Intel may be developing a split personality.
The high-tech giant is slated to build chips for two customers that have
ARM processors inside -- even as the x86 side of the company competes fiercely
with the U.K.-based chip designer ARM and its partners.
The most striking silicon that Intel will build is an Altera
system-on-a-chip (SoC) that integrates a quad-core 64-bit ARM processor.
The Altera system will use the ARM component as a control processor that
helps to manage the data packets on Altera's field-programmable gate array
(FPGA), into which the ARM chip is integrated.
"When this chip comes out it will be among the largest chips ever produced
on this planet in terms the number of transistors. It should pass 4 billion
transistors," said Chris Balough, senior director of SoC product marketing at
Altera, in an interview with CNET.
By comparison, Intel's latest Haswell chip has roughly 1.5 billion
transistors.
The Altera chip is expected to be available in late 2014 and to go into
production in 2015.
And Altera wasn't even the first. Well before Altera's 64-bit quad-core ARM
revelation this week, Netronome announced in April that Intel would make its
flow processor, which incorporates an ARM processor.
Netronome and Altera went to Intel because it is making steady progress in
building up its contract manufacturing operations, aka "foundry" business.
Currently, it has five publicly announced customers.
And Intel expects more ARM customers in the future. "Will other people come
ask us? Probably. Will we talk about it beforehand? No," said Intel spokesman
Chuck Mulloy.
If Altera's praise is any indication, more prospects will indeed be
knocking on Intel's door.
"In testament to how advanced their technology is, [Intel is] going into
production status of 14-nanometer in Q1 of next year," said Altera's Balough,
referring to the fact Intel is the first chipmaker in the world to achieve
production on the minuscule 14-nanometer scale, the most advanced process to
date.
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Every enterprise is special and has diverse demands
The percentage of Computer customers operating Windows 8.1 doubled in a
month’s time, as outlined by the newest October information compiled by metrics
firm Net Applications.
Certainly, that’s nonetheless just a tiny fraction in the general Computer marketplace: 1.72 percent, as measured by the firm. But combined with the quantity of users running Windows eight, the combined marketplace share from the Windows eight.x OS topped 9.25 %. At its current pace, that share ought to major ten % by the finish of the year. (In September, Windows eight commanded eight.02 percent, and Windows 8.1 0.87 %, to get a combined share of eight.89 percent.)
And sorry, Linux: Windows eight.1 now tops you, as well. Linux commanded 1.61 % of all PCs measured by Net Applications for the month of October. Mac OS X ten.eight was used by three.31 % of customers, Net Applications located.
Naturally, the negative news for Microsoft is that its two older operating systems continue to dominate the Pc landscape. In accordance with Net Applications’s figures, greater than 46 % of users run Windows 7, and 31.24 percent of users continue to run Windows XP. Each numbers dropped less than a percent from a month ago.
XP’s marketshare is undoubtedly probably the most troubling, given that Microsoft will discontinue support for Windows XP by next April, leaving the 13-year-old operating technique without any way of getting patched. The “XPocalypse” will leave PCs in a “zero day forever” mode, exposing them to any and all future vulnerabilities. Firms starting to cheap windows 7 professional retail pack panic have chosen Windows 7 as a stopgap, on the other hand.
“Since Windows eight launched, our guidance to small business buyers has been to continue Windows 7 migrations that happen to be already in approach,” a Microsoft representative told PCWorld inside a statement final month. “We propose our prospects continue these deployments and contemplate Windows 8 in targeted scenarios where it tends to make one of the most sense, which include extremely mobile workers. As Windows 8 launched much less than a year ago, we're nevertheless seeing plenty of enterprises completing these planned Windows 7 migrations now.
“Every enterprise is special and has diverse demands,” the Microsoft representative added. “The most important issue is that companies move off XP just before April 8, 2014, and onto a modern day operating technique, and moving to Windows 7 will not only make sure that shoppers stay on a supported version of Windows, but they will be on a path to Windows eight and can reap the benefits of innovations within the Windows 7 platform, such as enhanced safety and control, enhanced user productivity, and streamlined Pc management.”
However, there’s about five months ahead of the XPocalypse draws nigh. While Microsoft stands to advantage in the shift-31 percent in the Computer user base stands to upgrade to some thing, whether it be Windows eight or Windows 7-there’s a genuine threat to users who stay on the older OS. It is worth remembering-again-that if you’re among those impacted, take into account creating an upgrade to a newer OS a priority.
Certainly, that’s nonetheless just a tiny fraction in the general Computer marketplace: 1.72 percent, as measured by the firm. But combined with the quantity of users running Windows eight, the combined marketplace share from the Windows eight.x OS topped 9.25 %. At its current pace, that share ought to major ten % by the finish of the year. (In September, Windows eight commanded eight.02 percent, and Windows 8.1 0.87 %, to get a combined share of eight.89 percent.)
And sorry, Linux: Windows eight.1 now tops you, as well. Linux commanded 1.61 % of all PCs measured by Net Applications for the month of October. Mac OS X ten.eight was used by three.31 % of customers, Net Applications located.
Naturally, the negative news for Microsoft is that its two older operating systems continue to dominate the Pc landscape. In accordance with Net Applications’s figures, greater than 46 % of users run Windows 7, and 31.24 percent of users continue to run Windows XP. Each numbers dropped less than a percent from a month ago.
XP’s marketshare is undoubtedly probably the most troubling, given that Microsoft will discontinue support for Windows XP by next April, leaving the 13-year-old operating technique without any way of getting patched. The “XPocalypse” will leave PCs in a “zero day forever” mode, exposing them to any and all future vulnerabilities. Firms starting to cheap windows 7 professional retail pack panic have chosen Windows 7 as a stopgap, on the other hand.
“Since Windows eight launched, our guidance to small business buyers has been to continue Windows 7 migrations that happen to be already in approach,” a Microsoft representative told PCWorld inside a statement final month. “We propose our prospects continue these deployments and contemplate Windows 8 in targeted scenarios where it tends to make one of the most sense, which include extremely mobile workers. As Windows 8 launched much less than a year ago, we're nevertheless seeing plenty of enterprises completing these planned Windows 7 migrations now.
“Every enterprise is special and has diverse demands,” the Microsoft representative added. “The most important issue is that companies move off XP just before April 8, 2014, and onto a modern day operating technique, and moving to Windows 7 will not only make sure that shoppers stay on a supported version of Windows, but they will be on a path to Windows eight and can reap the benefits of innovations within the Windows 7 platform, such as enhanced safety and control, enhanced user productivity, and streamlined Pc management.”
However, there’s about five months ahead of the XPocalypse draws nigh. While Microsoft stands to advantage in the shift-31 percent in the Computer user base stands to upgrade to some thing, whether it be Windows eight or Windows 7-there’s a genuine threat to users who stay on the older OS. It is worth remembering-again-that if you’re among those impacted, take into account creating an upgrade to a newer OS a priority.
Monday, 14 October 2013
Will Attorney-General Brandis be the spooks' breakwater?
In the weeks since I wondered whether Australia's digital spooks could
escape an NSA-level backlash, and even whether privacy fears could burst the
dot-com bubble, Australians have been continuing to discover more about what's
going on — and getting more concerned about what they're discovering.
Last Monday, we learned that the Australian government was briefed on PRISM, the NSA's program to collect user data from major internet services such as Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and Facebook, two months before Edward Snowden leaked the details.
That's curious timing. PRISM has supposedly been operating since 2007. Had the US been keeping one of its closest allies in the dark until then? Had the spooks been keeping the politicians in the dark? I'm sure that never, ever happens, right? No, it looks to me like someone figured out that Snowden's documents were about to drop, and the attorney-general had better get his PR ducks in a row.
On Tuesday, we learned that Australians are increasingly worried about online privacy risks.
A longitudinal study by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) showed, amongst other meaty findings — the report is well worth reading — that we're increasingly aware of federal privacy laws (82 percent, versus 69 percent in 2007), and increasingly concerned that we'll become a victim of ID fraud or theft in the next year (69 percent, versus 60 percent in 2007).
The Mark Zuckerbergs of this world, who claim that personal privacy is somehow a dead concept for the digital natives, are in for a surprise. Young Australians (aged 18 to 24) are the age bracket most concerned about personal information and online services, with 60 percent of them mentioning this as a privacy risk.
I wonder how long Facebook will be able to get away with doing things like opening up everyone's timeline to search, unless the searcher has previously been explicitly blocked, and characterising it as "finishing the removal of an old search setting". It's got plenty of form for this sort of sleight of hand, and it's not what I'd characterise as honest communication — and I'm being polite, because the words I'd prefer to use are not suitable for these pages, even in Australia.
Also last week, we learned more about Australians' dislike of electronic snooping.
Polling released by Essential Media (PDF) showed that far more Australians oppose America's secret collection of communications information than support it (45 percent versus 24 percent); far more think that companies providing services to Australia should reveal what information they give to foreign governments (75 percent versus 16 percent); and fewer believe that governments are justified in collecting information on all people, regardless of whether there is any suspicion of wrongdoing (42 percent versus 45 percent, but given that N=1,023 for this poll, that's within the standard margin of error of roughly plus or minus three percentage points).
We've previously learned how, following all of the NSA and PRISM news, almost half of Australians (49 percent) are now more concerned about privacy, and almost half (49 percent again) are less trusting that companies are keeping their personal data securely.
And only a few weeks ago, the Washington-based Foreign Policy magazine — hardly a hotbed of left-wing radicalism — referred to NSA chief general Keith Alexander as "the cowboy of the NSA".
All of this is looking like a bit of a trend, isn't it?
In August, I described this all as a "groundswell of opposition to what some have quite rightly called a 'surveillance state' at a level that's seen in Western nations only once each generation".
It looks to me like that groundswell is still rising. So far, we've seen only a small part of Snowden's trove of documents. Investigative journalists are only beginning to probe Australia's role.
But will this groundswell continue to rise?
Even if it does, will it be enough to cause real change?
Australia has a new government. Our new attorney-general, Senator George Brandis, has yet to say anything significant on these issues, but here's what I wrote about him in June, when he was still in opposition.
A scan through everything Brandis has said in the Senate this year reveals little more than debating tactics and routine attacks on the government that parrot the day's approved Coalition talking points. Following allegations in May that the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had been hacked, Brandis had nothing to tell a security conference beyond aboilerplate cybercrime-is-scary squawk and another round of predictable political point scoring.
I'm assuming that if Brandis has anything intelligent or insightful to say about Australia's digital future, he'd have said it by now.
So how might Brandis play this, now that he's attorney-general?
On the one hand, Brandis will be keen to keep his party's conservative supporters happy, and the conservative side of politics tends to support being "tough" on national security and law enforcement issues.
Indeed, the Essential research shows a clear split of opinion along party-political lines, with opposition to digital surveillance strongest amongst Labor and Greens supporters. Brandis may well just mutter "national security" a few more times — because that's all that he seems to have done so far — and that's about it.
On the other hand, the government may want to bolster its majority, and bring a few more swinging Labor and Greens voters into the Liberal-National coalition fold. If so, there might be wisdom in at least opening up the question of surveillance, tricky though it is, just to shut it back down.
But on the third hand of this mutant 21st-century beast, what if this really is a generational change in political views? Would Brandis recognise when we've truly reached such a watershed moment, and move for substantial reform? Would any of us?
Last Monday, we learned that the Australian government was briefed on PRISM, the NSA's program to collect user data from major internet services such as Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and Facebook, two months before Edward Snowden leaked the details.
That's curious timing. PRISM has supposedly been operating since 2007. Had the US been keeping one of its closest allies in the dark until then? Had the spooks been keeping the politicians in the dark? I'm sure that never, ever happens, right? No, it looks to me like someone figured out that Snowden's documents were about to drop, and the attorney-general had better get his PR ducks in a row.
On Tuesday, we learned that Australians are increasingly worried about online privacy risks.
A longitudinal study by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) showed, amongst other meaty findings — the report is well worth reading — that we're increasingly aware of federal privacy laws (82 percent, versus 69 percent in 2007), and increasingly concerned that we'll become a victim of ID fraud or theft in the next year (69 percent, versus 60 percent in 2007).
The Mark Zuckerbergs of this world, who claim that personal privacy is somehow a dead concept for the digital natives, are in for a surprise. Young Australians (aged 18 to 24) are the age bracket most concerned about personal information and online services, with 60 percent of them mentioning this as a privacy risk.
I wonder how long Facebook will be able to get away with doing things like opening up everyone's timeline to search, unless the searcher has previously been explicitly blocked, and characterising it as "finishing the removal of an old search setting". It's got plenty of form for this sort of sleight of hand, and it's not what I'd characterise as honest communication — and I'm being polite, because the words I'd prefer to use are not suitable for these pages, even in Australia.
Also last week, we learned more about Australians' dislike of electronic snooping.
Polling released by Essential Media (PDF) showed that far more Australians oppose America's secret collection of communications information than support it (45 percent versus 24 percent); far more think that companies providing services to Australia should reveal what information they give to foreign governments (75 percent versus 16 percent); and fewer believe that governments are justified in collecting information on all people, regardless of whether there is any suspicion of wrongdoing (42 percent versus 45 percent, but given that N=1,023 for this poll, that's within the standard margin of error of roughly plus or minus three percentage points).
We've previously learned how, following all of the NSA and PRISM news, almost half of Australians (49 percent) are now more concerned about privacy, and almost half (49 percent again) are less trusting that companies are keeping their personal data securely.
And only a few weeks ago, the Washington-based Foreign Policy magazine — hardly a hotbed of left-wing radicalism — referred to NSA chief general Keith Alexander as "the cowboy of the NSA".
All of this is looking like a bit of a trend, isn't it?
In August, I described this all as a "groundswell of opposition to what some have quite rightly called a 'surveillance state' at a level that's seen in Western nations only once each generation".
It looks to me like that groundswell is still rising. So far, we've seen only a small part of Snowden's trove of documents. Investigative journalists are only beginning to probe Australia's role.
But will this groundswell continue to rise?
Even if it does, will it be enough to cause real change?
Australia has a new government. Our new attorney-general, Senator George Brandis, has yet to say anything significant on these issues, but here's what I wrote about him in June, when he was still in opposition.
A scan through everything Brandis has said in the Senate this year reveals little more than debating tactics and routine attacks on the government that parrot the day's approved Coalition talking points. Following allegations in May that the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had been hacked, Brandis had nothing to tell a security conference beyond aboilerplate cybercrime-is-scary squawk and another round of predictable political point scoring.
I'm assuming that if Brandis has anything intelligent or insightful to say about Australia's digital future, he'd have said it by now.
So how might Brandis play this, now that he's attorney-general?
On the one hand, Brandis will be keen to keep his party's conservative supporters happy, and the conservative side of politics tends to support being "tough" on national security and law enforcement issues.
Indeed, the Essential research shows a clear split of opinion along party-political lines, with opposition to digital surveillance strongest amongst Labor and Greens supporters. Brandis may well just mutter "national security" a few more times — because that's all that he seems to have done so far — and that's about it.
On the other hand, the government may want to bolster its majority, and bring a few more swinging Labor and Greens voters into the Liberal-National coalition fold. If so, there might be wisdom in at least opening up the question of surveillance, tricky though it is, just to shut it back down.
But on the third hand of this mutant 21st-century beast, what if this really is a generational change in political views? Would Brandis recognise when we've truly reached such a watershed moment, and move for substantial reform? Would any of us?
Windows Phone should really swiftly incorporate Nokia-designed
The optimist would say that Windows Phone's prospects have never been
brighter. The pessimist would disagree.
On the bright side, Microsoft just announced Windows Telephone eight Update three, which incorporates new support for quad-core CPUs and phablets that helps preserve its spec lists seeking fresh. Furthermore, the buyout of Nokia's smartphone arm will bring Redmond's greatest hardware ally totally into the fold, all whilst BlackBerry's apparent demise topples the competition for third-largest ecosystem. All this provides the computer software giant a opportunity to at the very least double Windows Phone development by 2017.
On the other hand, Windows Telephone adoption has been slow, using the OS fighting for much less than 10 % of mobile's worldwide industry share, even though Android and iOS gobble up the overwhelming majority.
In addition, Microsoft includes a difficulty with partners. At this time it's trying to woo back HTC to after again expand the Windows Phone ecosystem. If that fails, Microsoft could be the only outfit making Windows phones. That single-source approach may well operate for Apple, but even the iPhone is possessing a really hard time standing up to Android's diverse and seemingly inexhaustible players.
Back in 2010, and once more in 2011, Microsoft pleaded for patience in acquiring its Windows Telephone off the ground. But this year, the most recent update's most visible enhancements are a modified interface for extra-large phones plus the capability to close apps in multitasking mode. You also can customize text tones by make contact with.
This can be hardly hearty fare, but Microsoft points out that these are the most-wanted additions requested by fans.
