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July |
Newsletter |
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Issue 36 |
Microsoft to support XP until 2014
Microsoft has sent a letter to customers saying it will extend critical support for Windows XP until 2014, three years longer than is usual.
The company also pledged its new operating system, Windows 7, will be available by 2010. In the meantime OEMs will be able to supply systems with Windows XP preloaded as a ‘downgrade’ until January 31, 2009.
Given that Microsoft traditionally supports operating systems for only ten years after their launch this move can be seen as an admission that it is not expecting some businesses to bother upgrading to Vista.
“Windows Vista is a very significant step forward, but our customers have made it clear to us that they want broader support for devices and applications in order to enjoy the overall experience,” the letter from Bill Veghte, Microsoft’s senior vice president of Windows Business Group reads.
“During the last year, we have worked diligently with our hardware and software partners to improve compatibility to remove the barriers that prevent users from taking advantage of the important advancements Windows Vista delivers. It has been a year of exciting and critical progress.”
The letter also promises the Windows 7 will be released “approximately 3 years after the January 2007” release date for Vista. Veghte acknowledges there have been compatibility problems between Vista and peripherals manufacturers and promises lessons have been learned.
“You've also let us know you don't want to face the kinds of incompatibility challenges with the next version of Windows you might have experienced early with Windows Vista,” he says.
“As a result, our approach with Windows 7 is to build off the same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off with Windows 7. Our goal is to ensure the migration process from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is straightforward.”
Written by Iain Thomson
Motorola unveils 5MP Motozine ZN5
Motorola has teamed up with Kodak to create its new Motozine ZN5 cameraphone. The ZN5 is the first handset in Motorola's Motozine range of multimedia-optimised devices.
The ZN5 boasts a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with a Xenon flash and optimised settings for low-light environments. Motorola claims the fastest click-to-click times available.
Kodak software pre-installed on the device allows users to touch up snaps and upload photos to the Kodak Gallery and other picture sharing sites.
"We have redefined the quality, convenience and connectivity of mobile imaging devices," said John Blake, general manager of digital capture and imaging devices group and vice president of the Eastman Kodak Company.
"We have worked closely with Motorola to create a device that not only delivers Kodak-quality pictures, but allows consumers to explore a wide range of options for sharing their photos with friends and family around the world."
The Motozine ZN5 will be available in China in July 2008 and is expected to roll out around the globe throughout the remainder of the year.
Last week rival Sony Ericsson launched its C905 8MP handset which features an 8-megapixel auto-focus camera.
Written by Ian Williams
Firefox 3 hits 19 million downloads
The first week of availability for Mozilla's Firefox 3 browser has yielded roughly 19 million downloads.
The company revealed on Tuesday morning that it had served up some ten million downloads in the last six days. By Tuesday afternoon, the total number of browser downloads was up to roughly 19.6 million.
That figure comes after more than 8 million copies of the browser were distributed in its first 24 hours of availability.
Of the 19 million downloads, 5.48 million were performed in the US. Germany was second, with 1.7 million, followed by Japans 1 million downloads and the UK, with 807,900 copies of Firefox downloaded.
PC population reaches one billion
The total number of PCs in use today has broken the one billion mark, according to new figures from Gartner.
The analyst house has calculated that the installed base of PCs grows by around 12 per cent a year. If this continues the number of systems will reach two billion by 2014.
"Whereas mature markets accounted for just under 60 per cent of the first billion installed PCs, we expect emerging markets to account for approximately 70 per cent of the next billion installed PCs," said Luis Anavitarte, research vice president at Gartner.
"Emerging market governments are also increasingly committed to reducing the digital divide by promoting PC use among their citizens through a variety of means, including providing PCs directly to the less affluent."
Geographically mature markets in the US, Europe and Japan contain just 15 per cent of the world's population but account for 58 per cent of the installed base of PCs.
Man sells his life on eBay
An Australian man has put his entire life up for auction on eBay, and so far the bidding is up to nearly $400,000.
Ian Usher, originally from the UK, is offering his house, his furniture, electronics, motorbike, car, jet ski, introductions to his friends and family and a two week trial position in his current job as a rug store assistant.
He made the decision to put everything up on eBay after his wife left him after twelve years of marriage.
“Despite my life being busy and fulfilled, I still miss my wife so much. Everything in my home is a reminder of the wonderful past we shared,” he says on his web site.
“It's time to let it all go and move on to the next big adventure that life has to offer. Or maybe, as a couple of friends have suggested, I am just having some sort of mid-life crisis!”
The idea is for Usher to be left with just the clothes he stands up and his passport. He then plans to head to the nearest airport and take the first plane that’s available.
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