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A report surfaced on Monday claiming that the new Acer Aspire One Netbook featuring Android will start shipping in August. The price of the Netbook is still unknown.
The computer reportedly will have the Google mobile operating system installed but will be configured as a dual-boot system, also shipping with Microsoft's Windows XP.
In June, just a few days after Acer announced that an Android-based Netbook would hit store shelves, the company told Digitimes that deploying a dual-OS strategy was in its best interest.
"(Acer Chairman) Wang pointed out that the dual-OS strategy is much safer for Acer, since consumer acceptance of the Android platform is unclear for the time being," DigiTimes reported. "Acer will be able to promote Android as a value-added feature, similar to Asustek Computer's Express Gate, to account for any price premium."
It's an interesting decision. To hedge its bets, Acer has decided that consumers wouldn't want an Android-only Netbook. So if you're looking to buy one of these computers, you'll have two operating systems from which to choose. Which OS would you pick?
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Through July 11, Microsoft is offering steep discounts on Windows 7 upgrades for the Home and Pro versions of the software--but not Windows 7 Ultimate.
Windows 7 Professional: What you really need.
(Credit: Microsoft)According to a CNET report, users can "preorder Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional at roughly half the list price, but the Ultimate version is offered at the full $219 price."
Those who currently use Windows Vista Ultimate and were hoping to switch to Windows 7 Ultimate were understandably upset. After getting little more than a few extras with Vista Ultimate, like Microsoft's BitLocker Drive Encryption software, they were hoping they'd be treated better this time around when they opted for Windows 7 Ultimate.
No such luck.
But instead of railing against Microsoft for treating its Windows Vista Ultimate customers so poorly, perhaps we should turn our focus to Windows 7 Ultimate itself. It might be the follow-up to Windows Vista Ultimate. Microsoft might have thrown every feature into it. But if we take an objective look at what it really offers, I don't think Microsoft can justify its existence as a consumer operating system.
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Microsoft announced on Monday that it's planning to release Windows 7 for the 2009 holiday season. The operating system was originally slated for a January 2010 release.
Now that we finally have an idea when Microsoft will be releasing Windows 7, we can project its financial impact on the company. But we need to be careful. We don't know how the market will accept Windows 7. And we still aren't sure if the enterprise market will adopt it for existing machines.
Looking at past figures, we can develop an understanding of the impact Windows launches--and especially that of Windows Vista--have had on Microsoft's financial state and project that forward.
How important is Windows to Microsoft's financial performance? Will the Windows 7 launch play an important role in Microsoft's financial performance over the long term?
Let's take a look:
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In a recent study from Forrester Research, analysts found that Dell and Hewlett-Packard provided customer experiences that were well below par, while Apple came out on top.
According to the study, which asked 4,500 U.S. consumers to rate the usefulness and enjoyability of products, Dell received a "poor" rating in overall customer experience. The company mustered a "very poor" when it came to the customer's enjoyment using Dell products. HP's experience was rated as "poor," while Apple led the way for computer manufacturers with an overall "good" experience.
Bruce Temkin, the study's author, wrote that while PC manufacturers have some work to do to enhance the consumer's experience, Windows also contributed to the low marks.
"I do think Microsoft's software has a bit to do with it," Temkin wrote. "Consumers don't distinguish problems with the operating system from problems with the PC manufacturer. Bottom line, the Windows ecosystem needs an extreme customer experience makeover."
I agree with Temkin. But I also believe that Windows 7 is the single Windows OS that can improve the consumer's experience.
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The $50 Windows 7 Upgrade?
(Credit: Microsoft)I need a new computer. Badly. My old iMac, which I'm using to write this now, has seen better days. My Windows machines, strewn across the house, are old and tired. But I'm unwilling to buy a new computer today. It's not that I haven't seen machines that I really would like to have, or that I don't have a desire to build my own. But there's a single factor that's forcing me to wait: Windows 7.
I'm done with buying Macs for a while. I really do love my iMac and my MacBook is my trusty companion when I travel, but after using Windows 7, I now know that I'm ready to jump back into the world of Windows. In my testing, Windows 7 isn't just an outstanding operating system that provides an ideal experience, but it's also a great alternative to Mac OS X. I find it superior to Apple's software on almost every level. It's that good.
But there's more to this story than Windows 7's superiority. I want to wait for Windows 7 for a number of reasons.
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The $50 Windows 7 Upgrade?
(Credit: Microsoft)According to CNET News reporter Ina Fried, Microsoft might release Windows 7 in 2009, although the company's representatives still won't say whether that rumor is true.
In conjunction with that report, Fried also said that Microsoft is putting the "finishing touches on a program to offer Vista buyers a free or low-cost update to Windows 7. That program could kick off as early as July, sources said."
TechArp published what it says are Microsoft's latest plans for its Windows 7 upgrade. The publication says that anyone who purchases Vista between July 1, 2009, and January 31, 2010, will be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7. Windows Vista Home Premium users will receive Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows Vista Business users will get Windows 7 Professional, and Windows Vista Ultimate users will receive Windows 7 Ultimate.
