July 9-10, 2013
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Apple wasn’t clear yesterday about which Macs will run its new desktop operating system, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, but it looks like current Mac owners won’t have to worry too much.

Judging from a test version of OS X Mavericks released to developers yesterday, it will run on just about every Mac that can run last year’s OS X Mountain Lion, AppleInsider reports. That means you’re in the clear if you have a Mac from 2008 or later.

Developers tell the site that Mavericks will work with these specific Mac models:

• iMac (Mid-2007 or later)
• MacBook (13-inch Aluminum, Late 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or later)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or later), (15-inch, Mid/Late 2007 or later), (17-inch, Late 2007 or later)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later)
• Mac Mini (Early 2009 or later)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later)
• Xserve (Early 2009)

It’s not unusual for Apple to leave behind older Macs when upgrading OS X, especially one that seems to have so many fundamental improvements. Mavericks adds a slew of power-saving features, tabs and tags for the Finder, and some interesting twists on multiple display support, among its many other features. As Apple describes it, Mavericks should be able to help your existing Mac laptops get better battery life (in one demo, we saw the CPU load from a processor-intensive website completely disappear when its browser window was placed in the background).

While Mavericks seems like a nice incremental upgrade, I’m left wondering when Apple will finally break out of the OS X cycle. With Windows 8, Microsoft has bet on touchscreens in a big way. And even though Apple pushed touchscreens to the mainstream with the iPhone and iPad, we still don’t have any sense of how the company will tackle touchscreens on laptops.

July 9-10, 2013
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If you were hoping for massive changes in Apple’s OS X 10.9 operating system, you may be disappointed when the company officially reveals it at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.

The next version of OS X, which uses the code name Cabernet, won’t be full overhaul like Apple did with OS X Leopard or Lion, according to a 9to5Mac report. Mostly that means the user interface changes will be minimal and everything will largely still be in the same place as it was in the previous version of the OS. But there are some notable upgrades worth getting excited about.

Some of the bigger changes to the OS include tags and tabbed browsing coming to the OS X Finder window. That means you’ll no longer have to juggle multiple Finder windows when searching for a file, or pulling/organizing from different drives or networks. There’s also mention of a completely revamped Safari web browser that loads pages faster.

According to the report’s sources, there will be a number of changes that help merge OS X with mobile operating system iOS, too. Previously, the company added iOS familiar features like Messages, Airplay, Reminders, and Game Center. This release could see more support for multiple monitors — specifically for the purpose of adding the app switching functionality that you find on OS X. The app switching may also be an option you can assign as a different “Space,” which makes a lot of sense. So, instead of getting access to a different desktop, you’d just assign certain programs to switch between.

On the back-end, Apple could also add the “pausing” functionality to apps that aren’t being used, which could speed up performance by conserving your computer’s resources. For example, running two browsers, Adobe Photoshop, and World of Warcraft would really do a number on your system resources.

At this point, there’s no word on whether the next OS X version will include functionality for Siri, Apple’s voice control assistant.

July 9-10, 2013
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After sending geek hearts aflutter on the desktop, the popular Linux variant Ubuntu is now aiming to take over your smartphone. And in a weird way, it could also lead to an even bigger breakthrough for Ubuntu on the desktop.

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, today announced the mobile version of its operating system. Phones running Ubuntu won’t be available until 2014, but Canonical says its first device will come from a “high end” Android manufacturer. The company will offer a test build for the Galaxy Nexus in the next few weeks.

Ubuntu for phones sports an elegant user interface that lies somewhere between iOS and Windows Phone, even though it’s built atop Android’s kernel. You can swipe from any screen edge (similar to Windows 8) to unlock functionality — for example, swiping from the left edge reveals your favorite apps, while swiping from the right lets you jump through running apps. Instead of a lock screen, it features an artistic personalized screen that evolves with you.

“It’s not a lock screen, it’s not a barrier … it’s a welcome screen,” said Canonical chief executive Mark Shuttleworth in an announcement video released today (below).

But perhaps most importantly, Ubuntu phones will also be dockable with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse — theoretically transforming them into desktop replacements. And while Canonical didn’t say this outright, there’s certainly the potential for Ubuntu phones to plug into a laptop shell. (Who would have thought Ubuntu’s most significant foray into mainstream desktops would have come via the phone?)

Ubuntu’s plan to power a desktop platform with your phone sounds similar to Motorola’s innovative, but ultimately doomed, Webtop concept on Android phones. As much as we expect smartphones and tablets to replace traditional computers, some will still have a need for big screens and keyboards to actually get work done over the next decade.

It’s going to be tough for Ubuntu to make much of a dent in mobile since it won’t have any devices to show until next year. But at this point, it looks more elegant than Android, and more functional than Windows Phone. It also fits right in with Ubuntu’s quest to cover all multiple screens — Canonical also has a version of the OS optimized for televisions.

With today’s announcement, the battle between smartphone platforms just got a lot more interesting.

Via The Verge

July 9-10, 2013
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Jack Gold is the founder and principal analyst at J.Gold Associates, based in Northborough, Mass. He covers the many aspects of business and consumer computing and emerging technologies.

Innovation. It’s what makes new markets. It’s what creates new opportunities for companies to grow dramatically. And it’s what creates demand when consumers don’t even know they want something.

We’ve seen innovation in the computer industry many times. And we recently saw it again when Apple created a market for its smartphones and tablets and took a commanding lead from the previous kings of the hill (e.g., RIM, Nokia, Microsoft).

Microsoft has been particularly hard hit as tablets have eaten into its core PC market. And its smartphone efforts have faltered for several years. Now Microsoft is fighting back with its latest innovation, Windows 8.

But Windows 8 has a legacy curve “trap” to deal with that, as a brand new platform, iOS didn’t. However, I believe iOS now is moving down the same legacy curve that is hampering Microsoft (and RIM, for that matter) and falling into the same trap. How radically can you change things without turning off your existing customer base? Your ecosystem? Your app selection and developers?

The fact is, the farther you move down the innovation curve, the more likely you are to have challenges. When you start from a green field position (as iPad/iPhone/iOS did), the innovation curve is just at it’s beginning, both because you have no base to work from and because there are no predetermined expectations.

But when you have an existing product, its much harder to innovate – both because you are primarily making fine tuning adjustments on next generation products, and because you don’t want to alienate your base by changing too radically from what they already know and like so they will continue to buy new products and/or upgrade.

So, getting back to Apple and Microsoft — it’s the best of times and the worst of times, in a Tale of Two OSes (OK, three if you add Android, and perhaps 4 if you add BlackBerry).

Which brings us to the recently launched iPad Mini and Microsoft Surface tablets. Both now have to satisfy the legacy needs of their partners. Arguably, Microsoft’s legacy baggage is more severe than Apple’s. But when many people asked recently why the Mini was relatively non-innovative, the innovation curve is the answer.

Unless Apple wants to completely reinvent the iPad and iOS, they have some real world restrictions (e.g., app compatibility, user interface, form factor). For its part, Microsoft knows it needs to maintain Windows compatibility to keep its ecosystem happy while at the same time appealing to new users. That’s why some describe Windows 8 as Windows 7 with a touch interface wrapper.

But the legacy effect in the mobile market doesn’t apply only to Apple and Microsoft. Now that Android is beginning to mature, it too will fall into the legacy trap. Google will continue to make enhancements/improvements, but new versions of Android can no longer be a radical departure from the previous ones, without requiring a restart of the ecosystem that has been built to date.

Further, this is exactly what RIM faces with BlackBerry 10. On the one hand, it needs to totally reinvent the experience to modernize its image. On the other hand, it has an existing ecosystem, albeit shrinking, that it doesn’t want to alienate. It will do its best to make both happy, but in the end, it has to go much higher on the innovation curve than a typical legacy calculation would allow simply to regain its shrinking market share. This is a much bigger gamble for RIM but it really has no choice.

