Thursday, February 28, 2013
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Windows 8: Microsoft can do it fast, cheap, or right...
Windows 8: TechRepublic By Debra Littlejohn Shinder
December 6, 2011. Takeaway: Deb Shinder doesn’t think Microsoft can afford to cut corners making Windows 8 for the sake of speed and/or cost and risk not getting it right.
Most of us - especially those of us who have worked on projects with set deliverables - have heard and used the saying that goes “Do you want it fast, do you want it cheap, or do you want it right? Pick two.” The implication is that you can’t have all three, and most of the time, that holds true.
Now Microsoft is faced with a dilemma as the company ramps up to deliver the drastically revamped next generation of Windows. They’re under pressure from some corners to do it fast, and there is always a contingent that clamors for them to do it cheaper, but can they afford to cut corners for the sake of speed and/or cost and risk not getting it right? I don’t think so.
Hurry or not?
On the one hand, there’s no big hurry to get a new desktop operating system out there. Many individuals and companies are just now in the process of upgrading from XP or Vista to Windows 7 and still getting to know the “new” OS. It was released just two years ago; folks who stuck with XP for a decade are hard pressed to see any good reason to trade in the current model anytime soon. IDC is already predicting that Windows 8 will be “largely irrelevant to users of traditional PCs.”
Windows 7 is a big hit. People like it - even many of those who swore their undying love for XP. They aren’t going to want to give it up without a compelling reason. The average consumer won’t mind at all if Microsoft takes its time coming out with a new version of the OS.
On the other hand, the pressure is on for Microsoft to get a Windows 8 tablet into the game. Following the release of a Forrester survey purporting to show that interest in a Windows-based tablet is shrinking, a number of pundits have opined that the window of opportunity is closing fast, or that it may already be too late for Microsoft to catch up in the tablet market.
Personally, I have issues with both the research and the conclusions. The survey samples (both in the case of the Q1 survey that showed 46% of respondents interested in a Windows tablet and the Q3 survey showing that number at 25%) were not particularly large. The first was based on 3835 respondents, the second on only 2299. Is that really an accurate representation of the millions of potential customers who will be purchasing tablets in the future?
In addition, who decides when a market is “sewn up?” At one point, it seemed “too late” for anyone to beat Apple in the smart phone market - but then along came Android. As I’ve mentioned many times before, Microsoft has always excelled at coming from behind to take over a market segment (web browsing, word processing, server systems). It’s not over ’til the queen-size female vocalizes some music, and I see no reason to assume there’s a cut-off date after which the iPad must be declared the official “winner” of the tablet war for the rest of time.
Nonetheless, those at Microsoft are undoubtedly at least a little worried by the numbers. They’ve been talking about Windows on ARM for quite a while now, and with a deluge of Android slates hitting the shelves this holiday season, you know they’re just chomping at the bit to get a horse in that race.
Is the price right?
Each time a new version of Windows is released, I hear complaints about the price. The full retail price of Windows 7 Home Premium is $199. Full retail price of Windows 95 was $209.95. Sure, the Pro and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 cost more, but Home Premium is the edition that most consumers (the people I hear complaining) use, and it’s the edition that’s directly comparable to Windows 95.
Of course, these days the comparisons are always with Apple, and we hear endlessly about how “Snow Leopard only cost $29.” The problem with that argument is that Snow Leopard wasn’t, even by the standards of many Mac fans, really a new version of OS X - it was more like a service pack. Well, guess what. Microsoft doesn’t charge anything for service packs. Just imagine the outpouring of protests if Microsoft had charged thirty bucks for XP SP2, even though it added new features.
Okay, what about the cost of OS X Lion, an actual new edition? You can buy it for $69 on a thumb drive. However, you can’t compare that to the full edition of Windows, because you can’t install it on a computer that didn’t already have OS X installed. You can only install it on a Mac, and you can’t buy a Mac that comes without an operating system. So you have to compare it to the upgrade pricing for Windows, which lists for $119.99 but can be found for less at some retailers.
Yes, you’ll probably still pay a little more for Windows, but for that price you get the ability to install it on the hardware of your choice, including hardware that’s much less expensive than the hardware you’re forced to buy to run OS X. Oh, and if you’re building your own computer, you can get the System Builder’s edition, which is the full edition with SP1, for $99.
Then there’s Linux, which you can get at no cost at all. You’d think, with pricing like that, everyone would have abandoned both Microsoft and Apple long ago - but Linux still has less than 2% of the market share, according to NetMarketShare’s November 2011 statistics. Sometimes there are hidden costs to “free” solutions, and given the number of people I know who have tried some iteration of Linux at one time or another and then came running back to Windows (or bought a Mac), it seems price isn’t the overriding factor for most, even in a tough economy.
The importance of getting it right...the first TIME.
Microsoft learned from their experience with Vista just how important it is to wait however long it takes to get the software right before releasing it. Or at least, I hope they did. True or not, there is a pervasive public perception that the problems users encountered with Vista (slow performance, lack of expected features such as a new file system) were caused by a rush to market. This is so even though there was five years between the release of XP and the release of Vista, which is the longest interval ever between Microsoft operating system releases.
Rumors are flying about when Windows 8 will be released. A few days ago, Robert Boland reported that unnamed “sources close to Microsoft” say to expect the first Windows 8 beta in February 2012. There has been recent speculation in the press (neither confirmed nor denied by Microsoft) that the final release may be delayed, with the expected 2012 general availability date pushed back to 2013.
On the other hand, eWeek reported that a leaked slide deck indicates that Asus is preparing Windows 8 tablets before the end of 2012. PCWorld says Nokia is planning to launch the first Windows 8 tablet by June. Could it be that the company is focusing its efforts on the tablet market first, the strategy being to fine-tune and release the touch-friendly Metro-based OS on slates significantly earlier than it starts to sell the OS for the desktop?
Personally, I think that’s a good idea. Microsoft already owns the desktop with Windows 7; the tablet market is where the company needs to make a mark. But even there, I hope they don’t get too caught up in the pressure to put something, anything, up against the iPad and Android devices. I’m as eager as anyone to get my hands on a real Windows tablet, but I’d prefer to wait and see it done right, than to see the first Windows 8 tablet suffer the same fate as Vista.
I believe coming out with a first Windows Phone that, despite its elegant UI, lacked so many of the features and functionality that the iPhone and Droids already had was one of many reasons (including the “carrier conspiracy” mentioned last week) that Windows Phone 7 posted such lukewarm sales figures. Even though Mango went a long way toward catching up, sales haven’t picked up much. Maybe with their flagship tablet, they should try a different tactic and wait until they have a really spectacular product that works flawlessly upon release - even if the wait frustrates people like me.
December 6, 2011. Takeaway: Deb Shinder doesn’t think Microsoft can afford to cut corners making Windows 8 for the sake of speed and/or cost and risk not getting it right.
Most of us - especially those of us who have worked on projects with set deliverables - have heard and used the saying that goes “Do you want it fast, do you want it cheap, or do you want it right? Pick two.” The implication is that you can’t have all three, and most of the time, that holds true.
Now Microsoft is faced with a dilemma as the company ramps up to deliver the drastically revamped next generation of Windows. They’re under pressure from some corners to do it fast, and there is always a contingent that clamors for them to do it cheaper, but can they afford to cut corners for the sake of speed and/or cost and risk not getting it right? I don’t think so.
Hurry or not?
On the one hand, there’s no big hurry to get a new desktop operating system out there. Many individuals and companies are just now in the process of upgrading from XP or Vista to Windows 7 and still getting to know the “new” OS. It was released just two years ago; folks who stuck with XP for a decade are hard pressed to see any good reason to trade in the current model anytime soon. IDC is already predicting that Windows 8 will be “largely irrelevant to users of traditional PCs.”
Windows 7 is a big hit. People like it - even many of those who swore their undying love for XP. They aren’t going to want to give it up without a compelling reason. The average consumer won’t mind at all if Microsoft takes its time coming out with a new version of the OS.
