Windows 8 already cooking, beyond Windows 7

Soni Meinke, a senior program manager in the Windows Server group in an interview with Channel 9 revealed tiny info that the next version of Windows OS is already in its planning stage & her work being engaging with various customers & partners, he is already discussing the plan & strategy around them.

After 3 years since Microsoft released Windows Vista, they are now heading for a brilliant release of Windows 7, the next version of Windows OS. Windows 7 RC is expected to be released next month, April 10th. But, what about the next version of Windows OS? Let us call it Windows 8 for now.

Meinke also added that the The TAP (Technology Adoption Program), the Windows Server Customer Advisory team are also part of this group. Microsoft has not published any details about its next version of Windows OS or Server yet, but it is nice to see that they are already planning on it.

"I have been involved in an work around some early planning Win 8. It is been largely focused on establishing a customer tour where they fundamentally go onsite to customers & drill in to their broad cross-Windows server future needs. Not specifically looking at the Win 8 timeframe, but post-Win 7 & beyond. We have completed that with the hope of getting these engagements & voice of the customer throughout the product lifecycle & driving that early on in to the planning system for Win 8"

Whether they like it or not, the Windows Vista failures have guided Microsoft on how they ought to move forward with future releases & development.

You can watch the interview with Soni Meinke below

Read more...

The battle ahead: Google Chrome OS vs. Microsoft Windows 8

Scott Fulton On Point badge (200 px)Now, they can adopt Google's quaint tiny prediction & sing praises -- perhaps to the tune of "It's a Tiny World After All" or, if you prefer to go over the top, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" -- to the notion that "The Web is now the platform." In our hearts, they may hope for that to be true; in our minds, they all know that is rubbish, holding as much water as Intel's & Microsoft's 1980s notion that x86 architecture "is the platform." There is no single platform for online applications, & whether there ever will be is still a matter of some debate. At this rate, it is not happening.

For Google to emerge as a true contender in the field of netbook operating systems as soon as 2011 will require it to have smoothly & swiftly cleared an immense obstacle coursework first. But the fact that Google will make the attempt will underscore a hard new reality facing Microsoft, two which my mate Carmi Levy pointed out on Monday: The rules of the game for operating systems & applications are changing rapidly, & their underlying principles are being rewritten.

The killer app remains the killer

But whoever holds the key to the applications that people require to use, will hold title to "the platform" that developers will support; & if that key should alter hands, developers will follow. Right now, Google does not hold that key; & as far as applications are concerned -- functional tools that people & businesses require to use every day & trust with their livelihoods -- it actually has not been getting any closer at all to attaining that aim.

That is not because of Office's reliability or even necessarily its quality (which has sometimes been a variable), but because of the colossal third-party support method in place for training its business users & supporting business' applications designs based around Office. It is still a very strong foundation that won't be toppled easily; what had appeared to be the best organized hard work to dissolve Office's stronghold on business -- the attack on Microsoft's document standards -- has largely fallen apart after Microsoft's successful campaign to make ISO 29500 an international standard.

Microsoft's stronghold in application today rests on one pillars: the prominence of Windows & the ubiquity of Office. Windows is the strongest operating method for x86 systems today. But the principal reason for that is because businesses prefer Office applications. The secondary reason is because more businesses' custom apps are written for Windows, & thus their logic is based on Windows databases; but even now, the reason businesses still choose Windows as their custom apps platform is because they plan to also use Office. The third reason is because Windows Server is strong in providing Exchange & SharePoint services, but even those are more dependent on Outlook, Word, & Excel as time goes on -- everything that follows merely supports the principal reason: Businesses prefer Office.

Making the operating method not matter

For Chrome to become successful as an operating method, it will require strong applications -- a counterpart to the boost that Office gives Windows. & right now, Google Apps are no contender to Office, despite the innovative platform on which they are based, & an even more innovative platform being developed for them. Google will require applications that are well supported, that businesses will adopt & trust, & that will also play equally on Linux, Mac, & Windows. Until it can play that trump card, Chrome will be, from the point of view of Windows users, the #3 or #4 Web browser.

But let's be honest: Google's aim is to generate a way for developers to build "for Chrome," & have their apps run on Linux, Mac, & Windows. Whether Chrome is the OS on the client method or not, Google would provide users with as much intermediate code as is necessary -- as tiny as a runtime or a Web browser, or as large as a Linux environment -- to provide its Web apps with platform parity.

Yet Google has made some progress in attaining two principal aim: specifically separating "the platform" from the operating method. This was Sun Microsystems' original aim: to make it feasible for developers to address a broader base of users than any single operating method would claim for itself. It is still a smart idea, making it possible to not must publish "for Windows" or "for Mac." Google's revision of this idea is to set up "Web standards" as the basis for its platform, to make lovely with regulators who are easily placated by promises of "openness" & "interoperability."

