The other major change coming to Windows 10 is in the live tiles feature. The leaked screenshots show 3D flip effect in the Windows live tiles, unlike the metro styled Windows 8 tiles.

The Cortana search box will be in front of you all the time with ‘Ask me anything’ prompt in Windows 10 in case you need assistance and help regarding anything.

Microsoft builds and new features are being leaked on daily basis and this points out to a worrying factor: the Windows 10 OS is not completed yet and the company is still in the process of development, final touching. Microsoft’s Build Developers Conference 2015 is tomorrow and the Redmond giant will reveal the date of Windows 10 in the event. Stay tuned.

With the Windows Phone 7 smartphones on their way to AT&T next month, of course there needs to be a whole lineup of TV commercials to come along with it. Because that’s what Microsoft does – they spend a lot of money on commercials and promotions and somehow miss the boat on product usability and technology.

Anyway, there are now 5 Windows Phone 7 smartphone videos available and you can see them all below.

Watch the commercials then let us know what you think in the comments:

The Windows Phone 7 conference is setting a pretty fast timeline for when the new mobile phones will hit AT&T. Ralph de la Vega (CEO of AT&T) has just stated that 3 Windows Phone 7 devices will be hitting the shelves at AT&T on November 8th. Steve Ballmer also just announced that Microsoft will be launching 9 phones in the U.S. when the phone ships in November.

No word yet on a Windows Phone 7 tablet pc, but then again the conference has only just begun.

AT&T CEO also announced that AT&T U-Verse TV will be coming to the Windows Phone 7 smartphones. You’ll be able to watch shows like Mad Men on your mobile.

Non-AT&T U-Verse customers will be able to get the service as well for a small monthly fee – the amount is not yet known.

via BGR

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is pumped, the conference room is packed full of reporters, tech enthusiasts, and yes… even critics. But nonetheless, BGR (BoyGenius) is on location and providing us all with live blogging so that we don’t miss a beat.

What can we expect from the Windows Phone 7 conference?

For starters, the conference is being sponsored by AT&T. So definitely we can expect some new mobile phone news – phones powered by Windows Phone 7 OS.

But there is also rumors about Microsoft (Steve Ballmer) slipping in a surprise announcement such as a Windows Phone 7 tablet pc “Slate PC”.

So who knows exactly, but follow BGR to get the latest and greatest as it happens.

On Monday, October 11th, 2010, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is holding a press conference in New York City along with AT&T. This event has mainly been billed as an announcement for the new lineup of Windows Phone 7 mobile phones that AT&T will carry (T-Mobile has also announced partnerships with Windows Phone 7 mobile phones). But there are rumors starting to surface that Mr. Ballmer may use this platform to announce a new lineup of Windows Phone 7 tablets – or “Slate PC’s” as some people refer to them. Ballmer has been dismayed, and shocked, by the popularity of Apple’s iPad and feels that it is now time for Microsoft to answer the explosive tablet demand.

So what do you think – do you think that Microsoft can be successful with a tablet “Slate” PC that runs on Windows Phone 7?

via AppleInsider

Word on the street is that T-Mobile will begin selling Windows Phone 7 mobile phones along side of AT&T. Microsoft would now have two major US carriers on board ready to sell their Windows Phone 7 mobile phones. The Windows Phone 7 mobile phone that’s coming to T-Mobile is said to be a device manufactured by HTC, and that the device is more “business oriented”. Microsoft’s share of the mobile phone market has decreased recently to only 5.5%, and dropping quickly. According to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the company has missed one whole cycle in mobile phones. The announcement for the new Windows Phone 7 enabled mobile phones is expected next Monday as Ballmer hosts a Microsoft & AT&T press confere

So do you think that Windows Phone 7 devices will succeed with the help of both AT&T and T-Mobile?

Or has Microsoft just fallen too far behind the mobile phone curve?

via WSJ

Let me just tell you before you even watch this video, you are going to be sorely disappointed in the performance of this HP Slate tablet pc. For one thing, why in the world is a desktop version of Windows 7 running on a tablet device to begin with? Apple has redefined touch pad technology with iOS and it is (or should be) industry standard for all tablet devices. Not only that, watch how long it takes for the Windows 7 OS to load. This is a-typical Windows drama that has now come to a tablet device. Let me assure you Microsoft, running your heavy, inefficient Windows 7 OS on a tablet will be a huge mistake – I can already hear the war cries coming from the blogosphere for the destruction of Microsoft.

