On October 31, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a
patent application from Apple that reveals a new power management system that
will work with both a power adapter and seamlessly with a portable solar panel
accessory for busy people on the go. Apple's engineers are thinking big with
their on-site solar power now creating the energy equivalent to powering 17,600
homes a year. The experience that Apple's engineers are gaining with working
with solar panels is filtering through to creating a power management system for
future Macs and iDevices. Apple has already been granted seven solar power
patents thus far and you could review most of them in our Green Technology
Archives. Today's patent goes one step further than most by introducing us to a
solar power panel accessory for mobile devices like a MacBook or iPhone that
won't require a power converter. Apple's system may be closer to reality than
first thought considering that Apple's senior power design engineer noted as the
inventor of this system has been snatched by Samsung within the last year.
Apple Invents Portable Solar Panel Accessory for Recharging Devices on the
Go
Apple's patent filing states that in the absence of the power adapter
and/or mains electricity, the portable electronic device may be powered by the
battery until the battery is fully discharged. Because the battery has a limited
runtime, operation of the portable electronic device may generally be dependent
on the availability of mains electricity. Hence, use of portable electronic
devices may be facilitated by improving access to power sources for the portable
electronic devices.
Apple's invention relates to providing a power management system that
supplies power to components in an electronic device. The power management
system includes a system microcontroller (SMC) and a charger. The electronic
devices that will be able to take advantage of Apple's new solar panel include a
MacBook, iPad, iPod touch and iPhone.
During operation, the power management system accepts power from at least
one of a power adapter and a solar panel. Next, the power management system
supplies the power to components in the electronic device without using a
converter circuit between the solar panel and the power management system.
In some embodiments, using the power management system to supply the power
to the components involves tracking a maximum power point of the solar
panel.
In some embodiments, tracking the maximum power point of the solar panel
involves measuring one or more output powers associated with at least one of the
solar panel and the power management system, and adjusting an input voltage of
the power management system based on the one or more output powers. For example,
the input voltage may be adjusted based on the output power(s) using a
perturb-and-observe technique and/or an incremental conductance technique.
2013年10月31日星期四
Microsoft hasn’t confirmed that you will be capable of run Windows
Next week, on October 18, Microsoft will release Windows eight.1, a
relatively massive update that Microsoft hopes will ultimately give it relevance
in the tablet space, and in the exact same time make Windows 8 much less
abhorrent for desktop and laptop users. Microsoft is deluding itself, even
though: Windows 8.1 definitely improves upon the horrid state of affairs which
has persisted because the 1st public preview more than two years ago, but
there’s no way that it's going to unseat iOS or Android inside the mobile arena.
At best, the modifications made to Windows eight.1 will enable the OS to
continue along the incredibly gradual incline treaded by Windows 8. Next year,
although, when Windows 9 is released across every type element and unifies the
app ecosystem across smartphones, tablets, and desktops, then Microsoft actually
stands a opportunity against Google and Apple.
Ever because Windows Telephone 7 limped out the gate in 2010, after which the lackluster launch of Windows eight a year later, it has been clear that Microsoft has been moving to merge the touch, mobile, and desktop ecosystems. From an early date, Microsoft was speaking up how Windows 8′s Metro apps have been pretty much compatible with Windows Phone 7 - then, slightly later, Microsoft made a lot of noise about how Windows Telephone eight would use the same kernel and other low-level libraries as Windows 8. Most recently, with Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft will edge however closer to cross-platform compatibility having a shared app store.
More than the years, it appears just about each Microsoft vice president has discussed how Windows and Windows Phone apps are almost compatible - but, as evidenced by the slow development of Windows 8, Windows Telephone, and their respective ecosystems, almost compatible just isn’t fantastic enough. The thing is, absolutely everyone knows how amazing comprehensive cross-platform compatibility could be. Every person knows that it could be the magic bullet that would quickly give Microsoft a possibility at competing against Apple and Google. That is why Microsoft keeps teasing us, keeps spinning a yarn, to assure absolutely everyone - buyers, developers, and tech pundits - that it knows how critical a unified ecosystem is.
With Windows 9, I bet that Bill Gates’ 1980s dream of Windows Everywhere will ultimately come to fruition. Barring a different civil war, I strongly count on that Windows 9 will run on smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and all the things else in in between, and developers might be in a position to write a single Windows app and have it run across each and every type issue.
Hopefully, Windows 9′s unified ecosystem will resemble iOS: You go to the new app shop (presumably getting debuted in Windows 8.1), then you are only shown the apps that should work effectively on the form issue of your present device. Developers will have the selection of being able to write one app that scales to different screen sizes/resolutions, or 1 app with numerous views/layouts that are optimized for each screen size/resolution - but the main factor is that the exact same code will perform on any Windows 9 device, since the underlying kernel/libraries/abstraction layers are the identical.
In one particular fell swoop, as an alternative to becoming coerced and cajoled by Microsoft into publishing apps for its distant-third platforms, the combined user bases and ecosystems will basically make Windows 9 a desirable platform that can compete with iOS and Android in terms of reach and money-making prospective.
But what about game consoles? Nicely, when it comes to sheer numbers, consoles are still modest fry; over their complete seven-year span, Microsoft and Sony have only sold about 160 million Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles combined. By comparison, analysts estimate that 700 million smartphones and around 400 million PCs had been shipped in 2012 alone. Still, even when the absolute numbers are fairly smaller, Microsoft knows complete effectively that the usefulness and desirability of a software program ecosystem grows exponentially using the addition of new type elements and use cases. Imagine in case you could get a single app on your Windows 9 smartphone, and then have it automatically installed on your Windows 9 desktop and Windows 9 game console, or have your gameplay videos automatically sync from your console to your smartphone and Computer - that’d be quite great, suitable?
The excellent news is that the Xbox A single already appears to be compatible with Windows eight apps, by virtue of operating a cut-down version of Windows eight for apps, alongside the Xbox OS for games. Microsoft hasn’t confirmed that you will be capable of run Windows eight apps directly around the Xbox 1, but we’d be shocked if that wasn’t the case. In the very least, there will possibly be an update towards the Xbox One - perhaps around the exact same time because the unified Windows eight and WP8 app retailer is launched - that brings Windows 8 apps for the Xbox 1. Then, by the time Windows 9 rolls around for smartphones/tablets/PCs, we should really have apps that run across the whole gamut of devices, like consoles.
If Microsoft had unified its mobile device, Pc, and console operating systems last year, with the release of Windows eight, then I feel the consumer computing landscape could be really, very various. Microsoft would most likely be on top and calling the shots, as an alternative to trailing behind the big boys, squeaking tremulously for focus and not getting it. As a consequence of prevarication, internal strife, gutless equivocation, and most likely a slew of other factors that we’ll never get towards the bottom of, Microsoft has had 3 of its weakest OS releases in history: Windows Phone 7 and eight, and Windows 8.
If Windows 9 is released subsequent year, Microsoft may stand a possibility, especially if Windows 8.1 and the acquisition of Nokia can bolster its mobile efforts within the meantime. No matter if such a utopian unified platform can unseat iOS and Android, though, remains to become observed. Apple and Google aren’t standing nonetheless, and continue to solidify their marketplace share regardless of Microsoft’s ideal efforts to remain relevant. If Windows 9 does not come out within the next 12 months, or if Microsoft does not have some other super-secret plan up its sleeve, the company’s future will creep ever closer towards total untenability.
Ever because Windows Telephone 7 limped out the gate in 2010, after which the lackluster launch of Windows eight a year later, it has been clear that Microsoft has been moving to merge the touch, mobile, and desktop ecosystems. From an early date, Microsoft was speaking up how Windows 8′s Metro apps have been pretty much compatible with Windows Phone 7 - then, slightly later, Microsoft made a lot of noise about how Windows Telephone eight would use the same kernel and other low-level libraries as Windows 8. Most recently, with Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft will edge however closer to cross-platform compatibility having a shared app store.
More than the years, it appears just about each Microsoft vice president has discussed how Windows and Windows Phone apps are almost compatible - but, as evidenced by the slow development of Windows 8, Windows Telephone, and their respective ecosystems, almost compatible just isn’t fantastic enough. The thing is, absolutely everyone knows how amazing comprehensive cross-platform compatibility could be. Every person knows that it could be the magic bullet that would quickly give Microsoft a possibility at competing against Apple and Google. That is why Microsoft keeps teasing us, keeps spinning a yarn, to assure absolutely everyone - buyers, developers, and tech pundits - that it knows how critical a unified ecosystem is.
With Windows 9, I bet that Bill Gates’ 1980s dream of Windows Everywhere will ultimately come to fruition. Barring a different civil war, I strongly count on that Windows 9 will run on smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and all the things else in in between, and developers might be in a position to write a single Windows app and have it run across each and every type issue.
Hopefully, Windows 9′s unified ecosystem will resemble iOS: You go to the new app shop (presumably getting debuted in Windows 8.1), then you are only shown the apps that should work effectively on the form issue of your present device. Developers will have the selection of being able to write one app that scales to different screen sizes/resolutions, or 1 app with numerous views/layouts that are optimized for each screen size/resolution - but the main factor is that the exact same code will perform on any Windows 9 device, since the underlying kernel/libraries/abstraction layers are the identical.
In one particular fell swoop, as an alternative to becoming coerced and cajoled by Microsoft into publishing apps for its distant-third platforms, the combined user bases and ecosystems will basically make Windows 9 a desirable platform that can compete with iOS and Android in terms of reach and money-making prospective.
But what about game consoles? Nicely, when it comes to sheer numbers, consoles are still modest fry; over their complete seven-year span, Microsoft and Sony have only sold about 160 million Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles combined. By comparison, analysts estimate that 700 million smartphones and around 400 million PCs had been shipped in 2012 alone. Still, even when the absolute numbers are fairly smaller, Microsoft knows complete effectively that the usefulness and desirability of a software program ecosystem grows exponentially using the addition of new type elements and use cases. Imagine in case you could get a single app on your Windows 9 smartphone, and then have it automatically installed on your Windows 9 desktop and Windows 9 game console, or have your gameplay videos automatically sync from your console to your smartphone and Computer - that’d be quite great, suitable?
The excellent news is that the Xbox A single already appears to be compatible with Windows eight apps, by virtue of operating a cut-down version of Windows eight for apps, alongside the Xbox OS for games. Microsoft hasn’t confirmed that you will be capable of run Windows eight apps directly around the Xbox 1, but we’d be shocked if that wasn’t the case. In the very least, there will possibly be an update towards the Xbox One - perhaps around the exact same time because the unified Windows eight and WP8 app retailer is launched - that brings Windows 8 apps for the Xbox 1. Then, by the time Windows 9 rolls around for smartphones/tablets/PCs, we should really have apps that run across the whole gamut of devices, like consoles.
If Microsoft had unified its mobile device, Pc, and console operating systems last year, with the release of Windows eight, then I feel the consumer computing landscape could be really, very various. Microsoft would most likely be on top and calling the shots, as an alternative to trailing behind the big boys, squeaking tremulously for focus and not getting it. As a consequence of prevarication, internal strife, gutless equivocation, and most likely a slew of other factors that we’ll never get towards the bottom of, Microsoft has had 3 of its weakest OS releases in history: Windows Phone 7 and eight, and Windows 8.
