Just the other day, hearts were broken all over the world when Microsoft said that current Windows Mobile 6.5 devices won’t be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 7. The good news is that might not entirely be true as Microsoft said on Twitter that it’s entirely up to hardware manufacturers. Way to confuse us! Another area where WinMo 6.5 gets no love? Adobe Flash 10.1. → Read More
Passlogix, an enterprise software company focused on simplifying access to company resources, is announcing an authentication product which will allow users to log on to Windows with any type of identification device–including national ID badges, access cards, one-time password tokens, and biometrics. The product, v-GO Universal Authentication Manager, utilizes the customers’ existing infrastructure while also leveraging corporate directories; thus lowering the total cost of ownership from an average of $150 per user to $15. → Read More
Microsoft is doing a complete 180 and reinventing the way it handles its mobile presence. When the iPhone was first announced, Steve Ballmer quipped that Windows Mobile was on hundreds of devices all over the world while the iPhone was one operating system on one handset on one carrier. It looks like he and the gang are thinking differently these days. → Read More
In case you didn’t know, snappy processors are all the rage these days. When I think of fast processors, the first one that comes to mind is Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor which is currently found on devices like the Nexus One, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and the LG eXpo. After Microsoft made its Windows Phone 7 announcement this morning, Qualcomm has come out and said that it will be the first chipset manufacturer to support the new handsets. → Read More
If there is one rumor that tends to come and go and agonizes Windows Mobile fans, it’s the one about a Zune phone. Although it’s not officially confirmed, Gizmodo has it on good word that Microsoft will be introducing a Zune phone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year. More specifically, it will be a Windows Mobile 7 phone with Zune features and capabilities, so it’s not a Zune phone, per se. → Read More
Now that we’ve all actually seen Chrome OS, the immediate reaction that most are jumping to is that it won’t be killing Windows anytime soon. Obviously. But that doesn’t mean it won’t hurt Microsoft, and apply long-term pressure to the dominant OS. In fact, Google’s positioning for Chrome OS reads like a page out of Apple’s playbook, only from the opposite direction.
Google is aiming Chrome OS right at the bottom of the market. That is to say, cheap computers, netbooks. Apple, of course, takes the opposite approach, targeting the high end of the market with their high-quality and high-margin machines. If Google is successful with its Chrome OS netbooks (let’s call them ChromeBooks), what we could see is the squeezing of Microsoft, an idea I first laid out a month ago. With attacks from the top and bottom, Windows will be relegated to the middle. And ultimately, if Google has its way, marginalized. → Read More
Okay, so I intentionally used a salacious headline to get your attention. It’s Thursday. The NSA didn’t really help make Windows 7. Rather, using their “unique expertise and operational knowledge of system threats and vulnerabilities” the National Security Agency helped shape “Microsoft’s operating system security guide”, according to Richard Sharffer, Information Assurance Director at the NSA. The NSA works with other companies, like Red Hat, Apple, and Sun, too. The NSA started the Security Enhanced Linux initiative in 2003, so it should come as no surprise that they’ve been working to help secure Windows, too. → Read More
There have, historically, been two competing models of operating systems development. There’s the UNIX mentality, of small pieces loosely joined. That is, you have a whole bunch of little, stand-alone applications that all work together to accomplish more complex tasks running atop a svelte kernel that doesn’t know — or need to know — about the pieces its running. Then you have the “everything and the kitchen sink” mentality, used by Microsoft. All versions of Microsoft Windows have huge dependency chains, and what is rightly called “Windows” is a dizzying amalgamation of interdependent pieces of software, none of which can do much on their own. If you’ve ever wondered why your Windows-powered web server included Windows Media Player, or Solitaire, that’s the reason: the “stuff” that makes up Windows is highly interdependent. Read on for some interesting changes underway. → Read More
Apple seems to have bought some keywords on Google including, most interestingly, “download windows 7.” That’s right: every hax0r out to download Win7 will see a little ad from Apple saying “Upgrading to Windows 7? There’s never been a better time to switch to a Mac. Find out why.” → Read More
Gather round, everyone. Gather round. I’m going to show you a trick that 98% of you will never use. But for the 2% of you that actually use the information contained herein, I hope you’ll consider removing at least part of the CrunchGear staff from your “People to Punch” list. → Read More
Look at these early Windows start-up sounds. They look primitive now but imagine being a young man in the late 1980s and your parents have just brought you home a new Packard Bell x86 machine. Back in those days sound cards were premium items and to hear an operating system sing to you when you start it up was a really big deal. The vast majority of computer users during that time would have never heard most of these sounds. → Read More
Not only does the term “Windows Phone” just sound wrong, now they’re trying to equate all your Windows apps with puffy little men who love you but don’t want you to leave. → Read More
Coinciding with the introduction of the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, Microsoft has upgraded and launched its free phone backup service My Phone – previously in beta – and added a couple of useful premium features to it.