Anyway, here ya’ go – here’s a leaked video of the HP Slate tablet pc running Windows 7:

via SeattlePI

The Gamescon 2010 conference is underway in Cologne, Germany and Microsoft came out with a big announcement. Microsoft said that “Age of Empires”, current played on XBOX Live, will be launching on their Windows Phone 7 this holiday season. Along with “Age of Empires Online” and “Microsoft Flight Simulator.”

Microsoft announced on Thursday that they will release a public beta version of IE9 (Internet Explorer 9) on September 15th but that the release will not be sent to Windows XP users, only Windows 7 and Windows Vista users will be eligible for IE9 beta.

Over 68% of Windows users are currently on the Windows XP OS.

So it looks like if you are even remotely interested in trying out Microsoft’s new IE9 web browser, then you better get yourself off of Windows XP and onto Vista or 7.

The problem, with Microsoft that is, is that the majority of Window’s fans enjoy Windows XP more than Vista and 7 – it’s just that Microsoft hasn’t been able to produce a product that people are willing to adopt on a large scale.

What are your thoughts?

via ComputerWorld

Windows Phone 7 is on the way.

It is expected that Microsoft’s new baby will arriving on the scene by Christmas, and the word on the street is that AT&T is ready to embrace it.

According to PC World, a spokesperson for AT&T has been quoted as saying: “We’ll be the premier carrier for Windows Phone 7.”

If that is true, then AT&T might be putting too much emphasis on this whole premier thing.

After all, Verizon more than likely isn’t too excited about Windows Phone 7 after the Microsoft Kin crashed and burned. And I don’t see too many other carriers chomping at the bit either.

And Microsoft has established a pretty sour reputation lately, especially when it comes to mobile phone launches.

But AT&T has reportedly pre-ordered 8 million Windows Phone 7 devices, so we’ll just have to keep out eyes on things as we approach December to see how it all goes down.

Will Windows Phone 7 be another Microsoft flop?

source: Engadget

In an effort to build momentum for their Windows Phone 7 mobile devices, Microsoft will be giving more than 90,000 Microsoft employees a free Windows Phone 7 device. The Windows Phone 7 name was changed earlier this year from Windows Phone 7 Series. Apparently, MS thought that having the word Series in the name was too general. I think Microsoft giving away free Windows Phone 7’s to all of their employees is a great idea and perhaps even foreshadowing the future when all mobile phones will be free. Windows Phone 7 is expected to be released by Christmas 2010.

Here’s a Windows Phone 7 video:

In the meantime the company has begun to investigate the problems and has activated its “security response” process with promises of a patch once the investigations are complete.

I’m not much into the technical aspects of computing.  All I want is for my computer to function in a way that I can feel comfortable.  But, this early into the release of Windows 7 is disconcerting.  It reminds us of the time when Bill was demonstrating the latest version of Windows only to have the “blue screen of death” pop up on the huge TV for all the world to see.

According to the MSRC Blog:

“Code execution, while possible in theory, would be very difficult due to memory randomization both in kernel memory and via Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR). Additionally, this vulnerability only affects Windows systems if they have the Aero theme installed; Aero is not switched on by default in Windows Server 2008 R2, nor does 2008 R2 include Aero-capable graphics drivers by default.”

The vulnerability, only affects Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.  The flaw was found in the Canonical Display Driver (cdd.dll), which is used by desktop composition to blend the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) and DirectX drawing. The company said there are are no reports of attacks attempting to exploit the flaw.

Is this vulnerability because of a “rush” to get a product out, or is the product easy to compromise?  Since they say that there are no records of a violation, was it wise to reveal the vulnerability?  Does this not open the door for professional hackers to dig into the code knowing that it can be easily compromised?

In the meantime, affected Windows 7 or Windows 2008 R2 users should consider disabling the Windows Aero Theme to prevent the issue from being exploited.

