Microsoft ::
Will Google become a hardware company in 2010?
Posted on :: Dec 17
First, Google was preparing to launch its own Google-branded smartphone. Now, there’s a Google laptop on the way?
That’s the plan, according to TechCrunch.
Should Designers & Developers be held liable for Internet Explorer Design Bugs?
Posted on :: Nov 23
This is a question I'm posing to the wild Development Community becasue it seems more and more prevelant that Designers and Developers alike are being held accountable for Bugs and lack-of-interoperability especially when designing an developing Websites that are Standards-Compliant and are 'Web 2.0' compatible.
Internet Explorer, and its inefficient JS engine, is off in its own little world and forces web developers, designers, and programmers to make special exceptions when it comes to CSS and JS. Although its improved a little with the advent of its latest 8 version IE is slowly falling behind and yet people continue to use it because it comes with Windows...Google Chrome OS will give Microsoft a run for their money
Posted on :: Nov 20
The new operating system is designed for netbooks — those mini computers that you can buy for as low as $150. In a demonstration today, Google showed how fast the new operating system is — booting in somewhere between 5 and 6 seconds — and explained their vision to the world.
Google isn’t looking to replace all computers or operating systems — they are looking to make something that will work very well for most people. They are targeting those who want fast, hassle free, zero worry, web capable computing.
In a 3 minute YouTube video, Google explains how their operating system is different from traditional computers — and they do it very well. The concept explained in the video is easy enough for anyone to understand and “buy”, and that’s part of the reason why I think Microsoft should be worried.
Netbooks are typically “companion” devices — they are typically purchased to supplement existing computers. Google Chrome OS is all these computers should need.
It’s going to be a really long time before Microsoft can ever create a version of Windows that cold boots in 5 seconds, gives users 100% security, is free, and has the entire open source community behind them.
Internet Explorer Cache issue
Posted on :: Nov 20
There is some sever trouble in IE caching system (IE 7 & 8) on Windows XP and Vista.
There is a small fix to solve it, just put .htaccess into folder with player and put next text to .htaccess:<IfModule mod_headers.c>
Header append Cache-Control "no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate"
</IfModule>
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
ExpiresActive On
ExpiresDefault "now"
</IfModule>IE 8 Need to knows...
Posted on :: Nov 9
Reports on IE8 Bugs, CSS 2 and CSS3 Display issues, IE7 Compatibility Mode and how to render your pages like IE7
The Windows 7 upgrade survival guide
Posted on :: Oct 12
Want to make the Windows 7 upgrade experience as short and painless as possible? Follow these seven suggestions to make the process easier. (For details on what to expect, see How long should a Windows 7 upgrade really take?)
Microsoft Already Planning Windows 8?
Posted on :: Sep 28
With the news that Microsoft are bringing out a touch-screen tablet which could rival that of Apple’s alleged tablet device, it made me consider what is next for future operating systems.
Some would argue that Windows 7 was designed in and around touch capabilities, as the operating system finally included multi-touch technology which Microsoft had perfected since the “Longhorn” days.
With the Ribbon being integrated into most common programs and the operating system being designed for finger-input, you can tell Microsoft has made a significant push on the touch-screen user.
Bearing this in mind, could the next wave of operating systems - “Windows 8? specifically, expected to be released in 2011 which by then anything could go, be based on a touch-only interface?
Windows 7 XP Mode
Posted on :: Aug 5
On August 4, Microsoft is making available to any and all interested testers the Release Candidate (RC) test build of Windows 7’s XP Mode add-on.
XP Mode is aimed primarily at small/mid-size business users (SMBs), and is designed to allow them to run legacy Windows XP applications on Windows 7 using virtualization technologies.
The release candidate of XP Mode will work on the Windows 7 Release Candidate and the final Windows 7 RTM bits. The XP Mode RC is avaiable for download from Microsoft’s Web site and consists of two components: A 5 MB Virtual PC file and a 450 MB copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3.
The final version of XP Mode will be available to Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate users on or around October 22, the day that Microsoft plans to make Windows 7 generally available. XP Mode, unlike some of Microsoft’s other virtualization offerings, does not require users to have a Software Assurance (SA) annuity license in order to get the bits.
The Scarlet V: What's a Vista business user to do?
Posted on :: Jul 24
Windows 7 has been released to manufacturing and is obviously the operating system that Microsoft and its partners will be pushing for the next two-plus years. If you’re one of those business users who is in the midst of deploying Vista, what should you do?
Up until fairly recently, Microsoft was telling users to continue going forward with their Vista deployments if they’d already begun them, and to just skip Vista and go straight to Windows 7 if they were just starting them.
But in May, around the time Microsoft delivered the near-final Release Candidate (RC) test build of Windows 7, Windows execs stopped saying much at all about Vista. In fact, it was like pulling teeth to get them to talk about Vista Service Pack (SP) 2, in terms of discussing features, fixes and/or availability. At the company’s recent Worldwide Partner Conference, the message was clear: As of May, any marketing campaigns that had been using the word “Vista” should be switched to refer to “Windows.”
