Articles about Microsoft

Google has passed Apple in the brand stakes for the first time with technology dominating the world’s top ten most valuable brands including a strong 12 months for Microsoft.

Research from Millward Brown shows that Google’s brand value grew by 40 percent from 2013 to 2014 as it moved from second to first place with a valuation of $159 billion ahead of its competitor Apple, which saw its value drop 20 percent to $148 billion.

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The features of the new Microsoft Surface Pro 3 are impressive even when they are assessed individually. But they are even more impressive when grouped together in one single device, which might just be the first one of its kind that is actually the real deal -- it works as a tablet, it works as an ultrabook and it is good enough to replace both. At least that is what Microsoft is saying.

During the presentation event Microsoft made it clear the Surface Pro 3 is meant to compete with Apple's mighty 13.3-inch MacBook Air, more so than with the iPad. Make no mistake, this device is not a tablet in the traditional sense of the word. It is akin to a hybrid PC, much like the Surface Pro 2, due to its size, processor architecture and target market. So, because Microsoft made a big deal out of it being better than its ultrabook rival, how does it compare with the bigger MacBook Air?

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I have no problems with touchscreens in general, no problem at all. I can't imagine using a non-touchscreen phone any more, and I have tablets of all shapes and sizes coming out of my ears. Touchscreens make sense, they are intuitive, they are fun to use. In the right situation, at least. I bang on about being a very happy Surface Pro owner (not as yet a Surface Pro 3), but how often do I take advantage of the fact that it has a touchscreen? Very rarely. I might jab the screen every now and then to switch apps, I may even mess about with handwriting recognition from time to time, but despite my love of the device, a keyboard/trackpad/mouse combo is my preferred choice.

I use my Surface Pro as a laptop, and perhaps this is where my issues stem from. To me it makes little sense to reach over the keyboard to interact with the screen when a far more energy and time efficient trackpad flick does the job just as well. Used as a tablet, it would be a different story, but to me the Surface Pro range is not about amalgamating the best of laptops and tablets, it's about having a fancy laptop. But I digress. My point is that I have yet to be convinced of the value of touchscreen laptops (when used as laptops), and the idea of touchscreen monitors for desktop computers just seems like a step too far.

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Microsoft just announced a bigger and badder Windows 8.1 hybrid PC, pitched by the company as a laptop and tablet replacement that outclasses Apple's mighty MacBook Air. Offered in five significantly different configurations, which range from an affordable $799 to an eye-watering $1,949, on paper the Surface Pro 3 looks like a device that can be used by undemanding users and professionals alike.

The Surface Pro 3, powered by Intel Core i5 processors, is said to launch on June 20, while the less powerful Core i3 and faster Core i7 configurations are expected two months later, on the last day of August. Interested buyers, however, can pre-order one now.

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Microsoft may have been granted permission to launch its Xbox One console in China in September, but a decision by the Chinese government could impact severely on sales of Windows 8. China's official state news agency, Xinhua reports that the latest version of Microsoft's operating system will be banned from governmental computers, although there are to be no restrictions placed on home computers. The reason for the ban on Windows 8? Well it's not quite clear, but it's put down to something to do with energy-saving -- although this seems unlikely.

The website of China's Central Government Procurement Center posted an 'Important Notice' entitled, catchily, "Agreement to supply information about the class of energy-saving products complement the mandatory tender notice". A list of criteria then follows including, at number 5 "all computer products are not allowed to install Windows 8 operating system". This is slightly at odds with the news agency's suggestion -- the official news agency, remember -- that Windows 8 is being banned from new government PCs in "a move to ensure computer security after the shutdown of Windows XP".

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Today's Microsoft event in New York City was something of a mixed bag with its fair share of highs and lows. There was an obvious highlight -- the Surface Pro 3. It was a highlight for two reasons. Firstly, despite expectations to the contrary, this was in fact the only device to be announced today. Secondly, at least in terms of looks and specification, it's bloody amazing. But there were at least a couple of low points. No Surface Mini, and the frankly bonkers, nuts, crazy, mad Surface Pro 3 pricing.

The Pro side of Microsoft's Surface range has long been criticized for being a little on the pricey side, but the third generation takes things to the extreme. At the top end of the scale -- a rather juicy sounding Intel Core i7 device packing 8GB RAM and 512 GB of storage -- you'll need to save up an astonishing $1,949. Panos Panay made a great deal of noise about how this is the tablet that can replace your laptop. For that price, I should flippin' well hope so. For that price I can buy a top of the range laptop and still have enough left over to buy a decent tablet. I could even venture into Apple territory if I was feeling a little saucy...

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When I boarded the train earlier this morning to go to the Surface Event in NYC, I had small expectations. Let me clarify -- small but not low. In other words, I was expecting a Surface Mini. Truth be told, I wasn't overly excited about yet another small tablet (manufacturers are already doing a good job with them). However, despite my trepidation about a small tablet, I was excited because it would have been a Surface, which is known for high quality. Plus, there were rumors about a new Surface Pro 3, and that had me giddy.