Nevertheless, Windows Phone buyers also clamor for any notification center, a file manager, a individual assistant, greater storage assistance for microSD cards, and indicator lights that signal missed calls and alerts. Several of those happen to be requested because the OS debuted and have extended existed on Android and iOS.
Then there's Skype, the other business that Microsoft purchased in 2011 (and for 1.three billion greater than Nokia), however the enterprise has however to integrate it into Windows smartphones by default to counter Apple's FaceTime and in some cases Google Plus Hangouts. Yes, Windows Telephone 8 Skype customers can location calls in the Men and women hub, following initially downloading the app. What I'm speaking about is producing this an out-of-the-box function.
We do know, at the least, that Microsoft is tough at perform on a cheap windows 7 ultimate key personal assistant of its personal named Cortana, which understands organic language and can replace the legacy TellMe voice input currently in use.
Microsoft's next update should really be a significant one that includes this private assistant, notification center, and Skype integration at the really least. Just after the Nokia acquisition is full (assuming it gets shareholder and regulatory approval), Windows Phone should really swiftly incorporate Nokia-designed software tools, like its camera add-ons, into the native OS expertise.
From exactly where I sit, Microsoft's largest asset -- and challenge -- is always to take the major dangers that make a business stand out as a player worth paying attention to. Soon after the transition, the Windows Phone group should really not just use, but push Nokia's venerable design philosophy into edgier territory.
Microsoft really should waste no time funding projects that explore and apply new finishes and components (like continuing its function on graphene), publish a couple of wacky proofs of notion (like this a single from 2011, also below), and probably build a high-end luxury phone of its own.
Why? Microsoft's Windows Phone project has spent its lifetime being reactionary, attempting to catch up to Apple and Google with no definitely managing to help keep pace. This isn't the time for you to be conservative with cookie-cutter design and options which are just very good adequate.
On the bright side, Microsoft just announced Windows Telephone eight Update three, which incorporates new support for quad-core CPUs and phablets that helps preserve its spec lists seeking fresh. Furthermore, the buyout of Nokia's smartphone arm will bring Redmond's greatest hardware ally totally into the fold, all whilst BlackBerry's apparent demise topples the competition for third-largest ecosystem. All this provides the computer software giant a opportunity to at the very least double Windows Phone development by 2017.
On the other hand, Windows Telephone adoption has been slow, using the OS fighting for much less than 10 % of mobile's worldwide industry share, even though Android and iOS gobble up the overwhelming majority.
In addition, Microsoft includes a difficulty with partners. At this time it's trying to woo back HTC to after again expand the Windows Phone ecosystem. If that fails, Microsoft could be the only outfit making Windows phones. That single-source approach may well operate for Apple, but even the iPhone is possessing a really hard time standing up to Android's diverse and seemingly inexhaustible players.
Back in 2010, and once more in 2011, Microsoft pleaded for patience in acquiring its Windows Telephone off the ground. But this year, the most recent update's most visible enhancements are a modified interface for extra-large phones plus the capability to close apps in multitasking mode. You also can customize text tones by make contact with.
This can be hardly hearty fare, but Microsoft points out that these are the most-wanted additions requested by fans.
Nevertheless, Windows Phone buyers also clamor for any notification center, a file manager, a individual assistant, greater storage assistance for microSD cards, and indicator lights that signal missed calls and alerts. Several of those happen to be requested because the OS debuted and have extended existed on Android and iOS.
Then there's Skype, the other business that Microsoft purchased in 2011 (and for 1.three billion greater than Nokia), however the enterprise has however to integrate it into Windows smartphones by default to counter Apple's FaceTime and in some cases Google Plus Hangouts. Yes, Windows Telephone 8 Skype customers can location calls in the Men and women hub, following initially downloading the app. What I'm speaking about is producing this an out-of-the-box function.
We do know, at the least, that Microsoft is tough at perform on a cheap windows 7 ultimate key personal assistant of its personal named Cortana, which understands organic language and can replace the legacy TellMe voice input currently in use.
Microsoft's next update should really be a significant one that includes this private assistant, notification center, and Skype integration at the really least. Just after the Nokia acquisition is full (assuming it gets shareholder and regulatory approval), Windows Phone should really swiftly incorporate Nokia-designed software tools, like its camera add-ons, into the native OS expertise.
From exactly where I sit, Microsoft's largest asset -- and challenge -- is always to take the major dangers that make a business stand out as a player worth paying attention to. Soon after the transition, the Windows Phone group should really not just use, but push Nokia's venerable design philosophy into edgier territory.
Microsoft really should waste no time funding projects that explore and apply new finishes and components (like continuing its function on graphene), publish a couple of wacky proofs of notion (like this a single from 2011, also below), and probably build a high-end luxury phone of its own.
Why? Microsoft's Windows Phone project has spent its lifetime being reactionary, attempting to catch up to Apple and Google with no definitely managing to help keep pace. This isn't the time for you to be conservative with cookie-cutter design and options which are just very good adequate.
Saturday, 28 September 2013
U.S. spy agency used some Americans' data to map their behavior: NYT
The New York Times reported on Saturday that the National Security Agency,
the main U.S. government surveillance organization, had since 2010 used data it
gathered to map some Americans' "social connections that can identify their
associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and
other personal information."
In the latest revelation of the activities of the NSA, which have prompted concern about previously unknown intrusion into Americans' privacy in the name of protecting against terrorist and other foreign attacks, the newspaper quoted documents provided by Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who fled to Russia earlier this year.
It said the documents showed that "the spy agency began allowing the analysis of phone call and email logs in November 2010 to examine Americans' networks of associations for foreign intelligence purposes after NSA officials lifted restrictions on the practice."
The policy shift was intended to help the agency "discover and track" connections between intelligence targets overseas and people in the United States, according to an NSA memorandum from January 2011, the Times said.
It said the NSA was authorized to conduct "large-scale graph analysis on very large sets of communications metadata without having to check foreignness" of every email address, phone number or other identifier, the document said. Because of concerns about infringing on the privacy of American citizens, the computer analysis of such data had previously been permitted only for foreigners.
The agency could augment the communications data with material from public, commercial and other sources, including bank codes, insurance information, Facebook profiles, passenger manifests, voter registration rolls and GPS location information, as well as property records and unspecified tax data, according to the documents, the paper said.
It said NSA officials declined to say how many Americans had been affected and said the documents did not describe the result of the scrutiny, which it said "links phone numbers and emails in a 'contact chain' tied directly or indirectly to a person or organization overseas that is of foreign intelligence interest."
COURT RULING
Earlier this week, leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said they were working on legislation that would tighten oversight of federal electronic eavesdropping programs. Support for such changes has been growing since Snowden leaked information in June that the government collects far more Internet and telephone data than previously known.
The Times said that an NSA spokeswoman, asked about the analyses of Americans' data, said, "All data queries must include a foreign intelligence justification, period." It quoted her as saying: "All of NSA's work has a foreign intelligence purpose."
She said the policy change disclosed in the latest revelations was based on a 1979 Supreme Court ruling that Americans could have no expectation of privacy about what numbers they had called.
The Times quoted her as saying that, based on that ruling, the Justice Department and the Pentagon decided that it was permissible to create contact chains using Americans' "metadata," which includes the timing, location and other details of calls and emails, but not their content. The agency is not required to seek warrants for the analyses from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
NSA officials declined to identify which phone and email databases were used to create the social network diagrams, and the documents provided by Snowden do not specify them, the paper said.
It said the NSA did say that the large database of Americans' domestic phone call records, which was revealed by Snowden in June and caused alarm in Washington, was excluded.
The Times said that while concerns in the United States since Snowden's revelations had largely focused on the scope of the agency's collection of the private data of Americans and the potential for abuse, the new documents provided a rare window into what the agency actually did with the information it gathers.
In the latest revelation of the activities of the NSA, which have prompted concern about previously unknown intrusion into Americans' privacy in the name of protecting against terrorist and other foreign attacks, the newspaper quoted documents provided by Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who fled to Russia earlier this year.
It said the documents showed that "the spy agency began allowing the analysis of phone call and email logs in November 2010 to examine Americans' networks of associations for foreign intelligence purposes after NSA officials lifted restrictions on the practice."
The policy shift was intended to help the agency "discover and track" connections between intelligence targets overseas and people in the United States, according to an NSA memorandum from January 2011, the Times said.
It said the NSA was authorized to conduct "large-scale graph analysis on very large sets of communications metadata without having to check foreignness" of every email address, phone number or other identifier, the document said. Because of concerns about infringing on the privacy of American citizens, the computer analysis of such data had previously been permitted only for foreigners.
The agency could augment the communications data with material from public, commercial and other sources, including bank codes, insurance information, Facebook profiles, passenger manifests, voter registration rolls and GPS location information, as well as property records and unspecified tax data, according to the documents, the paper said.
It said NSA officials declined to say how many Americans had been affected and said the documents did not describe the result of the scrutiny, which it said "links phone numbers and emails in a 'contact chain' tied directly or indirectly to a person or organization overseas that is of foreign intelligence interest."
COURT RULING
Earlier this week, leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said they were working on legislation that would tighten oversight of federal electronic eavesdropping programs. Support for such changes has been growing since Snowden leaked information in June that the government collects far more Internet and telephone data than previously known.
The Times said that an NSA spokeswoman, asked about the analyses of Americans' data, said, "All data queries must include a foreign intelligence justification, period." It quoted her as saying: "All of NSA's work has a foreign intelligence purpose."
She said the policy change disclosed in the latest revelations was based on a 1979 Supreme Court ruling that Americans could have no expectation of privacy about what numbers they had called.
The Times quoted her as saying that, based on that ruling, the Justice Department and the Pentagon decided that it was permissible to create contact chains using Americans' "metadata," which includes the timing, location and other details of calls and emails, but not their content. The agency is not required to seek warrants for the analyses from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
NSA officials declined to identify which phone and email databases were used to create the social network diagrams, and the documents provided by Snowden do not specify them, the paper said.
It said the NSA did say that the large database of Americans' domestic phone call records, which was revealed by Snowden in June and caused alarm in Washington, was excluded.
The Times said that while concerns in the United States since Snowden's revelations had largely focused on the scope of the agency's collection of the private data of Americans and the potential for abuse, the new documents provided a rare window into what the agency actually did with the information it gathers.
Unless Microsoft includes a magic trick up its sleeve to permit
In an work to save each of its ailing platforms, Microsoft is organizing to
combine each the Windows 8 and Windows Telephone eight app stores into a single,
all-encompassing app shop. It isn’t totally clear irrespective of whether this
will result in comprehensive cross-platform compatibility for each Windows eight
and WP8 apps - like Apple’s iPhone and iPad App Shop - or if it’s far more a
case of designing a really kick-ass app store that each platforms will then use
independently of one another. In either case, the new combined app shop will
seek to rectify two large complaints: That Windows 8 and Windows Telephone eight
have poor app ecosystems, and, specially inside the case of Windows 8, the
utterly atrocious app store encounter that ordinarily leaves you asking yourself
why on earth you decided to purchase a Windows tablet as opposed to an iPad.
This news comes from the usual “sources acquainted with the company’s plans,” who spoke to the Verge. As outlined by the source, the head of Microsoft’s newly formed Operating Systems group, Terry Myerson, held a meeting exactly where he told a large number of Microsoft personnel regarding the new plan to combine the app stores. There didn’t seem to be significantly within the way of particulars, only that the new retailer - which we’ll bet excellent funds on it being named One particular Shop - would come with the “next release” of Windows and Windows Telephone. This need to imply Windows Phone eight.1 and an update for Windows 8.1, each of which are due in spring 2014.
As for how the 1 Retailer will actually perform, we are able to only guess. In a perfect planet, it would work like the iOS App Retailer: apps created for Windows Phone 8 will be scaled up for use on Windows eight tablets, and apps particularly created for tablet interfaces would show up if you are browsing the retailer in your Windows eight tablet. Apple can get away with this simply because its smartphones and tablets run the identical operating program, and thus developers can target the precise similar APIs. Windows eight and Windows Telephone eight share a lot of similar attributes, and also some low-level code, but it is nowhere near the identical level of similarity as an iPhone and iPad.
Microsoft, for its portion, has previously taken for the stage and promised a unified ecosystem - however the specifics on how such unification could really happen haven’t been forthcoming. Because it stands, in case you develop a Metro app very carefully, porting it to Windows Phone eight is usually as effortless as altering some lines of code. In reality, even though, resulting from wildly different screen sizes, UI and UX paradigms, as well as a big variety of hardware targets (from Tegra three and integrated GPUs, via to Haswell and discrete GPUs), cross-platform compatibility has remained elusive.
Unless Microsoft includes a magic trick up its sleeve to permit developers to conveniently create apps that run on each platforms - a compatibility layer (emulator) of some sort, perhaps - then it’s much more likely that the 1 Shop will just be a new app shop design and style that may be applied by both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. Windows eight sorely requires a new app shop, and if a genuinely unified app ecosystem is coming for Windows 9 and Windows Telephone 9, then it wouldn’t hurt to obtain individuals utilized for the new app shop these days. (Study: The Windows eight Shop is broken: Here’s how you can repair it.)
A further possibility, as I’ve hinted at prior to, is that one particular of Microsoft’s OSes could actually consume the other. As lately as final week, Microsoft’s Myerson told some analysts that we should anticipate to see Windows RT on larger phones - and it goes the other way, as well, with the Lumia 1520 phablet operating Windows Telephone. I would not be shocked if Windows/RT sooner or later consumes Windows Phone, which would pretty neatly resolve the issue of cross-platform compatibility by removing the pesky “cross” bit.
http://www.windows7retailpack.com/microsoft-windows-7-professional-3264-bit-full-retail-pack-p-3527.html
This news comes from the usual “sources acquainted with the company’s plans,” who spoke to the Verge. As outlined by the source, the head of Microsoft’s newly formed Operating Systems group, Terry Myerson, held a meeting exactly where he told a large number of Microsoft personnel regarding the new plan to combine the app stores. There didn’t seem to be significantly within the way of particulars, only that the new retailer - which we’ll bet excellent funds on it being named One particular Shop - would come with the “next release” of Windows and Windows Telephone. This need to imply Windows Phone eight.1 and an update for Windows 8.1, each of which are due in spring 2014.
As for how the 1 Retailer will actually perform, we are able to only guess. In a perfect planet, it would work like the iOS App Retailer: apps created for Windows Phone 8 will be scaled up for use on Windows eight tablets, and apps particularly created for tablet interfaces would show up if you are browsing the retailer in your Windows eight tablet. Apple can get away with this simply because its smartphones and tablets run the identical operating program, and thus developers can target the precise similar APIs. Windows eight and Windows Telephone eight share a lot of similar attributes, and also some low-level code, but it is nowhere near the identical level of similarity as an iPhone and iPad.
Microsoft, for its portion, has previously taken for the stage and promised a unified ecosystem - however the specifics on how such unification could really happen haven’t been forthcoming. Because it stands, in case you develop a Metro app very carefully, porting it to Windows Phone eight is usually as effortless as altering some lines of code. In reality, even though, resulting from wildly different screen sizes, UI and UX paradigms, as well as a big variety of hardware targets (from Tegra three and integrated GPUs, via to Haswell and discrete GPUs), cross-platform compatibility has remained elusive.
Unless Microsoft includes a magic trick up its sleeve to permit developers to conveniently create apps that run on each platforms - a compatibility layer (emulator) of some sort, perhaps - then it’s much more likely that the 1 Shop will just be a new app shop design and style that may be applied by both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. Windows eight sorely requires a new app shop, and if a genuinely unified app ecosystem is coming for Windows 9 and Windows Telephone 9, then it wouldn’t hurt to obtain individuals utilized for the new app shop these days. (Study: The Windows eight Shop is broken: Here’s how you can repair it.)
A further possibility, as I’ve hinted at prior to, is that one particular of Microsoft’s OSes could actually consume the other. As lately as final week, Microsoft’s Myerson told some analysts that we should anticipate to see Windows RT on larger phones - and it goes the other way, as well, with the Lumia 1520 phablet operating Windows Telephone. I would not be shocked if Windows/RT sooner or later consumes Windows Phone, which would pretty neatly resolve the issue of cross-platform compatibility by removing the pesky “cross” bit.
http://www.windows7retailpack.com/microsoft-windows-7-professional-3264-bit-full-retail-pack-p-3527.html
Sunday, 18 August 2013
Samsung to Launch Smartwatch Next Month
It’s offficial:
Samsung Electronics Inc. will launch its first wristwatch smartphone early next month, people familiar with the plan say. The move would allow Samsung to potentially beat rival Apple Inc. on what is expected to be the next major battleground for mobile phone makers.
The world’s largest smartphone maker will unveil its first device worn around the wrist called Galaxy Gear on Sept. 4, ahead of Berlin’s IFA, a consumer electronics show where technology companies showcase their gadgets. It will go on sale this year, the people said.
