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Tag: Windows

  • Windows Phone Mango Goes to Manufacturers

    Windows Phone Mango Goes to Manufacturers

    The next version of the Windows Phone operating system – Mango – has been released to the first manufacturers who will produce devices built around it.

    “This marks the point in the development process where we hand code to our handset and mobile operator partners to optimize Mango for their specific phone and network configurations,” says Microsoft’s Terry Myerson Here on the Windows Phone team, we now turn to preparing for the update process. The Mango update for current Windows Phone handsets will be ready this fall, and of course will come pre-installed on new Windows Phones.”

    “We can’t wait to get Mango in your hands so you can experience all the new features for yourself and give us feedback on where to go next. As we reach additional milestones we will be back to share more but until then, thank you for your support of Windows Phone.”

    Microsoft revealed Mango in May, adding hundreds of new features to the Windows Phone operating system. “When we looked ahead to the next release, we wanted to stay true to the principles of Windows Phone 7 – that software should get out of your way and quickly connect you to the things that matter most,” said Greg Sullivan, senior product manager of mobile communications at Microsoft. “Mango builds on the work that we did in Windows Phone 7 and extends a lot of key scenarios around communications, apps, and Internet experiences – with even more capability and a deeper level of integration.”

    @jldavid
    Jean-Luc David    Windows Phone “Mango” Released to Manufacturing: http://bit.ly/n8HM2N (via @windows) 2 hours ago via bitly · powered by @socialditto

    Mango includes an “App Connect” feature, which connects apps to search results, and is designed to surface apps “when and where they make sense”. For example, if you search Bing (the default search engine of course) for a movie, you may get results delivered in the form of show times and theater locations actually from the Fandango app.

    “It’s like having a great butler or a valet that you’ve known for 30 years who can anticipate your every need instead you doing all the work yourself,” Sullivan said. “Windows Phone stitches all of this together for you and connects the applications you have on your phone, or that we have in the marketplace, to the rest of what you’re doing, in a way that’s much, much deeper than any other platform. So you can go from Binging to buying in seconds.”

    More features are discussed here, but we find the ways that the operating system is integrating search with other apps quite interesting, particularly for search marketers. If this becomes a trend in mobile search, it places emphasis on the need for visibility among popular mobile apps.

    According to reports, Fujitsu and KDDI (in Japan) will be the first to launch Mango-based phones.

  • Skype Gets More Integrated with Facebook

    Skype Gets More Integrated with Facebook

    Skype announced today that it is adding deeper Facebook integration with the new Skype 5.5 beta version for Windows. It will allow you to instant message Facebook friends directly through Skype, using the Facebook contacts tab within the service, which will show you when someone is available to chat.

    Features include:

    • Facebook Instant Messaging
    • Facebook Contacts Tab
    • ‘Like’ and even comment on a Facebook status
    • New Call Control Toolbar (with redesigned icons)
    • Improvements to the saving of a phone number in the “Call Phones” section.
    • Visual improvements to placing a call on hold.

    @Skype
    Skype    Skype Gets More Social with Deeper #Facebook Integration http://bit.ly/lUPaeR 30 minutes ago via CoTweet · powered by @socialditto

    The beta can be downloaded here. No word on features for other non-Windows versions.

    Windows will no doubt remain a top priority in Skype’s future, given that the company was recently purchased by Microsoft. I’d expect that the Windows Phone platform might get a bit of special treatment in the future as well. When the acquisition was announced, Microsoft did say Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will also continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms, it said.

    Last week, Comcast and Skype announced they were joining forces to bring customers HD video calling to Comcast customers. And speaking of Kinect, Microsoft also launched the beta software developer kit for Kinect for Windows.

  • Windows Phone Mango Brings New Search Elements to the Table

    Microsoft revealed the next version of its Windows Phone mobile operating system today. The release is going by the code name “Mango,” and it includes hundreds of new features, according to the company.

    “When we looked ahead to the next release, we wanted to stay true to the principles of Windows Phone 7 – that software should get out of your way and quickly connect you to the things that matter most,” said Greg Sullivan, senior product manager of mobile communications at Microsoft. “Mango builds on the work that we did in Windows Phone 7 and extends a lot of key scenarios around communications, apps, and Internet experiences – with even more capability and a deeper level of integration.”

