Microsoft has disclosed the first details of Windows 10 - its next operating system (OS), BBC reports.
The name is a surprise, bearing in mind it represents a jump from the last version - Windows 8.
The software will run on a wide range of devices, from phones and tablets to PCs and Xbox games consoles, with applications sold from a single store.
It also marks the return of the Start Menu, which had been removed from Windows 8.
In addition to offering a list of the user's favourite applications, the menu also brings up resizable tiles - similar to those featured in Windows 8's touch-centric interface on PCs and tablets.
These provide a quick view of notifications from relevant applications, such as details of new emails, Facebook messages and weather forecast updates.
The company said the facility was intended to make the software seem familiar to both users of Windows 8 and Windows 7.
The behaviour of the OS will depend on the type of device with which it is being used. Unlike its predecessor, users will not need to switch between Desktop Mode and the touch-focused alternative.
However, they can still spread a number of "live tiles" across the screens of two-in-one laptop-tablet hybrids to make them easier to use with both a mouse and finger presses.
Tagged with
interface,
Microsoft,
release date,
Released,
ScreenShots,
Technology,
Windows,
Windows 10,
Windows 9
Microsoft plans to offer a glimpse of its vision for Windows this week, as its new CEO seeks to redefine the company and recover from missteps with its flagship operating system.
Although the new software won’t be formally released until next year, analysts already consider its success crucial for Microsoft and Satya Nadella, who has made mobile devices and Internet-based services priorities since becoming CEO in February.
With its tablet-like touch controls, Windows 8 had been Microsoft’s answer to slumping sales in personal computers amid a rising demand for mobile devices. But the company alienated many users by forcing radical behavioral changes. Research firm IDC even blamed Windows 8 for accelerating a decline in PC sales in the first full quarter following the system’s release in October 2012.
Microsoft has released updates that address some of the complaints, yet analytics firm Net Applications estimates that five out of six Windows users are still using something other than Windows 8.
The next major release will be the company’s chance to regain its footing and show that Microsoft can embrace mobile devices without sacrificing the traditional computing experience.
Microsoft is expected to give an early look at some new features Tuesday during an event the company has billed as a discussion about “what’s next for Windows.” The company hasn’t said what it plans to call the new Windows version.
- Foreign News
Tagged with
Microsoft,
Satya Nadella,
Technology,
Windows 9,
Windows 9 launch
Update: It seems that we might see the newest Windows as soon as September 30 in a preview event held by Microsoft. Also, we hope you like Cortana. Details below!
With Windows 8 and now Windows 8.1, Microsoft tried – not entirely successfully – to make tablets part of a continuum that goes from number-crunching workstations and high-end gaming rigs through all-in-one touchscreen media systems and thin-and light notebooks down to slender touch tablets.
The general consensus is that it still has a long way to go to produce a unified OS.
Despite rumors of an aggressive development and shipping schedule, there's no official word about what's in the next version of Windows, but there are plenty of rumors (many of them from Chinese enthusiast sites that claim to have leaked builds), plus more reliable information from job postings for the Windows and Windows Phone teams.
There are also patents, which may or may not be relevant, and some rare comments from developers on the Windows team. Here's what we've heard about Windows 9 and what we think is happening.
Cut to the chase
What is it? A complete update of Windows
When is it out? We expect it to be out in 2015
What will it cost? We really have no idea. But if Windows 8 is anything to go by, it won't cost much to upgrade.
Windows Blue turned out to be Windows 8.1 rather than a completely new version of the Windows OS – Windows 9 will be that new version.
As for interim releases, we'll probably also get Windows 8.2 before we get Windows 9. And we have already seen the initial update to Windows 8.1, called Windows 8.1 Update 1.
The new update features improvements to the Start Screen including the ability to boot straight into the Desktop, the return of shutdown on Start and a more familiar task bar to unify the old and new user interfaces. The update was announced at Build 2014, along with features teased for Windows updates to come.
It certainly seems there's a new development cadence for Windows in action. It seems that Microsoft is set to put out new releases of Windows, Windows RT and Windows Server every year, the way it already does for Windows Phone.
The next complete version of Windows is being referred to as Windows 9, though this may change. And a new codename has appeared – Threshold, possibly in refrence to moving across from our reliance on the desktop to a new world where the Start screen is at the heart of how we use Windows.