But, one person said the device won’t have flexible displays, contrary to the company’s patent filings in the U.S. and South Korea earlier this year that suggested a device with a bendable screen was in the works.
Analysts had cast doubts about mass producing flexible screens for a couple of years, making the possibility of wristwatch smartphones grim.
Wearable smart devices have been tipped as the next jackpot niche for leading handset makers such as Samsung and Apple as the lucrative high-end segment of the smartphone market worldwide is saturated. Samsung wrested the world’s largest smartphone maker title away from Apple last year and has pushed to widen the lead with a portfolio covering a wide array of smartphone and tablets.
Though the concept of a phone wrapped around one’s wrist has been a widely known concept for a decade or more, the hype has been building around “smart watches” recently with both Apple and Samsung prepping devices. Sony in June showed off a wristwatch-like device that connects with most smartphones running on Google Inc.’s Android operating system.
It’s still unknown whether Samsung’s new gear will also work via a conventional smartphone or as a standalone product.
Samsung’s earlier invitations for the same-date product launch was widely expected to be the next iteration of its phablet device Galaxy Note with a larger 5-inch screen.
The company also plans to showcase the Galaxy Note 3 at IFA.
Bloomberg reported earlier that Samsung will launch the wristwatch device at its “Unpacked” event on Sept. 4.
Samsung Electronics Inc. will launch its first wristwatch smartphone early next month, people familiar with the plan say. The move would allow Samsung to potentially beat rival Apple Inc. on what is expected to be the next major battleground for mobile phone makers.
The world’s largest smartphone maker will unveil its first device worn around the wrist called Galaxy Gear on Sept. 4, ahead of Berlin’s IFA, a consumer electronics show where technology companies showcase their gadgets. It will go on sale this year, the people said.
But, one person said the device won’t have flexible displays, contrary to the company’s patent filings in the U.S. and South Korea earlier this year that suggested a device with a bendable screen was in the works.
Analysts had cast doubts about mass producing flexible screens for a couple of years, making the possibility of wristwatch smartphones grim.
Wearable smart devices have been tipped as the next jackpot niche for leading handset makers such as Samsung and Apple as the lucrative high-end segment of the smartphone market worldwide is saturated. Samsung wrested the world’s largest smartphone maker title away from Apple last year and has pushed to widen the lead with a portfolio covering a wide array of smartphone and tablets.
Though the concept of a phone wrapped around one’s wrist has been a widely known concept for a decade or more, the hype has been building around “smart watches” recently with both Apple and Samsung prepping devices. Sony in June showed off a wristwatch-like device that connects with most smartphones running on Google Inc.’s Android operating system.
It’s still unknown whether Samsung’s new gear will also work via a conventional smartphone or as a standalone product.
Samsung’s earlier invitations for the same-date product launch was widely expected to be the next iteration of its phablet device Galaxy Note with a larger 5-inch screen.
The company also plans to showcase the Galaxy Note 3 at IFA.
Bloomberg reported earlier that Samsung will launch the wristwatch device at its “Unpacked” event on Sept. 4.
Windows XP. Because a safety update will never grow to be out there
Microsoft has reminded, cajoled, and pleaded with customers to move off of
Windows XP prior to assistance for its old OS expires subsequent year. Now
Microsoft warns customers that they may be topic to “zero-day” threats for the
rest of their lives if they do not migrate.
“The pretty very first month that Microsoft releases safety updates for supported versions of Windows, attackers will reverse engineer these updates, obtain the vulnerabilities, and test Windows XP to determine if it shares these vulnerabilities,” he wrote. “If it does windows 7 professional retail version, attackers will try to create exploit code which will take advantage of these vulnerabilities on Windows XP. Because a safety update will never grow to be out there for Windows XP to address these vulnerabilities, Windows XP will essentially have a ‘zero-day’ vulnerability forever.”
Zero-day vulnerabilities refer towards the way in which hackers can attack an operating method or other code just before a patch is released, fixing the vulnerability. Since Microsoft will never patch Windows XP once more right after April 2014, at some point some vulneability that affects XP will be discovered.
Involving July 2012 and July 2013, Windows XP was an impacted item in 45 Microsoft safety bulletins. Thirty of these also impacted Windows 7 and Windows 8, Rains wrote.
Rains acknowledges that some protections in XP will assist mitigate attacks, and third-party antimalware computer software could possibly supply some protection.
“The challenge here is the fact that you will never know, with any self-confidence, in the event the trusted computing base with the program can actually be trusted for the reason that attackers will likely be armed with public understanding of zero day exploits in Windows XP that could allow them to compromise the system and possibly run the code of their decision,” Rains wrote.
That is the exact same argument that some have not too long ago utilized, claiming that hackers will “bank” their zero-day XP attacks till right after subsequent April, then unleash them around the unprotected herds of XP machines. As Rains notes, the sophistication of malware has only enhanced, which means that your XP machine is a lot more vulnerable, not much less. PCWorld’s Answer Line columnist, Lincoln Spector, agrees.
The problem that some XP users have is that they’re so in adore with the way that Windows XP does items that they’re reluctant to migrate, specially to Windows 8. Effectively, Windows 7 machines do exist, that provide functionality related to XP: here’s ways to uncover them.
The bottom line is this: whilst Microsoft stands to gain from arguing that customers need to upgrade, the truth is: they do. So if you are nevertheless on Windows XP, begin considering a migration technique.
http://www.windows7retailpack.com/microsoft-windows-7-professional-3264-bit-full-retail-pack-p-3527.html
“The pretty very first month that Microsoft releases safety updates for supported versions of Windows, attackers will reverse engineer these updates, obtain the vulnerabilities, and test Windows XP to determine if it shares these vulnerabilities,” he wrote. “If it does windows 7 professional retail version, attackers will try to create exploit code which will take advantage of these vulnerabilities on Windows XP. Because a safety update will never grow to be out there for Windows XP to address these vulnerabilities, Windows XP will essentially have a ‘zero-day’ vulnerability forever.”
Zero-day vulnerabilities refer towards the way in which hackers can attack an operating method or other code just before a patch is released, fixing the vulnerability. Since Microsoft will never patch Windows XP once more right after April 2014, at some point some vulneability that affects XP will be discovered.
Involving July 2012 and July 2013, Windows XP was an impacted item in 45 Microsoft safety bulletins. Thirty of these also impacted Windows 7 and Windows 8, Rains wrote.
Rains acknowledges that some protections in XP will assist mitigate attacks, and third-party antimalware computer software could possibly supply some protection.
“The challenge here is the fact that you will never know, with any self-confidence, in the event the trusted computing base with the program can actually be trusted for the reason that attackers will likely be armed with public understanding of zero day exploits in Windows XP that could allow them to compromise the system and possibly run the code of their decision,” Rains wrote.
That is the exact same argument that some have not too long ago utilized, claiming that hackers will “bank” their zero-day XP attacks till right after subsequent April, then unleash them around the unprotected herds of XP machines. As Rains notes, the sophistication of malware has only enhanced, which means that your XP machine is a lot more vulnerable, not much less. PCWorld’s Answer Line columnist, Lincoln Spector, agrees.
The problem that some XP users have is that they’re so in adore with the way that Windows XP does items that they’re reluctant to migrate, specially to Windows 8. Effectively, Windows 7 machines do exist, that provide functionality related to XP: here’s ways to uncover them.
The bottom line is this: whilst Microsoft stands to gain from arguing that customers need to upgrade, the truth is: they do. So if you are nevertheless on Windows XP, begin considering a migration technique.
http://www.windows7retailpack.com/microsoft-windows-7-professional-3264-bit-full-retail-pack-p-3527.html
Friday, 2 August 2013
Time Warner Cable drops CBS as talks over fees fall short
Notes that CBS is blocking full-episode streaming on its Web site for some
with Time Warner Cable as their broadband provider.
With changes in technology complicating the balance of power between television creators and distributors, CBS and Time Warner Cable failed to reach an agreement on fees Friday. After weeks of talks and multiple deadline extensions, the broadcaster's flagship network went dark for the cable giant's subscribers in several major U.S. cities.
CBS being dropped from a cable system for the first time in its history opens the door for companies like Aereo, the online streamer of over-the-air broadcasts, to deliver those transmissions in real time for Time Warner subscribers in New York. Time Warner subscribers can also turn online to CBS's Web site or Amazon to watch popular shows like "Under the Dome."
Time Warner Cable, on a screen that pops up where CBS's programming should be, is directing its subscribers to turn to CBS.com to watch, but CBS appears to be eliminating the option to watch full episodes on its Web site for some. In New York, people with Time Warner Cable as their broadband provider couldn't access any CBS full-length videos online, nor could people with TWC as their provider in other parts of the country unaffected by the blackout.
"If Time Warner Cable is a customer's internet service provider, then their access to CBS full episode content via online and mobile platforms has been suspended as a result of Time Warner Cable's decision to drop CBS and Showtime from their market," CBS spokeswoman Dana McClintock said in an email. "As soon as CBS is restored on Time Warner Cable systems in affected markets, that content will be accessible again."
Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Maureen Huff said CBS should not be allowed to abuse the privilege of using publicly owned airwaves to deliver its programming. "CBS has shown utter lack of regard for consumers by blocking Time Warner Cable's customers, including our high-speed data only customers, from accessing their shows on their free website," she said.
CBS, which is the parent company of CNET, said in a statement it "deeply regrets" that Time Warner Cable has dropped its network in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas, as well as other smaller markets. It criticized Time Warner for "indulging in pointless brinksmanship" and twisting the facts to the public, and said it is eager to make an agreement with "fair compensation for the most-watched television network with the most popular content in the world."
"We hope and believe this period of darkness will be short," the broadcaster said.
Time Warner Cable said that when it agreed to continue talks until Friday, it expected to engage in a meaningful negotiation with CBS. "Since then, CBS has refused to have a productive discussion," it said.
"It's become clear that no matter how much time we give them, they're not willing to come to reasonable terms," it added in a statement.
In addition to the blackout of CBS in select markets, CBS properties Showtime, TMC, FLIX, and Smithsonian are also going dark for all subscribers.
CBS Corp. and Time Warner Cable have been negotiating a new carriage pact with under multiple extensions to their previous agreement that expired June 30.
Failing to reach an agreement on retransmission fees -- money that CBS requires from TWC to carry the channel for its subscribers -- comes as customers who lose CBS stations face more online alternatives. Time Warner has gone so far as to encourage New York customers to explore Aereo, the online streamer of over-the-air broadcasts, to pick up the broadcasts that have been dropped from its cable packages. Usually, many CBS shows are available on the network's own Web site, typically for a limited window of time, and Amazon Prime customers can watch "Under the Dome" on its Instant Video service four days after they run.
With changes in technology complicating the balance of power between television creators and distributors, CBS and Time Warner Cable failed to reach an agreement on fees Friday. After weeks of talks and multiple deadline extensions, the broadcaster's flagship network went dark for the cable giant's subscribers in several major U.S. cities.
CBS being dropped from a cable system for the first time in its history opens the door for companies like Aereo, the online streamer of over-the-air broadcasts, to deliver those transmissions in real time for Time Warner subscribers in New York. Time Warner subscribers can also turn online to CBS's Web site or Amazon to watch popular shows like "Under the Dome."
Time Warner Cable, on a screen that pops up where CBS's programming should be, is directing its subscribers to turn to CBS.com to watch, but CBS appears to be eliminating the option to watch full episodes on its Web site for some. In New York, people with Time Warner Cable as their broadband provider couldn't access any CBS full-length videos online, nor could people with TWC as their provider in other parts of the country unaffected by the blackout.
"If Time Warner Cable is a customer's internet service provider, then their access to CBS full episode content via online and mobile platforms has been suspended as a result of Time Warner Cable's decision to drop CBS and Showtime from their market," CBS spokeswoman Dana McClintock said in an email. "As soon as CBS is restored on Time Warner Cable systems in affected markets, that content will be accessible again."
Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Maureen Huff said CBS should not be allowed to abuse the privilege of using publicly owned airwaves to deliver its programming. "CBS has shown utter lack of regard for consumers by blocking Time Warner Cable's customers, including our high-speed data only customers, from accessing their shows on their free website," she said.
CBS, which is the parent company of CNET, said in a statement it "deeply regrets" that Time Warner Cable has dropped its network in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas, as well as other smaller markets. It criticized Time Warner for "indulging in pointless brinksmanship" and twisting the facts to the public, and said it is eager to make an agreement with "fair compensation for the most-watched television network with the most popular content in the world."
"We hope and believe this period of darkness will be short," the broadcaster said.
Time Warner Cable said that when it agreed to continue talks until Friday, it expected to engage in a meaningful negotiation with CBS. "Since then, CBS has refused to have a productive discussion," it said.
"It's become clear that no matter how much time we give them, they're not willing to come to reasonable terms," it added in a statement.
In addition to the blackout of CBS in select markets, CBS properties Showtime, TMC, FLIX, and Smithsonian are also going dark for all subscribers.
CBS Corp. and Time Warner Cable have been negotiating a new carriage pact with under multiple extensions to their previous agreement that expired June 30.
Failing to reach an agreement on retransmission fees -- money that CBS requires from TWC to carry the channel for its subscribers -- comes as customers who lose CBS stations face more online alternatives. Time Warner has gone so far as to encourage New York customers to explore Aereo, the online streamer of over-the-air broadcasts, to pick up the broadcasts that have been dropped from its cable packages. Usually, many CBS shows are available on the network's own Web site, typically for a limited window of time, and Amazon Prime customers can watch "Under the Dome" on its Instant Video service four days after they run.
Microsoft and Computer makers must convince the masses
Windows 8 keeps clawing its way up the market place share charts, but not
in the expense of Windows 7 or Windows XP.
In line with Netmarketshare, Windows 8’s market share now stands at five.4 %, up 0.3 percent from a month ago when it lastly surpassed Windows Vista. Once again, Vista’s marketplace share declined last month, this time by about 0.38 percent, to a total of four.24 percent.
Meanwhile, Windows 7 and Windows XP are holding robust. In actual fact, Windows 7’s market place share improved last month by 0.12 %, and Windows XP saw a 0.02 percent bump in marketplace share in spite of the looming finish of XP assistance by Microsoft. Both Windows 7 and XP remain one of the most widely-used operating systems by far, with 44.49 percent and 37.19 percent of your market place, respectively, based on Netmarketshare.
In other words, any market share that Windows eight gained last month appears to be in the expense of Windows Vista.
When it’s not surprising that customers are eager to upgrade from the widely-panned operating technique, acquiring people to switch from XP or Windows 7 might be tougher for Microsoft, especially amongst users who desire to stick having a standard desktop interface.
Windows eight.1 will make some concessions for all those users, with all the return in the Commence button, a boot-to-desktop option, quicker access to sophisticated desktop functions, and also a strategy to prevent modern-style menus from popping up in the course of desktop use.
But ultimately, Microsoft and Computer makers must convince the masses that they require to upgrade their hardware to touch-enabled laptops, hybrids, or desktops. More affordable touchscreen devices could support on that front, but it’ll most likely be a though just before the market place share needle moves a great deal for Windows XP and Windows 7.
In line with Netmarketshare, Windows 8’s market share now stands at five.4 %, up 0.3 percent from a month ago when it lastly surpassed Windows Vista. Once again, Vista’s marketplace share declined last month, this time by about 0.38 percent, to a total of four.24 percent.
Meanwhile, Windows 7 and Windows XP are holding robust. In actual fact, Windows 7’s market place share improved last month by 0.12 %, and Windows XP saw a 0.02 percent bump in marketplace share in spite of the looming finish of XP assistance by Microsoft. Both Windows 7 and XP remain one of the most widely-used operating systems by far, with 44.49 percent and 37.19 percent of your market place, respectively, based on Netmarketshare.
In other words, any market share that Windows eight gained last month appears to be in the expense of Windows Vista.
When it’s not surprising that customers are eager to upgrade from the widely-panned operating technique, acquiring people to switch from XP or Windows 7 might be tougher for Microsoft, especially amongst users who desire to stick having a standard desktop interface.
Windows eight.1 will make some concessions for all those users, with all the return in the Commence button, a boot-to-desktop option, quicker access to sophisticated desktop functions, and also a strategy to prevent modern-style menus from popping up in the course of desktop use.
But ultimately, Microsoft and Computer makers must convince the masses that they require to upgrade their hardware to touch-enabled laptops, hybrids, or desktops. More affordable touchscreen devices could support on that front, but it’ll most likely be a though just before the market place share needle moves a great deal for Windows XP and Windows 7.
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
ands On With the New Motorola Droids
Motorola announced three new exclusive phones for Verizon Wireless today.
The Droid Ultra, Droid Mini, and Droid Maxx wrap the current version of Android
in slim Kevlar, adding a mix of Verizon and Motorola features to ice the
cake.