    The OS comes with an interesting “App Connect” feature that connects apps to search results and is designed to surface app “when and where they make sense.”

    A user can search Bing for a movie, for example, and the search results deliver things like show times and theater locations, but App Connect may add functionality from the Fandango app that lets you purchsae the ticket right from there.

    “It’s like having a great butler or a valet that you’ve known for 30 years who can anticipate your every need instead you doing all the work yourself,” Sullivan said. “Windows Phone stitches all of this together for you and connects the applications you have on your phone, or that we have in the marketplace, to the rest of what you’re doing, in a way that’s much, much deeper than any other platform. So you can go from Binging to buying in seconds.”

    The OS also comes with a “People Hub,” which puts together contacts from various ways you may connect with people: Facebook, Twiter, Email, LinkedIn, and Windows Live Messenger. “Our friends are people – they’re not apps,” Sullivan said. “Mango makes it super easy to put people first then lets users chose the way they want to communicate.”

    Other interesting search elements Mango brings to the table include:

  • Local Scout prioritizes hyper-local search results based on user preferences and recommends the closest restaurants, shopping and activities in an easy-to-use guide.
  • Visual search enables users to initiate a Bing search by photographing barcodes, QR codes and Microsoft Tags (without using a third-party app).
  • Music search allows users to search Bing and get detailed information about music (like song title, artist and album title) by simply holding the phone up to a speaker.

    • How well all of these features actually work remains to be seen, but it all sounds pretty good in theory.

    More features are discussed here.

    Al Hilwa, Program Director for Applications Development Software at IDC tells WebProNews, “Much is heard about what Microsoft is not doing right or how far behind it is in mobile. Behind in the market it is for sure, but what we have seen and are seeing from the Windows Phone team is the kind of stuff needed to win in the big ecosystem battle. The market is moving fast and it appears like there is no time to catch up, but in reality, we are entering a decade-long transition in devices that will turn software models around like tumbleweed, and it is important for the players to take their time and think through their strategies.”

    “Microsoft’s biggest weakness appears to be the lack of tablets, but in reality, even the fast market responses to tablets from the Android world have so far let the iPad continue to walk-way unchallenged,” he adds. “Microsoft appears to be making its bets in the tablet space with its big-guns, namely the full Windows Ecosystem. Windows 8 is the opening salvo, which we are likely to hear about in the fall.”

    “The Nokia deal changes the game and puts Windows Phone on the map, we are all waiting for the first phones. To win, they have to address low-end and high-end phones early. For Mango, I like the larger language and geo portfolio and the new OEMs on board with the platform,” says Hilwa.

    “If Windows Phone 7 attempted to match the state of the art of the year in 2010, we have seen in Mango the outlines of a release with features that finally begin to pull ahead of the competition.”

    “I like the integration of developer apps into many aspects of the phone, such as Hubs and Bing Search in the browser,” he says. “Mango also brings social networking and email features to new levels. I like the new email features like thread grouping, pinnable folders, server searching, IRM, etc…”

    Mobile is essential to the future success of Bing. Mango will extend Windows Phone’s global reach, so that should certainly help spread Bing use even more, in addition to the recent partnerships with Nokia and RIM.

    The new Windows Phone OS will be available in the fall.

  • Is Nokia Primed For A Comeback In The US?

    Nokia? What’s that? I’m sure there are young teens, and children who are receiving their first smart phones which have little memory of when Nokia dominated the mobile landscape. In fact, on the international level Nokia is still the top selling cell phone manufacturer. However, they’ve fallen by the wayside in the US to the domination of iOS and Android powered devices.

    Nokia’s profits plummeted in 2010, which was definitely something new for the Finnish mobile juggernaut. Ever since, the company has been making moves here and there which could put them in a position to gain back some of the market share they’ve lost in the past year.

    One of the signs from last year which made it seem Nokia was on the ropes, was the release of the Ovi Store. Critics blasted the effort, citing bad navigation and poor usability. Due to the harsh start, the Ovi Store looked dead in the water. However, Nokia has stuck with the Ovi Store and things are improving.

    According to numbers released today, Nokia is claiming the Ovi Store is receiving 5 million downloads on a daily basis. In October 2010, they were claiming 2.3 million daily downloads, which improved to 3 million just a month later. The amount of developers and apps keep increasing at a healthy rate. They’re still drastically behind the App Store and Android Market in terms of number of developers and apps. However, improvement is always a good thing.

