11 August, 2010

Microsoft vs. Google

Posted by Unknown | 11 August, 2010 | Category: , | 0 comments

The tension between these two software giants got a bit thicker this year, and it's certain that it will again in 2010. Here's a look at who is winning on each front in 2009.
1. IE8 vs. Google Chrome
Each version of Internet Explorer released is an opportunity for companies like Google to steal market share. Year was a very big year – and has given us an early glimpse into browser wars 2.0 that will surely play out over a few years.
Google Chrome had a great year – development versions are already on version 4.0. The browser is actually fast, unlike claims being made by Microsoft about IE8. In fact, most of the facts being given out by Microsoft about their new browser are completely false – an attempt to retain as much market share as possible.
Even though the numbers of users using IE8 are greater than those using Google Chrome, I'm giving this one to Google.
Winner: Google.
2. Operating system: Google Chrome OS vs. Windows
Not much of a fight here this year. Even though Google showed us their plans for Google Chrome OS, there is not much a threat here for Microsoft Windows.
Winner: Microsoft.
3. Operating System: Android vs. Windows Mobile 6.5
Microsoft has really been falling behind on the mobile front. Instead of releasing Windows Mobile 7, all they could do was give us 6.5 – a relatively small improvement over 6. In the same breath, Google's Android operating system has found its way onto a handful of devices, and has had 2 major versions released in just one year.
2010 should hopefully be a more competitive year on this front, but this year has to go to Google.
Winner: Google.
4. Search Engine: Google Search vs. Bing
I have been surprised so far with Bing actually – it's been doing better than I had originally thought it would – though I still don't believe Google has anything to worry about.
Both search engines gained market share this year: Google (+2.3%) and Bing (+0.1%) according to Net Applications as of November.
Both search engines struck deals with Twitter to gain access to their firehose. Real-time search has been added to Google in their main index, and Bing has added a separate tool that you can use to search throuht tweets.
Due to Google's increased dominant position, and their superior feature created as part of their foray into real-time search has earned Google the gold star for this one.
Winner: Google
5. The Enterprise
Microsoft is fighting to keep their enterprises clients from Google Apps, while Google is looking to steal any type of markets share by offering cheaper licensing fees and lower overall costs.
About the same time Google announced their (impressive) numbers around Google Apps, Microsoft decided to drop their licensing fees. There's no word on whether the price cut has anything to do with any pressure that may be coming from Google, but there's no question – its game on.
Even though Google reported impressive numbers (2 million businesses and 20 million users), there's no word on how many of those are using Google Apps exclusively, and how many of those are paid. The Google Apps standard edition is free – but lets companies only create a limited number of accounts, and doesn't include some of the features of "premium".
There is no way Google won the enterprise battle this year – through it's unlikely they will give up for 2010.
Winner: Microsoft.

Cool Windows 7 features

Posted by Unknown | | Category: | 0 comments

1. Shake 'em away
Ever had 10 Notepad, two PowerPoint and 50 Outlook windows open? Want to minimize all of them except the most important one? In Windows 7, you can grab the topof the window and shake it about to scare away all of the other open windows. Simple.
2. Jumplists
Jumplists are a new feature that gives you the option to view a list of recently accessed files by application, even when the application isn't open, by right clicking on the application's icon in the taskbar. It also allows you to quickly access a favourite playlist without opening your media player. Jumplists can also be found integrated into the Start Menu.
3. A step forward in previewing
In Vista, hovering over a minimized window on the taskbar would provide a preview of the window. In Window 7, a similar preview pops up which also gibes the option to close a window (within the preview), along with a full-size 'peek'. You can also press Win + T to scroll along previews in the taskbar.
4. Snap into place
Simply drag your window to the left or right edge of the desktop to snap and resize the window to one half of the screen. Drag the window to the top to maximize it. A pretty neat idea made neater by the use of the keyboard shortcuts (Win + respective arrow keys). No longer do you have to frustratingly position the mouse at the edge of the window to resize it.
5. XP Mode
This time, you do not have to slap your head that same way when Vista would not run an XP application. For the XP applications that do not work under Windows 7, you can download XP Mode free from the Microsoft website and run XP applications in an emulated XP environment in Windows 7. Imagine Parallels on Mac OS X without the need to fish out money on an extra OS.
6. An easier and quicker way to adjust multiple displays
Do you constantly connect your computer to different external monitors or projectors, especially at work? Try Win + P, and duplicating or extending your display to the other monitor takes just a second. Win + P present you with an Alt + Tab style menu, which is idea if you give a lot of presentations at work on your laptop.
7. A personalized Stage for your device
With the new 'Device and Printers' button on the Start Menu, devices which are connected to your computer can have their own Stage. This Device Stage presents supported devices with a photo-realistic render and a link to the vendor's website, along with other updates and useful information (such as firmware updates and manuals).
8. (Almost) eliminate the notification area!
What, I can even get rid of the clock and volume icons? Yes. Click the arrow that fives access to the overflow icons in the notification area and click 'customize'. Select each icon and click 'hide icon and notifications' to remove it. Clean.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
hit counters