Still in reverse -- Windows 8.x loses market share for second consecutive month
Windows 9 can’t come soon enough for Microsoft, as Windows 8.x continues to lose market share, according to the latest usage data from Net Applications.
Last month I reported that in June Windows 8.x had gone into reverse gear, losing market share for the first time, and posed this question -- "Statistical anomaly or downward trend?" It’s too early to call it a "trend" but anyone who expected the tiled OS to make a recovery in July will be disappointed by the latest set of figures. There’s a striking difference this time around too -- both Windows 8 and 8.1 show drops in July. Ouch.
Must it always be Windows?
Many companies use Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environments to enable their employees to work with mobile devices or from a home office. With VDI, employees remotely access hosted solutions and work securely on corporate servers. What sounds like the perfect answer unfortunately turns out to be, in reality, an aggravating, eye-opening experience for the users.
The reason for this is that these hosted apps usually run more slowly than local apps and require a steady, high-performance online connection, which is not always available in home offices. Thus, the work in a home office often goes slowly and is not accepted by the users. They would much rather work with their local applications on their desktop, especially since Microsoft Office applications are available on almost every computer.
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Internet.org brings free online access to Africa
Facebook is teaming up with mobile operators in Africa in order to bring the Internet to millions of people without online access.
The project, which is being headed up by an organization called Internet.org , is starting in Zambia and could bring benefits to millions who have no experience of the digital world, while also increasing Facebook's user base.
Microsoft announces Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 Halo Limited Edition: The Master Chief
Nerds love things that are "limited edition". Once we hear that something will be in limited supply, we just have to have it. If a company released a limited edition Game of Thrones Pet Rock for $500, it would probably sell out. Make them individually numbered and you can probably get double.
Of course, some limited edition items are rather cool. Hell, I have been known to get caught up in the hype, buying limited edition art prints and vinyl figures. Most recently I scoured the internet in search of a limited edition Titanfall Xbox One controller and I don't even own that console or game! Why did I need it then? I wanted it to use on my Windows machines, and I couldn't be caught dead using the normal black one, right? Today, Microsoft announces another limited edition peripheral -- the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 Halo Limited Edition: The Master Chief (phew, long product name!). This is being released to celebrate Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One.
CyberLink Media Suite 12 Ultimate: A great value-for-money bundle [Review]
After almost 20 years developing multimedia software, it’s no surprise that CyberLink has some impressive products. But they can seem expensive. PowerDVD is definitely a versatile and feature-packed media player, but if you’re used to freeware then its $99.95 list price might send you elsewhere.
Fortunately CyberLink’s Media Suite 12 Ultimate offers a more value-for-money option, providing a big chunk of the CyberLink range -- a total of fifteen products -- for as little as $139.95.
Windows Phone is like OS X a decade ago -- gaining respect, finally
Four years ago, I asserted: "Windows Phone 7 series is a lost cause", and it was. But you gotta give Microsoft credit for persistence. Today the foundation is solid, and app developers are finally starting to notice, like they did in 2004 with Apple's flagship operating system.
But pundits howl like the zombie apocalypse, which is pretty good analogy for mindless Android and iOS users constantly clicking and scrolling. Microsoft's Windows Phone "glance-and-go" design philosophy is all about living beings and interacting with them rather than cold plastic and metal slabs. (Say, isn't that where we lay the dead before burying them?)
Endpoint management is very much alive
There are plenty of IT managers who would argue that device management -- for PC, laptop and tablet fleets -- has long gone the way of the Dodo.
In fact, Info-Tech analyst Mike Bassista agrees, recently suggesting that "organizations should treat IT as utility; any endpoint should be able to access the applications and services needed by its user. And like the power company doesn't need to manage light bulbs receiving electricity, IT doesn't need to manage endpoints receiving IT services". Whilst there is some merit to his comment, I really believe device management is more important now than ever before.
How to overcome the main challenges faced by IT departments
IT departments always used to be the butt of jokes. Perhaps this was because being nerdy and geeky wasn't hip and cool until social media took the world by storm and made multimillionaires out of self-confessed geeks like Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.
