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Microsoft Ends Mainstream Win 7 Support

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Microsoft Ends Mainstream Win 7 Support

Following the end of Window 7 software sales and consumer PC manufacture Microsoft stops "mainstream support" for the venerable operating system on 13 January 2015, leading to an extended support phase.

What does this mean for customers sticking with older versions of the OS? In a few words, Windows 7 will not receive new features or updates, such as DirectX 12. However the company will continue to issue critical security patches and hotfixes-- at least until 14 January 2020, the official extended support deadline.

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Microsoft: Windows 10 Brings New Opportunities

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Microsoft: Windows 10 Brings New Opportunities

Windows 10 will bring about "a new generation of opportunities" Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella claims at the company's annual shareholders meeting, as part of a glimpse at the future of both Windows and Microsoft itself.

"Windows 10 is the start of a new generation of Windows, that’s more personal," Nadella says. "It will unlock new experiences for customers to work, play and connect."

As such, Windows 10 will not only power PCs, but will serve as a platform for products ranging from small connected "things" lacking a screen to conference room PCs with 90-inch displays. The OS makes a showing at the shareholders meeting (in the shape of a Technical Preview), featuring the comeback of the Start menu, Windows Phone-style live tiles and simplified multitasking.

As mentioned earlier Windows 10 runs on a wide variety of devices, and as such developers will be able to write universal apps, even if the experience will be tailored for each device.

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You’ve Been “Apptimized.”

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You’ve Been “Apptimized.”

The problem of installing desktop or virtualized software across the company has been “apptimized;” now it’s as easy as application-packaging-as -a-service.

Today businesses buy software they can’t use,” says Vincent Weberink, CEO of Apptimzed.

And he’s right.

It’s not that companies are buying faulty applications or useless software packages. No, instead they are usually buying excellent software—software that’s usually vital for employees to perform their daily jobs.

Yet once bought, that software still can’t be used straight away. It needs to go through an expert process called “application packaging” to configure and prepare it for deployment in the company’s IT infrastructure. A process that can be days or weeks or months, depending upon the company’s process and capabilities.

And if this is crazy, it’s made even more absurd by the fact we have become inured, accustomed to this “lag” between purchase and use. Imagine buying an auto and having to wait days or weeks to on-board anyone wishing to drive…who would put up with such a major inconvenience?

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Microsoft Goes to 10 With Next Windows

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Microsoft Goes to 10 With Next Windows

Microsoft brings its counting skills into question as it announces the next version of the Windows operating system-- Windows 10 (not 9!), a version the company describes as nothing less than "the first step of a whole new generation of Windows."

Earlier rumours suggested the new Windows version was to be named "Threshold". Other supposed monickers include "TH", "X" and, as teased at one point by Microsoft operating systems chief Terry Myerson, "One".

Anyway, back to the actual OS. Windows 10 is designed run on just about every device under the sun, from the Internet of Things to enterprise servers, as well as PCs and tablets. As such, Microsoft insists the Windows 10 handle covers a product family (not a single OS), if one offering a single application platform for developers.

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Mainstream Win 7 Support Ends January 2015

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Mainstream Win 7 Support Ends January 2015

Microsoft announces several products are to reach the end of free mainstream support in 6 months, including all versions of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Exchange Server 2010 and Dynamics C5 2010.

Free mainstream support for the above mentioned products ends on 13 January 2015, but the company promises to provide security patches until 2020.

Mainstream support for Windows 8.x ends on 9 January 2018, a hint that a next version of Windows might be coming sometime next year. Windows Phone 7.8 mainstream support ends even sooner-- on 9 September 2014.

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Windows 9 Morphs to Fit Different Devices?

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Windows 9 Morphs to Fit Different Devices?

The next major version of Windows (to be dubbed either 9 or "Threshold") will look and work differently depending on what hardware it is running on ZDNet reports.

Thus, in a bid to appease disgruntled Windows 8 users Threshold will reportedly run in Windows Desktop mode (via either SKU or version) on laptops or desktop PCs, tablets get a Metro-style UI and hybrid devices will be able to switch between Metro and Desktop modes depending on whether a keyboard is connected or not.

The desktop/laptop SKU should feature the customisable Mini-Start menu seen at BUILD 2014, and will be able to run Metro-style/Windows Store apps in windows on the desktop.

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Google I/O: More Android, Everywhere

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Google I/O: More Android, Everywhere

Google confirms its ambitions to put Android in just anything at this year's I/O conference-- not only smartphones and laptops, but also TVs (Android TV), wearables (Android Wear) and even cars (Android Auto).

The  keynote opened with a preview of the next generation of Android, version 5.0 or "L" (probably stands for "lollipop"). The updated smartphone OS gets an animated look the company calls "Material Design", as well as performance improvements, battery-saving measures, enhanced notifications and 64-bit support.

Google says Android users clock at over 1 billion.

Confirmed at the conference was the new Google take on TV space-- Android TV. First leaked last April, Android TV turns TVs into, well, an Android device. It shares the same API as mobile devices, runs apps from the Google Play store and features "Cast" capabilities just like the Chromecast dongle allowing users to mirror content from mobile devices to their TVs.

Google says Android TV will appear in Sony and Philips TVs, as well as streaming boxes from Razer and Asus.

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WWDC 2014: All About the OS Updates

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WWDC 2014: All About the OS Updates

The Apple Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC) has never been a hardware show, but rarely has it been so focused on operating system updates-- both OS X and iOS are getting new versions packed with tweaks and features later this year.

As these things tend to do we also got the latest Apple user numbers, from the Mac installed base (80 million) and the percentage currently using Mavericks (51%) to big iOS numbers (2013 saw 135m customers buying a first iDevice) and overall satisfaction totals (97%).

Opening proceeds before the traditional keynote was "Apps We Can't Live Without," a video celebrating the users' favourite apps and the developers behind them. After all, WWDC is a developers' event-- and registered Apple developer numbers now total 9 million, a 47% increase in 12 months.

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Microsoft Details Windows Updates

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Microsoft Details Windows Updates

Microsoft details the post-Steve Sinofsky future of Windows at BUILD 2014-- the upcoming Windows 8.1 Update sees the touch-friendly OS return to a more keyboard- and mouse-friendly UI, since the Start button makes a much demanded comeback.

Further UI refinements include a booth straight to desktop feature and a redesigned Windows Store pre-pinned to the taskbar.

Meanwhile operating Systems group exec VP Terry Myerson confirms the Start menu will make a showing in a future Windows version. A next version of the OS will allow Universal Windows Apps to run in window mode (as opposed to full-screen), but Myerson fails to specify whether it will be Windows 8.1 Update 2, or Windows 9 Threshold.

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