Where does that leave big shops that bought into Vista? Are they deigned to be ridiculed and abandonned like Hester Prynne, forced to don a scarlet “A” (or, in this case, “V”)?Is Microsoft's GPL2 support really a big deal?
Posted on :: Jul 22
Microsoft’s decison to release 20,000 lines of device driver code under GPLv2 is viewed as a big deal but not that surprising given the context.
After all, the only technology Microsoft fears more than Linux is VMware’s bare-metal virtualization platform. The release of the three device drivers under GPL2 this week — which will better allow application workloads running in Linux virtual machines on Windows to access storage devices– is designed for one reason and one reason only: to advance Microsoft’s Hyper-V hypervisor.
The code, also known as the Linux Integration Components, has been deployed for some time in Novell’s SUSE Linux 10 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.X. following agreements Microsoft signed with the two leading Linux companies.
The announcement this week — Microsoft’s first support of the GPL2 — will more widely release the code under the leading open source license so that other Linux distributors and potentially Linux itself can incorporate these device drivers, which offer support for iSCSI and network storage devices.
Microsoft’s director of open source said today’s announcement is a big step for Windows-Linux interoperability. It is — but it is only for Linux Virtual Machines on Windows, not physical Linux servers and Linux desktops.
Microsoft unleashes 20,000 lines of Linux code
Posted on :: Jul 21
Microsoft is releasing three Microsoft-developed Linux drivers to the Linux community for possible inclusion in the Linux source tree.
This is the first time Microsoft has made Microsoft-developed code available directly to the Linux community. The Redmondians have released various pieces of code under different open-source licenses over the past few years, but this is the first time Microsoft has released Linux code and the first time the company has used the GPL license to release code, I believe. (Anyone know otherwise?) My ZDNet blogging colleague Jason Perlow says Microsoft previously released part of the Linux Integration Components under the GPL, so this isn’t technically the first-ever GPL’d code from the Softies.
Microsoft made the Linux driver announcement on July 20, the opening day of the O’Reilly OSCON open-source conference.
(The driver news also comes a week after Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner told Microsoft reseller partners that Microsoft has competed really well against “the fraudulent perception of free” that is at the core of many Linux vendors’ sales pitches. Not all of Microsoft management is onboard with this newfangled licensing world….)
SEO (or is it DEO?) for Microsoft Bing
Posted on :: Jul 20
While it remains to be seen if this latest search entry will wrestle any significant market share from Google, it’s a good idea to get familiar with Bing.com, from an SEO perspective.
Bing is branded as a “decision engine,” enabling users to make better choices by drilling deeper through search results filtering. The jury is still out on whether it produces what it’s advertising, but if Bing can provide a positive search experience, it might just eat away at Google’s search dominance. Even if its impact is far less groundbreaking, Bing will be a significant source of traffic, making it worthy of attention.How good is Microsoft's free antivirus software?
Posted on :: Jun 19
Microsoft has officially unveiled its long-awaited consumer antivirus offering. Formerly code-named “Morro,” it’s now been christened Microsoft Security Essentials, and it will enter public beta testing next week. If you have a licensed copy of Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or above), Windows Vista, or Windows 7, you’ll be able to download and install the software at no additional charge. No subscription is required for ongoing definition updates, either. The final release is scheduled for this fall.
The public beta will be limited to 75,000 downloads, Microsoft says, and the targets are global. The initial beta release is limited to the United States, Israel (where a core development team is based), and Brazil. Next month, the beta will open up for users in China. It’s no coincidence that Microsoft is rolling out early in Brazil and China, which are large-scale vectors of malware infections because of the sheer number of Windows users running without antivirus protection. According to Microsoft, barriers to adoption of paid security software are especially high in developing markets, where internet access is slower and credit cards are unavailable to a large percentage of the population.
Should Windows 7 be a free upgrade to all Vista Ultimate users?
Posted on :: May 14
Should Microsoft make Windows 7 available as a free upgrade to all Vista Ultimate users? Analyst Michael Cherry thinks this is what Microsoft should do.
So, why should Microsoft extend this generous offer to Vista Ultimate users? According to Cherry the reason is because the company failed to deliver on its promise to provide those running Vista Ultimate with the Ultimate Extras that were promised.
IE 8: Is your site compatible?
Posted on :: Jan 13
Internet Explorer 8's release to manufacturing in March looking like a distinct possibility, are Web site developers and owners really ready for Microsoft's next browser? Thousands of sites still aren't compatible with IE 8 -- including Microsoft.com.
Microsoft to follow Apple with its own family of retail stores
Posted on :: Jan 10
Microsoft is planning to launch a number of new Microsoft-branded retail stores, according to a company press release issued late in the day on February 12.
The press release announced the appointment of David Porter, a new Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Retail Stores. Formerly with Dreamworks Animation and Wal-mart, Porter starts his new job at Microsoft on February 16.
There’s no word so far on when or where Microsoft is planning to launch the first of its new retail outlets. But the company is planning to use them to showcase Windows 7, Windows Mobile and Windows Live. According to the press release: