2015 will mark the 30th anniversary of Windows, Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) iconic operating system first launched in November 1985. 2015 will also mark the year that Windows 10 will be released, the follow-up to the critically panned Windows 8.

Over the last decade customer’s computing needs have shifted. The computing landscape is dramatically different in 2015 than in 2001, when Microsoft launched Windows XP its most popular operating system and considered to be the company’s best. People compute in different ways, and Microsoft now has to compete with new operating systems that have appeared in the last decade like Android in addition to longtime rival Mac OS from Apple (NASDAQ: APPL).

Microsoft now is at a critical juncture.The success or failure of Windows 10 will be turning point for Microsoft. The exact nature of Windows 11 will depend on whether the market embraces or rejects Windows 10. If the market embraces Windows 10, it’s very likely that the follow-up will be more of the same. A failure of Windows 10 — a repeat of Windows 8 — will force Microsoft back to the drawing board with the OS, re-imagining it from the ground up.

Back to the beginning: DOS

A history of Windows needs to begin with what preceded it: DOS. DOS, later known as MS-DOS, was Microsoft’s first operating system and until Windows ME the foundation of what Windows ran on.

The birth of MS-DOS began in 1981 when Microsoft met with IBM (NYSE: IBM) to discuss making an operating system for its upcoming personal computer.

Microsoft already had a relationship with IBM, as it was licensing the BASIC language to IBM. The scope and complexity of creating an entire operating system was beyond Microsoft’s resources available at the time, but that didn’t stop Bill Gates: he bought the full rights to DOS from a small firm based in Washington called Seattle Computer Products for $50,000.

The meeting that started this deal is dramatized in the film Pirates of the Silicon Valley:

Seattle Computer Products’ owner Rod Brock was unaware of the exact nature of the deal between Microsoft and IBM. However, when he discovered the profits Microsoft was making selling DOS to IBM he tried to sell the company and all of its intellectual property to one of IBM’s rivals. This led to a lawsuit between Brock and Microsoft and the two parties settled out of court for $925,000, and Microsoft confirmed its rights and license to DOS.

The first Windows

Microsoft announced Windows, first called Windows for DOS and known by its code name of, in 1983. It was finally released in 1985. However, it was not the first operating system with a graphical user interface. That honor goes to Apple’s Macintosh.

Windows shipped with several simple programs, such as MS‑DOS file management, Paint, Windows Writer, Notepad, Calculator, and a calendar, card file, and clock.

While Windows was praised for helping change the paradigm of how people interact with computers, this first version of the world’s most important operating system largely stood in the shadow of Macintosh. Apple, however felt threatened and sued Microsoft in 1988 for copyright infringement, claiming that Microsoft copied the “look and feel” of its operating system.

However Apple itself did not invent the GUI. That honor goes to Xerox, which effectively gave it away to Apple.

Support for Windows 1.0 ended in December 2001.

The post The History of Windows appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) appears to have decided to entirely skip the idea of Windows 9 and release their next version of Windows as Windows 10.

The company’s new strategy does in fact do what the company has been aiming to do for quite some time. It helps unify the marketplaces and apps while still giving people customizeable experiences depending on the platform that they’re using. So now users can use the same app on their phone, tablet, and PC while also being able to (hopefully) share data across those devices through the cloud. They are also bringing back the start menu and getting rid of the full-page start menu from Windows 8 and 8.1. As a result, you can customize the size of the icons that you have pop up when you engage the start menu and you can also use it for search like you could in Windows 7 and Windows 8. However, now, the search box also does web searches as well, which is a brilliant move on Microsoft’s part because there’s a very good chance that Bing will be the default search engine for that and could help them gain more traction with Bing.

Microsoft has also implemented new multitasking UIs that bring back some of the legacy snap views as well as multiviews that look strikingly a lot like Apple’s own OSX expose. And Microsoft has also improved little things like the command prompt in Windows 10, which has remained unchanged forever, so now you can paste things into the command prompt instead of manually entering them.

