Microsoft
OnLive Desktop brings Windows 7 to your tablet
OnLive is an innovative company that offers to stream console games to your TV, PC or tablet. So you can start a game on your TV, then move to the PC and continue playing them at the airport on your ipad as you wait for the plane. What amazes most people is just how smooth the graphics are for a remotely streamed offering. The fine folks at OnLive are now bringing their remote streaming expertise to the wonderful world of Windows.
Google acquired another 217 patents from IBM.
Engadget is reporting that Google recently acquired 217 patents from their big blue brother( aka IBM). The transaction was posted in the USPO assignment database on Tuesday. Some analysts have looked at the patents in question and have said they include techniques related to email administration, Instant messaging, video conferencing, presentation software and the like. Just a reminder that they also acquired another 1000 patents from Big Blue in July of 2011, 1023 in September of 2011 and bought Motorola Mobility which also had a vast patent portfolio.
Internet Explorer 6 is dead. Long live IE.
Many of us thought IE 6 was already dead but it seems we were wrong. As its share of the web browser market fell to below 1%, Redmond finally gave it a one-two sucker punch. IE6 is now officially down for the count. Roger Capriotti , the Microsoft director in charge of IE marketing said : “IE6 has been the punch line of browser jokes for a while, and we’ve been as eager as anyone to see it go away.
Smartphone activations don't matter (iphone or android)
Whether you’re in the Apple or Android smartphone camp, at one time or another, your side used creative statistics interpretation to justify why you are the market favorite. The numbers used most often are total activations or total devices sold. But how important are these numbers? Until a platform reaches critical mass, it is very important for the manufacturer to keep pushing the platform forward. With critical user mass come the apps which in turn will drive additional growth. So a platform needs enough users to make the platform interesting to developers but after that point, who cares!
Forrester says companies should support Apple Computers
When we thing of Apple computers, we usually think graphic arts departments or young hipsters but what would you say if a major research organization endorsed it as a productivity tool? Could it be? Has that day come. Oh yes my friends it has… Forrester Research calls Apple users within corporations “Highly Empowered and Resourceful Operatives”. They claim that this 17% of the corporate population is the one that pushes the most innovation. For non subscribers, the report costs $500 but you can read the most important snippets on this blog.
Windows 7 Will Be Running on 42% of PCs
Gartner Research believes that Microsoft's Windows 7 Operating System will be running on 42% of all PCs by the end of 2011. Supporting this move is the fact that 94% of all new PCs shipped in 2011 had Windows 7 pre-installed. Another interesting note is that "Gartner's forecast assumes that Windows 7 is likely to be the last version of Microsoft OS that gets deployed to everybody through big corporatewide migration." For Mac OS fans, Gartner believes 4.5% of new PCs shipped in 2011 will run Apple's operating system and that this will rise to 5.
Amazon's Android Tablet may be here in September
When I say tablet, most people will automatically think of Apple’s iPad. But if the fire-sale liquidation of HP’s WebOS tablets taught us anything, it is that consumers will buy anything for the right price. The New York Post is now claiming that Amazon’s much talked about Android tablet will be released soon and cost hundreds less than Apple’s iPad. Their unnamed source claims that the mythical Amazon tablet will launch sometime on September or October and be priced aggressively to ensure it sells.
Could Apple make a bid for HULU?
Bloomberg reported [on Thursday] that Apple is considering a bid for video streaming site extraordinaire – HULU. HULU announced that they have retained the services or Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim partners to assist with the potential sale of the company. About 2 years ago, the interwebs were buzzing about Apple starting a new streaming Television service. Obviously that never got off the ground. Could this be the missing piece to the puzzle? This new rumor is in addition to the others we have already read about other potential suitors, mainly Yahoo,Google and Microsoft.
GHSA determines road risk of using a mobile phone while driving
An American association called the Governor’s Highway Safety Association recently released a report that use of a mobile phone correlates with increased risk of accidents in the United States of America (USA). To arrive at their conclusion, the association reviewed 350 scientific papers, published between 2000 and 2010, related to highway safety. Their review clearly showed that distracted driving accounts for 15-25% of all crashes (ranging from small fender benders to accidents with fatalities). Nothing here should be surprising as it based on common sense.
IDC predicts users will download 183 billion apps by 2015
June 28 2011, IDC released an interesting report entitled “Worldwide and U.S. Mobile Applications, Storefronts, Developer, and In-App Advertising 2011–2015 Forecast: Emergence of Postdownload Business Models”. They make a bold prediction that users will download 183 billion apps by 2015 (compared to 10.7 billion in 2010). They further predict that the revenue model is changing from the traditional model (fee charged during initial purchase) to a freemium model (where the app is free but users may purchase additional functions though in-app purchases and advertising).
Is Apple's IOS or Google's Android more secure?
Which is better: Android or IOS? Asking “which mobile operating system is the best” is a great way to start a mini war between friends or coworkers. It seems everyone has taken a side and is willing to go down in a blaze of glory defending their position. The fine folks over at Symantec wanted to determine which mobile operating system was more secure (IOS or Android). They then took the analysis a step further by comparing the security postures of these mobile OS’ to their most popular desktop counterparts.
The PC is dead. Long live the iPad.
Top tech analyst firms, Gartner and IDC, are both reporting that the sale of personal computers dropped for the first 3 months of 2011. It seems this is another trend was able to break. It was able to grow its sales and market share (compared to a year ago). Although the increase is different depending on the firm you choose, it is somewhere between 8.5-9.5% (compared to 7% last year). Could this be the slow and painful death of the traditional PC lead by the tablets?
Cloud computing may be better for the environment
Open any business magazine and you will be bombarded with the words “Cloud Computing”. It is the buzzword of 2011 and something your company will likely consider for point solutions. In simple terms, cloud computing is computing on demand. Like electricity, you pay for what you use without having to worry about any of the back-end magic (hydro-electric dams, generators, transmission lines, etc). When you flip the switch, the service just works. Popular Cloud providers are Google (with their Google Apps), Microsoft (with their office 365), SalesForce.