Microsoft is ready with its latest windows 8 Operating system to be launched next year. Its release could be a threat to iOS and Android controlled by Apple and Google respectively. Let us look in what ways:

10 Reasons why Microsoft Windows 8 may threatens iOS and Android

1. Window is a huge force: Billions of computers have installed windows as their OS. This is one major threatening factor for iOS and Android.

2. Great connection with enterprise users: For all the decision maker enterprises, Microsoft windows 8 could be something that would work best.

3. Microsoft may be jumping at right time towards tablets: Microsoft has learnt from the mistakes made in Windows 7.  It is never too late to bring best technology in market. Here is window 8.

4. Windows 8 Supported by several vendors: More vendors are supporting windows 8 and not the former windows 7 version. This is going to boost market for Windows 8.

5. Looking in to Motorola Mobility Acquisition: Google has recently acquired Motorola mobility. Looking at this aspect they might even get to Microsoft and windows 8 too.

6. Microsoft would spend more cash: Microsoft want its tablet to grow as much in market as it can. It can certainly write more checks in research and development. It can do anything that would be coming in its way to make it big with Windows 8.

7. Windows 8 looks much robust: There are little details obtained about the look of windows 8. It is expected that it would be best for any end users and consumers with its robust look and features.

8. Windows 7 did not hit market, No worries: To believe, Microsoft windows 8 has much better and robust platform which is incomparable. If you compare the pass few versions like Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 then you can imagine the level of improvement.

9. Microsoft involved in hardware game: If Microsoft enters the tablet development market, it could be bigger threat to Android and iOS as that could be delivering best hardware.

10. Much consolidated OS market: As far as OS consolidated market is to be seen, iOS and Android should worry only about windows 8.

It is just to wait and watch the situation for which of these three is going to be the winner. Looking at present scenario, windows 8 is going to impose threats to already established iOS and Android in market.

Official Microsoft Windows 8 details can be found here: Microsoft Windows 8

Useful Links

Windows 8 Developer Preview guide

Windows Developer Preview English, 32-bit (x86) (Size: 2.8 GB)

Windows Developer Preview English, 64-bit (x64) (Size: 3.6 GB)

We have already shared leaked Windows 8 screenshot and Windows 8 login screen. Now in this post we are sharing Windows 8 Skin Pack for Windows 7. This skin pack is a collection of various packs including wallpapers, themes, etc.

This skin pack supports Windows 7 SP1, X86 (32 Bit) and X64 (64 Bit) and all language versions. You can find more details and download link here

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is now available for download from the Microsoft Download Center. With Windows 7 SP1 your personal computer will receive ongoing updates and support, as opposed to getting updates through Windows Update. Additionally, it includes client-side support for RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory, the two virtualization features enabled in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.

There are three ways you can download and install the Windows 7 SP1:

• Through Windows Update
• Install it after downloading Windows 7 SP1 from the Microsoft website
• Install it using an installation DVD

However, even before installation, it is important to note that there are some disk space requirements that need to be met to install Windows 7 SP1.

The entire installation is estimated to take 30 minutes, according to the Learn how to install Windows 7 Service Pack 1. Additionally, halfway through the installation, you will have to restart the system.

Once the installation is complete you can check if the latest version has been installed successfully by checking the computer properties. In the Properties dialog box, if Service Pack 1 is listed under Windows edition, it indicates that the installation has been successful.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will help you:

• Keep your PCs supported and up-to-date
• Get ongoing updates to the Windows 7 platform
• Easily deploy cumulative updates at a single time
• Meet your users’ demands for greater business mobility
• Provide a comprehensive set of virtualization innovations
• Provide an easier Service Pack deployment model for better IT efficiency

The competition for Microsoft with its iPhone and Android competitors has not been unknown. It was considered something that Microsoft would take seriously and act upon. However, after releasing their first global update for its Windows Phone 7, many Microsoft enthusiasts and owners have been deeply disappointed.

The issues users faced after updating the Windows Phone 7 included locking up of phone before it completes updates, bricked handsets. The owners reported some ‘difficulties’ while updating the phone with the latest release. The issues were that either the phone just hung during installation, furthermore some other users reported that the updates corrupted the phone’s firmware. Worse, for some other users the phone appeared to be bricking the phone completely.

The two Samsung phones that have Windows Phone 7 are Omnia 7 and Focus. Both these phones users seem to have had similar issues with their phones.

It has been a tough time for Microsoft with the brewing competition and their market size shrinking with each development in the iPhone and Android market. Given this scenario, these issues will surely hurt their market more. Nevertheless, reports suggest that Microsoft is working towards resolving these issues.

[via - Switched Downloadsquad]

Microsoft Office for Mac has been quite a success story, where both Microsoft and Apple have been comfortable with the kind of sales it has generated. However, there has been a lot of speculation on if Microsoft will be willing to sell the product in the Apple Store.

