Windows Archive

Betting on Whether Elop Will Be Microsoft’s Next CEO

jackson 2013-09-16 Windows 46 Comments

PC Magazine reports that bookies at the Ladbrokes betting service give 1:4 odds that Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will be the next Microsoft CEO. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg comes in second place with 7:1 odds against, while Steven Sinofsky, previously head of the Windows division, comes in third at 12:1 odds against.

Without intending any disrespect, I can't imagine a worse choice for the next CEO than Mr. Elop. His blind fealty to Windows at Nokia cost the stock an 85% drop on his watch. Microsoft needs new directions and new ideas, not another Windows loyalist.

Windows 8.1 RTM on TechNet, MSDN

Thom Holwerda 2013-09-09 Windows 36 Comments

Starting today, we will extend availability of our current Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1 Pro and Windows Server 2012 R2 RTM builds to the developer and IT professional communities via MSDN and TechNet subscriptions. The Windows 8.1 RTM Enterprise edition will be available through MSDN and TechNet for businesses later this month.

Developers had been asking for this.

Nokia Sirius: a 10.1-inch Windows RT tablet

Thom Holwerda 2013-08-26 Windows 74 Comments

Nokia is preparing to back Windows RT by launching a 10.1-inch tablet soon. Sources familiar with Nokia's plans have revealed to The Verge that the tablet, codenamed Sirius, will be launched shortly. While prototype pictures of the device leaked earlier this month, we understand that the final design more closely resembles Nokia's Lumia Windows Phone products.

Nice specifications, but Windows RT. Nobody wants Windows RT, and for good reason. I say this from experience: Windows RT is horrible. It offers nothing over iOS (let alone Android), Metro applications are side projects riddled with bugs, performance issues, and bad design, and the platform barely plays third fiddle compared to iOS and Android, so developers have little interest in it. On top of that, virtually everyone has abandoned Windows RT.

But, I'm pretty sure some people will tell us this tablet will turn Nokia around.

Lenovo PCs to ship with Start menu replacement

Thom Holwerda 2013-08-22 Windows 22 Comments

Pokki, a Start menu replacement for Windows 8, will be installed on all Lenovo PCs.

We’re excited to announce that the #1 PC maker in the world, Lenovo, will be shipping Pokki on new Windows 8 devices worldwide! In other words, you’ll soon be able to buy a brand new Lenovo laptop or desktop with our full Pokki software suite integrated and ready to use out-of-the-box!

Windows 8 has loads of problems, but the lack of the Start menu is not one of them. The fact that Metro - and more importantly - its applications still suck, however, is.

Microsoft Loses $900 Million on Surface Tablets and Doubles Down

jackson 2013-08-19 Windows 40 Comments

Microsoft recently wrote off a $900 million loss on its ARM-based Surface tablets. But according to Computerworld, the company intends to double down on its bet in hardware devices. CEO Steve Ballmer says that "Going forward, our strategy will focus on creating a family of devices and services... We will design, create and deliver through us and through third parties a complete family of Windows-powered devices." Look to Microsoft to produce more new hardware as it fights for market share in the handheld space. Ultimately Microsoft intends to develop a common code base across all devices -- from servers to desktops to handhelds -- that supports "write once, run anywhere."

Analyst Frank Gillett of Forrester Research says that Microsoft is fully committed to shifting away from its traditional emphasis on packaged software and into handheld devices and services (such as subscription software). He sees this as a fundamental reorientation, and says that "No matter what, it's a messy process."

Windows 8.1 to be released 17 October

Thom Holwerda 2013-08-15 Windows 78 Comments

I know a lot of folks are eager to find out when they will be able to get Windows 8.1. I am excited to share that starting at 12:00am on October 18th in New Zealand (that's 4:00am October 17th in Redmond), Windows 8.1 will begin rolling out worldwide as a free update for consumers on Windows 8 through the Windows Store. Windows 8.1 will also be available at retail and on new devices starting on October 18th by market. So mark your calendars!