If Windows 9 is released subsequent year, Microsoft may stand a possibility, especially if Windows 8.1 and the acquisition of Nokia can bolster its mobile efforts within the meantime. No matter if such a utopian unified platform can unseat iOS and Android, though, remains to become observed. Apple and Google aren’t standing nonetheless, and continue to solidify their marketplace share regardless of Microsoft’s ideal efforts to remain relevant. If Windows 9 does not come out within the next 12 months, or if Microsoft does not have some other super-secret plan up its sleeve, the company’s future will creep ever closer towards total untenability.
2013年10月14日星期一
Facebook Acquires Data Compression Company Onavo
Facebook has agreed to acquire Israeli startup Onavo for between $100
million and $200 million, according to various reports, although neither
Facebook nor Onavo have disclosed the terms of the deal. This will be Facebook's
first office in Israel.
Tel Aviv-based Onavo is a mobile analytics company founded in 2010 that makes data compression software and provides analytic services for smartphone applications. Its data compression app, called Onavo Extend, was introduced for iOS in 2011 and for Android in 2012. According to its website, the app can increase your mobile data plan by up to 500% without additional fees. Its analytics tool, called Onavo Count, tracks how much data is consumed by each app on your smartphone.
Facebook has focused heavily on strengthening its mobile business, which has experienced the most growth lately. The social network's acquisition of Onavo benefits this effort in three ways: First, Onavo's data compression software will be especially valuable to Facebook's 100 million customers using its Facebook For Every Phone app on feature phones. According to Facebook, millions of people in developing markets such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines rely on feature phone technology to connect to Facebook without having to purchase a pricey smartphone. These basic devices can cost as little as $20.
Second, acquiring Onavo supports Facebook's newest initiative, Internet.org, which aims to connect everyone across the world. Onavo executives named this as another perk of joining the Facebook team. Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung are also partners in the Internet.org initiative.
"We're excited to join their team, and hope to play a critical role in reaching one of Internet.org's most significant goals -- using data more efficiently so that more people around the world can connect and share," wrote CEO Guy Rosen and CTO Roi Tiger.
Finally, Facebook has an opportunity to break into a new market -- in Israel. According to reports, Facebook lost to Google in June in acquiring Israeli mapping company Waze after months of negotiations. Facebook reportedly wanted to move Waze's operations to Facebook's existing facilities, which Waze did not want. According to Onavo's Rosen and Tiger, its mobile utility apps will continue as a standalone brand -- like Facebook acquisitions Instagram and Parse -- and remain in Tel Aviv.
"We expect Onavo's data compression technology to play a central role in our mission to connect more people to the Internet, and their analytic tools will help us provide better, more efficient mobile products," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.
Tel Aviv-based Onavo is a mobile analytics company founded in 2010 that makes data compression software and provides analytic services for smartphone applications. Its data compression app, called Onavo Extend, was introduced for iOS in 2011 and for Android in 2012. According to its website, the app can increase your mobile data plan by up to 500% without additional fees. Its analytics tool, called Onavo Count, tracks how much data is consumed by each app on your smartphone.
Facebook has focused heavily on strengthening its mobile business, which has experienced the most growth lately. The social network's acquisition of Onavo benefits this effort in three ways: First, Onavo's data compression software will be especially valuable to Facebook's 100 million customers using its Facebook For Every Phone app on feature phones. According to Facebook, millions of people in developing markets such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines rely on feature phone technology to connect to Facebook without having to purchase a pricey smartphone. These basic devices can cost as little as $20.
Second, acquiring Onavo supports Facebook's newest initiative, Internet.org, which aims to connect everyone across the world. Onavo executives named this as another perk of joining the Facebook team. Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung are also partners in the Internet.org initiative.
"We're excited to join their team, and hope to play a critical role in reaching one of Internet.org's most significant goals -- using data more efficiently so that more people around the world can connect and share," wrote CEO Guy Rosen and CTO Roi Tiger.
Finally, Facebook has an opportunity to break into a new market -- in Israel. According to reports, Facebook lost to Google in June in acquiring Israeli mapping company Waze after months of negotiations. Facebook reportedly wanted to move Waze's operations to Facebook's existing facilities, which Waze did not want. According to Onavo's Rosen and Tiger, its mobile utility apps will continue as a standalone brand -- like Facebook acquisitions Instagram and Parse -- and remain in Tel Aviv.
"We expect Onavo's data compression technology to play a central role in our mission to connect more people to the Internet, and their analytic tools will help us provide better, more efficient mobile products," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.
Nokia-designed application tools
The optimist would say that Windows Phone's prospects have by no means been
brighter. The pessimist would disagree.
Around the vibrant side, Microsoft just announced Windows Telephone eight Update 3, which contains new support for quad-core CPUs and phablets that aids maintain its spec lists searching fresh. Furthermore, the buyout of Nokia's smartphone arm will bring Redmond's greatest hardware ally absolutely into the fold, all whilst BlackBerry's apparent demise topples the competition for third-largest ecosystem. All this offers the computer software giant a possibility to at least double Windows Telephone growth by 2017.
Around the other hand, Windows Phone adoption has been slow, together with the OS fighting for much less than 10 % of mobile's global industry share, although Android and iOS gobble up the overwhelming majority.
Furthermore, Microsoft features a issue with partners. At this time it really is trying to woo back HTC to when again expand the Windows Telephone ecosystem. If that fails, Microsoft can be the only outfit producing Windows phones. That single-source approach may perhaps work for Apple, but even the iPhone is getting a challenging time standing up to Android's diverse and seemingly inexhaustible players.
Back in 2010, and again in 2011, Microsoft pleaded for patience in receiving its Windows Phone off the ground. But this year, the most recent update's most visible enhancements are a modified interface for extra-large phones plus the capability to close apps in multitasking mode. You also can customize text tones by make contact with.
That is hardly hearty fare, but Microsoft points out that they are the most-wanted additions requested by fans.
Nevertheless, Windows Phone shoppers also clamor to get a notification center, a file manager, a individual assistant, greater storage support for microSD cards, and indicator lights that signal missed calls and alerts. A lot of of these have been requested because the OS debuted and have extended existed on Android and iOS.
Then there's Skype, the other enterprise that Microsoft bought in 2011 (and for 1.3 billion greater than Nokia), however the organization has however to integrate it into Windows smartphones by default to counter Apple's FaceTime and in some cases Google Plus Hangouts. Yes, Windows Telephone 8 Skype users can location calls in the People today hub, after very first downloading the app. What I'm talking about is making this an out-of-the-box feature.
We do know, at the very least, that Microsoft is difficult at function on a private assistant of its personal named Cortana, which understands natural language and will replace the legacy TellMe voice input currently in use.
Microsoft's subsequent update should be a significant a single that consists of this personal assistant, notification center, and Skype integration in the pretty least. Just after the Nokia acquisition is comprehensive (assuming it gets shareholder and windows 7 professional retail version regulatory approval), Windows Phone need to rapidly incorporate Nokia-designed application tools, like its camera add-ons, into the native OS expertise.
From exactly where I sit, Microsoft's largest asset -- and challenge -- should be to take the major risks that make a company stand out as a player worth paying interest to. Immediately after the transition, the Windows Telephone group really should not just use, but push Nokia's venerable style philosophy into edgier territory.
Microsoft ought to waste no time funding projects that explore and apply new finishes and components (like continuing its perform on graphene), publish a handful of wacky proofs of concept (like this one particular from 2011, also under), and probably create a high-end luxury telephone of its personal.
Why? Microsoft's Windows Phone project has spent its lifetime getting reactionary, wanting to catch as much as Apple and Google with out genuinely managing to help keep pace. This is not the time for you to be conservative with cookie-cutter style and capabilities that happen to be just good sufficient.
Around the vibrant side, Microsoft just announced Windows Telephone eight Update 3, which contains new support for quad-core CPUs and phablets that aids maintain its spec lists searching fresh. Furthermore, the buyout of Nokia's smartphone arm will bring Redmond's greatest hardware ally absolutely into the fold, all whilst BlackBerry's apparent demise topples the competition for third-largest ecosystem. All this offers the computer software giant a possibility to at least double Windows Telephone growth by 2017.
Around the other hand, Windows Phone adoption has been slow, together with the OS fighting for much less than 10 % of mobile's global industry share, although Android and iOS gobble up the overwhelming majority.
Furthermore, Microsoft features a issue with partners. At this time it really is trying to woo back HTC to when again expand the Windows Telephone ecosystem. If that fails, Microsoft can be the only outfit producing Windows phones. That single-source approach may perhaps work for Apple, but even the iPhone is getting a challenging time standing up to Android's diverse and seemingly inexhaustible players.
Back in 2010, and again in 2011, Microsoft pleaded for patience in receiving its Windows Phone off the ground. But this year, the most recent update's most visible enhancements are a modified interface for extra-large phones plus the capability to close apps in multitasking mode. You also can customize text tones by make contact with.
That is hardly hearty fare, but Microsoft points out that they are the most-wanted additions requested by fans.
Nevertheless, Windows Phone shoppers also clamor to get a notification center, a file manager, a individual assistant, greater storage support for microSD cards, and indicator lights that signal missed calls and alerts. A lot of of these have been requested because the OS debuted and have extended existed on Android and iOS.
Then there's Skype, the other enterprise that Microsoft bought in 2011 (and for 1.3 billion greater than Nokia), however the organization has however to integrate it into Windows smartphones by default to counter Apple's FaceTime and in some cases Google Plus Hangouts. Yes, Windows Telephone 8 Skype users can location calls in the People today hub, after very first downloading the app. What I'm talking about is making this an out-of-the-box feature.
We do know, at the very least, that Microsoft is difficult at function on a private assistant of its personal named Cortana, which understands natural language and will replace the legacy TellMe voice input currently in use.
Microsoft's subsequent update should be a significant a single that consists of this personal assistant, notification center, and Skype integration in the pretty least. Just after the Nokia acquisition is comprehensive (assuming it gets shareholder and windows 7 professional retail version regulatory approval), Windows Phone need to rapidly incorporate Nokia-designed application tools, like its camera add-ons, into the native OS expertise.
From exactly where I sit, Microsoft's largest asset -- and challenge -- should be to take the major risks that make a company stand out as a player worth paying interest to. Immediately after the transition, the Windows Telephone group really should not just use, but push Nokia's venerable style philosophy into edgier territory.
Microsoft ought to waste no time funding projects that explore and apply new finishes and components (like continuing its perform on graphene), publish a handful of wacky proofs of concept (like this one particular from 2011, also under), and probably create a high-end luxury telephone of its personal.
Why? Microsoft's Windows Phone project has spent its lifetime getting reactionary, wanting to catch as much as Apple and Google with out genuinely managing to help keep pace. This is not the time for you to be conservative with cookie-cutter style and capabilities that happen to be just good sufficient.
2013年8月29日星期四
Get Ready for an Xbox Spin-Off From Microsoft
An article from Bloomberg today speculates thatwith Ballmer leaving,
there's a very real possibility that Microsoft will spin off the Xbox division
sooner rather than later.
I'm a proponent of busting Microsoft into four to six entities, and this is a good start. Some analysts see the proposed Xbox Corporation being valued around $17 billion right out of the chute.
