Category: Microsoft

Mobility by Joe WilcoxOct 7, 201510:17 pm

Surface Tension at Microsoft Store

This evening, after watching “The Martin”, which is superb, I walked over to my local Microsoft Store. Surprise. Surprise. The day following the big Surface reveal, the new tablet and laptop are on display. Preorders are underway now, and the new gear goes on sale October 26, 2015 (hehe, my twin sisters’ birthday).

Got to say that more as a matter of preference and budget, my first impression favors Surface Pro 4. Top-end SKU available this month sells for $1,499, with 6th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB RAM, 256GB hard drive, and Intel HD graphics 520. The fanless m3 chip model, with paltry 4GB memory, marks the low-end at $899. Custom-configured i7 Surface Pro 4 will be available from November 20 and cost as much as $2,699.

Apple by Joe WilcoxOct 6, 20151:43 pm

Microsoft Surface Book is all about You

That grinding against wood and dirt you hear is the sound of Steve Jobs rolling over in his grave. Microsoft is back! And badass! Today’s Surface event in New York City outclasses Apple by every measure that matters: Aspiration, innovation, presentation, and promotional marketing. Microsoft proves that it can build end-to-end solutions—hardware, software, and services—as good as, and better than, the company cofounded by Jobs. Even more importantly: Present the new wares well. Today’s event was exceptional.

But there is a shadow looming in the brightness that will matter to some Microsoft customers and not to others: Cost. Surface Book, for all its seeming greatness, is a budget-busting laptop for the majority of potential buyers. The low-cost config, at $1,499, comes with 6th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 128GB storage. To get the discreet graphics demoed today, with i7 chip, 8GB memory, and 256 SSD, you will spend $2,099. Doubling RAM and storage raises the price to $2,699.

Apple by Joe WilcoxSep 24, 20158:36 pm

Apple, How Did It Come to This?

Last week, I sold my 2015 MacBook Pro to a New Yorker vacationing in San DIego and returned to using Chromebook Pixel LS, which I wouldn’t have guessed when buying the Apple laptop in June. From Day 1 the MBP felt slower in every way. I expected the Mac to be a creative enhancer, as had been my experience going back to my first in December 1998. The computer proved to be an impediment instead.

What’s missing in subtle but cumulative ways: Quality. The computer looks the same but doesn’t feel the same. My reaction to Apple Watch, which I also sold, is similar. Something is missing. There’s a glitchiness that is hard to characterize that is pervasive. Time is wasted, and creative flow is disrupted.

Apple by Joe WilcoxAug 12, 20155:56 pm

Measuring Apple’s Laptop Sales Success

Through the U.S. consumer retail channel, Macs notebooks reached rather shocking milestone during first half 2015, according to data that NPD provided to me today. You can consider this a first, and from lower volume shipments. By operating system: OS X, 49.7 percent; Windows, 48.3 percent; Chrome OS, 1.9 percent. That compares to the same time period in 2014: OS X, 44.8 percent; Windows, 53.1 percent; Chrome OS, 2.1 percent. The data is for U.S. consumer laptops.

While data junkie journalists or analysts often focus on unit shipments, revenues, and subsequently profits, matter much more. Looked at another way, Mac laptop revenues rose by 10.9 percent during the first six months of 2015, year over year, while Windows PCs fell by 9 percent, and Chromebooks contracted by 9.5 percent.

Apple by Joe WilcoxAug 7, 201512:02 am

Microsoft’s Hollywood-style Redemption Story

Satya Nadella is a man with a formidable challenge. Microsoft CEO’s predecessor, Steve Ballmer, squandered the company’s mobile fortunes. From smartphone platform leader a decade ago, the software-and-services giant is a category also-ran in 2015. Microsoft has no independent mobile platform future. The war is over. There remains this: Making alliances with old enemies to preserve existing territory, while using the foothold to reach into new frontiers.

Made available August 5th, Outlook for Apple Watch is a very smart move and metaphor for what went wrong on Microsoft mobile platforms and what has to go right to preserve and extend the legacy applications stack. While Windows 10 makes its way to Lumia devices, the future is Android and iOS and how the company supports them with contextually meaningful cloud-connected apps and services.

Gear by Joe WilcoxJul 30, 201510:36 am

Shopping for a Windows 10 PC

My brother-in-law’s Dell laptop, so old it shipped with, and still had, 1GB RAM, died last week. He emailed asking my buying advice about a Windows 7 replacement. Reasoning: He would move up from XP. But his dad stepped in, offered to pay, and I, acting as agent (being the more knowledgable about computers), suggested $400 budget. By coincidence, shopping day coincided with Windows 10’s launch.

Timing couldn’t be better, with the rush of new 10s, discounts to clear out old inventory, and typical back-to-school season sales. I expected to grab good gear. Choosing for my brother-in-law is quite different than for myself. I prefer something smaller and lighter, with high-resolution screen. He wanted a larger screen (we agreed on 15.6 inches), full-size keyboard, DVD player, and WiFi. Meaning: Roomy and backward-compatible with what he has already. I confidently looked for something within budget.

