winhec

Windows 7 talk turns to hardware

LOS ANGELES--After unveiling most of the details around Windows 7 to developers last week, this year's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) isn't expected to be the barn burner it is in some years.

WinHEC will have the same venue as last week's Professional Developer Conference, the same Windows 7 bits and, indeed much of the same pitch that Microsoft gave last week, albeit with a more hardware-oriented bent.

Still, I expect to find enough tidbits about the OS to make it worth your (and my) time. I'll have full coverage starting Wednesday.

In particular, look for … Read more

Windows 7 details to come in October

Microsoft is launching its Windows 7 blog, but it still doesn't have much to say.

On the plus side, Windows engineering boss Steven Sinofsky did at least put a date to when he would share some more details.

"The Professional Developers Conference (PDC) on October 27 and the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) the following week both represent the first venues where we will provide in-depth technical information about Windows 7," Sinofsky and Windows Core operating system head Jon Devaan wrote in a posting on Thursday. "This blog will provide context over the next 2+ months … Read more

Microsoft sets November date for WinHEC

Microsoft plans to spend a lot of time in Los Angeles this fall.

The software maker had already said that, after canceling last year's Professional Developers Conference, this year's PDC would be held in Tinseltown October 27-30. This week, Microsoft noted that its WinHEC (Windows Hardware and Engineering Conference) will take place the following week, also in downtown LA.

Microsoft had previously said only that the show would take place in the fall at a West Coast location. The event typically takes place in the spring, but Microsoft said in November that it was postponing this year's event … Read more

Microsoft plans October developer conference

Microsoft has a busy conference schedule for next fall.

The company, which canceled this year's Professional Developer Conference, confirmed that it does plan to hold the event next year, October 27 through 30, in Los Angeles.

Microsoft also plans to hold its WinHEC (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) at some point in the fall at a West Coast location still to be determined. Microsoft said those details still haven't been worked out, but a company representative said the two events are not planned to run concurrently.

Perhaps having both events in the fall means that Microsoft will be ready … Read more

Microsoft postpones Windows hardware conference

Windows hardware makers will get an extra week next spring to work on their products. Microsoft said Thursday that it is shifting the timing of its WinHEC conference--practically a spring ritual--to the fall.

The conference will be held next year at a West Coast location, but Microsoft didn't say which one. (Can Hawaii please be considered West Coast?)

"We rescheduled WinHEC for the fall in response to industry feedback," Microsoft said in an e-mail. The company promised that the event will offer "Microsoft vision for Windows and the future of PC computing" along with the … Read more

Photos: PCs of the future

Microsoft held a design contest for new PC concepts, and Bill Gates himself showed off some of the top contestants during his keynote speech at the Windows Hardware and Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Los Angeles. The prize winners certainly broke traditional molds, ranging from the "Bulb PC" (pictured here) to one dubbed "Made in China," sort of futuristic tablet using a chopstick-like stylus. See more photos from the show at this gallery.

At WinHEC 2007, Microsoft vigorously defends Vista

To counter the flagging expectations around Windows Vista, Microsoft added a last-minute keynote this morning from Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President Windows Product Development, at this year's WinHEC, the Microsoft Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Los Angeles. Nash used his 30 minutes to talk about the number of device drivers included in the Windows Vista box and available online, and also about the number of compatible or certified for Vista hardware products on the market 100 days after release. While the numbers are high--certainly higher than 100 days after the release of Windows XP--many feel they should be higher. … Read more

Microsoft wants your office phone

On Monday, Microsoft and nine leading phone manufacturers--Asustek Computer, GN, LG-Nortel, NEC, Plantronics, Plycom, Samsung, Tatung, and Vitelix--announced the public beta program for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007. The program was announced at WinHEC, Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Los Angeles. The software giant has provided the manufacturers with design specifications for the new communications architecture. Several products are nearing the end of the Microsoft qualification cycle. Communicator allows employees to designate, through Microsoft Office, how they'd like to be contacted, seamlessly linking office phones, cell phones, and online messenger services together … Read more

Mundie: Future software to exist in the clouds and on your PC

For all the talk about future software leaving the desktop and running exclusively from services on the Internet, Microsoft chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie doubts this will be so. Speaking in Los Angeles at WinHEC 2007, Mundie's keynote speech, The Evolution of Computing, described, in part, the future of software. He admitted desktop software has reached a road bump; faster apps will require faster CPUs on the PC and that's becoming harder to accomplish--the old way. Mundie talked on Tuesday morning about the evolution of multicore processor architecture on desktops and laptops. He said that the … Read more