Microsoft Branching Out
05.16.06 - 05:20pm
I believe that competition is very good for the consumer, we can only benefit from competition between corporations. If you look over the past decade in technology, competition has greatly helped the consumer, especially in computer software and hardware industries. Between Nvidia and ATi, Intel and AMD, and lately Microsoft and Apple, competition has brought deals to the table that would have otherwise not materialized. Of the three competitions I have mentioned, the one that covers the most ground and has brought the most to the consumer would be the battle between Microsoft and Apple. Both of these companies try to impress the computing population with new features, better security, and more connectivity than the competition, while trying to cut a profit. It seems that lately everyone has been focusing on what Apple has done and how great OS X is, so I thought I’d shine a little light on Microsoft and see what I could turn up.
Ultra-Mobile PC
Do you remember Tablet PCs? Well Microsoft is trying to bring back this idea in a smaller and lighter platform with more integrated features. Their goal is that the users of these UMPCs will use these booksized computers to help facilitate their lives with an organizer, email client, instant messaging, and easy Internet access. Now you may say “I have a cell phone to do this” and yes that is correct, what what can you get done with that 1.5″ screen? What about PDAs though, they have larger screens and touch pads? Well forget that stuff, what do you say to a 7″ touch screen with a 800×480 resolution, WiFi, BlueTooth, and a dedicated operating system? How about corporate backing with large electronics companies backing it? To me this sounds like a glimpse of the future, I can imagine using a UMPC to take notes in my classes while I monitor my email and keep track of the days events. With this technology in everyones pocket you could potentially network all your friends and easily coordinate with each other. With this UMPC you could also watch movies when on a bus, listen to music while you are walking around, and keep in touch with all your friends. Here is a link to the Samsung UMPC
Vista
Vista is one of those things that seems to constantly change yet never release. I think everyone can agree though that Windows is definitely in need of a refresh and hopefully Vista will be that refresh. Vista has taken some of the best attributes from OS X and Linux and then added a few new things into the pot. Hopefully this mix of new and old will create a great product. Some of the new features that will hit Vista really have my excited, so I will name a few. There will be search bars everywhere. The start menu has one, every window within Windows has one, and IE 7 has a search bar, so if you lose a file, it can easily be found. Windows Aero should make the OS very pleasing to the eye with rounded edges, a glass texture, and an overall futuristic look. The Gadgets feature is very similar to OS X’s Widgets so the user will have a chance to install custom programs that will be easily accessed. The taskbar has also been revamped with a new feature that will display thumbnails when you place your mouse over an applications tab. In previous versions of Windows you could alt-tab to quickly shift through active programs and this quick function helped with productivity. With Windows Vista this feature has been revamped to include the Aero function and the thumbnails from the taskbar by showing a row of active programs, making selecting of the correct program very easy. Hopefully these features won’t get cut from Vista like a lot of the other innovative features were, if Microsoft keeps going with this recent trend Vista should shape up to be a nice operating system that hopefully isn’t too bloated.
LifeCams
When I saw the tech specs on these webcams my jaw dropped. It looks like Microsoft is trying to make webcams a mainstream item to attach to your computer and these cameras would be a good start. While the low-end version is stuck with a 640×480 resolution, the high-end is capable of 5 Megapixel stills and 1.3 Megapixel video shots making it a great webcam capable of some pretty decent shots. I could see myself attaching it to my laptop and walking around snapping pictures. With the low-end priced at $49 and the high-end at $99, the high-end definitely is a much better deal, hopefully these cameras will take off and video teleconferences will become a daily event.
Xbox 360 and Xbox Live
While the Xbox and Xbox 360 are both great consoles, I believe the true success story lies in the network that connects these consoles. With Xbox Live, my little brother can play with kids out in California, Great Britain and Australia at the same time, speaking the same language and kicking butt in whatever game they happen to be playing. Computers have always had the ability to network with each other, letting multiple players join in playing the latest First Person Shooter or Role Playing Game, but consoles had always been stuck in the dark, with at most 4 people on one console all sharing one screen. With Xbox 360 this is no longer an issue, hook up your Xbox to the Internet and off you go, gaming to your hearts content. Xbox Live also lets software companies distribute expansion packs and software updates to their video games, giving the consumer the best experience possible. The Xbox 360 also packs quite a punch in the hardware section featuring a single processor with 3 separate 3.2GHz cores, a 500MHz 48 shader graphics processor, and 512MB of RAM. I am sure you know at least one person that spends hours each day playing their Xbox on Live, I swear this thing is causing a epidemic on my college campus with students missing Football and Basketball games to play Xbox.
Pirates and Piracy
What happens when Microsoft starts throwing rocks at pirates? Everyone gets a free laugh and a few heads may turn. A week ago Microsoft sent a package to some known Windows resellers with the point being to stop pirating their software. If you look at the pictures here, you may get the idea that they are not going to leave any stone unturned. Get it? I didn’t at first, thought it was a stretch, but either way it is ingenious marketing. Glad somebody at Microsoft can be original. One other interesting thing I noticed is that Microsoft is trying to counter piracy with their new discount program. Windows XP Pro normally will cost you $250, however if Windows detects that you are using a pirated version, you have the option to purchase a authenticated key from Microsoft for $150. Next time I have to buy Windows I might just do this and save a $100. Here is the link to the Anandtech article dealing with this.
Windows Media Player 11
While this should probably go with the Vista portion of this article, I believe it deserves its own section. It seems like the new thing to do is make everything glossy and rounded and the new WMP does exactly that. Besides the newly designed interface WMP11 also has easier to use CD ripping and burning settings with the ability to start these actions with the click of a single button. The navigation menu reminds me iTunes but I guess everything is going to look like the competition in this arena. The menu seems easy to use, the search bar is prominently displayed and hopefully you don’t have to view the WMP Internet Page when it is first loaded up. If you want a more in depth article and the actually Beta release click here.
That about wraps up my look at what Microsoft has cooking but I am sure I missed a few things. If you know of something that should really be looked into just drop a comment and I will check it out. Microsoft has a bunch of stuff going on and everything seems very interesting, the future looks very bright for the computer user.
Hola faretaste
mekodinosad