Tag Archives | Microsoft

The Inevitable Slow-Motion Death of the Tablet PC

Posted by Harry McCracken on November 4, 2008 at 10:57 pm

billtabletpcTodd Bishop’s TechFlash site has a worthwhile read up on the unhappy response of Tablet PC enthusiasts to Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie’s description of the Tablet PC as a “niche” product at last week’s PDC event. I feel for those fans–and as I think about it, Tablet PC lovers are among the most passionate boosters of any Microsoft product I’ve ever met. Whenever I encounter someone who has a Tablet, I ask him or her how she likes it; virtually without exception, those folks are huge boosters of the platform. Microsoft could use a lot more customers like that.

That said, the Tablet PC, which turns seven years old this month, always felt like a doomed platform, at least if the benchmark of success was wide, ongoing mainstream acceptance. A few thoughts on why after the jump.

Continue Reading →

26 comments

TechDecision ’08: Cast Your Votes!

Posted by Harry McCracken on November 3, 2008 at 9:02 pm

No negative campaigning. No robocalls. No stump speeches full of impossible promises. And absolutely no hanging chads. You don’t have to register, either–actually, you don’t even have to be a U.S. citizen.

Nope, Technologizer’s TechDecision ’08 is just a silly little poll that lets you vote for your favorite tech-related products and companies in five categories, and take a stance on six imaginary tech-related propositions.

Your ballot is after the jump–make your choices and press the “vote” buttons in each category to register them. Your country thanks you. Oh all right, your country couldn’t care less–but Technologizer thanks you, and it might be fun to see the results.

And it’s now Tuesday on the east coast, so let the voting begin!

Continue Reading →

2 comments

Please Vote for the Best and Worst Windows Versions of All Time

Posted by Harry McCracken on November 2, 2008 at 11:38 pm

It’s the most popular product in the history of personal technology. It’s also the one that’s inspired the most angst–not to mention a landmark court case or two. But Windows isn’t one product. Over its twenty-three year history, it’s been available in dozens of variations. Some got glowing reviews; others still cause those who remember them to wince at the mere thought of them.

But which version of Windows was the most impressive one ever–and which one was the most awe-inspiring fiasco? I have my theories. But I thought it would be more fun to let you make the call.

Hence this article. I’ll recap some of the essentials on twenty editions of Windows, from the prehistoric (version 1.01) to the futuristic (version 7, available today only in a pre-beta incarnation); you can click on the title of each listing for more information over at Wikipedia. Once you’ve read up, please vote on the best and worst, and use Comments to praise or rant at greater length if you choose. We’ll use this feedback as the basis of an article we’ll publish in the not-too-distant future.

This survey involves only desktop versions of the OS that ran on x86 CPUs–sorry, Windows NT for DEC Alpha and Windows CE buffs–and I haven’t included each and every version, just the major ones and some others with a reputation for being particularly outstanding or excruciating. You can also cast write-in votes if you’re an aficionado or enemy of Windows/286 or Windows XP SP1 or another version we skipped.

The rundown that follows includes pros and cons for each edition, but I won’t pretend it’s entirely dispassionate–it’s hard to write about Windows without expressing opinions. Don’t be swayed by my slant on things, though. Just vote honestly (hey, it’s anonymous). The list starts after the jump, but if you don’t need to brush up before voting, you can head straight for the poll. Oh, and please tell your friends about all this–the more opinions the merrier…

Continue Reading →

Pages: 1 2 3
8 comments

Microsoft Office is Going Online. Now What?

Posted by Harry McCracken on October 29, 2008 at 1:16 pm

So it’s official: Microsoft will release (if “lightweight”) Web-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. The news came out yesterday at Microsoft’s PDC event in Los Angeles; I was in the audience. And I liked what I saw: The Web-based versions of Word, Excel, and OneNote that Microsoft demoed sported interfaces that looked like real Microsoft Office (including the Ribbon toolbar) and features that looked surprisingly heavy duty (such as conditional formatting in Excel). And there’s plenty of possibility in the notion of folks who use the desktop versions of Office apps and those who work only in the browser being able to collaborate across the Net on shared documents and projects.

