Sinofsky shows off Windows 8 on ARM and Office15 - Register

Windows boss Stephen Sinofsky has ended months of speculation with the first (fairly) detailed drilldown into Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) platform, and says it should be ready for a simultaneous launch with its x86/64 counterpart.

Devices running WOA will come with both a Metro touch-based interface and the more traditional desktop, and will run Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote applications with full document compatibility with x86/64 systems. Photo sharing, calendar, mail, storage and contact applications will also be the same as on ARM and x86/64. But that’s it for compatibility – all other apps on WOA have to be Metro-style WinRT and come via the Windows Store.

Office 15 Excel will be compatible with your desktop

Virtualized code on the platform is out too. The process of running emulators for x86/64 applications was far too battery and processor-heavy, and too unstable Sinofsky said, so they would have to be built in an entirely new style. That said, Microsoft said it is making life as easy as possible for developers to compile WinRT applications in Visual Studio.

“If we enabled the broad porting of existing code we would fail to deliver on our commitment to longer battery life, predictable performance, and especially a reliable experience over time,” he said. “The conventions used by today’s Windows apps do not necessarily provide this, whether it is background processes, polling loops, timers, system hooks, startup programs, registry changes, kernel mode code, admin rights, unsigned drivers, add-ins, or a host of other common techniques.”

Metro-only on most WOA apps

WOA will come with Internet Explorer 10, support for HTML5 , hardware accelerated graphics and also makes greater use of integrated hardware subsystems for more power efficiency. Sinofsky claimed this would make multitasking, such as playing a movie and reading a document, much more power efficient.

Power is the key the whole deal. WOA devices aren’t designed to be switched on and off, but left in standby, for weeks it is claimed. Sinofsky stressed how closely Redmond was working with Nvidia, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments to develop these devices – almost exclusively fondleslabs one would imagine - that can match what’s on the market today, with the iPad the obvious target.

The first devices should be in the hands of a few, pre-picked developers next month and Office 15 is already out to a similar group of Microsoft testers. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is also due out next month, and Sinofsky pointed out the name change from “beta” was because, to some companies (no names mentioned,) the meaning of the term beta as "testing release available for free to try out," seemed to have changed.

Microsoft is stressing that the two different styles will be distinctly branded to avoid consumer confusion and would have standardized connections via USB 3.0 and Bluetooth. The clunky units in the blog video will be replaced with fondleslabs designed around “industrial design, long battery life, and integrated quality,” Sinofsky promised. ®

View the original article here

Report: Microsoft to Show Off Windows 7 Slider Tablet at CES - PC Magazine

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will demonstrate tablet computers running a version of Windows 7, including a Samsung model with a slide-out keyboard, at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in January, The New York Times reported yesterday in a blog post.

The Times didn't name its source, but the person described the Samsung slate device as "similar in size and shape" to the Apple iPad, but "not as thin." The slide-out keyboard is said to be "unique" and "slick." Given that description, the mystery tablet is nothing like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which has a 7-inch screen (the iPad's is 10 inches) and no sliding keyboard.

Ballmer will show more slates from Dell and other manufacturers, according to the report. The devices will run Windows 7, though holding them in portrait mode with the keyboard sheathed will activate a "layered" interface. Similar to the announced BlackBerry PlayBook, the new machines are said to be aimed primarily at business users, an audience generally thought to be underserved by the iPad.

The Times report cited one source who suggested Microsoft could even show a tablet running Windows 8, though that appears unlikely. It's possible that Microsoft will show the devices running a variant of Windows 7 or Windows Phone 7 — one that's tailored to work with slate devices, similar to the tablet-specific version of Android dubbed "Honeycomb." Ballmer alluded to such a move in the summer when he said, "We're working with our hardware partners. We're tuning Windows 7 to new slate hardware designs that they're bringing them to market."

Microsoft is said to be encouraging manufacturers to write apps for the new slate machines in HTML5. The apps won't be sold in the Zune Marketplace or any other app store, the Times said. Instead, software partners will host the apps on their own websites.

When contacted, Microsoft told PCMag it had no comment on the rumors.

Tim Gideon contributed to this article.

View the original article here

Loopt Launches Windows Phone 7 App - PC Magazine

Location-based service Loopt launched its app for Windows Phone 7 on Monday.

"The Windows Phone 7 Loopt app is distinctly different from any version we've ever made," Sam Altman, Loopt co-founder and chief executive, said in a statement. "Microsoft has created a smartphone experience that lets people get out of their phones and back to their lives. Loopt is all about using your phone as a tool to get out, find friends, and socialize, and with this phone, Microsoft has opened up a new window into that valuable, social information."

The app includes Loopt's social map, a tool that lets users see where their friends are in relation to their own current location. Users can share their location and photos and see where their friends have been, with the option to include photos in friend updates.