So what does this mean for the market? All of the major vendors are now bound by a Legacy Trap that limits their overall ability to innovate (including Apple). This means you should expect refinements, rather than revolution. This is typical of mature markets, and although the tablet and smartphone markets are still fairly young, the maturity curve for new tech is now months or a few years at best, rather than the decades it used to take for older tech like PCs.

It also means that buyer characteristics will change. It’s not as much the mass crowds seeking the newest, latest gadget going forward. It’s more likely customers that will upgrade more slowly than before (more traditionally like other tech products). The amount of innovation will directly effect how soon/quickly the upgrades take place.

New product categories have a huge surge, while upgrade categories generally don’t. This may be one of the reasons for the relatively slow sales of the iPad Mini at launch (although it still had decent sales overall). It also means that the pace of new product introduction may actually slow somewhat as fewer feature upgrades make it less attractive for customers to buy every 9-12 months. And customers often will skip a generation (or two) before upgrading. Again, this may have had an effect on the Mini, as many “gotta have one” customers bought the iPad 3 earlier (and how many consumers really need/will buy one of each?).

This has been a factor with Windows PCs for several years, and it’s why Microsoft is still in the process of converting Windows XP users who skipped a generation (now potentially 2 generations). RIM had a similar problem getting users onto BlackBerry 7. And Palm’s demise came about partially from requiring the loyal PalmOS user base to move up to WebOS (although Palm had several other problems that condemned it). You could probably include Symbian and some others in this discussion as well.

So, what’s the bottom line? The innovation curve is real and affects all products. But the hyper-inflation of new products categories seems to make people forget this. We will see a slowing in the amount of innovation of products over time as they fall into the legacy trap. And this will include the most popular products that seem to have unlimited potential.

Of course, this will only hold until the next new innovation cycle begins, and no one really knows what, or when, that might be.

iPad Mini, Surface photos: Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
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Two major, yet controversial, features from iOS could be making their way to Apple’s OS X desktop operating system.

The virtual assistant Siri and Apple’s Maps code have both appeared in early test builds of OS X 10.9, the next version of Apple’s desktop OS, which we expect to ship next year, sources tell 9to5Mac.

If true, the moves make sense for Apple: Siri is now one of the company’s most iconic features on the iPhone, even though it doesn’t work quite as well as advertised. And while Apple’s Maps application leaves much to be desired, such as ridiculous aerial views that somehow leave out things like the Statue of Liberty and the Hoover Dam, it can’t remain a mobile-only feature for long.

Apple already offers voice dictation, one of Siri’s big features, within OS X Mountain Lion. But desktop Mac users don’t have access to Siri’s voice-powered commands for looking up things on the web, checking your calendar, and the like. And even though Mac users aren’t exactly clamoring for Apple’s Maps, the company still needs to find a way to bring the service to the desktop.

The sources say that Apple is bringing Maps into OS X as a framework, not an app, which would allow developers to easily integrate it into their apps. But that could be the first step towards Apple releasing a full-fledged desktop Maps app (though that possibility is mostly conjecture at this point).

July 9-10, 2013
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Consumers are flocking to Windows 8. Microsoft has sold more than 4 million Windows 8 upgrades in its first three days, chief executive Steve Ballmer announced this morning.

Ballmer revealed the figure during his opening keynote at the Build developer conference — which we’re calling Microsoft’s most important event ever — in Redmond this morning. He also noted that Microsoft has sold “tens of millions” of Windows 8 upgrade units to corporate customers, who can upgrade when they see fit. Windows 8 officially launched last Friday, October 26.

Speaking at Nokia’s Lumia 920 launch in September, Ballmer boldly predicted that we’ll see 400 million Windows 8 devices next year.

Last week, Microsoft’s Windows head Steven Sinofsky announced that the company has sold more than 670 million Windows 7 units since its release in 2009. So far, Windows 8 is off to a strong start — though I have a feeling many consumers will choose to stick with Windows 7 instead of upgrading. From my experience, Windows 8 works best on new hardware with touchscreens or modern touchpads — on a desktop or older laptop, Windows 8 doesn’t really have much to offer beyond Windows 7.

July 9-10, 2013
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It seems like ages ago when Microsoft simultaneously dazzled and puzzled the hell out of the public when it showed off Windows 8 for the first time in June 2011. Since then, we’ve seen Windows 8 evolve and slowly change perceptions about how it works and what devices it’s meant for. Finally, the OS is now available for purchase.

Just like Windows 8 has evolved, so has my opinion of the operating system. After using prerelease versions of Windows 8 for several months, I still prefer Windows 7, but I have no doubt Windows 8 will be my Windows of choice at some point. Microsoft will likely tweak the heck out of the OS after receiving massive amounts of customer feedback (after revealing yesterday that Windows 8 has seen more than 1.24 billion hours of early testing from consumers). In addition, third-party developers will create software that improves the Windows 8 experience. Sweet Labs’ Pokki app, which re-creates the Start button on the desktop, is one such example. Windows 8 is still evolving, and it will continue to do so for some time.

The future of the PC

Windows 8 represents the future of Microsoft and the PC itself. Essentially, the desktop of old is fading away in favor of ultrabooks, tablets, and hybrid devices like Samsung’s Smart PCs. VentureBeat executive editor Dylan Tweney believes Windows 8 will be a “test of whether the company can successfully manage the transition to a new era of computing.” I agree, and I believe Microsoft has the experience and leadership to accomplish this.

But of course, Windows 8 also faces plenty of criticism. The brash cloud computing visionary Marc Benioff, the CEO of customer-relation management giant Salesforce, recently called Windows 8 “the end of Windows” and claimed Windows itself was irrelevant in the new age of powerful smartphones and tablets.

Benioff might have a point: Windows as we know it is over — but Windows 8 could easily sit alongside iOS and Android as another powerhouse in mobile computing. And its real strength is that it’s not just a mobile OS. Unlike iOS and Android, Windows 8 can also power traditional computers without a sweat.

Microsoft’s Surface tablet, which has lots of personality and some noticeable flaws, is one such device that shows Microsoft’s commitment to reshape Windows. Surface is simply a preview of what’s to come in a year (or less). New Windows 8 tablets will be more cooked and the app ecosystem will likely be populated with all kinds of great software soon.

Beautiful, forward-thinking design

Windows 8′s Start screen (see photo above) replaces the Start button on the desktop as the place in which you launch apps. The Start screen is colorful, fun, and useful, and it looks quite similar to the tile-based design found on the Xbox 360 dashboard and Windows Phone devices. The Start menu tiles are helpful because they show real-time information, such as how many emails are unread, stock market prices, headlines, and more.

While the Start screen is easy to customize and understand, many people will want to retreat into the “desktop” mode. The desktop mode does basically everything you’ve done for years in Windows. The most helpful thing to do in desktop mode is to pin all your important programs to the taskbar so you never have to search for desktop-focused apps.

The easiest way to get back to the Start screen when using a keyboard is to tap the Windows key in the bottom left corner. When using a tablet device, you get back by swiping the right side of the screen and tapping the Start icon. When using a laptop touchpad, you swipe the right edge.

If you need to find an app, simply start typing while on the Start screen and a full list of results will pop up. This search function has saved me time when using Windows 8 because it can often find what you’re looking for faster.

Different feel across devices

The worst experience I’ve had with Windows 8 is on a traditional desktop PC with a mouse and keyboard. I truly believe Windows 8 is meant for touch-based devices like tablets and laptops with touchpads (and touchscreens). So things are a bit more awkward using a mouse and keyboard.

Consider right-clicking, which is now completely different from what you’re used to in Windows outside of the desktop interface. Instead of a menu of options appearing right where you clicked, a limited number of options appear at the bottom of the screen, and you have to move your mouse there to select them. This gets incredibly tedious in Windows 8 apps and on the Start screen.

Laptops are another story. It’s not quite as awkward using a laptop with Windows 8 because you have a touchpad. If you have a fairly recent laptop, the touchpad lets you take advantage of cool gestures that speed up using Windows 8. Moving your finger from the left edge of a trackpad scrolls through all of your recently used programs. Or if you swipe down from the top edge of a touchpad, you get the same options you’d usually get from double-clicking a mouse. You can’t use these slick gestures on older laptops, unfortunately.