The three phones have a lot in common: they're all unibody, made of very smooth Kevlar with shiny, visually textured backs that tend to get fingerprinty, and ridged power and volume buttons on the side. (The SIM card slot is actually in the volume rocker.) They all have 10-megapixel cameras on the back and 2-megapixel shooters on the front. The batteries are sealed in, and there are no memory card slots. They'll all come in black and a deep Verizon red, and they all have 720p displays; the Ultra and Maxx have 5-inch Super AMOLED HD displays, while the Mini has a 4.3-inch TFT LCD.
The Mini is a tight little device. If I was personally with Verizon, I'd definitely consider it as my actual phone. All three phones are very well-built, with an elegant, solid look to them.
What Is The X8 Chipset?
The phones run on Motorola's "X8" chipset, which is mostly a rebranded dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro running at 1.73-GHz with Adreno 320 graphics. Motorola's secret sauce may be the two additional chips the company has been promoting, which handle "contextual computing" and voice processing. I ran the Antutu benchmark and got 18573, if you're curious.
"It's really a system architecture rather than developing the ASIC," Motorola product manager Jeff Snow said.
According to Snow, the voice processing DSP allows the phone to recognize voices even when apparently turned off; you can wake up Google Now by hollering at it without waking up the phone by hand first. The contextual computing chip, meanwhile, seems to function as a very low-power, off-duty CPU, doing things like maintaining time and status information on the screen without involving the more power-hungry main processors.
This isn't "stock Android." There are tiers of Motorola and Verizon features here. Motorola adds an ability to launch the camera from standby mode by wobbling the phone in midair, something it calls Quick Capture. There's also an always-listening Google Now mode, where Now can respond even if the phone is apparently asleep, and something Motorola calls "Active Display," which wakes up only a small part of an AMOLED screen to show status information, to save battery.
Motorola Assist, meanwhile, is Motorola's new version of Smart Actions, which sets your phone into various modes when you're driving, in a meeting or asleep, for instance. The most intriguing thing about Assist, actually, is that it uses the same fonts and visual design as Google Now, making it look like a core Android feature.
Exclusive to Verizon are Droid Zap and Droid Command Center. Droid Zap is a slightly oddball photo-sharing app which lets you toss photos up into a geotagged, temporary cloud, which other people with the Droid Zap app within 300 feet will be able to download. It isn't peer-to-peer, but it kind of makes you think it is. Droid Command Center is a bubbly little home-screen weather, time and battery widget.
The new Droids also come with the Ingress augmented-reality game preloaded, and each Droid buyer gets five Ingress invites to distribute to friends.
Oh, and by the way: the phones don't default to screaming "DROID" at you as the notification sound. The default ringtone does say "Droid," but at the end of the ring.
Droids vs. Droids vs. Moto X
The big difference between these phones is in size, battery life and price. The $99 Droid Mini fits very securely into even the smallest hands. It's a little bit thicker than the Ultra 8.9mm, and has the lowest-capacity battery at 2000mAh, but I think that will balance out with the lower power draw of a 4.3-inch as opposed to a 5-inch screen.
The $199 Droid Ultra and the $299 Droid Maxx are the same phone with different batteries and memory capacities. The Ultra uses a 2130mAh battery to keep its 7.2mm slimness and packs 16GB of storage, while the Maxx packs in a huge 3500mAh battery, which Motorola says will run the phone for a full 48 hours, and 32GB. At 8.5mm, it still feels extremely slim.
The Droid launch is just the beginning of Motorola's summer assault. Tomorrow, we'll hear from Motorola's parent company Google about Android 4.3, and on August 1, we'll see Motorola's flagship Moto X phone. When I asked Motorola reps about whether these Droids meant the X wouldn't be coming to Verizon, they demurred.
We did get a few hints about the X, though. It's likely to use this X8 chipset, and it'll probably have the Motorola features which we heard about here: touchless control, active display, quick camera launch, the new camera app and probably Motorola Assist. We'll have to wait for next week to learn more.
The three new Droids are available for pre-order now, and they'll hit shelves on August 20.
The three phones have a lot in common: they're all unibody, made of very smooth Kevlar with shiny, visually textured backs that tend to get fingerprinty, and ridged power and volume buttons on the side. (The SIM card slot is actually in the volume rocker.) They all have 10-megapixel cameras on the back and 2-megapixel shooters on the front. The batteries are sealed in, and there are no memory card slots. They'll all come in black and a deep Verizon red, and they all have 720p displays; the Ultra and Maxx have 5-inch Super AMOLED HD displays, while the Mini has a 4.3-inch TFT LCD.
The Mini is a tight little device. If I was personally with Verizon, I'd definitely consider it as my actual phone. All three phones are very well-built, with an elegant, solid look to them.
What Is The X8 Chipset?
The phones run on Motorola's "X8" chipset, which is mostly a rebranded dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro running at 1.73-GHz with Adreno 320 graphics. Motorola's secret sauce may be the two additional chips the company has been promoting, which handle "contextual computing" and voice processing. I ran the Antutu benchmark and got 18573, if you're curious.
"It's really a system architecture rather than developing the ASIC," Motorola product manager Jeff Snow said.
According to Snow, the voice processing DSP allows the phone to recognize voices even when apparently turned off; you can wake up Google Now by hollering at it without waking up the phone by hand first. The contextual computing chip, meanwhile, seems to function as a very low-power, off-duty CPU, doing things like maintaining time and status information on the screen without involving the more power-hungry main processors.
This isn't "stock Android." There are tiers of Motorola and Verizon features here. Motorola adds an ability to launch the camera from standby mode by wobbling the phone in midair, something it calls Quick Capture. There's also an always-listening Google Now mode, where Now can respond even if the phone is apparently asleep, and something Motorola calls "Active Display," which wakes up only a small part of an AMOLED screen to show status information, to save battery.
Motorola Assist, meanwhile, is Motorola's new version of Smart Actions, which sets your phone into various modes when you're driving, in a meeting or asleep, for instance. The most intriguing thing about Assist, actually, is that it uses the same fonts and visual design as Google Now, making it look like a core Android feature.
Exclusive to Verizon are Droid Zap and Droid Command Center. Droid Zap is a slightly oddball photo-sharing app which lets you toss photos up into a geotagged, temporary cloud, which other people with the Droid Zap app within 300 feet will be able to download. It isn't peer-to-peer, but it kind of makes you think it is. Droid Command Center is a bubbly little home-screen weather, time and battery widget.
The new Droids also come with the Ingress augmented-reality game preloaded, and each Droid buyer gets five Ingress invites to distribute to friends.
Oh, and by the way: the phones don't default to screaming "DROID" at you as the notification sound. The default ringtone does say "Droid," but at the end of the ring.
Droids vs. Droids vs. Moto X
The big difference between these phones is in size, battery life and price. The $99 Droid Mini fits very securely into even the smallest hands. It's a little bit thicker than the Ultra 8.9mm, and has the lowest-capacity battery at 2000mAh, but I think that will balance out with the lower power draw of a 4.3-inch as opposed to a 5-inch screen.
The $199 Droid Ultra and the $299 Droid Maxx are the same phone with different batteries and memory capacities. The Ultra uses a 2130mAh battery to keep its 7.2mm slimness and packs 16GB of storage, while the Maxx packs in a huge 3500mAh battery, which Motorola says will run the phone for a full 48 hours, and 32GB. At 8.5mm, it still feels extremely slim.
The Droid launch is just the beginning of Motorola's summer assault. Tomorrow, we'll hear from Motorola's parent company Google about Android 4.3, and on August 1, we'll see Motorola's flagship Moto X phone. When I asked Motorola reps about whether these Droids meant the X wouldn't be coming to Verizon, they demurred.
We did get a few hints about the X, though. It's likely to use this X8 chipset, and it'll probably have the Motorola features which we heard about here: touchless control, active display, quick camera launch, the new camera app and probably Motorola Assist. We'll have to wait for next week to learn more.
The three new Droids are available for pre-order now, and they'll hit shelves on August 20.
Where it made use of to be far more common
The iPad garnered the reputation as a brand new variety of device designed
for doing entertaining items at household. People had been promptly taken with
all the fact that the iPad could do a great deal of enjoyable points, endearing
it towards the masses. Then developers started writing thousands of apps for the
iPad that started to bridge entertaining stuff with activities usually done on a
Computer, even Windows PCs. Customers noticed that the Windows Pc (desktop or
laptop) that they kept at residence was becoming employed less and significantly
less. Ultimately they were only working with Windows at operate.
A familiar sight in public is a person with an iPad in hand, or one becoming employed using a keyboard case. Where it made use of to be far more common to see persons employing Windows laptops of varying sizes in public venues lots of of them happen to be replaced with the iPad. Much more considerably, iPad users usually are not just performing exciting stuff that tablets are believed to be created for, they are doing almost everything they used to windows 7 professional retail box perform with the forgotten Windows laptop back at household.
Microsoft saw this coming and radically changed the design and style of Windows to perform on tablets, desktops, and laptops. The people in Redmond saw the writing on the wall and knew they had to alter the OS into a tablet OS to keep Windows within the household. They currently had the enterprise locked up so bringing Windows towards the tablet was an work to help keep people employing the OS at home.
Make no error, the Surface RT was firmly aimed at obtaining shoppers to think about Windows on house tablets, and that work has failed. These wanting to use a straightforward tablet at house have pretty significantly currently adopted the iPad. It sports a mobile type element that runs a straightforward OS made specifically for the tablet. Confident iOS can also be a phone platform but Apple has adapted it to deal with the iPad nicely. It was also in a position to acquire app developers to adapt or make iPad-specific versions of apps to operate effectively on the slate.
I like my ThinkPad Tablet 2, a nice Windows tablet. It requires benefit of Windows eight, in particular all the tablet functions Microsoft implemented for that objective. But when I show it (or any Windows tablet) to folks I get quite considerably the identical reaction.
The discussion proceeds with me explaining how it is possible to run Windows apps and how new apps are becoming written for the Windows 8 app shop. That is followed by a conversation that tends to make it clear the other party not simply has no desire to run Windows and its apps on a tablet, they genuinely cannot see why any one would choose to do that. The iPad does anything they want a tablet to perform and much more so why would they want to use a tablet with Windows?
For a lot of shoppers Windows represents perform. It really is around the personal computer within the office and they "have" to utilize it there. They try to remember all the times they had to acquire the IT folks to come repair the Pc that stopped performing something. They feel of how they can not visit all the cool websites since they're blocked at function, which they come to assume of as a Windows thing. They believe of how trouble-free their household computing has turn into because they just naturally began performing it all on the iPad at home.
Most of the people I interact with about Windows on tablets who like it, and are excited about Windows 8, are those who either make a living within the Windows ecosystem or have a specific require for making use of Windows outside the scope of standard property computing. Possessing complete Windows within a tablet kind is just what they must do what they want each for work and at dwelling.
Regrettably for Microsoft, there aren't adequate of those enthusiasts to produce a difference, as proven by each the Surface RT debacle, and low Surface Pro sales (compared to the iPad). The vast majority have currently been shown that their beloved iPad is all they will need outdoors of function. The iPad has completely replaced Computer usage in the residence for a lot of owners and kicked Windows back towards the office.
A familiar sight in public is a person with an iPad in hand, or one becoming employed using a keyboard case. Where it made use of to be far more common to see persons employing Windows laptops of varying sizes in public venues lots of of them happen to be replaced with the iPad. Much more considerably, iPad users usually are not just performing exciting stuff that tablets are believed to be created for, they are doing almost everything they used to windows 7 professional retail box perform with the forgotten Windows laptop back at household.
Microsoft saw this coming and radically changed the design and style of Windows to perform on tablets, desktops, and laptops. The people in Redmond saw the writing on the wall and knew they had to alter the OS into a tablet OS to keep Windows within the household. They currently had the enterprise locked up so bringing Windows towards the tablet was an work to help keep people employing the OS at home.
Make no error, the Surface RT was firmly aimed at obtaining shoppers to think about Windows on house tablets, and that work has failed. These wanting to use a straightforward tablet at house have pretty significantly currently adopted the iPad. It sports a mobile type element that runs a straightforward OS made specifically for the tablet. Confident iOS can also be a phone platform but Apple has adapted it to deal with the iPad nicely. It was also in a position to acquire app developers to adapt or make iPad-specific versions of apps to operate effectively on the slate.
I like my ThinkPad Tablet 2, a nice Windows tablet. It requires benefit of Windows eight, in particular all the tablet functions Microsoft implemented for that objective. But when I show it (or any Windows tablet) to folks I get quite considerably the identical reaction.
The discussion proceeds with me explaining how it is possible to run Windows apps and how new apps are becoming written for the Windows 8 app shop. That is followed by a conversation that tends to make it clear the other party not simply has no desire to run Windows and its apps on a tablet, they genuinely cannot see why any one would choose to do that. The iPad does anything they want a tablet to perform and much more so why would they want to use a tablet with Windows?
For a lot of shoppers Windows represents perform. It really is around the personal computer within the office and they "have" to utilize it there. They try to remember all the times they had to acquire the IT folks to come repair the Pc that stopped performing something. They feel of how they can not visit all the cool websites since they're blocked at function, which they come to assume of as a Windows thing. They believe of how trouble-free their household computing has turn into because they just naturally began performing it all on the iPad at home.
Most of the people I interact with about Windows on tablets who like it, and are excited about Windows 8, are those who either make a living within the Windows ecosystem or have a specific require for making use of Windows outside the scope of standard property computing. Possessing complete Windows within a tablet kind is just what they must do what they want each for work and at dwelling.
Regrettably for Microsoft, there aren't adequate of those enthusiasts to produce a difference, as proven by each the Surface RT debacle, and low Surface Pro sales (compared to the iPad). The vast majority have currently been shown that their beloved iPad is all they will need outdoors of function. The iPad has completely replaced Computer usage in the residence for a lot of owners and kicked Windows back towards the office.
Sunday, 14 July 2013
Microsoft Cuts Price of Surface RT Tablet by Up to 30%
Microsoft MSFT -0.04% has cut the price of its Surface RT tablet by $150,
or as much as 30%, as even some Microsoft partners have called the device a
sales laggard.
The software company's websites on Sunday began showing a price of $349 for the least-expensive model of the tablet, without a cover that doubles as a keyboard for the device. That model, which launched last fall, previously cost $499 without the cover-keyboard combination.
Microsoft also cut the price on the Surface RT model with twice as much memory to $449 from $599. That version, with a type of cover-keyboard combination, now costs $549, down from $699.
Websites of Best Buy Co. BBY +1.19% and Staples Inc. SPLS +0.36% also list the discounted prices for the Surface RT.
"We've been seeing great success with pricing and cover promotions over the past several months on Surface RT in the U.S. and other markets," a Microsoft spokesman said. "People who buy Surface love Surface, and we're excited about all those additional people out sharing their excitement for Surface with other people."
Technology-news website the Verge earlier reported Microsoft was likely to start reducing prices on the Surface RT.
The Surface RT has been a disappointment to some people at companies involved with the device. Those people have said sales of the Surface RT haven't lived up to hopes, and that Microsoft didn't do enough to clarify the reasons people should choose the RT version of Windows, which doesn't run older Windows-compatible software programs, such as iTunes or Quicken financial software.
The chief executive of Nvidia Corp., NVDA +0.07% which makes the computer chips that power the Surface RT, said in March that sales of Windows RT devices have been "disappointing" so far. Windows RT devices are powered by the same type of battery-conserving computer chip that is in the guts of smartphones and devices like the Apple iPad.
Microsoft has tried discounts on Surface RT before. More than a month ago, Microsoft started offering people who bought a Surface RT a free cover that doubles as the device's keyboard. The covers typically cost $119 or $129 each.
It isn't uncommon for companies to offer discounts on consumer-electronic devices, particularly to clear out inventory before new models go on sale. Microsoft hasn't announced new versions of the Surface.
At a conference last week, company executives showed a slide that indicated updates were coming to Surface RT and to the more powerful version, Surface Pro.
The Wall Street Journal also reported in April that Microsoft is working on a smaller version of the Surface, on the heels of popular 7-inch to 8-inch tablet computers like Apple's iPad Mini and the Nexus 7 from Google Inc.
The software company's websites on Sunday began showing a price of $349 for the least-expensive model of the tablet, without a cover that doubles as a keyboard for the device. That model, which launched last fall, previously cost $499 without the cover-keyboard combination.
Microsoft also cut the price on the Surface RT model with twice as much memory to $449 from $599. That version, with a type of cover-keyboard combination, now costs $549, down from $699.
Websites of Best Buy Co. BBY +1.19% and Staples Inc. SPLS +0.36% also list the discounted prices for the Surface RT.
