Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 18th Feb 2013 21:18 UTC
"Although Bill Gates stepped away from his day-to-day role at Microsoft nearly five years ago, he still keeps a close eye on the company he co-founded - and he isn't always happy with what he sees. During a recent interview broadcast this morning on CBS This Morning, the Microsoft chairman was asked by Charlie Rose whether he was happy with Steve Ballmer's performance as chief executive. Noting that there have been 'many amazing things' accomplished under Ballmer's leadership in the past couple of years, Gates said he was not satisfied with the company's innovations." It's impossible to deny by this point that Microsoft hasn't done well in mobile. It would be more surprising if Gates had denied it.
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RE[7]: Comment by Nelson
by Laurence on Wed 20th Feb 2013 00:34
in reply to "RE[6]: Comment by Nelson"
Member since:2007-03-26
But under today's constraints? Consumers expect fast+fluid OSes with great battery life in thin, light, and cool (as in temperature) form factors.
The tablet idea as Microsoft saw it in the early 2000s was a failed idea. Apple really brought and defined this new market segment, and it is the game Microsoft is playing now.
The tablet idea as Microsoft saw it in the early 2000s was a failed idea. Apple really brought and defined this new market segment, and it is the game Microsoft is playing now.
No it's not. Microsoft are doing the same thing they were doing a decade ago: they're still trying to release a desktop OS for the tablet. Except this time they've bolted on a jarring shell that is so inconsistent and counter-intuitive that even IT professionals are struggling to use it.
I think that running full Windows on a device designed to compete with the iPad wasn't really seen as logical by many prior to Windows 8. Including myself. I was one of the people who argued for scaling Windows Phone up to tablet sizes.
That would have made sense.
However after using Windows 8, after seeing its battery life, and its new APIs, I see that the point is to unify the codebases.
You don't need to unify code bases. I repeat, no other OS vendor does this. Google aren't releasing Android on laptops; they have ChromeOS for that. OS X and iOS are hugely different as well.
Windows devices run Windows at heart. Real Windows, not WinCE with a limited kernel.
You mean that "limited" kernel that's been powering far more varied hardware and range of embedded systems than NT ever had?
Though let's be honest, the kernel is pretty much besides the point. Android and Ubuntu Desktop run the same kernel (more or less), but very different user lands. I very much doubt that NT itself needs 16GB of user land.
Or let's put it another way, what's NT's footprint on the Xbox360? It's only a few hundred megs on the original but I've never owned a 360. If MS can pull it off for a games console then they have no excuses for the fail on the tablets.
RE[8]: Comment by Nelson
by Nelson on Wed 20th Feb 2013 00:56
in reply to "RE[7]: Comment by Nelson"
Member since:2005-11-29
Well NT is an easier way of saying the kernel, the driver model, the userland components that make up the OS.
Its not just the kernel itself that gets ported, there's a lot of infrastructure that even makes something line WinRT possible.
WinCE had limitations with regards to multiprocessing and things, it was for very very embedded devices with severe resource constraints. Phones of today are more aligned with traditional PCs. Gigs of ram instead of megs, super fast GPUs and processors.
WinCE was clearly a limiting factor in Windows Phone, and would've been one for Windows on Tablets without significant re-engineering. Resources better spent on scaling NT down and reducing duplication.
Its clear your argument against "Desktop OS on a Tablet" will fade away once Windows Store apps make Win32 apps irrelevant, or mostly irrelevant.
Windows RT can't run Win32 apps and it is still full Windows. Full Windows userland, full Windows kernel, but very iPad like both in performance and experience.
Member since:2005-07-06
Or let's put it another way, what's NT's footprint on the Xbox360? It's only a few hundred megs on the original but I've never owned a 360. If MS can pull it off for a games console then they have no excuses for the fail on the tablets.
Xboxes don't use the Windows kernel
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/xboxteam/archive/2006/02/17/534421.aspx
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.More Features »
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Member since:
2005-11-29
But under today's constraints? Consumers expect fast+fluid OSes with great battery life in thin, light, and cool (as in temperature) form factors.
The tablet idea as Microsoft saw it in the early 2000s was a failed idea. Apple really brought and defined this new market segment, and it is the game Microsoft is playing now.
I think that running full Windows on a device designed to compete with the iPad wasn't really seen as logical by many prior to Windows 8. Including myself. I was one of the people who argued for scaling Windows Phone up to tablet sizes.
However after using Windows 8, after seeing its battery life, and its new APIs, I see that the point is to unify the codebases.
Windows devices run Windows at heart. Real Windows, not WinCE with a limited kernel.