Showing posts with label will. Show all posts
Showing posts with label will. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Windows 9 Preview What the Next Microsoft OS Will and Should Bring
Microsoft did something very...er... interesting in October 2012. It launched Windows 8, the operating system that would "unify" Microsofts platforms across PCs, phones and tablets. Except, there was a fairly large flaw in the plan.
Microsofts vision of unification wasnt just from an engineering perspective. The company also wanted a unified user interface across all its devices.
Now lets think about that for a second. Traditional PC users (both desktop and laptop) were used to mice and keyboards. They had been using these two devices pretty much since the advent of the PC. Various companies had also managed to add support for other input devices over the years, but no one was really using a touchscreen on the desktop.
Microsofts presence in the tablet market was non-existent, for all intents and purposes. Very few "tablet PCs" existed, running full versions of Windows 7 with the lowest power Intel Core processors available at the time. They were heavy, didnt have great battery life, and only seemed to be useful for designers and artistic folk, whod use a stylus to draw.
Most people were either using iOS or Android tablets, and few people were clamouring for a Windows equivalent of these two.
Finally, lets consider the phone market, where Microsoft had slight success with Windows Phone 7 and has since had a little more with Windows Phone 8 and 8.1. Its market share was fairly insignificant, and the company would have really needed something special to make things work out.
There were, at the time, around 1 billion Windows PCs in the world, 99 percent not using a touchscreen monitor. Less than 5 percent of smartphones ran any version of Windows Phone, and there were barely any tablet PCs. In that backdrop, Microsofts decision to release an OS that was optimised for touch-screen devices, rather than traditional input methods, seems premature to say the least.
Whats worse is that the UI was aesthetically, and in many cases functionally, seen as a regression from Windows 7, which is still the most popular PC operating system. Bringing back the Start Menu is an example that Microsoft is backing down from its aggressive way of teaching users new behaviour.
After two years of bug fixes, patches, question marks over the future of Windows RT, and an awkward operating system that was arguably a bigger flop than Vista in terms of adoption and user satisfaction (despite being technically more sound), Microsoft has slowly come around to accepting the reality.
September 30 is the speculated date for the "preview" version of Windows "Threshold", also informally called Windows 9 by most of the tech press. Sites have generously leaked videos and screenshots of a legit-looking preview build of Threshold.
Looking at the videos, youll be able to see that the interface is still mostly flat and boring like Windows 8. Im curious as to why they made an OS as pretty as Windows 7 and then went back to the flatness of the Windows 3.1 days, though thats down to personal taste.
Moving on, we see the return of the start menu , just with tiles thrown in. If you compare this start menu to the present one of Windows 7, it strikes me as less useful, as it simply links to fewer things. The entire right column is filled with tiles. What used to be in the right column (Control Panel, Documents, etc.) end up as pinned items, quite obviously taking up space used for pinned programs in Windows 7.
Of course, when compared to Windows 8, this is much better than making obscure "charm" gestures, or receiving a face full of that jarring start screen.
Metro (or Modern) UI apps can now be (mercifully) run in windowed mode, and can be minimised. While some may question the utility of these in the PC version of the OS, the main complaint with Windows 8.x was not having a choice, so I guess this is step in the right direction. The same goes for the existence of "PC Settings" when the Control Panel exists, and two different calculators, one for touch screens and the other being the old one were used to on Windows 7. Of course these are still early days, and all this may yet be fixed before Windows 9 reaches the consumers.
Well also most likely see virtual desktops, like on Linux systems and OS X. You can switch between different desktops, and have different windows on each. This would, in theory, allow you to switch between multiple workflows. The actual implementation looks a bit sketchy, however. Im specifically talking about window management; the creation, removal and navigation of virtual desktops looks good enough.
Long story short, from whatever weve seen so far, Threshold seems like a mixed bag. Its sort of Microsoft saying, "Hey, we made really bad decision with that Modern UI stuff but heres a compromise." But its clear that the company still hasnt quite let go of those tiles, which suggests the company is continuing to walk the tightrope between listening to user feedback and going ahead with what it believes is the future of Windows.
Microsoft must keep in mind that the function of a good operating system is to provide a stable and secure environment for applications and users to interact in, not sell itself as one giant overblown "app".
Unifying the interfaces of PCs, tablets and phones wasnt a good plan either, as Windows 8 proved. Three different type of devices and two different input models cant be fitted into one box. Even Apple and Google keep PC and mobile separate, so one wonders if Microsoft is on the right track with its one size fits all policy. Kernel code sharing doesnt mean having a common UI. And blindly sharing features is known as taking a shortcut.
Tablets, convertibles and 2-in-1s are devices that can benefit from both: ecosystem support and a touchscreen interface. Microsoft should focus on smoothening out the experience for these users while at the same time leaving the traditional PC market alone, as far as the interface is concerned.
After all, Sun Tzu did say, "Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win".