(additional information from Ryan Naraine)

Microsoft is making moves to establish themselves as a major player in the smartphone market place, and one of those moves is to rename the Windows Phone 7 series.

Microsoft has made the decision to rename their new Windows Phone 7 Series. Apparently, they are getting ready for a strong mobile phone / smart phone initiative.

Along with this new initiative, Microsoft believes they need a new name for their Windows Phone 7 Series. So they are changing the name to just Windows Phone 7.

I don’t know… Windows Phone 7 just doesn’t sound right – it’s a bit awkward to say. Even Windows Phone 7 Series seems a bit awkward.

Anyway, along with changing the name to Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has sent out invitations to San Francisco on April 12th. This sounds like a play straight from the Apple / Steve Jobs playbook.

Despite the change of Windows Phone 7’s name, it is being reported that developers are getting interested.

Smartphone connoisseur HTC has announced large support for the new OS, after running for a while with Android. Microsoft is also working on a new app store, designed for phones running the latest and greatest in mobile platforms.

How can this be? I just found a video that appears to be running Windows 7 on the iPad?

Isn’t the iPad an iPhone OS driven device?

But from the looks of the video below, this is clearly an iPad running Windows 7.

So is the Windows 7 running on the iPad a hack?

Surprising, what you you see running on the iPad is a VNC client that’s connected to a nearby MacBook, which enables the iPad to emulate Windows 7. The good news is that this requires little to no hacking expertise in order to get it working, but the bad news is that it’s not a native operating system installation, so it won’t work by itself with a MacBook alongside of it, according to hothardware.com.

Check out the video elow of the iPad running Windows 7:

iPad Jailbreak Solution with Windows 7

There are rumors popping up that an iPad jailbreak program is already in place, and guess where the iPad jailbreak program resides?

Windows 7…

From what I’ve read so far, when the latest security update to Windows 7 was released at the beginning of this week, something was included that will allow iPad owners to simply connect the devices via USB to their PC and the jailbreak will begin automatically.

According to the rumors that I’ve seen, the Windows 7 iPad jailbreak program is a result of the tension between Adobe and Apple, and the fact that Apple will not allow flash to be used on the iPhone OS – which powers the iPhone and the iPad.

So Adobe apparently had secret meetings with Windows and told Windows about some security flaws in the iPhone OS.

And from this meetings, Windows may have capitalized on the information and included an iPad jailbreak program in the latest Windows 7 security update.

Tiger Woods is supposedly going to be the next pitch man for Microsoft’s Windows 7

Oh well, you want to pull out from sponsoring Tiger Woods because of the recent bad publicity?  No problem – there are plenty of sponsors standing by who are more than happy to take your place. One major sponsor who is stepping up to sponsor Tiger Woods is Microsoft.

According to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, “This guy is big – really big from what I hear, and he’s known as a great multi-tasker who can juggle different extra-curricular activities – just like Windows 7!”

Wait a minute – did Steve Ballmer just say what I think he said???

That statement sounded a bit humorous and sarcastic, with perhaps some inappropriate connotations – all at the same time!

Microsoft’s first choice was comedian, and one-time Microsoft pitchman, Jerry Seinfeld, who was reportedly asked to come back for round two with the promise that the new ads “would actually make sense”, said CIO.com.

However, Seinfeld wants to distance himself from the Windows brand and was quoted as saying, “No *#@^& way. Those ridiculous commercials with Gates almost ruined my legacy. What’s the deal with these people at Microsoft?”

Not to mention that fact that Seinfeld if more of a Mac lover than a PC!

P.S.

If you want to capitalize on a wide open market that may only be open for the next 30 seconds or so, there are currently no videos on YouTube talking about the Tiger Woods and Windows 7 matchup!

Here’s a demo of the new Windows 7 mobile phone operating system.  The Windows 7 mobile phone OS was announced this week by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the MWC (Mobile World Congress).

