Windows 7 is "netbook-friendly"

It might be too early to plan the funeral, but the end of Windows XP as a desktop operating system is nigh. The forthcoming Windows 7 will run well even on netbooks, according to Microsoft officials, removing any excuse for OEMs to ship its seven-year-old predecessor.
According to Microsoft's original plans, Windows XP -- first announced in February 2001 and shipped in October that year -- was to have been put out to pasture by now. The company's product roadmap had called for direct OEM and retail sales of XP to end by June 30 of this year. (Windows XP Embedded devices could still be sold, of course, and small "system builders" can assemble PCs with XP until Jan. 31, 2009.)

Microsoft's Windows 7 resembles Vista but runs better on netbooks, Microsoft says
Source: eWEEK.com
(Click for eWEEK.com's special Windows 7 coverage)

But then netbooks came onto the scene, and sales started to boom. These low-cost portable computers are mostly based on 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processors, with the processing power of a three- or four-year-old mainstream PC. As Microsoft soon had to concede, they don't run Windows Vista well. So in order to keep alternatives such as Linux at bay, the company gave Windows XP a stay of execution for netbooks.
Last April, the software giant announced that Windows XP Home, renamed Windows XP ULCPC (ultra low cost PC), could be sold on netbooks until Jun. 30, 2010. It also worked to slim down the operating system so it can fit in as little as 2GB of flash storage, for low-end netbooks such as the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Foundation's XO.
Now, though published numbers vary, Asus -- which first shipped its pioneering Eee netbook as a Linux device -- has said more than 60 percent of netbook sales include XP. Particularly in the U.S., many netbook manufacturers no longer even offer Linux as a operating system choice.
Mission accomplished for Microsoft? No -- because Windows XP ULCPC reportedly sells to manufacturers for significantly less than Windows Vista, and, for that matter, less than they would previously have paid for Windows XP. Reporting earnings for the first quarter of its financial year last week, Microsoft said company revenues have been "impacted by netbooks."
And revenues aside, being forced to ship seven-year-old technology in such a visible market sector has to be galling for Microsoft. So, at the company's PDC (professional developers conference) this week, Steven Sinofsky (right), svp for Microsoft's Windows and Windows Live groups, reportedly brandished a Lenovo Ideapad S10 netbook with just 1GB of RAM, running Windows 7, the successor to Windows Vista.
Windows 7 is designed to be compatible with the same hardware, applications and device drivers as Windows Vista, Sinofsky was quoted as saying by our sister publication eWEEK.com. But, he added, the operating system has been slimmed down and now runs well on netbooks, using as little as 512KB of RAM.
In a post-keynote interview with the Ars Technica website, Sinofsky is quoted as saying that netbooks can even support Windows 7's advanced "Aero" user interface, inherited from Windows Vista. In contrast to Windows Vista, which shipped with features such as "a gigabyte and a half of printer drivers," Windows 7 will be leaner, and will produce users and OEMs with easy ways to remove features they don't need, he reportedly added.
Microsoft also handed out "pre-beta" Windows 7 disks to journalists, who subsequently tested them on netbooks. Laptop magazine's Joanna Stern, for example, reports that the Asus Eee PC 1000H "handles the new operating system pretty well," and writes that Sinofsky's characterization of Windows 7's memory consumption was "right on the money."
Meanwhile, Kevin Tofel of jkOnTheRun.com tried the pre-beta OS on an MSI Wind and writes that it "looks very much like a leaner and meaner Windows Vista variant." Reporting that "installation was seamless," he reports that a fresh installation of the operating system took approximately 11GB of hard disk storage.
Microsoft hasn't released minimum system configurations for Windows 7. But, should some netbooks have SSDs (solid state drives) too small for the new OS, vendors can always ship them with Microsoft's slim, "componentized" Windows Embedded Standard 2009 instead.
Further information
Some reports have suggested that Windows 7 could ship as early as October 2009. But Sinofsky is quoted by eWEEK as saying that January 2010 is a more likely time for shipment. Either way, Microsoft won't need to extend Windows XP ULCPC's stated lease on life any further.
To read Laptop's netbook test of the Windows 7 pre-beta, see here. To read jkOnTheRun's article, go here. To read Ars Technica's interview with Steven Sinofsky, go here.