While still just a codename, Windows 9 was referenced by Microsoft in a job posting, spotted by MSFT Kitchen on March 13, 2013.
The ad, for a Bing Software Development Engineer, says that the team will be delivering products "in areas including Windows 9, IE11 services integration, touch friendly devices including iPad and more."
Windows 9 release date
As of right now, we expect to see Windows 9 in a preview build as early as September 30. The latest report from The Verge cites sources close to the matter with knowledge that press preview event will take place on that date. There are no details of where the event will take place or when exactly the preview build will be released, but we'll take it.
Microsoft communications chief Frank Shaw said the company wasn't ready to talk about how often Windows might come out when we spoke to him in January, but he agreed "you have certainly seen across a variety of our products a cadence that looks like that; Windows Phone is a good for example of that, our services are a good example of that".
We don't know if Windows 9 will be available as an upgrade from Windows 7 that you can buy as a standalone product or if you'll have to have Windows 8 to get the upgrade. But it may not be with us for a while yet – Windows business chief Tami Reller has talked about "multiple selling seasons" for Windows 8, meaning that we'll likely have several versions of it.
Some rumors have suggested late 2014 or early 2015 for a Windows 9 release, though the former seems wide of the mark. While claims and reports are all over the place, it seems like Windows 9 should drop before September 2015 at the latest.
In January 2014, well-known Microsoft blogger Paul Thurrott said he believes the company plans to release Windows 9 (codenamed Threshold) in April 2015, less than three years after Windows 8.
The thinking appears to be that the Windows 8 name is now too tarnished and that – in contrast to Reller's comments above – Microsoft wishes to clear things out by releasing Windows 9 instead.
ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley recently echoed these reports, citing sources pointing toward a spring 2015 release for Windows 9.
In May, prolific Microsoft leaker FaiKee released two separate documents that he or she claims to be Redmond's full roadmap for Windows 9 and other products. The first of which, released to the My Digital Life forums, pointed to text reading "Windows 9 Windows Preview Release @ 2015 02-03."
That appears to point toward a preview release of either February or March 2015. The second leak was caught by Myce.com, and is a bit more vague in timing but less so in the actual text. That alleged official document detailed a preview release between Q2 and Q3 2015, so by September of next year at the latest.
In June, we learned from a ZDNet source that Microsoft would launch a preview build of the latest Windows in the fall. But most recently, WZOR struck again with a rumor that Windows 9 in full will launch in that same time frame. Naturally, a Microsoft representative snapped back at the rumor on Twitter.
How much will Windows 9 cost?
Not a cent. At least that's what Russian leaker collective WZOR claims to have heard. The group reports that Microsoft is considering pushing out Windows 9 for free, but cannot confirm at this time.
What the collective has heard exactly is that a prototype version is in the works in which a barebones version of Windows 9 will be available for free. For additional functionality, users would have to pay up through a subscription.
That said, ZDNet's Foley has heard the opposite: different SKUs of Windows will be offered for free or at different prices to OEMs and consumers, but that the desktop version will indeed have a sticker price. A recent, subsequent leak provided by WZOR seems to not only corroborate Foley's sources, but render its previous report moot.
Windows 9: Return of the Start Menu
Teased during the Build 2014 keynote address, the long-missed Start is basically guaranteed to make its return in Windows 9. Since that preview of the Start menu, replete with both Desktop and Modern UI elements, a screenshot (seen below) of an updated version of the feature has surfaced – ba-dum, chhh – through the MyDigitalLife forums.
Regardless of whether the snap is legit, since Microsoft has publicly promised the return of the Start menu, it should be safe to expect its debut in Windows 9 ... whenever that is.
Next Part >>>
Source (techradar.com)
Tagged with
Features,
Microsoft,
News,
release date,
Rumors,
ScreenShots,
Technology,
Windows,
Windows 9,
Windows 9 Concept,
Windows 9 Preview,
Windows 9 Themes
BANGALORE: Microsoft is looking at establishing a data centre in India that would allow it to offer its cloud solutions more seamlessly to Indian businesses, and especially to the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector.