Bloomberg reports:
Ballmer's retirement as chief executive officer may clear the way for a potential spinoff of the Xbox unit to unlock shareholder value. While a consumer success with $7 billion in annual sales, it's one of Microsoft's lower-margin divisions and doesn't drive sales of the company's core business services and software. Xbox may be worth at least $17 billion on its own, based on Nintendo Co.'s revenue multiple, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its value should be even higher given that Nintendo has operating losses, Wedbush Inc. said.
When you really think about it, the Xbox is unlike anything else Microsoft does. The company stuck with this product and developed a winner by actually being patient for a change. But still, the profit margins are not there insofar as Microsoft is concerned and it might just be spun off to make the books look better.
The immediate drawback would be that Microsoft stores rely on the Xbox for a good portion of their sales and profits. It's possible a deal could be struck so the stores always guarantee the Xbox a place on the shelves and the new Xbox Corporation will agree to supply the stores with machines on some priority schedule. In fact, the Xbox channels are already well-established so the Microsoft stores will just be icing on the cake.
The new company might actually benefit by not having to meet or exceed the ridiculously high margins achieved by the software business. In fact it may even flourish without the ogres in Redmond complaining about profit margins.
Spinning off might also allow for more inventive Xbox peripherals, which normally get killed off by the mother company.
But where will the money-making Kinect end up? It makes no sense to keep it with Microsoft and it cannot become a company unto itself. It has to go with the Xbox Corporation.
So how likely is this split-up? The article goes on to point out:
Whether Microsoft decides to part with some business units will come down to who it chooses to be the next CEO, Schwartz of Schwartz Investment Counsel said. 'If they choose an insider to replace Ballmer, I would say a breakup is still unlikely,' he said. 'But if they go the other route and get someone from outside the company who has an open mind and is willing to shake things up, I could see them breaking this up. It makes sense.'
Microsoft has not been grooming any particular heir to the throne, which indicates to me an outsider will indeed be brought in. That means the potential for the Xbox spin-off is real.
And that might suggest other spin-offs are coming too. Let's hope so.
I'm a proponent of busting Microsoft into four to six entities, and this is a good start. Some analysts see the proposed Xbox Corporation being valued around $17 billion right out of the chute.
Bloomberg reports:
Ballmer's retirement as chief executive officer may clear the way for a potential spinoff of the Xbox unit to unlock shareholder value. While a consumer success with $7 billion in annual sales, it's one of Microsoft's lower-margin divisions and doesn't drive sales of the company's core business services and software. Xbox may be worth at least $17 billion on its own, based on Nintendo Co.'s revenue multiple, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its value should be even higher given that Nintendo has operating losses, Wedbush Inc. said.
When you really think about it, the Xbox is unlike anything else Microsoft does. The company stuck with this product and developed a winner by actually being patient for a change. But still, the profit margins are not there insofar as Microsoft is concerned and it might just be spun off to make the books look better.
The immediate drawback would be that Microsoft stores rely on the Xbox for a good portion of their sales and profits. It's possible a deal could be struck so the stores always guarantee the Xbox a place on the shelves and the new Xbox Corporation will agree to supply the stores with machines on some priority schedule. In fact, the Xbox channels are already well-established so the Microsoft stores will just be icing on the cake.
The new company might actually benefit by not having to meet or exceed the ridiculously high margins achieved by the software business. In fact it may even flourish without the ogres in Redmond complaining about profit margins.
Spinning off might also allow for more inventive Xbox peripherals, which normally get killed off by the mother company.
But where will the money-making Kinect end up? It makes no sense to keep it with Microsoft and it cannot become a company unto itself. It has to go with the Xbox Corporation.
So how likely is this split-up? The article goes on to point out:
Whether Microsoft decides to part with some business units will come down to who it chooses to be the next CEO, Schwartz of Schwartz Investment Counsel said. 'If they choose an insider to replace Ballmer, I would say a breakup is still unlikely,' he said. 'But if they go the other route and get someone from outside the company who has an open mind and is willing to shake things up, I could see them breaking this up. It makes sense.'
Microsoft has not been grooming any particular heir to the throne, which indicates to me an outsider will indeed be brought in. That means the potential for the Xbox spin-off is real.
And that might suggest other spin-offs are coming too. Let's hope so.
Parallels Desktop in fullscreen method
Enjoyment of operating Home windows or Linux applications with your Mac?
That’s right in Parallels Desktop’s wheelhouse, and edition nine, which debuted
on Thursday, adds more options to the virtualization program. But even though
the program is presently readily available as an upgrade for existing buyers of
Parallels Desktop seven or 8, the complete model will not go on sale until
eventually next 7 days.
Among the most important new options of Parallels Desktop 9 is optimized guidance for cloud storage providers like iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft’s SkyDrive, plus much more. You may sync files amongst your Mac as well as your Home windows digital machine without having the documents duplicated, thus preserving you cherished disk house. And speaking of sharing functions in between your Mac and Home windows VM, there’s now only one Stability Center for working with a complimentary security program membership for equally your Mac and Windows VM.
Mac aficionados can now profit from the variety of Apple-like characteristics inside their Windows digital devices, likewise. By way of example, there is assistance for Mountain Lion’s Energy Nap element on Retina MacBook Professionals and MacBook Airs, allowing you retain your Home windows virtual machine’s applications up-to-date regardless if your computer system is sleeping. In addition, you could now use the three-finger-tap in Windows applications to search up terms in OS X’s Dictionary, link storage volumes on your Home windows VM by using Thunderbolt and FireWire, and print to some PDF in your Mac desktop appropriate from any Home windows application.
Also existing is improved support for Windows 8 and eight.1, together with the return with the genuine Start off menu, along with the power to operate modern day UI applications inside of a window, fairly than simply fullscreen. Enhancements into the Digital Device wizards simplify starting a brand new VM, although you really do not have got a DVD travel in your Mac; there’s also much better aid for connecting to an external keep an eye on although managing Parallels Desktop in fullscreen method, and editable keyboard shortcuts make it a lot easier for users to tweak their Home windows setup.
Parallels Desktop is currently available as being a $50 up grade for present users of Parallels Desktop 7 or 8; those that procured Parallels Desktop eight on or www.windows7prokeys.com after August fifteen can upgrade without spending a dime.
New customers, having said that, will have to wait until eventually September five, once they can choose the app up for $80. A college student edition will operate $40, although the Change to Mac Version, which incorporate further applications emigrate from the Pc to your new Mac, costs $100. Also involved with Parallels Desktop nine, to get a limited time only, is really a free of charge six-month trial membership for the company’s a short while ago introduced Parallels Access, which lets you entry your Mac apps out of your iPad.
Among the most important new options of Parallels Desktop 9 is optimized guidance for cloud storage providers like iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft’s SkyDrive, plus much more. You may sync files amongst your Mac as well as your Home windows digital machine without having the documents duplicated, thus preserving you cherished disk house. And speaking of sharing functions in between your Mac and Home windows VM, there’s now only one Stability Center for working with a complimentary security program membership for equally your Mac and Windows VM.
Mac aficionados can now profit from the variety of Apple-like characteristics inside their Windows digital devices, likewise. By way of example, there is assistance for Mountain Lion’s Energy Nap element on Retina MacBook Professionals and MacBook Airs, allowing you retain your Home windows virtual machine’s applications up-to-date regardless if your computer system is sleeping. In addition, you could now use the three-finger-tap in Windows applications to search up terms in OS X’s Dictionary, link storage volumes on your Home windows VM by using Thunderbolt and FireWire, and print to some PDF in your Mac desktop appropriate from any Home windows application.
Also existing is improved support for Windows 8 and eight.1, together with the return with the genuine Start off menu, along with the power to operate modern day UI applications inside of a window, fairly than simply fullscreen. Enhancements into the Digital Device wizards simplify starting a brand new VM, although you really do not have got a DVD travel in your Mac; there’s also much better aid for connecting to an external keep an eye on although managing Parallels Desktop in fullscreen method, and editable keyboard shortcuts make it a lot easier for users to tweak their Home windows setup.
Parallels Desktop is currently available as being a $50 up grade for present users of Parallels Desktop 7 or 8; those that procured Parallels Desktop eight on or www.windows7prokeys.com after August fifteen can upgrade without spending a dime.
New customers, having said that, will have to wait until eventually September five, once they can choose the app up for $80. A college student edition will operate $40, although the Change to Mac Version, which incorporate further applications emigrate from the Pc to your new Mac, costs $100. Also involved with Parallels Desktop nine, to get a limited time only, is really a free of charge six-month trial membership for the company’s a short while ago introduced Parallels Access, which lets you entry your Mac apps out of your iPad.
2013年8月18日星期日
Best Buy Running Another iPhone Trade-In Deal
Best Buy is running another iPhone trade-in program, which can help iPhone
4S owners land a new iPhone 5 for free.
Running now until Sunday, Aug. 18, those who visit a Best Buy store can trade in their working iPhone 4S for a $200 Best Buy gift card or an iPhone 4 for a $100 gift card, which can be used toward the purchase of an iPhone 5 with a two-year contract.
The iPhone 5 currently starts at $199 for the 16GB version, but Best Buy also sells the 32GB for $299 and the 64GB for $399.
Given that T-Mobile has adopted a no-contract "un-carrier" approach, this deal does not apply to T-Mobile users. A 16GB iPhone 5 on the carrier will cost $145.99 down, plus payments of $21 per month for two years.
Best Buy has offered similar trade-in deals throughout the summer. A one-day promotion on June 1 was so successful that the deal returned in late June for nine days.
The iPhone is not the only discounted Apple gadget available at Best Buy. The big box retailer is offering $200 off the new Haswell-enhanced MacBook Airs. Students with a .edu email address can get an additional $100 off the Apple laptops.
The 11.6-inch MacBook Air with 4GB of memory, 128GB of flash storage, and an i5 processor is on sale for $899.99, while the 13.3-inch is available for $999.99. For 256GB of flash storage, the 11.6-inch is $1,099.99 and the 13.3-inch is $1,199.99.
To get the student discount, register at BestBuy.com/StudentDeals.
Best Buy did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how long the MacBook Air promotion will last, but the last deal - which discounted the MacBook Pro in a similar fashion - lasted about a week.
The iPhone deal, meanwhile, comes several weeks before Apple is reportedly scheduled to reveal the next iPhone. This new iPhone, however, is not expected to be a huge revamp, so a free iPhone 5 might be more attractive than a $200 iPhone 5S to some. For more, check out some of the latest rumors making the rounds about the iPhone.
Other student deals that are running through Sept. 14 include:
Save $20 on all Beats Studio Headphones ($229.99 after a $20 savings)
20 percent off all Speck Cases for iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S 4
Save $200 on the 13.3-inch Lenovo Yoga Convertible ultrabook
Save $40 on the Epson WF 2540 Wireless printer
Running now until Sunday, Aug. 18, those who visit a Best Buy store can trade in their working iPhone 4S for a $200 Best Buy gift card or an iPhone 4 for a $100 gift card, which can be used toward the purchase of an iPhone 5 with a two-year contract.
The iPhone 5 currently starts at $199 for the 16GB version, but Best Buy also sells the 32GB for $299 and the 64GB for $399.