"We've been seeing great success with pricing and cover promotions over the past several months on Surface RT in the U.S. and other markets," a Microsoft spokesman said. "People who buy Surface love Surface, and we're excited about all those additional people out sharing their excitement for Surface with other people."
Technology-news website the Verge earlier reported Microsoft was likely to start reducing prices on the Surface RT.
The Surface RT has been a disappointment to some people at companies involved with the device. Those people have said sales of the Surface RT haven't lived up to hopes, and that Microsoft didn't do enough to clarify the reasons people should choose the RT version of Windows, which doesn't run older Windows-compatible software programs, such as iTunes or Quicken financial software.
The chief executive of Nvidia Corp., NVDA +0.07% which makes the computer chips that power the Surface RT, said in March that sales of Windows RT devices have been "disappointing" so far. Windows RT devices are powered by the same type of battery-conserving computer chip that is in the guts of smartphones and devices like the Apple iPad.
Microsoft has tried discounts on Surface RT before. More than a month ago, Microsoft started offering people who bought a Surface RT a free cover that doubles as the device's keyboard. The covers typically cost $119 or $129 each.
It isn't uncommon for companies to offer discounts on consumer-electronic devices, particularly to clear out inventory before new models go on sale. Microsoft hasn't announced new versions of the Surface.
At a conference last week, company executives showed a slide that indicated updates were coming to Surface RT and to the more powerful version, Surface Pro.
The Wall Street Journal also reported in April that Microsoft is working on a smaller version of the Surface, on the heels of popular 7-inch to 8-inch tablet computers like Apple's iPad Mini and the Nexus 7 from Google Inc.
Sense app that is not exclusive to particular
Microsoft published facts of its upcoming Windows Phone eight update on
Thursday, revealing the minor modifications which might be as a result of roll
out shortly. Recognized as General Distribution Release 2 (GDR2), the update
consists of fixes to Xbox Music to provide accurate metadata, the restoration on
the FM radio feature, a Information Sense app that is not exclusive to
particular carriers, along with a new alternative to set a Lens app as the
default camera. You will discover some HTML5 updates in Net Explorer, enhanced
Skype and Lync stability, and Gmail CardDAV / CalDAV assistance, but general the
alterations are extremely minor for an update eight months after the original
Windows Telephone 8 release.
As outlined by sources familiar with Microsoft's Windows Phone plans, the enterprise is within a "shut up and ship" mode. We're told that the lack of significant alterations is resulting from the focus on Windows Phone's "Blue" update. The future update, anticipated in early 2014, looks set to consist of a notification center, improved multitasking, and modifications to built-in apps. We understand that Microsoft is taking into consideration back porting a few of the "Blue" characteristics, like a rotation lock solution, to a GDR3 update due later this year. Any ported capabilities are stated to help future hardware arriving later this year, and sometimes at the request of precise phone makers like Nokia. In comparison, Windows 8.1 includes a complete host of adjustments and function additions created for tablets and PCs that is anticipated to be delivered in late August ?a just 10 months following the original Windows 8 release.
We've discovered that Microsoft had planned to roll out a number of Windows Telephone updates additional often, but delays in testing new chipsets and bugs in a few of the GDR updates have slowed down feature additions. 1 certain bug with unbranded devices not sold by carriers is stated to possess affected the way a handset is identified on a network. We're told that Microsoft had a really hard time fixing this unique challenge, resulting in delays to other planned function.
We're told that most of the focus for Windows Telephone software program improvements is related to hardware release and refreshes. The future GDR3 update will include things like support for 5- and 6-inch Windows Phones with 1080p resolutions, and quad-core chipsets. These devices will autocad architecture 2013 debut later this year, and Microsoft has been working closely with OEMs to make sure Windows Telephone includes the hardware assistance required. Microsoft revealed on Thursday that together with Nokia it "shared early builds of computer software and hardware" to prepared the Lumia 1020. "I wrote more than 10 pages of feedback myself on the Nokia Pro Camera app as it was being developed," says Microsoft's Joe Belfiore.
The message from Microsoft on Windows Telephone updates is mixed. Although the enterprise promised a year ago that it was creating an enthusiasts plan to provide early access to updates, Microsoft has but to detail when it plans to provide it. The program was stated to "keep your telephone fresher than ever prior to." For now although, all update signs point to early 2014. Microsoft confirmed it really is planning a "feature pack" update inside the very first half of next year that will involve some enterprise improvements and VPN help. Regrettably, it isn't sharing further facts about any other additions. It leaves Nokia as well as other telephone makers having to depend on hardware promoting points, recognizing full effectively that the Windows Phone computer software and ecosystem nevertheless lags the competition.
As outlined by sources familiar with Microsoft's Windows Phone plans, the enterprise is within a "shut up and ship" mode. We're told that the lack of significant alterations is resulting from the focus on Windows Phone's "Blue" update. The future update, anticipated in early 2014, looks set to consist of a notification center, improved multitasking, and modifications to built-in apps. We understand that Microsoft is taking into consideration back porting a few of the "Blue" characteristics, like a rotation lock solution, to a GDR3 update due later this year. Any ported capabilities are stated to help future hardware arriving later this year, and sometimes at the request of precise phone makers like Nokia. In comparison, Windows 8.1 includes a complete host of adjustments and function additions created for tablets and PCs that is anticipated to be delivered in late August ?a just 10 months following the original Windows 8 release.
We've discovered that Microsoft had planned to roll out a number of Windows Telephone updates additional often, but delays in testing new chipsets and bugs in a few of the GDR updates have slowed down feature additions. 1 certain bug with unbranded devices not sold by carriers is stated to possess affected the way a handset is identified on a network. We're told that Microsoft had a really hard time fixing this unique challenge, resulting in delays to other planned function.
We're told that most of the focus for Windows Telephone software program improvements is related to hardware release and refreshes. The future GDR3 update will include things like support for 5- and 6-inch Windows Phones with 1080p resolutions, and quad-core chipsets. These devices will autocad architecture 2013 debut later this year, and Microsoft has been working closely with OEMs to make sure Windows Telephone includes the hardware assistance required. Microsoft revealed on Thursday that together with Nokia it "shared early builds of computer software and hardware" to prepared the Lumia 1020. "I wrote more than 10 pages of feedback myself on the Nokia Pro Camera app as it was being developed," says Microsoft's Joe Belfiore.
The message from Microsoft on Windows Telephone updates is mixed. Although the enterprise promised a year ago that it was creating an enthusiasts plan to provide early access to updates, Microsoft has but to detail when it plans to provide it. The program was stated to "keep your telephone fresher than ever prior to." For now although, all update signs point to early 2014. Microsoft confirmed it really is planning a "feature pack" update inside the very first half of next year that will involve some enterprise improvements and VPN help. Regrettably, it isn't sharing further facts about any other additions. It leaves Nokia as well as other telephone makers having to depend on hardware promoting points, recognizing full effectively that the Windows Phone computer software and ecosystem nevertheless lags the competition.
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Google not obliged to delete data, rules EU lawyer
It follows a Spanish case which challenged Google to remove outdated
financial details about an individual.
The opinion of advocate general Niilo Jaaskinen could influence a wider EU debate over whether people have "the right to be forgotten".
Privacy campaigners believe individuals should have greater control over data.
No controller
The specific case Mr Jaaskinen was considering goes back to November 2009 when a Spanish man complained about links on Google to an e-newspaper report detailing how debts had led to his house being repossessed.
He argued that, as the report was 10 years old, the links were no longer relevant and should be removed. He failed to get the original article removed because it was deemed to be in the public interest.
He lodged a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency who upheld it.
The case later moved the European Court of Justice.
In his written opinion on the case, Mr Jaaskinen took the view that Google was "not generally to be considered as a controller of the personal data appearing on web pages it processes".
"Therefore, a national data protection authority cannot require an internet search engine provider to withdraw information from its index," he wrote.
He added that this meant users would not be able to invoke "a general right to be forgotten... against search engine service providers".
The court is not bound by Mr Jaaskinen's opinion although generally such recommendations are followed.
A final judgement on the case is expected before the end of the year.
Erasing profiles
The case will be seen as a test of "the right to be forgotten" strand of the Data Protection Regulation, which is currently being debated by the European Parliament.
The EU is planning updates for the Data Protection directive, which was originally adopted in 1995 when the internet was in its infancy.
The right to be forgotten clause, which has the support of EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, was developed in response to complaints about the way search engines and social media firms handle information.
Increasingly users are concerned about a range of issues - from difficulties erasing social media accounts, to lack of control of photographs published by others.
Google welcomed the views of Mr Jaaskinen.
Bill Echikson, head of free expression at Google, said: "This is a good opinion for free expression. We're glad to see it supports our long-held view that requiring search engines to suppress 'legitimate and legal information' would amount to censorship."
But Big Brother Watch said that that making a connection between this particular case and the rights of citizens to delete data was "absurd".
"The right to be forgotten was never intended to be a way for people to rewrite history," said director Nick Pickles.
"The whole point was to allow people to tackle information at source and Google was not the source of this information - a Spanish newspaper was.
"A better example of why it is needed would be when someone wants to close a Facebook account. Facebook shouldn't be able to hold on to our information just in case you want to re-join," he added.
"It's important that citizens have better rights when it comes to stopping companies collecting data without proper consent or holding on to information for an unjustifiable length of time, even when people have ceased to use a service."
The opinion of advocate general Niilo Jaaskinen could influence a wider EU debate over whether people have "the right to be forgotten".
Privacy campaigners believe individuals should have greater control over data.
No controller
The specific case Mr Jaaskinen was considering goes back to November 2009 when a Spanish man complained about links on Google to an e-newspaper report detailing how debts had led to his house being repossessed.
He argued that, as the report was 10 years old, the links were no longer relevant and should be removed. He failed to get the original article removed because it was deemed to be in the public interest.
He lodged a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency who upheld it.
The case later moved the European Court of Justice.
In his written opinion on the case, Mr Jaaskinen took the view that Google was "not generally to be considered as a controller of the personal data appearing on web pages it processes".
"Therefore, a national data protection authority cannot require an internet search engine provider to withdraw information from its index," he wrote.
He added that this meant users would not be able to invoke "a general right to be forgotten... against search engine service providers".
The court is not bound by Mr Jaaskinen's opinion although generally such recommendations are followed.
A final judgement on the case is expected before the end of the year.
Erasing profiles
The case will be seen as a test of "the right to be forgotten" strand of the Data Protection Regulation, which is currently being debated by the European Parliament.
The EU is planning updates for the Data Protection directive, which was originally adopted in 1995 when the internet was in its infancy.
The right to be forgotten clause, which has the support of EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, was developed in response to complaints about the way search engines and social media firms handle information.
Increasingly users are concerned about a range of issues - from difficulties erasing social media accounts, to lack of control of photographs published by others.
Google welcomed the views of Mr Jaaskinen.
Bill Echikson, head of free expression at Google, said: "This is a good opinion for free expression. We're glad to see it supports our long-held view that requiring search engines to suppress 'legitimate and legal information' would amount to censorship."
But Big Brother Watch said that that making a connection between this particular case and the rights of citizens to delete data was "absurd".
"The right to be forgotten was never intended to be a way for people to rewrite history," said director Nick Pickles.
"The whole point was to allow people to tackle information at source and Google was not the source of this information - a Spanish newspaper was.
"A better example of why it is needed would be when someone wants to close a Facebook account. Facebook shouldn't be able to hold on to our information just in case you want to re-join," he added.
"It's important that citizens have better rights when it comes to stopping companies collecting data without proper consent or holding on to information for an unjustifiable length of time, even when people have ceased to use a service."
It really is vital that Microsoft sets points right
Microsoft will use its yearly developers meeting to release a preview of
Windows 8.1, a cost-free update that claims to deal with several of the gripes
persons have with the newest variation with the company's flagship functioning
method.
Numerous from the new capabilities are already shown off already. The Establish convention, which commences Wednesday in San Francisco, will give Microsoft's associates and other technological innovation developers an opportunity to understand more about the brand new system and check out it out. What's more, it will provide the company a chance to explain some of the reasoning powering the update and provide builders on Microsoft's ambitions to regain relevance dropped to Apple's iPad and different equipment operating Google's Android software program.
You will find also speculation that Microsoft could show off a brand new, scaled-down model of its Floor tablet computer systems. Among the list of new functions in Home windows 8.1 is the ability to function very well on smaller-screen gadgets.
Windows 8.1 will be accessible as a preview starting off Wednesday for anyone to down load. It's going to be produced to your normal public afterwards within the yr, nevertheless a certain day hasn't been declared.
Windows eight, which was released in October, was meant to generally be Microsoft's respond to to altering purchaser behaviors and also the rise of pill computer systems. The working method emphasizes contact controls above the mouse as well as keyboard, which had been the most crucial way folks have interacted with their particular personal computers because the nineteen eighties.
Though Microsoft has said it's got offered in excess of 100 million Home windows 8 licenses thus far, some analysts have blamed the lackluster response to the functioning program to get a steep fall in Personal computer profits from the first a few months from the yr, the worst drop because monitoring by outdoors research corporations started in 1994.
Amid the issues: the lack of the Start off button within the decreased still left corner of the monitor. In past versions of Windows, that button gave people speedy entry to programs, configurations and also other jobs. Microsoft changed that with a tablet-style, full-screen begin website page, but that covered up what ever packages individuals had been performing on, and it experienced only favored packages. More techniques have been necessary to access less-used applications. Configurations, a lookup box and also other capabilities were being concealed away in the menu that needed to be pulled out in the right. How you can try this transformed based on no matter if a mouse or touch was made use of.
And while Microsoft has inspired people today to employ the new tablet-style structure, many applications ?a which includes Microsoft's latest Business office computer software offer ?a are created for the older, desktop manner. People have been compelled into the tablet structure once they start out up the machine and had to manually change the desktop mode each individual time.
Home windows eight.1 allows men and women to start out inside the desktop mode instantly. In that mode, it is actually restoring a button that resembles the old Start button. Although the Get started button will now just take individuals back into the new tablet-style get started display screen, alternatively when compared to the previous Start menu, the re-introduction of the familiar button may perhaps ensure it is easier for longtime Windows consumers to obtain accustomed for the alterations.
Other new options of Windows 8.one contain extra selections to use many apps. Men and women will get a lot more alternatives to find out simply how much of the screen each app normally takes while showing approximately 4 distinctive systems, somewhat than just two. The update will also offer a lot more integrated research outcomes, showing users previews of websites, applications and documents which can be about the device, all of sudden.
Despite the fact that Microsoft is addressing a lot with the criticisms with Windows, it's positioning the update as in excess of merely a fix-up position. From its standpoint, the tuneup underscores Microsoft's evolution into a much more nimble firm able of transferring rapidly to respond to customer opinions even though also rolling out additional innovations for any myriad of Home windows equipment ?a smartphones, tablets or PCs.
It really is vital that Microsoft sets points right with Windows 8.1 since the outlook to the Computer sector keeps receiving gloomier. IDC now expects Personal computer shipments to tumble by almost 8 % this yr, even worse than its past forecast of the one % dip. IDC also anticipates tablets will outsell laptop computers with the to start with time this year.
Within an sign that Microsoft Corp. is clearing out stock of a Surface tablet jogging the lightweight Home windows RT functioning procedure, the corporate is effectively reducing the cost of that by such as a keyboard include free of charge. The cover sells for $120 or $130 by itself.
Microsoft also stated this thirty day period that it could give purchasers on the RT variation of Surface area the Outlook e-mail and calendar application at no additional cost ?a signing up for other Place of work freebies Excel, Term and Energy Issue ?a and sweetening the offer for your system that may be priced starting off at $499. That can come as aspect with the Windows eight.1 update.
Numerous from the new capabilities are already shown off already. The Establish convention, which commences Wednesday in San Francisco, will give Microsoft's associates and other technological innovation developers an opportunity to understand more about the brand new system and check out it out. What's more, it will provide the company a chance to explain some of the reasoning powering the update and provide builders on Microsoft's ambitions to regain relevance dropped to Apple's iPad and different equipment operating Google's Android software program.
You will find also speculation that Microsoft could show off a brand new, scaled-down model of its Floor tablet computer systems. Among the list of new functions in Home windows 8.1 is the ability to function very well on smaller-screen gadgets.
Windows 8.1 will be accessible as a preview starting off Wednesday for anyone to down load. It's going to be produced to your normal public afterwards within the yr, nevertheless a certain day hasn't been declared.
Windows eight, which was released in October, was meant to generally be Microsoft's respond to to altering purchaser behaviors and also the rise of pill computer systems. The working method emphasizes contact controls above the mouse as well as keyboard, which had been the most crucial way folks have interacted with their particular personal computers because the nineteen eighties.
Though Microsoft has said it's got offered in excess of 100 million Home windows 8 licenses thus far, some analysts have blamed the lackluster response to the functioning program to get a steep fall in Personal computer profits from the first a few months from the yr, the worst drop because monitoring by outdoors research corporations started in 1994.