On the other hand, the pressure is on for Microsoft to get a Windows 8 tablet into the game. Following the release of a Forrester survey purporting to show that interest in a Windows-based tablet is shrinking, a number of pundits have opined that the window of opportunity is closing fast, or that it may already be too late for Microsoft to catch up in the tablet market.
Personally, I have issues with both the research and the conclusions. The survey samples (both in the case of the Q1 survey that showed 46% of respondents interested in a Windows tablet and the Q3 survey showing that number at 25%) were not particularly large. The first was based on 3835 respondents, the second on only 2299. Is that really an accurate representation of the millions of potential customers who will be purchasing tablets in the future?
In addition, who decides when a market is “sewn up?” At one point, it seemed “too late” for anyone to beat Apple in the smart phone market - but then along came Android. As I’ve mentioned many times before, Microsoft has always excelled at coming from behind to take over a market segment (web browsing, word processing, server systems). It’s not over ’til the queen-size female vocalizes some music, and I see no reason to assume there’s a cut-off date after which the iPad must be declared the official “winner” of the tablet war for the rest of time.
Nonetheless, those at Microsoft are undoubtedly at least a little worried by the numbers. They’ve been talking about Windows on ARM for quite a while now, and with a deluge of Android slates hitting the shelves this holiday season, you know they’re just chomping at the bit to get a horse in that race.
Is the price right?
Each time a new version of Windows is released, I hear complaints about the price. The full retail price of Windows 7 Home Premium is $199. Full retail price of Windows 95 was $209.95. Sure, the Pro and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 cost more, but Home Premium is the edition that most consumers (the people I hear complaining) use, and it’s the edition that’s directly comparable to Windows 95.
Of course, these days the comparisons are always with Apple, and we hear endlessly about how “Snow Leopard only cost $29.” The problem with that argument is that Snow Leopard wasn’t, even by the standards of many Mac fans, really a new version of OS X - it was more like a service pack. Well, guess what. Microsoft doesn’t charge anything for service packs. Just imagine the outpouring of protests if Microsoft had charged thirty bucks for XP SP2, even though it added new features.
Okay, what about the cost of OS X Lion, an actual new edition? You can buy it for $69 on a thumb drive. However, you can’t compare that to the full edition of Windows, because you can’t install it on a computer that didn’t already have OS X installed. You can only install it on a Mac, and you can’t buy a Mac that comes without an operating system. So you have to compare it to the upgrade pricing for Windows, which lists for $119.99 but can be found for less at some retailers.
Yes, you’ll probably still pay a little more for Windows, but for that price you get the ability to install it on the hardware of your choice, including hardware that’s much less expensive than the hardware you’re forced to buy to run OS X. Oh, and if you’re building your own computer, you can get the System Builder’s edition, which is the full edition with SP1, for $99.
Then there’s Linux, which you can get at no cost at all. You’d think, with pricing like that, everyone would have abandoned both Microsoft and Apple long ago - but Linux still has less than 2% of the market share, according to NetMarketShare’s November 2011 statistics. Sometimes there are hidden costs to “free” solutions, and given the number of people I know who have tried some iteration of Linux at one time or another and then came running back to Windows (or bought a Mac), it seems price isn’t the overriding factor for most, even in a tough economy.
The importance of getting it right...the first TIME.
Microsoft learned from their experience with Vista just how important it is to wait however long it takes to get the software right before releasing it. Or at least, I hope they did. True or not, there is a pervasive public perception that the problems users encountered with Vista (slow performance, lack of expected features such as a new file system) were caused by a rush to market. This is so even though there was five years between the release of XP and the release of Vista, which is the longest interval ever between Microsoft operating system releases.
Rumors are flying about when Windows 8 will be released. A few days ago, Robert Boland reported that unnamed “sources close to Microsoft” say to expect the first Windows 8 beta in February 2012. There has been recent speculation in the press (neither confirmed nor denied by Microsoft) that the final release may be delayed, with the expected 2012 general availability date pushed back to 2013.