According to AllThingD

Microsoft’s Amanda told Mobilized ‘It’s something we are looking at’. She also said that ‘It’s something we haven’t ruled out’ and added ‘We just have to see how that relates to our business

Microsoft has been quite happy with regard to the sales of their product; however, with their absence in the App Store, they run the risk of users visiting the App Store are sometimes more drawn to other products on like iWorks.

Though there was no direct response for the particular question, Microsoft senior director Jason Bunge said in an interview ‘You can absolutely expect Office to expand its presence across other platforms’.

[Via - 9 to 5 Mac]

It’s been quite a long time since we’ve been hearing those calls of the death of the internet’s most favorite browser, IE6 but it looks like they’ve never been heard. While most of the end users never understand the difference between an IE6 or IE7 or an opera or a firefox, the developer community has had am awful time supporting or making applications or write code that support IE6.

Youtube stops IE6 Support

Well, no doubt it was a very good browser, but the point is it WAS. As we develop new technology and embrace it gracefully, the love for old ones should die. Sometime ago we saw Ben Parr write something on Mashable regarding same and showed snapshots of facebook recommending to upgrade or switch to a different browser on an internal page, I guess it’s the first time a website as famous as YouTube has come up openly and stop the support to the, sorry to say but, Pathetic browser.
It’s high time now and probably the world should take a note of it and probably understand what the perils of using IE6 are. The developers around the world are seen writing new hacks every time they want to write some good piece of code and end up with doing an enormous amount of extra work just to support an old piece of software. Moreover it even has curbed the creativity of designers and developers around the world as more often than not customers ask for IE6 supported applications and design. How can we evolve in such a scenario.

Internet Explorer 6 - Must DIE

But if the trend that YouTube has set, continues, more and more people/websites/portals will/should stop supporting the still most widely used browser and in the end what we will have is better I-World. Hope we soon see this day. To support the “Death of IE6″, please add a twibbon to your twitter avatar.
And yes, if you still support that trash, you may join this. Also, check out this brilliant guide on YouTube tips and tools.

After a few unsuccessful attempts of MSN Search and then Live search, Microsoft comes up with another effort to relaunch and get into into the search space which has been occupied by Google and Yahoo for years now. “Bing”, as they named their new engine will be live on June 3. After codenaming it KIMO since the past few months, Microsoft had to really work hard in order to reach to the name Bing.

Bing Homepage

With Wolframalpha being launched last month, it seems that the internet search space is again getting hotter with noew technologies and ways to vie for customers are being introduced. While Wolframalpha named their search engine “knowledge engine”, Microsoft calls Bing as “Decision Engine”. “We are introducing a new level of organisation to search results, and our differentiator will be the best results for query,” Satya Nadella, senior vice- president (R&D , online services division) Microsoft told mediapersons in a press conference on Friday. He also said, “Bing would initially focus on four key areas: “making a purchase decision, planning a trip, researching a health condition or finding a local business”.

Although they claim that Bing would give customer service center numbers apart from the best product deals for any company, my test for HP and British Airways had all the 3 : Bing, Yahoo and Google give the same result, including the sponsored links, the only difference being the no of search results and the time it took them to answer. Though I would like to add that Google and Yahoo did concentrate on Hindustan Petroleum apart from Hewlett Packard which Bing did not.  Also Y and G showed some local results as well. So as a matter of fact I could not find anything different, probably I need to conduct some more searches in order to find out Bing’s real power, if any.

Well I hope it has something different from the rest or else Mr.Ballmer, with due respect, the Bing camppaign would just reamain as successful as the previous editions of the MS engines.

Well lots to discuss and to explore Microsoft’s, hopefully, last effort to get that search space pie back, I’ll leave you with a Bing video tour posted at Labnol.

The thought of using the Command Prompt for many Windows XP users, is either a new experience or something that they will never need. But for some, the command prompt is a powerful tool that can be far more useful than many graphical tools available in Windows.
Back in the old days when text-based operating systems are in use like Unix and DOS, the command prompt was the operating system, and not knowing how to use it meant that you could not really use your system without someone experienced in computing holding your hand. This was the era of computing clubs, when getting to grips with your computer required some serious devotion and learning.

Even if you are Administrator of your own computer,and you are aware of command prompt it you are unable to understand the core of windows. I constantly use the command prompt, mostly because I access systems remotely and many tasks can be performed quickly with out the graphics over head.
Get started with command prompt
Entering the Windows XP command prompt
The easiest way to get to the command prompt is by opening up the run command and typing ‘cmd’. To do this: Open the start menu and click ‘run.’ In the text box, type ‘CMD’.
Navigating the Command Prompt
Like the Windows graphical environment you are used to, the command prompt uses drives and directories (folders) to organize data. Each logical drive (C:\, D:\, etc.) has it’s own entry here, and contains its own set of directories and files.

