less to offer in a tablet, but Windows 8 can still shine with ARM here.
One thing I'm curious about, too, is whether Windows 8 will steal sales from the iPad or is it more likely to steal from the Android tablet crowd? It has a similar multi-device, multi-range system to Google's platform but is powered by the flexibility of Windows.
I really think this might appeal more to Android users than iOS users. When I bought my wife a tablet I considered going Win7 but it sucked for touch. So I went Android. There are probably many Android tablet owners that did the same kind of thing.
That's my point of view on the lofty goal of knocking the iPad down to 50% in 2013. I'm actually more interested in everyone else's ideas though. What kind of applications would Windows 8 need in order to show its a better option than iPad? What kind of price range would kind it the edge against Apple's tablet?
Do you think Intel will be a large part of Windows 8's tablet success, or will most sales be from ARM tablet devices?
Share your thoughts below.
Microsoft is planning to extend the geographical reach of its Windows Store.
The service that's available in Windows 8 will begin to accept application submissions from developers in 38 markets starting in the next preview release of Windows 8.
The affected countries will be Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and United Kingdom.
We are expecting the Windows 8 Release Preview in late May or early June.
Microsoft's had a great fiscal third quarter.
Their growth was powered by the software company's enterprise line-up -- SQL Server, System Center and products like Lync and Dynamics CRM.
The company reported third-quarter earnings of $5.11 billion, or 60 cents a share, on revenue of $17.41 billion.
Wall Street was expecting earnings of 57 cents a share on revenue of $17.18 billion.
Overall, the quarter played out about the way analysts projected--Microsoft's business tools carried the quarter. Microsoft's server and tools unit saw revenue jump 14 percent from a year ago to $4.57 billion. SQL Server revenue was up double digits and System Center sales surged 20 percent. Operating income for the servers and tools unit was $1.74 billion.
Here's a snapshot of Microsoft's units and the profit and loss statements:
Easy to lose. Can be difficult to remove.
Bottom LineThe is big enough to hold your music collection, but small enough for you to plug into your dashboard and promptly forget about. --Mary-Jo Foley has posted two leaked Microsoft product roadmap shots that was distributed by Microsoft to some partners in December 2011. The roadmap, which apparently was available at Microsoft’s Partner Network without authentication protection looks at product cycles of several core Microsoft products. The products listed in the first shot are all Office and business related, starting with Office 365 and the Office 15, and going all the way done to Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, Visio and Project.
The second chart highlights the Windows platform, including client and server operating systems, Windows phone and Internet Explorer. Microsoft has not added all cycles to the shots. If you look at Windows Client, you will notice that the Developer Preview for Windows 8 is listed, and that the next event is the end of service for Windows XP. The timeline is missing the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, RTM and final release among other things.
View the Original article
I published a post the other day which showed how Android users could try out the Windows 8 Metro UI on their Android tablets. Well today I’ve got a new post, this time it explores how Apple users will be able to try out Windows 8 on their iPads.
Of course there is already a few Windows based tablets on the market, but the iPad has outsold these by a large margin and is easily the most popular tablet at the moment. We are expecting to see a huge surge in Windows based tablets towards the end of this year when Windows 8 launches, but until then developers and users a like may want to try out Windows 8 on their iPad.
Thanks to a new app from Splashtop you will be able to get the full Windows 8 experience on your iPad. You can take advantage of all the Windows 8 gestures, apps, features and even sound.
There is one requirement though, you’ll have to have a PC running Windows 8 that you can stream to your iPad.
View the Original article
One of the biggest complaints about Windows Phone 7 is the lack of apps, as compared to the iPhone. Sure 70,000 is a lot but iPhone has over 400,000. Now the dilemma is enhanced by the lack of touch features on the current windows pad hardware. Solution: use the iPad. That’s right, the iPad. For developers that want to build touch apps for Windows 8, they can use the Win8 Metro Testbed App from Splashtop . This will let developers build those touch featured apps.