Continue Reading →

5 comments

Windows 7 First Impressions: Hey, This Looks Pretty Good!

Posted by Harry McCracken on October 28, 2008 at 9:00 am

Windows Vista fatigue. I know I’m suffering from it, and so are a lot of other PC users. Heck the whole PC industry is still trying to shake it, and even Microsoft itself may be afflicted.  Is there a cure? Maybe so–in the form of Windows 7, Vista’s successor. Microsoft has been surprisingly mum about W7 until now. But most of the secrecy ends today: The company is introducing the upgrade to its developers today at its PDC conference in Los Angeles. I was one of a bunch of journalists who got a briefing on it last Sunday and hands-on time with a preview version since then.

And it looks…quite promising, really. As in “Isn’t this a lot closer to what Windows Vista should have been in the first place?”

Continue Reading →

Pages: 1 2
168 comments

Live Coverage of Microsoft’s Windows 7 Event

Posted by Harry McCracken on October 27, 2008 at 4:58 pm

Here’s the post where I’ll liveblog the keynote here at Microsoft’s PDC in Los Angeles, starting at 8:30am PT Tuesday morning. It’ll be the first time that Microsoft has talked about Windows 7 in public in anything more than vague terms. And I’d be pleased if you’d join me.

(Shameless self-promotion: Some of the folks who attended my CoverItLive coverage of this month’s Apple notebook event said it was a faster way to get the news than the liveblogs conducted by those big name-brand sites.)

Oh, and here’s my extensive hands-on look at Windows 7, with plenty of screens.

[techno-pdc-event]

One comment

Live From Microsoft’s PDC Keynote

Posted by Harry McCracken on October 27, 2008 at 8:35 am

I’m at the Los Angeles Convention Center for Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference, the programmber confab at which the company will first talk about Windows 7 in real detail. Day one’s keynote is about to start, and I’ll update this post frequently as it progresses, connectivity willing…

Continue Reading →

3 comments

Windows 7 Unveiled: Our Microsoft PDC Coverage

Posted by Harry McCracken on October 26, 2008 at 10:22 am

Just a quick note about the week ahead: Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference kicks off Monday morning, and by the time the whole thing is over we should know a heck of a lot more about Windows 7 than we do right now. I’m in Los Angeles to cover the event, and will liveblog both of the keynotes–yep, there are two of ’em. Keynote #1 is at 8:30am PT on Monday; keynote #2 is at 8:30am PT on Tuesday. I hope you’ll join us…and that whatever we learn leaves us looking forward to W7’s arrival, whenever that may occur.

One comment

Resolved: The Best Versions of Windows are the Minor Ones

Posted by Harry McCracken on October 22, 2008 at 6:58 pm

When will Windows 7 arrive? Maybe sooner than just about anybody expected. All About Microsoft’s Mary Jo Foley has an interesting post over at ZDNet in which she sees signs that the next version of Windows could arrive as soon as mid-2009. Given that the company hasn’t released any beta versions of Windows 7 yet, that would leave a small window (pun unavodiable) for the company to test the OS widely, receive feedback, fix problems, and get the product out the door.

Evidence is starting to suggest that Windows 7 may not be a radically different operating system from Windows Vista in terms of features, functionality, and overall goals. Yes, Steve Ballmer maintains that it’s a “major” release of Windows, but he’s also describing it as “Vista, only a lot better.” Microsoft is keeping its hype machine under control and doing doing mundane but sensible things like stripping out Vista’s photo and video editing tools. You get the feeling that W7 might end up being a do-over–a chance for Microsoft to release a Windows that catches up with initial claims for Vista and fixes the biggest problems with it.

And that would be okay. Actually, it might be great.

Continue Reading →

3 comments