On the other hand, eWeek reported that a leaked slide deck indicates that Asus is preparing Windows 8 tablets before the end of 2012. PCWorld says Nokia is planning to launch the first Windows 8 tablet by June. Could it be that the company is focusing its efforts on the tablet market first, the strategy being to fine-tune and release the touch-friendly Metro-based OS on slates significantly earlier than it starts to sell the OS for the desktop?
Personally, I think that’s a good idea. Microsoft already owns the desktop with Windows 7; the tablet market is where the company needs to make a mark. But even there, I hope they don’t get too caught up in the pressure to put something, anything, up against the iPad and Android devices. I’m as eager as anyone to get my hands on a real Windows tablet, but I’d prefer to wait and see it done right, than to see the first Windows 8 tablet suffer the same fate as Vista.
I believe coming out with a first Windows Phone that, despite its elegant UI, lacked so many of the features and functionality that the iPhone and Droids already had was one of many reasons (including the “carrier conspiracy” mentioned last week) that Windows Phone 7 posted such lukewarm sales figures. Even though Mango went a long way toward catching up, sales haven’t picked up much. Maybe with their flagship tablet, they should try a different tactic and wait until they have a really spectacular product that works flawlessly upon release - even if the wait frustrates people like me.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Funny Finnish bunny thinks he's a chicken ...
Reuters
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Thu Dec 1, 2011. Otto would make the perfect chicken, except for a few hiccups.Hatching eggs, scratching around the coop and roosting on a beam with the rest of the hens are great habits for chickens, but rather unusual for an eight month old male rabbit.
The confused bunny came as a free gift to Ville Kuusinen's home, when he bought nine Silkie hens and a rooster from a farm.
The Kuusinens and their three children live on a small island in Velkua some 210 km (130 miles) northwest of Helsinki.
"When I went to the hen house, I noticed he was sitting on the eggs. Later I watched through the window how he jumped on the beam, failed, tried again and with a lot of practice eventually he stayed up there," Kuusinen told Reuters.
Otto does not like to sit on laps or eat carrots like most pet rabbits. The rabbit, who has lived with chickens all his life prefers chicken feed and runs with the chickens outdoors and sometimes plays with them by jumping over them.
"For the chickens he is one of them. He often sits on the beam between the hens and under their wings'," Kuusinen said.
But he said Otto's rabbity instincts still take over when a visitor steps into the hen house. He runs away and hides, but can be lured out with raisin buns.
(Reporting by Terhi Kinnunen, editing by Paul Casciato)
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Thu Dec 1, 2011. Otto would make the perfect chicken, except for a few hiccups.Hatching eggs, scratching around the coop and roosting on a beam with the rest of the hens are great habits for chickens, but rather unusual for an eight month old male rabbit.
The confused bunny came as a free gift to Ville Kuusinen's home, when he bought nine Silkie hens and a rooster from a farm.
The Kuusinens and their three children live on a small island in Velkua some 210 km (130 miles) northwest of Helsinki.
"When I went to the hen house, I noticed he was sitting on the eggs. Later I watched through the window how he jumped on the beam, failed, tried again and with a lot of practice eventually he stayed up there," Kuusinen told Reuters.
Otto does not like to sit on laps or eat carrots like most pet rabbits. The rabbit, who has lived with chickens all his life prefers chicken feed and runs with the chickens outdoors and sometimes plays with them by jumping over them.
"For the chickens he is one of them. He often sits on the beam between the hens and under their wings'," Kuusinen said.
But he said Otto's rabbity instincts still take over when a visitor steps into the hen house. He runs away and hides, but can be lured out with raisin buns.
(Reporting by Terhi Kinnunen, editing by Paul Casciato)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Woman gives birth at airport restroom...
Reuters
Tue Nov 29, 2011. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman gave birth in a restroom at Baltimore's airport after arriving on a flight, an airport spokesman said on Monday.
The woman gave birth to a boy on Sunday afternoon at Concourse D of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the spokesman said.
