Demonstration of Windows Vista and Office 12 from WinHEC 2006
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Google Knocks Microsoft off Dell PCs
When consumers boot up their new Dell desktops and notebooks next week, they will find a Google home page and search tools, not the familiar Microsoft versions, the world's largest PC vendor confirmed Thursday.
Dell will factory-install the Google desktop, toolbar, search engine, and home page on desktops and notebooks shipping to consumers and small and medium-size businesses worldwide, said Dell spokesman Jess Blackburn.
It will also be installed on certain enterprise systems, unless the buyer specifies its own corporate software tools. Dell will begin shipping the new configuration by the end of May.
Microsoft Tools Still an Option
Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt also confirmed the deal on Thursday at a Goldman Sachs Group conference. "Dell is the pioneer in this. They've figured out a way to work with other partners to essentially fill out the Windows platform," he said at the event, which was Webcast. "Windows lacks certain features, and Dell figured out a way to add them."
The Microsoft versions of those tools will still be installed on the PCs, but they will not boot up automatically unless a user changes his default settings. Dell also preinstalls software such as office productivity, Internet connectivity, and security tools, depending on customer requirements.
Dell did not disclose the terms of the agreement, which had been rumored as long ago as February.
Good News for Microsoft?
Though the news may appear to be a blow to Microsoft, Rob Enderle, analyst with the Enderle Group, said it actually could serve the company well in the near term as it continues to battle antitrust charges in the European Union.
"Initially this works in Microsoft's favor, because they're trying to showcase that there is no lock-in on the desktop," he said. "Right now, a couple of the big [hardware] guys going with Google is a good thing."
However, the PC desktop is increasingly becoming a battleground for companies such as Google, Yahoo, and eBay that want to drive PC users to their Internet-based services to earn ad revenue, Enderle said. "Microsoft will have to respond" as competition for that visibility grows, he said.
Windows Vista Beta 2: Aftermath
Shortly after Microsoft released Vista Beta 2, the big hardware vendors released updated drivers for the general public to install on their test machines. NVidia has released nForce drivers (nForce 4 or greater) and Forceware drivers for their chipsets/video cards and ATI has just posted updated Catalyst drivers for their Radeon products.
Screenshot/video galleries are starting to hit the web as well:
Paul Thurrott has his preliminary Beta 2 review up along with a bunch of images
PCMag has a nice collection of screenshots on their site
If you missed the keynote addresses from this morning, Microsoft is providing on-demand access to them over here. Office 2007 Beta 2 can be downloaded using a nifty new software delivery manager over here. We've also got several staff members on the floor of WinHEC this year blogging live from the show. Our very own Creamhackered gave his preliminary rundown on Vista Beta 2 earlier today:
"Vista seems a little more responsive and stable from 5381. Nothing really different from that build but if you’ve been waiting to run Vista on your main machine then you may want to wait a little longer until RC0, as this release still isn’t at the stage where you could rely on it every day, especially on a mid-range PC."
Thursday, May 25, 2006
2007 Office System Beta 2 Screenshots
Some screenshots of the new Beta 2 release of the 2007 Office System. Simply click on an image thumbnail to enlarge in a new window.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Xbox HD DVD unveiled at E3
Xbox HD DVD unveiled at E3
Microsoft built upon its recent press release and showed off some pics of the new HD DVD drive for the 360 which is definitely due out this year. The box, from the few glimpses we’ve had isn’t anything like as large as standalone HD DVD players and is a bit more comparable to an ordinary computer DVD drive (around 5” I think). However, even though Microsoft has wheeled the box out for all to see, there is still no indication of an HDCP compliant output. It will be very interesting to see how it intends to pull this one off.
Other hardware peripherals for the next-gen console included the new EyeToyesque USB camera, now given the official title of Xbox Live Vision, which will enable video-conferencing and video-mailing and should be available in the Autumn. Finally, there was also a new wireless racing wheel and a wireless headset.
