Microsoft Windows - Infoworld

FAQ: Windows on ARM explained

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:47:19 +0000

In an 8,600-word epistle yesterday, Microsoft's top Windows executive pulled aside the curtain on the first version of the company's iconic OS that targets tablets.

Dubbed "Windows on ARM," or WOA for short, the new edition is a cousin, perhaps one or two or even three times removed, of the still-under-construction Windows 8 for traditional PCs.

Microsoft to issue more critical patches next week for Windows 7 than XP

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:51:05 +0000

Microsoft on Thursday said it would deliver nine security updates next week, four of them critical, to patch 21 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer (IE), Office, .Net, and Silverlight.

This year's February Patch Tuesday will feature three fewer updates and one less patch than 2011's.

ARM-based Windows 8 tablets to get Office after all

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:03:23 +0000

Microsoft has released technical design details about the new version of Windows for laptops and other computers that use ARM chips. Called WOA (for Windows on ARM), the Windows 8 variation is still under development. This means that there won't be a universal version of Windows 8 for Intel x86-based and ARM-based devices.

Microsoft to launch Windows 8 beta Feb. 29

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:25:22 +0000

Microsoft on Wednesday said it will host a launch event for the Windows 8 beta on Feb. 29 in Barcelona, the site of the Mobile World Congress.

Previously, Microsoft had promised that it would distribute a public beta -- the company used the label "Consumer Preview" instead -- in "late February." Wednesday, Feb. 29 is the last day of the month.

Windows 8 is the new Vista -- and that's a good thing

J. Peter Bruzzese — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

As the public beta release of Windows 8 nears, the complaints are steadily mounting about its user interface. Just yesterday, ZDnet columnist Stephen Vaughn-Nichols, an admitted Linux fan, has called Windows 8 the next Vista-scale disaster, citing the "mess" of the new Metro UI.

Microsoft: Keep the Start menu in Windows 8, please!

InfoWorld Tech Watch — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:08:49 +0000

The blogosphere lit up over the weekend with screenshots of the latest almost-ready-for-Customer-Preview version of Windows 8, known as Build 8220.

Is Windows Phone really under Sinofsky?

InfoWorld Tech Watch — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:38:02 +0000

Details about Windows Phone 8 are bustin' out all over. And while those technical details are devastating for Windows Phone 7.5 "Tango" sales, there's a bigger picture.

Virtualization no silver bullet for Macs or mobile

Galen Gruman — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

In 2006, Apple's Intel-based Macs opened the door to running Windows via desktop virtualization; suddenly users could have their personal Macs and business PCs in one box. It's a big reason, I believe, that Mac market share has continued to grow faster than overall PC market share for the last five years. The shift to Intel and the accompanying ability to run Windows gave people the security blanket they needed to make the switch.

Internet Explorer takes unexpected jump in market share

InfoWorld Tech Watch — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:38:37 +0000

Just when you thought Internet Explorer was on a years-long losing streak, about to drop below 50 percent of all browsing activity worldwide, the January figures from Net Applications showed a substantial, remarkable 1.19 percent jump in IE use in January.

A tour of Microsoft System Center 2012

J. Peter Bruzzese — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

I admit it: I never liked Microsoft's System Center server management suite. If you are one of my long-time readers, you know I mention it only sporadically, and even then without enthusiasm. It's felt like a patch job of unrelated products. But the forthcoming System Center 2012 -- now available in the form of a release candidate -- might just change my mind.

13 Windows 8 features worth knowing about

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:09:53 +0000

Upgrades, system migration, support headaches -- IT folks are probably dreading the next major Windows rollout. Yet Windows 8, which is scheduled to move to the beta stage in late February and will likely launch in the fall, does offer several compelling new features for both IT and end users.

Windows 8 on ARM: Not so vaporous after all?

InfoWorld Tech Watch — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:26:06 +0000

Last week, I suggested that the lack of even demo units of Windows 8-based ARM tablets meant that we may not see any ARM tablets, at least not when Window

Windows 8 Metro: Now with mouse support

InfoWorld Tech Watch — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:06:48 +0000

If you've been running the Windows 8 Developer Preview on a touchless PC, you know just how much fun it is to mimic simple touch gestures with a mouse.

Forrester: Apple breaks Microsoft's lock on enterprise workers

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:08:27 +0000

The iPhone may have opened the door for Apple in the enterprise, but it was the one-two punch of the iPad and revamped MacBook Air in 2010 that really did the trick, an analyst said today.

The result: An end to Microsoft's long-running monopoly in the enterprise.

ARM-based Windows 8 tablets: Signs point to vaporware

InfoWorld Tech Watch — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:41:42 +0000

Apple's blow-away quarter can be sliced and diced a zillion ways -- Mac are sales up 26 percent over last year, with non-Apple PC sales in t

Microsoft gives details on mobile broadband improvements in Windows 8

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:53:49 +0000

Microsoft has given details on a variety of ways in which the upcoming Windows 8 operating system does a better job than its predecessors at letting users manage their connections to Wi-Fi and mobile broadband networks.

"We looked at the fundamentals of wireless connectivity and re-engineered Windows 8 for a mobile and wireless future, going beyond incremental improvements," reads a blog post published on Friday.

Microsoft results yield unexpected good news

InfoWorld Tech Watch — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:46:52 +0000

Microsoft's results for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2011, were pretty much in line with what industry observers expected. But two items caught my eye, and they both fall in the category of good news for Microsoft and its shareholders.

Windows' cut of Microsoft revenue drops to two-year low

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:13:46 +0000

Windows' contribution last quarter to Microsoft's revenue hit its lowest point since Vista's swan song more than two years earlier, according to figures released by the company Thursday.

For the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2011, the Windows division accounted for 22.7 percent of the company's total sales, its lowest share since the 20.3 percent that the group recorded during the third quarter of 2009, at the end of Vista's reign and just weeks before Windows 7 launched.

Despite whacking Windows, Linux gets too little respect

Savio Rodrigues — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

After more than a decade of Linux vendors trying to grow into the enterprise -- and Red Hat, the poster child for Linux, approaching $1 billion in annual revenue -- it's easy to presume that Linux is pervasive in businesses. It is, but as the Linux Foundation's enterprise survey finds, there are still barriers to overcome. The survey also shows new data showing Windows -- not Unix -- as the primary operating system being migrated to Linux.

Earn more: Today's top IT certs

J. Peter Bruzzese — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

I was encouraged last week when reading my colleague Ted Samson's post "IT salaries edge up back to 2008 levels." According to Janco's 2012 IT Salary Survey, that puts the average IT salary at around $78,000 (note that Redmond magazine's survey places it a little higher at $84,000).