10 Reasons Why Windows 7-Based Tablets Won't Work...

With the HP Slate 500 now available for purchase, some are wondering if Windows 7 is an effective operating system for tablets. For its part, Microsoft believes it is. The company has said time and again that it believes Windows 7 is ideal for customers that want more out of tablets than what they're currently getting from devices such as Apple's iPad or Samsung's Galaxy Tab. 

However, Windows 7-based tablets just don't seem to be the best choice for customers. Microsoft's operating system suffers from some serious drawbacks that make it a less-than-ideal choice for both consumer and enterprise customers. As much as Microsoft might want to get behind its platform—as it should—the OS falls short in too many areas for it to be a real competitor to iOS or Android. 

Here are the reasosns why Windows 7-based tablets just won't work as expected. 

1. Tablets don't need full-fledged operating systems 

Apple has proven that tablets just don't need full-fledged operating systems to be a success. The company's iPad boasts iOS, which, by all accounts, is far less capable than are Mac OS X and Windows. Samsung's Galaxy Tab runs Android, which is also under-powered compared with desktop alternatives. So far, consumers—and even some enterprise customers—haven't taken issue with that, and they aren't likely to in the future. 

2. Security concerns 

Security is a major concern for IT staff whenever an employee leaves the office. At least for now, Android and iOS are most likely safer than Windows. They still allow users to be susceptible to phishing scams, but Windows-based malware won't affect those operating systems. That eliminates a significant portion of the security concerns both companies and consumers currently have with operating systems. 

3. Mouse and keyboard first 

Even with Windows 7 in tow, it's important to remember that Windows was designed for use a mouse and keyboard. As a result, it won't work as well as it should in a tablet-style device. Android and iOS, on the other hand, were designed with touch screens in mind. That's an important distinction, and it will help drive consumer interest in those platforms.

4. Apple matters most 

When it comes to tablets, it's hard to find a single company—Google included—that is as important as Apple. Steve Jobs and Apple were instrumental in bringing tablets to the mainstream. Apple's iPad is easily leading the way in the tablet space—at least so far. Could that change? Sure. But if that does change, it will no doubt be Google taking the top spot. Microsoft and Windows 7 just don't have what it takes to overcome Apple's importance in this niche market

5. Google is attracting vendors 

Speaking of Google, the company is doing a fine job of attracting vendors. In fact, it's expected that, in addition to Samsung's Galaxy Tab, products that run Android will arrive on the market in 2011 from LG, Acer, and other providers. Considering both Microsoft and Google are offering an operating system for vendors to include in their products, the companies are competing for the same development dollars. So far, at least, Google looks to be ahead. 

6. Tablets are an escape from Windows 

Don't underestimate that part of the allure of a tablet is that it's an escape from Windows. Devices such as the iPad or the Galaxy Tab allow consumers to bypass most of the security concerns, as well as all the quirks that make Windows so useful on desktops, but less useful on tablets. When it comes to tablets, consumers want to use products that are designed with those form factors in mind. And, to date, Apple and Google are doing the best job of delivering on that. 

7. There's a long history there 

Let's not forget that Microsoft has been heavily invested in the tablet space for years. Windows XP Tablet Edition is one of the more notable tablet offerings extant. Yet, it never caught on much beyond the enterprise. It wasn't until Apple offered the iPad that tablets officially became a product for mainstream users. If Microsoft hasn't had success in the past, what would make one think it can turn this around in the future? 

8. Enterprise-only? 

There is some debate over the viability of Windows 7-based tablets in the enterprise. On one hand, the operating system doesn't seem a good choice for companies that want a simple, intuitive experience for employees. However, Windows is heavily entrenched in the enterprise, and it's the operating system that employees know. It's hard to see Windows 7-based tablets becoming successful in the consumer market, but they might have a slight shot in the enterprise. Unfortunately for Microsoft, though, that won't be enough to take down Apple or Google. 

9. The “time and effort” question 

Running Windows 7 can be a pain. It is arguably one of the better operating systems Microsoft has released on the desktop, but it still requires constant attention from users regarding both security and general housekeeping. It's a robust operating system that doesn't offer the ease of use and simple upkeep that its competitors offer. That's not necessarily a problem on the desktop, where that kind of upkeep is expected, but it is a problem in the tablet space. 