Microsoft also appears to be pulling back more from the overall metro UI idea and forcing people to use fullscreen metro apps, but rather more along the lines of what they are familiar with. As many people have said, Microsoft’s jump from Windows 7 to Windows 8 was too drastic and did not allow for people to slowly adjust to change. Really, Windows 10 kind of slots in between Windows 7 and Windows 8 and finds a middle ground between the two. This is a clear recognition from Microsoft of what their users want and the fact that they simply didn’t listen to what people want and instead went on their own direction (Windows 8). Some may blame Ballmer for that move, but really, it had more to do with Sinofsky, who is no longer with the company.

If you’d like to test drive Microsoft’s newest OS, they will have an ‘insider’ preview available shortly to allow people to test out Windows 10 and give them feedback. The OS is expected to launch in the latter half of 2015 and there’s still no word on upgrades or what prices will be for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users. You can download the insider preview here.

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Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is set to unveil its latest version of Windows at an invite-only event in San Francisco on Tuesday — just a month shy of the two-year anniversary of the release of Windows 8 to the general public. While rumors in the press have suggested a number of things about what this new version of Windows will or will not be, the fact is that going into this event there is little confirmed.

The most trafficked rumor about the upcoming Windows 9 release is that it will be offered as a free upgrade to users of Windows 8. While this rumor has been circulated through the press as gospel, the fact is it’s far from confirmed. The rumor comes from BGR, which cites Indonesian technology news publication Detik, which quotes Microsoft Indonesia president Andreas Diantoro who apparently says “the Windows 9 upgrade will be available free of charge to all existing Windows 8 users once it’s released.”

Having Windows 9 as a free upgrade for Windows 8 users would effectively be the same as Microsoft acknowledging that Windows 8 was so poor it was worthy of a free upgrade. It would be an embarrassing mea culpa — and likely this statement isn’t accurate. While Indonesia is an emerging market that has a healthy appetite for phablets, tablets, and low-cost notebooks, having the president of Microsoft’s regional operations for the area make an announcement of this scale is not in Microsoft’s standard operating procedures.

Regional presidents of companies, particularly those in smaller markets, are known to make erroneous statements. That’s the reason why major announcements tend to come from the company’s home country and top executives.

The fact is going into the launch of Windows 9, currently codenamed “Threshold”, there are more questions than answers right now. It’s not known if Microsoft will continue its strategy of marketing Windows as a hardware agnostic platform; Microsoft may realize its mistake from trying to create “one Windows to rule them all” and once again split the mobile and desktop versions of Windows.

But until Windows 9 is officially unveiled on Tuesday in San Francisco, there’s only speculation.

The post On The Eve of The Launch of Windows 9, More Questions Than Answers appeared first on VR World.

An official unveiling of Windows 9 might be closer than many expect, according to one report.

Sources that spoke to The Verge said that Microsoft is planning a press event on September 30 to fully detail the changes to “Threshhold.” The sources that spoke to The Verge also said that a release to developers would occur shortly thereafter, perhaps on even the same day.

While it’s unclear how much different Windows 9 will be from an architecture standpoint; improvements to the Windows kernel are not something users largely requested. This next version of Windows will largely be a refreshed user interface, with a new version of the Start Menu and the absence of the Charms bar.

For Microsoft, Windows 9 represents a great “step backwards” for the Windows ecosystem. Microsoft’s attempt to make a hardware agnostic operating system — to bring Windows to the growing economy of smartphones and tablets — represented a failure on two fronts: Microsoft could not get the big-name hardware wins it needed with mobile devices, and the Metro UI alienated many PC users. To quantify how much of a failure Windows 8 was, consider that Windows 7 still commands half of the total operating system market while the ancient Windows XP has 13.74% market share.

In the desktop world Microsoft has no threat to the hegemony of Windows. Despite all the gains Apple has made with the Mac platform in the last five years, the platform, quantitatively speaking, is still relatively niche. Apple wants to keep it that way and has no plans to alter its pricing structure. However, Microsoft still needs a solid revenue stream from the Windows division. Simply put: the company needs a way to convince users to pay for a new version of Windows twice a decade. Windows 8 wasn’t a compelling enough reason for many to upgrade from Windows XP or 7, which means that Microsoft needs to do its best to create a product that people not want, but need, to buy.