Amid the issues: the lack of the Start off button within the decreased still left corner of the monitor. In past versions of Windows, that button gave people speedy entry to programs, configurations and also other jobs. Microsoft changed that with a tablet-style, full-screen begin website page, but that covered up what ever packages individuals had been performing on, and it experienced only favored packages. More techniques have been necessary to access less-used applications. Configurations, a lookup box and also other capabilities were being concealed away in the menu that needed to be pulled out in the right. How you can try this transformed based on no matter if a mouse or touch was made use of.
And while Microsoft has inspired people today to employ the new tablet-style structure, many applications ?a which includes Microsoft's latest Business office computer software offer ?a are created for the older, desktop manner. People have been compelled into the tablet structure once they start out up the machine and had to manually change the desktop mode each individual time.
Home windows eight.1 allows men and women to start out inside the desktop mode instantly. In that mode, it is actually restoring a button that resembles the old Start button. Although the Get started button will now just take individuals back into the new tablet-style get started display screen, alternatively when compared to the previous Start menu, the re-introduction of the familiar button may perhaps ensure it is easier for longtime Windows consumers to obtain accustomed for the alterations.
Other new options of Windows 8.one contain extra selections to use many apps. Men and women will get a lot more alternatives to find out simply how much of the screen each app normally takes while showing approximately 4 distinctive systems, somewhat than just two. The update will also offer a lot more integrated research outcomes, showing users previews of websites, applications and documents which can be about the device, all of sudden.
Despite the fact that Microsoft is addressing a lot with the criticisms with Windows, it's positioning the update as in excess of merely a fix-up position. From its standpoint, the tuneup underscores Microsoft's evolution into a much more nimble firm able of transferring rapidly to respond to customer opinions even though also rolling out additional innovations for any myriad of Home windows equipment ?a smartphones, tablets or PCs.
It really is vital that Microsoft sets points right with Windows 8.1 since the outlook to the Computer sector keeps receiving gloomier. IDC now expects Personal computer shipments to tumble by almost 8 % this yr, even worse than its past forecast of the one % dip. IDC also anticipates tablets will outsell laptop computers with the to start with time this year.
Within an sign that Microsoft Corp. is clearing out stock of a Surface tablet jogging the lightweight Home windows RT functioning procedure, the corporate is effectively reducing the cost of that by such as a keyboard include free of charge. The cover sells for $120 or $130 by itself.
Microsoft also stated this thirty day period that it could give purchasers on the RT variation of Surface area the Outlook e-mail and calendar application at no additional cost ?a signing up for other Place of work freebies Excel, Term and Energy Issue ?a and sweetening the offer for your system that may be priced starting off at $499. That can come as aspect with the Windows eight.1 update.
Friday, 7 June 2013
Make your employees happier: Limit multitasking
Did you ever have one of those days where you were so busy from 9 to 5 that
the day just blew by? But at quitting time, you looked back and realized nothing
really got done?
That's the dilemma that multitasking has long presented to the individual. But now it seems that employers are driving their employees crazy as well—causing them to hate coming to work—thanks to the hefty demands of multitasking, according to Maura Thomas, a productivity guru who runs the website RegainYourTime.com.
In a blog post for Texas Enterprise, Thomas talks about what makes employees happy at work. She says one of the primary factors for job happiness is control, as in having control over how you do your work. Control is eroded in a number of ways, often by micromanaging and domineering bosses who dictate every facet of how a job is to be done.
But an over-reliance on technology can also erode control. Distractions caused by over-multitasking and by bombarding staff with emails cause them to lose focus on their work. This erodes that sense of control that evolves into decreased job satisfaction.
As a byproduct, heavy multitasking also decreases job performance. Tasks take longer to complete and overall quality is lower. This creates an endless cycle where employers are dissatisfied with the workers' output, increasing micromanagement, and further eroding morale.
Email, text messages, and IM chats aren't going away, so Thomas says to be careful about overly encouraging multitasking. First, make it clear that emails don't always (or ever) require an immediate response. Many workers naturally leap into action when they see a pop-up alerting them to an email from the boss, so you might need to be explicit about your expectations in order to counter what has become a reflex.
All this because of too many emails? Perhaps not exactly, but this complex set of problems is being exacerbated by the increasing reliance on digital technologies for even rudimentary communications—even when employees are all physically located in the same office.
As an employer, you can support this notion with your own behavior. If you have a staff member working on a specific project, table your conversations on non-related topics until the end of the day (you can use the "delay delivery" feature in your email client to make this easier—and so you don't forget the question you were going to ask). Keep IM chatter to a minimum, too. If employees find they're distracted by messages outside your control, encourage them to simply shut down their email client during times when they need to concentrate. Lead by example and shut down your own email system from time to time to prove that the world won't completely pass you by if you're disconnected for a couple of hours.
ere are some other tips on staying focused on the job:
Most people do their best work earlier in the day.
Leave "mindless" work such as responding to email and filling out paperwork for the end of the day, when you're starting to slow down.
Make a schedule and stick to it to the extent you can.
Split large tasks into smaller ones to make them more manageable.
Plan your workday around the times when you're most focused. If you're a night owl, take some downtime in the afternoon, so you're ready for a burst of creativity in the wee hours.
Don't skip meals.
That's the dilemma that multitasking has long presented to the individual. But now it seems that employers are driving their employees crazy as well—causing them to hate coming to work—thanks to the hefty demands of multitasking, according to Maura Thomas, a productivity guru who runs the website RegainYourTime.com.
In a blog post for Texas Enterprise, Thomas talks about what makes employees happy at work. She says one of the primary factors for job happiness is control, as in having control over how you do your work. Control is eroded in a number of ways, often by micromanaging and domineering bosses who dictate every facet of how a job is to be done.
But an over-reliance on technology can also erode control. Distractions caused by over-multitasking and by bombarding staff with emails cause them to lose focus on their work. This erodes that sense of control that evolves into decreased job satisfaction.
As a byproduct, heavy multitasking also decreases job performance. Tasks take longer to complete and overall quality is lower. This creates an endless cycle where employers are dissatisfied with the workers' output, increasing micromanagement, and further eroding morale.
Email, text messages, and IM chats aren't going away, so Thomas says to be careful about overly encouraging multitasking. First, make it clear that emails don't always (or ever) require an immediate response. Many workers naturally leap into action when they see a pop-up alerting them to an email from the boss, so you might need to be explicit about your expectations in order to counter what has become a reflex.
All this because of too many emails? Perhaps not exactly, but this complex set of problems is being exacerbated by the increasing reliance on digital technologies for even rudimentary communications—even when employees are all physically located in the same office.
As an employer, you can support this notion with your own behavior. If you have a staff member working on a specific project, table your conversations on non-related topics until the end of the day (you can use the "delay delivery" feature in your email client to make this easier—and so you don't forget the question you were going to ask). Keep IM chatter to a minimum, too. If employees find they're distracted by messages outside your control, encourage them to simply shut down their email client during times when they need to concentrate. Lead by example and shut down your own email system from time to time to prove that the world won't completely pass you by if you're disconnected for a couple of hours.
ere are some other tips on staying focused on the job:
Most people do their best work earlier in the day.
Leave "mindless" work such as responding to email and filling out paperwork for the end of the day, when you're starting to slow down.
Make a schedule and stick to it to the extent you can.
Split large tasks into smaller ones to make them more manageable.
Plan your workday around the times when you're most focused. If you're a night owl, take some downtime in the afternoon, so you're ready for a burst of creativity in the wee hours.
Don't skip meals.
That‘s all there exists to it, and when you utilized Vista
It has been over a yr given that I to start with set up a make of Home
windows eight with a exam equipment. Because then, I've operate it over a big
selection of components, which include slate-format tablets, hybrid
touch/pen/keyboard tablet PCs, standard laptops and multi-monitor desktop PCs ¨C
hardware that mixes the outdated (with Vista and XP-era gadgets) and also the
new (a not too long ago upgraded Main i5 desktop procedure). It's been on Intel
processors, on AMD, on actual physical, on digital: on very a lot each equipment
I could come across while in the business.
Tests and benchmarking is all pretty well, however, you only really reach know an OS by living with it, applying it every working day to perform daily jobs on your each day Computer system. For me, which means the great old-fashioned desktop Pc.
The majority of my time is expended before a multi-monitor desktop equipment, just the configuration that many individuals have worried about in feedback to numerous Windows eight posts. When desktop users may possibly quickly be during the minority, you can find nevertheless a good amount of us all-around. I depend on applications like Business office and Adobe Lightroom plus they rely over the desktop ¨C and that?ˉs unlikely to change right up until the tools adjust. So for my desktop Computer, there?ˉs hardly any modify among 7 and eight inside the way I do the job.
One thing I?ˉve discovered within the months because Home windows eight reached RTM, its evolution hasn?ˉt ended ¨C and it?ˉs still getting better. When i upgraded my desktop from Home windows seven to eight just soon after RTM it was to all extents and purposes only a a little a lot quicker Windows 7 equipment by using a new UI. But together with the the latest 160MB post-RTM update, and with the arrival of some new system motorists plus a couple of latest items of components, it?ˉs turning into some thing alternatively diverse.
The just one massive alter, obviously, will be the Start out Display screen. As variations go, it?ˉs a massive a person, but it?ˉs not the showstopper that some have designed it out for being. I?ˉve ended up dealing with it to be a comprehensive monitor version of your outdated Begin menu, and utilize it in substantially precisely the same way. Much like the get started menu, the start Display screen winds up full of applications I?ˉve put in, and that i once in a while tidy it up. There was a little do the job in getting it the way in which I required to begin with, but again, commencing by using a clean put in of Home windows XP or 7 I?ˉd be performing significantly the same factor ¨C grouping purposes and eliminating references to features or equipment I don?ˉt plan to use.
Launching apps is straightforward sufficient. Tap the Windows vital and start typing, when the phrase wheel filter exhibits your application, just pick and click ¨C or strike return. You’re instantly back within the desktop and in the application you should use. That‘s all there exists to it, and when you utilized Vista or lookup box as your major system of navigation you?ˉll discover the Get started Display screen slightly far more successful while you don?ˉt have to click while in the research box to start out finding applications or data files.
The arrival of a new Microsoft Sculpt Comfort keyboard produced some operations even much easier. While Windows 8?ˉs Charms are only a mouse gesture absent, acquiring them around the keyboard is far easier. 4 independent Attraction keys imply you may get to search, Share, Units and Configurations while not having to shift your fingers absent from the keyboard. If you?ˉre employing a Home windows 8 Store-style application, the keyboard also comes with 4 keys that replicate the primary Windows 8 contact gestures. Just one handles a still left swipe application change, though one more toggles the Snap perspective for your running software. The opposite two launch the beginning Display endeavor switcher and open up the app bar.
http://www.windows7retailbox.com/office-professional-plus-2013-full-retail-pack-p-3600.html
Tests and benchmarking is all pretty well, however, you only really reach know an OS by living with it, applying it every working day to perform daily jobs on your each day Computer system. For me, which means the great old-fashioned desktop Pc.
The majority of my time is expended before a multi-monitor desktop equipment, just the configuration that many individuals have worried about in feedback to numerous Windows eight posts. When desktop users may possibly quickly be during the minority, you can find nevertheless a good amount of us all-around. I depend on applications like Business office and Adobe Lightroom plus they rely over the desktop ¨C and that?ˉs unlikely to change right up until the tools adjust. So for my desktop Computer, there?ˉs hardly any modify among 7 and eight inside the way I do the job.
One thing I?ˉve discovered within the months because Home windows eight reached RTM, its evolution hasn?ˉt ended ¨C and it?ˉs still getting better. When i upgraded my desktop from Home windows seven to eight just soon after RTM it was to all extents and purposes only a a little a lot quicker Windows 7 equipment by using a new UI. But together with the the latest 160MB post-RTM update, and with the arrival of some new system motorists plus a couple of latest items of components, it?ˉs turning into some thing alternatively diverse.
The just one massive alter, obviously, will be the Start out Display screen. As variations go, it?ˉs a massive a person, but it?ˉs not the showstopper that some have designed it out for being. I?ˉve ended up dealing with it to be a comprehensive monitor version of your outdated Begin menu, and utilize it in substantially precisely the same way. Much like the get started menu, the start Display screen winds up full of applications I?ˉve put in, and that i once in a while tidy it up. There was a little do the job in getting it the way in which I required to begin with, but again, commencing by using a clean put in of Home windows XP or 7 I?ˉd be performing significantly the same factor ¨C grouping purposes and eliminating references to features or equipment I don?ˉt plan to use.
Launching apps is straightforward sufficient. Tap the Windows vital and start typing, when the phrase wheel filter exhibits your application, just pick and click ¨C or strike return. You’re instantly back within the desktop and in the application you should use. That‘s all there exists to it, and when you utilized Vista or lookup box as your major system of navigation you?ˉll discover the Get started Display screen slightly far more successful while you don?ˉt have to click while in the research box to start out finding applications or data files.
The arrival of a new Microsoft Sculpt Comfort keyboard produced some operations even much easier. While Windows 8?ˉs Charms are only a mouse gesture absent, acquiring them around the keyboard is far easier. 4 independent Attraction keys imply you may get to search, Share, Units and Configurations while not having to shift your fingers absent from the keyboard. If you?ˉre employing a Home windows 8 Store-style application, the keyboard also comes with 4 keys that replicate the primary Windows 8 contact gestures. Just one handles a still left swipe application change, though one more toggles the Snap perspective for your running software. The opposite two launch the beginning Display endeavor switcher and open up the app bar.
http://www.windows7retailbox.com/office-professional-plus-2013-full-retail-pack-p-3600.html
Monday, 27 May 2013
Samsung Galaxy Young officially launched for Rs. 8,010
After the launch of Galaxy Star last week, Samsung has launched yet another
budget Android smartphone - Samsung Galaxy Young. The phone that was announced
in February, has been available on online retailers for a while now. However, it
is now officially available on the Samsung e-store for Rs. 8,010.
The dual-SIM smartphone is powered by a 1GHz processor and has 728 MB RAM. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and sports a 3-megapixel camera. With a 3.27-inch display, it is slightly bigger than the Galaxy Star and has a resolution of 320x480 pixels. It comes with 4GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 64GB and has a 1,300mAh battery.
The device comes with the Samsung TouchWiz UI. It supports the Samsung Motion UI and comes pre loaded with Samsung applications such as ChatOn, S Cloud and Game Hub Lite.
At this price point the phone will be competing with the likes of LG Optimus L3 II (Review | Pictures), the Lava Iris 455 and Xolo X500 (Review).
Samsung had recently launched Galaxy Star, the cheapest Samsung smartphone available in the market for Rs 5,260. The device is a dual-SIM smartphone, powered by a 1GHz processor and the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system. It has a 3.0-inch capacitive touch screen, 2-megapixel camera, 512 MB RAM and 4GB internal storage.
The dual-SIM smartphone is powered by a 1GHz processor and has 728 MB RAM. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and sports a 3-megapixel camera. With a 3.27-inch display, it is slightly bigger than the Galaxy Star and has a resolution of 320x480 pixels. It comes with 4GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 64GB and has a 1,300mAh battery.
The device comes with the Samsung TouchWiz UI. It supports the Samsung Motion UI and comes pre loaded with Samsung applications such as ChatOn, S Cloud and Game Hub Lite.
At this price point the phone will be competing with the likes of LG Optimus L3 II (Review | Pictures), the Lava Iris 455 and Xolo X500 (Review).
Samsung had recently launched Galaxy Star, the cheapest Samsung smartphone available in the market for Rs 5,260. The device is a dual-SIM smartphone, powered by a 1GHz processor and the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system. It has a 3.0-inch capacitive touch screen, 2-megapixel camera, 512 MB RAM and 4GB internal storage.
The Sculpt Convenience Mouse is because
On May possibly 23, Microsoft introduced the Sculpt Comfort and ease Mouse
and Sculpt Mobile Mouse, equally of which incorporate buttons to assist people
to uncover their way rapidly for the Start off screen.
The Sculpt Convenience mouse contains a touch-sensitive blue strip operating along the facet, which Microsoft calls the "Windows contact tab." The Sculpt Cellular Mouse functions the same Home windows button.
The Sculpt Consolation product provides assist for many extra gestures which Microsoft officials imagine might enable end users better navigate Windows eight.
As explained in a new write-up within the Microsoft Windows Knowledge website: "If you swipe up about the blue strip, it cycles by your open Windows Retail store applications in Home windows 8. And if you swipe down, it will eventually reveal each of the open apps (about the remaining facet of one's display screen) for you to pick the a person you want."
The Sculpt Convenience Mouse is because of out in June for $39.ninety five (believed retail selling price). The Sculpt Product model will almost certainly be out there this month for $29.95 (ERP).
