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VMware Fusion 4 brings full Lion support, wants to make Windows act less like Windows
Leave it to VMware to put the spotlight back on Lion when this is, without a doubt, Windows 8's week. The company just announced Fusion 4, the latest version of its virtualization software, and, as you'd expect, it pledges to play nice with Apple's newly minted OS. In addition to fully supporting Lion features like Spotlight, though, it makes Windows look more like, well, a Mac. The software includes improved support for Expose and Spaces on the Windows side, and adds the ability to use Mission Control and launch Windows apps from Launchpad. Additionally, you can run Lion as a virtual machine within Snow Leopard and VMware makes vague claims about improved performance, 3D graphics and resource-hogging. It'll cost $50 through the end of the year, with the price jumping up to $80 in January. Fittingly enough, VMware picked up on the fact that Apple's moving away from optical drives, and instead chose to ship the software with a USB drive (you can also download it and do the whole drag-and-drop installation thing). Oh, and if you bought the last-gen version of the software on July 20th or later, you'll get the new version gratis. Lots of screen shots below, and full PR after the break.%Gallery-133556%
Microsoft: Windows Phone Tango will be minor update, is meant for low-end handsets
It looks like we have our Windows Phone roadmap filled out for at least the next year, as Tango has been confirmed by Microsoft as next year's minor update preceding Apollo (aka Windows Phone 8). As mentioned at a MSDN seminar in Hong Kong, the successor to Windows Phone Mango will indeed be made for handsets in developing countries -- a key method to make these devices more affordable. These targeted nations have been neglected to this point, the company said, and the Tango update would bring more Bing services to them at a lower cost. Will such a move help Ballmer & Co. achieve greater market share against Apple and Google? It's hard to tell -- we certainly don't see this update coming to Vertu anytime soon, so we imagine that's probably a good sign.
Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2 beta brings iCloud support, no bug fixes
We know what you're thinking: Mac OS X Lion (10.7) has been out for nearly a week, so why have we yet to hear anything about Snow Lion? Patience friends, Apple will roar soon enough -- but for now, 10.7.2 will have to do. Apple released the beta update to developers over the weekend, eschewing any acknowledgment of 10.7.1, or correcting any of the bugs that have popped up over the last week. Instead, Lion's pending second update (build 11C26) is required for testing the operating system with iCloud -- a feature notably absent in the public version of the OS released last week. The new System Preferences iCloud module enables granular management of select features, letting you choose which accounts and services to sync. Full iCloud support is coming in the fall with the release of iOS 5, so it's probably safe to assume that Apple plans to patch some of those bugs in the meantime -- any day now, we hope.
Apple OS X Lion 10.7 review
Never one to shy away from dramatic hyperbole, Steve Jobs declared ours a "post-PC world" about this time last year, acknowledging a move away from personal computers as smartphones and tablets become even more ubiquitous. And while Jobs might happily look on as iPhones and iPads become our primarily tie to the outside world, the question remains: what happens to the PC during this grand transition? To a large extent, the answer lies in the OS, which brings us to OS X Lion. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to post-PC computing. In typically grandiose fashion, the company has declared OS X 10.7 "the world's most advanced desktop operating system," touting the addition of over 250 new features. The list is pretty uneven on the game-changing scale, with updates running the gamut from Airdrop (file-sharing over WiFi) to a full-screen version of the bundled chess game. If there's one thing tying it all together, though, it's something that Jobs touched on when he first unveiled the OS back in October: the unmistakable influence of iOS. Now it's true, we already got a taste of that with gesture-based trackpads and the Mac App Store, but those were merely glimpses of things to come. Apple borrows so heavily from iOS that at times, cycling through features makes the whole thing feel like you're merely operating an iPad with a keyboard attached. There are plenty of welcome additions here, including aesthetic tweaks and attention to mounting privacy concerns. Like Snow Leopard before it, however, Lion is hardly an explosive upgrade. And like Snow Leopard, it comes in at a reasonable $29 (or a decidedly more pricey $69 as an upcoming flash drive install), making it a worthy upgrade for current Mac owners. But does a boatload of evolutionary features add up to a revolutionary upgrade? Let's find out.%Gallery-128790%
Andy Lees says no to Mango on Windows tablets
Microsoft's Andy Lees quashed dreams of Windows tablets running a Mango-style OS during a talk at the company's Worldwide Partners Conference today, saying the mobile operating system would conflict with the outfit's ideas of what makes a slate. According to Electronista, Lees said the computing giant sees tablets as PCs, making the mobile OS incompatible with its vision. He went on to say that Windows 8's networking and printing functions make it more suited to the needs of tablet users. So, if you're looking for the sweet style of Mango, it looks like you'll have get your hands on one of these bad boys.