Windows Phone update in testing, includes rotation lock

Thom Holwerda 2013-08-09 Windows 36 Comments

While Microsoft's latest Windows Phone 8 update is slowly rolling out to existing handsets, the company is prepping new changes that will be made available by the end of the year. Sources familiar with Microsoft's Windows Phone plans have revealed to The Verge that the software maker is currently testing a General Distribution 3 (GDR3) update. The update is designed for new hardware initially, and will provide a rotation lock feature, UI changes to Live Tiles, and a driving mode option that's designed for in-car use.

Apple and Google are surely shaking in their boots.

IDC: Windows Phone shows little market share growth

Thom Holwerda 2013-08-07 Windows 42 Comments

IDC released its smartphone shipment numbers for the second quarter of 2013, and other than the usual stuff (Android at 80%, iOS down to 13.3% due to lack of a new model), the Windows Phone figures are interesting.

Windows Phone posted the largest year-over-year increase among the top five smartphone platforms, and in the process reinforced its position as the number 3 smartphone operating system. Driving this result was Nokia, which released two new smartphones and grew its presence at multiple mobile operators. But beyond Nokia, Windows Phone remained a secondary option for other vendors, many of which have concentrated on Android. By comparison, Nokia accounted for 81.6% of all Windows Phone smartphone shipments during 2Q13.

Over the past 12 months, Windows Phone went from 3.1% market share to 3.7%. This means that while shipments of Windows Phone devices are growing, they're barely growing any faster than the industry as a whole. Still, it's crazy to see there's less than a 10 percentages points difference between Windows Phone and iOS.

Another potential problem is that Microsoft is effectively entirely dependent on Nokia. If Nokia falters, Windows Phone falters. Other vendors have essentially lost all interest in the platform, and as such, Microsoft has a a very strong impetus in keeping Nokia going. Still, I'm pretty sure that the Surface phone is ready to go at a moment's notice.

They're going to need it.

Google extends Windows Phone syncing until December 31st

Thom Holwerda 2013-08-01 Windows No Comments

The Verge:

Google has granted new Windows Phone users another extension to access its Sync service until December 31st.

Good on both Microsoft and Google. I hope the resolution of this situation starts a new trend where companies do their best not to let their petty squabbles hurt ordinary consumers.

Submitted by MOS6510 2013-07-27 Windows 22 Comments

Windows NT turned 20 years old today. From a 1998 story about NT, written by Mark Russinovich, "I'll take you on a short tour of NT's lineage, which leads back to Digital and its VMS OS. Most of NT's lead developers, including VMS's chief architect, came from Digital, and their background heavily influenced NT's development. After I talk about NT's roots, I'll discuss the more-than-coincidental similarities between NT and VMS, and how Digital reacted to NT's release."

Windows Phone 8 minor ‘GDR2’ update rolling out

Thom Holwerda 2013-07-19 Windows 34 Comments

"Named General Distribution Release 2 (GDR2), the latest update enables Data Sense, a way to track how data is being used, alongside FM radio, and the ability to set other applications as the default camera. GDR2 also includes support for Gmail's CalrdDAV and CalDAV implementation, allowing Windows Phone users to continue syncing calendar and contacts after Google announced its intention to pull its Exchange ActiveSync service earlier this year." There's something wrong with your operating system's update/improvement rate when such a minute, insignificant release is news.

Windows 8.1 introduces per-monitor DPI scaling

Thom Holwerda 2013-07-15 Windows 13 Comments

"If you are running a screen resolution of 1366x768 on a tablet, chances are that UI will look good at 100% DPI settings. But what about when you connect that tablet to an external high resolution display? In Windows 8 you can choose either 100% to optimize the UI on the tablet display or up to 150% to optimize the UI on the external display. You have to compromise. Windows 8.1 takes care of this issue by supporting per-display DPI scaling." That's pretty cool. Do other systems support this?

Microsoft details new WP8 update, but real fixes won’t come until 2014

Thom Holwerda 2013-07-12 Windows 79 Comments

The general gist? A minor update somewhere this year, but the real update won't come until 2014. In the meantime, we'll have to... "Resuming..." ...settle for CardDAV/CalDAV support, some additional HTML5 support, and fixes for Xbox Music metadata. We were promised regular updates and an early access program for enthusiasts - but Microsoft failed to deliver, once more. For all intents and purposes, thanks... "Resuming..." ...to the switch to the Windows NT kernel, the Windows Phone we're using today has very little additional functionality to offer over what we were using on WP7 release day. I've been a Windows Phone user since WP7 release day, but Microsoft has lost me.

