Microsoft is betting big on their new Surface tablet line which is contending against rival Apple iPad. Of the two unveiled, the Surface Pro distinctly stands apart bringing in a Samsung Galaxy Note like appeal.

The Surface tablet line comes in two flavors, the Surface, running Windows RT on an ARM-based NVIDIA Tegra processor and the Surface Pro, running Windows 8 on an Intel Ivy Bridge processor.

Microsoft had on Wednesday announced the completion of Windows 8 version. Come August 15, developers using their MSDN subscription can download the final version of Windows 8 whereas IT counterparts can get their hands on Windows 8 Enterprise Edition via Volume License Center with Software Assurance starting from August 16. The rest of the world has to wait until October 26 to see the new OS integrated on their favourite Microsoft device.

So how does the Surface tablet stack up against the iPad, the record breaking market leader? Surface is a technological quantum leap for its dual role as a tablet and desktop PC. The same cannot be told of Apple iPad. Features side, Apple still tops in sales. Apple CEO Tim Cook in April said his company sold more than 67 million iPads since the launch of the device in early 2010. For Microsoft, it is a gargantuan task to make Surface click like iPad.

For consumers looking for easy computing in terms of browsing the Web, checking emails, social networking, video streaming and trying out apps, Surface RT is the best bet. As for Surface Pro, it has all the likings of a desktop or laptop device as this device comes with latest laptop processor that is same as Intel Core i5 found in ultrabooks. Surface Pro doesn’t target casual users. It is a stunning device for enterprise needs, and is expected to come with a price tag close to $1000.

A major plus point for Microsoft Surface is that the pro version runs the actual Windows 8 OS, unlike the iPad that runs on iOS, which is just a shade of the actual Mac OS X.

Getting to processor, Apple iPad’s A5X processor is manufactured using 45 nanometer architecture which was used in Intel and AMD CPU’s way back in 2008. And A5X is 310 percent larger than A4 processor that powered the first generation iPad. But the Intel’s Ivy Bridge processor which is a Intel Core i5 is based on the 32 nm Westmere shrink of the Nehalem microarchitecture. The smaller architecture implies a smaller processor die, but lower power consumption and less heat. The processor is optimised for battery life without compromising on performance. In fact comparing Surface Pro with Apple iPad seems pointless as Mid-2011 MacBook Air models used Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processors of varying speed with 2 GB or 4 GB of standard RAM and 64 GB, 128 GB or 256 GB of internal flash memory for storage. The equal competitor for Apple iPad would be Surface RT model which undoubtedly fits the case.

Unlike the others, dont mistaken Surface Pro to be a gaming machine due to the chipset found on it. The device is a gaming medium only on a smaller level in contrast to other high-powered gaming devices. However, Intel-based Surface has all the necessary requirements to play a plethora of PC titles as developers are beginning to offer support for Intel’s Ivy Bridge on-board graphics. And a game like Civ 5 would not be a hassle for Surface Pro whereas iPad can’t manage Civ 4 or Civ 5 versions, according to Eric Neustadter, a Xbox Live Operations Gaming expert. There is a USB 3.0 used in Pro version as the core logic chipset of Intel’s Ivy Bridge chips support the standard ones whereas Windows RT version of Surface uses USB 2.0, which is same as Apple iPad’s latest version. Inclusion of two USB 3.0 port should offer a perfect platform for gamers who want to use their gaming mouse in tandem with the keyboard cover.

Not surprisingly, Surface Pro can be considered as both a mini laptop and a high-end tablet that can act as an hybrid device giving tough competition to Samsung Galaxy Note line. Samsung Galaxy Note bridges the gap between smartphones and tablets. It’s uniqueness was extolled by both reviewers and consumers in different markets. For Microsoft’s Surface, a major drawback comes in the form of apps. It’s rival Samsung Galaxy Note is powered by Android operating system which has more than 600,000 apps. All the more, analysts point to the advantage of Android being a multi-channel, multi-carrier OS.