Switched On: Chrome alone
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. About a year after the debut of the first Android handset, Switched On discussed the threat that Chrome OS posed to Android. To reprise it briefly: Like chief rivals Apple and Microsoft, Google has two operating systems trying to bridge the rift between consumer electronics and traditional computing, but Chrome is different than Mac OS and Windows in an exceptionally important way. Rather than trying to refine the traditional software experience (as Apple has done with the Mac App Store and other iOS-inspired developments in the queue) or move that experience forward to tablets (as Microsoft is doing with Windows), Chrome OS is not looking to carry forward any legacy beyond the browser. Unlike with Mac OS vs. iOS or Windows vs. Windows Phone, the battle isn't over which apps make sense, but rather the irreconcilable difference around whether apps to begin with. This makes Google's suggestion that the two operating systems might merge at some point less credible, and sent a mixed message to developers about whether to focus their efforts on apps or the web. At Google I/O 2011, however, the company clarified its position.
Shocker! Microsoft commands 79 percent of worldwide OS revenue (update)
Everyone knows that Windows is installed on the vast majority of computers, but it's always interesting to be reminded of what a cash cow the OS has been for Redmond. According to Gartner, Microsoft owned 78.6 percent of the global market revenue share for desktop operating systems at the end of 2010 -- revenue up almost 9 percent from 2009. That means, of the $30.4 billion in revenue that various companies generated, $23.8 billion lined Microsoft's coffers. But while Windows remains the kingpin, Mac OS X and -- wait for it -- Red Hat, posted more substantial gains. Apple's market revenue shot up almost 16 percent to 1.7 percent, Red Hat surged 18 percent, while dark horse Oracle leaped from ninth place to fourth, with a 7,683 percent growth in income -- no small thanks to its 2009 acquisition of Sun Microsystems. Only one question remains, then -- who's the loser here? Update: Looks like we got this one wrong, folks, as it's not market share that's being measured here, but rather revenue share -- how much money each company made from its operating systems relative to one another. That means companies that price their operating systems cheaper will be at a disadvantage in the rankings, not to mention those organizations that charge nothing at all -- Ubuntu, anyone? Oh, and as some of you have pointed out in comments, there are both desktop and server operating systems in the chart above.
HP demos Citrix running on Touchpad, tries to make webOS corporation-friendly (video)
Lest you thought HP's Windows 7 slate was for large businesses and its upcoming webOS ones were reserved for consumers, not so fast. In a video (embedded after the break for your viewing pleasure), HP touts Citrix running on its forthcoming Touchpad to show it can play nice with enterprises' IT departments, too. As with Chrome OS, Citrix Receiver runs inside the browser, letting people choose the desktop apps they want. Both platforms, it seems, are capable of running computer-aided design applications in the cloud, with HP showing a 3D model in AutoCAD eDrawings Viewer. The frame rate isn't as fluid as HP would have you believe, but getting started appears idiot-proof, thanks to some large, tap-able icons. In any case, with 80 percent of the Fortune 100 already deploying the iPad, it's wise of HP to woo corporate customers with webOS. Isn't that right, Microsoft?
