Microsoft's mega gamble with Nokia

Microsoft is all set to take over Nokia devices and services segment for a whooping $7 billion transaction. The struggling Finnish company has slid from its top position which it held a decade earlier. The battleground has changed drastically since then for both these companies. Earlier, when Nokia was at the helm, Microsoft too ruled the roost with it's services which was unchallenged then.

Present is very tense for Microsoft
Microsoft's dominance is sliding with the raise of Apple and Android line of smartphones and tablets. These new handheld devices have started to eat significantly into notebooks and desktop space significantly. Apps are the new buzzword for the developers and apps are breeding in iOS and android ecosystems. The software has been heading south in preference for apps. Windows 8 devices have failed to take off as expected. Lumia series from Nokia is just a silver lining as of now. Microsoft admits, rather in a veiled manner that Surface RT was a mistake. Xbox is not making great money for Microsoft. The only thing Microsoft has to contend with is it's services which has been always on a positive surge.

Even Google does not want to be everywhere
Google has been phasing out several of it's applications and services. Popular services like Google Reader too has taken a hit. Google has begun to understand that it cannot be everywhere and improvising on their expertise arena is the best way to go ahead. On the other hand Microsoft right now is trying out too many things. Apart from services, it has a bing search engine, surface line of tablets, gaming as in Xbox and finally now into the smartphone war with Nokia's acquisition.

Steve Ballmer : Hard man in hard times

Steve Ballmer is all set to give up his CEO post in Microsoft within a year. Ballmer's performance as CEO has not met the expectations that Microsoft has met during the tenure of Bill Gates. The analysis according to data from FactSet reveals the underperformance of his tenure "An investment of $1,000 in January 2000 would now be worth just $767 after reinvesting dividends. The same investment in Apple would be worth $20,120." Ballmer is a hard man and the perseverance he showed is a best example of this trait. Slowly but steadily he ensured a transition to windows 8 and this could prove the best basement for future.
Transition for big companies : Tedious indeed
Look at Blackberry; the company is nowhere here today. The fate is somewhat same for big companies when they start to do the things which they have no expertise in. Blackberry never made tablets and look at their playbooks. The transition is a very slow process in a big company and Microsoft through a tougher Ballmer has achieved it with a much lesser pain - Surface RT and Windows RT are misdirected targets. But the same cannot be said about Windows 8, the smartphones are adopting windows 8 with Nokia Lumia series. The future looks attractive for this platform if Microsoft makes right moves in providing a perfect ecosystem for its OS especially for smaller devices like smartphones and tablets.

Windows XP : The race against time has begun ...

Windows XP launched in August 2001 will be losing its technical  support from Microsoft from April 2014.

Three successive versions of OS

• Windows Vista : November 2006
• Windows 7 : July 2009 and 
• Windows 8 : August 2012

So those who are still hooked on to windows XP, get up and change or else get ready for some security issues or compatibility issues.

Microsoft does it again against iPad

But this time it's not cool!!! Well if it is not cool, then iPad can be considered as hot cake(because it sells like that). Going by the sale numbers microsoft tablets are definitely cool...

View the earlier add  http://nishurs.blogspot.com/2013/05/microsofts-new-windows-8-ad-comparing.html

iPad 3 vs Surface pro : Verdict for resolution.

The iPad has higher resolution and pixel density. But that does not leave Surface as a far second. Surface’s ClearType, which is a type of subpixel rendering technology can make its display look sharper than its above-average resolution.

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Nishith R S Nishith R S 1 6 2013-06-01T17:43:00Z 2013-06-01T18:01:00Z 1 16 96 nishithrs@gmail.com 1 1 111 14.0 <![endif]

	Surface Pro	iPad 3
Size	10.6”	9.7”
Screen resolution	1920*1080	2048*1536
Pixel density	208/inch	264/inch

The verdict

iPad 3 clearly beats the Surface pro on resolution. If the main motive for buying an tablet is consumption activities like reading books, seeing videos,photos and others; then definitely iPad 2 is worth a buy. But Surface Pro has an edge over iPad on the productivity end. The purposes of these two devices are almost diverging and this post is also worth looking.

Microsoft's new windows 8 ad : Comparing the uncomparables.

Microsoft's Cleartype technology

Text during no orange symbol : No Cleartype tech applied
Text during orange symbol : Cleartype tech applied

The difference in the clarity of the words are easily differentiable. The Cleartype technology explains the far greater sharpness of the surface pro tablets than its original resolution suggests. 

