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Microsoft to Merge Windows all Versions into One Consolidated Operating System

Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, has confirmed that the next version of Windows will be an amalgamated form of the three versions of Windows into one operating system.

Speaking in an earnings call, he told analysts the company will unify the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one operating system. Nadella said “this means one operating system that covers all screen sizes, ranging from tablets and smartphones, to desktops and laptops.” It was also revealed that the giant has internally restructured itself since the retirement of Steve Ballmer. The new CEO said the company now has “one team with a common architecture”.

The company, under the direction of Steve Ballmer, had multiple teams creating different versions of Windows working independently from each other. Now the giant noted the benefit of one team for developers and users. The new consolidated platform will allow the development of universal Windows apps that work across all devices running the OS.

Looks like the company has been pushing toward more unification of its platforms. In April, Microsoft displayed developer tools that would empower the development of universal apps. The ability to make apps that work on PCs, Xbox Consoles, Laptops, Tablets and Windows Phones should be welcomes by developers.

Some rumors have indicated that the latest, unified version will be Windows 9 and may launch in early 2015. It is announced that there will be more information surrounding future versions of Windows in the coming months.

Let’s wait and watch what Microsoft is going to offer next…

Google’s New Program for Business App Developers with Five Partners– ‘Glass at Work’

Google wants to make its wearable not only a consumer-friendly device, but also best for business wishing to take advantage of technology.

Earlier this year, Google announced ‘Glass for Work’ program for developers with an aim to encourage the development of business apps. The initiative was meant to bring Google Glass and business together and now a number of companies have teamed up with the giant to serve the customers in a better way.

The giant announced the first five partners for the program and the companies are APX Labs, Augmedix, CrowdOptic, GuidiGo, and Wearable Intelligence. These firms have varied focuses and covers the areas of health-care, live broadcasts, and manufacturing. It’ll be going to be a smart course for Google because these companies cover some of the less exciting ideas around Glass.

The mentioned companies are certified to develop Glass apps for professional and business use. These firms belong to different business and professional industries and Google has officially launched the program. Its all about one thing that how explorers from these industries will use Glass to drive their businesses forward.

APX Labs is working on a business app called ‘Skylight’ for Glass which gives workers hands-free, real-time access to company data. AugMedix offers a service that gives doctors access to patient’s medical records and the ability to update them in real-time with Glass.

CrowdOptic builds context-aware apps for the medical, entertainment and sports industries. It uses wearable and mobile to detect significant broadcast events. GuidiGo is working on apps for cultural institutions and museums using Glass.

Wearable Intelligence develops communications, training, workflow, and data access Glassware solutions for the manufacturing, health-care and energy industries. These companies are eligible for listing and co-branding on the Glass at Work Website.

There are both positives and negatives of Google Glass as for some it’s an outstanding technology while for others it’s just a wastage of money. The stories of Google Glass helping out in medical schools and surgeries have brought a lot of positive notes to the device.

Google doesn’t say anything about to what extent it’ll be working with these companies, but it clarifies that the Glass will come with some better uses.

An Unexpected Move of Microsoft: Extends Deadline for Windows 8.1 Update

In a move that should surprise all, Microsoft has extended the deadline of installing the Windows 8.1 Update.

Microsoft has extended the deadline for installing its Windows 8.1 Update till June 10, giving its customers a 30-day reprieve. Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc wrote in a blog post, “While we believe the majority of users have received the update, we found that not all have.” He added, “Having our customers update their devices with latest updates is super important to us. And we’re also committed to ensure them safety.”

According to the sources, instead of requiring Windows 8.1 to be installed till May 13, Microsoft is now allowing its users a relaxation till June 10. However, deadline for those involved in businesses – it’s August 12. It simply means that business owners can switch to Windows 8.1 Update until August 12. It looks like the company wants to give its customers enough time to understand and apply the Update.

