Can you hear that? It’s the sound of war. Better choose your side soon, too. The tablet wars are going to get nasty. Apple’s army is prepped, already backed by over 3 million zealous iPad owners. But the Google Android horde is quickly banding together and will soon offer countless weapons from several major CE houses and dozens of smaller camps. Google is also quietly forming the stealthy Chrome OS platoon that will likely enter the battle a bit late, but shouldn’t be forgotten, ether. Then there’s the suit & tie brigade with their trusty BlackBerry holstered on their hips, ready to be tethered to the coming BlackPad. Don’t forget about the wildcard: The HP-produced, webOS-powered PalmPad no doubt has a couple of tricks, enough to put up a decent fight. Then there’s the battle-tested Windows that might still be able to fire a few direct shots. The tablet wars are coming and not everyone is going to survive. There simply isn’t enough market share to support the five or more upcoming tablet platforms. → Read More
The iPod revolutionized the portable media player market. The iPhone shook up the smart phone market. The iPad is setting the standard for the revived tablet market. What is it about Apple that makes these products so great? In part it’s Apple’s dedication to user experience; but I’d argue that the larger factor in their success is Apple’s end-to-end control of the product. They make the hardware and the operating systems, and build the two to work in near-perfect synchronicity. A lot of CrunchGear commenters say they’re really waiting for a Windows 7 tablet to compete with the iPad, but I say they’ll be waiting for a long, long time: Windows 7 on the multitude of tablet hardware options will be just like Windows 7 on desktop PCs: an appeal to the lowest common denominator, thereby hobbling both hardware and OS advances. (And I actually like Windows 7, so belay the Apple fanboy comments for a moment.) But what about an Ubuntu tablet? The svelt, modular Linux kernel has breathed new life into many aging PCs, and Canonical has been working on a netbook-specific interface for Ubuntu for some time. They have multitouch support, now, too, so couldn’t they pretty quickly roll out a wonderful Ubuntu-powered tablet? → Read More
Windows 7 is a great tablet platform, but it’s just not as sexy as Android, or the iPad. Luckily people have been making custom interfaces for Windows products for years, and Windows 7 is no exception. In fact, German developer Mirabyte has been working on a rather promising looking interface. Check out the video after the jump: → Read More
And now it looks like Microsoft is getting into the mobile video game “space.” Redmond has posted on its careers Web site that it is looking for people to staff its new MGS Mobile Gaming studio. (MGS stands for Microsoft Games.) You have a better chance of attracting their attention if you have C# and Xbox Live programming experience. → Read More
Usage of Windows 7 had finally passed that of Windows Vista, according to data from Net Applications. As it stands, 14.46 percent of Internet users are using Windows 7, compared to 14.34 percent for Windows Vista. The king remains Windows XP, which stands at a remarkable 61.9 percent—remarkable because XP is nearly 9 years old. → Read More
Many pixels have been spilled over Steve Ballmer’s admission that “[Apple has] sold certainly more [iPads] than I’d like them to have sold.” As Ars points out, Ballmer just doesn’t get why a dumbed down machine running a poky processor is so popular. However, any media lover can tell you it’s not about running Excel and Powerpoint on a tablet – it’s about doing a few simple things without much fuss. Here’s what Microsoft can do to build a great tablet platform that people will actually buy. Use the Zune interface – As the four people who own Zunes will attest, the UI is great. It’s so great, in fact, that MS is planning on using parts of it in Windows Phone 7. But we’re not talking about Windows Phones, are we? We’re talking about a usable, cool tablet. So take the best of the Zune and blow it up to tablet size. Ignore Windows 7 – Seriously: unless you’re an insurance adjuster or an EMT, you don’t need a full-bore version of Windows on your tablet. What you need is a media player and a few basic functions, not a full programming platform for folks to write garbage data entry apps. After all, isn’t that what the Internet is for? → Read More
HP revealed most of its tablet strategy yesterday at the Fortune’s Brainstorm conference. The Windows 7 HP Slate is headed to the enterprise sector this fall while the webOS-power Palmpad will go head-to-head against the iPad later. The plan itself really isn’t that surprising as I saw this coming shortly after Palmpad was trademarked. But what I didn’t expect was the outcry from consumers who actually want a Windows 7 Slate. It’s clear HP should take a long look a limited consumer market release for the Win7 Slate.