Given that T-Mobile has adopted a no-contract "un-carrier" approach, this deal does not apply to T-Mobile users. A 16GB iPhone 5 on the carrier will cost $145.99 down, plus payments of $21 per month for two years.
Best Buy has offered similar trade-in deals throughout the summer. A one-day promotion on June 1 was so successful that the deal returned in late June for nine days.
The iPhone is not the only discounted Apple gadget available at Best Buy. The big box retailer is offering $200 off the new Haswell-enhanced MacBook Airs. Students with a .edu email address can get an additional $100 off the Apple laptops.
The 11.6-inch MacBook Air with 4GB of memory, 128GB of flash storage, and an i5 processor is on sale for $899.99, while the 13.3-inch is available for $999.99. For 256GB of flash storage, the 11.6-inch is $1,099.99 and the 13.3-inch is $1,199.99.
To get the student discount, register at BestBuy.com/StudentDeals.
Best Buy did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how long the MacBook Air promotion will last, but the last deal - which discounted the MacBook Pro in a similar fashion - lasted about a week.
The iPhone deal, meanwhile, comes several weeks before Apple is reportedly scheduled to reveal the next iPhone. This new iPhone, however, is not expected to be a huge revamp, so a free iPhone 5 might be more attractive than a $200 iPhone 5S to some. For more, check out some of the latest rumors making the rounds about the iPhone.
Other student deals that are running through Sept. 14 include:
Save $20 on all Beats Studio Headphones ($229.99 after a $20 savings)
20 percent off all Speck Cases for iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S 4
Save $200 on the 13.3-inch Lenovo Yoga Convertible ultrabook
Save $40 on the Epson WF 2540 Wireless printer
Zero-day vulnerabilities refer to the way in which hackers
Microsoft has reminded, cajoled, and pleaded with customers to move off of
Windows XP prior to assistance for its old OS expires subsequent year. Now
Microsoft warns customers that they may be subject to “zero-day” threats for the
rest of their lives if they do not migrate.
“The very initial month that Microsoft releases safety updates for supported versions of Windows, attackers will reverse engineer these updates, discover the vulnerabilities, and test Windows XP to view if it shares these vulnerabilities,” he wrote. “If it does, attackers will try to create exploit code which will benefit from those vulnerabilities on Windows XP. Since a security update will never grow to be out there for Windows XP to address these vulnerabilities, Windows XP will basically have a ‘zero-day’ vulnerability forever.”
Zero-day vulnerabilities refer to the way in which hackers can attack an operating system or other code ahead of a patch is released, fixing the vulnerability. Considering the fact that Microsoft will by no means patch Windows XP once again soon after April 2014, ultimately some vulneability that impacts XP will probably be discovered.
Involving July 2012 and July 2013, Windows XP was an affected item in 45 Microsoft safety bulletins. Thirty of these also impacted Windows 7 and Windows 8, Rains wrote.
Rains acknowledges that some protections in XP will support mitigate attacks, and third-party antimalware computer software might provide some protection.
“The challenge right here is the fact that you will by no means know, with any confidence, if the trusted computing base of your technique can really be trusted mainly windows 7 ultimate activation key because attackers will likely be armed with public know-how of zero day exploits in Windows XP that could enable them to compromise the method and possibly run the code of their choice,” Rains wrote.
That is the exact same argument that some have not too long ago used, claiming that hackers will “bank” their zero-day XP attacks till immediately after next April, then unleash them around the unprotected herds of XP machines. As Rains notes, the sophistication of malware has only improved, meaning that your XP machine is much more vulnerable, not significantly less. PCWorld’s Answer Line columnist, Lincoln Spector, agrees.
The issue that some XP users have is the fact that they’re so in appreciate with all the way that Windows XP does factors that they’re reluctant to migrate, specifically to Windows 8. Effectively, Windows 7 machines do exist, that offer functionality related to XP: here’s ways to come across them.
The bottom line is this: when Microsoft stands to obtain from arguing that consumers really need to upgrade, the truth is: they do. So for anyone who is still on Windows XP, start out considering a migration tactic.
http://www.windows7prokeys.com/windows-7-ultimate-product-key-p-3528.html
“The very initial month that Microsoft releases safety updates for supported versions of Windows, attackers will reverse engineer these updates, discover the vulnerabilities, and test Windows XP to view if it shares these vulnerabilities,” he wrote. “If it does, attackers will try to create exploit code which will benefit from those vulnerabilities on Windows XP. Since a security update will never grow to be out there for Windows XP to address these vulnerabilities, Windows XP will basically have a ‘zero-day’ vulnerability forever.”
Zero-day vulnerabilities refer to the way in which hackers can attack an operating system or other code ahead of a patch is released, fixing the vulnerability. Considering the fact that Microsoft will by no means patch Windows XP once again soon after April 2014, ultimately some vulneability that impacts XP will probably be discovered.
Involving July 2012 and July 2013, Windows XP was an affected item in 45 Microsoft safety bulletins. Thirty of these also impacted Windows 7 and Windows 8, Rains wrote.
Rains acknowledges that some protections in XP will support mitigate attacks, and third-party antimalware computer software might provide some protection.
“The challenge right here is the fact that you will by no means know, with any confidence, if the trusted computing base of your technique can really be trusted mainly windows 7 ultimate activation key because attackers will likely be armed with public know-how of zero day exploits in Windows XP that could enable them to compromise the method and possibly run the code of their choice,” Rains wrote.
That is the exact same argument that some have not too long ago used, claiming that hackers will “bank” their zero-day XP attacks till immediately after next April, then unleash them around the unprotected herds of XP machines. As Rains notes, the sophistication of malware has only improved, meaning that your XP machine is much more vulnerable, not significantly less. PCWorld’s Answer Line columnist, Lincoln Spector, agrees.
The issue that some XP users have is the fact that they’re so in appreciate with all the way that Windows XP does factors that they’re reluctant to migrate, specifically to Windows 8. Effectively, Windows 7 machines do exist, that offer functionality related to XP: here’s ways to come across them.
The bottom line is this: when Microsoft stands to obtain from arguing that consumers really need to upgrade, the truth is: they do. So for anyone who is still on Windows XP, start out considering a migration tactic.
http://www.windows7prokeys.com/windows-7-ultimate-product-key-p-3528.html
2013年8月2日星期五
Cheaper touchscreen devices could support
Windows eight keeps clawing its way up the market share charts, but not in
the expense of Windows 7 or Windows XP.
In accordance with Netmarketshare, Windows 8’s market place share now stands at 5.four %, up 0.three % from a month ago when it ultimately surpassed Windows Vista. After once more, Vista’s marketplace share declined last month, this time by about 0.38 %, to a total of four.24 %.
Meanwhile, Windows 7 and Windows XP are holding strong. In reality, Windows 7’s market place share improved last month by 0.12 %, and Windows XP saw a 0.02 % bump in marketplace share regardless of the looming finish of XP assistance by Microsoft. Both Windows 7 and XP stay the most widely-used operating systems by far, with 44.49 % and 37.19 % from the market place, respectively, based on Netmarketshare.
In other words, any industry share that Windows 8 gained last month seems to be in the expense of Windows Vista.
While it’s not surprising that users are eager to upgrade from the widely-panned operating program, receiving persons to switch from XP or Windows 7 could be tougher for Microsoft, specially among users who choose to stick having a standard desktop interface.
Windows eight.1 will make some concessions for those users, with the return with the Commence button, a boot-to-desktop solution, quicker access to sophisticated desktop functions, and also a approach to avert modern-style menus from popping up during desktop use.
But in the end, Microsoft and Computer makers have to convince the masses that they have to have to upgrade their hardware to touch-enabled laptops, hybrids, or desktops. Cheaper touchscreen devices could support on that front, but it’ll probably be a while just before the market share needle moves a lot for Windows XP and Windows 7.
In accordance with Netmarketshare, Windows 8’s market place share now stands at 5.four %, up 0.three % from a month ago when it ultimately surpassed Windows Vista. After once more, Vista’s marketplace share declined last month, this time by about 0.38 %, to a total of four.24 %.
Meanwhile, Windows 7 and Windows XP are holding strong. In reality, Windows 7’s market place share improved last month by 0.12 %, and Windows XP saw a 0.02 % bump in marketplace share regardless of the looming finish of XP assistance by Microsoft. Both Windows 7 and XP stay the most widely-used operating systems by far, with 44.49 % and 37.19 % from the market place, respectively, based on Netmarketshare.
In other words, any industry share that Windows 8 gained last month seems to be in the expense of Windows Vista.
While it’s not surprising that users are eager to upgrade from the widely-panned operating program, receiving persons to switch from XP or Windows 7 could be tougher for Microsoft, specially among users who choose to stick having a standard desktop interface.
Windows eight.1 will make some concessions for those users, with the return with the Commence button, a boot-to-desktop solution, quicker access to sophisticated desktop functions, and also a approach to avert modern-style menus from popping up during desktop use.
But in the end, Microsoft and Computer makers have to convince the masses that they have to have to upgrade their hardware to touch-enabled laptops, hybrids, or desktops. Cheaper touchscreen devices could support on that front, but it’ll probably be a while just before the market share needle moves a lot for Windows XP and Windows 7.
Microsoft and Pc makers have to convince the masses
Windows eight keeps clawing its way up the industry share charts, but not
at the expense of Windows 7 or Windows XP.
In line with Netmarketshare, Windows 8’s market share now stands at five.four %, up 0.3 percent from a month ago when it ultimately surpassed Windows Vista. When again, Vista’s market place share declined final month, this time by about 0.38 %, to a total of 4.24 percent.
Meanwhile, Windows 7 and Windows XP are holding sturdy. In reality, Windows 7’s marketplace share improved final month by 0.12 percent, and Windows XP saw a 0.02 % bump in marketplace share in spite of the looming end of XP support by Microsoft. Each Windows 7 and XP stay by far the most widely-used operating systems by far, with 44.49 percent and 37.19 percent from the marketplace, respectively, in accordance with Netmarketshare.
In other words, any industry share that Windows eight gained last month appears to be at the expense of Windows Vista.
Whilst it is not surprising that users are eager to upgrade in the widely-panned operating method, having persons to switch from XP or Windows 7 may be tougher for Microsoft, particularly amongst customers who need to stick using a classic desktop interface.
Windows eight.1 will make some concessions for those customers, with all the return from the Get started button, a boot-to-desktop alternative, faster access to advanced desktop functions, along with a solution to avoid modern-style menus from popping up for the duration of desktop use.
But ultimately, Microsoft and Pc makers have to convince the masses that they need to have to upgrade their hardware to touch-enabled laptops, hybrids, or desktops. Less expensive touchscreen devices could support on that front, but it’ll most likely be a though ahead of the industry share needle moves significantly for Windows XP and Windows 7.
In line with Netmarketshare, Windows 8’s market share now stands at five.four %, up 0.3 percent from a month ago when it ultimately surpassed Windows Vista. When again, Vista’s market place share declined final month, this time by about 0.38 %, to a total of 4.24 percent.
Meanwhile, Windows 7 and Windows XP are holding sturdy. In reality, Windows 7’s marketplace share improved final month by 0.12 percent, and Windows XP saw a 0.02 % bump in marketplace share in spite of the looming end of XP support by Microsoft. Each Windows 7 and XP stay by far the most widely-used operating systems by far, with 44.49 percent and 37.19 percent from the marketplace, respectively, in accordance with Netmarketshare.