The initial cutoff date was fixed for May, which would have meant that some devices would have gone dead by this week. But, not to worry, Microsoft isn’t forcing people to update their devices as soon as possible, instead the company is offering enough time to its customers. The giant extended the deadline for people using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), System Center Configuration or Windows Intune to update their machines.

This means that you have an extra 30 days to get it done, but Microsoft wants you to do it as soon as possible. If you have Automatic Updates, you do not have to do anything and you will receive the Update automatically to your machine via Windows Update.

According to Microsoft, the majority of the remaining users who haven’t updated their machines will be able to to do.

Feel free to share your opinion….

Researchers Set a New Record: Hit 1Tbps Internet Speed

Researchers break Internet speed record!

Can you imagine an Internet speed of 1Tbps over 5G? Researchers at UK have achieved record-breaking Internet speeds of 1Tbps over 5G data connections during a test, as reported by a news site.

Researchers at the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Center (5GIC) set a groundbreaking record of network of 1Terabit per second (1Tbps) which is at least a thousand times faster than current Internet connections. This is something amazing, right? Looks like that the 5th generation of mobile network will be beyond our imaginations as new generations want more network capacity and a high speed Internet service.

After 3G and 4G, 5G is the next generation of mobile communication technology and the aim is to provide more capacity, more energy-efficiency and more speed. The market analysts are already predicting that 5G will be completely different than anything that has seen or experienced before. 5GIC was founded by a host of telecom industry partners including Samsung, Vodafone, Fujitsu, Huawei, Aircom, BT, EE, BBC, Telefonica, Aeroflex and Rohde & Schwarz.

1Tbps over 5G – what you can expect?

At 1Tbps, it would be theoretically possible to download a file in about three seconds. You must be thinking that what’s special about this. The things is that it might be possible to download a file 100 times the size of a feature film. Now you can imagine the power of the technology as this speed is more than 65,000 times faster than normal 4G download speeds, as reported by BBC News.

This is of course a significant achievement by the team of researchers given that the tests were done in lab conditions. However, the application of the technology is real world conditions is yet to be seen as it may be difficult to maintain the same Internet speed. The achievement by the team brings communication technology one step closer to the future.

How 5G can change the world?

5G, the fifth generation of mobile network, could be a dramatic overhaul and a big step towards smart cities, smart homes, driver-less cars and the more important the ‘Internet of Things‘. That simply means that everything will be connected and you’ll be able to access them from a remote location.

5G will run faster, a lot faster and researchers believe that it is also possible that someday a wireless data connection will run at 800Gbps, again 100 times faster than 5G testing. Now we can say that nothing is impossible.

So, we’ll catch you back with more news….

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Internet of Things Starter Kit: Latest Revelation by IBM and ARM

IBM and ARM wants to make everything smart!

To give a push to the ‘Internet of Things‘, IBM and ARM have announced a joint project for launching a starter kit with cloud support, as per the sources.

A ‘starter kit’ designed to take the Internet of Things to a new level has been announced by two leading firms – cloud services giant IBM and chip designer ARM. According to them, it will take only few minutes to unbox the kit and send readings to online apps. This could be a huge step towards smart cities, smart homes and other prototypes using the technology. The ARM embedded kit will let users create cloud-ready products that could receive as well as transmit data for alerts.

In further revelation of information, the kit is expected to arrive with ARM’s mbed OS that will connect into BlueMic Cloud of IBM. With these main specs, the kit will assist developers or users in the development of apps and services based on Internet of Things. The kit will be helpful for both experienced and non-experienced enthusiasts so that they can design and make useful apps.

What they are offering with the new Starter Kit?

As discussed on ARM’s product page, the official name given to the new starter kit is ‘IoT Starter Kit – Ethernet Edition’ and it’s based around the Freescale K64F platform and a Cortex-M4 processor. The processor comes with an integrated floating point unit and DSP. The site also discussed about some more features which includes that the chip is clocked at 120MHz with 256KB of RAM and flash of 1MB.

