Microsoft offers quarter-million in prizes to improve Windows security
If the security of your system depends on users making intelligent security decisions then you're basically doomed. After all these years of experience with end users on the Internet we know that they can't be trusted to make those decisions correctly. At least not often enough.
That's why the best security technologies are the ones that happen in spite of the user. These have been a focus for Microsoft over the last 10 years and remain the last, best hope of userdom.
Is Microsoft crazy to put a desktop OS on a tablet?
Yes, they are. But I think it's the right decision.
I recently acquired an iPad -- 16GB, 3G with an AT&T data plan. After three days of use I found myself thinking about all the things I wanted to do with it but could not simply because it's a mobile OS and is primarily used for content consumption and not content creation. That's not to say there are not content creation apps for the iPad because there are. I'm simply saying that the majority use for this device is content consumption; and it does it very well.
Why I chose iOS and Windows 8 development over Android
Android is hot from a device sales perspective -- 550,000 activations per day. However, even though apps for Android phones are surging in the marketplace, it does not yet appear that the same is true for Android tablets. As popular as Android is, it is my personal opinion that iOS and Windows 8 should be the focus of future development.
The sheer popularity of iOS and the beauty of Apple's hardware make iOS a prime candidate for app development. I'm not saying developers shouldn't target Android at all, but I believe iOS and Windows 8 offer (or will offer) the best user experiences going forward.
Windows 8: The death of malware? The death of anti-malware?
There is a lot of buzz about a recent set of tests by NSS Labs that show the Smartscreen reputation system in Internet Explorer 9 head and shoulders and most of the rest of the body above the competition in blocking malware on the web.
I think the results of the test are even more important than they seem, considering previous reports that Microsoft plans to make Smartscreen a base part of Windows 8. This would extend parts of the protection to any executable hitting the file system. This would be big news.
When do you want Windows 8?
There was some buzz earlier today -- wild speculation, really -- about when Microsoft would release its next major operating system. Let's skip over the rumors and get right to the important stuff: what matters to you. So I'm asking: When do you want Windows 8?
The immediate answer many people might expect is now. Sure there are enthusiasts who can't wait to get their grubby hands on the software's pristine packaging. But there are many other Windows users who would wait longer. For many reasons.
It took 4 min 34 sec to get me really excited about Windows again
Sign me up for the Windows 8 beta, Microsoft, and I'll sell my MacBook Air. Perhaps the Samsung Series 9 should be next?
Late yesterday, Microsoft gave the first sneak peak of Windows 8. What a peak! Apple unveils Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" in just four days, and it's antiquated before release. Microsoft has taken one of the freshest approaches to operating system user interfaces since, well, the Macintosh in 1984. The new UI is fluid and modern, using HTML5 for rendering.
BUILD It for Windows 8
Windows isn't the only makeover going on at Microsoft this week. Alongside today's Windows 8 preview, Microsoft also announced the BUILD conference, what had been PDC 2011. Microsoft previously announced the developer conference during MIX11, in April, for Sept. 13-16 in Anaheim, Calif. BUILD is the same event, made over, and with new name.
What a name! The connotations are loaded, and Microsoft is doing good job endearing them. From Microsoft: "BUILD what you DREAM." "BUILD with Windows 8."
Windows 8: the lovechild of Windows Phone and Windows 7
At the D9 Conference on Wednesday, Microsoft gave the public a much deeper look at Windows 8 than it had previously, revealing the company's progress in making a Windows that is scalable to the most popular types of interfaces in addition to the most popular instruction sets.
The result looks a lot like Windows Phone, but it has a lot of the underpinnings of Windows 7.
With Mac OS X Lion coming this summer, is 2012 too late for Windows 8?
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has let the cat out of the bag -- again. Microsoft's biggest breacher of new product information calls the next big operating system "Windows 8" and reveals that it's coming "next year." Ballmer has done this kind of thing before, causing massive, collective PR staff heart failure and rapid response along the lines: "that's not what he meant." I wonder what the excuse for Ballmer's big mouth will be this time.
Ballmer made the missives rather oft-handely earlier today to Microsoft Developer Forum attendees in Tokyo. In context, he speaks about the present: "We're obviously hard at work on the next version of Windows. Windows 7 PCs will sell over 350 million units this year. We've done a lot in Windows 7 to improve customer satisfaction. We have a brand new user interface. We've added touch, and ink, and speech."
Will Steven Sinofsky break the Windows 8 silence?
Just eight days before the D9 conference kicks off in Rancho Palo Verdes, Calif., Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft Windows & Windows Live president, has agreed to participate. Talk about booking gigs at the last minute. Speakers for a conference of this calibre typically book many months in advance. Could it be Sinofsky has something important to say about Windows 8?
Microsoft already is gearing up for the operating system's launch. Today, in remarks made during the Microsoft Developer Forum in Tokyo, CEO Steve Ballmer described the next version as "Windows 8." Ballmer told attendees: "As we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there's a whole lot more coming. As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors."
Which Windows 8 version will you buy?
That's a question many customers may ask, if a report from Bloomberg proves to be right: There will be at least five Windows 8 editions -- four for ARM processors. Bloomberg quotes Intel's Renee James, from a presentation given earlier today. It's not exactly Intel's place to be revealing Microsoft Windows versioning plans, which is reason enough to question the claims. But, hey, the duopoly is called Wintel for a reason.
Microsoft has already announced that the next Windows version will support ARM processors. So it's unsurprising that Windows 8 might fork down separate ARM and x86 paths. For the purpose of this story, I'm calling it Windows 8. But Microsoft hasn't announced or seriously hinted at the nomenclature. You can take the name or leave it.
"Windows 8" will run on ARM natively, Microsoft says
Microsoft is taking notice of industry trends, and told attendees Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that the next version of Windows would run on ARM chips. The move is an acknowledgement of the changing face of consumer electronics -- that smart phones, tablets, and portable devices are indeed the future.
The move is also significant for another reason -- up until now, Microsoft on ARM was relegated to the stripped down versions of Windows, either Windows Mobile, CE, or Embedded. Having the capability to run a full version of the operating system natively on these mobile processors opens up more possibilities for manufacturers in developing compact devices, the Redmond company believes.
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