In other words, any industry share that Windows eight gained last month appears to be at the expense of Windows Vista.
Whilst it is not surprising that users are eager to upgrade in the widely-panned operating method, having persons to switch from XP or Windows 7 may be tougher for Microsoft, particularly amongst customers who need to stick using a classic desktop interface.
Windows eight.1 will make some concessions for those customers, with all the return from the Get started button, a boot-to-desktop alternative, faster access to advanced desktop functions, along with a solution to avoid modern-style menus from popping up for the duration of desktop use.
But ultimately, Microsoft and Pc makers have to convince the masses that they need to have to upgrade their hardware to touch-enabled laptops, hybrids, or desktops. Less expensive touchscreen devices could support on that front, but it’ll most likely be a though ahead of the industry share needle moves significantly for Windows XP and Windows 7.
Less costly touchscreen devices could help on that front
Windows 8 keeps clawing its way up the market share charts, but not at the
expense of Windows 7 or Windows XP.
Based on Netmarketshare, Windows 8’s market place share now stands at five.4 %, up 0.three percent from a month ago when it ultimately surpassed Windows Vista. After again, Vista’s market place share declined final month, this time by about 0.38 percent, to a total of 4.24 percent.
Meanwhile, Windows 7 and Windows XP are holding robust. In truth, Windows 7’s market share improved last month by 0.12 percent, and Windows XP saw a 0.02 % bump in market share despite the looming end of XP support by Microsoft. Each Windows 7 and XP remain one of the most widely-used operating systems by far, with 44.49 % and 37.19 percent with the market, respectively, according to Netmarketshare.
In other words, any marketplace share that Windows 8 gained last month seems to be at the expense of Windows Vista.
Whilst it is not surprising that customers are eager to upgrade from the widely-panned operating technique, receiving people today to switch from XP or Windows 7 may perhaps be tougher for Microsoft, specifically among customers who choose to stick with a classic desktop interface.
Windows 8.1 will make some concessions for all those users, using the return from the Start out button, a boot-to-desktop selection, quicker access to advanced desktop functions, plus a method to protect against modern-style menus from popping up for the duration of desktop use.
But ultimately, Microsoft and Computer makers should convince the masses that they have to have to upgrade their hardware to touch-enabled laptops, hybrids, or desktops. Less costly touchscreen devices could help on that front, but it’ll likely be a although prior to the industry share needle moves much for Windows XP and Windows 7.
Based on Netmarketshare, Windows 8’s market place share now stands at five.4 %, up 0.three percent from a month ago when it ultimately surpassed Windows Vista. After again, Vista’s market place share declined final month, this time by about 0.38 percent, to a total of 4.24 percent.
Meanwhile, Windows 7 and Windows XP are holding robust. In truth, Windows 7’s market share improved last month by 0.12 percent, and Windows XP saw a 0.02 % bump in market share despite the looming end of XP support by Microsoft. Each Windows 7 and XP remain one of the most widely-used operating systems by far, with 44.49 % and 37.19 percent with the market, respectively, according to Netmarketshare.
In other words, any marketplace share that Windows 8 gained last month seems to be at the expense of Windows Vista.
Whilst it is not surprising that customers are eager to upgrade from the widely-panned operating technique, receiving people today to switch from XP or Windows 7 may perhaps be tougher for Microsoft, specifically among customers who choose to stick with a classic desktop interface.
Windows 8.1 will make some concessions for all those users, using the return from the Start out button, a boot-to-desktop selection, quicker access to advanced desktop functions, plus a method to protect against modern-style menus from popping up for the duration of desktop use.
But ultimately, Microsoft and Computer makers should convince the masses that they have to have to upgrade their hardware to touch-enabled laptops, hybrids, or desktops. Less costly touchscreen devices could help on that front, but it’ll likely be a although prior to the industry share needle moves much for Windows XP and Windows 7.
2013年7月21日星期日
Along with the outlook for Windows
Within the late 1990s, a single technologies firm became so unfathomably
rich and powerful?aand so hellbent on dominating not only its personal business
but a enormous and rapidly increasing new one?athat the U.S. government dragged
the company into court and threatened to break it up over anti-trust
violations.
The case was settled, plus the business, Microsoft, agreed to play nicer. But it turned out that the globe had practically nothing to be concerned about. As normally occurs inside the technologies business, what has definitely destroyed Microsoft's choke hold on the global private computing market more than the past 15 years hasn't been a legal threat but a industry shift.
Just when it looked like Microsoft's vision of your Computer as the center in the tech world would bring about the creation of the world's 1st trillion-dollar firm, the online world came along. And it washed over the Pc business like a tidal wave swallowing a pond.
In terms of market value, Microsoft's loss of power has long been visible: The stock continues to be trading at about half the level it hit in the peak of the tech boom 13 years ago. The effects on the actual Pc market fundamentals have taken longer to develop, but they are also now crystal clear. Microsoft's ?°Windows monopoly?± hasn't been so much destroyed as rendered irrelevant. That due to the fact, because of the explosion of Internet-based cloud computing and smartphones, tablets, and also other mobile gadgets, the as soon as all-powerful platform of your desktop operating system has now been lowered to little greater than a device driver. As long as your gadget can connect for the Internet and run some apps, it doesn't matter what operating method you use.
Three charts actually bring dwelling the challenges that Microsoft along with other PC-powered giants like Intel, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard face in adapting to this new Internet-driven world. Very first, appear at worldwide device shipments. For the two decades by means of 2005, the private computer was the only game in town, selling about 200 million units a year. But then smartphones and tablets came along. And now they dwarf the Pc industry.
This shift in individual computing device adoption, meanwhile, has radically diminished the power from the Windows operating program platform. As recently as 3 years ago, Microsoft's Windows was nonetheless entirely dominant?athe platform ran 70% of personal computing devices. Now, thanks to the rise of Google's Android and Apple's iOS, Windows' worldwide share has been reduce in half, to about 30 percent. Extra remarkably, Android is now a larger platform than Windows.
Lastly, and most lately, this chart from analyst Horace Dediu of Asymco illustrates that the Pc enterprise is no longer just receiving dwarfed by the explosion of smartphone and tablet sales ... it has now in fact begun to shrink. Now that people possess a decision of devices, it turns out that a full-blown personal computer system is generally not probably the most cost-effective, handy, or simplest strategy to do what a user desires to do. In place of being the center of the personal computing globe, in other words, the Computer is becoming a specialized office-productivity device.
The news for Microsoft will not be all poor. The corporation has been fairly productive at moving from a "unit-driven" sales model to a licensing model, in which providers pay a fee per user per year in lieu of buying a perpetual license with each and every new laptop. And Microsoft's Office franchise is still extraordinarily profitable and dominant, in portion for the reason that Google, Apple, along with other a lot more Internet-centric providers have made so small investment in their competitive merchandise.
But only 15 years soon after the government went after Microsoft for anti-trust violations, the idea that the firm ever had a "monopoly" on something is hard to even fully grasp. Along with the outlook for Windows, along with the standard Computer company normally, appears certain to obtain even worse going forward.
The case was settled, plus the business, Microsoft, agreed to play nicer. But it turned out that the globe had practically nothing to be concerned about. As normally occurs inside the technologies business, what has definitely destroyed Microsoft's choke hold on the global private computing market more than the past 15 years hasn't been a legal threat but a industry shift.
Just when it looked like Microsoft's vision of your Computer as the center in the tech world would bring about the creation of the world's 1st trillion-dollar firm, the online world came along. And it washed over the Pc business like a tidal wave swallowing a pond.
In terms of market value, Microsoft's loss of power has long been visible: The stock continues to be trading at about half the level it hit in the peak of the tech boom 13 years ago. The effects on the actual Pc market fundamentals have taken longer to develop, but they are also now crystal clear. Microsoft's ?°Windows monopoly?± hasn't been so much destroyed as rendered irrelevant. That due to the fact, because of the explosion of Internet-based cloud computing and smartphones, tablets, and also other mobile gadgets, the as soon as all-powerful platform of your desktop operating system has now been lowered to little greater than a device driver. As long as your gadget can connect for the Internet and run some apps, it doesn't matter what operating method you use.
Three charts actually bring dwelling the challenges that Microsoft along with other PC-powered giants like Intel, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard face in adapting to this new Internet-driven world. Very first, appear at worldwide device shipments. For the two decades by means of 2005, the private computer was the only game in town, selling about 200 million units a year. But then smartphones and tablets came along. And now they dwarf the Pc industry.
This shift in individual computing device adoption, meanwhile, has radically diminished the power from the Windows operating program platform. As recently as 3 years ago, Microsoft's Windows was nonetheless entirely dominant?athe platform ran 70% of personal computing devices. Now, thanks to the rise of Google's Android and Apple's iOS, Windows' worldwide share has been reduce in half, to about 30 percent. Extra remarkably, Android is now a larger platform than Windows.
Lastly, and most lately, this chart from analyst Horace Dediu of Asymco illustrates that the Pc enterprise is no longer just receiving dwarfed by the explosion of smartphone and tablet sales ... it has now in fact begun to shrink. Now that people possess a decision of devices, it turns out that a full-blown personal computer system is generally not probably the most cost-effective, handy, or simplest strategy to do what a user desires to do. In place of being the center of the personal computing globe, in other words, the Computer is becoming a specialized office-productivity device.
The news for Microsoft will not be all poor. The corporation has been fairly productive at moving from a "unit-driven" sales model to a licensing model, in which providers pay a fee per user per year in lieu of buying a perpetual license with each and every new laptop. And Microsoft's Office franchise is still extraordinarily profitable and dominant, in portion for the reason that Google, Apple, along with other a lot more Internet-centric providers have made so small investment in their competitive merchandise.
But only 15 years soon after the government went after Microsoft for anti-trust violations, the idea that the firm ever had a "monopoly" on something is hard to even fully grasp. Along with the outlook for Windows, along with the standard Computer company normally, appears certain to obtain even worse going forward.
2013年7月13日星期六
Most adults always have smartphone close by, 1 in 10 use it during sex
We already know many people are addicted to their smartphones, but a study
released Thursday gives a clearer idea of just how much users can get attached
to their device.
Nearly three in four American smartphone users surveyed said they are within five feet of their devices the majority of the time, according to the 2013 Mobile Consumer Habits study conducted by Harris Interactive for Jumio, a mobile verification and payments company.
More than a third said they use their device at movie theaters and 12% said they even use it while in the shower.
PHOTOS: Top 10 tech gadget fails
But perhaps most unusual is the fact that almost 1 in 10 users, or 9% of respondents, said they have even used their smartphone during sex.
"So it should be no surprise that 12% believe their smartphone gets in the way of their relationships," the press release for the study said.
The number of adults using their smartphones during sex rises to one in five when looking only at the 18 to 34 age group.
“People view their smartphones as an extension of themselves, taking them everywhere they go – even the most unorthodox places -- from the shower to their commute, from the dinner table to the bedroom,” said Marc Barach, chief marketing and strategy officer at Jumio, in a statement.
And for all those wondering, the study does not mention how exactly they are using their devices during sex.
Other unusual places where people are using their smartphones include during a dinner date (33%), during a child's school function (32%), at a church or place of worship (19%), and, perhaps most alarming, while driving (55%).
