Microsoft raised a few eyebrows late last week with an announcement that it is planning significant price cuts for some versions of the Vista operating system. So far we only have details of the US changes, which apply to the upgrade versions of Ultimate (down from $299 to $219) and Home Premium (drops from $159 down to $129), but according to a CNET News report the company also has plans to reduce prices in other ‘developed’ markets which presumably means Europe and Japan. There will also be changes too for emerging markets, where the distinction between full and upgrade versions will be eliminated. Read the rest of this entry »
Microsoft is feverishly hammering away at Windows XP, in order to get it to fit XO. In this context, the Redmond company has managed to reinstate its support for low cost flash based computing devices, namely the machine under the One Laptop per Child umbrella. Come mid 2008, Microsoft plans to have a production quality release of Windows XP, designed to seamlessly integrate with the OLPC XO computer, in addition to Intel’s Classmate PC and ASUS’ Eee PC. The initiative is an integer aspect of the efforts to reach the next five billion people via the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Group. Read the rest of this entry »
If you own an iPod you’ll know that you are tied to iTunes to get tunes in and out of your player. There are alternatives, but generally speaking it’s a bit of a restriction. Here’s a program that will allow you to download music from your iPod to any PC, and no need to get involved with any new software, the program is stored on the iPod itself. It’s called Babya iGrab and all you have to do is download the program (it’s freeware) and copy two small files to the root directory of the iPod. To get at the tunes just plug the iPod into any XP or Vista PC, open the iPod, Read the rest of this entry »
Vista laptop owners may have noticed that one thing the new operating system doesn’t do is improve battery efficiency, in fact if anything it uses more power then XP due to all of the fancy graphics. Well, let me introduce you to a freeware program, called Vista Battery Saver that claims to reduce power consumption by up to 70 percent. It does this by disabling various power-hungry features, like the Aeroglass graphics and it switches back to normal as soon as you return to external power. Such large savings are a bit optimistic but if you’re running low on juice, with no prospect of a top-up charge anytime soon, then every little helps.
Windows Vista has barely passed its first eight weeks on the market and there are voices demanding a full autopsy of an early pronounced dead operating system. There are of course two perspectives on this, and they by no means share the same tune. On one end, there is Microsoft. At the other pole the are the end users, the original equipment manufacturers, the system builders, the environment of software and hardware developers. And there is an unnatural gap between Microsoft and Windows Vista on one side and the rest of the world
on the other, between what users want (Windows XP), and what Microsoft is offering (Windows Vista).
At this time, Microsoft is offering inhouse competition to Windows Vista with strong support for Windows XP. Such a move from the Redmond company is a strategic gambit, designed to sacrifice Vista for the time being and to prolong the expiration of XP. Read the rest of this entry »
Microsoft raised a few eyebrows late last week with an announcement that it is planning significant price cuts for some versions of the Vista operating system. So far we only have details of the US changes, which apply to the upgrade versions of Ultimate (down from $299 to $219) and Home Premium (drops from $159 down to $129), but according to a CNET News report the company also has plans to reduce prices in other ‘developed’ markets which presumably means Europe and Japan. There will also be changes too for emerging markets, where the distinction between full and upgrade versions will be eliminated. Read the rest of this entry »
