What will Windows 8 bring in the market.

Microsoft’s next version could be bigger and also be Microsoft’s real legacy. What will Windows 8 bring in the OS space? The much anticipated Windows 8 could change everything in the space. It might even put rivals like Apple, Google and even Linux on Microsoft’s crosshairs. Microsoft’s Windows 8 is getting much considerable attention these past few weeks, due to some tech site’s recent unveiling of more of the Windows 8’s features. If the leaks and rumors about the next Windows version are true, it’s increasingly clear to us that Microsoft want to permanently erase the memories of Vista, the company has learned a terrible lesson from the Vista fiasco. Based on some reviews made by those tech sites, Microsoft is finally showing some real code and tech muscles here, the company clearly understands the need for a much powerful, highly sophisticated, state of the art, fast and much secured version of Windows operating system. Windows 8 could be a complete departure from its predecessor ways. It’s simply an improved version of Windows 7. According to numerous published articles and blogs based on leaked early developer builds, the forthcoming operating system will support SoC (System on a Chip) architecture, it means that the next version will be capable of running an ARM based chips. This will give Microsoft increase leveraged for porting Windows onto tablets and smartphone currently the mobile space are the prime market for ARM based chips. Windows 8 could have a profound impact on the marketplace; it will open the flood gate to a more tablet specific version of Windows 8 in a addition to a more traditional desktop or laptop version. The software company plans a completely new GUI for Windows 8 running on the kind of high powered PC that now run Windows 8.

Windows 8

Windows 8 GUI

What exactly Windows 8 got? Microsoft might be in closing in on unveiling its next version Windows. It’s has created tons of buzz in the blogosphere, it’s already the buzz of the tech world. What would a Windows 8 look like? The new version of Windows will offer a neat new interface; this new version of Windows might include a ribbon interface, a backup utility and tablet optimization. Microsoft is betting hard on this next version of Windows for future growth. The company has done a serious works, putting its entire weight on this project. Microsoft has already announced that the next version of Windows will support SoC (System on a chip) architecture; targeting platforms from a slew of ARM based systems from vendors such as Qualcomm, Nvidia and Texas Instruments. The massive development that Microsoft doing in Windows 8 will just increased leverage for porting Windows 8 onto tablets and also smartphones devices, which currently the main market for ARM based systems. This means that the market would be able to see a Windows 8 running tablets and smartphones, and open the flood gates to a much tablet-specific version of Windows 8 in addition to a more traditional one. According to the Within windows Blog, the new Windows version will include a built-in PDF reader and an immersive user interface that will embraces “Metro aesthetics” one thing I notice here at Windows 8, Microsoft is taking a Apple-like approach where it comes to interface design. Microsoft also borrowed another design concepts from, the “Metro” interface developed for Windows Phone 7.     Microsoft will integrate an Office style ribbon interface into Windows Explorer, and it will also have tools for viewing libraries manipulating drive assets. The software company owns a dominating share of the global corporate desktop OS and has a huge arsenal of enterprise management tools that no one in the industry can match. The new Windows 8 could be swift and more feature-packed than its predecessor on high end systems for consumers and the enterprise customers. What Microsoft trying to give the world here a lean, sleek operating system that will stop consumers of dreaming about Mac, Linux or Google Chrome OS. There are a number of articles posted in the web that described as a leaked slide decks detailing ideas for Windows 8. It discussed possible features such as facial recognition for logins, an ultra fast boot times, possible Microsoft store for downloading applications and increased cloud service integration to enhanced biometric security. No one knows exactly what you’ll see on the Windows 8 desktop partly because the company always adds and removes features until a late stage in developments. First, there will likely be some cloud integration service. Next, consumers probably gets automated backup, Microsoft is about to introduce a backup utility for Windows 8 named “History Vault” , this is Microsoft’s answer to Apple Mac OS X’s Time Machine. The backup feature will also include the ability to restore to a specific time or date on the system, here users will be able to select files and restore them to different time stamps.

Although Microsoft has stayed tight lipped and secretive about a possible release date for the next version of Windows 8, but reports have been confirmed that it could be ready to show off as early as June. The June timeframe marks the end of Microsoft’s 2011 fiscal year and it could be the top choice to show off some tech muscles: Windows 8 platform. But rumors are already swirling the web that Windows 8 will hit the market by 2012. Windows 8 could be Microsoft’s secret plan for the future of desktop PC. What the software giant want to give the users in Windows 8 is a much more powerful and secured version of Windows platform. Of course, it may end up giving users yet another bloated, unfriendly operating system just like Windows Vista, whether Microsoft can give the tech industry what they’re really want is a big question that no one can answer not even Bill Gates.                            