The best experience I’ve had with Windows 8 so far was on tablets and hybrid tablet/laptop devices. I’ve played with the Microsoft Surface, Samsung’s tablet hybrids, Lenovo’s IdeaPad Yoga, Dell’s convertible XPS 12, and many others. When you can touch the icons on the Start screen, the OS feels much more natural.

Microsoft likes to say that Windows 8 is a “no compromise” version of Windows, but if you really want to feel that way, you need touch interactions. The emphasis on touch makes Windows 8 primed for the next decade of computing, but it also clearly signals the end of the mouse and keyboard as the ideal way to interact with Windows.

Under-the-hood improvements

One of the best things about Windows 8 is that it boots up and runs faster than Windows 7. An extensive study by PCMag indicates much faster boot-up times, higher benchmark scores, and speedier web browsing. Basically, Windows 8 can make a big difference in the performance department — even on some older computers.

This is one reason why I think some Windows XP and Vista users (yes, a ton of them are still out there) would enjoy the bump to Windows 8: Not only will you get a performance enhancement, but you’ll also get better security with software that’s getting many more updates from Microsoft. Make sure you meet the minimum requirements before even considering that upgrade though, because even “impossibly old” machines are beyond Windows 8′s help.

Apps

One of the most important factors for Windows 8′s success, like every computing platform, are the apps that take advantage of all of its features. (Since Microsoft ditched the term “Metro,” let’s call these “Modern” apps.) Some great apps are already in the Windows Store, but it’s important that third parties pump out fantastic software to make Windows 8 more attractive than iOS and Android.

Some aspects of Modern apps for Windows 8 are problematic, especially for desktop users. As I’ve noted before, Modern apps have a serious screen-splitting problem. In Windows 8, you can only allocate roughly 25 percent of the screen to one app while the other 75 percent is taken up by another app. As you can imagine, this layout is not conducive to multitasking. Thankfully, you can still do a 50-50 split, or whatever tiling you’re used to, in the desktop mode.

Relearning Windows

Windows 8 will require some relearning and retraining. Dell has even been smart enough to feature its own Windows 8 tutorials on the Start screen to hand-hold those who might freak out over the changes.

Here’s the good news — even a 3-year-old can use Windows 8. I have faith that anyone reading this article can also relearn how to use Windows and use it effectively. The question is — will people be willing to upgrade and relearn or will you simply adapt only after being forced to with a new PC purchase?

Should I upgrade?

Windows 8 costs $40 to download and upgrade using Microsoft’s Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant. Microsoft says the offer for a $40 upgrade expires on Jan. 31. (You can also purchase a physical copy of Windows 8 in stores for $70.) If you purchased a new non-Windows 8 PC after June 2 and before Jan. 31, 2013, you’re eligible to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $15.

So you’re asking yourself, “should I upgrade?” If you’re normally an early adopter and like the changes described here, yes, you absolutely should give it a shot. If you’re a casual user, I would not upgrade immediately. Try Windows 8 out at a retailer like Best Buy or the Microsoft Store and let Microsoft issue some patches to fix the biggest bugs. Once you’ve tried it and understand how it works, it very well might be worth your money to upgrade.

To truly get the most Windows 8 has to offer, consider waiting until you purchase a new PC. After all, the entire impetus behind Windows 8 is its touch-centric interface and its capability to power new computing devices like the Surface and laptop/tablet hybrids. Given that it’s such a radically different operating system, it makes sense to experience it first on radically new devices.

For more on how to decide if you should upgrade and other must-know things about Windows 8, check out our article 8 things you need to know about Windows 8.

Final thoughts

Windows 8 is vital to the future of Microsoft and the PC market because it blends a touch-centric interface with the Windows we’ve known for years. It’s not for everyone, especially casual Windows 7 users that refuse to relearn Windows. But power users and those who embrace change well will find a lot to like here.

July 9-10, 2013
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HP’s plan to open source Palm’s webOS is on schedule: yesterday, the company released version 1.0 of Open webOS, which means that developers can now port the software to new devices.

As if on cue, the WebOS Ports team (which isn’t affiliated with HP), announced yesterday that they’ve ported Open webOS 1.0 to the Galaxy Nexus (see video below), the Verge reports. The team has been working on the port for two months, but there’s still plenty of work to be done. They’ve managed to get Open WebOS connected to Wi-Fi, but hardware acceleration and basic phone functions like texting still aren’t working.

HP released its first Open webOS beta to developers last month, and at the time the company boasted that it contained over 450,000 lines of code. Yesterday, HP revealed that it has built more than 75 Open webOS components over the past nine months. The company won’t be bringing the OS to other devices, but it did create a video showing how Open webOS can run on a TouchSmart all-in-one PC.

It’ll be interesting to see just how far developers can take Open webOS. In particular, existing webOS device owners may be interested in the update (HP isn’t officially updating older devices). But I suspect many webOS fans have given up on their Palm mobile dreams long ago.

July 9-10, 2013
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Four hundred million. That’s how many Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer expects to be in the wild by this time next year.

It’s not unusual for Microsoft’s CEO to make bold statements, but his comments yesterday at Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 press event got me thinking. With Windows Phone 8, Microsoft is stepping into the third year of its mobile platform, and I’ve been wondering exactly how the company can turn things around after struggling with sales so far.

Ballmer’s grand proclamation made Microsoft’s Windows Phone strategy clearer than ever: It’s all about the Windows 8-powered ecosystem now. Since Windows Phone 8 runs Windows 8′s kernel, it’ll be easier than ever for developers to port apps between desktop, tablet, and smartphone.

“Perhaps more importantly than anything else, we bring a developer platform and a store that’s common to both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8,” Ballmer said.

“That means Lumia … that means Surface … devices introduced in Berlin last week … those devices I’m quite sure represent the largest single opportunity for developers today,” he added. “I’m betting right now the next app developer to hit it really really big will be on Windows.”

No other company can offer such a cohesive ecosystem across the desktop and mobile devices — not even Apple. iOS and Mac OSX, though they’re quickly beginning to resemble each other, are still very different when it comes to actually building apps. And Google can barely make the Android ecosystem enticing for mobile developers who actually want to make money (let’s not even get into the desktop side of things).

Windows 8 isn’t just Microsoft’s radical stab at tablets, it’s also what will finally lift up and truly differentiate Windows Phone for the upcoming year. That’s important, because the platform has suffered from being only slightly more convenient and prettier than its competitors. If Microsoft can market Windows Phone 8 as an extension of Windows 8, it could finally make consumers pay attention.

As much as we liked Windows Phone from the beginning, the platform has so far fallen flat with consumers. Even though Windows Phone has failed to make much of a dent against the iPhone and Android’s market share, Microsoft still has plenty of potential to tempt dumbphone owners.

When Windows Phone 7 launched in late 2010, I admired its unique style, even though its array of launch phones felt like slightly outdated Android handsets. Come late 2011, Nokia announced its first set of Lumia Windows Phones, though they were only available internationally (and notably, no other new Windows Phone handsets were available to excite consumers at that point). By the time the Lumia 900 eventually hit the U.S. in April, many potential Windows Phone buyers were likely tempted away by the iPhone 4S or the multitude of high-end Android smartphones.

Now it seems the pieces are finally coming together for Windows Phone. Nokia’s upcoming Lumia 920 smartphone looks and feels like something truly special, and its Pureview camera technology is far beyond what other phone manufacturers offer. Once Windows 8 lands on October 26, I wouldn’t be surprised to see developers flocking to build apps, which will in turn make them take a second look at Windows Phone.

And perhaps most importantly for Windows Phone, it will no longer feel like an outlier among Microsoft’s products. Windows 8 finally wraps up everything Microsoft is doing –  desktops, smartphones, tablets, and even the Xbox’s new interface — into one cohesive computing experience.