I’ve said it over and over and over. Windows 7 is horrible via a touch interface. It’s simply not meant to be used with your fingers. However, the HP Slate is said to come with a stylus and if said stylus is an active digitizer like Wacom tablets, it could be awesome and what’s been missing from Windows tablets for so long. I still believe webOS has a better chance to catch on as Windows tablets have been around longer than Apple has been making the iPod and have yet to sell well, but why not have both options available and let the market decide? At least our readers want it. → Read More
It’s hard to imagine that Windows 7 could get even better but Microsoft is steadily working towards the first service pack. The beta of course comes first and is now available for public consumption. The 1.2GB pack fixes a bunch of bugs along with adding a few new features geared towards enterprise users. → Read More
Ah yeah, XP. You continue to be the man, nine years later. I’m still rocking XP myself, and see no reason to do otherwise, though I have heard fine things about Windows 7. And despite that OS’s popularity, a huge number of business PCs still use XP. Sure, why not? Who wants to retrain their employees and roll out thousands of new PCs? Better to run the old ones into the ground — an expected behavior. But even Microsoft didn’t plan on XP’s durability. → Read More
The Windows operating system upgrade cycle is in full swing. Microsoft has sold 150 million copies of Windows 7 since it launched last October. That comes to 7 copies every second.
Windows 7 is by far the “fastest selling operating system in history,” according to Microsoft. But, in case you are wondering, those Windows 7 launch parties had little to do with it (although they were fun). Most of the demand is being driven by enterprises, many of which sat out Windows Vista because of the financial crisis and, well, it sucked (no, it wasn’t the pirates’ fault). Microsoft estimates that 75 percent of enterprises are currently evaluating Windows 7. Any guesses on how fast we get to 300 million copies sold? → Read More
Microsoft has made Windows Embedded Compact 7 available for download. You probably have no use for it, unless, I don’t know, you’ve created a homemade tablet in your garage in your spare time. → Read More
Hewlett-Packard has killed off its much ballyhooed Windows 7 tablet computer, says a source who’s been briefed on the matter.
The device was first unveiled by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at CES 2010 in January and was supposed to hit the market in mid 2010. But our source tells us that HP is not satisfied with Windows 7 as a tablet operating system and has terminated the project (something CrunchGear mentioned months ago).
HP may also be abandoning Intel-based hardware for its slate lineup simply because it’s too power hungry. That would also rule out Windows 7 as an operating system. → Read More
Get on the Bus indeed, Microsoft. Folks from The Big M will be driving around on a bus throughout the U.S. and Canada next month, spreading the good word about Windows 7 and Office 2010. The tour begins on May 21 in Montreal and wraps up in Atlanta (“Hotlanta,” as the cool kids call it) on June 4. The tour swings by New York on May 25. Maybe I’ll bring a camera to record the goings-on? → Read More
Anyone feeling particularly frisky this morning? ‘Cause it doesn’t take too much work to find what is supposed to be Windows 7 SP1 beta as it’s appeared on numerous torrent sites. We hear it’s the real deal, too. → Read More
Don’t look now, but Windows 7 is taking over. And while Vista is still in the number 2 spot overall, Windows 7 has reached that critical 10% milestone almost a year earlier then Vista. Having used both version of the OS, it’s pretty obvious why. → Read More
If you bought a netbook recently, it probably came the decidedly hampered Windows 7 starter. You might have eyed the other version of Windows, but maybe you didn’t want to shell out the $79 for the Home 7 Premium. Good news for you, Microsoft is running a special promotion that will allow you to upgrade for the low low price of $49.99. → Read More
Toshiba’s new UX600 Cinema Series line of LED TVs is the first of its kind to receive a compatible with the Windows 7 operating system certification. What this means is that the UX600s have the ability to use Window 7’s “Play To” feature to play music, pictures, and videos by connecting to your home network through Ethernet or wireless connectivity. → Read More
The good news? Microsoft has announced Windows 7‘s first service pack, which fixes minor bugs. The bad news? The company didn’t mention the beta or release date. How nice. → Read More
Yup, 90 million Windows 7 licenses sold. I think that means we can call it a success. → Read More