10. Software considerations 

One of the key aspects of a tablet-based operating system is a healthy supply of simple third-party apps. Apple's App Store and Android Market are packed with mobile apps. But Microsoft's platform doesn't have a mobile app store, in that sense. Granted, Windows 7 boasts support for Windows programs, but is that what consumers are really looking for in a tablet? Some might say yes, but, when it's all said and done, one can easily argue that mobile apps will rule the day in the tablet space. 

In the case of tablets, Android seems to be the future of the business. Microsoft need to work hard to create a little space in the tablet market. 

Oracle Vs Google: and The Winner is Microsoft!!!

Oracle's suit against Google has one clear winner: Microsoft. With Google's Android tied up in litigation, and Oracle becoming the latest villain in the open source community, Microsoft has a chance to make inroads in the mobile market and elsewhere.

Oracle is suing Google, claiming that Android infringes on Oracle copyrights and patents that are related to Java. Oracle spokeswoman Karen Tillman said in a statement:

"In developing Android, Google knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle's Java-related intellectual property. This lawsuit seeks appropriate remedies for their infringement."

Google begs to differ. Android doesn't use Java in Android, but instead a Java compatible technology called Dalvik. Google claims the Oracle suit is "baseless," and will fight it.

No matter what happens with the suit, though, it hurts Google, and helps Microsoft at a time when Microsoft is particularly vulnerable in mobile. Android use has skyrocketed, jumping to 17.2% market share today compared to 1.8% a year ago. Meanwhile, Windows Mobile has become practically a footnote in mobile, dropping to 5% of the market.

Android's success has been fueled by the large number of phone makers building smartphones based on it. Those phone makers, though, may be scared away by this suit. IDC analyst Al Hilwa told Computerworld:

"This is a typical intellectual property value defense lawsuit, but it can have serious consequences on the Android market and its adoption by OEMs."

Those OEMs could easily turn to Windows Phone 7 when it ships this holiday season, helping Microsoft increase its market share.

Microsoft can also be helped because Oracle will now become public enemy number one in the open source community, rather than Microsoft. This suit could mean very big trouble for the open source community, because they could be in Oracle's cross-hairs next. And unlike Google, most of the open source community doesn't have deep pockets to pay for lawyers to defend them. He writes:

"If I were Google or any other company that has shipped Java spins-offs, I'd be worried. I have a sinking feeling that patent cases, such as this one, are going to be far more troublesome for Linux and open source than any of the bogus SCO copyright claims were...This does not bode well for free and open-source software."

Via its acquisition of Sun, Oracle owns quite a bit of open source software, including MySQL and OpenOffice. Those both compete against Microsoft software. It may be that Oracle's Google suit will chase people away from using the company's open source software, and if so, it could mean an increase in market share for Microsoft.

What I personally thing is that Friday the 13th didn't turn out to be a good one for Google, but it may well be good luck for Microsoft.

Watch out!!!! - Midori is coming

WINDOWS is a name that has ruled the whole computer world since its first launch in November 1985. Since then it is like a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

With many advanced versions of Windows available today such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, it is the most used operating system in the world. In 2010, Microsoft is going to launch WINDOWS 2007, but now here is time to experience a yet another technology of operating systems.

Yes, MICROSOFT is working on a new generation of operating systems called Cloud-Based Operating System and rumors are there that MIDORI will be their first such operating system, which will replace Windows fully from computer map.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE

MIDORI is an offshoot of Microsoft Research's Singularity operating system. In this the tools and libraries are completely managed code. MIDORI is designed to run directly on native hardware (x86, x64 and ARM), will be hosted on the Windows Hyper-V hypervisor, or even be hosted by a Windows process.

MIDORI can be also seen as MICROSOFT'S answer those competitors who are applying "Virtualization" as a mean to solving issues within contemporary computing.

The main idea behind MIDORI is to develop a lightweight portable OS which can be mated easily to lots of various applications.

IMPORTANCE OF MIDORI

For knowing the importance of MIDORI you have to think about, how an operating system is loaded on a computer. Actually operating system is loaded onto a hard disk physically located on that machine. In this way, the operating system is tied very tightly to that hardware. As Windows is dependent on hardware, it might face opposition from contemporary ways of working because people are extremely mobile in using different devices in order get diverse information.