Similar to a text message, the Loopt app allows users to "Ping" a specific user in order to connect, rather than sending out a message to all their Loopt friends at once. Privacy controls enable location-sharers to determine who gets to see where they are.

The app is available for free in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace.

Also on Tuesday, Sling Media released its SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Phone 7 app, which will sell for $2.99. When connected to a Slingbox Solo or Slingbox PRO-HD via the Internet, the SlingPlayer Mobile software lets users watch their home TV on a variety of handsets. Other Windows Phone 7 apps that have been made their debuts recently include Google's search app, an official Twitter app, and one for Amazon's Kindle.

The first three phones on the Windows Phone 7 platform hit U.S. stores on Monday. Two phones, including the Samsung Focus and the HTC Surround, are supported on AT&T, while the HTC HD7 is supported on T-Mobile. Each phone is $199 with a two-year contract.

The Windows Phone 7 Marketplace already has more than 1,000 apps, including games, utilities, and other social-networking applications.

View the original article here

Dell's Windows Phone 7 Switch: Good for Microsoft's Enterprise Hopes? - eWeek

Is Windows Phone 7 slated to become the next big enterprise device?

That becomes a more pressing question following news that Dell plans on dumping Research In Motion's BlackBerry from its corporate offices, in favor of Windows Phone 7 devices manufactured by the company. Within hours of that news leaking online, RIM responded with some biting commentary:

"We find it highly unlikely that they will actually save any money with this move and far more likely they were looking for a little free publicity," Mark Guibert, RIM's senior vice president of corporate marketing, wrote in an e-mail to Dow Jones Newswires.

In a Nov. 5 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Dell Chief Financial Officer Brian Gladden indicated that the company's switch will save around 25 percent on mobile communication costs, and that negotiations had begun with T-Mobile to carry corporate voice and data.

Dell's Venue Pro includes a 4.1-inch multitouch display and sliding QWERTY keyboard. Fronted with ultra-durable Gorilla Glass, it closely resembles RIM's BlackBerry Torch 9800, which also includes a sliding keyboard. The difference, of course, is the Venue Pro's Windows Phone 7 operating system.

Whether Dell made the switch to promote its own smartphone line or if it decided that ejecting RIM indeed translated into substantial cost savings, other large businesses are likely to debate whether to embrace Windows Phone 7 for their executives and workers.

Some analysts believe that, while Windows Phone 7's tight integration with features such as SharePoint offers a lot to the enterprise, the platform does have an Achilles' heel. "It will be hard for apps to be ported unless they are already Silverlight-compatible or built-in standard .Net mobile protocols," Jack Gold, primary analyst for J. Gold Associates, wrote in an Oct. 11 research note. "The majority of enterprise apps are not."

That being said, Gold added, businesses could find a lot of benefit in the Windows Phone 7 platform. "Business users [are] at the core of the previous Windows Mobile constituency, but many have defected over the past year," Gold wrote. "It is unclear whether Microsoft can win them back, or even keep the existing, albeit significantly diminished, base of enterprise users." Despite that, he added, "the business hub on WP7 looks compelling (provided you are an Exchange/Outlook user)."

Microsoft seems aware of the need to push Windows Phone 7 as a business device, having announced at several points its intention to include productivity-centric features such as cut-and-paste into future editions of the software. It has also been encouraging developers to build work-style apps for the platform. 

"Critics have commented on the lack of specific features like copy & paste and lack of 100s of thousands of new applications," Arpan Shah, Microsoft's director for SharePoint, wrote in a Nov. 4 posting on his corporate blog. "And while both are true, copy & paste will be available as an update in a matter of weeks (early 2011) and as for applications, it's just a matter of time."

Shah's blog posting suggests the timetable for the feature's addition is still on track. While early critics focused on that missing cut-and-paste, Windows Phone 7's first iteration will also lack support for tethering, Adobe Flash and full multitasking.  

To be fair, despite its hold on the enterprise market, the BlackBerry also lacks a large number of apps?at least in comparison to the Apple iPhone or the growing Google Android family of devices. Businesspeople have traditionally gravitated toward RIM's offerings because of their messaging abilities and reputation for security. But Microsoft wants Windows Phone 7 to appeal on those fronts as well; a substantial part of the company's marketing push, particularly its television ads, portrays the smartphones as the ultimate timesavers?at least when it comes to using mobile features. And its "Office" and "People" hubs have been designed to feed information to users in a tightly integrated, streamlined way.

But whether Dell represents the first of many companies to jump to Windows Phone 7 remains to be seen. Microsoft doubtlessly hopes that's the case. RIM most likely doesn't.

View the original article here

Oakland residents awaken to broken windows, debris - The Associated Press

Oakland residents awaken to broken windows, debris(AP) – 4 hours ago

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Looking out her front window in a usually quiet residential neighborhood in this city, Deanna Goldstein's knees began to shake.