Windows 8 was an example of Microsoft going to war and then seeking to win. It was also an attempt at besieging a walled city, while bafflingly leaving the gates to its own fort wide open. Windows 9 must change that.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV Gadgets is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV Gadgets and NDTV Gadgets does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Asus Zenfone 5 with 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM will be launch at May 1st
ASUS ZenFone 5 2GB version confirmed, is expected to officially launch on May 1.
Currently on sale for two versions ZenFone 5, the 2GHz and 1.6GHz versions of the A500s A501, but only 1GB of memory and 8GB ROM, for many consumers, it always felt a little sorry.
[Taiwan Price]
ZenFone 5 - 2.0GHz/RAM 1GB/ROM 8GB NT 4990
ZenFone 6 - 2.0GHz/RAM 2GB/ROM 8GB NT 6990
[Global version ]
ZenFone 5 - 1.6GHz/RAM 1GB/ROM 8GB RMB 799 (about NT $ 3995)
ZenFone 5 - 2.0GHz/RAM 2GB/ROM 16GB RMB 999 (about NT $ 4995)
ZenFone 6 - 2.0GHz/RAM 1GB/ROM 8GB RMB 999 (about NT $ 4995)
ZenFone 6 - 2.0GHz/RAM 2GB/ROM 16GB RMB 1299 (about NT $ 6495)
Read more »
Currently on sale for two versions ZenFone 5, the 2GHz and 1.6GHz versions of the A500s A501, but only 1GB of memory and 8GB ROM, for many consumers, it always felt a little sorry.
However, earlier ASUS confirmed that they will launch Zenfone 5 2GB memory and 16GB ROM version, it will be launch at May 1st, the price was raised to NT $ 5,490 million, the processor should be the same as the A500 2.0GHz.
Consumers who have purchased ZenFone 5 do not be too sad, ASUS will be presented an 8GB memory and intellectual holster to 1GB/8GB ROM consumers.
Although additional gift under a 8GB memory for A500 and A501 consumers, but pre 2GB/16GB ROM version consumers can get 8GB memory card cases, people seem unhappy by early buy Zenfone 5.
[Taiwan Price]
ZenFone 5 - 2.0GHz/RAM 1GB/ROM 8GB NT 4990
ZenFone 6 - 2.0GHz/RAM 2GB/ROM 8GB NT 6990
[Global version ]
ZenFone 5 - 1.6GHz/RAM 1GB/ROM 8GB RMB 799 (about NT $ 3995)
ZenFone 5 - 2.0GHz/RAM 2GB/ROM 16GB RMB 999 (about NT $ 4995)
ZenFone 6 - 2.0GHz/RAM 1GB/ROM 8GB RMB 999 (about NT $ 4995)
ZenFone 6 - 2.0GHz/RAM 2GB/ROM 16GB RMB 1299 (about NT $ 6495)
Thursday, March 26, 2015
CyanogenMod will offer 2 sets of ROMs in the future
During last Android BBQ, CyanogenMod Inc, the newly born firm announces it will offer 2 sets of ROMs in the upcoming Cyanogen Installer App which is beta test right now.
Titles can be misleading. The Community Edition is turned towards developers, hackers and heavy users. It is basically what CyanogenMod is offering right now to its users, root is required.
The Pro Edition is a stable version with less options but it is still highly customizable. Root is not required and it is mainly for light users like "Steves (Kondik) mother".
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Forgot where you parked the car Its cool iOS 8 will have you covered
iOS 8 might not deliver the improvements to Apple Maps that Cupertino intended, but theres one nifty feature that might make its way through.
As spotted in a screenshot, iOS 8 contains files that reference parking pins, which we assume would give you a reminder of where you parked the car.
Its especially worth noting as the rumour of this feature actually popped up last September, where sources said Apple would use the M7 chip to analyse your parking location and register its exact position, helping you to find it when you return.
Apple said nothing of this during WWDC, so we cant guarantee that this will come in iOS 8 - perhaps well see it in iOS 8.1 instead.
For now, wed take improved mapping data over extra features such as this, however handy it might be. It wont be much use if Apple Maps is telling us we left the car in the middle of Euboea.
After all, it needs to catch up with Google, which rolled out a similar car-finding feature for Google Now earlier this year.
Read more »
As spotted in a screenshot, iOS 8 contains files that reference parking pins, which we assume would give you a reminder of where you parked the car.
Its especially worth noting as the rumour of this feature actually popped up last September, where sources said Apple would use the M7 chip to analyse your parking location and register its exact position, helping you to find it when you return.
Park it, pal
Apple said nothing of this during WWDC, so we cant guarantee that this will come in iOS 8 - perhaps well see it in iOS 8.1 instead.
For now, wed take improved mapping data over extra features such as this, however handy it might be. It wont be much use if Apple Maps is telling us we left the car in the middle of Euboea.
After all, it needs to catch up with Google, which rolled out a similar car-finding feature for Google Now earlier this year.
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