Police and emergency medical personnel were called to the restroom and a Maryland Transportation Authority police officer assisted at the birth, he said.
The woman and the baby were transported to the Baltimore-Washington Medical Center and are in good condition, a hospital spokesman said.
The woman's identity was being withheld at her request. Other details, such as the origin of the flight, were not immediately available.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Greg McCune)
Tue Nov 29, 2011. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman gave birth in a restroom at Baltimore's airport after arriving on a flight, an airport spokesman said on Monday.
The woman gave birth to a boy on Sunday afternoon at Concourse D of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the spokesman said.
Police and emergency medical personnel were called to the restroom and a Maryland Transportation Authority police officer assisted at the birth, he said.
The woman and the baby were transported to the Baltimore-Washington Medical Center and are in good condition, a hospital spokesman said.
The woman's identity was being withheld at her request. Other details, such as the origin of the flight, were not immediately available.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Greg McCune)
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Rats help Colombia sniff out deadly landmines...
Reuters
BOGOTA (Reuters) Wed Nov 23, 2011. - In a laboratory on the grounds of a police-guarded complex, 11 white-furred rats wait their turn to impress trainers and perhaps receive a bit of sugar as reward.
The rodents could play an important role in making conflict-wracked Colombia safer. They are in the final stages of a training program to find landmines that kill or injure hundreds of people each year in Colombia.
The government project, which began in 2006, trains specially bred rats to detect the metals used in landmines, thousands of which have been laid during the country's decades-long conflict with left-wing guerrillas.
Colombian scientists decided to use rats because, like the dogs more traditionally used in land mine detection, they have a highly developed sense of smell. But the rats are lightweight and unlikely to detonate mines.
The rats are first taught to recognize voice commands and the specific smells of metals used in landmines, and then to work in large, outdoor areas, where the rodents will sniff and scratch when they find mines, as watchful handlers who will be well-trained in demining stand close by.
It has taken government scientists five generations of rats to be confident their training program is thorough enough to begin sending rats out into the countryside.
In the laboratory, an element of instinct has been built into the training, with baby rats scurrying after their mothers in plastic mazes during practice sessions. The mothers show their young how finding the dead end containing the same wires and metal pieces used in landmines can earn you a treat.
"These rats will be a great help, and will provide great input to those trying to carry out demining," said Erick Guzman, the police official and former canine handler who now is responsible for much of the rats' outdoor training.
"We are hoping that this generation will be ready at the beginning of next year to be tested in a real environment," he added as his favorite rat Sophie perched on his shoulder.
LANDMINES A CONSTANT MENACE
Experts say it is impossible to estimate the number of undetonated mines which remain in Colombia, but their impact is horrifying real.
In the first half of 2011, for example, mines killed 40 people and injured another 247, government statistics show. That compared with 535 dead and injured throughout 2010.
Experts confirm that most mines are planted by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), other guerrilla groups and criminal gangs to deter security forces. The government says 31 of the country's 32 provinces may contain mines.
"Contrary to what you see in other countries that have signed the Mine Ban Treaty, mines continue to be planted in our country ... while other countries continue to get the number of mines down, ours goes up," Luisa Fernanda Mendez, the scientific director of the rat program said.
Landmines are a pressing problem for security forces. More than half, or 63 percent, of land mine victims are military and police personnel, according to government figures.
Land mine clearance in Colombia is unusually slow-going because mines are sown in very close proximity to each other in rural areas only, making clearance operations treacherous.
The Colombian government cleared less than a tenth of a square mile in all of 2010, but uncovered a total of 194 explosive devices.
Non-government organizations (NGOs) in Colombia have until recently only been allowed to help land mine victims, not to mount demining operations themselves.
"Currently there is no humanitarian demining process except the one undertaken by the armed forces ... we have objections to that demining because, in our judgment, the process is not compatible with international standards for humanitarian demining," said Alvaro Jimenez, the national coordinator of the Colombian Campaign Against Mines.