Due to this trend installing different applications on a single computer may led to different compatibility issues whenever the machine require updating. The new operating system will solve these problems by the concept of Virtualizing. This will solve problems such as widespread security vulnerabilities, unexpected interactions among different applications, failures caused by errant extensions, plug-ins, and drivers and many more.

How to choose Windows 7 laptops?

Research suggests that Windows 7 is not going to give the PC market much of a lift when it makes its retail appearance on 22 October. My contrary opinion is based on a survey of only one user, but I get the impression from Ask Jack emails that I won't be the only person shopping for a new laptop when Windows 7 appears.

Buying a portable Windows machine can be a bit of a challenge, because there is so much choice. There are hundreds if not thousands of suppliers, and some of them offer two dozen different models. The trick is to know what sort of laptop you want. To simplify things a bit, there are roughly six classes of portable PC: netbooks, "value" systems, mainstream notebooks, ultraportables, desktop replacements and gaming systems.

Most netbooks today have Intel Atom processors with 1GB of memory, a 10in screen and Windows XP. Some will appear running the cheaper Windows 7 Starter Edition, which you can't buy in the shops. If buying a netbook, make sure you can upgrade it to 2GB, and do that as soon as possible. You will also be able to upgrade the version of Windows 7 "in place" — at a price.

Netbooks are not designed for serious computer work, such as sound and image processing, or playing games. They are intended mainly for use with web-based applications, as the name implies. They do that well, but they don't do everything.

"Value" or "entry level" systems have low-end specifications, and low prices. You can buy them in supermarkets and high street shops, typically for £249 to £399. They're bigger, heavier and more powerful than similarly priced netbooks, and have built-in DVD drives.

Mainstream notebooks have mainstream specifications (Intel Core 2 Duo etc) and offer more power and functionality for the extra price. Most cost between £499 and £999 depending on how good the graphics are, and whether you get a Blu-ray drive instead of a DVD writer. If you're buying one for Windows 7, go for the 64-bit version with 4GB of memory and, for preference, DirectX 11 graphics.

Ultraportables are "road warrior" machines, designed for light weight and long battery life, and tend to leave out the optical (CD/DVD drive). The processor of choice is an Intel CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) chip, but go for a Duo rather than a Solo. Screens are typically 12 inch standard or 13-14 inch widescreen, and prices range from about £600 to £1,200.

Desktop replacements are intended to have roughly the same power as desktop PCs, but they can be very heavy and most have poor battery life. (Mostly they'll be used at home, on the mains.) The high-end models may have quad-core processors, 17in screens, Blu-ray drives and stereo speakers. The ones that stress the movie-playing (and, sometimes, games-playing) features are often called "entertainment notebooks": for example, Toshiba's Qosmio range.

Gaming machines are like desktop replacement notebooks but with high-end performance and, especially, fast graphics. Leading brands include Alienware (owned by Dell) and Voodoo (owned by HP), but there are also independent suppliers. Although the specification is generally the key feature of a PC, the bigger suppliers also divide the market by price. Dell, for example, has the Inspiron range for price-conscious buyers, then the stylish Studio range models for the more aspirational mainstream, with XPS as a luxury brand. It also has a Vostro "value range" aimed mainly at businesses.

The huge Windows PC ecosystem also supports many more specialised machines – handheld systems, touch-screen tablets, convertibles that work both as traditional notebooks and tablet PCs, ruggedised machines for military and similar uses, and PCs designed for certain industries such as education and health services.

However, you should find it easier to choose a portable PC if you decide what kind of system you want, and ignore the ones that don't fit your chosen category

Free Windows 7 for Beta Testers

Microsoft has reversed its decision not to offer free copies of Windows 7 to beta testers.

In a recent statement posted today on the Windows 7 Team Blog, Brandon LeBlanc wrote that last week, I blogged that members of the Windows Technical Beta Program would not be receiving a complimentary copy of Windows 7. Normally I hate to be wrong but in this case, I'm stoked that I am. To show our appreciation, members of the invitation-only Windows 7 Technical Beta Program will be eligible for a free, final copy of Windows 7 Ultimate.

People who took part in the public beta will still have to buy a copy of of Windows 7 - this is restricted to people invited into the Technical Beta Program, who can expect to get their copy on the day that Windows 7 RTM build hits MSDN and TechNet - 6 August.