More than 100 protesters were hemmed in by police in riot gear. A trash can was blazing on the street.

"I came home early from downtown to get away from the craziness, but the craziness came to me," she said.

In the past, the violent protests over a white transit officer's slaying of an unarmed black man trashed downtown Oakland businesses. But after Johannes Mehserle on Friday received the minimum two-year sentence for slaying Oscar Grant, angry demonstrators marched into residential areas near Lake Merritt for the first time, putting innocent people in harm's way.

Police arrested 152 protesters, including seven juveniles, on suspicion of crimes including vandalism, unlawful assembly and disturbing the peace.

Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said 56 of those arrested were from outside the city. Investigators will be reviewing video and photographs of protesters damaging property to help prosecutors file charges, he said.

Residents who woke up to broken car windows and littered streets were left asking why protesters chose their neighborhood and how it became engulfed in violence.

Nai Saelee, 28, said she was shocked to see that her neighborhood, made up of mostly one- and two-story homes and low-rise apartment complexes, was affected.

The school teacher was kept from getting to her house by a police cordon, and later found the front windshield of her car damaged.

"I'm glad I wasn't here," she said outside her home Saturday, as Oakland City trash collectors made there way through the area picking up debris.

The arrests began around 8 p.m. on Friday after officers were pelted with rocks and bottles. One officer had his gun taken from him in a fight and another was hit by a car and suffered what police described as a non-life-threatening injury, Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts said.

He said the violence was confined to a "small number of people" and most protesters remained peaceful. There were no additional reports of unrest overnight.

"People do not have a right to tear this city up," Batts said in a statement. "Oakland already has a lot of pain, and it's not fair. This city has been torn up too many times."

The Mehserle case drew comparisons to the 1991 videotaped beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers, which inflamed a racial divide and led to rioting.

The shooting of Grant by Mehserle on a train station platform on New Year's Day 2009 was captured on cell phone video taken by bystanders and widely broadcast on television and the Internet.

Police arrested more than 100 people during protests in January following the incident in which windows of downtown Oakland businesses were smashed, trash cans and cars were set on fire and police were pelted with bottles.

A jury in July convicted Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter, prompting another round of protests that resulted in arrests and looting and trashing of stores along the city's wide downtown streets.

Prosecutors had sought a second-degree murder conviction against Mehserle, who has contended he mistakenly shot Grant with his gun, instead of his Taser.

Grant's uncle, Cephus Johnson, said he was heartened to see what he characterized as mostly peaceful protests for his nephew.

"What I was told was that it was really more positive than negative," he said. "It brings smiles not just to my face but the (entire) family's face to know that this is a movement that people are committed to."

Associated Press writer Terence Chea contributed to this report. Thanawala reported from San Francisco.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

View the original article here

Windows 8 Destined For A 2012 Launch - I4U

2012 will bring about it a new presidential election, the perceived day of global destruction...and a brand new Windows operating system.

It would be just a few years since the launch of Windows 7, an operating system that people have found at least tolerable, if not an improvement, after the debacle that was Windows Vista.

The news came from a Dutch Microsoft website in which an employee blogged about the next operating system being a couple years away. Production and planning are already underway.

Not much is known about what Windows 8 would bring to the table. However, based on previous leaks it appears Microsoft wants a centralized PC "App Store" interface, as well as faster boot-up times and the ability to log in users based on facial recognition.

With a two year buffer, it should still give users a reasonable amount of time to use Windows 7 before accepting that it's time to update. The turnaround time for a new operating system would be notably reduced from prior history, including the long and dreaded amount of time it took for Microsoft to usurp Vista with Windows 7.

Via Mashable

View the original article here

Windows Phone 7 Sales Reportedly Strong in International Markets - eWeek

Windows Phone 7 sales seem to be off to a solid start in international markets, according to reports from around the world.

DigiTimes reported in a Nov. 3 article that sales of HTC-built Windows Phone 7 smartphones are ?better than expected? in Europe and Australia. Stocks of the HTC HD7 and HTC 7 Mozart had apparently sold out in both the latter country and Germany.

?Early supporters of the new operating system such as South Korea?s Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are also experiencing rising demand from carriers,? the article suggested, indicating the sales information came from unnamed ?Taiwan-based handset makers.?

Meanwhile, stocks of Windows Phone 7 devices in the U.K. are apparently low, according to several media outlets. ?We will be launching with limited amounts of both our Windows Phone 7 devices, the HTC 7 Mozart and the Samsung Omnia 7,? a representative from U.K. carrier Orange wrote in an e-mail to Mobile Today. ?We are, however, anticipating that our competitors could be in a similar situation.? Orange customers were apparently being offered a cash voucher in exchange for preordering a Windows Phone 7 device.