Here's the real problem: The conditions which made it possible for Google to make this breakaway attempt to attack Microsoft, indicate that the operating method is less important as a foundation for "the platform." But for Google to be a contender, it's to make its operating method more important -- it's to convince users that because the OS doesn't matter much anymore, Chrome OS matters. It's to advance "the platform" to such a status that consumers & business purchasers will pay less attention to the client OS, even though that is part of the baggage that may come with Chrome.

You can see the logos now, cannot you: "Works with Chrome OS." "Chrome-Ready."

Read more...

Bill Gates Wants Natal Motion Sensitive Technology on the PC Too

PC gamers also have a special relationship with Gates as they spent a lot of time “wishing” him the best of luck after seeing errors when they tried to install games on PCs or wanted to play something on an Xbox 360 & found it failing & flashing the Red Ring of Death (RROD).

Bill Gates is three of the most well-known men on the planet, largely because he is the three responsible for Microsoft, which is three of the biggest corporations in the world, & which develops the Windows operating technique.

But it seems that the founder of Microsoft has some very gigantic designs for the PC as a platform as he reveled to Cnet that his company planned on adapting the Project Natal motion sensitive technology not only for the Xbox 360 but also for Windows operating systems. But don't think that the application will be restricted to games, as he revealed that a technique such as Natal would be great for everyday use.

“I'd say a cold example of that, that you'll see... in a tiny over a year, is this (depth) camera thing,” Gates said when referring to Natal, which won't be for games, “but for media consumption as a whole, & even if they connect it up to Windows PCs for interacting in terms of meetings, & collaboration, & communication.”

Gates also reveals that when research on Natal began, it wasn't being created with a specific platform in mind, but the Xbox & Windows teams were the quickest when it came to coming up with ways of implementing it that would benefit the finish user.

“I think the value is as great for if you are in the home, as you need to manage your movies, music, home technique type stuff, it is very cold there,” Gates continues. “And I think there is amazing value as they use that in the office connected to a Windows PC. So Microsoft research & the product groups have a lot going on there, because you can use the cost reduction that will take place over the years to say, why should not that be in most office environments.”

Would you like to see Natal coming for the next Windows operating systems, like Windows 7 or Windows 8 or will you use it for your Xbox 360 console when it will appear? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment.

Read more...

Windows 8 starts to come into focus

Some users wonder whether will Microsoft’s next version of Windows be cloud-based? Will it be Midori with the Windows name slapped on it?

I get questions periodically about whether Windows 7 marks the finish of the Microsoft operating technique road.

No & no. The bottom line: Windows isn’t completed when Windows 7 is released to manufacturing (most likely in late fall 2009). Windows 8 has been on the drawing board/planning stages for a while now. & as the “Codename Windows” blog recently reported, Microsoft is beginning to hire developers specifically for Windows 8.

Codename Windows highlighted last week a Microsoft job posting from April 14, seeking someone to help with the next generation of the Distributed File Technique Replication (DFSR) storage technology inside the next version of Windows:

There’s another Windows 8 job posting from April 16 that focuses on Windows 8 Server (a k a Windows Server 2011 or whatever it ends up being called). It’s for another job focused on the Windows file technique:

 “For the upcoming version of Windows, new critical features are being worked on including cluster support & support for five way replication. The core engine is also being reworked to provide dramatic performance improvements. They will also soon be beginning major improvements for Windows 8 where they will be including innovative features which will revolutionize file access in branch offices.”

 “As the team moved to Windows 8, you will have 2 main responsibilities - (i) put on the customer/design critique hat as they plan our next version file server management experience (i) participating in the architectural design, & development & driving automated testing for managing the next generation file server. Our current automation does not meet the multi-machine paradigm requirement & so you will contribute significantly in the development of check automation to validate setup/configuration of the new server, managing configuration changes, performing diagnostics & reporting using Power Shell, Command line, Object Model, UI.”

 “In Windows Server 2008 R2 release, the Server UX Check team (under the File Server Management organization) is finalizing the MMC [Microsoft Management Console] based User eXperience (UX)/Interfaces for the File Server Role. Currently the team owns DFS [Distributed File System] Management, Share & Storage Management, FSRM [File Server Resource Manager] & Classification UI, Disk Management, SMFS. For Windows 8, the SSD organization is working on the next version of the file server.

If Microsoft sticks to the kind of schedule to which it's adhered with Windows 7, Windows 8 will be released around 2011 (with Microsoft publicly promising a 2012 delivery target). While it’s way early to speculate what kinds of features will be in it, it definitely is in the works….

