PJTV: New Coke

When Coca-Cola changed its recipe and rebranded itself as New Coke, the world recoiled in horror. What does New Coke have to do with conservative politics? Who is the classic conservative and who is the new conservative? Does the marketing plan of Pepsi resemble progressivism? Find out what Bill Whittle thinks.

 

Windows 8 Momentum Sputters

Wheeze pop, bang … full stop.

Windows 8, It’s just a stupid OS.

Interop writes:

No clear catalysts for growth are looming this month, so modest gains could continue for the immediate future. Microsoft is readying Windows Blue, its first major Windows 8 upgrade, however, and also has launched new campaigns to attract app developers. The company hopes these efforts and an upcoming wave of new tablets and PCs will revitalize interest throughout the summer and fall.

Windows 8 amassed a 3.17% market share in March, up from 2.67% in February, said Net Applications. Although the uptick represents progress, Windows 8′s gains still trail what Windows 7 had achieved by the same time. What’s more, Microsoft’s touch-oriented OS has been slowing down. After launching at the end of October, Windows 8 adoption increased 57.8% between November and December, before dropping to 31.4% between December and January and 18.1% between January and February. March’s growth rate of 18.7% will likely do little to silence the OS’s critics but it at least stemmed what had been precipitous month-over-month declines in momentum.

 

Microsoft Is Planning A Major Update To Windows 8 That Improves All Its Previous Shortcomings

Windows Blue …

A leaked version of an update to Microsoft‘s Windows 8, code-named “Windows Blue,” has surfaced.

The Verge first alerted to the update.

Microsoft is working to improve Windows 8′s shortcomings. The update includes smaller tile arrangements, a larger Start Screen desktop tile, and more room for personalization.

Besides improving visual cues, Windows Blue has more touch-friendly settings.

Windows Blue isn’t a brand new operating system. But it’s a huge makeover for Windows 8, which was released late last year to criticism that it was confusing.

Here’s a video showing off the changes:

Here’s more information about upcoming changes from The Verge:

Microsoft is building in additional Snap Views into Windows Blue, allowing users to place apps side-by-side in the Windows 8 view. The new 50 / 50 view is similar to the desktop mode snapping, but Microsoft also supports up to 4 snapped apps alongside each other. New alarm, sound recorder, and calculator Windows 8 -style apps will also take advantage of these new views, but we understand developers will be able to update their apps to support the additional Snap Views alongside other API changes and additions. The new Snap Views also allow users to use Windows 8-style applications across multiple monitors.

Windows 8 hasn’t had the consumer success that Microsoft hoped for. It’s been plagued with poor sales.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/windows-8-update-windows-blue-leak-2013-3#ixzz2OU568MA6

 

Yeah It’s Done

I down-graded from Windows 8 to Windows 7 and installed a new SSD in the new PC,it all works fine. Fast is the word for SSDs. I put in a VERTEX 4 slightly behind the latest but cheap enough. It’s 128 GB and the old Win 8 boot dish is now Disk to. I am trying to figure out how to do the Apple Fusion Drive next.

SSDs are now less than $1 a GB.

Really fast. Laptop is next SSD upgrade, for me, as the battery on mine is getting weak. SSD s, improves battery use over the old HD.

What Accounts For Week PCSales This Christmas Seaso?

As most of my blog readers have known, I have been experiencing major problems for weeks with an unexplained “Crash Dump” on my main OC. So right before Thanksgiving I bought a new PC, an Ivy Bridge 3770 equipped ASUS machine. It has minimum crap-ware. It also came with Windows 8 … Which I hate for a lot of reasons.

Currently I am trying to install a SSD with retail box of Windows 7 to downgrade.

My old machine was about five years young, so … If you have ever tried an iPad for serious work, I pity you.

I was just reading through this article below.

What can save the PC market?

Stephen Baker, veep at NPD, admitted in a statement it was still too early to “place blame on Windows 8 for the ongoing weakness in the PC market …

“We still have the whole holiday selling season ahead of us, but clearly Windows 8 did not prove to be the impetus for a sales turnaround some had hoped,” he added.

That said, Microsoft’s grip on the device market has loosened with the advent of smartphones and tabs anyway.

Numbers from channel watcher Canalys show Microsoft accounts for 72 per cent of traditional PCs including tablets but add smartphones to the equation and share falls to 32 per cent.

“We are seeing no major uplift in retail [due to Windows 8],” said Tim Coulling, analyst at Canalys. “It definitely won’t reverse the trend of tablets being the hottest product out there”.

As reported by The Channelweeks ago, the fact PC vendors have made cautious forecasts for Windows 8 tablet sales this Chrimbo hasn’t helped out Microsoft’s new OS.

“Windows 8 is expensive, and a lot of [vendors] have missed the Christmas window, they are not getting onto [retailers' shelves]. It won’t be a good Christmas for PC vendors that is for sure,” added Coulling.

According to Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund, Windows 8 has endured an “awkward start” in the weeks after launch.