 

Source : http://www.windowsfordevices.com/

New GM for Microsoft's Macintosh unit

Eric Wilfrid has been named the new general manager for Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit, which manages Microsoft's relationship with Apple and develops Microsoft software for the Mac platform.

He replaces Craig Eisler, who has been promoted to a new role within Microsoft's entertainment and devices unit.

Previously, Wilfrid was a product unit manager at the Macintosh Business Unit in Mountain View, Calif., managing the group's engineers.

Source : http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/

Microsoft Partners Kicking Dirt On Vista's Grave

For months, Microsoft has doggedly insisted that Windows Vista has been a rousing success, and that the negative image the OS has acquired is simply the result of people parroting the 'Vista sucks' meme without ever having used it themselves.

But this week at its Professional Developer Conference, Microsoft started talking about Windows 7, the successor to Vista, in a way that suggests it may be scaling back efforts to defend Vista's honor. Microsoft's recent launch of Windows 7-related blogs, and its removal of the word 'Vista' from the Windows Vista Team blog, also support the notion that Microsoft wants to put the Vista experience behind it.

Some Microsoft channel partners who've resisted Microsoft's campaign to get them to migrate their customers to Vista see Microsoft's increasing focus on Windows 7 as a form of vindication.

"I'm very glad I treaded cautiously with recommending Windows Vista, because if I hadn't done so, I would have lost the faith of my clients," said Brian Williams, president of Advantech NW, a Gresham, Ore.-based solution provider.

"Microsoft is eventually going to have to come to terms with the fact that people hate Vista, and it looks like they're starting to do that," said John Kistler, principal at St. Louis, Mo.-based system builder J&B Technologies. "I don't really understand how it has taken this long for them to come around."

Solution providers often compare Vista to another poorly received Microsoft OS, Windows ME. But unlike the consumer-focused ME, Vista was supposed to catch on as the OS of choice in the business world, something it hasn't done to the extent that Microsoft would have liked. VARs chalk this up to Vista lacking enough compelling features to convince businesses to upgrade outside of normal PC refresh cycles.

At PDC, Microsoft focused on the client experience and user interface improvements in Windows 7, but didn't talk much about how it plans to get businesses to upgrade. And that's the main reason why Ken Wallewein, a partner with K&M Systems Integration, a Calgary, Alberta-based solution provider, isn't optimistic that Windows 7 will be adopted en masse by businesses.

"Microsoft seems to think Vista's problems stem from a poor marketing job, and that a new name will make it all better," said Wallewein. "Businesses want simple, reliable, get-your-job-done features. What I see in Windows 7 so far is more eye candy -- sexy GUI stuff."

However, according to Microsoft blogger Mary Jo Foley, Windows 7 will include such business focused features as Branch Office Caching (hosted server caching), Native virtual hard disk (VHD) support, and Direct Access, a new feature that enables mobile workers to stay connected to their corporate networks without using a VPN.

Advantech NW's Williams says Microsoft has great opportunity to right the ship with Windows Azure, its recently unveiled cloud OS, and Microsoft could continue to right the ship by bringing to market a thinner desktop OS that appeals to businesses.

"Businesses that were once 100 percent Microsoft are now taking a second look to alternative platforms in Linux, OpenOffice and Google applications. That trend will continue until Microsoft proves that is has a superior product that's right for business," Williams said.

Source : http://www.crn.com/

Psystar fills Blu-ray gap on Macs

Miami (FL) – Apple may be skipping the Blu-ray trend, which forces Apple users to agree with that strategy whether they like it or not. But those who do want a Blu-ray drive running under Mac OS X can purchase such a system, but they will have to buy it from Psystar.

Psystar seems to be still tangled in a legal dispute with Apple (we recently heard that some end may be in sight), but that does not keep the company from jumping on obvious opportunities Apple provides. In a latest move, the Mac clone maker said that it is now offering desktop Mac clones that can be equipped with a 6x Blu-ray disc burner. Additionally, Psystar also offered Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT graphics card as an option.
The basic Psystar desktop PC with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard pre-installed is offered for $555. The Blu-ray burner is a $310 option, bringing the bottom line to $865, which does not include a monitor. It isn’t a bargain if you are simply looking for a computer with a Blu-ray drive - Blu-ray PCs are selling from about $510 at Dell, for example – but it is pretty much the only choice, if it has to be a Mac system.
Equipped with 4 GB memory, a faster dual-core processor (Core 2 Duo E6750), a 750 GB HDD, a second optical drive and the standard 19” monitor, the Psystar system tops at just under $1800.  