Photo: Steve Ballmer with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, by Devindra Hardawar

Anyone wishing to purchase a copy of Windows 8 after Microsoft’s promotion ends will need to do so at a much higher price.

A retail copy (aka one with its own fugly looking packaging and physical DVD) of Windows 8 Pro will likely cost $200 on Feb. 1, 2013, reports The Verge. The company is currently planning to offer a retail version of the OS for $70 through the end of the year as a way to drive adoption.

Microsoft is also planning to boost the price of its Windows 8 Pro upgrade option — available for anyone currently using an old version of Windows on their PC — from $70 to $100 after January 31, 2013, according to The Verge’s report. Microsoft previously announced that it would offer the same upgrade for $40 online for anyone who doesn’t mind forgoing the physical retail copy in favor of a direct download.

Many people (including VentureBeat) are using Microsoft’s pricing of Windows 8 as an indication of how badly the company wants to spur adoption. The low promotional price — along with the $15 upgrade program for anyone who purchased a Windows PC in June — led us to believe that the company was worried most people wouldn’t bother with Windows 8. However, the non-promotional prices for Windows 8 are much more in line with prices for older versions of the OS.

Unlike Apple, which also lowered the price of its latest operating system, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, to drive uptake, Microsoft must still treat Windows 8 as a legitimate product rather than supplementary software that sells its hardware. Although with Windows 8′s focus on tablet devices and an increased emphasis on its apps marketplace, that could eventually change.

Image via The Verge

To get ready for the launch of its latest operating system, Microsoft finally flipped on registrations for its Windows 8 upgrade program, the company announced today via its Twitter account.

For $14.99, anyone who purchased a Windows-based PC after June 2 is eligible for an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro. Customers in 140 countries have until January 31 to redeem the offer, which you can do via Microsoft’s official upgrade page. The offer is good for up to five different PCs per customer.

Anyone who misses the deadline must pay full $40 upgrade price if they want Windows 8 on their machine. Even without the promotional price, this version of Windows is substantially lower than what Microsoft has asked for in the past.

The real question will be if the lower price will be enough to attract Windows users to a radically different OS. As VentureBeat’s Sean Ludwig previously pointed out, Windows 8 could very well suffer from the same adoption problems that Windows Vista.

However, if you do plan on upgrading, the process seems relatively simple. You chose your country and then fill out a pretty basic form that includes information about what kind of PC you purchased and where you bought it from.

Do you plan on signing up for the Windows 8 upgrade? Let us know in the comments.

Photo via Dylan Tweney/VentureBeat

Windows 8 is the biggest design leap Microsoft has ever attempted on the desktop, and I suspect plenty of users will be confused when confronted with the new touch-focused interface. Well aware of that possibility, Microsoft has added a nifty tutorial to the Windows 8 setup process.

Blogger Darren Baker managed to nab the Windows 8 RTM — the version of the OS announced yesterday that will be provided to Microsoft’s hardware partners — and has laid out the entire new setup experience, including the short tutorial.

Windows 8 replaces the traditional start button with a Metro-fied Start screen (the new interface style lifted from Windows Phone), and there’s no traditional Windows taskbar when running new Metro apps. The setup tutorial shows users how they can swipe from any edge of their screen to reveal new options on a touch-enabled device. Swiping up on the screen reveals the Start screen, swiping from the right edge shows the charms bar, and swiping from the left lets you multitask between apps.

For those still using a mouse, the tutorial points out that you can also mouse to the corners to reveal the above functionality. I suspect Microsoft will offer further tutorials at some point for keyboard and mouse users, many of whom will have to completely rethink the way they use those older input devices in Windows 8.

Via The Verge/Photo via Darren Baker

The operating system has topped 3 million App Store downloads since last week’s launch, Apple announced today. This makes it the most successful OS for the Cupertino, Calif. Mac maker’s history. The news comes days after hearing that Mountain Lion represented 3 percent of all Mac Internet traffic, as VentureBeat previously reported.

“Just a year after the incredibly successful introduction of Lion, customers have downloaded Mountain Lion over three million times in just four days, making it the most successful release ever,” said Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Philip Schiller in a statement.

Along with tighter integration with Apple’s iOS, the new OS is tightly tied to Twitter. In today’s announcement, Apple said Facebook integration would come in an “upcoming” software update of Mountain Lion. The OS also includes many features first seen in iOS, like a notification center, built-in social networking support, iMessage, and voice dictation. Today’s announcement only confirms what others were saying after the $20 Mountain Lion upgrade became available: the new OS is on track to be the best version of  OS X, bringing Apple $38 million and climbing in new revenue.

Apple’s just-launched Mountain Lion operating system has already seen widespread adoption among Mac users and accounts for 3 percent of Mac web traffic around the globe, AllThingsD reports.

Mountain Lion is an incremental OS update from Lion with 200 new features (read our hands on), but because it costs just $20 to upgrade, it’s a no-brainer for those already running Lion. Not only is the cost low, but Apple has made it positively easy to upgrade by downloading the OS through the Mac App Store.

Thanks to the low price and making it easy to download, Mountain Lion accounts for 3 percent of Mac web traffic just 48 hours after launch, Web tracking firm Chitika claims.

Chitika says that based on the 66 million Mac users Apple claims it has, it can infer 2.1 million Mac owners have already upgraded to Mountain Lion. If 90 percent of those users paid, Mountain Lion has generated $38 million in revenue so far.

Based on these impressive numbers, we wonder if Apple wishes it had started offering cheap and easy-to-download upgrades several OSes ago. Microsoft no doubt took notice of Apple’s successful Lion upgrade option last time, since its Windows 8 will cost just $40 to upgrade.

Mountain Lion photo: California Department of Fish and Game/Flickr

You can now finally get your hands on Apple’s latest version of OS X, Mountain Lion, on the Mac App Store for $19.99.

Apple announced that it would be releasing the OS today as part of its earnings release yesterday, after previously promising that it would be released in July.

Good luck getting the OS up and running anytime soon, though. It took me about 15 minutes to successfully purchase Mountain Lion from the App Store, thanks to the hordes of Mac owners trying to update at the same time. The update itself is also 4.05 gigabytes, so it’ll likely take you a while to download it.

Remember that if you’ve purchased a Mac computer on or after June 11, you can get a free upgrade to Mountain Lion.

Unlike last year’s OS X Lion release, this update will only be available for download via the Mac App Store. Just like Snow Leopard, Mountain Lion is an incremental update, more than a completely revamped OS. (That’s why it’s so cheap.)

Mountain Lion brings over many features first seen in iOS, like a notification center, built-in social networking support, iMessage, and voice dictation.

Mountain Lion is here! Apple announced that the new Mac operating system, OS X 10.8, will be available to the general public tomorrow, nearly a month since it debuted at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

At the time, Apple told the crowd that Mountain Lion would “ship” in July. The company has thus far gone the whole month without a peep on when we’d be able to download the latest OS, until yesterday when it accidentally opened up the “Up-to-Date” portal.

Apple promised that anyone who purchased a Mac computer on or after June 11 would get a free version of Mountain Lion and could request that free version through the Up-to-Date portal. That website was made available yesterday, but then quickly taken down.

The operating system comes with 200 new features, which were shown off at WWDC. Those include an updated version of Apple’s Safari Web browser, voice dictation, Twitter integration, and a new notification center. One of the biggest changes is that Mountain Lion will now support iMessage, the messaging system that allows those with iOS devices to effectively text for free.

Last quarter, the company  sold four million new Macs. At WWDC, Apple said that six million people overall use Macs, 40 percent of whom run OS X Lion, the latest operating system available to date.

Image via Heather Kelly for VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
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During today’s earnings call, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, when asked if the lack of upgradeability to Windows Phone 8 of current Lumia devices would pose a problem, basically blew off the question.

He said that 80 percent of Android devices being sold currently do not have the latest version of Android on them and still sell well, and many won’t be upgradeable either. He also stated that the current Lumias running WP7 will stay in market after release of WP8 to “differentiate” the device market (meaning, at lower price points no doubt).