Hotmail / Spaces Service Unavailable

Apparently Microsoft is having major issues with their servers over the past 24 hours.  And if it’s not the same servers, then Microsoft is just having a run of bad publicity.  Yesterday it was reported that XBOX live went offline due to their servers crashing.  And now today, thousands of people are reporting that Microsoft’s MSN Messenger and Windows Live Spaces (previously known as MSN Spaces) appear to be offline at the moment.

While trying to access the Windows Live Spaces Website ( http://spaces.live.com/ ), it simply shows the message “Service Unavailable” on a blank page with no title.  Hotmail.com also gives the same error.

On accessing http://messengersays.spaces.live.com/ an error message “Sorry, Spaces is temporarily unavailable at this time. The service is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.” is shown.

All of this comes at a point which Microsoft was hoping for a bit of momentum as they announced yesterday the new Windows Mobile 7 operating system.  Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was claiming that everything was going to change from this point forward, and that the new Windows Mobile 7 was going to be the game changer.

Within hours of Steve Ballmer introducing the Windows Mobile 7 platform at the MWC (Mobile World Congress) conference, updates started flooding the web that XBOX Live was not working, and specifically that nobody could play Modern Warfare 2.

And now today, Microsoft is once again plagued with bad publicity due to MSN apparently being down.

None of this is good timing considering the announcement yesterday of Windows Mobile 7.

XBOX Live Servers Are Down

Perhaps Microsoft was too distracted by their announcement of Windows Mobile 7 that they forgot about their XBOX Live servers.   The main game that people are complaining about not being able to play is Modern Warfare 2. However, with the XBOX live servers down, any “community capable” game will be affected.  I’ll try to get more on the latest developments, and post updates here.

Among the features that Microsoft is promoting on the OS is “for the first time ever, Microsoft will bring together Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music and video experience on a mobile phone.”  Read more at Microsoft Phone 7 Series page.

Here’s the Windows Phone 7 Series promo video:

Here are the leaked photos of the Windows Mobile 7 platform:

One of the major initial problems that someone had with Weave Sync is once they installed the add on, they were immediately presented with an Author Unverified warning.  I could understand this if the add-on was created by an independent developer, but it was actually created by Mozilla Labs.

Another major issue that people are claiming is that Weave Sync is not supported on Windows 7, 64 bit encryption.

Not to be all negative here, some people are finding Weave Sync to be useful.  But if you visit the forum and read the feedback, I think you’d agree that the majority of people are having issues with the initial release.

But don’t worry – Firefox has a large crowd of developers that will surely work through these issues.

As an alternative to Firefox’s Weave Sync, you could try Google Chrome’s bookmark sync.  I’ve been using this for about a month now and it works extremely well – very smooth, easy, and carefree.

If everything that I hear is correct, Google is set to rain on the Windows 7 parade this week by releasing their Google Chrome OS (operating system).

The Google Chrome OS will be released in a very early stage beta version, and on a very limited, pre-approved machines such as netbooks.

Google knows that people are highly frustrated with the Windows operating system.

And they also know that people get on their computers mostly to surf the web.

So Google is proposing an entirely new way of doing things on your computer by building an operating system that is 100% web based.

It is speculated that Google has a legion of engineers working to build drivers that would support your computer running the Chrome OS platform.

Doing the simple tasks such as printing, managing files, etc… from your operating system is something we take for granted these days because we’ve grown so accustomed to Windows.

But here’s the thing… Google generates 99% of their revenue from advertising.  And this advertising happens on the Internet.  So the easier they can make it for you and I to get on the web and surf – fast – the more they stand to increase their revenue.

The Google Chrome OS is really and win – win situation.  It’s a win for Google because of faster access to the web, but it’s also a win for you and I because we get really awesome, web ready machines that are probably the equivalent of turning on your TV and theirs cable TV – except for it being the Internet!

Microsoft Office 2010

As a parent, I tell my kids that “hate” is bad word!  Simply because it’s such an aggressive word of deep frustration and… well… I don’t know – it’s just not a nice word!

It doesn’t surprise me, however, that the word “hate” is being used in response to Microsoft Office 2010 leaked beta version.

Microsoft’s Bad Run of Releases

It wasn’t even a month ago where I was writing about people’s response to Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.5 launch.  The response to that was “it’s terrible, and absolutely nothing has been updated!”