    While they stayed invested in the Ovi Store, they’re going to move on from their traditional operating system, Symbian. Nokia has always used their in-house OS, however, it seems as though they realize they need help to combat with iOS and Android. They now have turned to Microsoft, and have partnered with them to release Windows Phone 7 powered devices as early as next year.

    An ace-in-the-hole for Nokia is they have one of the largest, and reliable R&D departments in the mobile industry. They’ve always been known to release quality devices, a staple of the company which has even lasted during their recent decline. If they’re able to develop future devices which are fully optimized to implement Windows Phone 7, there’s a lot of potential for improved sales.

    Another benefit Nokia has is they’re still the top cell phone manufacturer in the international arena. While 2011 will still more than likely present a decline for Nokia, they appear to be investing where they need to in order to make a rebound in the future. If their numbers can heat up internationally due to the changes, it isn’t beyond reason to think this will trickle to the US markets as well.

    If Windows Phone 7 can provide the boost to their sales numbers around the world, and the Ovi Store can continue to improve upon their sales, a comeback isn’t too unrealistic. However, will all the changes be enough to fight back against the iPhone and Android devices? We’ll know soon enough.

  • Microsoft 2010 By the Numbers

    Microsoft made a slew of announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). More on that here. The company also revealed a bunch of numbers for 2010 that you might find interesting. 

    So, let’s get right to them:

    Xbox/Kinect

    – 8 million: Number of Kinects sold in first 60 days

    – 50 million: Xbox 360s sold to date

    – 30 million: Number of Xbox LIVE members 

    Windows Phone 7

    – 100: Average number of new apps in the marketplace each day

    – 5,500: Apps available in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace

    – 20,000: Developers registered to develop apps for Windows Phone 7

    – 1.5 million: Windows Phone 7s sold by phone manufacturers in the first six weeks after launch

    – 60: Number of mobile operators that carry Windows Phone 7

    – 30: Number of countries where Windows Phone 7 is available

    Search Buttons on Windows Phone Devices Take Users to Bing

    Windows 7

    – 7: number of Windows 7 licenses sold per second

    – 20 million: Number of downloads of Internet Explorer 9 beta

    – 500 million+: Number of Windows Live users worldwide

    – 20: Percentage of PCs connected to the Internet running Windows 7

    There are no new Bing numbers to report, unfortunately, though Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer did acknowledge the search engine’s healthy growth in 2010. It is powering Yahoo Search and Facebook’s web search.

  • Microsoft Announcements from CES

    The Consumer Elecronics Show (CES) in Vegas has already been a big event for Microsoft, and it doesn’t even end until January 9. CEO Steve Ballmer reflected on the past year, and introduced some elements of where the company is headed. 

    "(It) was a very, very exciting year for our customers," Ballmer said. "We launched Windows Phone 7, Office 2010, and Kinect, and we introduced Internet Explorer 9 and Office 365. We saw great growth in our Bing and Azure services, and with the amazing success of Windows 7, it’s truly been a year like none other." Microsoft has a billion customers, the company says. 

    "The products that I mentioned resulted from big technology bets that we’ve made," added Ballmer. "Bets on the cloud, natural user interface, new smart client technology, machine learning."

    Here’s Steve Ballmer’s Keynote:

    So what’s coming from Microsoft? 

    The Next Windows

    The next version of Windows will support System on a Chip (SoC) architectures, including ARM-based systems from NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, the company announced. 

    "With today’s announcement, we’re showing the flexibility and resiliency of Windows through the power of software and a commitment to world-class engineering. We continue to evolve Windows to deliver the functionality customers demand across the widest variety of hardware platforms and form factors," said Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft."

    More on this here.

    Tablets

    Ballmer introduced a new lineup of Windows 7 tablets. Including: a dual-screen PC from Acer, the Samsung PC 7 Sliding Series, and an Asus Tablet PC. Mashable has a good write up on these. 

    It will be interesting to see how the devices compete with the iPad in the future. My hunch is that when combined, they will do just fine. As long as consumers are using tablets with Windows, Microsoft will be happy. 

    Surface

    Microsoft and Samsung unveiled the next generation of Surface, giving LCD panels "the power to see without the use of cameras." People can share and collaborate using a large, thin display that recognizes fingers, hands and other objects placed on the screen. More on this here.