The post Microsoft Said to be Planning Windows 9 Launch in September appeared first on VR World.

What makes this mouse unique is that it has what Logitech calls Darkfield Laser Tracking. This feature enables it to track on glass. How often someone mouses on their windshield is uncertain, however.
The mouse is advertised to work anywhere, on anything, and with anything. Anywhere MX works with old and new systems from Windows XP through Vista – if anyone is still using this failed operating system – to Windows 7, 8 and RT. Mac compatibility wasn’t overlooked in the design either. The Unifying receiver connects up to 6 compatible devices.

Logitech offers several wireless Unifying mouse choices from $29.99 to the top Performance MX at $99.99. They have eight Unifying keyboards in various configurations including solar powered, touch, and illuminated.

Anywhere MX mouse moves smoothly on this rubber-based cat – uh mouse – pad.

The mouse glides across my cat-n-mouse pad and the scroll wheel moves like silk rolling the image quickly and smoothly. Here, the documentation is helpful. The wheel works as a toggle, pressing it down changes the scrolling from a smooth rolling action to a slower, jerky page up/down movement. If you have good coordination, you can press the wheel left or right within the web page to scroll the screen in those directions. It is not necessary to position the cursor on the horizontal scroll bar to do so.

The left click button is solid and effective for selecting items from a list and positioning the cursor within a document. Right click immediately displays the appropriate menu listing. Navigating forward and back between web pages is controlled by buttons beneath your thumb if you run the mouse right handed. The buttons are slightly stiff, but you can apply appropriate pressure without interference from buttons on the opposite side of the mouse since there are none.

Symbols beside the scroll wheel and on the side buttons indicate directional movement.

A little green light on top of the mouse comes on when you set the Darkfield slider at the bottom of the mouse to On. There is also a button above the Darkfield label which led me to think they functioned in tandem. However, the identifier in the documentation indicates the Middle button’s function varies by application.

The back-to-back, single page of documentation provides mostly graphic images rather than text. For example, Item 1 points to what are described as left and right buttons. Item 7 indicates back and forward buttons. It obviously is assumed the user has mouse experience and knows what these left/right, back/forward buttons do. Yes, there are still people out there who are computer novices and could use a little more guidance. I suppose it could be argued that they shouldn’t buy a computer until they’ve attended a few classes, but who does?

The Anywhere MX package includes two AA batteries, however documentation which is written in four languages – English, French, Spanish and Portuguese – claims it runs on either one or two batteries.

Get the picture? Can’t get more concise than this.

Step 2 of the documentation has a great graphic that indicates you can slide the Darkfield button On or Off, but oddly, it doesn’t explain what the Darkfield function is. Don’t throw the box away. That’s where you’ll find the explanation which as I mentioned earlier says you can use the mouse on glass.

The graphic in Step 3 indicates where the USB is inserted into a laptop and contains the most information of any step. It tips Mac OS X users that if the Keyboard Setup Assistant appears they need to close the window.
Step 4 directs you to the Logitech website to download the most recent software and review other configurations and features. Finally they ask you to go to the “ithink” website to tell them, well, what you think.

If the mouse is not working, a very brief Troubleshooting paragraph asks: Is the mouse turned on? Yes, the fundamental first “duh” question asked by every support department. Maybe the problem is related to the USB port, maybe the battery is in upside down or the mouse is too near a metallic object. Other than those tips, you must go to their support website for help. Phone numbers for the US, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Latin America and Mexico are listed. We can only assume they are direct lines to the support department and not the corporate president.

I’ve always been happy with mice from Logitech, but the assumptions evident in the documentation only makes one wonder what other assumptions might have gone into its design and operation. We all know what ASS-U-ME stands for.