Krisztian Flaunter from ARM said, “Securely embedding intelligence and connectivity into devices from the outset will create cloud-connected products that are far more capable than today.” This simply indicates that the main idea is to enable small companies to get involved in prototyping and device testing.

How to get started?

According to ARM, getting started with the starter kit is very simple and can be done in just 3 steps. See how:-

ARM Starter Kit

Open IBM.htm and you can see the data reported by your board after connecting them to your computer. For more info, visit here.

Looks like the tech companies are pretty serious about bringing together the physical and digital worlds. This will help connecting everything together and share rich information about their surroundings.

Not much details about the new starter kit hardware have been made public yet. We’ll catch you back once the details are disclosed by the companies. Till then, you can share you views on Internet of Things…

Image Source:

http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2015/feb/images/640_arm-iot.jpg

Lenovo Working on its First Prototype ARM Server

Lenovo’s computing energy-efficient effort!

Companies are trying hard to make the server environment more competitive by introducing energy-efficient computing systems. The latest in line is the Chinese hardware giant, Lenovo and it is testing the use of ARM-powered servers as an alternative to systems working on Intel processors, according to a news on pcworld. As per the news, the tech giant is all set to test it with a prototype ARM server.

Lenovo will be using 64-bit ARM processors in a NextScale system, which was originally developed by IBM. The hyperscale system was developed with an idea to provide more flexibility and scalability and at the same time lower operating costs for data-intensive workloads. As mentioned on their website, NextScale delivers the agility, density and scale for today’s most demanding workloads.

NextScale system was designed to compete with HP’s Moonshot and later transferred to Lenovo. Now, the hardware giant is building the server together with the U.K.-based Science and Technology Facilities Council. The aim looks to boost up system performance and making it as power-efficient as possible.

Use of ARM Technology

ARM technology is used to develop more power-efficient, connected electronics and the approach requires significantly less transistors than other processors. Low-power ARM chips are used in devices like smartphones and tablets and mainly used to bring energy-efficiency. Today, data center servers are undergoing heavy processing burdens due to the increasing cloud services and applications.

Lenovo is not the only one to offer ARM technology, HP already offers ARM processors, while Dell is working on the similar architecture. The technology is optimized for specific uses such as caching and cloud and web search.

As discussed on various news sites, the NextScale hold up to 12 ARM-based server boards and that’s why the company is experimenting on the system. The Cavium ARM microprocessors used by the hardware giant has up to 48 cores, and can work at a frequency of up to 2.5GHz.

The development seems to be a positive effort and looks like the tech giant wants to make the ARM server environment more competitive. There’s a lot to done yet and the scope seems to be just indefinite.

Image Source:

http://www.arm.com/images/homepagebanners/image1.png

Microsoft to Compete Android with its New Affordable Phones

Microsoft is planning to compete Google’s Android with its new range of phones running on Windows Operating System.

Windows phone has had a troubled history since its debut in 2010, each phone has suffered some major functional gaps. These gaps made Windows phone clearly inferior to the Android and and the iPhone, but now the things have changed. Windows phone are slowly rolling out, closes more of the functional gaps and ready to hit the ground with more affordable phones. Microsoft is planning to take over Google’s Android with its new rage of Windows phone this year.

Microsoft’s country GM – Chakrapani Gollapali said, “I think in the coming months, you will see some really aggressive portfolio expansion.” You must be aware that Android dominates the global market while Apple iOS holds a premium segment. Microsoft Windows OS failed to get a good hold as Windows-powered phones held only 3% of the world’s Smartphone market.

But the giant seems to be very serious about its portfolio and has recently taken steps to boost the adoption of its devices. The company has made Windows free for companies involved in manufacturing phone and tablets. The giant is also offering a one year free subscription to cloud-based 365 service on the latest devices.