    Xbox/Kinect

    The company is aiming for Xbox to become the "hub of your living room". They announced new Kinect-enabled entertainment experiences, and new Xbox Live gaming titles. Hulu Plus will also be coming to Xbox Live.

    "It is your gaming system, but it’s your movies, it’s your TV shows, and it’s your sporting events. It’s your social interactions, all delivered directly to the biggest screen in your house."

    The Xbox team introduced a new social experience called Avatar Kinect that will use Kinect’s camera and sensor and facial recognition technology to let a person control their avatar’s movements and expressions; when they smile, frown, nod and speak.  More on this here.

    The company also affirmed a commitment to gaming on other platforms like the PC and Windows Phone 7.

  • Microsoft Said to Be Launching New Windows for ARM Soon

    In a recent article, we asked if Microsoft could compete with the iPad? Well, it would appear that they may be trying in more ways than one. 

    According to a report from Bloomberg, Microsoft will announce a version of Windows that runs on ARM technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January. According to the report, which cites "two people familiar with Microsoft’s plans" as the source, the software would be tailored to battery-powered devices like tablets and other handhelds. 

    We’ve seen other reports indicating that Microsoft would be unveiling some new tablets in a new effort to compete with Apple’s hugely successful iPad. 

    Steve Ballmer Shows off Slate at CES

    Microsoft recently launched Windows Phone 7 to compete with Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android in the smartphone space. This week, the company finally revealed some info about sales of devices running this operating system. The company revealed that manufacturers sold 1.5 million phones in the first six weeks. 

    As our own Doug Caverly pointed out, Android’s Andy Rubin rcently tweeted that over 300,000 Android phones were being activated every day, and Apple recently announced that it sold 14.1 million iPhones in the third quarter. 

    While the numbers on Windows Phone 7 might not be astonishing so far, the operating system did get some pretty good reviews, and I wouldn’t write it off just yet. It will be very interesting to see if Microsoft emerges as a big part of the conversation in mobile computing over the next year. 

    What do you think? Can Microsoft take on Apple and Google in the mobile operating system realm?

  • Will Windows Phone 7 Be A Success?

    Will Windows Phone 7 Be A Success?

    Microsoft showed off its new Windows Phone 7 devices this week. There are a lot of questions about how Microsoft will perform in the smartphone space, though they’re clearly up to the challenge. Microsoft’s success in this space also has big implications for the company’s performance in the search market, which means search marketers should keep an eye on this.

    Do you think Windows Phone 7 will be a hit with consumers? Share your thoughts. 

     

    If Windows Phone 7 doesn’t work, Microsoft likely just try again (although some think this one is do or die). The Kin didn’t work, but that doesn’t mean Windows Phone 7 can’t. The company ended Kin abruptly for a reason.  

    Microsoft has some catching up to do in this space. There’s no doubt about that. Consumers have been buying up smartphones faster than ever, and established players like Blackberry, iPhone, and Android seem to be at the center of most users’ attention. 

    Brian Chen at Wired has an interesting take. He says Windows Phone 7 will make Android look chaotic. "Microsoft may be late to the game with a consumer-savvy phone OS, but Windows Phone 7 is aiming to do right a lot of what Google is doing wrong," he says. 

    Microsoft requires manufacturers to include specific hardware elements (like specific buttons) to use Windows Phone 7. "The effort to control quality and consistency may be just what Microsoft needs to regain some ground in the phone battle," says Chen. 

    I’m not sure I agree with this take, but it’s a theory. Of course, Google’s "wrongdoing" is netting them a growing number of Android sales. 

    Can Microsoft give consumers a reason to choose Windows Phone 7? Nobody seems to be completely counting them out. Robert Scoble says, "This OS is beautiful. Unlike Nokia or RIM, Microsoft threw out the old OS and started from scratch. For the first time in a while they didn’t just copy Apple, either. They did a whole new UI from scratch. It uses tiles instead of the little icons on my iPhone. It has a very nice contact manager. It shows you all sorts of information from services and your social network up front. Buyers who see it in stores will be very impressed …"

     

    Here are a couple questions for you: Do consumers respect the Windows brand enough to make the move on their phones? Was Microsoft smart to use Windows Phone 7 as the name?  A lot of people continue to buy Windows PCs based on familiarity. These same people aren’t necessarily familiar with Windows on their phones. Granted, it’s not the same experience, but from a brand perspective, it will be interesting to see how the decision pays off. 