Further details are posted to the .Beta_Program newsgroup, explaining that "all current members of our English technical and international mini-beta programs are eligible. We are offering you a full (non-upgrade) copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Edition for your own personal use, not to be resold."

Members of the English beta program can also opt for a "limited amount of boxed copies" available on a first come, first served basis.

Those who choose the download will be able to grab their free copy of Windows 7 via Microsoft Connect.

As for non-English versions of Windows 7, "other languages will follow as they become available."

Windows 7: Trend Amoung Individual Consumers

While businesses may be planning to skip Windows 7, individual consumers look like they're lining up in droves to snap up the OS, which recently ended its pre-order sales period in the U.S. But is still available for sale in a number of European countries.

How successful has the pre-order sale been? Specific sales figures aren't easy to come by, but the BBC has aggregate information for the UK.

The response has been huge: The BBC notes that Windows 7 pre-orders on Amazon.co.uk were higher in the first eight hours of the sale period than they were in the entire 17-week period in which Vista was available as a pre-order.

Obviously that torrid pace is unlikely to continue over the entirety of the pre-order run (and the number of copies available for pre-order are limited), but the figures are nonetheless impressive, indicating serious interest in upgrading among the masses (and likely serious dissatisfaction with Windows Vista as well). Pre-orders are being taken through August 9 in the UK.

Of course, the hugely discounted price tag for Windows 7 -- which is available for as little as $50 a copy, depending on the version -- is probably a big help in boosting these sales figures, too. The big test will come with Win 7's October release: Will consumers be willing to pay the higher sticker prices for the new OS then? That is, are they more likely to pony up a little more if they can walk out of the store with the software on the same day? Or are we just seeing the usual mad rush of early adopters, enticed by a great bargain?

For what it's worth, I'm expecting strong sales.

Microsoft Office Word 2010

The Microsoft Office 2010 has been announced by Microsoft after two years of workarounds. Microsoft introduced Word 2010 at a very high-level, and a short summary of what you can expect is given bellow:


The way we work with documents has changed dramatically. In the past, individuals worked on relatively simple, local documents, from their office. Today, it is common for groups to work on rich, shared documents, from anywhere.

Given this shift, Microsoft has focused Word 2010 on dramatically improving document collaboration, graphics, and navigation…and then taking the richness and familiarity of Word, and putting it into the browser and onto the mobile phone. Yes, you heard it right, the Office 2010 also will reveal Web Office 2010.

Dramatically Improved Collaboration, Graphics, and Navigation

Simultaneous editing of Word documents à all the richness of Word with multiple people at the same time. Say goodbye to file in use dialogue. With Word 2010, you can co-author right within Word. You don't need to hassle with email attachments, or documents with names like ASP_final_2_reallyFinal_FINAL.docx. Instead, just open your document, and start co-authoring. You can see who else is working with you, and where they are editing.

Automatic offline editing and synchronizing of shared documents: when you open a shared document, Word automatically caches it so that you can edit it offline, and then Word will automatically sync your changes when you come back online. So if you need to work away from the office, you will no longer need to worry about saving local copies or manually merging your changes into the server document when you get back to your office. Word 2010 takes care of all of that for you.

All sorts of new graphical goodness: Artistic picture effects and easy picture editing, more SmartArt diagrams, and rich graphical and typographic effects on text is another added advantage of Office 2010.

A new navigation pane and search experience: Easily reorganize your document via drag and drop, and find stuff quickly with incremental search. You can stop copying and pasting huge sections of your document, quickly find your way around long documents, and you don't need to know exactly what you are searching for to find it.

Word in Your Browser and on Your Phone: The other big piece of Word 2010 is giving you the power and familiarity of Word everywhere you need it. In short, you will be able to view, navigate, and edit your Word documents from the browser and from your mobile phone without compromising your document's richness.

I know that was really high-level, but hopefully you have a sense for how Word 2010 will dramatically improve how and where you work on documents. Keep watching this space for more on Office 2010 :)

Zero Day Security Hole in Windows 7

360 security centers have reported that they have detected a severe kernel security hole in Windows 7 RC last Thursday.

This security finding is tagged as the first Zero Day hole since the public test of Windows 7.
The security centers of 360 security, the biggest free security platform in China, has found the vulnerability on Windows 7 and has reported accordingly to Microsoft China. The company has received the confirmation on the security information delivered, and they are still waiting for the official announcement from the software giant.

