It boggles the mind, it really does. Microsoft tries so hard but for each step forward, it seems to take three steps back. Windows 7, Redmond’s answer to the train-wreck that was Vista (subscription required), has been out for just a matter of weeks and has managed to garner mostly positive reviews. But Microsoft can’t help [...]
Microsoft’s advertising strategy with the latest installment of Windows is basically to none-too-subtly deride its predecessors, and it does appear to be helping Windows 7 gain traction among consumers. Unfortunately, it also might be contributing to the success of Mac OS X, or at least, it isn’t doing anything to slow down the steady progress [...]
Microsoft’s Windows 7 is released yesterday, and the boys and girls at Redmond are probably feeling very pleased with the news that pre-orders on Amazon for its latest OS have broken records. Windows 7 is now the biggest pre-order product in Amazon’s history.
Not to be outdone, Apple is busy breaking records too. At the [...]
Apple did pretty much everything they could to steal some of Windows 7’s thunder by announcing some pretty major hardware changes earlier in the week, but Thursday is here nonetheless, and that means Microsoft’s latest OS is on store shelves now, ripe for the picking. Question is, will Mac users be helping with the harvest?
I’m [...]
With the release of Windows 7 next week, senior Apple VP Phil Schiller is boldly asserting that it “presents a very good opportunity for us.”
That opportunity will possibly come in a series of ads contrasting Windows with OS X, at least according to Peter Burrows of BusinessWeek. The expected campaign is expected to take Windows [...]
From Computerworld, the ponderings of Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall may state the obvious, but nonetheless bear repeating: Windows 7 is no threat to the Mac.
Having looked at the data on Windows release dates, Marshall “found no negative correlation between them and Mac sales.” Further, Marshall suggests that “new OS launches from MSFT may have [...]
Snow Leopard is selling like hotcakes. It’s selling much better than Tiger, and a lot better than Leopard, too. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say those strong sales numbers had something to do with price. Microsoft appears to think so, too.
For a limited time, Microsoft is offering students the opportunity to grab one [...]
I was recently asked in a tweet, “Have you completely abandoned Windows now?” I realized, with some genuine surprise, that not only had I stopped using Windows in any meaningful way, but actually stopped using it the moment I got my hands on my first (modern) Mac in 2008. So, in the aftermath of last [...]
As more and more households have multiple PCs, the idea of a “family pack” (i.e., a piece of software with multiple licenses for use) makes a lot of sense. Since Apple and Microsoft are set to release new versions of their respective operating systems this fall (Apple’s Snow Leopard in September, Microsoft’s Windows 7 in [...]
Windows 7 pricing was made official not long ago, and the general consensus is that, despite a slight drop in Home Premium pricing compared to Vista, it’s too expensive.
Still, there are some in the Microsoft community that try to justify it by comparing it to Apple’s pricing for Mac OS X. Microsoft can never win [...]
One of the best reasons to get a new MacBook Pro, aside from the dazzling new screen on the 13-inch, and in spite of the SATA capping that’s apparently in place, is the extended battery life courtesy of the new built-in lithium polymer batteries. And by all accounts, even if you won’t necessarily reach Apple’s [...]
Yes, I know “RC” designates Windows 7 as a Release Candidate, but a better designation would be Reality Check.
Windows 7 is an improvement over a very bad Vista, OK? Big deal. Let’s not pretend it’s more than that. The signal-to-noise ratio from some quarters is getting ridiculous.
Let’s look at the reality check:
Did they address that [...]
Microsoft has already experienced the power the netbook has to open up operating system options for PC consumers, since it saw Linux distributions being included as the default operating system on consumer-oriented machines for the first time with the advent of the small, affordable, feature-light machines. They’ve since managed to gain a foothold in the [...]
Much is being made lately of Microsoft Windows 7 and it’s new taskbar. I’ve been running the beta myself and consider it a nice improvement over Vista. One of the improvements is in the area of window management. The new taskbar shows previews of all the open windows in an app when you hover the [...]
Microsoft has made public their “edition strategy” (my term, not theirs) for Windows 7. While there are still too many editions, at least they make a little more sense, and offer a better overall choice, than what Vista offered.
Paul Thurrott has a write-up on the editions at his Super Site for Windows. He was “critical” [...]
A couple of days ago I installed Windows 7 beta (32-bit, Ultimate version) on my 13″ unibody MacBook, and I thought I’d recount my installation experience in case some of you are curious how the other half (OK, the other 95 percent) live.
Alas, this exercise afforded little opportunity to dazzle anyone with my technical acumen. [...]
Good news today for those of you who want to try out Microsoft’s latest attempt at an operating system without leaving the comfort of your Mac. A recent update to Mac virtualization program Parallels Desktop 4.0 (4.0.3810) introduces experimental support for Windows 7. Apple faithful will also note that the new update additionally brings support [...]
We knew we weren’t going to have to wait too long for Snow Leopard (10.6) to make its appearance on store shelves, but according to MacRumors, things just got a little more specific courtesy of a slide from a conference presentation.
Apple’s Director of Engineering for their Unix Tech branch, Jordan Hubbard, spoke at the Large [...]
When Bill Gates mentioned in January, rather arbitrarily, that Windows 7 may ship “next year”, a general consensus was that a more reasonable delivery would be 2010. With that in mind, many expected it would then “slip” to 2011, as Microsoft’s deadlines are known to do.
I was, and have been, always of the opinion that Microsoft needed [...]
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