The study was conducted last month by Harris Interactive, which surveyed 1,102 smartphone users.
Nearly three in four American smartphone users surveyed said they are within five feet of their devices the majority of the time, according to the 2013 Mobile Consumer Habits study conducted by Harris Interactive for Jumio, a mobile verification and payments company.
More than a third said they use their device at movie theaters and 12% said they even use it while in the shower.
PHOTOS: Top 10 tech gadget fails
But perhaps most unusual is the fact that almost 1 in 10 users, or 9% of respondents, said they have even used their smartphone during sex.
"So it should be no surprise that 12% believe their smartphone gets in the way of their relationships," the press release for the study said.
The number of adults using their smartphones during sex rises to one in five when looking only at the 18 to 34 age group.
“People view their smartphones as an extension of themselves, taking them everywhere they go – even the most unorthodox places -- from the shower to their commute, from the dinner table to the bedroom,” said Marc Barach, chief marketing and strategy officer at Jumio, in a statement.
And for all those wondering, the study does not mention how exactly they are using their devices during sex.
Other unusual places where people are using their smartphones include during a dinner date (33%), during a child's school function (32%), at a church or place of worship (19%), and, perhaps most alarming, while driving (55%).
The study was conducted last month by Harris Interactive, which surveyed 1,102 smartphone users.
They'll have some time; Microsoft has mentioned
When Microsoft added assistance for the revamped Commence page into Windows
8.1, that eliminated the require for dedicated third-party Begin menus, proper?
Wrong, say developers like Stardock, Classic Shell, and others.
Possibly not surprisingly, the third-party devs say there is still a have to have for their merchandise, although Windows 8.1 might be additional friendly to these used for the classic, or legacy, Get started menu discovered in Windows 7. A lot of have released updates for the Windows eight.1 preview, but none that spoke to PCWorld stated that they've thrown in the towel.
These merchandise fill a will need: to ease the transition to Windows 8 and its unfamiliar Start off web page. In numerous approaches, Windows eight is just Windows 7 having a tablet interface layered on leading of it, but?asorry!?ano Start button. Users upset by the jarringly distinctive Get started web page had no refuge from it aside from third-party options.
"The commence button shortcut to the begin screen that Microsoft is giving with Windows eight.1 does not replace the get started menu within the eyes of our increasing buyer base," Robert McElroy, the promoting and sales manager at Stardock Corp., said in an e-mail. "Customers on the lookout for the functionality in the classic start menu to assist them navigate Windows 8 in a way which has been familiar to them for years will still discover Start8 from Stardock enables that capability seamlessly."
Microsoft, for its portion, has mentioned that Windows 8.1 represents a "heck of a lot of movement, a heck of quite a bit of innovation, along with a heck of a lot of responsiveness, all coming to marketplace in a really extremely speedy timeframe," inside the words of Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer through the company's Develop 2013 conference in June.
Many of the functionality that the third-party applications added for Windows 8 customers, nonetheless, now overlaps with a number of what Microsoft has added for the upcoming Windows 8.1. Start8, Classic Shell, and StartMenu8 all boot straight towards the desktop, meaning that piece on the puzzle, at least, is duplicated by Microsoft. But all 3 also offer you the classic Start off menu, with Classic Shell providing either a "classic" menu, or 1 within the style of either Windows XP or Windows 7. (Classic Shell's version three.six.eight, released in June and compatible with Windows eight.1, was asked to take away its version in the Windows flag, which it calls the "Metro button", at the behest of Microsoft.) For its part, Start8 also offers an solution to shut down from the desktop, which is now in Windows 8.1 too.
Nevertheless, the developer of Classic Shell mentioned that his solution was as viable as ever. "Nobody killed something," he stated, by way of an exchange even though his Facebook web page. "The only function they added that Classic Shell (and others like it) has, could be the instant boot to Desktop."
The query now is regardless of whether or not office mac home and student 2011 Microsoft's Windows 8.1 update, and the functionality it added, supplies yet additional possibilities for developers like Classic Shell to add functions. They'll have some time; Microsoft has mentioned that it's going to hand over Windows 8.1 to OEMs at the finish of August, using a consumer update at some point thereafter. PCWorld asked the developers what their plans are, but the Begin developers are not talking.
"Too early to inform. It is actually still a preview, not even a beta," the Classic Shell developer mentioned. "Even with out it I have my hands full at the moment."
Possibly not surprisingly, the third-party devs say there is still a have to have for their merchandise, although Windows 8.1 might be additional friendly to these used for the classic, or legacy, Get started menu discovered in Windows 7. A lot of have released updates for the Windows eight.1 preview, but none that spoke to PCWorld stated that they've thrown in the towel.
These merchandise fill a will need: to ease the transition to Windows 8 and its unfamiliar Start off web page. In numerous approaches, Windows eight is just Windows 7 having a tablet interface layered on leading of it, but?asorry!?ano Start button. Users upset by the jarringly distinctive Get started web page had no refuge from it aside from third-party options.
"The commence button shortcut to the begin screen that Microsoft is giving with Windows eight.1 does not replace the get started menu within the eyes of our increasing buyer base," Robert McElroy, the promoting and sales manager at Stardock Corp., said in an e-mail. "Customers on the lookout for the functionality in the classic start menu to assist them navigate Windows 8 in a way which has been familiar to them for years will still discover Start8 from Stardock enables that capability seamlessly."
Microsoft, for its portion, has mentioned that Windows 8.1 represents a "heck of a lot of movement, a heck of quite a bit of innovation, along with a heck of a lot of responsiveness, all coming to marketplace in a really extremely speedy timeframe," inside the words of Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer through the company's Develop 2013 conference in June.
Many of the functionality that the third-party applications added for Windows 8 customers, nonetheless, now overlaps with a number of what Microsoft has added for the upcoming Windows 8.1. Start8, Classic Shell, and StartMenu8 all boot straight towards the desktop, meaning that piece on the puzzle, at least, is duplicated by Microsoft. But all 3 also offer you the classic Start off menu, with Classic Shell providing either a "classic" menu, or 1 within the style of either Windows XP or Windows 7. (Classic Shell's version three.six.eight, released in June and compatible with Windows eight.1, was asked to take away its version in the Windows flag, which it calls the "Metro button", at the behest of Microsoft.) For its part, Start8 also offers an solution to shut down from the desktop, which is now in Windows 8.1 too.
Nevertheless, the developer of Classic Shell mentioned that his solution was as viable as ever. "Nobody killed something," he stated, by way of an exchange even though his Facebook web page. "The only function they added that Classic Shell (and others like it) has, could be the instant boot to Desktop."
The query now is regardless of whether or not office mac home and student 2011 Microsoft's Windows 8.1 update, and the functionality it added, supplies yet additional possibilities for developers like Classic Shell to add functions. They'll have some time; Microsoft has mentioned that it's going to hand over Windows 8.1 to OEMs at the finish of August, using a consumer update at some point thereafter. PCWorld asked the developers what their plans are, but the Begin developers are not talking.
"Too early to inform. It is actually still a preview, not even a beta," the Classic Shell developer mentioned. "Even with out it I have my hands full at the moment."
2013年7月8日星期一
Review: 'NCAA Football 14' steps up its game
It appears Electronic Arts' college football franchise has recovered from last year's on-field stumbles.
The latest installment, NCAA Football 14, represents a major upgrade from its predecessor, delivering a more realistic game of football while maintaining its depth.
NCAA Football has always had an inconsistent run on this generation of home video game consoles. After several rough seasons, the franchise finally seemed to turn it around with 2010's NCAA Football 11 and the follow-up in 2011. However, last year's title failed to introduce major changes and neglected to address bugs leading to player frustration and accidental comedy (such as replays starring only the football and invisible players).
NCAA Football 14 fixes most of this with an overhaul of action on the gridiron, modeled in part by EA's pro football equivalent, Madden NFL. It starts with simple gestures, such as watching ballcarriers naturally shift directions trying to elude defenders with simple moves of the left thumbstick. When a ballcarrier trips, he'll fight to regain balance or lunge forward for the extra yard or two.
The intelligence of computer-controlled team on both sides of the ball has improved, too. Throw in double coverage and the secondary will make players pay through turnovers. Offenses will try to keep players off balance by running without huddles, or smartly mixing up play calls.
The most exciting change is the use of option offenses, which now seem easier to execute. When running a Read Option, Spread Option or other variation, players will see an icon that shows whether the defender is gunning for the quarterback or running back. Even when a player makes the right choice, they must still nail down timing to gain the most benefit.
The latest installment, NCAA Football 14, represents a major upgrade from its predecessor, delivering a more realistic game of football while maintaining its depth.
NCAA Football has always had an inconsistent run on this generation of home video game consoles. After several rough seasons, the franchise finally seemed to turn it around with 2010's NCAA Football 11 and the follow-up in 2011. However, last year's title failed to introduce major changes and neglected to address bugs leading to player frustration and accidental comedy (such as replays starring only the football and invisible players).
NCAA Football 14 fixes most of this with an overhaul of action on the gridiron, modeled in part by EA's pro football equivalent, Madden NFL. It starts with simple gestures, such as watching ballcarriers naturally shift directions trying to elude defenders with simple moves of the left thumbstick. When a ballcarrier trips, he'll fight to regain balance or lunge forward for the extra yard or two.
The intelligence of computer-controlled team on both sides of the ball has improved, too. Throw in double coverage and the secondary will make players pay through turnovers. Offenses will try to keep players off balance by running without huddles, or smartly mixing up play calls.
The most exciting change is the use of option offenses, which now seem easier to execute. When running a Read Option, Spread Option or other variation, players will see an icon that shows whether the defender is gunning for the quarterback or running back. Even when a player makes the right choice, they must still nail down timing to gain the most benefit.
Ballmer’s information since it has actually been
Microsoft will hand around its most up-to-date edition of the working
program, Windows eight.one, to OEMs in late August, Microsoft’s Windows
promoting chief advised its associates on Monday early morning.
Speaking at its Throughout the world Companion Meeting (WPC), Tami Reller, corporate vp and chief marketing officer for Home windows, stated that Microsoft would make the RTM (launch to producing) version of Windows eight.one to OEMs by late August. Microsoft didn't say when Windows eight.one could well be released to customers in its closing variety, but heritage implies that Microsoft should really no less than be on track to ship by October.
Microsoft’s WPC, as its title implies, is Microsoft’s opportunity to talk its roadmaps to its companions; Microsoft began its spouse program about twenty years back. According to main government Steve Ballmer, ninety percent of your revenue Microsoft realizes “in some way, form or form” is produced by the companions Ballmer addressed currently as a part of a three.5-hour keynote tackle.
In aggregate, those companions had “quite a very good calendar year,” Ballmer explained, with all of its partners expanding 6.5 percent over final year, on foundation profits of $650 billion.
Ballmer’s information, because it has actually been, was that Microsoft has reinvented alone as being a units and services organization, rather then merely a software business. “Windows has generally been much more a device than the usual piece of software package; it defined a class of gadget called the Laptop,” he claimed, regardless of whether they be, tablets, all-in-ones, convertibles, and a lot more.