The Mobile Today article quoted an Orange manager as saying: ?I was shocked when I heard the news. We are the lead partner for Windows Phone 7. But I believe this is a manufacturer issue on a worldwide scale.?

Windows Phone 7 will make its debut in the U.S. market Nov. 8, with two devices?the HTC Surround and Samsung Focus?on AT&T. At the company?s Professional Developers Conference 2010, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer suggested that the smartphone platform has a chance in what he termed a still-nascent mobile market, despite fierce competition from the likes of Apple iPhone and Google Android.

?We?re early; there?s no question we?re early,? he told the audience during an Oct. 28 speech, according to CNNMoney.com. ?I think we kind of nailed it. When you see it, you just go ?oooh.??

Windows Phone 7 differs from its competitors with a user interface that aggregates Web content and applications into six subject-specific ?Hubs,? such as ?People? and ?Games.? Microsoft hopes that format will attract users away from competing platforms that rely on grid-like screens of individual apps.

During the PDC, Ballmer also reiterated that Microsoft intends to reverse its fortunes in smartphones, where its market-share has fallen steadily over several quarters. The company is reportedly pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into marketing efforts.

?Make no mistake about it, we?re all in,? Ballmer reportedly told the audience. ?I get all kinds of questions about ?What if you don?t do this or that,? or blah, blah, blah. Boom, baby, that?s what we?re going to do.?

 

View the original article here

Check Out HTC's New Windows Phone 7 in Videos - Tom's Guide

If you've been drooling over HTC's new Windows Phone 7 devices then we've got a little tidbit of a treat for you today: The company has finally released 'first look' videos for the entire line.

We already know a lot about HTC's Windows Phone 7 line-up when it comes to specs. Thanks to Microsoft's minimum specs requirement, they all pack a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 512MB of RAM, 576MB of ROM and a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p video capabilities. Sure, there might be the odd kickstand here, or a slide-out QWERTY there, but these phones are extremely similar when it comes to what's going on under the hood. 

With such a close race when it comes to specs, there's nothing else to do but call a spade a spade and judge this like the beauty pageant it really is. Which device do you prefer? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: HTC via Engadget

View the original article here

Microsoft Is Pinning Its Hopes on Windows Phone 7 - BusinessWeek

By Peter Burrows and Dina Bass

In an interview shortly after he unveiled Microsoft's (MSFT) new Windows Phone 7 mobile software on Oct. 11, Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer declared a new era for Microsoft. "This is a big launch for us—a big, big launch," he boomed.

Ballmer, never known for understatement, may be lowballing this one. Gartner (IT) expects smartphone sales to surpass PCs in 2012. Microsoft remains immensely profitable thanks to its aging PC monopoly, and it will remain so even if it never figures out the smartphone market. Yet the stakes go beyond numbers—it's about staying at the center of computing while the world's information moves away from PCs and into the cloud.

People get e-mail, music, and Season Two of Mad Men on smartphones and other mobile devices—essentially pocket computers—and that information is warehoused at and delivered from far-off data centers, not PC hard drives. "If Microsoft gets this right, the stock is really, really cheap," says Michael F. Holland, founder of investment firm Holland & Co. "It would be an indication they've been able to evolve into a 21st century company."

By almost any measure, Microsoft is nearly out of the mobile game. Its market share fell to 5 percent from 22 percent in 2004, says Gartner. Customer satisfaction of Windows smartphones is 24 percent, according to ChangeWave Research; it's 74 percent for iPhones and 65 percent for handsets powered by Google's (GOOG) Android. There are a few hundred apps for Windows mobile, vs. 250,000 for Apple (AAPL) and 70,000 for Android. Asked about Windows Phone 7's chances, Google Android chief Andy Rubin has said: "The world doesn't need another platform."

Unless, of course, Windows Phone 7 handsets, on sale Oct. 21 in Europe and Nov. 8 in the U.S., blow away consumers as the iPhone did back in 2007. Today, consumers load their smartphones with apps. Rather than tap between separate programs, Windows Phone 7 users will choose from a few larger icons—Microsoft calls them tiles—that aggregate information from related apps. For example, a "People" tile lets users contact friends via phone, text, or Facebook without having to click on any of those apps. An "Office" tile opens a screen to edit and send a PowerPoint deck or Word file, no attachments necessary. This is the biggest step forward since Android, says Jonathan Sasse, senior marketing vice-president of Internet music company Slacker.

Microsoft mobile chief Andy Lees says Windows Phone 7 reflects his group's new approach to design. In the past, the company wrote the software and left it to licensees to ensure great products. This time, Microsoft set strict rules. All Windows Phone 7 handsets must come with three buttons (home, search, and back) and a camera with at least five megapixels of resolution. "In some cases that meant saying no to some of our largest partners, says Lees. He adds that Microsoft doesn't need to have as many apps as Apple or Android, just the most popular ones. That way Microsoft can assure the quality of Windows handsets. Ours is a structured ecosystem," says Lees.