    If the Windows Phone 7 initiative is successful and the OS gains significant adoption, it could mean big things for Bing. The inclusion of a Bing search hard key alone could dramatically increase the amount of Bing searches that are conducted. That’s just one reason Microsoft really needs this to work. 

    Microsoft is coming from behind in the smartphone space, and they have some catching up to do, but the company has shown that its capable of penetrating markets where there is little room for new competitors. They’ve shown this with Bing. Bing is far from having Google’s share of the search market, but there’s no question it has become a significant competitor (much more than any other Microsoft search engine had). Google CEO Eric Schmidt even called it the company’s main competitor. 

    The smartphone market is spread around more than the search market. There’s no just one dominant player. There’s no reason why Microsoft can’t be a legitimate competitor. It may take a nice-sized marketing budget and some strategic partnerships, but that is nothing new for Microsoft. See Bing’s history.

    Here are the first Windows Phone 7 smartphones. 

    Do you think Microsoft can compete in the smartphone market? How big is Windows Phone 7 for Bing? Tell us what you think. 

  • Microsoft Tablets To Launch Before Christmas

    Microsoft said today it would launch a tablet computer before the Christmas shopping season in an effort to take on Apple’s iPad.

    Steve-Ballmer "You’ll see new slates with Windows on them. You’ll see them this Christmas," he told an audience of students, staff and journalists at the London School of Economics.

    "Certainly we have done work around the tablet as both a productivity device and a consumption device," he said.

    Gartner estimates 10 million tablets PCs will be sold this year as people begin adopting such devices, which include Dell’s Streak and Asustek’s Eee Pad. Apple’s iPad has sold 3.3 million in its first quarter.

    Microsoft’s Windows phone software had 8.7 percent of the smartphone market last year, but that is on track to fall to 3.9 percent by 2014, according to Gartner.

    "The job right now is we’ve got to get back seriously into the game of phones," Ballmer said.

    "We’ve got to have a comeback against the competition and I think with our new Windows phones we really have a beautiful product."

     

  • Apple to Close Quattro Wireless, RIM Looks for Its Own Ad Network

    Apple’s VP of iAd (formerly Quattro’s CEO) Andy Miller sent Apple employees a memo saying that the Quattro Wireless Network will be shut down at the end of September. Apple bought Quattro, which would lead to iAd, last year for $275. Silicon Alley Insider has a look at the memo. 

    Meanwhile, RIM is shopping for an ad network, according to the Wall Street Journal. The publication cites the popular "people familiar with the matter".

    Here’s a fun one. Have you heard/read about the movie the Last Exorcism? There’s a viral campaign utilizing ChatRoulette (it can be used for marketing!):

    Google reportedly wants Motorola to create an Android tablet for Verizon. On a related note, the next version of Android (after Gingerbread) will reportedly be called Honeycomb.

    ZDNet reports that Windows 7 is a hit, while XP is officially in decline.

    Experian Hitwise announced the launch of two major search products: SERP position data for all major search engines and search term sequencing for common sequential trends in search behavior.

    Perhaps the biggest story in tech today is that Intel is buying McAfee for $7.68 billion. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact this has on the security industry.

  • Microsoft Will Have Answers to the iPad. Will They Be the Right Answers?

    Microsoft feels threatened by the iPad. That was made clear by the words of CEO Steve Ballmer at Microsoft’s financial analysts meeting. Microsoft intends to come out swinging with Windows-based iPad rivals. It’s just a matter of when, and if customers will have anywhere near the same enthusiasm they have had for the ipad.

    Of course, Microsoft isn’t the only company that has to worry about winning that enthusiasm. Any other player in the tablet market has a lot to live up to after the iPad’s phenomenal sales. However, whereas Google, for example, may be able to ride on some of the building enthusiasm for the Android operating system, Microsoft is hoping familiarity with Windows will be the ticket.

    Steve Ballmer Here are some of the things that Ballmer said (based on a transcript provided by Fortune). "There is a category that we’ve had Windows on for actually a long time.  We’ve had Windows 7 on, tablets and slate machines now for a number of years, and Apple has done an interesting job of putting together a synthesis and putting a product out, and in which they’ve — they sold certainly more than I’d like them to sell, let me just be clear about that.  We think about that.  We think about that in competitive sense."