The Sculpt Convenience mouse and the Sculpt Cell mouse both function with Window 7, Home windows 8 and Mac OS 10.4 and higher. Neither seems to function with Windows RT, based on the spec information furnished by Microsoft.
Even though to the matter of enhancing Windows 8, Microsoft before this week created out there for down load a extremely awesome Windows 8 education brochure. It is a multi-page, vibrant PDF that features plenty of navigational ideas and tricks. I want this were in my box with my Surface area RT
The Sculpt Convenience mouse contains a touch-sensitive blue strip operating along the facet, which Microsoft calls the "Windows contact tab." The Sculpt Cellular Mouse functions the same Home windows button.
The Sculpt Consolation product provides assist for many extra gestures which Microsoft officials imagine might enable end users better navigate Windows eight.
As explained in a new write-up within the Microsoft Windows Knowledge website: "If you swipe up about the blue strip, it cycles by your open Windows Retail store applications in Home windows 8. And if you swipe down, it will eventually reveal each of the open apps (about the remaining facet of one's display screen) for you to pick the a person you want."
The Sculpt Convenience Mouse is because of out in June for $39.ninety five (believed retail selling price). The Sculpt Product model will almost certainly be out there this month for $29.95 (ERP).
The Sculpt Convenience mouse and the Sculpt Cell mouse both function with Window 7, Home windows 8 and Mac OS 10.4 and higher. Neither seems to function with Windows RT, based on the spec information furnished by Microsoft.
Even though to the matter of enhancing Windows 8, Microsoft before this week created out there for down load a extremely awesome Windows 8 education brochure. It is a multi-page, vibrant PDF that features plenty of navigational ideas and tricks. I want this were in my box with my Surface area RT
Friday, 10 May 2013
One more workaround would be to transform
Windows Notepad has long been close to considering that Home windows 1st
appeared in 1985, as well as NT version has not modified a lot for any ten
years. What has transformed is it truly is no longer the specified viewer once
you explain to World-wide-web Explorer to indicate the source code of the web
page. With IE8, that job was handed above to your much more refined viewer
designed into IE's Developer Equipment, to really make it competitive with
Netscape and Google Chrome.
You can change the default. Begin IE8 and press F12 to open up the Developer Instruments, open the File menu, simply click Customize Net Explorer Watch Supply, and select Notepad rather than Default Viewer. If you operate Notepad, you may find a way to load, edit and help you save .html files. (Of course, when you just double-click them, they'll load from the default browser.)
One more workaround would be to transform the file extension that tells Home windows which method to use to open a file. Push F2, change the identify on the nearby copy of one's file from, for example, NewsPage.html to NewsPage.txt, double click the file and it will open up in Notepad in editable type. When you have concluded editing it, conserve the file and change the identify back to NewsPage.html ahead of uploading it in your server.
Normally, I do not assume Microsoft was as well concerned about individuals nevertheless employing Notepad to edit HTML data files. They are an insignificant share of present-day one.4 billion or so Windows consumers, and there are many free of charge alternatives.
For example, Microsoft gives a powerful no cost web page design and style program Visual Studio Categorical 2012 for Web, and also a no cost edition of Microsoft Expression Internet 4, which was a pricey professional system until it had been discontinued. There are numerous free of charge third-party choices which include KompoZer. That is considerably like the long-dead Microsoft FrontPage. An additional cost-free or low-cost substitute is Serif's WebPlus.
www.windows7mart.com
You can change the default. Begin IE8 and press F12 to open up the Developer Instruments, open the File menu, simply click Customize Net Explorer Watch Supply, and select Notepad rather than Default Viewer. If you operate Notepad, you may find a way to load, edit and help you save .html files. (Of course, when you just double-click them, they'll load from the default browser.)
One more workaround would be to transform the file extension that tells Home windows which method to use to open a file. Push F2, change the identify on the nearby copy of one's file from, for example, NewsPage.html to NewsPage.txt, double click the file and it will open up in Notepad in editable type. When you have concluded editing it, conserve the file and change the identify back to NewsPage.html ahead of uploading it in your server.
Normally, I do not assume Microsoft was as well concerned about individuals nevertheless employing Notepad to edit HTML data files. They are an insignificant share of present-day one.4 billion or so Windows consumers, and there are many free of charge alternatives.
For example, Microsoft gives a powerful no cost web page design and style program Visual Studio Categorical 2012 for Web, and also a no cost edition of Microsoft Expression Internet 4, which was a pricey professional system until it had been discontinued. There are numerous free of charge third-party choices which include KompoZer. That is considerably like the long-dead Microsoft FrontPage. An additional cost-free or low-cost substitute is Serif's WebPlus.
www.windows7mart.com
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Must Read: BlackBerry chief says tablets will be dead in five years Topic: Enterprise Software Follow via: RSS Email Alert 2Comments 0 Votes 5 inShare more + Novell challenging Box, Dropbox with Filr enterprise file sharing service
Now infrastructure software provider Novell is getting into the enterprise
file sharing business.
Meet Filr, described by company reps that it will challenge Dropbox (and by extension likely Box, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, and more).
Novell posits that its entry into this seemingly crowded market is that it is bringing its experience in managing the "pain points" of the enterprise -- specifically those around security and networking.
Filr is designed to be deployed as an on-premise solution, with files stored on a company's internal network. At the same time, Novell touts global search capabilities across the enterprise -- at least based on users’ access rights defined by IT managers.
Some of the key features to Novell Filr include auto-populating existing data, supporting existing enterprise platforms (i.e. Microsoft Active Directory) and other IT policies, and keeping records of collaboration and version control in real-time.
Novell Filr is available now, and pricing varies by customer being that it is licensed per user.
It is also sold as an annual subscription in 50-user license packs or as an entitlement. Novell Filr is licensed per user and A 50-user perpetual license is also available.
Filr is also available as an entitlement. Customers with Maintenance on Novell Open Enterprise Server or Novell Open Workgroup Suite will receive a Filr subscription entitlement as a benefit of their Maintenance plan.
Meet Filr, described by company reps that it will challenge Dropbox (and by extension likely Box, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, and more).
Novell posits that its entry into this seemingly crowded market is that it is bringing its experience in managing the "pain points" of the enterprise -- specifically those around security and networking.
Filr is designed to be deployed as an on-premise solution, with files stored on a company's internal network. At the same time, Novell touts global search capabilities across the enterprise -- at least based on users’ access rights defined by IT managers.
Some of the key features to Novell Filr include auto-populating existing data, supporting existing enterprise platforms (i.e. Microsoft Active Directory) and other IT policies, and keeping records of collaboration and version control in real-time.
Novell Filr is available now, and pricing varies by customer being that it is licensed per user.
It is also sold as an annual subscription in 50-user license packs or as an entitlement. Novell Filr is licensed per user and A 50-user perpetual license is also available.
Filr is also available as an entitlement. Customers with Maintenance on Novell Open Enterprise Server or Novell Open Workgroup Suite will receive a Filr subscription entitlement as a benefit of their Maintenance plan.
Microsoft is releasing a preview of Skype Video clip Messaging
Microsoft has unveiled an app while in the Google Perform shop meant to get
folks to stop making use of mentioned store as well as the Android telephones
that link to it. Basically referred to as "Switch to Home windows Phone," it
scans your Android cell phone for your whole mounted applications then saves the
effects with all your Microsoft ID. Then, employing a companion application on
Home windows Phone alone, you may signal in and see all of the equivalent
applications in Microsoft's own store, tapping via to put in them every
one-by-one. It won't exhibit current Android end users what all those matched
apps are, nevertheless it may very well be handy to latest switchers.
It truly is a clever notion, having people above the concerns that apps will not be offered on Home windows Phone, however the execution just isn't pretty there yet. Scanning was relatively fast and pain-free on Android ?a the applications suggests it matched 87 % of my put in Android apps. Nevertheless, the moment I logged into your companion application on Windows Telephone (and experienced it crash a few situations), I discovered that many of the "matched" apps weren't pretty exact. Alternatively of Mint, one example is, Switch to Home windows Mobile phone introduced me using a website link to Pageonce. When Pageonce performs mostly the same functions as Mint, for a lot of consumers "close to the very same app" will not be shut enough. It will happen to be nicer if some of those people non-exact matches would present many options, but the Quixey-powered application did not do this. End users preferring a far more conventional strategy can try Mark/Space's desktop switcher app.
Inspite of Microsoft's greatest attempts, it still does not have each individual large name application that buyers on other platforms will take for granted ?a a lot to Nokia's chagrin ?a although the problem continues to be having constantly much better for your platform. Even though it won't reduce many of the hassles related to utilizing the third-place smartphone OS, Microsoft's application ought to assist get new Home windows Cell phone consumers commenced right after they change.
Microsoft introduced its new Skype Video Messages function for iOS, Android, and Mac again in February, nevertheless the firm didn't make it accessible initially for its own Home windows platform. Currently, Microsoft is releasing a preview of Skype Video clip Messaging for Home windows desktop people. The traditional desktop app that operates on Windows seven and Home windows eight will consist of the new aspect, permitting end users to trade brief video messages (as many as a few minutes very long) with other Skype members.
The aspect is still not offered on Microsoft's Windows 8 Skype app, although the company is promising to generate this available "shortly." Skype suggests it really is continue to tests the characteristic, and at the instant you receive 20 no cost messages right before you may have to subscribe to Skype Premium for $4.99 a month to continue applying Online video Messages.
It truly is a clever notion, having people above the concerns that apps will not be offered on Home windows Phone, however the execution just isn't pretty there yet. Scanning was relatively fast and pain-free on Android ?a the applications suggests it matched 87 % of my put in Android apps. Nevertheless, the moment I logged into your companion application on Windows Telephone (and experienced it crash a few situations), I discovered that many of the "matched" apps weren't pretty exact. Alternatively of Mint, one example is, Switch to Home windows Mobile phone introduced me using a website link to Pageonce. When Pageonce performs mostly the same functions as Mint, for a lot of consumers "close to the very same app" will not be shut enough. It will happen to be nicer if some of those people non-exact matches would present many options, but the Quixey-powered application did not do this. End users preferring a far more conventional strategy can try Mark/Space's desktop switcher app.
Inspite of Microsoft's greatest attempts, it still does not have each individual large name application that buyers on other platforms will take for granted ?a a lot to Nokia's chagrin ?a although the problem continues to be having constantly much better for your platform. Even though it won't reduce many of the hassles related to utilizing the third-place smartphone OS, Microsoft's application ought to assist get new Home windows Cell phone consumers commenced right after they change.
Microsoft introduced its new Skype Video Messages function for iOS, Android, and Mac again in February, nevertheless the firm didn't make it accessible initially for its own Home windows platform. Currently, Microsoft is releasing a preview of Skype Video clip Messaging for Home windows desktop people. The traditional desktop app that operates on Windows seven and Home windows eight will consist of the new aspect, permitting end users to trade brief video messages (as many as a few minutes very long) with other Skype members.
The aspect is still not offered on Microsoft's Windows 8 Skype app, although the company is promising to generate this available "shortly." Skype suggests it really is continue to tests the characteristic, and at the instant you receive 20 no cost messages right before you may have to subscribe to Skype Premium for $4.99 a month to continue applying Online video Messages.
Sunday, 21 April 2013
'60 Minutes' and '48 Hours' Twitter Accounts Suspended After Being Hacked
Several CBS Twitter accounts have been hijacked and were used to send bogus
messages. On Saturday, a tweet posted on "60 Minutes" account read, "Exclusive:
Terror is striking the #USA and #Obama is Shamelessly in Bed with Al-Qaeda," and
was retweeted on "48 Hours" feed.
Other tweets posted by the hacker(s) were about Syrian propaganda. "the US government is sponsoring a coup in Venezuela and a terrorist war in Syria," and "Obama wants to destroy the Syrian and American people. We must stop this beast" were some of other fake messages posted on "60 Minutes" account.
CBS has confirmed that their accounts were compromised. "We have experienced problems on Twitter accounts of #60Minutes & @48Hours; We apologize for the inconvenience; Twitter is resolving issues," it tweeted from CBS News account.
By Saturday afternoon, CBS regained the control on both "60 Minutes" and "48 Hours" Twitter accounts, and the fake messages were removed. Hours later, however, the accounts were compromised again and are currently suspended.
While CBS is still working with Twitter to investigate the issue, some believe that the Syrian Electronic Army is responsible for taking over CBS feeds. Previously, the same group hacked the Twitter accounts for BBC, NPR, and Reuters.
Other tweets posted by the hacker(s) were about Syrian propaganda. "the US government is sponsoring a coup in Venezuela and a terrorist war in Syria," and "Obama wants to destroy the Syrian and American people. We must stop this beast" were some of other fake messages posted on "60 Minutes" account.
CBS has confirmed that their accounts were compromised. "We have experienced problems on Twitter accounts of #60Minutes & @48Hours; We apologize for the inconvenience; Twitter is resolving issues," it tweeted from CBS News account.
By Saturday afternoon, CBS regained the control on both "60 Minutes" and "48 Hours" Twitter accounts, and the fake messages were removed. Hours later, however, the accounts were compromised again and are currently suspended.
While CBS is still working with Twitter to investigate the issue, some believe that the Syrian Electronic Army is responsible for taking over CBS feeds. Previously, the same group hacked the Twitter accounts for BBC, NPR, and Reuters.
TouchMail’s creators bought questioned by a doubtful
Viewpoint on Windows 8 can be around the map, but here’s one thing many of
us should really have the ability to agree on: the more apps that acquire total
advantage of the Home windows 8 interface, the better shape the operating method
will likely be in. What it requirements, and has not had, is really a profusion
of killer apps.
At yesterday’s DEMO Cellular convention in San Francisco, I noticed one of the first third-party Home windows eight courses that acquired me energized: TouchMail. As its identify implies, it’s an e-mail shopper suitable for contact enter.
Much more vital, although, it is an e-mail shopper that appears like it absolutely was born to work properly on Windows 8. For instance, rather of a conventional inbox, you will get tiles which demonstrate incoming messages and provide a longer-than typical snippet of text. (They are often color-coded, so that you can spot messages from your manager or your spouse.) It is possible to zoom out to see additional and more messages; should you go far adequate, the tiles turn into icons representing the messages’ senders, and you simply can speedily slide back again to some particular working day, 7 days or month.
TouchMail seems like it may be a super-efficient method to blast as a result of huge quantities of mail; its creators say it’s suitable for people who get no less than 100 messages on a daily basis. It’s slightly premature to evaluate it, while: the variation that's live to tell the tale the Windows Store is usually a teaser somewhat thank a performing e-mail application. The truth is, you simply cannot use it to have your very own mail however, only to look at some sample messages.
At DEMO, TouchMail’s creators bought questioned by a doubtful choose about why they chose to start on Home windows relatively than other platforms. (I understood his reasoning, but I had been still startled - even five years ago, I cannot imagine any individual believing that Windows wasn’t the definitely the most obvious working procedure to start a brand new merchandise on.) It turns out which they do intend to carry their development to other devices, commencing using the one particular I take advantage of most, the iPad.
I’m satisfied to listen to that - but I’ll also be tickled if TouchMail seems fantastic sufficient that it can help sell a still-skeptical world on the value of Home windows eight.
At yesterday’s DEMO Cellular convention in San Francisco, I noticed one of the first third-party Home windows eight courses that acquired me energized: TouchMail. As its identify implies, it’s an e-mail shopper suitable for contact enter.
Much more vital, although, it is an e-mail shopper that appears like it absolutely was born to work properly on Windows 8. For instance, rather of a conventional inbox, you will get tiles which demonstrate incoming messages and provide a longer-than typical snippet of text. (They are often color-coded, so that you can spot messages from your manager or your spouse.) It is possible to zoom out to see additional and more messages; should you go far adequate, the tiles turn into icons representing the messages’ senders, and you simply can speedily slide back again to some particular working day, 7 days or month.
TouchMail seems like it may be a super-efficient method to blast as a result of huge quantities of mail; its creators say it’s suitable for people who get no less than 100 messages on a daily basis. It’s slightly premature to evaluate it, while: the variation that's live to tell the tale the Windows Store is usually a teaser somewhat thank a performing e-mail application. The truth is, you simply cannot use it to have your very own mail however, only to look at some sample messages.
At DEMO, TouchMail’s creators bought questioned by a doubtful choose about why they chose to start on Home windows relatively than other platforms. (I understood his reasoning, but I had been still startled - even five years ago, I cannot imagine any individual believing that Windows wasn’t the definitely the most obvious working procedure to start a brand new merchandise on.) It turns out which they do intend to carry their development to other devices, commencing using the one particular I take advantage of most, the iPad.