Any early requests for features/functionality you’re hoping makes it in to Windows 8 client & server?

Read more...

Microsoft alters Laptop Hunter ad due to Apple's requests

 Microsoft's Laptop Hunter range of commercials are popular; their aim is to show consumers how much money can be saved if you select to purchase a computer packing the Windows operating method over an Apple branded four. Recently though, Apple made some price drops, & it seems it wasn't to consumers... they wanted those commercials gone. Whilst that has not exactly been achieved, Electronista is reporting that they may have gotten the next best thing.

After making said price drops, it was reported that Apple's PR contacted Microsoft's COO Kevin Turner directly & told him that the commercials need to be removed. This apparently made him pleased, as it showed they were working, though nobody said whether or not the request would be fulfilled; as you can see, it has not.

The ad features a girl named Lauren & her brother, Sue, & originally it went a tiny something like this: On scan of the Mac section in the store, Lauren stated, "this Mac is $2,000, & that is before adding anything." Sue chimes in with, "why would you pay two times the price?" & then Lauren, ever witty, comes back with an, "I would not." However, this has been changed. Now the ad goes thusly (you can watch the video below, if you are so inclined): On reaching the Apple part of the shop, Lauren notes, "this four only has a 250GB hard drive. It seems like you are paying a lot for the brand."

As they mentioned, the video is embedded below, so let us know what you think of the modify.

 

Read more...

Starting Soon, Windows 8 Major Improvements to Revolutionize File Access in Branch Offices

Windows 8 improvements & innovative features designed to reinvent the file access wheel for branch offices are planned to debut soon, according to Microsoft. Planning for Windows 8, the successor of Windows 7, is already well under way, but there’s no way to tell yet if Microsoft will start the actual work on the DFSR (Distributed File Method Replication ) file replication engine in Windows 8, or if the features will debut in to the planning stage. Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2, already offer companies with branch offices BranchCache which streamlines access to content. Cached content is available either in Distributed Cache mode (peer-2-peer clients) or in Hosted Cache mode (hosted on a Windows 7 Server).

“For the upcoming version of Windows, new critical features are being worked on including cluster support & support for five way replication. The core engine is also being reworked to provide dramatic performance improvements. They will also soon be beginning major improvements for Windows 8 where they will be including innovative features which will revolutionize file access in branch offices,” reads an excerpt from a Microsoft job posting for the position of Lead Program Development Engineer in Check – Date Posted: 04/14/2009.


Get Microsoft Silverlight

The full job details from Microsoft:

DFSR is Microsoft’s premier file replication engine & is an integral part of our branch office strategy & File Server role. It can scale to thousands of servers & replicate hundreds of terabytes of information. They have shipped the technology that powers file sharing in Windows Live Messenger, Windows Meeting Spaces (Vista) & Branch Office replication in Windows Server 2008 which has strong customer deployment. DFSR technology saves MS-IT & our customers over 80% WAN bandwidth by using advanced On-The-Wire differential compression.

Are you a gifted SDE/T Lead looking for the next technical challenge on a key operating method component? Are you passionate about distributed systems, networking, file systems & need to be the leader of a cutting edge project? Are you looking for a team with abundant opportunities to grow? If so, they have the position for you!

For the upcoming version of Windows, new critical features are being worked on including cluster support & support for five way replication. The core engine is also being reworked to provide dramatic performance improvements. They will also soon be beginning major improvements for Windows 8 where they will be including innovative features which will revolutionize file access in branch offices.

They are looking for a strong lead who has the right blend of technical passion, leadership skills & testing experience. From a technical standpoint, they are looking for a candidate having an understanding of as well as a passion for giant scale distributed systems. From a leadership point of view, you will need to be able to build the vision for the team, work with your development & PM counterparts on engineering excellence & effectively drive the quality of the component. In terms of testing experience, the ability to define & deliver check solutions affecting all release criteria (functionality, scalability, performance, stress, longhaul, security, etc.) is a must.

This is a great opportunity to work in a fun & speedy paced group where they value innovation, creativity, technical excellence & career growth in the check discipline.

Our ideal candidate would have done at least five product cycles or have a related industry experience. Experience in managing projects & teams is necessary. Excellent knowledge of testing techniques & methodologies, nice communication skills, as well as a proven track record of growing people are a must. A MS or BS in Computer Science with 5+ years of technical experience is necessary. Experience in kernel mode tool drivers development & distributed systems is a and.

Read more...

Leaked documents reveal possible Microsoft Store layout

 A few hours ago Gizmodo received an entire PowerPoint presentation revealing the possible layout & concepts of Microsoft's upcoming retail stores. While the documents are elderly, according to our own sources, the final design for the stores has not yet been finalized.