Journalism by Joe WilcoxJul 28, 20154:30 pm

Whither Windows Death?

Over at BetaNews I pose question “Will you upgrade to Windows 10?” and provide readers a poll to answer the question. Timing coincides with the official launch of the platform tomorrow. To be brutally honest, I seriously considered using headline: “Will you upgrade to Windows Death?”

Because: if Windows 10 doesn’t succeed it will be the last viable version, given the success of Android or iOS; shipments of both mobile platforms either match or exceed Windows computers; and Microsoft’s advancing cloud strategy signals the end of Windows as we have come to know it, as the operating system evolves and updates in a manner more like Chrome OS than the big release delivered every few years. Then there is the criticism, much of it among beta testers, that makes upgrading to Windows 10 seem like Death.

Gear by Joe WilcoxMay 26, 201510:09 pm

Nokia Lumia Icon: When Great Isn’t Good Enough

I am lucky enough to have three sisters—Laurette, the youngest, and fraternal twins Annette and Nanette—but no brother(s). Nan, who is the tech savviest, rang on May 22, 2015, saying she had reached the inflection point of frustration finding apps she wanted or absolutely needed for the Nokia Lumia Icon purchased from me during summer last.

From Day 1, she praised the utility and usability of the user interface, attractive but sturdy design, and amazing hardware capabilities, which include the quality of images produced by the camera. But pushing a year later, with Windows Phone 8.1 installed and little improvement in the selection of apps that matter, She’d sacrificed enough.

Nan asked my advice about a replacement. Should she return to iPhone (she used the 4 before Icon) or get an Android? Her user story illuminates what can happen when someone entrenched in the Microsoft ecosystem raises his or her head above ground and sniffs the Android and Apple air.

Gear by Joe WilcoxMay 26, 20157:50 am

Don’t Talk Dumb About Smartwatches

Sunday afternoon, I cleaned out old CDs from a folder to make room for DVDs the family will keep but in more manageable storage. The things we save and forget about: install disc for the Suunto N3i MSN Direct smartwatch. The discovery is opportunity to express one of my ongoing gripes regarding news gathering today: Wild speculation about things to come that ignores context of past accomplishments.

Consider the smartphone, which you would think Apple invented based on all the blog blathering. Credit belongs to Nokia, about 20 years ago. Then there is the smartwatch. My feedbox fills with increasing speculation about when Microsoft will develop a wristwear platform or when will traditional timepiece makers produce the devices. Been there, done that.

Mobility by Joe WilcoxApr 29, 201510:30 pm

Microsoft ‘Continuum’: Lucky Timing, Right Context

They say in business that timing is everything. Before Microsoft shown a spotlight on new Windows technology “Continuum”, earlier today, Gartner released a disturbing forecast strangely validating the concept.

The analyst firm predicts that currency devaluation will compel major computer manufacturers to raise prices as much as 10 percent—particularly across Europe and in Japan. Higher prices mean more consumers will do with leaner configurations, and many businesses will push back upgrades. All the while, PC makers will give customers less for more money by cutting back features to preserve margins and shifting sales priorities to markets where currencies are more buoyant.

Responsibility by Joe WilcoxMar 21, 20156:04 am

Windows Free May Be the Best Way to Get Microsoft Software Pirates to Pay

Confusing and nebulous describe Microsoft plans to let software pirates upgrade free to Windows 10. In the three days or so since the policy became public knowledge, there are more questions than answers. This is certain: Even hinting at such a liberal policy is a dramatic turnabout for the company under CEO Satya Nadella compared to predecessor Steve Ballmer.

By measure of the Ballmer worldview, letting pirates upgrade robs revenue from the platform’s cradle, hands them sacred possessions at the door, and gives them the house keys—oh, and asks them to lock up after taking the tellie, silver, and jewelry. I contend: The strategy is brilliant and too long coming, assuming nothing changes before Windows 10’s summer release or Microsoft clarifies licensing rules to mean something different. Without even stressing a single synapse I can conjure up more good reasons for the upgrade plan than the fingers on my hands. But I’ll keep the list a bit shorter for this post.

Gear by Joe WilcoxMar 8, 201511:50 am

The Best Phone You Can Buy is the One You can Afford

I can attest firsthand to the rising health-care costs everyone talks about. My mom went to hospital on January 30th for outpatient surgery. Still woozy from anesthesia, she left her Nokia Lumia Icon Windows Phone in the bed’s blankets. The hospital ships the linens to Canada for cleaning, and, well—cue the violins—that handset is gone to cellphone heaven or into someone’s greedy, grubby hands. Wouldn’t you know, Medicare won’t cover the cost of replacing the phone.

Yeah, I’m being facetious. It helps mellow my frustration buying her a replacement mobile. Mom is done with Windows Phone and must satisfy with an older Android. This post explains why, and how during a big week of new smartphone announcements she gets a—cough, cough—2013 model.