I’m satisfied to listen to that - but I’ll also be tickled if TouchMail seems fantastic sufficient that it can help sell a still-skeptical world on the value of Home windows eight.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Twitter reportedly in talks for video content from Viacom, NBC
Twitter is in talks with TV networks Viacom and NBC to bring more video
content to the microblogging site, according to a Bloomberg report.
The deals under discussion would allow Twitter to stream videos to its users in exchange for splitting the resulting revenue with the TV networks, sources told the news outlet. The deals could be finalized as early as next month, with arrangements with other TV networks to follow, sources said.
CNET has contacted Twitter for comment and will update this report when we learn more.
So far, Twitter's video experience has been limited. It launched Vine, a 6-second looping video application for iOS, on January 24. Although the unconventional video format has proved popular with everyone from citizen journalists to job-seekers, it hasn't emulated the traction captured by photo-sharing app Instagram.
Twitter has been taking steps to move beyond its 140-character message roots. The social network previously partnered with NBCUniversal during last year's Olympic Games in an effort Twitter CEO Dick Costolo described trying to "more closely tie the shared experience on Twitter to the actual event that is happening," essentially increasing its presence associated with the event.
Twitter took a big step toward increasing its entertainment presence with the launch last weekend of a new music site. The site debuted after the social network confirmed that it had purchased music discovery service We Are Hunted. CNET first reported the acquisition of the service, which tracks what music is trending on blogs, message boards, and other social media.
The deals under discussion would allow Twitter to stream videos to its users in exchange for splitting the resulting revenue with the TV networks, sources told the news outlet. The deals could be finalized as early as next month, with arrangements with other TV networks to follow, sources said.
CNET has contacted Twitter for comment and will update this report when we learn more.
So far, Twitter's video experience has been limited. It launched Vine, a 6-second looping video application for iOS, on January 24. Although the unconventional video format has proved popular with everyone from citizen journalists to job-seekers, it hasn't emulated the traction captured by photo-sharing app Instagram.
Twitter has been taking steps to move beyond its 140-character message roots. The social network previously partnered with NBCUniversal during last year's Olympic Games in an effort Twitter CEO Dick Costolo described trying to "more closely tie the shared experience on Twitter to the actual event that is happening," essentially increasing its presence associated with the event.
Twitter took a big step toward increasing its entertainment presence with the launch last weekend of a new music site. The site debuted after the social network confirmed that it had purchased music discovery service We Are Hunted. CNET first reported the acquisition of the service, which tracks what music is trending on blogs, message boards, and other social media.
Bing Weather conditions App, but this new version
Microsoft these days introduced updates for five from its 6 Bing
Applications for Home windows eight. With this update, the Information, Finance,
Sporting activities, Travel and Maps apps - all of which might be installed by
default on Windows 8 devices - now all activity numerous new functions and
improvements that, as Microsoft places it, “make it less complicated to
customise and personalize them to greatest match your requires.” The
organization also announced an update to your Bing Weather conditions App, but
this new version is just not out there nevertheless.
None of the updates will rock your environment, but all of them are welcome additions, specifically simply because they often felt to some degree constrained within their early iterations.
Those people of you who are even now coming to grips with the impending demise of Google Reader, for instance, will appreciate the reality that the Bing News application now supports RSS feeds and offline reading. Also, the application now also options additional customization possibilities so that you can “keep tabs on precise tale categories, subjects, or news sources that matter to you personally.”
The Maps app now includes visitors incident notifications and enhanced driving, transit and strolling instructions. Buyers may also now bookmark places they stop by frequently to their begin display.
The Finance app now consists of an updates look at checklist and real-time U.S. inventory updates, and the Sporting activities application provides 29 new leagues. The Journey application now contains information from Lonely Earth and Frodor’s, as well as Frommer’s, which the first homeowners just bought again from Google.
The Temperature app also been given several fascinating new applications, like the ability for getting climatic conditions at ski resorts in 24 nations around the world across the planet (just in time with the finish of your ski period), likewise as greater moving temperature maps.
None of the updates will rock your environment, but all of them are welcome additions, specifically simply because they often felt to some degree constrained within their early iterations.
Those people of you who are even now coming to grips with the impending demise of Google Reader, for instance, will appreciate the reality that the Bing News application now supports RSS feeds and offline reading. Also, the application now also options additional customization possibilities so that you can “keep tabs on precise tale categories, subjects, or news sources that matter to you personally.”
The Maps app now includes visitors incident notifications and enhanced driving, transit and strolling instructions. Buyers may also now bookmark places they stop by frequently to their begin display.
The Finance app now consists of an updates look at checklist and real-time U.S. inventory updates, and the Sporting activities application provides 29 new leagues. The Journey application now contains information from Lonely Earth and Frodor’s, as well as Frommer’s, which the first homeowners just bought again from Google.
The Temperature app also been given several fascinating new applications, like the ability for getting climatic conditions at ski resorts in 24 nations around the world across the planet (just in time with the finish of your ski period), likewise as greater moving temperature maps.
Friday, 12 April 2013
Intel factories signal Windows 8, PC doldrums
Intel isn't churning out chips at the usual rate, reflecting the PC
market's downturn and the slow uptake of Windows 8, according to an analyst.
Intel's factory utilization is down around 60 percent, well below normal, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst for Phoenix based Tirias Research, in a phone interview. The news was first reported at ITWorld.
"A lot of this started in September when holiday shipments of PCs didn't go the way they expected," McGregor said. "That [60 percent utilization rate] is increasing as they burn off inventory. But they're still going to have a challenge."
The problem for Intel, the world's largest chip manufacturer, is that idle plants and idle production lines cost the company lots of money. Intel's newest factory in Arizona is not being utilized, according to McGregor.
"PC shipments are going to be lower this year and though they just signed up their first major foundry (contract manufacturing) customer, Altera, that doesn't start until at least next year. So they're going to have to struggle this year with excess capacity, " said McGregor.
"[Intel's] thinking was, at the end of 2012 we got the first true ultrabooks coming out, that's going to generate a lot of demand. And we've got Windows 8 coming out and that's also going to generate lots of demand. And we've got design wins in mobile."
"Well, guess what, three strikes," McGregor said, referring to the fact that none of those scenarios turned out as forecast.
Historically, McGregor believes Intel's factory utilization is at one of it's lowest points. "I haven't seen it this low probably since the beginning of 2000," he said.
Intel is gearing up to make its next-generation Haswell processor for laptops and tablets and its Bay Trail and Merrifield chips for tablets and smartphones, respectively.
Intel's factory utilization is down around 60 percent, well below normal, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst for Phoenix based Tirias Research, in a phone interview. The news was first reported at ITWorld.
"A lot of this started in September when holiday shipments of PCs didn't go the way they expected," McGregor said. "That [60 percent utilization rate] is increasing as they burn off inventory. But they're still going to have a challenge."
The problem for Intel, the world's largest chip manufacturer, is that idle plants and idle production lines cost the company lots of money. Intel's newest factory in Arizona is not being utilized, according to McGregor.
"PC shipments are going to be lower this year and though they just signed up their first major foundry (contract manufacturing) customer, Altera, that doesn't start until at least next year. So they're going to have to struggle this year with excess capacity, " said McGregor.
"[Intel's] thinking was, at the end of 2012 we got the first true ultrabooks coming out, that's going to generate a lot of demand. And we've got Windows 8 coming out and that's also going to generate lots of demand. And we've got design wins in mobile."
"Well, guess what, three strikes," McGregor said, referring to the fact that none of those scenarios turned out as forecast.
Historically, McGregor believes Intel's factory utilization is at one of it's lowest points. "I haven't seen it this low probably since the beginning of 2000," he said.
Intel is gearing up to make its next-generation Haswell processor for laptops and tablets and its Bay Trail and Merrifield chips for tablets and smartphones, respectively.
The IDC report uncovered that worldwide Personal
Pc sales are plummeting due to the fact consumers are baffled and not happy
with Windows eight, and there's no conclusion in sight. So concludes an IDC
report, which states the sinking revenue will be the worst it truly is ever
found.
The IDC report uncovered that worldwide windows 7 professional key Personal computer shipments ended up seventy six.three million models in 2013's initially quarter, down thirteen.9% from the 12 months prior, and even worse compared to the 7.7% decline that IDC experienced forecast. The drop is definitely the worst that IDC has at any time witnessed because it began tracking the Computer system sector each individual quarter in 1995. It is really also the fourth straight quarter that Laptop revenue have declined year-on-year.
That is only the begin from the poor news for Microsoft. IDC concludes that that decline has actually been fueled with the very poor design and style and failure of Home windows 8, not just through the raising attractiveness of tablets. Bob O'Donnell, IDC Software Vice president, Purchasers and Shows experienced these harsh phrases for Home windows eight and Microsoft:
"At this place, regretably, it seems very clear which the Home windows eight start not merely failed to offer a constructive increase on the Pc marketplace, but appears to possess slowed the market. While some customers recognize the brand new variety elements and touch capabilities of Windows eight, the unconventional adjustments on the UI, removing with the familiar Commence button, and also the prices connected with touch have designed PCs a a lot less eye-catching alternative to focused tablets and also other competitive devices. Microsoft will have to make some very rough choices moving ahead if it really wants to assist reinvigorate the Personal computer sector."
"While individuals like the normal glimpse and feel on the tiles, they?ˉre also extremely confused and annoyed because of the lack of commence menu and invest loads of their time in (classic) desktop method. And so the base line is I believe they have got established a scenario wherever it?ˉs very hard for men and women and people who have a Computer system that works just high-quality are indicating it?ˉs complicated, it fees much more cash and that i don?ˉt definitely will need it."
O'Donnell and others at IDC think that until Microsoft can make severe variations to Windows 8 to make it far more acquainted and consumer-friendly, items will only get worse. Jay Chou, senior analysis analyst on IDC?ˉs quarterly Computer monitoring provider, reported:
"Although IDC had not expected Windows eight for being an important driver that will help stem the tide of Computer quantity decline, it now appears that and not using a system correction from Microsoft, the Pc marketplace is headed towards a fair worse contraction for 2013 than formerly believed."
O'Donnell is true. Microsoft built an enormous gamble in building Home windows eight as an working technique created additional for tablets and contact than for conventional PCs, as well as in supplying it dueling and baffling interfaces. Microsoft hoped that familiarizing people today while using the contact interface would spur men and women to purchase Home windows eight and Windows Rt tablets, but that hasn't took place. Now it seems that Windows eight helps to appreciably depress profits of standard PCs as well.
The IDC report uncovered that worldwide windows 7 professional key Personal computer shipments ended up seventy six.three million models in 2013's initially quarter, down thirteen.9% from the 12 months prior, and even worse compared to the 7.7% decline that IDC experienced forecast. The drop is definitely the worst that IDC has at any time witnessed because it began tracking the Computer system sector each individual quarter in 1995. It is really also the fourth straight quarter that Laptop revenue have declined year-on-year.
That is only the begin from the poor news for Microsoft. IDC concludes that that decline has actually been fueled with the very poor design and style and failure of Home windows 8, not just through the raising attractiveness of tablets. Bob O'Donnell, IDC Software Vice president, Purchasers and Shows experienced these harsh phrases for Home windows eight and Microsoft:
"At this place, regretably, it seems very clear which the Home windows eight start not merely failed to offer a constructive increase on the Pc marketplace, but appears to possess slowed the market. While some customers recognize the brand new variety elements and touch capabilities of Windows eight, the unconventional adjustments on the UI, removing with the familiar Commence button, and also the prices connected with touch have designed PCs a a lot less eye-catching alternative to focused tablets and also other competitive devices. Microsoft will have to make some very rough choices moving ahead if it really wants to assist reinvigorate the Personal computer sector."
"While individuals like the normal glimpse and feel on the tiles, they?ˉre also extremely confused and annoyed because of the lack of commence menu and invest loads of their time in (classic) desktop method. And so the base line is I believe they have got established a scenario wherever it?ˉs very hard for men and women and people who have a Computer system that works just high-quality are indicating it?ˉs complicated, it fees much more cash and that i don?ˉt definitely will need it."
O'Donnell and others at IDC think that until Microsoft can make severe variations to Windows 8 to make it far more acquainted and consumer-friendly, items will only get worse. Jay Chou, senior analysis analyst on IDC?ˉs quarterly Computer monitoring provider, reported:
"Although IDC had not expected Windows eight for being an important driver that will help stem the tide of Computer quantity decline, it now appears that and not using a system correction from Microsoft, the Pc marketplace is headed towards a fair worse contraction for 2013 than formerly believed."
O'Donnell is true. Microsoft built an enormous gamble in building Home windows eight as an working technique created additional for tablets and contact than for conventional PCs, as well as in supplying it dueling and baffling interfaces. Microsoft hoped that familiarizing people today while using the contact interface would spur men and women to purchase Home windows eight and Windows Rt tablets, but that hasn't took place. Now it seems that Windows eight helps to appreciably depress profits of standard PCs as well.
Monday, 8 April 2013
he organization it says will not have an understanding
Field observers have painted a critically unfavorable photo for the Windows
eight OS this 7 days. It all started out with Dell casting out a predominantly
detrimental outlook in its SEC submitting previous week. Noting which the market
for PCs has long been cannibalized by tablets and smartphones, among the other
factors, the Pc maker also designed a press release concerning the uncertainties
that goes while using the adoption of your Windows 8 OS. The corporate even more
observed there are adverse developments in tandem which has a normally weakening
demand for PCs globally as well as unfavorable margin fees for PCs.
In its analysis from the present-day current market scenario, CNET mentioned that it's not a great deal that Windows 8 is unappealing as much as it's that the OS finds itself under tension from other market place elements at operate. As Dell have pointed out, for example, you can find a normal slowdown of Computer system growth from the world-wide sector arena, which delivers us into a agonizing truth the demand for the OS, for that reason, can even go together with this kind of a slowdown.
There are also speculations concerning what can be the explanation guiding Microsoft is new moves to provide buyers a drastic value slash for many things with the Microsoft Retail store. The company is move to cut its selling prices can both become a approach to transfer objects that happen to be primarily trapped, or it could be a sign revealing a make a difference of much more major character. It should be pointed out with this regard that according to IDC is observation, product sales for Home windows eight Computer system has come to a stall. And this makes it very easy to have an understanding of why Microsoft and its Computer associates were pressured to chop down price ranges on laptops and hybrids.
To the other hand, an evaluation by SemiAccurate boldly proclaimed that Microsoft is endeavours to provide rate cuts on its things won't be of any enable to avert a demise spiral. The organization, it says, will not have an understanding of tablets inside the to start with spot, with all the consequent outcome that it simply cannot therefore generate a mobile product or service which can continue to be aggressive. It further notes that Microsoft has anti user-views with regards to computing, and phone calls Windows eight as a further debacle. Moreover, it details out that Microsoft Surface is unreasonably priced as compared with competition while in the market place, and that both Windows RT and Floor RT have got a nil potential for surviving within the market place that it statements the corporation does not have a transparent understanding of.
Despite all of this negative publicity, Microsoft is apparently not bugged down. It really is stated to generally be on its technique to developing with Home windows eight.one, which the industry has however to view whether or not it'll fare superior or worse than its seemingly ill-fated Home windows eight predecessor.
In its analysis from the present-day current market scenario, CNET mentioned that it's not a great deal that Windows 8 is unappealing as much as it's that the OS finds itself under tension from other market place elements at operate. As Dell have pointed out, for example, you can find a normal slowdown of Computer system growth from the world-wide sector arena, which delivers us into a agonizing truth the demand for the OS, for that reason, can even go together with this kind of a slowdown.
There are also speculations concerning what can be the explanation guiding Microsoft is new moves to provide buyers a drastic value slash for many things with the Microsoft Retail store. The company is move to cut its selling prices can both become a approach to transfer objects that happen to be primarily trapped, or it could be a sign revealing a make a difference of much more major character. It should be pointed out with this regard that according to IDC is observation, product sales for Home windows eight Computer system has come to a stall. And this makes it very easy to have an understanding of why Microsoft and its Computer associates were pressured to chop down price ranges on laptops and hybrids.
To the other hand, an evaluation by SemiAccurate boldly proclaimed that Microsoft is endeavours to provide rate cuts on its things won't be of any enable to avert a demise spiral. The organization, it says, will not have an understanding of tablets inside the to start with spot, with all the consequent outcome that it simply cannot therefore generate a mobile product or service which can continue to be aggressive. It further notes that Microsoft has anti user-views with regards to computing, and phone calls Windows eight as a further debacle. Moreover, it details out that Microsoft Surface is unreasonably priced as compared with competition while in the market place, and that both Windows RT and Floor RT have got a nil potential for surviving within the market place that it statements the corporation does not have a transparent understanding of.
Despite all of this negative publicity, Microsoft is apparently not bugged down. It really is stated to generally be on its technique to developing with Home windows eight.one, which the industry has however to view whether or not it'll fare superior or worse than its seemingly ill-fated Home windows eight predecessor.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)