View the original article here

How and Why You'd Use Windows Phone 7 With A Mac - Wired News

One of the major advantages of Windows Phone 7 is its tight integration with Microsoft’s other devices and software. In a terse statement, Microsoft let Mac users know they can eventually expect a light version: “Later in 2010 Microsoft will make a public beta available of a tool that allows Windows Phone 7 to sync select content with Mac computers.”

The “tool” will probably be a version of the Zune desktop software, if a Microsoft UK marketing head early tweet is any indication: “ANNOUNCEMENT: I’m glad to confirm that Mac users would be able to use Zune on their Macs to sync with #WP7… More details soon.”

This makes sense for Microsoft: not only have they always made software for Macs (notably Office), you’d never want to put too many limitations on what PCs you can use with a post-PC handheld. Imagine if Apple had kept the iPod and iTunes Mac-only. Or if the Zune had never included support for Macs. (Wait, that second one actually happened.)

But why would a Mac user want to use a WP7 phone — particularly when the iPhone works so well with a Mac? Basically, it’s the same reason a Mac user might pick an Android phone over an iPhone. Either you like the physical phone better, or (more often) you’re more tied into Google’s or Microsoft’s software than you are to Apple’s.

Here are some scenarios where that might be true.

You’re a heavy user of Microsoft Office. Windows Phone 7 has the full Office suite built-in. iPhone’s Office offerings aren’t as strong; it’s a little better for iPad, but not that much.

Windows Office 2011 for Mac is coming at the end of the month, and it’s the best, most-interoperable Office suite available for the Mac. It’s also finally bringing a real Outlook application, not the baby Outlook they called Entourage. (Entourage the application provided the exact opposite experience of the TV show Entourage.) By default, iPhone on the Mac syncs with iCal, Address Book, and Mail; a phone that synced with Outlook could be a huge upgrade.

This is where the lack of OneNote on Office 2011 for Mac really bothers me; it’s WP7’s Office showpiece, very smartly implemented on the handset and nearly completely useless to Office users on Macs.

You’re also a heavy user of Windows Live. Android users love their experience with Gmail, Google Docs, etc. Some of my friends who don’t love Windows love Windows Live, preferring it over Google’s cloud apps and Apple’s MobileMe. Office 2011 and WP7 are both extremely well-integrated with Windows Live. iPhone and Android aren’t. You’re a gamer who loves Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. Apple may have a set-top box, but it doesn’t play games. The iPhone offers a lot of good casual games for handheld, but WP7 will too. If you have a Google TV, it’ll be better with your Android phone; if you have an Xbox 360, it’ll be better with a WP7 phone.

The whole industry is moving towards greater interoperability between computers, handhelds and set-top boxes. The Xbox – WP7 combo will be one of the most versatile handheld-to-boxtop media combinations available. Add a Mac to the mix, rig it to stream content to your Xbox and that’s a pretty powerful power trio. Particularly if you don’t care about buying movies and renting TV shows through iTunes, which is the only advantage an Apple TV would offer.

In the tech world, Mac users are stereotyped as Apple evangelists and/or fanboys, people who’ve bought into the ecosystem from top to bottom. But think about your average student with a MacBook, or your parents you convinced to buy an iMac. They are usually agnostic about this stuff.

Most Mac users probably don’t think long and hard about Apple’s long-term peripheral strategy, or whether Android’s lack of hardware standards will cause them problems down the line. They use Office on their Macs, use PCs at work, play Xbox in their living room and want to buy the phone they like on the carrier they use for a price they can afford. They bought their Macs for the same reason.

The last piece of this puzzle is really how well Windows Phone 7 and the Mac will be able to talk to each other. History bears this out: for a long time, Blackberry desktop software on PC was fantastic, but the version for the Mac wasn’t anywhere close. In my case, it eventually drove me away from the Blackberry and towards the iPhone.

If Microsoft decides that it doesn’t really need to give Mac users anything more than the bare minimum, or that they can capture more value by trying to pull WP7 buyers to the PC platform, then it won’t work. They’ll keep their current customers and add value within their existing ecosystem.

But if Microsoft begins to see their world as one that doesn’t have to be centered around the PC, where they can make great software and compelling experiences for all platforms, and shift more of their institutional weight towards the cloud and the living room, then even Mac users might have to take a long hard look at those new phones.

See Also:

View the original article here

How new Windows Phone 7 ads might work (really) - CNET

When bootleg versions of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 ads emerged a couple of weeks ago, there was, at the very least, a raising of the eyebrows and a twitch of a toenail.