The security problem results in blue screens whenever a windows is opened or closed. The blue screen is caused by incompatible codes between the old codes from Windows 3.1 and Windows 7 codes.

The hole in Windows 7 would allow attackers to invade the system followed by another attack.
Make sure your Windows 7 box is updating automatically as Microsoft would immediately release security updates after they have confirmed it’s existence.

Windows 7 gets you what you expected!

Windows 7: The next client release of Microsoft will be available in 32 & 64-bit versions.

Here are some things that you asked for in your Desktop OS:

1. Faster-Your system starts up, shuts down and resumes from standby faster, and your laptop’s battery lasts longer!

2. Touch- Multi touch, ink and gesture support along with handwriting recognition allow you to create exciting new input capabilities. Managing large number of windows is much easier, with intuitive touch gestures to view multiple windows at once and remove unwanted windows.

3. Faster Browsing- Build for the web with IE8, add rich media with Silver light and extend to rich client with WPF – using the same platform and tools

4. Explore and Share - With Windows 7 and Windows Live, you can easily manage your documents, pictures, movies and music, regardless of which PC they are stored on, and share them with your friends and family.

5. Search- Windows 7 includes all performance improvements from Windows Search 4.0, so search and indexing are much faster.

6. Less Crashes- A new feature in Windows 7, Fault Tolerant Heap, mitigates the most common causes of heap corruption, significantly reducing the number of crashes you will experience!

7. Power Saving - Windows 7 easily adapts to your activity. To save battery power, Windows 7 automatically reduces display brightness after a period of inactivity, much like mobile phones do today.

8. Watch complete DVD on battery- Windows 7 will use less power in playing a standard-definition DVD than all earlier versions of Windows, so you are more likely to watch a complete movie with a single battery charge.

*Courtesy of information: Microsoft

Are You Ready For the New Windows 7?

Windows 7 is the new upcoming version of the Microsoft Windows operating systems. People are looking forward to having this version of Windows because Windows Vista didn't live up to its name, it was buggy and had some problems. Most reliable Microsoft Windows to this day is Windows XP. Windows 7 was codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna when it was in preparation.

Unlike Windows Vista that has a great layout and visual quality, Windows 7 will be more compatible, it will support all previous software that worked on past versions of Windows and it will be an a lot faster and better operating system.

Windows 7 will bring some major updates to some Windows features. For example advances in handwriting recognition, better performance with multi-core processors, kernel upgrades, support for virtual hard drives, better boot performance, etc. Many new features will be added to the control panel, so you will be able to customize your operating system even more then you could before. The taskbar will be changed to, the quick launch icon has been removed and replaced with pinning programs and applications to the taskbar. The new task bar is easier and more practical, but maybe you will need some time to get used to it. The new layout has some practical features and it can make some of your Windows transparent just by dragging your mouse over the icon, which can be really helpful in some situations.

Microsoft has published information on minimum system requirements needed to use Windows 7. Microsoft has released an application that works as an advisor, it scans your computer to see if it is compatible for Windows 7.

For 32 bit system minimum system requirements for Windows 7 are following: 1 GB of RAM, Processor should be minimum 1 GHz, graphic card should support direct x 9 and it should have at least 128 MB of graphics memory, it requires 16 GB of hard disk space. For 64 bit things are different: At least 2 GB of RAM, processor 1 GHz, Graphic card that supports direct x 9 with 128 MB of graphics memory and at least 20 GB of free hard disk space is required for installation.

Some features that Windows Vista had are removed in order to maximize the performance. Your computer should work really fine when using Windows 7 because the main goal when making Windows 7 was to fix the previous problems and make it stable and reliable. Layout for Windows 7 looks great and it looks like they have really paid attention to making it functional and user friendly rather than putting make up on something that doesn't work but looks nice. This is the idea most people had that used Vista.

Your computer will certainly work great when using Windows 7 if it has the minimum system requirements, but it is always better to have computer that does not only mach minimum operating requirements but is even better configured. Windows 7 will run smoothly even on computers that are outdated, it is only needed to have requirements earlier mentioned in the text. It looks like Microsoft is finally making something as good as Windows XP, maybe even better.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com By Jay Lee Johnson