While its true that the majority of Android phones out there are not the latest version of the OS (and in fact it’s probably closer to 90% or more), this totally misses the point. Nokia (and Windows Phone) are trying to differentiate and garner customer enthusiasm and loyalty. After customers go out and buy a new PC with Windows 8 (or upgrade their current one as many will do), will they still be satisfied with an older OS on their phones? After all one of the selling points of WP8 will be its affinity to the PC and tablet.

It’s true that the average life of a smartphone is only about 18 months before users upgrade, but the notion that you are buying a device that ties you to what you have now is not something that sits well with the faithful. Certainly the competition, which is not just Android, but also Apple, does provide an upgrade path for many devices. Even Microsoft provides an upgrade path for Windows on PCs. So will WP customers expect different?

And why did Nokia and Microsoft (remember this is a close partnership so it was likely a joint decision) decide not to provide an upgrade? We’re not talking about some old hardware that couldn’t run the new OS. The Lumia 800 and 900 have some pretty significant processing power built-in (though perhaps not at the same level as the new devices with have dual or quad-core processors and more memory). But if the decision was based on the fact there is not enough horsepower to run WP8 on the current Lumia, than I worry that WP8 won’t be a very good performer.

The fact is, once WP 8 is released, it’s very likely that sales of current Lumias will fall drastically. They are already selling at $49 with contract (no doubt in an attempt to get rid of inventory before the new devices with WP8 are released). I think Nokia is in for a rude awakening if it thinks that its current base of Lumia users will not care about the upgrade. And I think the carriers will have a customer satisfaction problem as well.

The decision not to offer upgrades to older devices by Microsoft and Nokia is a wrong headed decision, in my opinion. It will alienate the people they need most to attract – the trend setters and early adopters who then go out and evangelize for them, building sales momentum (albeit slowly). Disaffecting these users is a mistake.

While Nokia did manage to sell 4 million Lumias this past quarter, it’s likely going to be a tough sell for them going forward as we get closer to launch of WP8 this fall, and as users fully understand they will not be able to get an upgrade. It’s also true that many purchasers of current Lumia devices are locked into a 2 year contract and won’t upgrade until that is done. Having just bought a subsidized device, will they opt to buy an unsubsidized device at significant expense to get the latest OS? Unlikely.

While I’d like to see Nokia succeed in the market, as it has some pretty good hardware and more competition is a good thing for everyone, I’m afraid that the decision to forgo upgrades may signal a real sales catastrophe for them. We’ll have to wait and see what the next 2-3 quarters bring, but at this point, I am not very bullish on the prospects.

Jack Gold is the founder and principal analyst at J.Gold Associates, based in Northborough, Mass. He covers the many aspects of business and consumer computing and emerging technologies.

Photo: Nokia CEO Stephen Elop with his crew; Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

Mark your calendars folks, Microsoft’s Windows head Steven Sinofsky just announced that Windows 8 will officially be available on October 26th, 2012.

Sinofsky made the announcement at Microsoft’s annual sales meeting today. Microsoft previously hinted that Windows 8 would be released in late October, but it’s good to finally have specifics.

Current Windows users will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 for just $40 with a digital download, or $70 in a boxed update available in stores. In a sign that Microsoft is aiming for clarity with Windows 8, it’s rumored that Microsoft is dropping the confusing “full retail” box version of the OS.

If you can’t tell by our extensive Windows 8 coverage, we’re excited to see where Microsoft goes with Windows 8. It’s obvious that Microsoft is trying to make up for lost ground by making the OS tablet-ready, but the more we see from Windows 8, and the more we hear about Microsoft’s Surface tablet (check out our extensive hands-on), it seems that Microsoft is attempting a longer play with this OS than it has with past releases.

Windows 8 is a complete reinvention of Windows as we know it. And while that will certainly lead to lots of complaints from consumers who can’t find their Start button, it sets Microsoft up to rule the post-post PC era, where all of our computers may resemble the Surface more than they do traditional laptops today.

In recent Windows 8 news, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said there are currently 20 Windows 8 tablets in the works, and we reported on how common sense (imagine that) is the key to Microsoft’s Windows 8 keyboard design.

Photo: Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

Come the release of Windows 8 this fall, it may be easier for consumers to figure out which boxed copy to purchase.

Microsoft will reportedly drop the full retail copy of Windows 8 and will only offer upgrade and “System Builder” versions of the OS in stores, report Windows gurus Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley on the This Week in Windows podcast.

Previously, Microsoft offered full, upgrade, and OEM copies of Windows to retailers. The full version was meant for consumers without any version of Windows (or with a very old version of the OS), the upgrade was for existing Windows users, and the slightly cheaper OEM version was meant to be sold to system builders (and technically could only be sold together with hardware). Many stores, especially online outfits, also sold the OEM version of Windows on their own.

By dropping the full retail version of Windows 8, Microsoft would greatly simplify the upgrade process for consumers. While Microsoft is heavily pushing downloaded upgrades for Windows 8 by pricing it at a mere $39.99, more mainstream users will still be picking up their Windows 8 upgrade in stores (where it’ll cost them $70), so it’s worth simplifying what boxes actually end up on store shelves.

If true, the decision would be a good one for Microsoft, which is clearly cutting back on its bad habits with Windows 8. Unlike past versions of Windows, which could make your head spin with their small differences, this time around Microsoft will only be offering two distinct flavors of Windows 8 (three if you count Windows RT for tablets).

When asked for comment, a Microsoft spokesperson said the company had nothing official to share on this report.

According to Thurott and Foley, the System Builder version of Windows 8 will take the place of the OEM version, and it’s what home PC builders will have to use to install the OS. Microsoft has previously said that Mac users will have to use the System Builder version to install Windows 8 using Boot Camp.

Via The Verge; Photo: Dylan Tweney/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
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Thinking about Windows 8 fills me with a strong sense of unease. Whether it’s the thought of using the OS on my desktop on a daily basis or the coming backlash by consumers when the OS lands, it distresses me on more levels than it should. Windows 8 could very well be the next Vista.

Plainly said, Windows 8 is Microsoft’s attempt to make Windows everything to everyone in the new mobile-focused landscape. It will work on tablets, laptops, desktops, and any type of hybrid device manufacturers can produce. It will work with touch screens, keyboards, mice, or even a stylus. It’s extremely versatile — and that’s both a blessing and a curse.

Microsoft launched the Release Preview of Windows 8 (download it here) two weeks ago, and this will be the final preview version of the OS before it ships, most likely late in the third quarter of this year.

I’ve been using Windows 8 Release Preview on a thin-and-powerful Samsung laptop and while I like aspects of the operating system, it often frustrates me. I don’t find the machine great for multitasking. Even with smart touchpad gestures, there are kinks that need to be worked out.

More seriously, it’s a fundamental change in the way Windows works, and that’s going to throw many consumers for a loop.

How Vista prefigures Windows 8

Microsoft has sold 600 million licenses for Windows 7 since its launch in October 2009, making it one of the most successful software products of all time. Despite that, many people are still running Windows XP, a 10-year-old version of Windows, despite the fact that Microsoft will stop supporting XP in April 2014. (Seriously: According to StatCounter, 31 percent of desktop web users worldwide are using XP, while NetApplications says it’s actually around 45 percent.)

Why are so many people clinging so hard to an outmoded OS? Most likely it’s thanks to a little speed bump known as Windows Vista, which came between Windows XP and Windows 7.

No matter how you spin it, the launch of Vista in 2007 was a PR disaster marred by not-powerful-enough hardware, technical glitches, and incompatible programs.

“Vista shipped too early, and third-party support was late,” Michael Silver, a vice president and analyst for research company Gartner, told VentureBeat. “A big part of what killed Vista was not having hardware support.”

Vista adoption was slow, and Microsoft realized the damaging perception wasn’t going away. By the time Vista got its Service Pack 2 update, it actually was quite good and worked much like Windows 7 worked on its launch. But the damage was done and consumers still hated the Vista brand. Vista now has less than 9 percent of the world market share, per StatCounter.