Here was Microsoft apparently daring to launch an anti-phone, one that somehow returns you to a more human, self-aware, pre-cell-phone state.

This seemed pleasantly ambitious, like a beach vacation on which there will be only 10 other people on the beach and they will all be beautiful, interesting, and love baseball.

Now that two officially sanctioned ads have emerged, different in content from the leaked affairs, but humming the same theme, they do nothing to lessen a sense of, at the very least, hope.

Some might wonder why Microsoft would be telling people to quit obsessing over their cell phones while trying to sell them a cell phone.

But at least the company is offering an emotional truth. It's also offering a look to the OS which, on the face of the phone, is distinctive and seems simpler than a first glance at an Android phone or even the iPhone.

While words such as "always delightful and wonderfully mine" aren't words that have always emerged from Microsoft executive lips, hearing them at yesterday's launch suggested the company knows it must attempt to regain a hold on people's touchy-feely parts. And to do that, ads and product have to hold hands and skip along together like little girls through a cornfield.

These new ads tease the promise of a simpler, more enjoyable, dare one say it, less techie world by offering a phone that is designed to look, feel, and behave in a simpler, more enjoyable, less techie way.

Yes, the iPhone's been doing this brilliantly for a long time now. But the acknowledgment that the human side is vital is, from Microsoft, like a smile emerging from the lips of a Swiss Guard.

The truly difficult part is that this OS is called Windows something.

The Windows name is redolent of function not fun, entrapment not enjoyment. If the intention is to suggest a simple revolution, why use a name that suggests a simple continuation? To truly deliver what the company needs, I wish they had created a new brand to express this new attitude. A brand that could be as strong and independent as its Xbox.

However, if real people see these ads, then pick up the phones and discover that the feeling-- as opposed to the mere functionality-- is delivered, then Microsoft has a chance to make an impact. Really. No, really.

View the original article here

Windows Phone 7: Backwards Incompatibility Could Limit Appeal - InformationWeek

With the introduction of Windows Phone 7 next week, Microsoft is looking to break from past efforts in the mobile space that have sputtered in the face of renewed competition from Apple and Google. So much so that Microsoft deliberately chose not to make its new phone OS backwards compatible with the older Windows Mobile operating system.
(click image for larger view)
Microsoft's Windows 7 Phone Revealed

The decision allows Microsoft to make a fresh start in the mobile arena, but it also could limit Windows Phone 7's appeal to enterprises, many of whom may be unwilling to scrap existing investments in Windows Mobile to move to the new platform.

And while the enterprise mobile market is largely dominated anyway by RIM, with its corporate-friendly Blackberry devices, Microsoft's move to a brand new mobile environment could lessen its traction with the corporate customers it does have.

Such concerns came to light recently at a roundtable of U.S. Army software developers who, through an internal competition, had been tasked with building mobile apps for use on the battlefield and in other aspects of army life.

One participant, Major Gregory Motes, who is chief of the Army's Information Dissemination Management Division, specifically opted not to have his team develop their apps for the Windows environment because of the backwards compatibility issue.

"The problem we have with Windows Mobile is, right around the time we were starting on this, [Microsoft] announced Windows Phone 7 that would be coming out the holidays of this year," Motes said at the roundtable, according to a transcript of the August event.

"And so as we are going through the process of what we wanted to choose to learn on, you know, choosing to learn on Windows Mobile 6.1 or Windows Mobile 6.5 didn't make much sense to us because 7 was coming out and because it was announced that 7 would not be backwards compatible," said Motes.

Motes, whose team won the competition with a physical fitness app for Army personnel, ultimately decided to develop the app for Apple's iPhone.

While admittedly anecdotal, it's not unlikely that decisions like that taken by Motes and his team are currently playing out in IT shops across corporate America. In Microsoft's favor is the fact that Windows Phone 7 leverages many existing Windows development tools with which developers are already familiar.

But the fact the platform is not backwards compatible with Windows Mobile means Windows Phone 7 will not enjoy the upgrade path advantage that helps Microsoft maintain traction with its Windows PC customers whenever it comes out with a new version of its desktop and server OS.

It may be for the latter reason that Gartner expects Windows Phone 7 to have only minimal impact on the mobile market. Gartner predicts the release of Windows Phone 7 will help bump Microsoft's share of the worldwide market from 4.7% in 2010 to 5.2% in 2011, but says the company's share will ultimately decline to just 3.9% by 2014.

Developers won't have to wait too much longer to decide whether to support Windows Phone 7. Microsoft will formally introduce the platform Monday at a launch event in New York City.

The server market is changing rapidly. In this report, we look into the technological advances driving the server market forward, as well as the server strategies of Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Oracle-Sun, Cisco, and other vendors. Download it here (registration required).