The Important Information, read CYA, insert is more comprehensive and in smaller print than the quick start instruction page. It warns of potential carpal tunnel damage from repetitive mousing, although it doesn’t mention the disability by name. Keep the mouse away from water and heat. Now isn’t this one piece of information they could assume the user would already be aware of?
Radiation is mentioned as a concern – BTW, did they ever decide if cell phones caused brain cancer or not? Misuse of or using the wrong batteries can be harmful to you and/or the device. You are warned to keep the batteries [and fireworks] out of the reach of children. Just how dumbed down has the general public become?

Oh, did I mention they warned of possible interference with your TV or radio? A couple paragraphs regarding compliance with FCC and International Standards for laser products rounds out the Important Information insert.

This mouse comes with a 3 year limited hardware warranty. That could be a good thing because several user comments around the web since 2009 indicated they needed to replace the Anywhere mouse or fix its left click button. The mouse received 3.5 out of 5 stars and 70 percent said they’d recommend the device. I haven’t had their latest version long enough to vouch for the viability of the model I received, but so far so good.

The post Thoughts on Logitech’s Anywhere MX Mouse appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft has clearly not stopped with their aspirations with the new Surface Pro 3 that they launched today. This is a follow up to their Surface Pro 2, which also featured an Intel ultra low voltage Core family CPU, except now you have a choice of a Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 CPU as opposed to only being able to choose an i5. The CPU in the Surface Pro 3 is actually the same as it was in the 2, which is a little disappointing but Intel’s Broadwell won’t hit until much later this year. Once that new Intel chip starts to pick up steam, we’ll probably see a Surface Pro 4 (or whatever they decide to name it) that even further improves upon the Surface Pro 3.

Getting back to the Surface Pro 3, it is actually a larger tablet than the Surface Pro 2 as it features a 12” ClearType Full HD Plus 2160 x 1440 resolution multi-touch display. This is in contrast to the Surface 2 Pro’s 10″ ClearType Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution multi-touch display. This changes the aspect ratio of the display on the Surface Pro 3 to 3:2 as opposed to the standard 16:9 that most displays today currently have. This is a clear indication of Microsoft’s laser focus on this being a professional device. Storage capacity and RAM still have not changed, where the 64 and 128 GB models will come with 4GB of RAM and the 256GB and 512 GB versions will come with 8GB of RAM. It still has a full-size USB 3.0 port, miniDisplayPort connector and MicroSD card slot but does add new 802.11ac wireless connectivity. Microsoft also supposedly upgraded the cameras from being dual 720P on the Surface Pro 2 to being dual 1080P on the Surface Pro 3.

The Surface Pro 3 with Pen

One of the best things about this upgrade is that the Surface Pro 3 is going to benefit from overall better hardware while simultaneously getting lighter. The previous Surface Pro 2 weighed in at 2 lbs while this new, larger Surface Pro 3 actually comes in at 1.76 lbs all while still maintaining a magnesium body. Microsoft also made a few minute changes to the overall usability of the tablet by changing the pen technology that they were using (Wacom) in favor of (N-Trig) in order to get a more accurate and pressure sensitive pen functionality. They also added palm rejection (which should be a nobrainer) to the tablet so that you can write on the tablet without moving things around with the side of your hand or arm. They also added the ability to adjust the angle of the kickstand to virtually any angle that you want, as opposed to all of the previous Surface tablets which effectively had one angle or closed as options. This will make the Surface Pro 3 a lot more comfortable for users in general since people’s preferences for tablet angles vary greatly and so do their use case scenarios.

Last but not least, they’ve vastly improved the type cover (I haven’t tried it yet) and supposedly make it much more user friendly. I personally haven’t been sold on the Surface tablets primarily because of the keyboard, so if the new typecover is really a major improvement, there’s a good chance that a lot of people will go out and buy one after using it. Even so, Microsoft needs to ram the professional message home and make sure that people know that this tablet, which starts at $799, is going to be the tablet they want to get things done. We’ve also included a pricing table for all of the different models and accessories for the Surface Pro 3.