It’s interesting the MS has recently fired their Windows 8 man in charge …

I can say with authority it sucks and I spent $200 to get the replacement.It’s and illogical and inconsistent piece of software, with a long relearning curve to boot.

Reserve Your Copy of Windows 8 Pro and Pre-order Windows 8 PCs today!

At first I said no, but now I see that the improvements in the smoothness and functionality might just sway me over. It’s also been said MS slow SP plan may have gone out the window, making slipstream updates faster than before…

The fact that now Firefox 16 works right on Windows 8 also has me jazzed ….

Microsoft is moving Windows away from the desktop and toward a more mobile future. This is the single biggest change that’s ever happened to Windows — and yes, I’m including NT in that assessment — and one that will no doubt leave more than a few users feeling both confused and betrayed. But as with the seven stages of grief, eventually you have to just understand and accept what’s happening. And what’s happening is that Windows is transitioning into a new mobile platform.

From the MS blog:

Starting today, you can reserve a packaged DVD of the upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $69.99 USD ERP* (U.S.) at select retailers. When you receive your copy of the Windows 8 Pro upgrade, you’ll see that the packaging takes a fresh approach, in the reimagining of Windows. Your package will feature one of 5 vibrant illustrations – you can check out all 5 here on Facebook. We moved to paper based materials (the exception of course being the upgrade DVD inside) which allowed us to make an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption. And we’ve reduced the packaging weight by 41%.

In the U.S., you will find this offer at Amazon.com, Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot and the Microsoft Store and many more. I suggest checking with your local retailers.

However, if you want to wait until October 26th you will be able to upgrade online via Windows.com using the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant for just $39.99 USD ERP*. Online upgrade to Windows 8 Pro is supported for 140 countries worldwide, with 37 languages, and 23 supported currencies!

You will want to upgrade your PC to Windows 8 Pro sooner rather than later – this upgrade promotion for Windows 8 Pro both online and at retail runs only through to January 31st, 2013.

MS surface pad is supposed to be the target app for Windows 8. It ships … The Surface RT will be available with general availability of Windows 8, which will launch on October 26, 2012. The Surface Pro will be available three months after that The Surface will initially be available in Microsoft Stores and online.

Citing Windows 8 Uncertainty, Intel Warns On Current Quarter

Planning on getting a new PC because of the latest bloatware from Microsoft is not going to work anymore. Surprised fondleslabs taking it out on new PCs and Microsoft alike. Don’t be. Now it seems everybody knows, things are changing. If it’s not smart phones, now it’s fondleslabs. Both are taking their revenge on desktops and laptops alike… The PC wars are finally over.

Consumers and businesses aren’t  just holding off on new PC purchases until Windows 8 ships at the end of next month; they’re unsure what types of machines to purchase. That’s the word from chip-making giant Intel, which warned investors this week that earnings for the current quarter would be lower than previously expected.

Intel previously said that it expected revenues in the current quarter to be $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion. It now expects revenues to hit $13.2 billion, plus or minus $300 million. Intel’s gross profit margin will fall from 63 percent to 62 percent.

The slowing of sales is in line with recent announcements from PC giants HP and Dell, both of which predicted lower-than-originally-expected revenues for the current quarter.

As usual, the culprit is Windows 8, which goes on sale on October 26, right as the current quarter is winding to a close. But Intel’s slowing growth might have more to do with uncertainty than any expectation about a future boost from Windows 8. The trouble is, PC makers aren’t sure which types of Windows 8 devices are going to sell the best, and because the coming generation of Windows 8 hardware is so diverse, it’s not clear where these firms should put the most resources.

Previous to this version of Windows, sales predictions were relatively easy: Consumers and businesses essentially chose between two basic types of PC, desktops, and portable computers. But thanks to the rise of simpler, slate-like tablet devices, Windows 8 will be accompanied by a much wider range of PC types, including various desktops, but also tablet, slate, laptop, Ultrabook, hybrid PC, convertible PC, and other portable designs, many of which will come with multi-touch capabilities.

And Intel’s ARM-based competitors now have a foot in the PC door, too: Various PC makers and other device makers will be selling portable devices based on Windows RT, the ARM variant of Windows 8. (Even Intel’s longtime partner Microsoft is making a Windows RT tablet, the Surface.) Uncertainty about the popularity of these devices, too, is surely hanging over Intel’s future growth potential.

Not helping matters is that business PC sales are flattening ahead of the Windows 8 launch as well. In previous quarters, strong sales of business PCs helped make up any shortfall on the consumer side. Only Intel’s data center business—servers—is meeting expectations, the firm revealed.

Fortunately for Intel, none of this was unexpected. With the biggest PC makers already reducing sales forecasts ahead of the Windows 8 launch, most people believed it was only a matter of time before Intel followed suit. After all, these firms are Intel’s customers, not businesses or consumers.

PC Deal For Students

Apparently fondle-slabs are hot, PCs not so much so … So they want to try and head STUDENTS off at the pass.