Windows 8.1 is here : Features and upgrades

The Microsoft's new OS release was criticized mainly for it's cumbersome user experience. While the major upgrade "blue" is a long way to go, the Microsoft has released 8.1 free upgrade; much to the delight of the users. 
 
Major features and upgrades

The logo that we all loved 
Windows logo to be anchored in the lower left corner. Users will also be able to ensure their favorite applications, including Word and Excel, appear in a horizontal tool bar next to the Windows logo. Ultimately Microsoft ensures that the logo returned albeit in a much smaller way.
 
Ubiquitous search
Drag the screen from right
Type in the search menu
Get everything related to search item  ; like the universal search for iOS and android (patent wars might extend here !!!)

Better sky drive integration
The clouds are coming and Microsoft also wants the pie of the rains. The upgrade to integration is one step further in that direction.
 
Confused with windows 8???
You will be having a tile labelled "helps and tips" in the middle of start up screen.

Microsoft's new windows 8 ad : Comparing the uncomparables

Microsoft in its new ad deems iPad as a non-productive device only good for playing piano. No powerpoint support, no multitasking as its down points. But are these two things anytime comparable. Most buyers of iPad know its limited functionality. The ad is a good take on iPad but the Microsoft has to blossom from inside and provide a better platform rather than comparing the uncomparables.

New windows 8 interface: Go or No Go

Windows 8 operating system developed for personal computers is dynamic and charming. Its highlight is user interface with new start screen based on Microsoft’s metro design language. Presence of Live tiles is an attractive feature on Start screen. Live tiles include weather, mail, news, finance, travel apps etc. These tiles are regularly streaming the data. Bundle of apps from windows store definitely add up to the elegant start screen. Users can pin additional apps to start screen, which helps to launch desired apps quickly. Apps are in various categories: business, health, lifestyle, education and so on.  Left edge of the screen displays thumbnails of open apps. Menu bar termed as windows charm is another feature, present on the right side of screen that contains common system commands like settings, device, search etc. There are many vibrant patterns that can be applied to top and bottom of start screen. Windows explorer is renamed to File explorer, that contains ribbon with frequently used commands on it. The new windows definitely has very good things at offer. There is always some resistance for new things in the beginning and the Windows 8 is not insulated from such distractions. The confusion that prevails around the multiple tiles and new commands to move around will make some customers like the old windows interface. But tiles seems like the future of the Windows OS. Everyone wants to stay connected in this era, the ever updating tiles are the best way to do so. 

Windows RT : The difference from the rest

Windows RT OS - The wikipedia entry of this new OS of the Microsoft has the following lines
"Not to be confused with Windows Runtime"
The consumers might not get confused with runtime and RT but they are right now confused much about what is windows RT and who should be using it.
Windows RT is a version of Windows 8 that's designed for devices equipped with ARM processors. It comes preloaded on these computers and cannot be bought or installed as a standalone product. It is specifically designed for windows tablets and you are not going to get it in a mobile device. The smartphones are equipped with windows Phone 8 OS.
Examples of Windows RT devices include

• Microsoft Surface RT
• Asus VivoTab RT
• Samsung ATIV Tab
• Dell XPS 10
• Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 and many more...

Exclusive features of windows RT

• Runs on ARM processor : less power consumption.
• Limited functionality: Runs only windows store applications and doesn't support the classical windows applications

Microsoft's windows 8 welcomed by patent lawsuit

Surfcast has welcomed windows 8 by a lawsuit against live tiles. Microsoft with its launch of windows 8 is trying hard to crack the tablet and smartphone industry, which is dominated by iOS and android platforms. But it has already started experiencing the wrath of patent lawsiuts which plagues the development of android based platforms. Will the Microsoft manage to tide over these lawsuits and emerge as an important player. It's a wait and watch game.

Surfcast definition of tiles 

"Tiles can be thought of as dynamically updating icons. A Tile is different from an icon because it can be both selectable and live -- containing refreshed content that provides a real-time or near-real-time view of the underlying information.

Tiles can provide dynamic bookmarking -- an at-a-glance view of the current status of the program, file, or content associated with it.

Tiles enable people to have all their content, applications, and resources, regardless of whether on their mobile device, tablet, computer, or in their Cloud -- visualized persistently -- dynamically updating."