Ballmer said that Microsoft’s companions might be shown how Microsoft has improved from the cloud, particularly how Microsoft straddles the general public and personal cloud; “big info,” like how Microsoft strategies to share Bing search knowledge with builders and supply public facts to private clouds while using the Azure Info Marketplace; how Microsoft’s social initiatives straddle many different products and solutions; and mobile, particularly how Microsoft supports its individual products and solutions from by itself and some others.
http://www.windows7retailbox.com/microsoft-windows-7-professional-3264-bit-full-retail-pack-p-3527.html
Speaking at its Throughout the world Companion Meeting (WPC), Tami Reller, corporate vp and chief marketing officer for Home windows, stated that Microsoft would make the RTM (launch to producing) version of Windows eight.one to OEMs by late August. Microsoft didn't say when Windows eight.one could well be released to customers in its closing variety, but heritage implies that Microsoft should really no less than be on track to ship by October.
Microsoft’s WPC, as its title implies, is Microsoft’s opportunity to talk its roadmaps to its companions; Microsoft began its spouse program about twenty years back. According to main government Steve Ballmer, ninety percent of your revenue Microsoft realizes “in some way, form or form” is produced by the companions Ballmer addressed currently as a part of a three.5-hour keynote tackle.
In aggregate, those companions had “quite a very good calendar year,” Ballmer explained, with all of its partners expanding 6.5 percent over final year, on foundation profits of $650 billion.
Ballmer’s information, because it has actually been, was that Microsoft has reinvented alone as being a units and services organization, rather then merely a software business. “Windows has generally been much more a device than the usual piece of software package; it defined a class of gadget called the Laptop,” he claimed, regardless of whether they be, tablets, all-in-ones, convertibles, and a lot more.
Ballmer said that Microsoft’s companions might be shown how Microsoft has improved from the cloud, particularly how Microsoft straddles the general public and personal cloud; “big info,” like how Microsoft strategies to share Bing search knowledge with builders and supply public facts to private clouds while using the Azure Info Marketplace; how Microsoft’s social initiatives straddle many different products and solutions; and mobile, particularly how Microsoft supports its individual products and solutions from by itself and some others.
http://www.windows7retailbox.com/microsoft-windows-7-professional-3264-bit-full-retail-pack-p-3527.html
2013年6月24日星期一
Wanna see iOS 7 on an iPad? Videos pop up after latest beta
No surprise here, but numerous videos of iOS 7 beta 2 -- which adds support
for Apple's iPad and iPad Mini -- have popped up, showing the software running
on Apple's tablets.
The videos show just how the software has been adjusted to work on the larger screen, as well as how it performs on various tasks in Apple's first effort.
The company did not show off iOS 7 running on an iPad during the big unveiling at its annual developers conference two weeks ago, building curiosity into just what's different.
Redmond Pie also posts a 5-minute preview on an iPad Mini, running through various features:
iDownloadBlog shows it off running on an iPad Mini and calls the new app switching feature "disappointing" in its use of screen real estate, and "awkward" in its lack of rotating app previews while in that mode
The new software was released Monday morning and is still considered confidential by Apple, which requires developers to sign a privacy agreement in order to enroll and get early access to beta versions of iOS and OS X. Apparently that didn't stop all these folks:
YouTuber Andrew Sheridan posts a quick hands-on, even showing off iTunes Radio:And as a bonus, iDownloadBlog posts a hands on with the Voice Memos app, which was not included in the initial build of iOS 7.
The videos show just how the software has been adjusted to work on the larger screen, as well as how it performs on various tasks in Apple's first effort.
The company did not show off iOS 7 running on an iPad during the big unveiling at its annual developers conference two weeks ago, building curiosity into just what's different.
Redmond Pie also posts a 5-minute preview on an iPad Mini, running through various features:
iDownloadBlog shows it off running on an iPad Mini and calls the new app switching feature "disappointing" in its use of screen real estate, and "awkward" in its lack of rotating app previews while in that mode
The new software was released Monday morning and is still considered confidential by Apple, which requires developers to sign a privacy agreement in order to enroll and get early access to beta versions of iOS and OS X. Apparently that didn't stop all these folks:
YouTuber Andrew Sheridan posts a quick hands-on, even showing off iTunes Radio:And as a bonus, iDownloadBlog posts a hands on with the Voice Memos app, which was not included in the initial build of iOS 7.
A great deal has took place and we’re likely to proceed to contend
Microsoft and Oracle nowadays introduced that they are putting their
variances aside to strike a strategic partnership during the cloud organization
room. The offer handles the two the private cloud as well as public cloud,
encompassing a number of new options.
Firstly, Oracle will certify and aid customers who currently run its software program on Home windows Server to operate that very same software on Windows Server Hyper-V or in Windows Azure. Oracle clients also achieve the gain to operate their Oracle program licenses in Windows Azure “with new license mobility.”
Hyper-V and Azure help commences immediately, even so the partnership does not finish there. Microsoft and Oracle have agreed to operate with each other to “add adequately accredited, and fully supported Java into Windows Azure.”
Microsoft can even incorporate Infrastructure Providers occasions with preconfigured versions of Oracle Databases and Oracle WebLogic Server for purchasers who do not need Oracle licenses though Oracle will empower consumers to acquire and start Oracle Linux photos on Home windows Azure. Details regarding when exactly this integration will be available were not shared.
All through a convention call right now, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talked of a “tipping point” with regard into the partnership. “A great deal has took place and we’re likely to proceed to contend in places,” he mentioned. “I imagine each businesses have constantly, at the least lots of a few years, have experienced regard for one particular a different.”
Oracle President Mark Hurd agreed: “I imagine it just makes sense for us to carry on to boost our individual abilities but in addition allow for customers to leverage both equally of our abilities with each other,” he mentioned about the identical simply call. “I think this can make quite a bit of perception for both equally of us…because it will make lots of feeling for our consumers.”
Oracle 1st hinted at today’s information for the duration of an earnings contact on Friday. The company firm said it had strategies to announce new technologies partnerships with not simply Microsoft, but Salesforce and Netsuite also.
http://www.windows7retailbox.com/office-professional-plus-2013-full-retail-pack-p-3600.html
Firstly, Oracle will certify and aid customers who currently run its software program on Home windows Server to operate that very same software on Windows Server Hyper-V or in Windows Azure. Oracle clients also achieve the gain to operate their Oracle program licenses in Windows Azure “with new license mobility.”
Hyper-V and Azure help commences immediately, even so the partnership does not finish there. Microsoft and Oracle have agreed to operate with each other to “add adequately accredited, and fully supported Java into Windows Azure.”
Microsoft can even incorporate Infrastructure Providers occasions with preconfigured versions of Oracle Databases and Oracle WebLogic Server for purchasers who do not need Oracle licenses though Oracle will empower consumers to acquire and start Oracle Linux photos on Home windows Azure. Details regarding when exactly this integration will be available were not shared.
All through a convention call right now, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talked of a “tipping point” with regard into the partnership. “A great deal has took place and we’re likely to proceed to contend in places,” he mentioned. “I imagine each businesses have constantly, at the least lots of a few years, have experienced regard for one particular a different.”
Oracle President Mark Hurd agreed: “I imagine it just makes sense for us to carry on to boost our individual abilities but in addition allow for customers to leverage both equally of our abilities with each other,” he mentioned about the identical simply call. “I think this can make quite a bit of perception for both equally of us…because it will make lots of feeling for our consumers.”
Oracle 1st hinted at today’s information for the duration of an earnings contact on Friday. The company firm said it had strategies to announce new technologies partnerships with not simply Microsoft, but Salesforce and Netsuite also.
http://www.windows7retailbox.com/office-professional-plus-2013-full-retail-pack-p-3600.html
2013年6月18日星期二
Startup-PR Matchmaker AirPR Opens To The Public, As Data Begins To Reveal How To Fix A Broken Model
For pretty much as long as anyone can remember, a relationship triangle, or
a “love triangle” if you will, has taken shape between companies and the PR
firms that represent them and the press that covers them — existing in some sort
of recursive loop. Yet, while that triangle should have come to represent a
symbiosis and a valuable communication network, somewhere along the way the
triangle broke down. (Defying the laws of Geometry, even.) In reality, today
this relationship is more like the Bermuda Triangle.
While the matter of who is responsible for the disconnect is subject to debate, the PR industry (for right or wrong) usually takes most of the blame. While the causes are numerous, in the end, most of the problems inherent to the startup-PR relationship are a matter of transparency (or lack therof) and the inability for either side to find the best (and most mutually beneficial) match on the other.
AirPR launched into private beta last year with $1 million in seed funding from 500 Startups, Mohr Davidow Ventures, WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg and others to help solve this problem by creating a marketplace in which startups can find PR representation that’s right for them, and vice versa. Pitched as a kind of “Match.com for PR,” at launch AirPR focused primarily on matching top, pre-screened PR talent in the U.S. with technology startups looking for (and able to pay for) representation.
Last week, after a year of testing the system in closed beta, iterating and tweaking, the San Francisco-based company has finally opened its marketplace to the public. With its public launch, AirPR is opening its doors to all tech startups, expanding its marketplace to include companies in the lifestyle and consumer goods verticals and adding a few tweaks to its formula.
After watching 70 companies go through its PR matchmaking system and processing feedback from PR veterans, AirPR cut its onboarding process in half. Now, in order to find the best match, startups enter the date they want their PR campaign to begin and then answer a series of questions about their focus, stage of development, what kind of help they’d like, how much funding they’ve raised, and so on. AirPR then screens the startups and, if they meet its quality standards, uses the startup’s answers to match them with reps whose experience best fits that criteria. If not, they’re declined.
After being alerted to the incoming business leads, reps then place bids for the client, at which point the startup can sift through the offers, compare them, select the best option and pay for a 60-day contract.
Based on feedback from startups and PR pros, at launch, the platform also now includes a recommendation system, in which AirPR provides the top three matches based on the data its collected on the PR side. Initially, the company provided a list of all possible matches, but the co-founders tell us that companies were often overwhelmed by an abundance of choice and were less inclined to finish the process than if the system served provided three of its closest matches at the top.
In turn, by recommending PR reps and being more proactive in pushing reps to reach out to specific companies, the conversion ended up being faster and a higher percentage of companies closed the deal.
While there may be contention over the cause, most will likely agree that the PR model as it currently stands is in sore need of improvement. As someone who stands at one of the corners of the PR Bermuda Triangle, I can attest to this. PR reps have a tough job, and, as in any interest there are incredibly talented, bright firms and reps that get lumped in with the offenders who blanket journalists inbox with copy-and-pasted pablum and poorly worded pitches that aren’t even relevant to a writer’s beat.
Any improvement on the overall quality of the PR-startup relationship stands to benefit everyone involved, and while it’s still early to say just how effective AirPR’s model will be, it’s worth the effort.
While the startup’s matching algorithm and marketplace model are familiar, what may be even more valuable to the Bermuda Triangle (and to the industry at large) is the insight that can be pulled from the data AirPR collects on how startups are using the system, what they want help with, how effective PR is at meeting its goals, costs, publications they want to speak to, among other things. This data can help both startups and PR people be more effective and precise with their pitches and outreach. (One can also, much to the delight of everyone except PR, imagine AirPR eventually using this data to make a list of the “Top 10 Most Effective PR Firms,” for example.)