"Demining should be a development carried out in service of the community, and the community should participate in all the steps."
The Organization of American States hopes to help NGOs expand their fledgling demining operations. They have mounted a program, to be completed by the end of the year, to train and accredit NGO demining teams to work in Colombia.
But despite any critiques of the government's current demining effort, rat project director Mendez has high hopes.
"If we do not begin to master the demining process, we will never complete the terms of the treaty, and moreover, we'll never have a free countryside," she said, while giving the rat crawling up the sleeve of her lab coat an affectionate pat.
BOGOTA (Reuters) Wed Nov 23, 2011. - In a laboratory on the grounds of a police-guarded complex, 11 white-furred rats wait their turn to impress trainers and perhaps receive a bit of sugar as reward.The rodents could play an important role in making conflict-wracked Colombia safer. They are in the final stages of a training program to find landmines that kill or injure hundreds of people each year in Colombia.
The government project, which began in 2006, trains specially bred rats to detect the metals used in landmines, thousands of which have been laid during the country's decades-long conflict with left-wing guerrillas.
Colombian scientists decided to use rats because, like the dogs more traditionally used in land mine detection, they have a highly developed sense of smell. But the rats are lightweight and unlikely to detonate mines.
The rats are first taught to recognize voice commands and the specific smells of metals used in landmines, and then to work in large, outdoor areas, where the rodents will sniff and scratch when they find mines, as watchful handlers who will be well-trained in demining stand close by.
It has taken government scientists five generations of rats to be confident their training program is thorough enough to begin sending rats out into the countryside.
In the laboratory, an element of instinct has been built into the training, with baby rats scurrying after their mothers in plastic mazes during practice sessions. The mothers show their young how finding the dead end containing the same wires and metal pieces used in landmines can earn you a treat.
"These rats will be a great help, and will provide great input to those trying to carry out demining," said Erick Guzman, the police official and former canine handler who now is responsible for much of the rats' outdoor training.
"We are hoping that this generation will be ready at the beginning of next year to be tested in a real environment," he added as his favorite rat Sophie perched on his shoulder.
LANDMINES A CONSTANT MENACE
Experts say it is impossible to estimate the number of undetonated mines which remain in Colombia, but their impact is horrifying real.
In the first half of 2011, for example, mines killed 40 people and injured another 247, government statistics show. That compared with 535 dead and injured throughout 2010.
Experts confirm that most mines are planted by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), other guerrilla groups and criminal gangs to deter security forces. The government says 31 of the country's 32 provinces may contain mines.
"Contrary to what you see in other countries that have signed the Mine Ban Treaty, mines continue to be planted in our country ... while other countries continue to get the number of mines down, ours goes up," Luisa Fernanda Mendez, the scientific director of the rat program said.
Landmines are a pressing problem for security forces. More than half, or 63 percent, of land mine victims are military and police personnel, according to government figures.
Land mine clearance in Colombia is unusually slow-going because mines are sown in very close proximity to each other in rural areas only, making clearance operations treacherous.
The Colombian government cleared less than a tenth of a square mile in all of 2010, but uncovered a total of 194 explosive devices.
Non-government organizations (NGOs) in Colombia have until recently only been allowed to help land mine victims, not to mount demining operations themselves.
"Currently there is no humanitarian demining process except the one undertaken by the armed forces ... we have objections to that demining because, in our judgment, the process is not compatible with international standards for humanitarian demining," said Alvaro Jimenez, the national coordinator of the Colombian Campaign Against Mines.
"Demining should be a development carried out in service of the community, and the community should participate in all the steps."
The Organization of American States hopes to help NGOs expand their fledgling demining operations. They have mounted a program, to be completed by the end of the year, to train and accredit NGO demining teams to work in Colombia.
But despite any critiques of the government's current demining effort, rat project director Mendez has high hopes.
"If we do not begin to master the demining process, we will never complete the terms of the treaty, and moreover, we'll never have a free countryside," she said, while giving the rat crawling up the sleeve of her lab coat an affectionate pat.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)