You can pre-order a Surface Pro 3 tonight at midnight EDT (9pm PDT) on Microsoft’s website (site isn’t live yet) and other select etailers. Starting June 20th, US and Canada customers can visit Microsoftstore.com, Microsoft retails stores and select third-party retailers (like Best Buy) to purchase Intel Core i5 Surface Pro 3 ($999 and up) and select accessories. Additional configurations will be made available during August and more accessories will come over the course of the following months.

By the end of August, Surface Pro 3 and select new accessories will become available for purchase in 26 additional markets, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

The post Surface Pro 3 – Surface Gets Bigger and Better appeared first on VR World.

Microsoft has clearly not stopped with their aspirations with the new Surface Pro 3 that they launched today. This is a follow up to their Surface Pro 2, which also featured an Intel ultra low voltage Core family CPU, except now you have a choice of a Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 CPU as opposed to only being able to choose an i5. The CPU in the Surface Pro 3 is actually the same as it was in the 2, which is a little disappointing but Intel’s Broadwell won’t hit until much later this year. Once that new Intel chip starts to pick up steam, we’ll probably see a Surface Pro 4 (or whatever they decide to name it) that even further improves upon the Surface Pro 3.

Getting back to the Surface Pro 3, it is actually a larger tablet than the Surface Pro 2 as it features a 12” ClearType Full HD Plus 2160 x 1440 resolution multi-touch display. This is in contrast to the Surface 2 Pro’s 10″ ClearType Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution multi-touch display. This changes the aspect ratio of the display on the Surface Pro 3 to 3:2 as opposed to the standard 16:9 that most displays today currently have. This is a clear indication of Microsoft’s laser focus on this being a professional device. Storage capacity and RAM still have not changed, where the 64 and 128 GB models will come with 4GB of RAM and the 256GB and 512 GB versions will come with 8GB of RAM. It still has a full-size USB 3.0 port, miniDisplayPort connector and MicroSD card slot but does add new 802.11ac wireless connectivity. Microsoft also supposedly upgraded the cameras from being dual 720P on the Surface Pro 2 to being dual 1080P on the Surface Pro 3.

The Surface Pro 3 with Pen

One of the best things about this upgrade is that the Surface Pro 3 is going to benefit from overall better hardware while simultaneously getting lighter. The previous Surface Pro 2 weighed in at 2 lbs while this new, larger Surface Pro 3 actually comes in at 1.76 lbs all while still maintaining a magnesium body. Microsoft also made a few minute changes to the overall usability of the tablet by changing the pen technology that they were using (Wacom) in favor of (N-Trig) in order to get a more accurate and pressure sensitive pen functionality. They also added palm rejection (which should be a nobrainer) to the tablet so that you can write on the tablet without moving things around with the side of your hand or arm. They also added the ability to adjust the angle of the kickstand to virtually any angle that you want, as opposed to all of the previous Surface tablets which effectively had one angle or closed as options. This will make the Surface Pro 3 a lot more comfortable for users in general since people’s preferences for tablet angles vary greatly and so do their use case scenarios.

Last but not least, they’ve vastly improved the type cover (I haven’t tried it yet) and supposedly make it much more user friendly. I personally haven’t been sold on the Surface tablets primarily because of the keyboard, so if the new typecover is really a major improvement, there’s a good chance that a lot of people will go out and buy one after using it. Even so, Microsoft needs to ram the professional message home and make sure that people know that this tablet, which starts at $799, is going to be the tablet they want to get things done. We’ve also included a pricing table for all of the different models and accessories for the Surface Pro 3.

You can pre-order a Surface Pro 3 tonight at midnight EDT (9pm PDT) on Microsoft’s website (site isn’t live yet) and other select etailers. Starting June 20th, US and Canada customers can visit Microsoftstore.com, Microsoft retails stores and select third-party retailers (like Best Buy) to purchase Intel Core i5 Surface Pro 3 ($999 and up) and select accessories. Additional configurations will be made available during August and more accessories will come over the course of the following months.

By the end of August, Surface Pro 3 and select new accessories will become available for purchase in 26 additional markets, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

The post Surface Pro 3 – Surface Gets Bigger and Better appeared first on VR World.