Now with Windows 8, Microsoft is almost certainly setting itself up for a Vista-like adoption problem.

This time around, consumers won’t be pushing back on Windows 8 because of technical problems but because the OS looks and feels so radically different. Watching a 66-year-old woman trying to use Windows 8 for the first time is excruciating. Based on these kinds of reactions and many conversations I’ve had with analysts, older and non-tech-savvy folks will look at Windows 8 and recoil. Tech folks like myself aren’t exactly clamoring to get Windows 8 on our primary machines either.

And on the business side, it’s hard enough to get enterprises moved over to Windows 7, let alone even start thinking about 8. So we shouldn’t expect business adoption for 8 in the next several years, unless they are looking to experiment with tablets and haven’t already dived in with the iPad.

Frank Gillett, a vice president and analyst at Forrester, another research firm, told us that he’s not entirely comfortable with the Vista/Windows 8 parallel, but admits there will be an adoption problem from consumers and businesses.

“Windows 8 is not a technical bomb like Vista was, but it’s a challenge to get people to learn something new,” Gillett said. “It’s an unconventional experience and a challenging transition for Microsoft to make. Adoption will be a little slow.”

Gillett also points out that the competitive landscape is wildly different for Windows 8 versus Vista. Whereas Windows desktops and laptops used to control the world, OSes and devices have changed. Now we have players like Apple and Samsung putting out tablets and smartphones that are making Windows fight harder than ever. Yes, Windows 7 is 600 million licenses strong, but for how many will Win 7 be their last taste of Windows?

How Windows 8 could succeed

Paul Thurrott of WinSuperSite has a measured and intelligent response to the idea of Win 8 being the next Vista and says the comparison is apt because 8 and Vista both brought sea changes to computing. He even thinks there could be a Windows 9 OS that comes out quickly like 7 did to win back people’s hearts. Thurrott writes:

Some are too quick to decry Windows 8 as “the next Vista,” a product that for some reason has been universally panned despite outselling its nearest rival, OS X, by a factor of about a hundred. But this comparison is actually apt, just not for the reason you think. Windows 8 is very much like Vista because it represents a sea change, a huge platform bet that will confuse and confound some, even while it sets up Windows for another decade of expansion. Maybe there will be a Windows 9 that will clean up the mess, like Windows 7 cleaned up Vista’s mess. But as I’ve written in the past, if Windows 8 is a mess, and it is, then it’s a wonderful mess.

Gartner’s Silver believes the success or failure of Windows 8 will come down to two big things: 1) What devices manufactures create to run the OS and 2) What awesome and crazy apps people create for it.

On the device front, Silver suggests the most important form factor for Windows 8 will be laptop/tablet hybrids that feature a full touch screen, keyboard, and touchpad. One of the best laptop/tablet hybrids I’ve seen so far is Lenovo’s IdeaPad Yoga, a laptop that can bend over backwards and turn into a Windows 8 tablet. Asus recently debuted a similar Windows 8 hybrid tablet at Computex. Hybrid machines like these radically shift how you use Windows with touch and still provide the keyboard/touchpad you already know.

I see room for success in the tablet space, and Windows 8 tablets could provide a more viable challenge to the iPad than Android has. Instead of fighting the iPad head-to-head, many Android-based tablets (Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, etc.) have decided to go cheap to get people interested in the units.

By contrast, Windows 8 on tablets is actually fun and makes the experience way more natural than using Windows 8 on a laptop or desktop. Also, businesses may be more apt to a Windows 8 tablet than BlackBerry’s terrible Playbook.

Now when it comes to apps, Silver’s other big Windows 8 success factor, there is no doubt that a mobile-focused platform today must have sweet software to succeed. The reason iOS and Android have succeeded so well over rivals (including Windows Phone) is due to awesome apps that add new experiences for entertainment, news, and education. Metro-style Windows 8 apps like Cocktail Flow (see above), Fresh Paint, and the game Cut the Rope all look great, but there still aren’t that many good examples in the Windows Store.

Personally, I really like Google’s developer build of a Metro-style Chrome browser for Windows 8 because it ignores some of the Metro guidelines, thus making it a better fit for a desktop/laptop than Internet Explorer 10, Windows 8′s default browser.

The development of great apps and devices may not happen in time for the supposed late third-quarter launch. Manufacturers may not have enough cool devices ready for launch day and app-makers may not be tempted to create apps until after they see consumers’ reactions to Windows 8.

Of course, Microsoft reserves the option to delay Windows 8 until next year if it feels things simply aren’t ready.

“Windows 8 may not fall into place this year,” Silver told us. “It’s better to ship a late product than a bad one. You don’t get many chances to have a ‘Vista’ and recover from that.”

But as it stands, Windows 8 is casting a shadow over CEO Steve Ballmer and the Microsoft team, even if they don’t want to admit it. Will Microsoft find a flashlight before launch or will the company trudge into the dark unknown?

Steve Ballmer photo: Sean Ludwig/VentureBeat
Vista launch photo: cpchannel/Flickr

With the launch of its next operating system looming, Microsoft took to the stage at Computex 2012 to talk about the success of Windows 7.

The company revealed that its sold over 600 million Windows 7 licenses to date, which is up about 75 million since Microsoft’s last announcement in January. The thing about Microsoft is, when it comes to operating system sales, it’s definitely the dominant force — so much so that it almost has to judge success based on how many people have updated from previous versions.

That said, the company revealed that Windows 7 is now running on over 39 percent of all devices connected to the internet across the world. But Microsoft is also pushing forward, and getting ready for Windows 8.

“This is the biggest launch time in Microsoft’s history,” Head of Microsoft’s OEM division Steve Guggenheimer said at the event, reports The Verge. “In addition to updating Windows client, Windows Server, phone and embedded platforms, there’s a massive wave of software and services coming to market that we think will delight customers, from Windows Azure, to Office 15, Xbox games, Skype and Bing.”

The company also showed off a short video that explains the evolution of Windows 7 since its initial launch in 2009, which we’ve embedded below.

July 9-10, 2013
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The upcoming Windows 8 operating system has some serious challenges ahead of it. In changing how Windows has fundamentally worked since Windows 95, some consumers are looking at this new OS and thinking it’s too radical a change.

But in playing with the just-launched Windows 8 Release Preview on a laptop with still-in-beta gesture controls, I’m starting to like Windows 8 better and beginning to see how Microsoft could convince more people to adopt it.

Release Preview is the next-to-last version of the OS that developers and the public will be able to try out before the full Windows 8 version launches. If you’ve read about the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, then you know what you’re getting with Release Preview for the most part. Instead of unveiling sweeping changes this time around, Release Preview is all about refinement and subtle improvements. Changes include Internet Explorer 10 having Adobe Flash, new Bing Metro-style apps, Zune Pass integration, and social sharing.

As much as those changes are welcome in Release Preview, my favorite feature hands-down is gesture controls. I’ve been testing still-in-beta gesture controls on a Samsung Series 9 notebook running Windows 8 for about a day so far, and it adds a lot the experience.

For example, moving your finger from the left edge of a trackpad can let your scroll through all recently used programs. If I open a web browser, a streaming music app, a photo-editing app, and a word-processing app, I can just scroll through those quickly from the left edge, making productivity and multi-tasking fast.

If you move your finger from the right edge, you can bring up the right-hand sidebar for universal search, sharing, device access, and PC settings. Essentially, this makes doing basic tasks in Windows 8 easier.

When you are inside Metro style applications and swipe down from the top edge of a touchpad, you get a menu that helps you navigate the app. Inside the new Bing Sports application (which is quite nice), you can select between Favorite Teams, NFL, NBA, NHL, and more. Or inside the Bing Travel App, you can choose destinations, flights, hotels, and “best of web.”

It might seem like a small step to add gesture controls on the touchpad, but the change makes navigation way easier and has made me a bit more bullish on Windows 8.

