Operating Systems

Operating systems news, solutions, and analysis for IT professionals, covering desktop, server, and mobile operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android, and iOS

Estimates peg 59M Windows 8 devices in use

Posted May 9, 2013 - 6:50 am

Microsoft this week said that it had sold 100 million licenses of Windows 8 in the operating system's first six months. But how many copies are being used?
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Start button's return to Windows 8? Probably, but there's no guarantee

Posted May 8, 2013 - 12:30 pm

Microsoft's head of Windows development on Tuesday came close to promising that the iconic Start button would return to the Windows 8 desktop, but never made a guarantee.
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Asus readies small, sub-$300 Windows slates for release

Posted May 7, 2013 - 4:50 pm

Would you pay an extra $50 for a pint-sized tablet if it ran Windows 8 instead of Android? Asus thinks you might.
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Microsoft's drip-drip-drip Windows communications strategy dubbed a washout

Posted May 7, 2013 - 4:22 pm

Microsoft's Tami Reller, the CFO and head of marketing for the Windows division, went on a mini publicity spree today. But she didn't say very much.
- Quick Read
Windows Blue preview due at end of June

Posted May 7, 2013 - 4:09 pm

Microsoft plans to release a preview version of Windows 8's update, code-named Windows Blue, at the end of June, according to Julie Larson-Green, a corporate vice president in charge of the OS's development.
- Quick Read
How Facebook aims to reinvent hardware

Posted May 7, 2013 - 2:39 pm

The company's Open Compute Project aims to provide an open source platform for building infrastructure of the future.
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Debian wheezes out Version 7

Posted May 7, 2013 - 2:05 pm

The latest version of Debian -- Version 7.0, codenamed "Wheezy" -- is now in stable release, bringing with it accessibility enhancements, a new version of the GNOME 3.4 desktop environment and support for multiple hardware architectures.
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$300M investment in Nook delivers next to nothing for Microsoft

Posted May 7, 2013 - 2:04 pm

Microsoft has gotten little from a 2012 investment of $300 million with Barnes & Noble, analysts said, but it's poised to reap some rewards as it and its partners start to ship smaller tablets.
- Quick Read
Security pros cheer hint of hands-off updates in Windows Blue

Posted May 7, 2013 - 6:13 am

Microsoft's apparent plan to automatically update its own Windows Store apps in the next version of Windows 8 is drawing praise from security experts.
- Quick Read
Microsoft's Windows Blue to be available later this year

Posted May 7, 2013 - 2:17 am

Microsoft's update of its Windows 8 operating system, code-named Windows Blue, will be available later this year, supporting a variety of form factors and display sizes, and providing more options for both businesses and consumers.
- Quick Read
Gates sticks to company line on tablets, knocks iPad

Posted May 6, 2013 - 2:59 pm

Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates today stuck to the company line on tablets, and disparaged rival Apple's iPad for its lack of a keyboard and its inability to run Office.
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Apple reportedly steps up iOS 7 work

Posted May 6, 2013 - 2:13 pm

Sleeker, 'flatter' UI design in works at Apple for iPhone, iPad software; September release on track.
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Apple breaks into Fortune 500's top 10

Posted May 6, 2013 - 10:41 am

Apple climbed the Fortune 500 this year to the No. 6 spot, its highest-ever ranking, its first time in the top 10, and the top technology company on the influential list, replacing sagging HP.
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Microsoft's $2B loan to Dell comes with strings

Posted May 6, 2013 - 6:52 am

As part of Microsoft's loan of $2 billion to a group trying to buy PC maker Dell, the two companies must modify the payment terms of Dell's current agreements with Microsoft, a document filed with U.S. regulators said.
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Amazon leaks evidence of first smaller, cheaper Windows 8 tablet

Posted May 5, 2013 - 7:21 pm

Details of what could be the first smaller Windows 8 tablet leaked Friday when Amazon briefly published a listing for an 8.1-in. Acer Iconia tablet.
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Google bares Chrome's Trojan strategy with native-style packaged apps

Posted May 5, 2013 - 2:11 am

Google's move this week to make it easier for Chrome browser users to find "packaged apps" is part of a strategy to turn any Internet-capable device into a Chromebook wannabe loyal to the company's ecosystem, an analyst said today.
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Microsoft admits zero-day bug in IE8, pledges patch

Posted May 5, 2013 - 2:10 am

Microsoft late Friday confirmed that a "zero-day," or unpatched, vulnerability exists in Internet Explorer 8, the company's most popular browser.
- Quick Read
Acer waits for Windows RT 8.1 to make tablet decision

Posted May 3, 2013 - 4:43 pm

Acer is waiting for the next version of Windows RT, due in the second half of this year, before deciding whether to release a tablet that runs on that OS.
- Quick Read
Retailers didn't do Windows 8 any favors

Posted May 3, 2013 - 12:45 pm

Retailers share part of the blame for poor Windows 8 sales and the ensuing decline of PC shipments, analysts contended today.
- Quick Read
The Surface shines while Windows tablets wobble

Posted May 2, 2013 - 3:23 pm

Just months after jumping into hardware, Microsoft is a top five tablet manufacturer -- though Windows tablets still have a long road to travel before they're considered anything close to a success.
- Quick Read
Apple hijacks OS X devs to keep iOS on track

Posted May 2, 2013 - 3:14 pm

Apple may delay the release of OS X 10.9 because it's pulled engineers from the team to help in a final push on the next version of iOS, according to online reports.
- Quick Read
Time to say goodbye to Windows RT tablets?

Posted May 2, 2013 - 3:04 pm

Windows RT tablets grabbed just 0.4% of the tablet market in the first quarter, a dismal result that led some tech experts to urge Microsoft to scrap the platform that's in its six-month infancy.
- Quick Read
Think tablets are popular? Shipments explode in first quarter

Posted May 1, 2013 - 4:35 pm

Tablet shipments exploded by 142% in the first quarter of 2013 year-over-year as all Android tablets, including low-budget white box versions, dominated the market over Apple iOS tablets, IDC said.
- Quick Read
Windows 8 grows slow, XP just won't go

Posted May 1, 2013 - 2:25 pm

Microsoft was hit with a double whammy last month as it made scant progress in either boosting the usage share of Windows 8 or depressing the share of Windows XP, data published today showed.
- Quick Read
From the ashes of Fuduntu, FuSE Linux is born

Posted May 1, 2013 - 2:07 pm

This brand-new distro will likely use the Consort desktop for a classic experience.
- Quick Read

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