View the original article here

Microsoft: Open To Collaboration With Motorola On Windows Phone 7 - Wall Street Journal

Microsoft: Open To Collaboration With Motorola On Windows Phone 7 - WSJ.com More BigCharts Virtual Stock Exchange WSJ Asia WSJ Europe WSJ Portuguese WSJ Spanish WSJ Chinese WSJ Japanese WSJ Radio Financial News WSJ Lifestyle Brands WSJwine SEARCH | The Wall Street Journal Business Welcome, Logout My Account My Journal Help Message Center ( new)
U.S. Edition Home ? More

WSJ.com is available in the following editions and languages:

U.S. Asia India China Japan Europe Americas en Español em Português Register for FREE Register for FREE Thank you for registering.

We sent an email to:

Please click on the link inside the email to complete your registration

Please register to gain free access to WSJ tools.

An account already exists for the email address entered.

Forgot your username or password?

This service is temporary unavailable due to system maintenance. Please try again later.

The username entered is already associated with
another account. Please enter a different username

The email address you have entered is already in use.
Please re-enter the email address.

First Name Last Name Email (your email address will be your login)Confirm Email Create a Password Confirm Password Company Size (Optional) Please make a selection 1-99 100-499500-9991,000-2,4992,500-4,9995,000-9,99910,000-14,99915,000-24,99925,000+Not Applicable

From time to time, we will send you e-mail announcements on new features and special offers from The Wall Street Journal Online.

Create a profile for me in the Journal Community

Why Register?

Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions

As a registered user of The Wall Street Journal Online, you will be able to:

Setup and manage your portfolio

Personalize your own news page

Receive and manage newsletters

Login/Register to set your edition Today's Paper Video Blogs Journal Community

Log In Log In Login Password Log in Your login is either a username or an email address.

Keep me logged in. Forgot your password?

World » More

World » More

Loading… U.S. » More

U.S. » More

Loading… New York » More

New York » More

Loading… Business » More

Business » More

Loading… Markets » More

Markets » More

Loading… Tech » More

Tech » More

Loading… Personal Finance » More

Personal Finance » More

Loading… Life & Culture » More

Life & Culture » More

Loading… Opinion » More

Opinion » More

Loading… Careers » More

Careers » More

Loading… Real Estate » More

Real Estate » More

Loading… Small Business » More

Small Business » More

Loading… Asia Europe Earnings Economy Health Law Autos Management Media & Marketing Energy   More Industries   Accounting Advertising Airlines Banking Chemicals Computer Hardware Computer Software Consumer Products Defense & Aerospace Broadcasting & Entertainment Financial Services & Insurance Food & Tobacco Hospitality Industrial Goods & Services Media Agencies Paper & Forest Products Pharmaceutical & Biotech Real Estate Retail Semiconductors Transportation Close

Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visitwww.djreprints.com

See a sample reprint in PDF format.Order a reprint of this article nowOCTOBER 6, 2010, 6:12 A.M. ETMicrosoft: Open To Collaboration With Motorola On Windows Phone 7 ArticleCommentsmore in Business »

COLOGNE (Dow Jones)--Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is open to collaborating with Motorola Inc. (MOT) on Windows Phone 7, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said Wednesday at a ...

Email Printer Friendly Order Reprints Share:

facebook

Twitter

Digg

StumbleUpon

Viadeo

Orkut

Yahoo! Buzz

Fark

Reddit

LinkedIn

del.icio.us

MySpace

 

Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit

www.djreprints.com

Back To Back ToMSN Money HomepageMSN Money InvestingMost Popular ReadEmailedVideoCommentedSearches1.Sun Chips Bag to Lose Its Crunch2.Why People Can't Make Decisions3.Sick of This Text: 'Sorry I'm Late'4.Opinion: Arthur Laffer: The Bill Gates Income Tax5.Opinion: Best of the Web Today: Green Supremacists1.The Write Stuff Boosts the Brain2.Opinion: Arthur Laffer: The Bill Gates Income Tax3.Sick of This Text: 'Sorry I'm Late'4.Sun Chips Bag to Lose Its Crunch5.Why People Can't Make Decisions1.Cutting Back: Spain Hits Hard Times2.A Story of Loss and Love3.Eyes on the Road: Why Light is the New Black4.Thailand Extends Emergency Law5.New Tools to Find Cool Apps1.Opinion: The Bill Gates Income Tax605 comments2.Americans Sour on Trade468 comments3.Obama Likely to Scale Back Legislative Plans241 comments4.Opinion: The Trade and Tax Doomsday Clocks210 comments5.Foreclosure? Not So Fast187 comments 1. Toyota 2. Health 3. Motorola 4. Chennai 5. Intel Most Read Articles Feed Most Emailed Feed Most Popular Video Feed Most Commented FeedMost Popular Feeds Editors' PicksEebee Takes On Baby-Video MarketAcing Parent-Teacher ConferencesMiu Miu Comes of AgeThe Anatomy of a Baseball BroadcastPortrait of the Artist as a Music FanIn 'Il Postino,' Postman and Poet MeetElvis Costello: Listen to His New Song 'National Ransom'Spacecraft to Stage CraftVideoprevious nextOpinion Journal Opinion Journal: Britain's Welfare State Woes5:44Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: The Enthusiasm Gap9:55Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: Will Voters Bite Blue Dogs?4:38Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: The Campaign Against Free Trade 9:36Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: Running Against ObamaCare3:50Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: Creating Another Facebook?9:37Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: Burgers, Fries and ObamaCare5:16Opinion Journal The Only Policy Left: Growth2:31Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: Drones vs. Terror4:03Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: The Tax Endgame8:16Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: The Politics of School Reform5:23Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: A Chavez Defeat2:56Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: Will Pelosi Allow Tax Vote?9:16Opinion Journal Opinion Journal: The Business Backlash 9:06Opinion Journal ObamaCare 2.04:54 Most Recommended CommentsComments CommentersCommenters 1. “This election is not really about...;” - Jay Maloney 167 Recommendations 2. “It's not about health care...;” - David Lewis 115 Recommendations 3. “"This is the language of...;” - Steve Fleischer 102 Recommendations 4. “Well, just a little armchair...;” - Jared Potter 84 Recommendations 5. “" You don't diss people into...;” - Victor Cook 81 Recommendations Diane Thorton 1427 Recommendations Peter Venetoklis 1130 Recommendations Matilda Anders 985 Recommendations jean balloon 954 Recommendations Kenneth Perlman 892 Recommendations More in BusinessRetailers Team Up Against AmazonHoliday Sales Hinge on DiscountsCostco's Net Profit Jumps 16%Motorola Open to Microsoft SoftwareToyota to Offer Lexus Rebates to Spur Brand's U.S. Sales null Email Newsletters and Alerts

The latest news and analysis delivered to your in-box. Check the boxes below to sign up.

WSJ.com Email Features Real Time Economics Newsletter News AlertSubmit The email address null is already associated with another account. Please enter a different email address:

Enter Your Email

Sign UpNew! To sign up for Keyword or Symbol Alerts click here.To view or change all of your email settings, visit the Email Setup Center.

Thank you !
You will receive in your inbox.

To view or change all of your email settings, visit the Email Setup Center. null Email Newsletters and Alerts

The latest news and analysis delivered to your in-box. Check the boxes below to sign up.

WSJ.com Email Features This Week's Most Popular On the Editorial PageSubmit The email address null is already associated with another account. Please enter a different email address:

Enter Your Email

Sign UpManage Email Preferences

Thank you !
You will receive in your inbox.

Manage Email Preferences Editors' PicksEebee Takes On Baby-Video MarketAcing Parent-Teacher ConferencesMiu Miu Comes of AgeThe Anatomy of a Baseball BroadcastPortrait of the Artist as a Music FanIn 'Il Postino,' Postman and Poet MeetElvis Costello: Listen to His New Song 'National Ransom'Spacecraft to Stage Craft WSJ Web Slice CONTENT LINKS TO ACTUAL PAGE CONTAINING WEB SLICE FUNCTIONALITY. 15back to top WSJ.com Account:My AccountSubscriber Billing InfoCreate an Account:Register for FreeSubscribe to WSJ.comSign up for WSJ ProfessionalHelp & Information Center:HelpCustomer ServiceContact UsNew on WSJ.comTour the new JournalAbout:News LicensingAdvertisingAdvertise LocallyConferencesAbout Dow JonesPrivacy Policy - UpdatedSubscriber Agreement & Terms of Use - UpdatedCopyright PolicyJobs at WSJ.comFuture Leadership ProgramWSJ.com:Site MapHomeWorldU.S.New YorkBusinessMarketsMarket DataTechPersonal FinanceLife & CultureOpinionAutosCareersReal EstateSmall BusinessStudent JournalCorrectionsTools & Formats:Today's PaperVideo CenterGraphicsColumnsBlogsTopicsGuidesAlertsNewslettersMobileiPadPodcastsRSS FeedsJournal Community- Message CenterWSJ on TwitterWSJ on FacebookWSJ on FoursquareMy JournalPortfolioDigital NetworkWSJ.comMarketwatch.comBarrons.comSmartMoney.comAllThingsD.comFinance Jobs at FINSBigCharts.comVirtual Stock ExchangeProfessorJournal.comWSJ U.S. EditionWSJ Asia EditionWSJ Europe EditionWSJ India PageForeign language editions:WSJ ChineseWSJ JapaneseWSJ PortugueseWSJ SpanishACAP EnabledCopyright ©2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

View the original article here