Delving into the Surface Pro specifications, it is worth noting that it has Metro interface. And existing desktop applications can only be used in Pro version of Surface while RT would not support it. The Windows RT versions only run Metro apps, while the Windows 8 tablets run older Windows applications as well. If Microsoft’s tablet venture has to shoot up high, then the company’s Windows Store should have desirable and popular apps available during the launch. Windows 8 tablets are full-fledged computers capable of running both tablet apps and full computer applications, there is no stopping this grandeur device. Clearly it will be a unique venture for Microsoft just as Galaxy Note is to Samsung. Going by the info available, the lack of apps is not a minor concern. Apps play an important part in the tablet market to date. This is why Apple still remains in the top.

Meanwhile, if the tablet runs on “.exe” then it can run BlueStacks App Player beta which is an an Android app emulator for Windows XP, Vista, and 7. The software gives access to Android apps on the Android Market, GetJar, the Amazon AppStore or 1Mobile Market, and even allows one to run them on a desktop. App Player could be handy for upcoming Windows 8-based touch tablets. If the Windows Store is missing a Metro-style version, one can turn to the BlueStacks App Player, making Android apps run on a traditional Windows desktop environment. Using BlueStacks one can run all exe files, windows arm apps and Android apps.

Tablets are great toys for showing content, but they are poor tools for generating content even if you are great at typing on the screen. TabTimes describes it as a nice freebie that “attaches to the Surface magnetically and essentially doubles up as a multi-touch keyboard with trackpad”. Adding to it is the magnesium kickstand which will be useful for watching videos and for making presentations. There is also stylus accessory for annotating documents and filling up of forms.

What about battery? A report by Computer World divulges that the battery life of Windows RT Surface is in range of 7.5 hour and powered by 31.4 Wh. There is 42 Wh battery on Windows 8 Surface Pro compared to 42.5 Wh on Apple for its latest version which is able to last for 10 hours while browsing the web, watch videos or listen to music. However it is to be noted that iPad 2 which has a rating of 25 Wh yields close to 10 hours of battery life.

As for cost, Microsoft may price the tablets competitively to snag customers away from the rivals. Although Surface Pro may attract enterprise division, Surface RT version has to sell at a price close to Apple iPad which begins at $499. However, based on rumors, as of late July 2012, the most recent estimates of pricing are $599 for the lower end model and $999 for the Pro model. The Windows RT Surface is expected launch first while the Pro version may ship three months later, meaning we may hear about it in CES 2013.

Glancing through the features, Surface Pro doesn’t really have to compete with iPad and ultrabook. It can rather stand unique and could be the next big thing for technophiles. As anticipation mounts for what promises to be an enthralling competition, it would be interesting to see what critics, industry experts and consumers have to say about it.

Microsoft re-branding Hotmail to new Outlook.com may be a real gamechanger. However, the question remains – can it catch up with Google’s Gmail service?

Since the announcement of Outlook email, over one million people have reportedly signed up in just under six hours.

Chris Jones, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Windows Live says “the personal email service offers the first major improvement to cloud mail in eight years”.

“We think the time is right to reimagine personal email, from the datacenter to the user experience,” he said. “So today we’re introducing a preview of Outlook.com.”

The Outlook email service has cleaner design, fewer ads and makes connections to social media sites easy. In addition, it works fantastic with smartphones, tablets, and the new Outlook 2013 Preview.

Previously, people only knew Microsoft Outlook as a separate desktop application. When Hotmail was first introduced in 1996, it caught on like fire and was an instant hit. After Google’s Gmail entry, everything changed. People loved Gmail for its clean design, large space, efficient spam filters and less ads.

After the acquisition of Hotmail in 1998, Microsoft introduced a slew of changes to make its email service more desirable. Rather than simplifying the email offering, Microsoft went on preserving the option for various login IDs such as Hotmail, Windows Live ID, Xbox Live or Windows Phone and Microsoft.

Henceforth, this user-friendly revamp from Microsoft is a commendable course of action. Presently, while signing into the account, users are greeted with fresh whitish background along with shady bluish bar on the top and grey side bar. Hovering over the top of blue bar next to the Outlook logo brings up a scroll down box which show options like Mail, People, Calendar and SkyDrive.

On the settings, users can manage their account details, email forwarding, POP, rename email address, junk mail filters, privacy settings, language, keyboard shortcuts and can even set where they want the reading pane to appear. Dont like the default blue color? That’s alright, just pick your favourite color to show.

Clicking on the circled plus icon brings the ‘compose’ option to send mails. All other basic features such as text formatting, managing folders, saving draft, etc are intact on Outlook.