Source : http://www.tgdaily.com/

Android Market Attracts Twitter, Weather Apps

With the Android mobile application store now open for business, hot new apps are flooding in from developers -- including the platform's first Twitter client and a mobile weather alert program.

Twidroid is a full-featured Twitter client, launched just as the Android Market opened its doors for developers to register to add their wares to the listings.

The Weather Channel's Android application, which rocketed to the top of Android's most popular software applications shortly after its debut, delivers severe weather alerts based on Android devices' built-in GPS, which it uses to pinpoint users' locations.

The new apps may bode well for Android, the open source smartphone operating system built by Google and the Open Handset Alliance, which is seeking to gain traction in a space dominated by tightly controlled software models. While the T-Mobile G1 handset, built by HTC, is the only smartphone currently built on Android, a number of other handset manufacturers have plans to embrace the operating system.

Key to Android's future success may be its support for mobile software developers, by way of its Android Market. Experts believe mobile software development will be a key differentiator in the competitive smartphone industry going forward.

Their predictions are already being borne out: Apple, for instance, is doing a brisk business with its own iPhone App Store, which last week notched its 200-millionth download. Currently, the four-month-old iPhone App Store has around 5,500 apps. Apple's mobile application store also launched with more than 10 times the applications Android offered through its Market, which debuted with 62 downloads.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Android certainly aren't alone in the downloads space: Research in Motion plans an application store around its BlackBerry, while Microsoft has given hints about a similar offering for Windows Mobile.

Despite the looming competition, Android's backers and users have high hopes for its Market thanks to its design. There is a one-time $25 application development fee and each application must be registered as part of Google's authentication process. According to the official Android Market blog, "Once registered, apps can be made available to users without further validation or approval."

That approach -- along with the possibility of being able to provide apps compatible with a wide array of Android phones -- is winning fans.

"As an open source platform, anyone can contribute to Android," said Ralph Zimmerman, one of the developers behind Twidroid. "I see potential in the unified platform, which maybe pressures Apple's iPhone to open up a bit."

For now, Android Market apps are free. Developers will be able to begin charging for their applications by early 2009, in a revenue split that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has said would allow them to retain 70 percent of revenue, with the remainder going to carriers and to billing settlement fees. Google has said it would not take a percentage.

"We believe this revenue model creates a fair and positive experience for users, developers, and carriers," according to the Android Market blog.

Zimmerman and his Twidroid co-developer, Thomas Marban, decided to create his client for the microblogging service after attending a Google Developer Day in Munich, Germany, last month.

"We were inspired by a presentation about the Android platform," Zimmermann told InternetNews.com. "The first application that came to our mind to build for this new platform was a Twitter client ... "For me, Twitter has replaced RSS feeds as the way I keep current in my work," said the freelance developer and co-founder of TripSailor.com, a social network site for sailors.

Still, it may not all be smooth sailing for Marban and Zimmerman. In his Twidroid announcement, Marban said updates may be delayed since the G1 that the developers had been using for testing has become inoperable due to an unspecified display issue, and he's looking for a replacement.

The allure of Android also captured the attention of The Weather Channel, which designed an application that enables G1 users to receive location-based forecasts -- described by the company as the most "precise" forecast available on a mobile device.

Within hours of its launch, the application rose to become the most downloaded application available on Android Market. That may not be surprising: Weather news is the most frequently accessed content category on mobile devices, according to a September report by M Metrics.

The Weather Channel application was one of the top 50 software packages singled out for an award during the Android Developer Challenge held earlier this year. As a semifinalist, The Weather Channel Mobile team received a $25,000 cash prize that it is donating to the National Science & Technology Education Partnership.

"The Weather Channel Mobile has been a leader in the mobile space for nearly ten years, and during that time we've learned what users want in a mobile experience," Louis Gump, vice president of mobile for The Weather Channel Interactive, said in a statement.

The application is free, while a fee-based version is in the planning stage, according to The Weather Channel.

Source : http://www.internetnews.com/