The command prompt window will place you at’C:\>’ by default, meaning you are looking at the logical ‘C:\’ drive, generally the first hard disk on your computer and the one on which Windows is installed.
Here are some useful commands – as attrib,regedit,ping,netstat,recover,tasklist etc.
ipconfigThis tool is mostly used for viewing and troubleshooting TCP/IP problems. It’s capability includes release or renew an adapter IP Address, display and flush DNS cache, re-register the system name in DNS.
To view all TCP/IP information, use: ipconfig /all
To view the local DNS cache, use: ipconfig /displaydns
To delete the contents in the local DNS cache, use: ipconfig /flushdns

ARP – Address Resolution Protocol
View the contents of the local ARP cache table
ARP -a [ip_addr] [-N if_addr]
Add a static Arp entry for frequent accessed hosts
ARP -s ip_addr eth_addr [if_addr]
Delete an entry
ARP -d ip_addr [if_addr]

Here you get all the commands running in windows environment
An A-Z of windows command line

Some useful unix commands

Anti spyware are real turnoffs in the windows operating systems and people generally ignore this.They often cause the sever damage,data theft and invitation to unwanted malware.Recently i reviewed the an anti spyware named as “Ad-Aware” which is a behavior-based threat detection and integrated real-time monitoring tool for removing malwares and viruses.Ad-Aware Anniversary knock down the infections that are responsible for slowing down of  your computer.

The main features of Ad-Aware are listed as follows:

1. It have easy rootkit removal system.
2. It can easily Detect, Remove AND Clean.
3. It have External Drive Scanning.
4. It have easy interface and very handy in install.
5. New!Ad-Watch Live! Basic integrated real-time protection.
6. It have Pin-Point Scanning.
7. It have radically improved resource efficiency.
8. It have Customizable Profile Scans.
9. It have full integration with Windows Security Center.

Download Now

Last weekend I had a chance to use a Microsoft Windows 7 machine.First impressions:: TRULY AWESOME. You must be thinking why do I say that. The explanation comes straight from the heart, as a computer fantaic how long its been since we have been wanting an intelligent machine? I guess since the time we started using it. Time and again we came across softwares that did what we “spoke”, that too had to be in a perfect American accent, but what if something is reading ur mind?

Yes the Windows7 interface is so easy to use that even an infact can use. Computers need to be easy to learn especially  for the beginners. Linux hasn’t been so popular among the common masses, even though it costs 50 INR less than the Microsoft thing, not because it doesn’t advertise but because it has never been so easy to use. The latest microsoft operating system makes life simpler for all of us. Less number of clicks to do anything, for example ,presently we use atleast two keys to minimize all windows (windows+d or windows+m), in the latest avatear you can do it with a SINGLE key. There are a lot of other features like this.

Apart from those, if all you people wonder “why does windows ask me so many questions?” Probably you’ll be relieved of that, the alert boxes wont popup each time you try to do something. The control panel has veen some major changes and it is much easier for the not so techie people also to make changes and feel great about it.

The next fearure is the one that I loved the most, the GRAPHICS. Some of you might say that even Vista had the most amazing graphics but if you’d see the latest avatar, you will have to definitely change your mind. I have never seen so many features through the graphical interface.

I guess enough features to have a look. If not then find more here or maybe have a look at the videos.

Now comes the question where do get to use it? The beta version is though now not available for download. Well all you Americans will have to wait for the release, Indains can easily find it somewhere and the released version in 50 bucks.

Update : Microsoft will deliver a release candidate of Windows 7 to the public in late May, according to a report from a noted Windows Web site.

What a computer user do if  he/she want to delete a file permanently from computer its answer is very simple shift+delete+enter,but now rightdelete provide a functionality in which one can remove a file permanently in just two clicks.

As we all know that windows is a nice foundation, but there are some simple functions that have long been missing from the OS – like secure file deletion. RightDelete is just about the simplest app you’ll find for adding that functionality. It’s a free 156kb download for Windows 98 or better.

Extract and launch the executable and you’ll be asked to confirm adding an entry to your context menu. You’ll need the executable on your system to actually perform erasures, so don’t just run it from inside the zip.

Once the menu entry has been added, just right click on any file and choose securely delete. You’ll be prompted again to make sure you want to proceed with the deletion. The program utilizes the seven pass method, which is more than enough to prevent recovery with any normal applications.

It’s fairly fast as well, wiping a 32mb file in just over two seconds.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Yes its quite true that Yahoo announced late on Monday that Jerry Yang, would step down from his role as soon as the board finds a replacement with a new CEO.Yahoo has hired executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles for evaluating best candidates for the top post.The most probable reasons for this big change is the shareholders his failure to agree to a deal with Microsoft.

Do you really know that Yahoo decided to step down Jerry Yang as Yahoo CEO?

What is the role of Jerry Yang as a CEO in Yahoo?

Jefferies & Co analyst Youssef Squali in a research note says that

“Jerry’s resignation as CEO reflects failed promises he made while fighting off Microsoft’s offers, and the board’s displeasure with his go-it-alone strategy”