Technology firms like Apple and Google are partly responsible for making consumer IT cool, but the IT department is still often viewed as an impenetrable world only inhabited by geeks and boffins that are often arrogant, rude and obstructive.
Logitech TogetherWeGame will make you a game developer -- no skills needed
Growing up as a computer nerd, I remember thinking that I would learn how to program, so I could develop my own video games. I think this is a dream that many nerds share. I remember that my dad bought me a huge book on programming and after about 5 pages, I gave up and began reading comic books instead. The moral of this story is not that I'm stupid (although that is debatable), but that not everyone is cut out to be a programmer. My dreams of creating a video game were dead.
Or were they? Today, Logitech announces that it will be crowdsourcing a video game. This means that the direction of the game will be handled by fans on the internet -- pretty cool, eh? The best part is, no technical skills are required. In other words, my dream of contributing to a video game is alive and well.
Google Chrome 64-bit Beta arrives, edges closer to final Windows release
Google has moved its dedicated 64-bit Windows build of Chrome one step closer to its final release with the launch of Google Chrome 37.0 Beta (64-bit). The new release requires Windows 7 64-bit or later to run.
The new build, which is also available in 64-bit form for Linux, moves to the beta channel, but despite media speculation, users should not assume a final release is just a few weeks away – it could yet be months before Google deems the build is stable enough for general consumption.
J butterfly joins HTC's premium Android lineup
Today, HTC introduces a new smartphone in its premium Android lineup. Called J butterfly, the device features similar specs to the One (M8) flagship, but without making use of the latter's 4 MP UltraPixel main camera, employing a 13 MP unit instead. Pixel fans, rejoice!
That said, J butterfly retains the Duo Camera technology HTC baked in One (M8). It allows the smartphone to capture depth information to achieve a bokeh effect in photos, which is typical of DSLRs. On the front, there is a 5 MP camera, that is also taken from One (M8), designed for selfie-lovers. So far, J butterfly is shaping up to be what some had hoped One (M8) would be.
XP is still used in 53 percent of businesses
It's around three months since Microsoft pulled the plug on support for XP, yet according to a survey carried out by Adaptiva at May's TechEd North America, 53 percent of respondents are still running the old OS in their organizations.
Just under half (43 percent) of respondents to the survey represent companies with more than 10,000 nodes (desktops, laptops and servers), including 13 percent with more than 100,000 so there are potentially a lot of business XP systems still out there.
It is game over for Windows Phone
Microsoft, it is time to reconsider your Windows Phone plans. The tiled smartphone operating system's market share came in at a tiny 2.7 percent in Q2 2014, dropping from the 3.8 percent it claimed in the same period of last year. As a result, Windows Phone saw a 28.94 percent decrease year-over-year in market share, caused by low shipments of only 8.0 million units in the second quarter of the year, 0.9 million units less than in Q2 2013 when its shipments were at the 8.9 million units mark.
The data is from a new report issued by research firm Strategy Analytics, which adds "Windows Phone continued to struggle in the United States and China", the first two largest smartphone markets worldwide. There, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech places the platform at 3.8 percent and 0.9 percent market share, respectively. That is lower than in other markets such as Australia, where Windows Phone was able to reach 5.3 percent market in Q2 2014, as well as some parts of Europe.
Google Glass: The pinnacle of wearable technology? [Review]
Begin a sentence with the phrase "most anticipated gadget ever" and tradition dictates the words "Google" and "Glass" must follow shortly after.
Unceremoniously launched into public consciousness from a plane hovering over Google I/O, Google Glass has been one of the hottest topics in tech since 2012. Two years on and the smart specs are still the gadget every technical guru desires; to some it's "an overwrought headband", to others it's the wearable future of modern technology.
Big data is transforming every industry, from health and education, to farming and energy
Big data is already making a big impact all over the world. Large corporations, world organizations, and governments have hopped aboard the big data bandwagon, hoping to utilize new sources of data to improve operations and increase productivity among many other reasons.
It's easy to see from the latest technology news how such massive organizations can benefit from big data considering their available resources and history of using the technology. Finding ways big data is impacting life outside of large, urban areas may seem a little more difficult.