Microsoft: Windows 10 on track for latter half of 2015 get a lot of questions about when Microsoft is planning to launch Windows 10. I'm sure Microsoft executives do, too. In September, Microsoft Operating Systems Group chief Terry Myerson unveiled the initial Windows 10 road map. This week, Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner elaborated a bit on those plans. On Thursday, Turner covered Windows 10, along with Microsoft's evolving business model, during his appearance at a Credit Suisse technology conference in Phoenix, Ariz. Turner told attendees that Microsoft is still on track to "talk about the end-user consumer experiences in the early spring" of 2015. He also said Microsoft will have a "developer preview" in early summer. "And then by late summer and early fall we'll be able to bring out this particular OS. That's the current plan of record." Turner's timeline is mostly the same as the somewhat vaguer one that Myerson shared September 30 with those of us invited to the "chapter 1" Windows 10 reveal event in San Francisco. Myerson's Windows 10 timeline showed some kind of consumer reveal in the early part of 2015, a developer reveal event after that and then a "launch wave" around midyear. In late January at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash., Microsoft is going to show off the January Technology Preview of Windows 10, as well as a first preview of the Windows 10 mobile SKU that will work on Windows Phones, ARM tablets and Intel tablets, according to my sources. The mobile version of Windows 10 is not expected to include a desktop as part of the OS, while the current "desktop" version of Windows 10 that is in preview does and will when it ships. Microsoft officials also have said that Build 2015, the company's main Windows developer event, is coming the last week of April. I don't know what Turner meant by a Windows 10 "developer preview" coming in early summer, since the company's new strategy for delivering test builds calls for Microsoft to deliver regular (monthly or more) updates to Windows 10 for all interested testers. I wouldn't think there would need to be a separate developer preview given that new scenario. I'm going to assume he just meant Microsoft would go public with more about its universal app/developer strategy at Build. Windows watchers may recall that for more than a year, our tipsters have been saying Microsoft's internal timeline called for the company to release Windows 10 (then known as "Threshold") in spring 2015. But in September, Myerson made it sound like late summer/early fall was the "official" delivery ship target. Also: For those wondering about when Microsoft will debut the Metro-Style/Windows Store touch-first version of Office that won't need to run in the desktop, my bet is that will arrive around the same time as Windows 10. Microsoft officials have said that the desktop version of Office (Office 16) will be available in the second half of calendar 2015. My sources have said the touch-first version will be available the same time that Office 16 is. Turner didn't address Office timing in his remarks Thursday. http://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-windows-10-on-track-for-latter-half-of-2015/#ftag=CAD590a51e
Windows 10 Could Bolster 600 Million PC Upgrades Dell President Renee James says Windows 10's impact on the struggling PC market will be huge, with the release of Microsoft's next operating system (OS) leading to an estimated 600 million PC upgrades. James, who recently spoke at the Credit Suisse Technology Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, says there are hundreds of millions of PCs out there that are four years old or older. James says that many of the owners of these aging PCs have been putting off an upgrade because they simply weren't wowed by Microsoft's last operating system, Windows 8. Microsoft Being "Extraordinarily Responsive to Consumers" Dell's President says many consumers will be impressed with Microsoft's effort to accommodate for the mistakes made last time around. "They're being extraordinarily responsive to customers," James said. (Source: pcworld.com) He also says many consumers will be anxious to take advantage of emerging PC technologies, such as touchscreens and hybrid PC-tablet devices, which didn't exist several years ago. "When we see a healthy macroeconomic environment and an aging installed base we expect a new [OS] deployment," James said. "The [PCs] are fantastic and at new price points. That's kind of a perfect storm, combined with a new OS, and the OS usually pushes the upgrade cycle." James isn't alone in expressing hope for Microsoft's next OS. John Groden, an executive at hardware maker Hewlett-Packard, says his company is "genuinely excited about it." New, Returning Features Garner Interest in Windows 10 Windows 10 is still in its development stages but there are several early features that help explain everyone's excitement for its release. For one, it brings back the Start button abandoned in Windows 8. Second, it's designed to let users run the same applications on mobile and desktop devices. Third, Microsoft is planning to let users upgrade directly from Windows 7. Still, industry expert Jay Chou, a research analyst at market intelligence firm IDC, says it's unlikely Windows 10 will have the same impact that Windows 7 did back in 2009. For one, Chou says that Windows 8 is less reviled than Windows Vista, which received scathing reviews from critics and consumers alike when it launched in 2007. Second, Chou says the technology landscape has changed