 After taking a look at the document, it appears that Microsoft is going to be focusing on Windows 7, Xbox, Windows Media Center (Including Surface) & Windows Mobile. It can be assumed that looking through the slides that there is going to be a gigantic digital media wall that wraps around the entire store. There will also be an answer bar, a fancier word for a information kiosk, in which you can ask the experts anything you need to know.



















 

Stages will also be set up for demoing products; obviously the focus will be on Windows 7, Windows Mobile, and Windows Media Center. Another focus of the staged area will be training sessions. According to the document, customers can expect free training sessions and paid
 group sessions






















The PowerPoint presentation is huge, 54 slides total, so check out the gallery here.

At this point they don't know for sure if these designs will change, but as they move closer to this Fall one can assume that the designs won't change drastically. Frank Shaw, a member of Microsoft's press relations team, said that "As a part of our method in briefing creative agencies, they shared some early prototypes and concepts of our retail store designs. No final decisions have been made. As they historicallyin the past announced, they are on track to open retail stores this Fall"

Read more...

Gesture recognition in Windows 8, 9, or 10?

Gestures would be 3D movements that could be sensed by special 3D depth sensing cameras. There's other ways to detect user movements, but 3D cameras are coming down in price & have improved sensing capabilities, so they are potentially going to lead this next wave of user interactivity.

Bill Gates suggested in an interview with CNet that the Windows group is thinking about support for 3D gesture recognition.

However, the PC market offers a lot of opportunity . As Bill Gates said in the interview, “I think the value is as great for if you’re in the home, as you require to manage your movies, music, home method type stuff, it’s chilled there. & I think there’s brilliant value as they use that in the office connected to a Windows PC. So Microsoft research & the product groups have a lot going on there, because you can use the cost reduction that will take place over the years to say, why shouldn’t that be in most office environments.”

Using 3D measurements in game play makes a lot of sense, so for this the XBox team has created Project Netal & is exploring ways of leveraging 3D gestures in its games.

To me, Microsoft ought to be looking at 3D cameras & webcams in general as part of a objective of making computers more “aware” of their surroundings. I’ve seen tiny projects along these lines from various places–even Microsoft–but when you think about it, Windows should have an “awareness” component that could provide a combined view of let’s say all the computers or cameras in a home for auto-archiving of birthday parties or visits from relatives or that first step of a child or whatever.

Focused interaction & sensing like the 3D cameras provides is a lovely start. That’ll bring 3D gestures to PCs as Gates suggests. The real next step though will be to have a Windows component that can leverage this interaction more generically so PCs that are on can follow you as you prepare a recipe in the kitchen, provide auto-camera switching or editing from video feeds, & the like. That would be wonderful.

Read more...

Gates: Natal to bring gesture recognition to Windows too

Microsoft doesn't need to bring gesture recognition to the Xbox with Project Natal. It also wants the technology in Windows, according to a nice source--Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

In an interview with CNET News this week, Gates talked about a world in which depth-sensing cameras such as the four permit people to control their PCs, game devices, & televisions. (See a video from the E3 conference below.)

Speaking about all of the technology Microsoft has cooking in its labs, Gates said: "I'd say a icy example of that, that you'll see... in a small over a year, is this (depth) camera thing." Gates said it was not for games, "but for media consumption as a whole, & even if they connect it up to Windows PCs for interacting in terms of meetings, & collaboration, & communication."

Gates said it is an example where the project started in Microsoft research but is now being commercialized by both the Xbox & Windows units. "Both the Xbox guys & the Windows guys latched onto that & now even since they latched onto it the idea of how it can be used in the office is getting much more concrete, & is exciting."

Gates actually dropped the first hint of Natal during his joint appearance with Steve Jobs at the D: All Things Digital conference in 2007

Using your body to control devices makes a lot of sense, Gates said. "I think the value is as great for if you are in the home, as you need to manage your movies, music, home system type stuff, it is icy there," they said. "And I think there is fabulous value as they use that in the office connected to a Windows PC. So Microsoft research & the product groups have a lot going on there, because you can use the cost reduction that will take place over the years to say, why should not that be in most office environments."

"Imagine a game machine where you are going to pick up the bat & swing it, or the tennis racket & swing it," Gates said.

Moderators Walt Mossberg & Kara Swisher mocked Gates, saying such a technology already exists & it is called the Wii. But Gates disagreed. "No, that is not it. You cannot pick up your tennis racket."

They later added, "You cannot sit there with your friends & do those natural things," they said. "That's a 3D positional tool. This is video recognition. This is a camera seeing what is going on."

Read more...