Operating Systems

What do smartwatches, intelligent coffee mugs, robots and smart goggles have in common? It looks like Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. have an answer: Intel chips and Windows software inside. At the Build 2014 conference, the two companies indicated they would team up for wearable devices, tiny intelligent electronics, robots …

Although the code-named “Blue” updates were supposed to modernize virtually all products and services offered by Microsoft Corp., the Windows Phone still has not received its updates nearly half a year after the launch of Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1. However, the wait seems to be nearly over as, …

Although Qualcomm took part in the announcement of Microsoft Corp.’s DirectX 12 application programming interface, the company’s plans regarding support of the new API were not completely clear. Last week an executive of Qualcomm confirmed that the future Adreno graphics cores will fully support DirectX 12. The current Snapdragon 800 …

Dell and Microsoft this week announced a patent licensing agreement that covers a broad set of intellectual property and also causes a lot of questions. Under the terms of the deal, Dell will obtain licenses to use Microsoft IP that covers Google Android and Chrome platforms. Moreover, Dell may get …

While Microsoft Corp. revealed yesterday that it will release preview version of its DirectX 12 application programming interface this year, its press materials did not disclose when to expect the final version of the API and games that take complete advantage of it. According to various media reports, it looks …

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday unveiled DirectX 12, the latest incarnation of one of the world’s most popular application programming interfaces. The new API can not only greatly improve rendering performance, but to also bring top-notch quality graphics to all Microsoft platforms, including personal computers, tablets/smartphones and even Xbox One. One …

Huawei, a top maker of smartphones, has denied plans to release a handset with two operating systems, Google Android and Microsoft Windows Phone. Instead, the China-based manufacturer intends to keep offering phones with Android and Windows Phone, but separately. Last week it turned out that Huawei was going to release …

Google on Tuesday introduced the world’s first operating system designed for wearable devices from the ground up. The new OS is expected to enable tens of intelligent wearable devices from tens of manufacturers in the coming quarters. Google Android Wear uses systems found in Android OS for mobile devices and …

In a bid to get a share of one of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone markets, Microsoft Corp. plans to waive the license fee for Windows Phone operating systems for two Indian smartphone manufacturers. The move is a rather unprecedented one, but it was necessary to ink contracts with the Indian …

It is not a secret that Microsoft Corp. is preparing to finally roll-out a voice assistant called Cortana along with the upcoming update for Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. While the assistant is supposed to compete with Apple’s Siri as well as Google’s Google Now services, the newly released information …

Microsoft Corp.’s Windows engineering team has released Windows 8.1 spring update 2014 to manufacturing, according to a media report. The new update will be released early next month and will bring a number of improvements in terms of feature-set as well as fix bugs, incorporate updates, enhance security and so …

Microsoft Corp. on Monday announced significant changes to the leadership team. As a result of the changes, the software giant will lose Tony Bates and Tami Reller, who played significant roles at Microsoft in the recent years. Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft, wants to ensure that the senior …

Microsoft Corp. is reportedly working on free versions of Windows operating system. The initial product is expected to be called Windows 8.1 with Bing and will mostly be an experimental one. The software giant supposedly wants to investigate how it can monetize its OSes without charging computer makers or end-users …

At the Mobile World Congress 2014, Spreadtrum Communications, a chip developer from China, and Mozilla, the designer of Firefox browser and operating system, announced initiative to develop smartphones that cost only $25/£15 in retail. The smartphones are expected to offer HTML5 and web applications amid full Internet connectivity and will …

Satya Nadella, the new chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp., claims that the software giant could live on for a hundred of years or even more. To do so, it needs constant transformation to stay relevant. “Longevity in this business is about being able to reinvent yourself or invent the …

Canonical, the developer of Ubuntu Linux operating system and mobile platform, has announced that Bq and Meizu, handset vendors from Spain and China, will use Ubuntu for their upcoming smartphones. The devices will be available later this year and at present not a lot of information is known about them. …

Microsoft has admitted that it knew most users wouldn't like the new Windows 8 Metro user interface but not for the reasons you might think, according to Jacob Miller, a UX Designer for Microsoft, “Familiarity will always trump good design. Even if something is vastly better, if it is unfamiliar it …

Developed initially for desktop personal computers, Windows operating system is now used on laptops, tablets, 2-in-1s and smartphones. Microsoft Corp. claims that it will not stop evolving its OS and eventually there will be Windows for ultra-small devices. The OS will be specifically tailored for the best user experience on …

Tizen Association, an industry consortium that supports the development of an open source Tizen software platform and operating system, last week announced that it had been joined by 15 new members. The expansion of the Tizen team will likely speed up its adoption and will make the platform more competitive …

An executive from Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday that the software giant has sold over 200 million Windows 8 licenses in the first 15 months of the operating system’s general availability. While the number is high and is definitely important to Microsoft and its investors, it does not mean that …

In addition to appointing Satya Nadella on the position of the chief executive officer of Microsoft, the company announced that Bill Gates will resign from his position of the chairman of the board. At the same time, the co-founder of Microsoft will assume a new position at the company to …

Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday appointed Satya Nadella on the position of the chief executive officer effective immediately. Satya Nadella is a server and cloud specialist who has been serving Microsoft for 22 years. The new chief executive officer strongly believes in Microsoft's innovations. The new head of Microsoft promises to …

Microsoft continues to go back from its modern Metro user interface to the good-old classic in a bid to lure customers to its latest operating system. Many traditional Windows users got annoyed with the boot up process of Windows 8 since it led them not to the familiar desktop, but …

Microsoft Corp.’s board of directors is preparing to appoint Satya Nadella on the position of the chief executive officer of the company, according to a news-agency report on Thursday. In addition, the company plans to replace chairman of the board, Bill Gates, with an independent director. The candidate to succeed …

The partnership between Google and Samsung has clearly proven to be very productive for both companies. Samsung is the world’s No. 1 supplier of mobile products with Google Android operating system and is among a few companies who actually earn money selling Android hardware. On Monday the two companies signed …

It won't come as much of a shock to KitGuru readers, but HP has decided to go public with a confirmation as to why Windows 7 had to be brought back in. KitGuru scans the official HP statement and reads between the lines. As the sale of PCs flattens out, …

Along with unofficial information regarding availability of Windows 9 code-named “Threshold” operating system either in late 2013 or in early 2014, an even stranger rumour emerged: Bill Gates was set to return to a full-time executive job to Microsoft Corp. While the co-founder of Microsoft is helping to find a …

Over the last couple of years the OEM PC business has been hurting, causing many system manufacturers to move in to the tablet business citing mobile computing as the future. Some will tell you that Windows 8 is to blame as even after the 8.1 update, consumers still don't want to …

Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 8.1 has hardly become a success on the market of traditional desktops and laptops. Some PC makers are now offering to install Windows 7 instead of Windows 8.1 on their systems, which is a catastrophe for the software giant. Therefore, Microsoft has to take immediate actions. The …

Technical specifications of the world’s first media tablets based on Mozilla’s FirefoxOS platform have been published. As expected, Mozilla and its manufacturing partner Foxconn Electronics, plan to initially address emerging markets with tablets featuring FirefoxOS. As a result, the hardware that powers the slate is hardly impressive. The first tablet …