    "Just like we had to make things happen on netbooks, we’ve got to make things happen with Windows 7 on slates.  And we are in the process of doing that as we speak.  We’re working with our hardware partners, we’re tuning Windows 7 to new slate hardware designs that they’re bringing them to market. And, yeah, you’re going to get a lot of cacophony.  There will be people who do things with other operating systems.  But we’ve got the application base, we’ve got the user familiarity.  We’ve got everything on our side if we do things really right."

    Microsoft also appears to be relying on Intel to help boost consumer enthusiasm for whatever products it launches. "We’ll get a boost sometime after the new year when Intel brings its new Oak Trail processor to market," Ballmer said. "Oak Trail is designed to be lower power.  Lower power is good in a lot of ways.  It leads to longer battery life, no fan, lower kind of noise levels, a lot of less weight — a lot of things that people like."

    It will be interesting to see how Windows Phone 7 does, and if it is able to drum up further enthusiasm as well. Either way, look for Microsoft to bring Windows to a variety of new mobile computing devices.

  • Google, ITA Software Talks Causing Stir in Travel Industry

    Google, ITA Software Talks Causing Stir in Travel Industry

    Reuters is reporting that Google is in discussions to buy ITA Software (which has been rumored for months), an airline IT and services provider. The company is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and provides airfare info to airlines, travel agencies, and travel web services.

    According to Reuters, there is a great deal of concern about such a deal among the travel industry. (hat tip: Greg Sterling).

    ITA Software

    Last week, Salesforce made Chatter available to everyone. This has been described as a "Facebook for the enterprise." It’s also been described as "more than just Facebook for the enterprise." Either way, the company has now published a Best Practices guide for using it.

    UnwiredView.com reports on some alleged details and specs for the next (after FroYo) version of Android – Gingerbread.

    MeeGo announced "Day 1" of the MeeGo proejct. The MeeGo handset baseline source code is now available to the developer community.

    TechCrunch points to an interesting new service that launched from Appsfire. It’s called AppTrends, and it aims to rank iPhone apps based on how much people are talking about them on Twitter. This may not only be a good tool for discovering new and interesting apps, but it also illustrates a practical use of real-time search.

    Microsoft has issued a reminder that its Windows Anytime Upgrade offer will come to an end on July 3rd. Engadget points to more details from Geek.com.

    Apple’s iPhone 4 antenna issues have received a lot of press since the release of the phone. Most recently, there is a lot of discussion about Apple’s hiring of antenna engineers, a job posting that appeared the day people started complaining, as Engadget points out. Meanwhile, Boy Genius Report has an interesting article about Apple’s troubleshooting process.

    I personally seem to have been caught in some “old experiment” of Google’s which is now preventing me from seeing Google’s recently rolled out interface in Firefox. While I can see it in other browsers, and until today could in Firefox, I am no longer able to see the new UI, and am instead presented with the old version of Google results pages (where I have to click a link to bring up the search options).

    I asked Google about this, and Jake Hubert from the company’s Global Communications and Public Affairs division told me, “I’ve verified that what you are seeing is likely related to an old experiment. We have no plans to remove the left-hand panel.”

    Has this happened to anyone else?

  • Security Firms Respond to “Google Dropping Windows” Report

    Rumor has it that Google is not using Windows internally anymore, and security companies don’t necessarily find this to be a great solution if security is the concern. More than one has emailed WebProNews with reactions to this story.

    The Financial Times posted a somewhat controversial article on Monday talking about Google phasing out the internal use of Microsoft Windows due to security concerns. This information came from "several Google employees", the publication said, through apparently not through any official confirmation from the company itself. "In early January, some new hires were still being allowed to install Windows on their laptops, but it was not an option for their desktop computers," reported the Financial Times. "Google would not comment on its current policy."

    Well, a lot of other people had comments. For one, Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc had this (and more) to say on the Windows Blog (via PC World):

    Google not using Windows could inspire others to do the same, say security companies When it comes to security, even hackers admit we’re doing a better job making our products more secure than anyone else. And it’s not just the hackers; third party influentials and industry leaders like Cisco tell us regularly that our focus and investment continues to surpass others.