BFSI is the biggest consumer of technology worldwide, but governments, including the Indian government, mandate that banking data should not go out of the geographical boundary of the respective country. Concerns around this have risen since US whistleblower Edward Snowden disclosed the extent of US spying on the rest of the world.
Microsoft CIO Jim Dubois said on a visit to Bangalore on Tuesday that the company was considering the move, but declined to share details. "We are considering a data centre in India. It will help us accelerate. There are a lot of companies that are looking at us now in anticipation that Microsoft will at some point have a local data centre," he said.
Tagged with
Address,
in India,
India,
Microsoft,
Microsoft Data Center,
Photos,
Technology
The Android-based X series is not the only casualty of Microsoft’s big move on Thursday to restructure the company. Apart from a record 18,000 job cuts and the decision that X series designs will become future Lumia products running Windows Phone, Redmond also announced a decision to abandon Nokia’s Asha and Series 40 phones.
“With the clear focus on Windows Phones, all Mobile Phones-related services and enablers are planned to move into maintenance mode, effective immediately,” Jo Harlow, who heads the phone business under Microsoft devices said in an internal email accessed by BGR and The Verge. “This means there will be no new features or updates to services on any Mobile Phones platform as a result of these plans,” Harlow added.
The transition is likely to happen over the next 18 months, as Harlow said, “We are committed to supporting our existing customers, and will ensure proper operation during the controlled shutdown of services over the next 18 months.”
As part of the shutdown, all developer activities around these platforms will also be ramped down.
“To focus on the growing momentum behind Windows Phone,” said Harlow, “we plan to immediately begin ramping down developer engagement activities related to Nokia X, Asha and Series 40 apps and shift support to maintenance mode.”
Nokia Xpress Browser and MixRadio are likely to be spun off into a separate business.
“We plan to consider strategic options for Xpress Browser to enable continuation of the service outside of Microsoft,” Harlow said in the memo, while a MixRadio spokesperson told ZDNet, “We are not closing down or ceasing to develop the service. We are being spun out as a separate company, although we will continue to be preloaded to Microsoft devices.”
-NDTV
Tagged with
Microsoft,
MixRadio,
mobile phones,
Nokia,
Nokia Asha,
Series 40 Phones,
Technology,
Xpress Browser
Microsoft announced a real-time, multilingual translation beta called Skype Translate. The service can mediate between two video chatterers who speak different languages by providing text and audio translation after each person finishes speaking.
Currently the service works for English and German, but Microsoft says it will support other languages soon. The beta will be released later this year.
Realistically, Skype Translate won't be ready to take over for interpreters at the United Nations anytime soon. But the fact that it is coming from a large company like Microsoft and being tested on a really mainstream product like Skype shows that we are actually making progress towards a Star Trek-like universal translator – and that's amazing.
There has been tonnes of research into things such as automatic speech-to-text transcription, textual translation (Google Translate and Bing Translator), and digital speech recognition. But these are difficult machine-learning problems to solve.
The big issue is that accuracy needs to be near 100 per cent for these services to actually be useful. For example, a recent DARPA speech-to-speech translation program called TransTac achieved 80 per cent accuracy, which was a fascinating and significant step, but still not enough for regular use. There are also consumer apps such as Vocre that offer services very similar to Skype Translate.
The difference here is that Microsoft is behind this service. Sure, the company may be struggling with its vision for tablets and other next-generation products, but it is still a major player, and Skype is pretty ubiquitous. Whether Skype Translate is a hit right away or, more likely, it takes years to refine, Microsoft is being bold in bringing the technology to the mainstream now.