AirPR allowed TechCrunch an early look into some of the data (and insights) it’s collected thus far, and the conclusions are telling. For starters, as Alex Wilhem of TNW shared earlier this week, the most popular keyword or service startups were looking for help with was “Growth,” with 84 percent of companies listing that as top priority, followed by 69 percent of companies looking for “Brand Awareness,” 36 percent for “Launch,” 25 percent for “Fundraising,” and 16 percent for “Recruiting.”
Next, another one that will be of interest to PR reps: The company found that fixed bids (a bid with one amount, like $20K for a 4-month project, for example) were 29 percent more likely to close than retainers (monthly bids). In explaining just why in the sam hill we should care, AirPR CEO Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer explains that, historically, the PR industry has primarily operated on a retainer model.
However, the monthly averages for both fixed bids and retainers are almost the same, he says, so the data thus far seems to show that the reliance on the retainer model is psychological, rather than what its customers want. Clients seem to appreciate the one-time fee with specific deliverables, the CEO explained — a conclusion that helps startups and PR move closer to transparency rather than clients being forced to ask “what exactly are we paying for?” each month.
To date, AirPR has found that the average bid accepted on the platform breaks down to roughly $5K/month in fees (whether fixed or retainer) for an average of 5 months. In other words, companies that have between $500K and $4 million in funding want shorter-term contracts with lower rates. This, in and of itself may not be surprising, but the more data it collects, the more it will be able to reveal correlations between not only funding and how much they’re willing to pay, but size of bids and the work they want done, the industry they’re in, and so on.
The CEO also tells us that several of the PR reps on the AirPR platform have doubled their business since joining and are “now looking to grow their practice with other folks on the platform, like a co-op situation,” he says. To this point, the idea from the beginning has been to not only help startups who often have no idea where to start when looking for PR, but to serve PR firms and reps that are looking to expand their practices. In the end, the AirPR co-founder tells us, this helps them weed out lower quality PR and put the best firms and people in control.
If AirPR can follow through on that idea, its marketplace could end up providing a lot of value to both startups and the PR firms that love them by helping them navigate the Bermuda Triangle and get more bang for their buck.
While the matter of who is responsible for the disconnect is subject to debate, the PR industry (for right or wrong) usually takes most of the blame. While the causes are numerous, in the end, most of the problems inherent to the startup-PR relationship are a matter of transparency (or lack therof) and the inability for either side to find the best (and most mutually beneficial) match on the other.
AirPR launched into private beta last year with $1 million in seed funding from 500 Startups, Mohr Davidow Ventures, WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg and others to help solve this problem by creating a marketplace in which startups can find PR representation that’s right for them, and vice versa. Pitched as a kind of “Match.com for PR,” at launch AirPR focused primarily on matching top, pre-screened PR talent in the U.S. with technology startups looking for (and able to pay for) representation.
Last week, after a year of testing the system in closed beta, iterating and tweaking, the San Francisco-based company has finally opened its marketplace to the public. With its public launch, AirPR is opening its doors to all tech startups, expanding its marketplace to include companies in the lifestyle and consumer goods verticals and adding a few tweaks to its formula.
After watching 70 companies go through its PR matchmaking system and processing feedback from PR veterans, AirPR cut its onboarding process in half. Now, in order to find the best match, startups enter the date they want their PR campaign to begin and then answer a series of questions about their focus, stage of development, what kind of help they’d like, how much funding they’ve raised, and so on. AirPR then screens the startups and, if they meet its quality standards, uses the startup’s answers to match them with reps whose experience best fits that criteria. If not, they’re declined.
After being alerted to the incoming business leads, reps then place bids for the client, at which point the startup can sift through the offers, compare them, select the best option and pay for a 60-day contract.
Based on feedback from startups and PR pros, at launch, the platform also now includes a recommendation system, in which AirPR provides the top three matches based on the data its collected on the PR side. Initially, the company provided a list of all possible matches, but the co-founders tell us that companies were often overwhelmed by an abundance of choice and were less inclined to finish the process than if the system served provided three of its closest matches at the top.
In turn, by recommending PR reps and being more proactive in pushing reps to reach out to specific companies, the conversion ended up being faster and a higher percentage of companies closed the deal.
While there may be contention over the cause, most will likely agree that the PR model as it currently stands is in sore need of improvement. As someone who stands at one of the corners of the PR Bermuda Triangle, I can attest to this. PR reps have a tough job, and, as in any interest there are incredibly talented, bright firms and reps that get lumped in with the offenders who blanket journalists inbox with copy-and-pasted pablum and poorly worded pitches that aren’t even relevant to a writer’s beat.
Any improvement on the overall quality of the PR-startup relationship stands to benefit everyone involved, and while it’s still early to say just how effective AirPR’s model will be, it’s worth the effort.
While the startup’s matching algorithm and marketplace model are familiar, what may be even more valuable to the Bermuda Triangle (and to the industry at large) is the insight that can be pulled from the data AirPR collects on how startups are using the system, what they want help with, how effective PR is at meeting its goals, costs, publications they want to speak to, among other things. This data can help both startups and PR people be more effective and precise with their pitches and outreach. (One can also, much to the delight of everyone except PR, imagine AirPR eventually using this data to make a list of the “Top 10 Most Effective PR Firms,” for example.)
AirPR allowed TechCrunch an early look into some of the data (and insights) it’s collected thus far, and the conclusions are telling. For starters, as Alex Wilhem of TNW shared earlier this week, the most popular keyword or service startups were looking for help with was “Growth,” with 84 percent of companies listing that as top priority, followed by 69 percent of companies looking for “Brand Awareness,” 36 percent for “Launch,” 25 percent for “Fundraising,” and 16 percent for “Recruiting.”
Next, another one that will be of interest to PR reps: The company found that fixed bids (a bid with one amount, like $20K for a 4-month project, for example) were 29 percent more likely to close than retainers (monthly bids). In explaining just why in the sam hill we should care, AirPR CEO Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer explains that, historically, the PR industry has primarily operated on a retainer model.
However, the monthly averages for both fixed bids and retainers are almost the same, he says, so the data thus far seems to show that the reliance on the retainer model is psychological, rather than what its customers want. Clients seem to appreciate the one-time fee with specific deliverables, the CEO explained — a conclusion that helps startups and PR move closer to transparency rather than clients being forced to ask “what exactly are we paying for?” each month.
To date, AirPR has found that the average bid accepted on the platform breaks down to roughly $5K/month in fees (whether fixed or retainer) for an average of 5 months. In other words, companies that have between $500K and $4 million in funding want shorter-term contracts with lower rates. This, in and of itself may not be surprising, but the more data it collects, the more it will be able to reveal correlations between not only funding and how much they’re willing to pay, but size of bids and the work they want done, the industry they’re in, and so on.
The CEO also tells us that several of the PR reps on the AirPR platform have doubled their business since joining and are “now looking to grow their practice with other folks on the platform, like a co-op situation,” he says. To this point, the idea from the beginning has been to not only help startups who often have no idea where to start when looking for PR, but to serve PR firms and reps that are looking to expand their practices. In the end, the AirPR co-founder tells us, this helps them weed out lower quality PR and put the best firms and people in control.
If AirPR can follow through on that idea, its marketplace could end up providing a lot of value to both startups and the PR firms that love them by helping them navigate the Bermuda Triangle and get more bang for their buck.
Help & Tips will include a number of tutorials for new Home windows 8.1
Microsoft is tweaking many its built-in apps for Windows 8.one, however the
Tunes application seems to include quite possibly the most adjustments. A
freshly redesigned copy of the Windows Retail store in leaked builds of Windows
eight.1 has exposed the brand new user interface for Xbox New music. Microsoft
beforehand discovered to the Verge which the aim with the new Tunes app is on
taking part in songs in excess of surfacing new articles, noting you are able to
now perform tunes in two clicks instead of 6.
Screenshots in the new Xbox Tunes update show a two panel interface that seems to enhance discoverability of audio along with the ability to promptly access a collection of music. Xbox Audio originally released in Oct for Home windows eight and Home windows RT products, with all the capacity to obtain songs from an Xbox 360 much too. While the support contains most favored tracks and albums, the interface has normally been slow and clunky on Home windows 8 and Windows RT products. The up to date app obviously aims to boost that, having a "simplified layout and layout" according to Microsoft. There is certainly also a persistent in-app look for box with improved search engine results, support for tunes files on SD playing cards, and Engage in To aid for music exterior on the Xbox Music catalogue.
Microsoft can also be adding quite a few new built-in applications, including Calculator, Seem Recorder, Scan, Reading through Checklist, Film Times, and Assist & Tips. Movie Times allows you to edit videos from a touch-friendly interface, and Studying Listing acts as a super clipboard to keep URLs and other snippets from applications. The Seem Recorder, Calculator, and Scan applications are all simplified touch-friendly versions to replace the legacy adobe photoshop extended cs5 desktop variants. Help & Tips will include a number of tutorials for new Home windows 8.1 users that should make improvements to some with the associated confusion with all the new interface.
Alongside the Xbox Tunes redesign and additional applications, the new Windows Retail outlet interface has also been spotted in Windows eight.one builds. Microsoft seems to be altering the design of its Store, alongside improvements to your top paid and top free sections, new releases, and a "picks for you" section that suggests applications based on an existing library. Similar apps are also suggested within app pages, using a general aim on application discoverability. The brand new Home windows Retail store also works well in portrait mode, designed for upcoming 7- and 8-inch tablets. All the improvements will be made available in Windows 8.1, an update that Microsoft will release as a preview version on June 26th alongside its Build developer conference.
Screenshots in the new Xbox Tunes update show a two panel interface that seems to enhance discoverability of audio along with the ability to promptly access a collection of music. Xbox Audio originally released in Oct for Home windows eight and Home windows RT products, with all the capacity to obtain songs from an Xbox 360 much too. While the support contains most favored tracks and albums, the interface has normally been slow and clunky on Home windows 8 and Windows RT products. The up to date app obviously aims to boost that, having a "simplified layout and layout" according to Microsoft. There is certainly also a persistent in-app look for box with improved search engine results, support for tunes files on SD playing cards, and Engage in To aid for music exterior on the Xbox Music catalogue.
Microsoft can also be adding quite a few new built-in applications, including Calculator, Seem Recorder, Scan, Reading through Checklist, Film Times, and Assist & Tips. Movie Times allows you to edit videos from a touch-friendly interface, and Studying Listing acts as a super clipboard to keep URLs and other snippets from applications. The Seem Recorder, Calculator, and Scan applications are all simplified touch-friendly versions to replace the legacy adobe photoshop extended cs5 desktop variants. Help & Tips will include a number of tutorials for new Home windows 8.1 users that should make improvements to some with the associated confusion with all the new interface.
Alongside the Xbox Tunes redesign and additional applications, the new Windows Retail outlet interface has also been spotted in Windows eight.one builds. Microsoft seems to be altering the design of its Store, alongside improvements to your top paid and top free sections, new releases, and a "picks for you" section that suggests applications based on an existing library. Similar apps are also suggested within app pages, using a general aim on application discoverability. The brand new Home windows Retail store also works well in portrait mode, designed for upcoming 7- and 8-inch tablets. All the improvements will be made available in Windows 8.1, an update that Microsoft will release as a preview version on June 26th alongside its Build developer conference.
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