Altogether, the new Outlook email service is a likable experience. It is easy to navigate, view friends’ Facebook updates and Tweets in inbox, keep all contact information in sync and import contacts from other services such as Gmail.

While Outlook still in beta version, we can expect Microsoft to roll out a host of more new features to enhance the email experience. Have to admit, it might still require a great deal of time and effort for Microsoft to outshine Gmail which is extremely popular with all the goodies and extra features it has to offer.

For instance, Gmail popularised the inbuilt chat through which communication was made faster, easier and more efficient. Users can even make video calls and connect with friends in Google Circles. Not that Outlook doesn’t. In fact Outlook goes one step ahead by giving users the benefit of instant messaging friends over Facebook Chat.

Meanwhile, casting shadow over Microsoft’s new venture, Dan Keldsen, principal analyst at Information Architected said, “It’s puzzling because it’s been 16 years since Hotmail was introduced and this is the first real change that Microsoft has done with it.”

“The laundry list that I’ve seen of what’s supposed to be included there in Outlook.com appears to all be catch-up to Gmail, to Google Drive, to Yahoo’s web services and to Apple’s Mobile Me and Apple’s iCloud,” he added.

Nevertheless, the revamping of Microsoft’s Hotmail with clean interface, integration of social media services, among others is still a far-reaching move.

“Email is becoming less and less useful as inboxes become cluttered with newslettersand social updates, and people increasingly keep up their personal connections in social networks instead of their email address books,” notes Microsoft vice-president Chris Jones.

“Building on our past work with Exchange and Hotmail, we provide an inbox with virtually unlimited storage, industry leading spam protection, and rock solid account protection powered by your Microsoft account. Outlook.com also works great with the Outlook desktop application, and as you’d expect from a personal email service, it’s free,” he wrote on the official Microsoft blog.

Explaining on the features, Jones writes: “In the Outlook.com inbox, your personal email comes alive with photos of your friends, recent status updates and Tweets that your friend has shared with you, the ability to chat and video call – all powered by an always up-to-date contact list that is connected to your social networks.”

Further, Outlook.com automatically sorts messages from contacts, newsletters, shipping updates, and social updates, and includes free Office Web Apps – Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote – which enables users view and edit attachments without leaving the inbox.

“We realized that we needed to take a bold step, break from the past and build you a brand new service from the ground up,” declares Jones.

Now, what about users already registered on Hotmail? They can choose to either have their email with Hotmail domain or even upgrade to the Outlook.com preview. Hotmail still commands over 370 million users.

Google’s Gmail with over 425 million accounts might be top among free email providers. Outlook’s entry into the email fray with pizazz could disquiet the other big players. The contest sure gets more interesting. We just have to wait and watch to see who walks away with the top honors.

Devices powered by Android operating system are growing more in popularity in present days.  After racing on to becoming the world’s leading smartphone platform as at end of 2010, the OS, that has given it a competitive edge is iOS from Apple.

However, Windows Phone 8, the new OS introduced by Microsoft, is expected to stand as a potential threat to both Android and iOS.

Microsoft has failed to gain the head start as their previous efforts with Windows Mobile operating system has not delivered the desired results. While Microsoft has tasted success in the computer market, it has not got a steady start in the mobile platform.

According to IDC analyst, “Windows Phone 8 brings the capabilities up to par with Android.” But, he doubts if Windows Phone 8 can match Android’s pace due to the “sheer velocity” with which Android is moving.

The Windows Phone 8 is coded much like the company’s PC platform. As quite many developers are already familiar with the Redmond-based firm’s PC system, it will be a piece of cake for the company to write programs for the upcoming devices.

The new Windows Phone 8 Start screen allows for the same level of customization as the tablet and desktop versions of Windows 8. Hardware for the new OS will reportedly will come from Nokia, Samsung, HTC and Huawei. The new OS will run on phones with dual-core chips and high-definition screens. Qualcomm chips will power the upcoming devices.

Interestingly, the new software has support for near-field communication technology, which enables customers use phones to make payments. Also, the Digital Wallet support can help users store coupons frequent flier miles and pay for goods.

Presently, the figures show, as per Microsoft website that 240 million Windows 7 licenses sold just within one year after its launch which has increased the revenue.