What should Cisco do to survive.

Brutal competition, stock going nowhere, Cisco is in deep crisis. Was the company at risk? If so, what should it do? Cisco systems need as major makeover. CEO John Chambers has already acknowledged execution problems at the networking giant, and Chambers made the announcement in a lengthy memo to its 73,000- strong employees, the CEO has promised to make changes.  Wall Street no longer sees Cisco as a growth business; the company’s market value+ has just dropped 15 percent after the Feb. earning call. The company’s announcement in February of its fiscal year 2011 second quarter financial numbers showed the company’s real status and the company is not looking good. Cisco is in great trouble, this could be a wake up call for CEO Chamber and its workforce. The company is losing market share, revenues has dropped while rivals like Oracle, HP and IBM were turning in strong financial figures. Well the company still holds a power grips in the core areas such as data center products and collaboration solutions but continued to see weakness in core products such as switching gear and other businesses. Tech pundits have already criticized CEO Chambers lacked of bold leadership to lead the company in times of crisis, they said Cisco has misread where the industry was heading and was not doing enough works to catch up with the competition in core areas like networking space where big IT players like HP and Juniper are making inroads. As Cisco tried to make some expansion, plunging into new area such as the highly converged data center and collaboration space, Cisco has also faced and grown its base of fierce competitors like IBM, Oracle, Avaya, Brocade and Juniper. In one area, former Cisco’s partner HP is now a key rival in several key tech battlefront like networking, data center and collaboration space. HP is expanding fast beyond its field of expertise –the IT services, taking on Cisco’s entrenched war machine, which are the networking technologies.   

Cisco Systems

Cisco CEO Chambers

What exactly happen to the company? The company is clearly missed the market turns, the market is in transition and the company failed to handle it. What the company should do right now is to make some targeted moves to cover those great losses, with the ultimate goal of regain new customers, keeping current customers and maintaining it strong grip of its market share. It will not going to be an easy homework for CEO Chambers and the rest of the pack, it will take time and resources. The networking stalwart needs to get off its butt and start fighting for its life. It must approach the networking problem tenaciously, with a willingness to slice off the fat. The degree of bold change will require tremendous effort, determination and incredible focus, CEO Chambers need to “drill hole in the crust”, and they need to strike back with everything they got.  Cisco need to make a breakthrough to stay at the top of the market and if Cisco can’t blow industry’s’ minds with a true product innovation- a kind of approach that makes enterprise customers stunned. Innovation is crucial in this business. Cisco failed to innovate has pushed the company into brink of self destruct. In order for Cisco’s core business to flourish and restore its dominant position in the market, Cisco must now undertake aggressive countermeasures and evasive maneuvers. The company has seen a deep corrosion of its core networking business over the past few years. To make matters worse, the boon in market share that HP and Juniper have enjoyed seems to have been cut directly from Cisco market share. Cisco has spent its time and resources maintaining services with a huge financially unjustified overhead: all the while, it core networking market share continues to shrink. In contrast rivals like HP, IBM and Oracle have expanded their horizon, converged data centers solutions and collaboration solutions remain their unwavering focus. Cisco needs to reassess its position and eliminate services that doesn’t complement to its core business, or increase value through growth. CEO Chambers need to rally the workforce, prepare it for radical changes and reinforce the confidence in the company. It must approach the problem tenaciously, with a willingness to slice off the fat. Cisco need to reshape the operational foundation in order to empower the company’s workforce and do what’s exactly should do. The company need to get back to it drawing table and figure out a better way to combat fierce competition, they need to make tough decisions and launch drastic measures, the company must continued its advances in all areas of the company’s broad business and define the right time to make a massive transition for the company and industry. Conventional wisdom suggests that Cisco need to make some radical changes and the time is now.  If the company aims to hold a power grip of the market, Cisco is going to have served up something truly groundbreaking.                            

Cisco routers

RIM unveiled its newest smartphones.