Despite the fact that the official My Phone blog and Twitter account remain silent for the time being, users have definitely taken notice and started tweeting about it.
If you have a Windows Mobile 6 phone, you can use Microsoft My Phone to backup all your data, including your contacts, calendar, photos and more to a password-protected website. When you switch to a new Windows phone, or you lose (data on) your current one, you can head to the website to restore documents, contacts, music, and anything else you synced in just a few clicks. But there’s more to it than that. → Read More
What happens when your Windows 7 party gets a little crazy? People start talking about things like “boot sectors,” “man-on-man DIMM insertion,” and “[beep].”
Microsoft is close to opening retail stores in several major cities across the planet, but in Paris they’re doing something special in anticipation of the real shops and the imminent launch of the Windows 7 operating system. Microsoft France has surprised inhabitants and visitors of the French capital with the public preparation of a genuine coffee shop / cafe situated in the heart of the city (47 Boulevard Sebastopol).
The Windows Cafe, which will only be open to the public for a couple of weeks starting October 22nd, will boast a number of Microsoft products that visitors can play around with (Xbox, mobile devices and more) but they will not be able to purchase anything there besides snacks and drinks. → Read More
Microsoft, will you stop at nothing to protect your hegemony? Your “Linux Facts” campaign from a couple years ago was poorly executed, and trumped up a bunch of selective information to make Windows look better than Linux. You killed that, and replaced it with a Windows Server “compare” site, but it’s still a bunch of selective data points that don’t tell the whole story. Now, you’re even trying to get the sales drones at Best Buy to steer folks away from Linux! → Read More
There are two types of people in the world: Those that hate change, and those that embrace it. I tend to fall into the latter category. And that’s why OS X Snow Leopard is an odd product for me.
On one hand, I like the idea that Apple has decided to stick with something that is working so well (OS X Leopard), and make it lighter, faster and all-around better. On the other, it’s fairly hard to tell that you’re actually using something that is any different from the previous version. Yes, there are many little, subtle changes all over, but aside from maybe Quicktime X, there is nothing that immediately strikes you as being different. I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t a little disappointing to me. → Read More
Have you ever cured your Windows computer of the dreaded blue screen of death? Then Microsoft may want to hire you! Well, at least to work in their new Microsoft Stores.
Yes, the software giant is now hiring for its first two stores in Scottsdale, AZ and Mission Viejo, CA. Here’s a rough outline of what they’re looking for:
We’re looking for new store employees who love technology and teaching and helping others. In particular, we’re looking for people with technical backgrounds who can help customers choose the best Microsoft products and services for their needs and troubleshoot any technical issue they may have.
Well look at this, it’s a combination Multi-touch touchpad and a plain ol’ numeric keypad. (Years from now, when we’re all using laptops, or, I guess, touchscreen interfaces, kids will ask, “What’s a keypad?”) It’s from Brando, if you had any doubts at all as to who makes it. → Read More
Apple has just pushed out the newest update to its OS X Leopard (10.5) operating system, with 10.5.8. This could potentially be the last Leopard update we see before Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) is released to the public sometime in the next couple of months.
Amazon already has Snow Leopard available for pre-order, with a ship date expected sometime in September, though it warns that date is not set in stone: “Official release date has not been announced by Apple, though they have indicated this product will be released sometime in September.”
The new OS seems to be getting more buzz for its price (29.99) than its features. The emphasis with Snow Leopard is optimizing Leopard, to make OS X run smoother and faster. Remarkably, it will also have a smaller footprint than its predecessor, saving over 6 GB of hard disk space (though that does likely have a lot to do with the fact that it will only run on Intel processors). → Read More