We found out about Microsoft’s new back to school promotion via CNET. Students who buy a new Windows 7 PC can get a free Xbox(4 GB model) and a $14.99 upgrade to Windows 8 when the new operating system launches on October 26.

If you want in on the promotion, buy a computer from Dell, HP, Newegg, or the Microsoft Store.

The sites will walk you through the rest of the process from there. Since it’s an educational offer, you’ll have to prove you’re a student.

The deal is good until September 8 or until supplies run out.

Don’t forget, STUDENTS only … You will likely have to supply proof.

Don’t ask, I get nothing from no one.

Microsoft Talks Windows 8 Apps

Now that we have a release date for Windows 8, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty and talk about apps. All of the apps we’ve seen for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview have been free, but obviously, that won’t be the case when the full version of Windows 8 becomes available. Even though we’ll surely see a ton of free apps available on the Windows Store, developers will have the option of setting prices for their apps as well.

The flaw is the developers will quickly see the rigged game and offer their apps direct. Why bother with Microsoft anymore. Desktops don’t need “a store”. You’re late and left out. ‘bye.

Now what? Hey lets try duping Apple!!! Even better lets go back to “The Network is The Computer”. Why bother with Windows 8. Windows is so last century.

Firefox OS is where it is. HTML 5 makes it all work. Write apps in HTML 5. Done. Dump the resource hogging windows giant furball.

Microsoft has detailed the pricing scheme it will eventually use for the Windows Store, saying in a post on the MSDN Blog that app prices can range from $1.49 all the way up to $999.99. In an apparent attempt to make the Windows Store stand out from all the other app stores, developers won’t have the option of pricing their apps at $0.99, so don’t count on having a seemingly endless supply of dollar deals to browse through on the Windows Store.

The company also says that it will support successful apps by only taking a 20% fee on apps that generate $25,000 or more in sales. Until apps reach that $25,000 milestone, however, Microsoft will be taking an industry-standard cut of 30%.

OK so who is going to waste your time and money developing for that confiscatory pricing, just to have Microsoft steal your successful app and make it their own? I refuse to play that game again. Been there, done that.

Additionally, Microsoft is taking a “try before you buy” approach to the Windows Store, letting developers offer a free trial period for their apps. A trial lasts for seven days, and naturally gives users the option of backing out of a full purchase should they decide they don’t like the app during the trial window.

Microsoft is making some smart decisions with the Windows Store. The 20% fee on successful apps will likely have developers giving the Windows Store priority in some cases, and giving users access to a free trial before buying could potentially lead to more downloads (and, by extension, more purchases). We’ll see if Microsoft’s plan for the Windows Store works out when Windows 8 launches on October 26.

It’s a rigged game, that Microsoft Store thingy.

Acer founder: Microsoft’s Move Into Tablet Hardware Is Just Temporary

The founder of Acer says what MS is doing with tablets is just temporary … Even before it’s priced and released …

Reports indicate Microsoft didn’t give its long list of OEM partners much of a heads up before announcing its foray into full hardware production with the MS Surface tablet announced earlier. But even though this means the likes of Dell, Acer, Asus, HP and others will have to go into direct competition with Microsoft, perhaps they shouldn’t be too worried. At least according Acer co-founder Stan Shih, who claims the move is temporary, with Microsoft using a branded product to lead the way for other manufacturers before stepping back.

Speaking to Taipei-based Digitimes, the executive assured that Microsoft “has no real intention to sell own-brand tablet PCs” because it wouldn’t bring as much profit as simply licensing its software products. Shih claims the software giant is just looking to boost adoption of Windows 8 tablets and help expand market demand for the product line, but “once the purpose is realized Microsoft will not offer more models.”

Isn’t that similar to what people said about XBox??? Looked like a real product to me. Else why spend all that money on packaging. We’ll just have to wait and see whether it’s MS’s way to goad other hardware manufacturers into action.

Painting in broad strokes …

Rumor: First Microsoft Surface tablet units to be Wi-Fi only

Details regarding the final specs of Microsoft’s Surface tablet have been scarce since the device was announced on Monday but it was revealed on Thursday that the first units to be sold will only be equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity.

Two unnamed sources close to the project told Bloomberg that Microsoft will initially be equipping the upcoming Windows 8 Surface tablet with short-range Wi-Fi only in lieu of mobile wireless capabilities that are expected to arrive later.

The full specifications of the tablet have not been disclosed as the Redmond-based company painted in broad strokes when it came to describing the device’s internals, and glossed over internet connectivity completely. When Surface was demoed on stage, Windows chief Steven Sinofsky attempted to browse the web with Internet Explorer but had trouble with software and never got past Bing’s splash screen. The issue seemed to be related to the device’s software which quickly froze or crashed seconds later, forcing Sinofsky to transfer to a different tablet.

So they don’t yet have any cell-phone marketing companies signed on??

Who knows what is really going on, with no MS details and no pricing it’s anybody’s guess, isn’t it?