Unfortunately, the beta gesture controls aren’t available to the public just yet. But, Microsoft is clearly working on it and I have no doubt it will help sell Windows 8 on laptops. Microsoft will also continue to work on getting manufacturers to support gesture controls by adding advanced-enough touchpads to laptops.

Check out the full Release Preview Gallery below to get a better taste of the new OS:

Microsoft is apparently going to great lengths to prevent people from using the familiar Start button and Start menu in the company’s forthcoming Windows 8 operating system.

The company is removing all code from Windows 8 referencing the Start button/menu to prevent third-party developers from creating a workaround allowing people to continue using it, according to Winsupersite’s Paul Thurrott. He also points out that several of the user interface hacks implemented to bring back the Start button functionality on the Windows 8 Consumer Preview will no longer work on the Windows 8 Release Preview (Note: Consumer Preview and Release Preview are different). We’re still waiting for Microsoft to launch the Release Preview, which is expected to roll out sometime this week.

We first learned that Microsoft was removing the Start button functionality back in February. The Start button, which made its debut in the Windows 95 version of the OS, usually sits on the lower left corner of the screen within the “Live Bar” (the bar that contains minimized windows and quick button shortcuts to apps). The Start button was also one of the primary methods used for people to navigate to computer settings, applications, stored files, and more. By contrast, Windows 8 is supposed to break with this tradition.

The latest version of the OS is part of Microsoft’s strategy to integrate personal computers with tablets and other mobile devices, much in the same way Apple has done with its OS X operating system and its iOS mobile OS. Windows 8 plans to do this with a brand new Metro-style UI that will easily transition between devices. And a start button/menu does not translate very well to tablets and smartphones, so it has to go.

Essentially, getting rid of the start button could be either a genius (and uncharacteristic) move by Microsoft or something that endlessly annoys long-time Windows users into sticking with Windows 7. Worse, it could even push those people into a situation where they’d like to try Apple’s OS X or the new Google Chrome OS.

There’s also the matter of Windows 8 business and enterprise customers. As many people will attest, the business world is usually the most resistant toward big changes for a number of reasons that I could spend several paragraphs discussing. Probably the most practical reason most large companies will resist switching over will come down to IT departments not wanting to deal with the backlash from less technologically savvy employees — all of whom they’ll have to train and retrain several times for the next five years or so.

Via The Verge; Photo via Dylan Tweney

July 9-10, 2013
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The Chinese version of Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows 8 Release Preview has leaked online, with ISO files for the new operating system being traded across plenty of international forums, according to PCbeta.

Windows 8 is part of Microsoft’s strategy to integrate personal computers with tablets and other mobile devices, much in the same way Apple has done with its OS X operating system and its iOS mobile OS.

The leaked Chinese version of the Release Preview shows that Microsoft has updated the boot screen, cursors, wallpapers, added an Aero UI theme variation, and support for multiple monitors on the desktop, according to a report by Win8China (Google Translate). The Release Preview also contains Metro-style Windows 8 apps like Sports, Finance, Travel, and News, as you can see from the screenshots embedded below.

Microsoft has indicated that the official Release Preview versions of the OS will become available during the first week in June (meaning basically this week). The company hasn’t given the public a date for when the full version of Windows 8 will debut, but some reports say the full launch is targeted for some time in October 2012.

Via The Verge; Screenshots via Win8China, PCBeta

Google has introduced an updated version of its Chrome operating system and two new hardware options from Samsung that run the web-based OS — but it all still looks relatively underwhelming.

The search giant announced Chromebook laptops running the Chrome OS last May and finally started shipping units in June. Chrome OS is based on the notion of an always-internet-connected operating system. Not many consumers seem exited about a computer that will only “work” when it’s connected to the Web. Many apps work best installed locally on a machine rather than running it from the web. As such, Chromebook and Chrome OS adoption has not been widespread.

Now, Google is trying to change the tide with the launch of a more powerful Chromebook laptop as well as a tiny Chromebox computer that resembles Apple’s Mac mini that requires you to add a monitor, mouse, and keyboard on your own. Both pieces of hardware are made by Samsung, and both run a new version of the Chrome OS that we first got a look at in April. The new Chromebook laptop starts at $449 while the Chromebox costs $329.

As you can see in the photo below, the latest version of the Chrome OS looks much more like a Windows desktop versus what it previously looked like. It’s definitely a step in the right direction, and consumers will no doubt respond better because they are more familiar with how to operate it.

That said, there is still an inherent weakness in the Chrome OS that makes buying the hardware a dicey proposition for many users. As The Verge notes in a review, you can buy a much more versatile Windows 7 laptop for the same amount that you would spend on a new Chromebook. Om Malik seems to like the new Chromebook, but he still considers it a secondary machine instead of a primary one.

And as for the Chromebox, it seems to be a decently priced machine that could replace a desktop — as long as you don’t need access to dedicated local applications. But I don’t seriously believe that number is very large. For instance, right now I’m running Spotify for streaming music, a multi-IM client, and Photoshop, and all of those are outside of the browser. Strangely enough, the Chromebox also has no VGA or HDMI port, which limits the displays on which you can set it up.

You can watch a video describing the latest Chromebook below:

July 9-10, 2013
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If you buy a Windows 7 PC this year, you’ll get an offer to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro OS for just $15 when it comes out, according to Windows blogger Paul Thurrott.

On its face, this is a great offer in line with what Microsoft has done in the past. Basically, Microsoft wants to make sure Windows 7 PC sales don’t slip in the second quarter as people wait for Windows 8 to come out later this year. To make sure they buy in, Microsoft offers a cheap upgrade option to the next version of the OS that they will get when the OS is released.

Thurrott says the upgrade option will run $15 and will give any Windows 7 PC buyer the Pro version of Windows 8 even if they only get Windows 7 Home or Basic versions. This might be because the Pro version lines up the most with the traditional desktop experience, but at this time we don’t know the exact differences between Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. The upgrade offer should be out around the time Microsoft drops the last pre-release version of Windows 8, called Release Preview.

While the $15 price is quite good, you should look closely at what Windows 8 offers before you buy in. Windows 8 looks and feels radically different from Windows 7, Vista, 2000, 98, and 95 editions. It takes many cues from Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system and attempts to bridge the gap between desktop PCs and tablets.

As someone who loves the Windows 7 experience on the PC, I would hesitate about taking that upgrade, even at $15. Using Windows 8 on a laptop or desktop, it takes me longer to do everyday things like browsing and multi-tasking than it does when using Windows 7. Tablets are another story, and using Windows 8 on a tablet or hybrid laptop/tablet can be extremely smooth.

Microsoft will no doubt make many OS tweaks before Windows 8 launches to the public later this year, but based on its current state, consumers should get educated on how Windows 8 works before upgrading.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

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It’s been a long time coming — today we finally got our first glimpse at Research in Motion’s next-generation platform, BlackBerry 10, which aims to breathe new life into the company’s aging smartphones.

New RIM CEO Thorsten Heins hit the stage at BlackBerry World in Orlando, Florida today to show off the new platform. “We’re taking our time to make sure we get this right,” he said, perhaps hoping to squash criticisms of the long run-up to the availability of BB10 devices (expected later this year).

BlackBerry 10 is based on the QNX operating system used in RIM’s PlayBook’s tablet. Today, Heins showed off an early build of the OS, BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha, running on developer preview hardware. (It actually looks a lot like the PlayBook OS squeezed down to a smaller screen.) Developers attending BlackBerry World will receive one of the prototype BB10 devices, which will help them begin to develop new apps for the platform.

The BB10 interface seems refreshingly simple: the home screen consists of four widgets (weather, calendar, music, and photos, in the demo today), as well as phone, camera, and search buttons on the bottom of the screen. Notifications come in on the right side of the screen, and you can also swipe right to move into the app that the notification came from.

Surprisingly, Heins declared that BlackBerry 10 apps never stop running, which will allow you to easy juggle multiple apps without a sweat. It’s unclear how RIM is managing to do this without killing battery life though — something that BlackBerry users take seriously.

