Windows 9 Beta in January 2014, RTM launch in November, reportedly
Last Updated on Sunday, 17 March 2013 10:11 Written by admin Sunday, 17 March 2013 03:28
Microsoft is building Windows 9 in addition to Windows Blue, and apparently the Redmond company is looking to accelerate the release cycle of its main cash cow. While Windows Blue is slated for release by in the summer of 2013, supposedly a refresh to Windows 8, the next major version of Windows is also in the works. According to Win8China, Windows 9 is planned for release just 2 years after the general availability of Windows 8. Windows 8 in its turn, was launched 3 years after Windows 7, which dropped 3 years after Windows Vista was finalized and offered to consumers.
A November 2014 GA deadline for Windows 9 means that Microsoft put pedal to the metal as far as Windows development is concerned, shortening the release cycle by a third. Of course, this information needs to be taken with a grain of salt, to say the least. General availability in November 2014 automatically implies that Windows 9 will go gold (will be released to manufacturing) sometime in late summer 2014, or early fall. Sources familiar with the Windows 9 development effort indicate that a Beta of Windows 9 might find its way to testers in less than a year, namely in January 2014.
Windows takes top 4 positions in OS usage ranking, but don’t expect any real reshuffling until after Windows 9 launches
Last Updated on Sunday, 3 March 2013 06:35 Written by admin Sunday, 3 March 2013 06:35
Iterations of the Windows operating system have taken the first four positions in an OS usage ranking put together by Net Marketshare. As of the end of February 2013, Windows 8 joins its predecessors by surpassing all versions of Mac OS X and Linux in terms of usage share. Climbing to 2.67% of the market, Windows 8 is right on track to dethrone Windows Vista and become the third most used operating system version in the world. My personal prediction is that Windows 8 and Vista will swap places by the summer of 2013, by which time Microsoft is rumored to release the first major update to Windows 7’s successor, thus far codenamed Windows Blue.
Windows 7 continues to be no. 1 with a usage share of 44.55%, growing from 44.45% the previous month, which means that consumers worldwide are still buying new copies of the OS as well as new machines powered by this iteration of Windows, despite the availability of Windows 8. Windows XP’s usage share continues to drop, especially as users are upgrading either to Windows 7 or Windows 8. XP is now down to 38.99% of the market, while Vista, the OS that so many love to hate, is just at 5.17% as of the start of March.
Considering the gap separating XP and Windows 8, I really don’t see any chances for the latter to displace the old time favorite version of Windows, even if now more than a decade old, and closing in on its retirement date. Microsoft will cut support for Windows XP in just a few years, but by that time, I estimate that Windows 9 and not Windows 8 will take advantage of the hole which the death of XP will leave in the market. Mark my words, Windows 8 will never be more than third best, usage share-wise. You heard it here first.
Julie Larson-Green Replaces Steven Sinofsky as Top Windows Boss
Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 November 2012 01:39 Written by admin Tuesday, 13 November 2012 01:39
Julie Larson-Green has replaced Steven Sinofsky as the Windows and Windows Live President, according to Microsoft. The move is unexpected to say the least, and Julie certainly has a bumpy ride to look forward to. She’s taking the Windows helm in a time when the division is underperforming and selling less and less of the company’s flagship product.
It’s unclear whether Sinofsky’s departure has anything to do with the drop in Windows sales, or the modest selling performance of Surface tablets. However, people close to the Redmond company are revealing that at fault might be key vision disparities between Sinofsky and other top Microsoft executives, including CEO Steve Ballmer. Nothing is confirmed, of course, and such details will most likely remain unconfirmed for a long time to come, unless Sinofsky writes his memoirs, or there’s a Windows 8 Easter egg that tell the true story.
Larson-Green managed to drive a lot of innovation that impacted products such as Office and Windows 7. She’s credited for pushing natural user interfaces such as Ribbon/Fluent for Office, and she oversaw the UX evolution of Windows 8 and its predecessor, Windows 7.
Larson-Green’s immediate focus is to whip Windows Blue, the successor of Windows 8, into shape, and continue with Windows 9, two operating system releases reportedly due in 2013 and in 2014, respectively.