Tagged with
How to use Skype Translator,
Microsoft,
Skype,
Skype automatically translator,
Skype translator,
Skype Translator tool,
skype voice calls,
Skype Voice translator,
Technology
Microsoft Corp unveiled a larger but lighter version of its Surface Pro tablet on Tuesday, hoping that the company’s expertise in business software will help it take on Apple Inc in mobile devices.At a presentation in New York, new Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella made it clear that Microsoft, which recently acquired Nokia’s handset business, is committed fully to making its own devices, despite a lack of success for its phones and tablets so far.“We are not building hardware for hardware’s sake,” said Nadella, at the event. “We want to build experiences that bring together all the capabilities of our company.The Surface Pro 3 tablet, which comes in three models starting from $ 799 (474.5 pounds) and costing up to $ 1,949, features a 12-inch screen, much larger than Apple iPad’s 9.7 inches. It also comes with access to Microsoft’s Office software suite, employed in businesses around the world.Microsoft executives made frequent comparisons with the MacBook Air at Tuesday’s launch, making it clear that Apple’s lightest laptop, which starts at $ 629 with a full cellular connection, was the device to beat.The same executives, highlighting a focus on the enterprise segment of the market, also talked up the limitations of existing tablets in a full office environment.Microsoft “has concentrated on its key strength – business users who look at tablets as extensions and/or replacements for full laptop capability,” Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates wrote. “Microsoft finally seems to understand it cannot go head to head with Apple’s iPad, and must offer a superior business device.” Microsoft, which is recasting itself as a ‘devices and services’ company, has not made much headway on the devices side, except for its Xbox game console.The Surface, launched in October 2012 and updated last year, has about 2% of the tablet market, failing to make a dent on Apple’s iPad. Microsoft has only 3% global share in smartphones, chiefly through Nokia.The Surface Pro 3 runs the full Windows operating system, and Microsoft hopes it will be the device consumers and companies go to when they are replacing laptops.Initial reaction was positive, but analysts have doubts that Microsoft can easily haul itself into a meaningful position in the hardware business.“This is Microsoft’s best shot yet to move the needle in the right direction on market share gains,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. “The odds are stacked against Microsoft, although we have to credit Nadella with putting his pedal to the metal to go after tablet market share, which remains key going forward.”The new device, which like previous versions uses Intel Corp processors, will be available to order this week.
Tagged with
Apple,
apple macbook,
macbook,
Microsoft,
Microsoft new Surface tablet,
microsoft new tablet,
Technology,
windows tablet
For the first time in Microsoft’s history, founder Bill Gates is no longer its largest individual shareholder.
In the past two days, Gates has sold nearly 8 million shares of Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500), bringing down his total to roughly 330 million.
That puts him behind Microsoft’s former CEO Steve Ballmer who owns 333 million shares.
Ballmer, who was Microsoft’s CEO until earlier this year, was one of Gates’ first hires.
It’s a passing of the torch for Gates who has always been the largest single owner of his company’s stock.
Gates now spends his time and personal fortune helping run the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.
The foundation has spent $28.3 billion fighting hunger and poverty since its inception back in 1997.
Tagged with
Bill Gates,
Bill Gates stocks in Microsoft,
business news,
History for Microsoft,
Microsoft,
Microsoft CEO,
Microsoft shareholders
SEATTLE: Nokia will unveil a low-cost smartphone running a version of Google Inc's Android operating system, despite the company's close partnership with Microsoft Corp and its competing Windows system, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The handset division of the Finnish company, which is in the final stages of being acquired by Microsoft, will show off the new phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month, the report said on Monday, citing unidentified sources who were familiar with the matter.
Nokia and Microsoft declined to comment.
The new Android phone will be aimed at emerging markets and will not feature some of Google's higher-end, custom Android features.
Microsoft and its main handset partner Nokia have struggled to make an impression in the smartphone market dominated by Samsung's Android devices and Apple Inc's iPhone.
According to technology research firm, Strategy Analytics, 79 percent of smartphones shipped worldwide last year ran on Android, 15 percent were iPhones running Apple's iOS and only 4 percent ran Windows Phone software.
Tagged with
Microsoft,
Nokia,
Nokia android,
Nokia latest android phone,
Nokia latest phones 2014,
Nokia Microsoft,
Nokia Phones,
Nokia smart phones
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Friday officially declared open Sri Lanka's first PC computer manufacturing plant in the southern port city of Hambantota.
Microsoft OEM partner, EWIS Computer Assembly Plant at Sooriyaweva in Hambantota is expected to bring the country another step closer to its goal of becoming the IT hub of Asia as outlined in the Mahinda Chintana policy.
Tagged with
EWIS Computer Assembly Plant,
EWIS Computer Assembly Plant Sri lanka,
Hambantota,
Hambantota port city,
Microsoft,
Microsoft OEM partner,
Microsoft sri lanka,
PC manufacturing sri lanka,
Technology
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}
.jpg)