a great deal in recent years: "Vista did not have to compete with smartphones and tablets." (Source: pcworld.com) Windows 10 Release Date: Sometime in 2015 Looking towards Windows 10's 2015 launch, Chou says we can expect to see home users jump on the bandwagon first, with businesses -- as usual -- waiting for Microsoft to work out the kinks. Some analysts have predicted a Spring release of Windows 10, while other suggest it could be as late as Fall of 2015. We should know more about Windows 10 in early 2015, with Microsoft expected to reveal details about the OS' features at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. (Source: techtimes.com) What's Your Opinion? Are you as excited as Renee James about the release of Windows 10? Or do you think Dell's President is simply trying to create excitement among consumers? Do you believe criticisms of Windows 8 have been justified or overblown? Do you plan to buy a new PC when Windows 10 is released (including hybrids or tablet), or will you stick with your current hardware? http://www.infopackets.com/news/9439/windows-10-could-bolster-600-million-pc-upgrades
indows 10: Battery Saver updates in 9888 Every time a new build of Windows 10 is released - or leaks, as in this case - there are always small changes that show incremental improvements as Microsoft pushes closer to the final feature set for the OS. In this case, we can see a few improvements to Battery Saver. Battery Saver, as the name implies, will help your mobile device make the most out of your battery. This feature works by limiting the background activity on your device when the mode is activated. You can turn the feature on at anytime but there is also a setting to have it automatically turn on when there is a user-defined percentage left of the battery; e.g. turn on when there is 18% battery life left. In 9888, we can see that the UI has been updated and more importantly, it's now working properly. In the previous builds, while we could see Battery Saver, it was not functional. You can now also choose the point at which Battery Saver will activate from the settings page. There is a bit of a UI issue here - why does there need to be a separate panel for settings when there is only one item in the "Battery Saver settings" panel? Microsoft is either planning to add more features here or, if not, hopefully they will bring that function to the Overview page. This is a small update and considering that this build was not supposed to make its way out of Redmond and that the company is not releasing any new builds this year, this may be the best look we get until the consumer preview arrives. http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-10-battery-sense-updates-in-9888
TeamViewer 10 promises better performance, improves collaborative tools TeamViewer 10 promises better performance, improves collaborative tools TeamViewer GBMH has released TeamViewer 10, its free-for-personal-use remote control software for Windows, Mac and Linux. Also available in portable form for Windows users, the new app boasts a host of new features, improvements and a redesign for good measure. Chief among the changes are performance optimizations designed to take full advantage of multi-core processors. These include the promise of faster login times, better HD voice transmission quality and improved performance overall. A new Central Settings Policies tool has been added to the Management Console for those using TeamViewer in a corporate environment. This is accompanied by a Master whitelist designed to speed up permitted access to all the devices owned by a user on that whitelist. TeamViewer’s chat tools have been improved too with the introduction of a chat history feature as well as support for "persistent" chat groups, which allow users to create ongoing discussions. Improvements to the VoIP system allow users to initiate video and voice chats without first having to start a meeting. A virtual "door lock" has also been added as an option for meetings, allowing users to set up the meeting undisturbed first, or to prevent people turning up late. Those who do appear after the meeting has been locked are visible and can subsequently be invited in. Users can now add a profile picture to their accounts, plus automatically find nearby contacts and computers for connecting to. Support for Ultra HD (4K) displays has also been added, while users can now jot down notes during a session rather than afterwards. The whiteboard feature has also been added to the remote control portion of TeamViewer, while a new idle session timeout also provides greater security. The update also shows off a tweaked and streamlined user interface, which also offers new shortcuts to commonly used features and options. TeamViewer 10 is also capable of integrating with Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Box for the convenient sharing of files during meetings or remote control sessions. OS X Yosemite users gain a new integrated remote control toolbar as of version 10, while all OS X users also gain the ability to customize QuickJoin and Host modules, plus choose what’s shared via a new application selection feature. Finally, Linux users can now provide mobile device support through the program. TeamViewer 10.0.36254 FINAL and TeamViewer 10.0.36254 Portable are available now as a free-for-personal-use download for Windows, Mac and Linux. http://betanews.com/2014/12/02/teamviewer-10-promises-better-performance-improves-collaborative-tools/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed - bn - Betanews Full Content Feed - BN