Win8 Metro Testbed
Undoubtedly, apps developers have to overcome obstacles to make their programs work quickly and efficiently. And Apple, Google, and Microsoft are constantly throwing new conditions into the system. The ultimate outcome will be great, but developers usually scratch their heads and say, “Ok, now how do I do that?” This especially true with the new touch features that will come with Windows 8.
View the Original article
Microsoft has delivered several security updates to patch 11 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer (IE), Office and several other products, including one bug that attackers are already exploiting.
The company also issued the first patch for Windows 8 Consumer Preview, the beta-like build Microsoft released at the end of February.
MS12-024, which patches a critical vulnerability in all supported versions of Windows, also applies to the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
Although the MS12-024 advisory does not mention Windows 8 Consumer Preview, anyone running that sneak peek will be offered the update.
According to Qualys, the bug in MS12-024 lets hackers hitch a ride inside legitimate software installation packages.
Amol Sarwate, manager of Qualys' vulnerability research lab, said the vulnerability would be very attractive to purveyors of phony antivirus software, a category often called "scareware" or "rogueware."
Source
IDG News Service - Splashtop on Thursday released a new tablet application that replicates the Windows 8 touch-driven Metro user interface on the iPad, which should help developers test applications for Microsoft's next OS without investing in a Windows tablet.
The "Win8 Metro Testbed -- powered by Splashtop" remote desktop application provides a way for developers to test gestures and functionality of their Windows 8 applications on the iPad. The app replicates the Windows 8 UI, and developers will be able to test specific touch-driven applications.
For example, users will be able to test a touch-driven Windows 8 game like pinball on their iPad. The app also delivers full sound and graphics to enhance the testing experience. The testbed also provides the ability to swipe between or view specific menus in programs such as Internet Explorer. Users can also pinch to navigate files, folders, programs and data.
However, while users don't need a Windows 8 tablet, the app still requires a PC running Microsoft's upcoming OS as well as Splashtop's Streamer software. The Windows 8 PC streams the user interface to the iPad over Wi-Fi and the Internet.
The Win9 Metro testbed app is available on Apple's App Store, at a "promotional" price of $24.99. The actual price is $49.99, Splashtop said.
Do any of you plan to install Splashtop?
Source
We live in strange times, Microsoft is finally changing the way that Windows looks after more than fifteen years, Google is moving into OS territory, and Apple is selling its products like hotcakes (something it certainly wasn't doing in the 90s).
Amid all this change and strangeness, Microsoft has become quite active in the open source community. You'd think that they'd want to compete against open source projects based on Unix and Linux, since these are competing products to Windows, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Rather recently, Microsoft made the list of top contributors in the open-source community for its aid in open source projects related to technologies like the Linux kernel.
Now Microsoft has even announced it will make a move that puts it even closer into the open source world, they are starting a new subsidiary dedicated to open source projects and standards.
The new subsidiary goes under the name
View the Original article
There has been multiple debates about whether Microsoft is too late to the tablet market, after all, Apple and, to a lesser extent, Android have already cemented their places in this marketplace, right?
While this is certainly true, there are people who just don't like Apple. If you are against Apple you only have one choice that's really worth it at this point - Android.
Windows 8 could change all that, giving you another solid choice against Android and iOS.
While Android isn't bad, it has had a ton of malware issues and drama of late. This might turn off consumers, and honestly it is great news for Microsoft that this is happening.
The weak position of Android tablets may give them the window they need. Do I think that Windows 8 can overtake Android and iOS? Probably not, but even if Android and Windows 8 could tie, with Apple marginally being above both - this would give consumers better, stronger options. Don't you think?
Security is going to be an important part of the key for Windows 8 tablets. Windows 8 is already looking to be the most secure version of all time, but reinforcing this during Google's constant malware complaints is probably a good move for MS.
In fact there is already another big Android malware issue that has just starting surfacing. UpdtBot has surfaced that sends a text message telling you to update your OS.
Once you
View the Original article