Now here we are again talking about another Microsoft product.  This time it’s there flagship software Microsoft Office.

But the 2010 beta version has done anything but impress it’s initial users.  Here’s Randall Kennedy’s response from InfoWorld.com:

“Office 2010 is clunky — that’s the first word that comes to mind as I meander around the recently leaked official beta release (build 14.0.4514.1007, for those keeping score). The default color scheme is a ghastly gradient gray blur, while the new Outlook Scenic Ribbon toolbar is a disorganized mess.

But most important, Office 2010 is slow. The individual applications load like molasses on my Windows 7-based netbook, and common tasks — like checking for new mail across several hosted POP3 accounts — chew up way too many CPU cycles. I find myself closing Outlook 2010 in between e-mail checking sessions because it’s simply too demanding to leave open all the time.

[ Read the InfoWorld Test Center’s in-depth first look of Office 2010. ]

I never had this sort of problem with Outlook 2007. In fact, much of my frustration with the new suite revolves around Microsoft’s stodgy old messaging client. Once again, Microsoft developers have moved stuff around, shifting the locations of common menu items and generally making me hunt around for what should be easily accessible tasks.”

The Windows 7 Hype

I’m not really one to get too excited about anything relating to Windows, but especially the new Windows 7 operating system.

I think eventually Microsoft might make it hard for users to “NOT” upgrade to Windows 7 – they’ll just stop supporting all previous versions of Windows.

Same Old Viruses Exist On Windows 7

Despite all the hype over Windows 7, you have to remember that we are still talking about Windows.

Wired just released a great article about virus testing on the Windows 7 operating system.  Click the link to read all about it.

The bottom line is that Windows 7 is still as vulnerable as any other version of Windows to viruses.

Perhaps it’s time that we switch over to a Mac?

My honest opinion here is that operating systems are becoming less relevant because of the web.

What’s the first thing you do when you turn your computer on?

In fact, what are your intentions of turning your computer on in the first place?

If you’re anything like me, then you’re getting on your computer to get on the web.

It’s all about the Internet

Mac vs. PC War Continues

Tauw.com broke a great story yesterday that shows Jerry Seinfeld sitting in front of Mac Book Pro.

It wasn’t too long ago that Microsoft paid Seinfeld a reported $10 million dollars to do some PC commercials.  These commercials showed Jerry Seinfeld with Bill Gates promoting the PC.

Jerry Seinfeld in front of a Mac

From Tauw.com (the unofficial Apple weblog):  “In the latest episode of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm — which happens to be one of my all time favorite shows — Jerry is actively discussing ideas with Seinfeld creator, Larry David. In the scene, a MacBook Pro is prominently shown on Jerry’s desk.”

Is this another sign that Microsoft has to literally pay for celebrities to show non-genuine affection for the PC?

When all along, when the cameras are off and these same celebrities are in the comfort of the work place, they are actually using Macs.

Perhaps this will change with the release of the new Windows 7 operating system from Microsoft, but I wouldn’t be too sure of that.

The Power of a brand

I’m guessing that even with the release of Windows 7, people are not going to leave their Mac to switch over to a PC.  Why is that?  Because of the power of a brand.

The Mac, even though it has a substantially lower percentage of market share compared to the PC (90% PC compared to 10% Mac), the Mac faithful attribute more than just computing efficiency to using the Mac.

People who are seen with a Mac feel smarter, better, more empowered, more tech savvy, etc…  And people who are seen with a PC are seen as lesser computing power individuals – am I right about this?

So because of the power of the “Mac” brand, and especially with the perceived class associated with the Mac, my guess is that the Windows 7 operating system is not going to cause users to switch from a Mac to a PC.

If anything, with the release of yet another operating system from Microsoft, and this one as a result of the previous version’s failure (Vista), the effect might actually be to increase Mac users.

Operating Systems

There’s been a lot of tech news lately that’s got me thinking about the relevance of operating systems as we know them today.

For example, we all know that Windows 7 launched last week, and it’s suppose to be a step up from Windows Vista, and a replacement for Windows XP.