The company is coming up with many offers at a time when it has also stitched up partnerships with a string of phone makers. These phone manufacturers also include Indian companies and the idea is to make affordable devices offering the Windows OS.

The company has just announced its Windows Phone 8.1 and also revealed its alliances with Indian phone makers like Karbonn, Lava, Xolo and Micromax. It looks like the Microsoft wants to reap out the potential of Indian Smartphone market.

According to the Microsoft – the Windows Phone had managed to attract customers and now a significant portion of people is switching to Windows platform. It wants to win the Global market with the low-priced phones.

What do you prefer – an Android, Apple iOS or Windows…..  

Microsoft to Fix a Security Flaw in Internet Explorer, Windows XP Still at Risk

Are you still using the same 12-year-old operating system? Be careful, as a new security flaw has been discovered in Internet Explorer web browser.

Microsoft Corp is rushing to fix a security flaw in its Internet Explorer after it is been disclosed by a computer security firm. The company clarified on Saturday its plans to fix the flaw targeting the browser’s versions 9 through 11. It warned users that a vulnerability in all versions could let hackers gain complete access over your computer, allowing them to run programs or delete your important data.

That’s not a good news, but at least Microsoft is rushing to fix on a modern version of Windows while Windows XP will not receive any patch. The company has stopped supporting its old operating system and according to the firm’s estimate 15 to 25 percent PCs in the world still run Windows XP. This is first discovered security flaw since the company ended its support, and it simply indicates that Windows XP is no more secure.

The security firm FireEye Inc, a division that helps companies deal with cyber attacks, said that a sophisticated group of hackers have been manipulating the bug in a campaign called – ‘Operation Clandestine Fox’. The division described the group as ‘extremely proficient at lateral movement’ which is ‘difficult to track’. The campaign is said to be targeted against U.S. based firms but the motives are still unclear.

Microsoft said that the bug could allow that group to take complete control of your system, and do things like installing malicious programs, creating accounts and deleting data without your knowledge. The company asked users to move on to modern operating system as Windows XP will no more receive any updates. The old version is exposed to security risks and you may lose your important data to hackers.

The Internet Explorer users can do certain things to avoid this exploit and the easiest among all methods is to use a different browser, like Firefox or Chrome. Those who still want to stick with Internet Explorer, the company has published some advanced methods such as Enhanced Protected Mode.

It’ll be good for you to take some action before your important data gets exploited…….  

Microsoft Now Allows You to Control Your PC Using a Windows Phone

Windows Phone also joined the platforms that allow you to control your PC using your handset. Earlier, Microsoft just allowed iOS and Android to control desktop PCs using their Smartphones, but Windows Phone support wasn’t there.

From today, Microsoft is launching a preview version of its popular Remote Desktop app to let users of Windows Phone control their desktop PCs on the go. The company has made the app available from the Windows Phone Store for free, but the only thing you will need is to be running your Windows Phone 8.1 to install it.

Remote apps are pretty useful for Smartphone users especially those who want to access their PCs on the go. Microsoft has introduced the Remote Desktop Preview Software for free in the Windows Phone Store but the giant has done it quietly. It first bought the app to competing platforms – Androi and iOS, last year.

The Remote Desktop app for Windows Phone 8.1 is identical to the Android and iOS versions which allows users to connect and control their Windows PC. The app uses the same Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) that the company has used for years for its Windows desktop as well as server releases to connect to a PC.

Microsoft’s app will support all Windows PCs having Remote Desktop turned on and it is designed for those who need on the go access to their main PC. There will be built-in options to scroll around a system at its indigenous resolution and on-screen keyboard with buttons. It includes shift, tab, esc, alt, ctrl, and the Windows key.

The app looks very straightforward, offering direct access to your desktop PC given that the Remote Desktop is activated. It looks an elegant solution when you need to access an important file from your home computer.

The company is expected to launch more combined apps over the coming months. Grab the app and control your PCs using your Winows Phone….