Windows 7 closes gap with XP, is poised to steal top market share this month
As recently as a year ago, Windows XP was the kingpin of PCs in the US with 43.1 percent market share. But that's rapidly changing. StatCounter shows that while Mac OS X is creeping up slightly and Windows Vista continues its death march, Windows 7 is on the rise, steadily closing the gap with trusty ole' XP. Last month, XP's share sank to 32.17 percent, while Windows 7's edged up to 30.84 percent, leaving the latter poised to overtake XP -- something the much-maligned Vista never did. And if early numbers are to be believed, it's already happened: StatCounter says that for the first week in April Windows 7's share (among desktops, at least) totaled 31.71 percent, compared with XP's 31.56. Either way, it seems Microsoft has convinced consumers that it's finally safe to upgrade.
Visualized: US smartphone market share, by manufacturer and platform, made pretty
They say a picture is worth a thousand words -- but in this case, a picture is worth tens of billions of dollars in market share. Nielsen has broken down its US smartphone market share stats between November and January in two dimensions -- by market share and by platform -- and stuffed all that data into a single block of mesmerizing color. It's interesting to see the Apple and RIM juggernauts flanked by two imposing, red slivers of HTC, isn't it? The research firm also took a look at platforms by age group; the shares are surprisingly consistent across the board, though Android does have a slight edge with the young'uns. Follow the break for that chart.
Jolicloud 1.0 now ready for your downloading delight on Windows or bootable USB
Tariq Krim's app-based cloud OS has been a long time coming, but it's finally freely available for download -- just grab a 16MB installer and you too can join the Jolicloud. We've been impressed more than once by the responsive netbook operating system which can boot in seconds flat, and now that it's got touchscreen support and a streamlined Windows dual-boot installer all for the bargain price of free, it's definitely worth a try. Give it a spin at our more coverage link, and let us know if it improves your life in any meaningful fashion. If your keyboard is inexorably intertwined with Windows, however, don't fret; a little penguin tells us a tablet PC version is also on the way.%Gallery-98860%
Microsoft says 74 percent of work PCs still use Windows XP, extends downgrade rights (update 2)
The latest Microsoft operating system may be selling seven copies a second, but it's no match for the behemoth Windows XP, still the most popular OS in the world despite recent nefarious attempts (we kid) to invoke spontaneous shutdowns, slow hard drives and trigger blue screens. In fact, a Microsoft exec admitted today that practically three-quarters of business computers still run the nine-year-old OS on hardware averaging 4.4 years old, and Computerworld's now reporting Microsoft will extend XP's lifespan through 2020 as a result. "Going forward, businesses can continue to purchase new PCs and utilize end user downgrade rights to Windows XP or Windows Vista until they are ready to use Windows 7," an official Windows blog post reads. We've heard the reluctance to upgrade is due to a reliance on older software and the cost of additional IT, but it probably doesn't hurt that Microsoft doggedly keeps distributing the OS despite the other choices on offer. Perhaps the futuristic Windows 8 will finally win the workplace over, but it seems Redmond's hedging its bets on this one. Look on the bright side: this way, when intelligent robots battle for control of the moon, at least the wrathful victors will still be vulnerable to the blue screen of doom. Update: So it seems as if that 2020 date is incorrect, according to Microsoft's PR team. We're presently waiting for an official update of some sort, and will let you know if / when we get it. Don't worry about the robots -- we've got top men working on Plan B. Update 2: The official Windows Team Blog has stepped forward to reduce the confusion, but they've only toned it down a tad. Microsoft won't commit to an exact date for Windows XP downgrade availability, saying instead that you can trade in your OEM copy of Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate until the company stops selling it... which is presently slated to be two years after Windows 8 ships... whenever that is. Find the complete non-committal statement at the more coverage link.
'iPhone vs Android' report finds Apple has three times Google's market share
It's oftentimes easy for us to get swept up in Android mania and forget that Google's mobile platform is still in its infancy. Then we get cold hard numbers like these -- showing iPhone OS owning 28 percent of the US smartphone market and closing in on RIM's leading 35 percent -- and we face up to the realization that Android handsets still account for less than one in every ten smartphones owned by Americans today. In spite of collecting 28 percent of all consumer smartphone purchases in the first quarter of 2010 (according to NPD), Google's OS was only able to climb up a couple of percentage points in terms of total market share, showing just how long a road lies ahead of its world-conquering plans. Guess that now explains why Apple's response to the earlier numbers was so nonchalant. Other intriguing figures include a high rate of loyalty among iPhone OS and Android users, with 80 percent of the former and 70 percent of the latter expressing a preference for the same OS in their next phone -- both rather shaming Microsoft and RIM's numbers, which were a mediocre 34 and 47 percent, respectively. Funnily enough, despite its inflammatory title, this report finds Android and iPhone users are more similar to each other than anyone else -- an uncomfortable fact for both parties to deal with, we're sure. The source link contains some more demographic comparisons, so why not go check them out and drop some sage analysis for us in the comments?