RIM is making a strong comeback, they got new weapon on its arsenal. The Blackberry maker has a new version of Blackberry Bold with touch capabilities and NFC capabilities. RIM finally unveiled the Blackberry Bold 9900 and Blackberry 9930 smartphones, fitted with its very own Blackberry OS 7.  Powered by a 1.2 GHz processor, the phones has the tech muscles strong enough to scare rivals in the market. The Blackberry handsets are packed with features that main rival like Apple’s iPad lacks. The Bold 9900 supports NFC and augmented reality. Blackberry’s augmented reality features is a highly hyped technology, RIM has done a very awesome works here, it’s integrating one of the leaders in the augmented reality space- Wikitude-an augmented reality browser, into the Blackberry phones. Both handsets- the Bold 9900 and 9930 features the classic Blackberry QWERTY keyboard, and has a new Liquid Graphics which enables better panning and zooming the web browsers, pictures, videos and games, it gives the user an awesome 60 frames-per second performance. The two smartphones also includes a 5-megapixel camera and has a built-in compass to support location-based services and augmented reality. RIM has don e a lot of hard works on these phones. On board also is a very powerful technology the bolds includes native support for NFC (Near Field Technology), a wireless communication technology that allows certain users to make mobile payments. Mobile payment are just simple for Bold smartphones, the Bold 9900 and 9930 will read information like web links from smart tags by just tapping it against an object with an NFC sensor, Blackberry’s NFC capabilities could match those of Google’s Android 2.3  It got muscle that could outsmart and outflank rivals in the tablet space. At the heart of the blackberry Bold 9900 and 9930 handsets is the Blackberry 7, an OS upgrade version of Blackberry 6. The best thing about this new Blackberry 7 OS is that it sports a browser that I s1.6 times faster than its predecessor. The new OS enables voice-activated searches, and allows users to work with Word, excel and PowerPoint files from the handset.  This is really a smartphones to beat, it comes with a new JIT JavaScript (Just in Time JavaScript to improve the load time speed of web pages and to support industry standard like HTML 5 video. RIM has integrate some nice features in Blackberry 7 OS, the new OS comes with Blackberry Balance, which separates personal contact such as Twitter, Facebook and even games from corporate contents.

RIM Blackberry Bold 9900
Image Courtesy of:
Gadsta

The new Bold handsets is part of RIM’s mobile strategy-a massive expansion of its 4G enabled devices arsenal, which includes some of the best on its arsenal, RIM is trying to turn things around here, the new Blackberry phones support 4G networks, with the Bold 9930 sport the HSPA+ connectivity and its sibling the Bold 9930 support CDMA EV-DO  and HSPA+ global roaming on GSM/UMTS networks. It’s the company’s quick response to Apple and Google Android challenge. The carrier is preparing to strike back with some of the most powerful mobile platform- Apple and Android. RIM is fighting a brutal two front wars here-first against Apple and then to a slew of Android powered smartphones. The handset maker need to stay alive, rivals are coming strong and RIM got no choice but to launch a massive retaliatory strike. The launch of two sleek smartphones makes sense, but for all the impressive changes RIM is bringing in the market, it still faces fearsome competition. RIM is bringing some of the company’s best on these handsets; the new bold handsets are the company’s thinnest, most powerful smartphones ever. It is the first smartphones running the company’s very own Blackberry 7OS, which is scheduled for summer release from various partners worldwide. The timing of unveiling is great, the company’s aging line of high-end Blackberry need some major upgrade and revamp to catch up with the market competition. Currently the company has been experiencing internal problem, it announced an earnings short fall for it first quarter. They need to do something. RIM got solutions; RIM aims here are also to cure the internal problem with its new sleek new Bold handsets. Make some sleeper hit, disrupt the market, that exactly what RIM should do. RIM hopes that the new handsets could boost the company’s current position in the smartphone market. Well the new smartphones could blow consumers’ minds, its cool and great. When we take a first glimpse of Blackberry Bold 9900’s physical appearance, we can say that it could make someone in the market amazed; it comes with a brushed stainless steel frame and a glass-weave black plate making it one of the coolest smartphone to hit the market. The new Blackberry Bold 9900 and 9930 smartphones falls somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of performance, it cool styling, decent battery life and brilliant display makes these handset a pretty good value.  It could be one of the most powerful smartphones to debut this year. When this one hit the store shelves this spring, it could scare everyone in the mobile space including industry leader iPhone.          

Bold 9930