With Microsoft enjoying much success with Windows 7, a blog post on its Dutch Web site indicates Windows 8 to hit the market around 2012. The suggested rumor may be true, because the time gap between Windows Vista and Window 7 launch was about 3 years. Also, previously company had said that they will never give a big gap of 5 years as in case of Windows XP to Vista for major releases.

Also, Steve Ballmer at Gartner Symposium suggested Window 8 to “riskiest product bet” would be “next release of Windows.”

The next version of Windows is sure to pack some punch as in the words of a Microsoft employee, who said “the next version will be something completly [sic] different from what folks usually expect of Windows.”——– This means we can expect something really different.

All the market giants like Microsoft play rumor game before the launch of their next product, expecting people to the guess work.

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft has issued security Bulletin for coming Tuesday’s patch. According to report’s from Microsoft, 6 updates will be offered for 12 vulnerabilities along with a critical hole in internet Explorer which affects Windows 7 and other current versions of the operating system for which exploit code has been released.

“The vulnerability exists as an invalid pointer reference of Internet Explorer. It is possible under certain conditions for a CSS/Style object to be accessed after the object is deleted. In a specially-crafted attack, Internet Explorer attempting to access a freed object can lead to running attacker-supplied code.”

Three updates are considered to be very critical, according to Microsoft security bulletin advance notification.

Windows 2000, Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Server 2003, Server 2008, Office XP, and Office 2003 are the software’s which are affected by the vulnerabilities.

Read More: Micorsoft

]]> http://www.webtechpoint.com/2009/12/tuesday%e2%80%99s-microsoft-patch-will-include-six-updates/feed/ 1 http://www.webtechpoint.com/2009/11/microsoft-releases-office-2010-beta-to-public/ http://www.webtechpoint.com/2009/11/microsoft-releases-office-2010-beta-to-public/#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:42:50 +0000 webtech http://www.webtechpoint.com/?p=4170

Microsoft’s Beta version of Office 2010 is now available and ready to download. From insightful updates to Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Outlook, to new server integration capabilities that make it easier for everyone to track, report and share vital information, Office Professional Plus 2010 offers the complete package through familiar, intuitive tools.

You can workin on your PC, smartphone or web browser with Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010.

The 2010 Microsoft Office system has evolved from a suite of personal productivity products to a more comprehensive and integrated system. Building on the familiar tools that many people already know, the Microsoft Office system includes programs, servers, services, and solutions designed to work together to help address a broad array of business problems.

Read More: Download Office 2010 Beta

The tool enbales the creation of document themes for Microsoft Office 2007.

What’s the use of Document themes?

The Theme Builder provides a consistent look across all your Microsoft Office documents. The themes you build can be applied for PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and even Outlook emails.

Read More: Microsoft

Microsoft Security Essentials the successor to Microsoft Live One care jumps to Version 1.0.1611.0

The new version doesn’t have additional heft of a firewall, performance tuning and backup and restore options. The core features are left untouched.

Security Essentials wraps antivirus and antispyware engines, rootkit protection, and real-time detection courtesy of Microsoft SpyNet, the unfortunately named cloud-based service that compares file behavior across computers.

Read More: Downlaod New Version

CVS Caremark has partnered with Microsoft to broadened its pharmacy partnership with Microsoft to let customers download their prescription histories to their Microsoft HealthValut accounts.

Microsoft’s HealthVault, which is a personal health technology platform designed to put people in control of their health information. A free HealthVault account can be used to privately and securely collect, store and share health information that otherwise would remain trapped in disconnected silos.

At their discretion, individuals can use HealthVault to share health information with a wide range of Web applications, EMR systems, and health and fitness devices, and with physicians, family members or others they choose.

Read More: Microsoft

From September 22nd to October 5th, as you buy a Xbox 360 Elite for $299, Xbox 360 will put $50 back into your pocket with a limited-time rebate.

Now your favorite gaming console is made available with never before affordable price.

What’s the use of Xbox 360 Elite?
Xbox 360 Elite puts all your entertainment in one place so you can play games, watch movies and TV shows, listen to music, and, coming this fall, keep up with your Twitter and Facebook social circles, all from your living room. Additionally, with a Netflix unlimited membership and an Xbox LIVE Gold Membership you can instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix, recommend your favorite shows and share in a movie party night with up to 7 friends — all on Xbox LIVE.

Read More: Xbox 360 Elite