LG not interested in proprietary smartphone OS, likes Android and Windows Phone 7
LG has told the press at MWC that it will not be developing its own smartphone platform "at least for the next two to three years." We think companies should focus on what they do well, and given our ambivalence toward the S-Class UI, it's probably a good thing that LG will narrow its operation down to churning out delectable slabs of electronics and leaving the software side to the geeks over at Google and Microsoft. The head of the company's handset unit, Skott Ahn, has indicated that the future of LG smartphones will be shared between Android and Windows Phone 7 (sorry, Symbian lovers). It will have taken plenty of restraint to not respond to local nemesis Samsung -- who has just introduced its first Bada handset -- but LG appears to be of the opinion (which we share) that the smartphone OS sector is already overcrowded, and its expectation is that over the next couple of years the market will distill itself down to just three predominant operating systems.
Locus OS concept video shows the future of computing... right now
While we're sitting around complaining about the lack of innovative user interfaces and experiences in modern consumer electronics, a man named Barton Smith is actually doing something about it. In 2008 the industrial designer hatched a concept for an OS called Locus which completely upends many of the use paradigms we're familiar with in current desktop or mobile operating environments. Besides looking absolutely beautiful, a major chunk of the Locus concept focuses around the idea of having separate, easily accessible workspaces for different settings, such as on a train, at home, while out with friends, etc. Each of those scenarios is stored in a set of "panels" which can change based on geolocation or by user choice, and has its own combination of desktop arrangement and application shortcuts. Locus also incorporates a Zune-like content browsing interface, and a project management UI based around real world interactions (something like BumpTop, but cleaner). The whole concept is slickly put together and well thought out... but it doesn't just end with the software. Smith envisions this platform running on another concept of his: a portable computer called Stream. Stream would be a small, modular tablet / mobile device which can be docked in a variety of components, thus changing its functionality (along with Locus). It's fascinating stuff, for sure, and doubly intriguing considering Barton began developing these concepts so long ago (though the video below is brand new). Now where is the super-rich partner this guy needs to make this thing a reality? Update: As noted in comments, Microsoft branding is shown at the start of this video, but this is not a Microsoft product -- it seems Barton added the name and logo for effect. Update 2: Barton Smith got in touch to fill us in on the Microsoft logo at the beginning of the video. In his words: "The reason for the Microsoft branding is because it was originally going to be for the Microsoft next Gen computer comp from 2008." Well, there you go!
Steam users adopting Windows 7 at breakneck speeds
Though Windows 7 fever hasn't yet overwhelmed the PC community, Steam users seem to be getting on board with the latest Bill Gates-approved operating system. A recent Steam survey has revealed that a little over 23 percent of the platform's regular users have upgraded to Windows 7 -- a stark difference from the 6 percent of the total operating system market which Windows 7 currently represents. What we found more interesting about this survey is that so many people are still using Windows XP. Then again, considering the only alternative these people have had over the past four years was the most nightmarish, user-unfriendly operating system known to man, we don't blame them for being a little gunshy when it comes to technological progress. [Via Download Squad]
Editorial: 10 outdated elements of desktop operating systems
We've come so very far in the way computer operating systems treat us, and in the way we treat those computer operating systems. They multitask, they animate, they reach into the internet and pull down our favorite parts, they rarely crash and they're always on. It's a far cry from a decade ago, but I think we could go so much further. The advent of the cheap, ubiquitous touchscreen, always-available internet and continually cheaper and more powerful hardware has revolutionized the phone industry, and I think it can also help the desktops and laptops we know and love do more for us. But a laptop isn't a phone: we're supposed to get a lot done on it, under some unrealistic deadlines, and some random company with big ideas can't come along and reinvent the desktop OS in one fell swoop -- that simply isn't practical when we have things to do. So what's an OS to do? I think there are serious opportunities for evolution available to the Microsofts, Apples and Ubuntus of the world, but they involve embracing new technologies in new ways. And stealing a ton of ideas from phones. A finger on a screen is not a mouse on a pad, an internet browser is not the end-all be-all of the internet, and playing Crysis in a quad HD resolution at 60 fps is not the ultimate expression of gaming for 95% of the population. Join me as I explore a few bits of legacy cruft that need to be addressed before the desktop OS can become as important to this decade as it was to the last one.