    Symantec tells WebProNews that trying to improve security by getting rid of a particular platform is a misconception for 2 reasons:

    – Firstly, the main security risks are not rooted in the underlying platform; most attack activity is aimed at web browsers, plug-ins or humans making bad security choices

    – One platform is no less vulnerable than another; it is often not a matter of whether an application is vulnerable, but whether someone spends time finding the vulnerabilities and fixing them – however the more popular applications are most likely to be attacked

    Trusteer CEO Mickey Boodaei says, "Enterprises that are considering shifting to an operating system like Mac or Linux should realize that although there are less malware programs available against these platforms, the shift will not solve the targeted attacks problem and may even make it worse."

    "Mac and Linux are not more secure than Windows," he adds. "They’re less targeted. There is a big difference. If you choose a less targeted platform then there is less of a chance of getting infected with standard viruses and Trojans that are not targeting you specifically. This could be an effective way of reducing infection rates for companies that suffer frequent infections."

    Trusteer tells us that reports that Google is planning to drop Windows for security reasons may lead other enterprises to follow this practice.

  • First-Hand Look at Kia’s Microsoft Embedded UVO Technology

    We recently looked at Ford’s office-in-your-truck 2011 Super Duty, which was on display at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. That featured Windows Embedded Auto software from Microsoft, but Ford’s not the only auto maker using this.

    We also got an up-close look at tKia’s new UVO (Your Voice) system, which utilizes Windows Embedded Auto for some cool voice controlled features and more:

    With UVO, users can place and receive calls and stream media over their phones if they connect with Bluetooth. Users can also use voice controls to operate the CD player and devices that plug into the car’s USB port.

    This year’s CES event displayed some interesting innovations in automotive features, and provided a glimpse into what just may become very common in vehicles.
     

    Related Articles:

    > Ford Shows You Can Have Your Office in Your Truck

    > Ford Turning Cars Into Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspots

    > How Ford Does Social Media

  • Ford Shows You Can Have Your Office in Your Truck

    Ford Shows You Can Have Your Office in Your Truck

    As we discussed before, Internet-ready vehicles were one of the more interesting themes throughout the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. One vehicle in particular that WebProNews got an up-close look at was the 2011 Ford Super Duty, which the company refers to as a "contractor’s dream."

    Checking out the truck, it’s not hard to see why they would call it that. It has a computer in it running Windows-embedded software, built specifically for Ford by Microsoft.

    The software allows businesses to essentially carry their offices with them right in the truck. It has:

    – Internet connectivity
    – Word processing
    – Spreasheets
    – Bluetooth-enabled Keyboard and Printer
    – hands free, voice activated controls
    – It can send and receive phone calls

    That’s in addition to all of the actual truck-related features. Ford suggests that contractors can use the truck to print up invoices on the spot, and generally manage their businesses. Pretty cool stuff.

    This isn’t the first cool web-related effort we’ve seen from Ford, however. They’ve already been turning cars into mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. The company has also shown how web-savvy it is with its efforts in social media marketing, which Ford Motor Company head of social media Scott Monty discussed with WebProNews at another recent event.
     

    Related Articles:

    > Google Earth Makes Leap To Automobiles

    > Ford Turning Cars Into Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspots

    > How Ford Does Social Media

  • Google Launches New Chrome Version

    Google is launching the latest stable release of its Chrome Browser for Windows. This version comes with the heavily requested extensions and bookmark sync features.

    "Bookmark sync is a handy feature for those of you who use several computers — say, a laptop at work and a desktop at home," explains product manager Nick Baum. "You can enable bookmark sync to synchronize your bookmarks on all of your computers so that when you create a bookmark on one computer, it’s automatically added across all your computers. This means that you won’t need to manually recreate the bookmark each time you switch computers." There’s a step-by-step guide here for using bookmark sync.

    Google recently launched its extensions gallery in beta, and it now has over 1,500 extensions.

    Chrome Extensions

    Baum appears in the following video explaining how to use extensions on Chrome: 

    For developers, Google has integrated some new HTML5 APIs like LocalStorage, Database API, WebSockets, etc. in the new stable release. These are elaborated on here. In addition, Google has improved the performance by 42% from its last stable release (400% from the first one), the company says.

    Google says that for Linux users, extensions are enabled in the beta channel, and for Mac users, they’re working on bringing extensions, bookmark sync and other features to the beta version soon. Users of the current stable version of Chrome for Windows will be automatically upgraded over the next week.

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