BB10′s software keyboard looks a lot like a typical hardware BlackBerry keyboard, but RIM also personalizes the keyboard to your typing style to remove latency. You can access numbers and symbols by gesturing from the keyboard, and RIM has also included some predictive text capabilities for one-handed typing.

RIM also briefly showed off the BB10 camera, which allows you to tap anywhere on the screen to take a photo. It also gives you the ability to step back or forward slightly from the moment you took a picture — so if someone blinks, you can save the picture pretty easily.

Heins described BlackBerry 10 as a “mobile computing engine.” He showed off a single BB10 device power several screens in a connected car (don’t expect to see this in your Accord anytime soon though). He reiterated that BB10 will launch sometime later this year.

RIM partners also showed off their BB10 wares: PixelMags is working on a magazine app, Fish Labs showed off the game Galaxy on Fire HD, and Mippin is working on the BlackBerry App Generator, which lets anyone easily create BlackBerry apps.

Photo via The Verge

Microsoft has finally shed some light on the different versions of Windows 8 we’ll see upon release, and thankfully, things are much simpler than past versions.

This time around, there are only three flavors Microsoft is pushing heavily: Windows 8, the version geared towards most consumers; Windows 8 Pro, for enterprise and enthusiast users; and Windows RT, which is the new name for Windows on low-power ARM processors (previously called WOA).

And fret not, IT workers. Microsoft says another version of the OS, Windows 8 Enterprise, will be available to organizations with Software Assurance agreements. It’s basically an offshoot of Windows 8 Pro, since it contains all of the features of that version plus an increased IT-management feature.

Notably, Windows RT will only be available pre-installed on ARM-powered devices like tablets and ultraportable laptops, so you’ll only have to worry about the other two versions of Windows 8 when deciding to upgrade your current computer. (For Media Center fans, Microsoft says it will be available as an “economical add-on pack” for Windows 8 Pro.)

The standard version of Windows 8 will include all of the great features we’ve already seen in the OS, including the new tablet-friendly Metro interface, updated Windows Explorer, and support for new Metro apps. Windows 8 Pro will add encryption, virtualization, PC management, and domain connection features, according Windows Communication Manager Brandon LeBlanc.

As we’ve covered previously, Windows RT will include touch-optimized Office apps. Explaining the Windows RT name, LeBlanc said the focus of the OS is on the new Windows runtime, which “forms the foundation of a new generation of cloud-enabled, touch-enabled, web-connected apps of all kinds.”

Below, check out a comparison chart between the three versions of Windows 8.

Photo via Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

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Microsoft’s much-anticipated Windows 8 operating system is now available to download for free in its Consumer Preview form. You can download it here.

While the software is far from final, this is a great chance to dig into one of the slickest-looking operating systems around. Windows 8 is one the most important products this year, and will help define Microsoft’s future. The OS attempts to bridge the gap between desktop and mobile devices and experiences with the ability to support touch screens and switch between traditional apps and touch-friendly Metro apps.

The Consumer Preview download comes in the form of an ISO file, which can be burned to a disc for easy installation. The file will work for both 32-bit and 64-bit machines and has language support for English, Chinese, French, German, and Japanese. Minimum requirements for the Consumer Preview are a 1-GHz processor, 1GB of RAM (32-bit) or 2GB (64-bit), 16GB (32-bit) or 20GB (64-bit) of free storage space, and a DirectX 9-compatible graphics card. If you want to take advantage of all the touch abilities of the Metro UI, you’ll obviously need a touch screen of some kind.

In our just-published hands-on take of Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Executive Editor Dylan Tweney notes that the OS “shows a design sensibility and a clarity of purpose not often seen in a Microsoft product.” But he also points out that it is still predictably buggy — the Flash support is incomplete and sometimes the system stops responding all together. Simply put, you get what you pay for.

If you download the Consumer Preview, let us know how the installation process goes and share any first impressions of Windows 8 in the comments. You can also follow our live coverage of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview announcement in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress.

Windows 8 screenshot: Microsoft

VentureBeat is holding its second annual Mobile Summit this April 2-3 in Sausalito, Calif. The invitation-only event will debate the five key business and technology challenges facing the mobile industry today, and participants — 180 mobile executives, investors, and policymakers — will develop concrete, actionable solutions that will shape the future of the mobile industry. You can find out more at our Mobile Summit site.

Microsoft today kicked off the launch of its Windows 8 Consumer Preview with a media event in a swanky Barcelona hotel.

Windows head Steven Sinofsky kicked off the event by describing the vast amount of devices and users the company is targeting with the Windows 8 operating system. The company’s goal with the OS spans across tablets of all sorts: business desktops, consumer tablets, and more. He revealed that Microsoft has made over 100,000 major code changes to Windows 8 since the Developer Preview was released in September.

(You can get your hands on the Windows 8 Consumer Preview now. Also check out our extensive preview of the Consumer Preview.)

Sinofsky then handed the show off to Julie Larson-Green, Windows VP of program management. She showed off the basics of the OS, as well as how fluid the Metro interface is. Things seem a lot smoother than the Developer Preview. She said that the new Start screen is built to support hundreds of apps, while the Windows 7 Start menu could only show a handful.

Antoine Leblond, vice president of Windows Web Services, showed off how the OS ran on a typical computer with a mouse and desktop. Simple tasks like copying and pasting have been drastically improved in Windows 8. Now, you can easily manage copying multiple files at once. He also showed how easy it is to move between the Windows 8 Explorer view back to the Start screen. Basically, it looks like you won’t miss the traditional Start button too much.

While showing off the Windows 8 Store, he stressed that Microsoft designed it to make apps incredibly easy to discover. Leblond said that Microsoft has been working more than ever with developers to bring their programs to the Windows 8 Store.

Sinofsky announced the eight winners of Microsoft’s “First App” contest: Cookbook, SigFig, Elements Weather, FlipSaw, Pew Pew, and Physamajig. As winners, the apps will be included with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Sinofsky stressed that all of the apps currently available for Windows 8, including third-party apps, are still technically in beta, so we shouldn’t make final judgements on them just yet.

Michael Angiulo, corporate VP of Windows planning and ecosystem, next came on stage to show off some Windows on ARM (WOA) devices. He stressed that Windows on ARM “is the same Windows” — though as we’ve already covered, that’s not necessarily true. Notably, WOA devices won’t be able to run non-Metro Windows applications — so long legacy software.

Sinofsky said that Microsoft developed a new class driver for Windows 8, which allows all sorts of hardware to work seamlessly with the OS without needed a separate driver. He said that 80 to 90 percent of printers will work automatically. “It just works,” he said.

They proceeded to show off different types of Windows 8 hardware, including ultrabooks, more powerful laptops, and desktops. One ultra book sported a motorized mechanism to reveal full-sized ports, something that the MacBook Air and other ultra-portables give up on. (Honestly, that mechanism looked whack.) The Lenovo Yoga, an ultrabook that can convert into a tablet, looked far more useful.

One of the more intriguing devices was a big-screen monitor that could be rotated flat, allowing you to use it like a Microsoft Surface display. They also showed off a ridiculously large 80-inch touchscreen running Windows 8, with a specially bonded Gorilla Glass display that allows for group collaboration. (A very rich group, I’m sure.)

Sinofsky said that Microsoft will follow its past release schedules with Windows 8: next up is the Release Candidate version, then the Release to Manufacturer (RTM) version. After that, Windows 8 will finally be available to the public.

And trust me, this is not one Windows release to be ignored. From the looks of it, Windows 8 is a sign of Microsoft’s approach to operating systems for the next decade.

VentureBeat is holding its second annual Mobile Summit this April 2-3 in Sausalito, Calif. The invitation-only event will debate the five key business and technology challenges facing the mobile industry today, and participants — 180 mobile executives, investors, and policymakers — will develop concrete, actionable solutions that will shape the future of the mobile industry. You can find out more at our Mobile Summit site.