Windows 7 bested by XP in netbook battery life tests
The venerable 2001 classic of an OS, Windows XP, strikes again. The scribes over at Laptop have put together a rather damning battery life comparison between old greybeard and the fresh Windows 7, which finds that on average netbooks get 47 minutes less battery life with the upgraded software. In the case of the ASUS 1008HA, that deficit was a meaty 57 minutes, or 16.7%. Liliputing and jkOnTheRun have run their own tests which invariably reached the same conclusion. Adding these data to an earlier comparison with Snow Leopard, where Windows 7 was again markedly worse than its competitor, leads us to the conclusion that perhaps Microsoft's 7th heaven hasn't quite been optimized for the mobile mavens out there... yet. Read - Stick with XP? Windows 7 Battery Life Worse on Netbooks Read - Windows 7 + netbooks = lower battery life? Read - Netbook Battery Tests: Windows XP vs Windows 7
Windows 7 versus Snow Leopard on a MacBook Pro: big cat's faster, 7 is better for games
CNET have taken the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Snow Leopard for a spin around a 2008 MacBook Pro, and produced a decent first peek at comparative performance. Of course, there are significant provisos to get through first -- it's only one machine, running on Apple's drivers, testing mostly Apple applications, and the two systems default to different versions of QuickTime -- but we can still glean some indication of where the two heavyweights are relative to one another. Snow Leopard appeared consistently quicker in time-based tests, with faster bootups, shutdowns and MP3 encoding, but Windows 7 showed its muscle in producing better frame rates in games and a significant advantage in Cinebench rendering. Battery life was found to be distinctly better under Snow Leopard, but we'd put that down to the underlying hardware being optimized for OS X. Hit the read link for the full testing procedures and more of those old school bar charts -- it should get you well prepped for the forthcoming flood of similar head-to-heads once WIndows 7 officially ships next week. [Via Apple Insider]
Think different? You bet I do!
It's a common theory that Apple is a "hardware company" not a "software company." What does that mean? Doesn't it actually sell both? The idea is that Apple uses software to push more hardware sales. If Apple was a software company, you wouldn't see the fantastic and very useful iLife bundle of applications included for free on every new Mac, including the el-cheapo Mini. Instead, they might decide to charge $99 for it, or worse, break it up into pieces and distribute it as separate packages, each with its own price. Snow Leopard's price also seems to support this theory, especially when contrasted to Microsoft's pricing model. Any "dot-oh" operating system upgrade priced at $29 is simply amazing. And given the fact that you can upgrade a whole home or small office full of Macs for less than the price of an Xbox 360 game...well, that's just a special kind of awesome. The main OS competitor, however, has graciously offered its upgrade, similar in "just fixing stuff and making it run better" nature to Apple's update, at the low, low price of $129. Ouch! At least you can save a substantial amount by buying Microsoft's family pack at a tick under 150 bucks, but that discount will only get you three copies instead of Apple's five. And it's still three times the price of Snow Leopard's bundle! But I realized something interesting about the whole "hardware company vs. software company" argument. As a Mac convert, I've noticed that I think quite a bit less about the hardware than I do the software. In the PC world I still live in, we talk about processor benchmarks, motherboard options, frontside bus speeds, and other Ambien replacements. However, when I talk Mac, I'm often concerned much more with the software it's running, what OS version is installed, and where I can find a free app to do what I need.