Windows 8.1 on the Surface RT: first impressions

Thom Holwerda 2013-07-10 Windows 45 Comments

I have a Surface RT tablet. I bought it because I'm a Windows Phone user, and despite its major flaws, I still hate WP much less than I hate its competitors. As such, it made sense to me that I would like the Surface RT as well - I mean, my favourite UI on a tablet? Count me in! It should come as no surprise by now that Windows RT was a major disappointment, so now that the Windows 8.1 preview is here, did Microsoft address any of the major problems?

Windows timer resolution: megawatts wasted

Thom Holwerda 2013-07-10 Windows 15 Comments

"The default timer resolution on Windows is 15.6 ms - a timer interrupt 64 times a second. When programs increase the timer frequency they increase power consumption and harm battery life. They also waste more compute power than I would ever have expected â€“ they make your computer run slower! Because of these problems Microsoft has been telling developers to not increase the timer frequency for years. So how come almost every time I notice that my timer frequency has been raised it's been done by a Microsoft program?" Fascinating article.

Windows 8.1 to RTM in late August

Thom Holwerda 2013-07-08 Windows 35 Comments

"Windows 8.1 RTM will be available for OEM partners in late August. This means OEMs will be able to get the RTM bits and begin preparing devices with Windows 8.1 just in time for the holidays! We’ll have more details to share in the coming months for consumers and other customers on how to get Windows 8.1." So far, Windows 8.1 has been a massive improvement over Windows 8 on my Surface RT - except for the total system crashes (including shrieking sounds) Skype causes a few times per week.

Submitted by twitterfire 2013-07-05 Windows 62 Comments

"Today, Microsoft said its advertisers will be able to target users not just on Web search results pages but directly inside Windows Smart Search. David Pann, general manager of Microsoft’s Search Advertising Group, said in an interview that advertisers don’t have to do additional setup to participate. The Smart Search ads will feature a preview of the websites the ad will send people to, as well as click-to-call info and site links, which are additional links under the main result that direct users deeper into a website to the most likely page they might want." So, you pay for a product, and then Microsoft shoves ads in your face. Scumbags. Then again, they've done the same on the Xbox, which is now virtually unusable due to all the ads plastered all over your dashboard. And then people say Google is bad with ads.

Windows 8.1 preview released, but it’s region-locked

Thom Holwerda 2013-06-26 Windows 84 Comments

Microsoft has released the Windows 8.1 preview for download, but they region-locked it to 13 specific languages, and Dutch is not one of them. So, even though my Surface RT has been completely and utterly English from the day I bought it, I can't install Windows 8.1 and tell you something about it. Those of you who can download it, why don't you tell us what it's like - or you can head to The Verge who got early access. In case you couldn't tell, I'm a little annoyed that we're arbitrarily being left out once again.

MS’ small tablets with free Office are a recipe for confusion

Thom Holwerda 2013-06-06 Windows 15 Comments

"The problem with Microsoft's latest approach is that the company is gambling on consumers seeing past the Office confusion, and betting that PC makers will start creating high-quality devices. Unlike the netbook era, there's a huge choice of tablets these days. If time has taught us anything, it's that confused consumers will go elsewhere."

One year after debut, Windows RT is a Computex no-show

Thom Holwerda 2013-06-05 Windows 10 Comments

"Three days into Computex Taipei, Asia's biggest computer show, not a single manufacturer has announced a Windows RT device. Windows RT, the version of Windows 8 designed for more power-efficient ARM processors, made its official debut at last year's show on a convertible tablet by Asus." Not surprising. Windows 8's Metro is pretty terrible in and of itself, and on Windows RT specifically, it's even worse. My Surface RT is very promising, but Windows RT 8.1 better fix the loads of performance issues cripling the operating system.