TechArp's findings are interesting, but they don't answer a key question: how will Microsoft treat all those Vista users who purchase its operating system prior to July 1, 2009? Ostensibly, they will be forced to pay an upgrade fee, which if it's anything like Vista's upgrade costs, could be as little as $99.95 or as much as $219.95.
That's expensive. This time around, Microsoft should set a flat fee of $50 for a Windows 7 upgrade.
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Microsoft launched a new ad this past weekend showing a delightful four-year-old girl using Windows Live Photo Gallery to upload, edit, and share pictures. At the end of the ad, she shows how "easy" it is to perform those basic functions and says, "I'm a PC and I am four and a half."
Once again, Microsoft is trying to show that there's a lighter side to its operation, which has taken a beating from Apple over the past few years. During Apple's "I'm a PC and I'm a Mac" ad campaign, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company continually suggested the software giant is dull and that Vista can't compete on any level with Mac OS X.
Microsoft's public image declined as Apple gained control of the topic. The average consumer only heard one side of the story.
Microsoft was forced to fight back against Apple and it started its $300 million campaign by enlisting the help of Jerry Seinfeld. The Gates-Seinfeld spots didn't discuss the value of owning a Vista machine and said little about Microsoft itself. Instead, they used Seinfeld's image and humor to convey a message: "Bill Gates is synonymous with Microsoft and just like him, we're able to loosen up, poke fun at ourselves, and we want you to realize that although Apple has painted us in a certain light, we're nothing like that."
Those who follow the tech world, readers of this column, and others [like your editor, Don] believed those ads failed to capture, well, anything positive. They believed that Gates looked awkward on camera. The humor was lost on them, and because they didn't discuss Microsoft products, they saw them as a waste of money.
I couldn't disagree more.
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I prefer XP to Vista. Am I alone?
(Credit: Microsoft)In an interview with Computerworld UK, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had some interesting things to say about the enterprise and its desire to keep Windows XP instead of switching to Vista.
"If you deploy a 4- or 5-year-old operating system today, most people will ask their boss why the heck they don't have the stuff they have at home," Ballmer told the publication.
Ballmer went on to say that it's incumbent upon the business world to make employees happy and comfortable and the best way to do that is to deploy Vista as soon as possible.
According to market research firm Forrester, Windows Vista can be found on less than 10 percent of all the computers companies in North America and Europe are running. Windows XP can be found on over 71 percent of enterprise computers. Ballmer wants that to change.
But his premise that an increasing number of people will be asking for Vista doesn't really make sense. According to research firm Net Applications, Windows XP still controls almost 64 percent of the worldwide consumer market. It's trailed by Vista and Mac OS X 10.5 with 27 percent market share and 5 percent market share, respectively.
Based on those figures, I'm not convinced that there are that many people walking into their supervisor's office wondering when Vista will be deployed at the office. In fact, it's far more likely that they would rather use something they know--XP.
But Ballmer's desire to get enterprises to switch to Vista has me wondering what's so bad about Windows XP. Is it really such an awful operating system that every company should switch?
No way.
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Thursday, I covered what I like about Windows 7 beta. In a nutshell, I think it's a great operating system that could become my favorite of all time with more updates and proper development.
But that doesn't mean I don't have reservations. There are still some lingering issues that Microsoft hasn't addressed.
Is Windows 7 designed to be just the next iteration in a long line of Microsoft operating systems or does Microsoft want it to be something different, something new? Answering that question isn't as easy as I once thought. The look and feel of Windows 7 is great. It reminds me more of a Mac than any previous version of Windows. I like that, but especially for Windows XP users who have never switched to any other operating system, that's not necessarily good.
Is it a Mac or is it Windows?
As a Mac user, I like the Dock, enjoy Mac OS X's user interface, and typically appreciate its design. After using Windows 7, I have the same feeling. Windows 7 is easily the most attractive OS Microsoft has ever released and its revamped Taskbar is a treat to use, thanks to snazzy thumbnail features that actually put Apple's Dock to shame.
But after using Windows 7 for a while, it quickly became apparent that in Microsoft's quest to make Windows "prettier," it sometimes makes it harder to perform basic functions. The same Windows you're familiar with is still there, it's just harder to find under all the makeup. Especially if you're an XP user who skipped Vista.
On more than one occasion, I clicked on an open application in the Taskbar expecting another window to open (after all, this is Windows). But just like the Mac, it didn't happen. Instead, Windows 7 highlighted that app and brought the window to the front. To open another window, I was forced to right-click the icon and click another option. For the veteran Mac user, that's expected. For the veteran Windows user, that's something new that will take some getting used to.
That's just one example of many that I found in Windows 7. A slight glare in the upper corner of an icon indicates a program is running. After a while, you'll get used to that. But for someone who has used every other version of Windows and isn't as tech-savvy as some, that will undoubtedly be confusing at first.
I'm afraid Microsoft has placed too much stock in Apple's design and not enough in usability. That's appealing for Mac users, but if I had never touched an Apple machine, I don't think I'd want my Windows box to be a Mac clone. I'd want it to be Windows. I'd get over it. It would just take some time.
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