Imagine my surprise, when internet rumors about the Surface Pro turned out to be true and the Surface Mini was vaporware. I was front row today while watching Satya Nadella and Panos Panay unveil the Surface Pro 3 and I was smiling ear to ear the entire time. Not only was the tablet amazing, but so too was the presentation. It was very Steve Jobs-esque, which is rather appropriate. Today, Microsoft is finally a step ahead of Apple with devices. The magic has left California and gone to Washington. Here are some of my first impressions of the game-changing laptop/tablet PC hybrid.

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You probably already know, but Microsoft is set to announce a new Surface product today at an event in New York City. The initial rumors suggested we would be seeing a mini version of the company’s flagship Windows slate (a conclusion jumped to because the invites mentioned a "small gathering"), but latest rumblings suggest the exact opposite -- with a 12-inch Surface Pro 3 now tipped to be the product revealed on stage.

While I personally would like to see a Surface Mini, a larger Surface Pro makes a lot of sense, and will appeal to power users. At the moment no one outside of Microsoft knows for definite what to expect, but it should be very interesting nonetheless.

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As a yearly event geared towards my neck of the woods, the IT pro community (non-developers!), TechEd is the sort of Microsoft-focused conference that resonates with me. It's the one large event solely dedicated to the products and technologies I am knee deep in consulting customers on.

While most Microsoft watchers may not have caught it outright, did anyone notice the subliminal theme that arose? All of the major product announcements at the conference were planted in some facet of Microsoft's growing cloud landscape. Before anyone jumps on me for being technically inaccurate, yes, they did announce a few news items based around their traditional on-prem products.

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The web browser has become one of the most important inventions of all time. It has become ubiquitous in our lives -- hell, for some of us, it has become our lives. Many of us spend hours on the web, navigating around with Safari, Chrome or Internet Explorer to name a few. And so, the browser has actually become a computing platform in itself. Google's Chrome OS and Mozilla's Firefox OS are both built with that philosophy in mind.

Today, the ever-increasingly cool Microsoft announces that it has teamed up with Ubisoft to bring Assassin's Creed: Pirates to Internet Explorer (and other modern browsers too) by embracing HTML5 and other technologies. The results are breathtaking.

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Twin colossi of the software world Microsoft and SAP are extending their long-term partnership to deliver improved productivity and workforce mobility solutions.

The announcement focuses on three areas, enterprise cloud computing, improved data exchange between SAP applications and MS Office, and mobile support with expanded development for Windows and Windows Phone 8.1.

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As you probably noticed, earlier this week Microsoft announced that the Xbox One would be made available without Kinect, instead of forcing the motion sensor on consumers as a compulsory part of the Xbox package. This was a move analysts predicted would happen next year, but it's happening now.

So yes, cue much cheering and cries of "finally" and general applause for a victory for consumer choice. And yes, this is a good thing in terms of consumer choice -- no one would doubt that. But amidst all the buzz, fireworks and party poppers going off, many folks seem to have overlooked the fact that there are downsides to this move. And it's these negative aspects I'm going to look at here.

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This upcoming Tuesday, Microsoft is holding a Surface press event and yours truly will be attending. While nothing has been confirmed, many are speculating that we will finally see a "Surface Mini" -- a smaller Windows tablet bearing Surface branding.

That is exciting on its own, yet further rumors and speculation are predicting a Surface Pro 3 to be unveiled. Again, this is not confirmed -- purely chatter at this point. Still, as a Surface fan, a third version of Microsoft's Pro tablet has me giddy. Truth be told, I have been daydreaming about what the Surface Pro 3 could be. Here are my 5 wishes for it -- Microsoft, you'd better be reading!

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While Apple and Google are fighting a FUD war for the hearts and minds of K-12 campuses, there's one area of education that neither has been able to penetrate with success: higher ed. Specifically, I'm referring to the conglomerate of colleges and universities across the US (and likely abroad).

That's because for all their love in the media, tablets have yet to prove their weight when it comes to deep research and content manipulation in the classroom. Real student work comes in the form of content creation, not consumption -- an area Google and Apple are endlessly infatuated with.

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The past week was one dominated by privacy and security related stories. A court ruling in Oracle's favor means that the company is able to claim copyright protection for APIs subsequently used by Google in Android. The long term effects of the ruling are yet to be understood, but they could certainly be far-reaching. Privacy hit the headlines again as SanDisk works on a self-encrypting SSD, and Google was told that users can request that information about them be removed from search results -- of course it didn't take long for the requests to start rolling in.

New research shows that there has been an increase in online suspicion, indicated by a huge increase in the levels of encryption used. The UK government approved the use of Samsung KNOX devices which could help to allay fears about BYOD. Google announced GAME -- Google Apps Message Encryption -- to provide end-to-end encryption for email outside of the Gmail ecosystem.

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