Microsoft built upon its recent press release and showed off some pics of the new HD DVD drive for the 360 which is definitely due out this year. The box, from the few glimpses we’ve had isn’t anything like as large as standalone HD DVD players and is a bit more comparable to an ordinary computer DVD drive (around 5” I think). However, even though Microsoft has wheeled the box out for all to see, there is still no indication of an HDCP compliant output. It will be very interesting to see how it intends to pull this one off.
Other hardware peripherals for the next-gen console included the new EyeToyesque USB camera, now given the official title of Xbox Live Vision, which will enable video-conferencing and video-mailing and should be available in the Autumn. Finally, there was also a new wireless racing wheel and a wireless headset.
PlayStation 3 E3 press event - launch dates and prices revealed
Kicking off the excitement of the Electronic Entertainment Expo in LA yesterday/last night, Sony was the first of the big three console manufacturers to make its speeches and reveal the PS3. Fortunately, this was no repeat of the closely veiled hints of last year – this time there was a hands on demo of the new controller in action, some games actually being played and no efforts to pass off pre-rendered footage as genuine.
The big news is, of course, the new controller. Since the previous version, christened the ‘batarang’ or ‘boomerang’ by cynical members of the press, was withdrawn, Sony has kept tight-lipped on the new design. Imagine our surprise when it turned out to look... exactly like the PS2 Dual Shock 2 controller. However, there’s a whole lot more to this next-gen edition as it supports all manner of motion detection, in fact it’s much more comparable to the Nintendo concept controller than the dull old Xbox 360 one. What ever will Microsoft do now?
The all-important High Definition abilities of the console were also made clearer. Some had said that 720p resolution in gaming was the limit of the new technology but Sony has obviously paid the naysayers no heed – on show was a demo of the new Gran Tourismo HD title, running in 1080i. Reports from the web haven’t been entirely sold on the quality of the early footage, but if anyone can get it right, it’s probably the Gran Tourismo team.
On to prices and specs: Sony has revealed the prices and launch dates of each region’s console. First of all every PS3 comes with a hard disk drive, although you get to choose between a 20 or 60GB version. The prices are, as expected, higher than that of the 20GB Xbox 360 coming to 499 Euro (around £340) for the 20GB and 599 Euro (around £410) for the 60GB version. Ouch – looks like I’ll have to be selling a kidney or two when they launch in November. Exact dates are the 11th November for Japan and the 17th for the US. I can’t find an exact European yet but will update you as soon as I do.
The big news is, of course, the new controller. Since the previous version, christened the ‘batarang’ or ‘boomerang’ by cynical members of the press, was withdrawn, Sony has kept tight-lipped on the new design. Imagine our surprise when it turned out to look... exactly like the PS2 Dual Shock 2 controller. However, there’s a whole lot more to this next-gen edition as it supports all manner of motion detection, in fact it’s much more comparable to the Nintendo concept controller than the dull old Xbox 360 one. What ever will Microsoft do now?
The all-important High Definition abilities of the console were also made clearer. Some had said that 720p resolution in gaming was the limit of the new technology but Sony has obviously paid the naysayers no heed – on show was a demo of the new Gran Tourismo HD title, running in 1080i. Reports from the web haven’t been entirely sold on the quality of the early footage, but if anyone can get it right, it’s probably the Gran Tourismo team.
On to prices and specs: Sony has revealed the prices and launch dates of each region’s console. First of all every PS3 comes with a hard disk drive, although you get to choose between a 20 or 60GB version. The prices are, as expected, higher than that of the 20GB Xbox 360 coming to 499 Euro (around £340) for the 20GB and 599 Euro (around £410) for the 60GB version. Ouch – looks like I’ll have to be selling a kidney or two when they launch in November. Exact dates are the 11th November for Japan and the 17th for the US. I can’t find an exact European yet but will update you as soon as I do.
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