We also got news that Google’s Android OS 2.0 is coming to “The Droid Phone” that Verizon will be selling on November 6th.

AND… finally we got news that Los Angeles County has “gone Google” and it going to switch all of their servers, emails, calendaring, etc… over to Google Apps – the cloud based (internet based) server and emailing system.

So where am I going with this?

I’m saying all of this because it’s got me wondering if, in the not too distant future, we are going to see the traditional operating system disappear from existence?

First, Windows 7

Let me ask you something…. what’s the first thing you do when your turn your computer on?  If you’re like me, I’m going to say that you immediately open a web browser – am I right?

And so with the launch of Windows 7 operating system, if all we are doing when we turn the computer on is going immediately to the web, then what’s the comparative advantage that this new operating system brings?

Does Windows 7 (an operating system for local computer operations) provide you with more utility (actually working value) than say Windows XP?  If you’re just going to the web as soon as the computer boots, what does it really matter what operating system you are using – heck… it could Windows 95 for all I care!

Second, Mobile Operating Systems

The iPhone has captivated the entire world, and it shows us that we can do almost everything on a mobile device that we can do on our desktop computers.

And now with Android 2.0 about to hit mobile phones on November 6th, we are going to have both the iPhone and Droid phones on the market.  These mobile devices are going to evolve rapidly as they fight for your love and affection (and attention).

This rapid development is going to be in the form of applications, mobile web browsing, email and calendar management, etc… Basically, all the things you might now do on your computer or laptop, you will be able to do (probably faster and more effectively) on your mobile device.

And with this evolution of mobile operating systems, I again don’t see where desktop operating systems (Windows, Mac OS, etc…) fit in?

Finally, The Cloud

Here’s the ultimately killer to the operating system, and it’s actually the very essence of mobile operating systems – THE CLOUD!

The cloud is the internet, but accessible anywhere you are with a mobile device.

In fact, Google is creating it’s own operating system – scheduled to be out by next year – that is a browser based operating system.  Meaning, the operating system is built upon the platform of the web – not your local computer!

With “the cloud” expanding and making it easier and faster for you to access the web from anywhere – anytime – and efficiently do everything you normally do on your desktop computer, what’s the purpose of a traditional operating system?

In fact, now that I think about it, all the reasons I just described above more also be the death of laptops as well!

What do you think?

Of course, Mac (Apple) users are finding it hilarious that you have to upgrade to Windows 7 in the first place.  While Mac is strong and steady with their ever stable, and never dramatic, operating system.

Here’s the “Mac vs. PC” commercial:

But I’m wondering, and noticing, what are people’s habits – what are my habits – when I turn on my computer?

Let me ask you this – what is one of the first things you do when you turn your computer on?  Or another way to ask this is, why do you sit down to turn your computer on?  What are you intending to do once your computer boots up?

For me, the very first thing – and a lot of times the only thing – I do is get on my computer and instantly go the web.  In fact, I find myself clicking my Firefox or Chrome browser shortcuts before the computer is even fully booted.

Am I alone here with this?  I can’t imagine I am…  and because of this, I can’t help but wonder if an operating system – Windows 7, XP, or whatever – is losing it’s relevance and role in the world of computing.

And if you take this thought just a little bit further, then I ask if the PC – or the computer – as we know actually dying?

I mean, it doesn’t seem too far fetched that within a few short years from now we have computers that boot directly to the web.

For example, Google’s Chrome OS which should be out within the next year, is said to be a web based browser.  Turn your computer on and you’re online, along with everything you need from an operating system.

I would be interested to hear from some of you – and answer specifically the questions of:

1)  What do you do when you first turn on your computer

2)  Why do you get on your computer in the first place?  What are you intentions once the computer boots up?

For me, the answer to both questions is simple – I want to get online!

Windows 7

So let me first define what a network is.  A network would be something that you establish within your home on your wireless internet connection.  So your wireless internet at your house is the network upon which multiple Windows 7 PC’s can join.

However, you do need to create a network for others running Windows 7 to see.

And here’s a short video telling you mor.  The video quality isn’t that great, but it should help you understanding HomeGroup in Windows 7: