Windows 7 Smartphone: The next big thing?

Microsoft’s latest offering to the world is the Windows 7 operating system (OS). This operating system release offers a host of brand new features for Windows users. Along with Windows 7 for desktops, Microsoft has also released their mobile counterpart operating system called Windows Phone 7 which is scheduled for a later release than the desktop OS.

Windows Phone 7 is the mobile operating system designed for Windows compatible smartphones and mobile devices. The great thing about Windows Phone 7 is that Windows has literally started from scratch and developed a brand new operating system that legitimately competes with some of the top interactive phones on the market. Windows Phone 7 easily competes with the iPhone and the Google phone.

Previous versions of Windows mobile operating system worked against Windows in many ways. They made the mistake of packing too much into their previous mobile operating systems. Although there was widespread use of the Windows mobile operating system, users were frustrated and therefore it did not take too much persuasion for them to look at other mobile solutions when the opportunity arose. The problem with previous Windows mobile releases is that they did a lot of things but did not really do any single thing well. In many ways, Windows tried to pack a complete PC into their mobile devices, it was too much. They have learned however and in their latest release they have trimmed things down considerably.

The new Windows Phone 7 operating system focuses on two areas of excellence: an easy to use interface and quality business tools. The new Windows Phone 7 has an extremely attractive interface. They no longer use the typical windows icons but have given that up for an interface that gives users quick access to the applications they want to use. Games, messaging, photos and music are all easily accessible and at the same time, important business tools like Outlook email and various Microsoft office applications are of a high standard and equally accessible.

So far Windows Phone 7 has received rave reviews from Internet review sites like Engadget and Gizmodo. One thing that they all agree on is that Windows Phone 7 is a brand new experience. It is not an old operating system slightly edited and repackaged. They have truly taken this OS from scratch and have developed something fresh, new and exciting.

Although the Windows Phone 7 leaves those that read about it anxiously wanting to get their hands on it, unfortunately there is a bit of a wait. Windows Phone 7 is not scheduled for release until end of year 2010.

Google Wave

There has been a lot of buzz in recent months about Google Wave and the large array of team-based tasks that can be completed with it. Google Wave is basically a collection of online tools that allow the members of a team/group to work together collaboratively on documents. The tool is web-based which provides team members the freedom to be located anywhere in the world. All types of preferences can be established, however, at it’s most basic level, no matter which member of a team comes up with an idea, all team members can be required to sign off on the idea as a condition for moving to the next level of development. Google Wave is often used by team leaders. They often set up a document and then invite people into the project, giving them the ability to ask every team member to input ideas. It is a great way to stimulate discussion. Google Wave makes teamwork via the Internet a reality.

Wave is a term that is used often in the Google Wave system. A Wave is defined as a discussion that has several participants in it. Wave participants are invited into a project, or added by a Wave admin and are given permission to participate in the development of documents or in whatever collaborative effort is taking place. There is no limit to the number of participants that can be added to a Wave. One particular feature that makes Google Wave especially exciting is the option for new participants to playback any interactions that took place among the team before they actually joined the project.

Google Wave functions are in real-time and therefore any communication at all, can be seen instantly by other team members. This allows team members on the same project to work together on a document while holding a real-time discussion at the same time. There are no limitations on the quality of documents that users work with. Google Wave allows for rich text formatting, uploading photos, video uploads and the placement of maps in documents as well. All of this eliminates the need for email messages being sent to the group and eliminates a need for attachments in those emails.

Project managers, business owners and business planning departments can all benefit greatly from the features offered by Google Wave, as can companies that require the co-operation of multiple departments placed in different offices and cities. Often traditional businesses hesitate to adopt new technology and wait to see how things fair with other companies. Google Wave is one development in technology that definitely improves the way that things are done in the best of ways.

Windows 7 Preview

We have seen many version and transformations of the Windows operating system over the years. Some computer users have faithfully upgraded their computers with every version Microsoft operating system. Others users have been more conservative and have skipped a release or two. In the opinion of many, Windows Vista was an operating system to skip completely. Many users were dissatisfied with Vista. This makes Windows 7 an important release because it is important for Microsoft to release an operating system that is an improvement upon Vista.

Already Windows 7 has begun to receive positive reviews. It is naturally being compared to Windows Vista and in most reviews is coming out on top. There are many changes in Windows 7 that will require a learning curve even since Vista. They will at least require an adjustment in the way that you interact with Windows operating system.

Many changes have been made in Windows 7. The taskbar and the start menu is where traditional Windows users will need to get used to. The changes are not complicated but you will have to know where to look for the features that you may have always found in the same place in the past. One feature that no longer exists is the Quick Launch menu. Personally, I will miss this feature dearly as it has been the staple of my own computer use throughout the years.

The Desktop is much easier to access with Windows 7. You will find to the right of the Taskbar a short nub that when hovered over causes all open windows to become transparent. The desktop can then be seen through the open windows. Alternatively, you can click on the nub and all of the open windows will be moved aside, allowing you quick access to the Desktop and its contents.

Windows 7 eliminates the frustrating balloon notifications that were prevalent in older versions of Windows. Alerts related to unused icons on the desktop, notifications that your computer might be at risk and any other issues are all banished to an area called the Action Center. This is a notification area that you can go to at your convenience to review the alerts that have been raised. Issues that Windows 7 has identified are placed in a queue that you can review at your convenience.

All in all, Windows 7 seems to be a step in the write direction for Windows. I did not like Windows Vista and it seems that I am not alone in that sentiment. Microsoft quickly recognized how disgruntled many loyal Windows users felt about Vista and quickly provided an improved offering. For all intents and purposes, Windows 7 is a marked improvement over Windows Vista. Now it is for the public to give offer their vote of approval.

The Netbook Craze

Netbook computers are small computers that look very similar to laptops yet are actually much smaller than laptops. A netbook has completely different capabilities to the average laptop and is designed to be quick and mobile, and to connect primarily to the Internet and other networks. Therefore, storage space on a netbook is very limited. If you are used to working with desktops and laptops, the small amount of storage space on a netbook can seem outrageous. However in reality the space is enough. These computers rely on the data and information that they need to access to be stored in remote locations either online or on a business local area network (LAN).

A netbook is a fairly distinct-looking computer that you have probably already seen people using in airports, cafes and other places. They look like laptops, but they are in fact much smaller than laptops. The size of a netbook screen is usually around nine inches wide as opposed to the usual twelve to fourteen inches of an average laptop computer. They are light and easy to carry around and they are quick.

Netbooks are an alternative type of mobile computer. These days, people can get online with all types of devices: mobile phones offer Internet access via your cell phone provider, PDAs can gain access to the Internet via WIFI but none of these devices have a full QWERTY keyboard. For people that need mobile computing for more than simply checking their email, a netbook is great alternative. Word documents and other business applications can run on a netbook and you can engage with those programs using a full keypad and mouse. This makes typing into the document quick and convenient.

Laptops and netbooks differ significantly although their style is relatively similar. Most laptops are packed with a lot of power and can for all intents and purposes be used in the same way as a desktop computer. This is not true with a netbook. Netbooks run with very limited power under the hood. Although netbooks have lots of RAM memory which makes them quick, they do not hold much storage space at all. They rely on information being stored on networks.

The average netbook comes with several USB ports so that peripheral devices can be attached to them. However they do not come with any type of DVD or CD drive. Also many of the common ports that you are probably used to having included with a laptop will not come with a netbook, such as monitor ports, a PCMCIA port and others. There are many features that we take for granted when we buy any type of computer but a netbook will not necessarily have those features.

Netbooks are great computers to buy if you are on the move a lot but need regular access to the Internet. They are a great mobile alternative if PDA and mobile phone access to the Internet are too limiting for you. Also their full size keyboard can be more comfortable and quicker to use than what is found on other mobile devices. Personally speaking, I completely love my netbook computer. I find it much more convenient to carry around with me than my old laptop.

Is Ubuntu 9.04 a Contender Against Windows?

What is Ubuntu
Ubuntu is an operating system that was developed in South Africa and that very much like Unix. It is available in over 55 languages and it was developed by Canonical Ltd and is set to be administered by the Ubuntu Foundation, which was created specifically for this purpose.

The word of Ubuntu is a South African word that describes an ideal or an ideology promoted there, which is ‘humanity towards others’. Ubuntu is a stable operating system and has been developed as an open source software platform that is distributed for free. One of the main goals of the software, and something that they have done successfully is make it very easy to use for the average computer user. It is very user-friendly and easy to install.

Ubuntu History
Ubuntu was first released in 2004 with the explicit goal of releasing an update every 6 months. The operating system has been developed with usability being one of the highest priorities. One of the biggest concerns though for computer users that have been raised on Microsoft Windows is, how many applications does Ubuntu come with and are software developers writing programs for this platform? Ubuntu comes with Firefox, OpenOffice, Pidgin, GIMP and a few others and it is also possible to use quite a few programs that have been written for Microsoft Windows, including Microsoft Office. This can be done either through a virtual machine (VM) or through Wine.

Can Ubuntu Compete with Windows?
Ubuntu has made huge strides when you consider that just a few years back it was a brand new operating system. Furthermore, it is attempting to compete with Microsoft which is a massive competitor. Ubuntu has made great progress and in just a few years. According to the New York Times in January of 2009, Ubuntu had more than 10 million users and this figure is reported to be growing consistently.

Although Ubuntu is not currently making much of a dent in the Microsoft market, it can no way be an indicator of where things can go. Ubuntu definitely has potential and it has made remarkable strides. At the end of the day, all sorts of factors can potentially affect whether a product finds true success or not. Keep an eye on the technology news headlines as well as to the way that investors and vendors respond to this operating system. The biggest challenges in my view will be keeping the product strong against viruses and security attacks, which are one Microsoft’s biggest weaknesses. Ubuntu can only begin to content with Windows when software developers create programs to run on their OS as often as they make them for Windows and Mac.

Voice Recognition Advances for the home PC

Voice recognition software when fully installed on a personal computer (PC) is software that has the ability to receive, interpret and convert spoken words into written text. Anyone that wants to use voice recognition software will need to have a sound card and a fairly decent microphone. A microphone is used to capture the words that you speak and to input that sound into the computer. Words that are spoken into the microphone can be detected by the software, recognized and converted into written text.

Voice recognition technology has been around for some time, although it has seen huge advancements over the past few years. As with any technology, voice recognition technology started off being slow, heavy and clunky. Not every word was recognized correctly and so work needed heavy editing. With time, the technology has been refined and improved so as to deliver the quality that we can enjoy today. These days, there less errors with the software in converting spoken words and fewer incorrectly interpreted words. Voice recognition software now has the ability to judge the context within which words are spoken and therefore can correctly choose the spelling of any word that can be spelled in more than one way. This helps in situations where two words sound exactly the same, such as the words ‘to’ and ‘two’.

There are many reasons that voice recognition software is useful both for personal and business purposes. The technology is great for any individual that may suffer from a disability that prevents them from typing into a keyboard or using computers in the typical manner. Voice recognition software can bridge a huge communication gap for people with disabilities by allowing more people to have access to computer technology. If a person is unable to type for any reason whether due to a physical disability or through maybe not having learned to type, voice recognition software provides them with the option of speaking words into a computer rather than typing them in.

Typically, voice recognition software can read back to the user the words that they have spoken. This allows the user to review their work/words and to make edits and corrections if necessary.

If you are on the market for voice recognition software for your PC, the two areas that you should judge software on are the speed and the accuracy of the software. In the best case scenario, you should try to buy the software that has the best word error rate (WER). Most applications will provide statistics on their WER. If they don’t, a search of consumer web sites and voice recognition forums will put you in touch with other consumers that can give you the ‘real deal’ on the accuracy of the voice recognition program you are thinking of buying.

Celebrity Geek: Michael Dell

Most people regardless as to what part of the world they live in are probably familiar with Dell computers on some level. It can be very easy to see brand names as just names however most brands and companies have a person behind them and a story to tell. Dell computers shot to popularity during the 90’s. Their company has released all types of desktop computers, laptops, peripheral devices and gadgets onto the market.

Michael Dell is the founder of the Dell computer brand. Michael Dell is a highly successful entrepreneur. He is married with four children and he is estimated to be worth $12.3 billion. From a very young age, Michael Dell showed a propensity for business. From a simple paper route he found a way to earn $18,000 (enough money to buy him a car and a few computers at the time). This is a job that most people manage to earn a few extra spending dollars with.

Michael Dell made his first contact with a computer at the age of 15. One of the first things he is said to have done with that computer was take it apart completely and then rebuild it. And he did it, just because. His interest in computers never waned, it only grew. It is clear that a combination of business savvy and a love for computers was instrumental in the way that he developed into the owner of the most profitable PC manufacturer in the world.

While enrolled in University, Michael Dell started his first company. He ran it straight out of his college dorm room. The company was called PC’s Limited. He saw enough success with the company at that time that he felt comfortable dropping out of college, securing a loan from his grandparents and putting all of his energies into his new venture. PC’s Limited became Dell Computer Corporation and finally Dell, Inc.

There was a point in the 90’s when Gateway was one of Dell’s largest competitors. In fact, during the early 90’s, Dell suffered a setback that allowed Gateway to overtake them in the market. There was a glitch in one of their products and their laptops had a tendency to catch fire spontaneously. Sales went down considerably and the future of the company was in question. Eventually, Dell was able to overcome both the bad publicity and the problems. They reinvented themselves and put themselves back at the top of their game.

In 2004, Dell experienced major change as Michael Dell chose not to continue as CEO of Dell. He took the position of Chairman which he holds until today. He has received a mountain of accolades and recognition for his hard work, accomplishments and business acumen: Entrepreneur of the Year (Inc. Magazine), Man of the Year (PC Magazine), Top CEO in American Business (Worth Magazine), CEO of the Year (Financial World) and so many more.

Windows 7 – The New Microsoft Operating System

Windows 7 is the new and upcoming operating system (OS) being developed by Microsoft. It is the next version of a series of widely used Windows operating systems since Windows 95. If you have heard the nicknames, Blackcomb and Vienna bandied about online and in technical magazines, it was probably in reference to Microsoft 7. These were the code names given to the project.

Windows 7 is the follow up operating system to Windows Vista. This operating system has continued to develop upon the new technologies that were introduced with Vista. Although traditionally Microsoft technologies tend to be backwards compatible, we know that Windows 7 will be backwards compatible with Vista. For operating systems older than Vista we are not yet sure.

PC and software technology continue to advance. Therefore it is advisable to upgrade all of your software every once in a while. If you are running a PC on a pre-Vista operating system, you don’t have to worry yet. There is and will be for sometime, so much software developed for the older platform. Although technical people and computer geeks tend to jump to buy the latest versions of all software, many others can’t afford to do this, or prefer to wait. The complete transition to the new Windows platform will take years. When you see that the majority of new software you are interested in no longer offers a version compatible with your Windows Operating System, then you will know for sure that it is time to upgrade to newer technologies.

The new Windows 7 has many new and changed features to what long time Windows users are used to. If you have already familiarized yourself with Vista and its features then you will not have much adjusting to do. Some of what you can expect to find with Windows 7 is: multi-core processors which should make everything run much quicker; an advanced calculator that now comes with programming and statistical calculation options; and many new items and features in the control panel. As with Vista, even more features have been removed from the standard operating system install. These items can only be added using a separate toolkit which is called, Windows Live Essentials. Windows Live Essentials is apparently freeware software. It shouldn’t cost you anything to get this toolkit, it will just require the extra step of downloading and installing it.

The Windows 7 operating system is not just planned for the PC but is being developed for a variety of devices: desktops, laptops, mobile devices, tablet PCs, netbooks and more. If you have become accustomed to the Windows Mobile operating system that has stayed relatively unchanged over the past decade, you may want to begin to read up on Windows 7 for Mobile and to plan this new version.

Linux Software for Personal Computers

For many years now Linux has offered an operating system for personal computers (PCs). Microsoft has had the monopoly on operating systems for personal computers since it first came out with Windows. Because of Microsoft’s popularity and complete dominance in operating systems, it is very brave and an absolutely huge goal for any company to attempt to try to compete against them in this area. Linux is one company that has done just that. They put out an operating system (OS) that provides a viable alternative to Windows operating system. Although Linux has not fully taken off as a major player in PC operating systems you can never tell what might happen in the fast-paced world of the Internet.

When it comes to servers and software for hosting web sites, Linux has done exceptionally well and has made a lot of inroads. Many, many web site owners prefer to host their web sites on a Linux server over a Microsoft server. It will be interesting to see how this trend develops with time and whether we will see the same trends for Linux with personal computers.

If you choose to install Linux on your PC as your operating system, you will also need to install programs that run on Linux. The programs that you have installed on your Windows operating system will not work with Linux. This is probably the most significant factor contributing to the slow progress of Linux with PC users. It is probably only when programs written for Linux OS can rival, in quality and in ease-of-use, those written for PCs that Linux will really take off.

The great thing about Linux and one of the things that has made it popular as a server and, on a smaller scale, as a desktop operating system is the open source aspect of the software. Open source means the code is open and other programmers can help to program and develop the technology. Another benefit for users is the fact that much of the software that is developed to run on Linux operating system is free. As the price of software that runs on Windows and Apple platforms skyrockets, the free aspect of Linux software is very appealing to many computer users.

Although Linux technology has proved to be popular among the technical community, that enthusiasm has not yet caught on among every day computer users. There are many possible reasons for his. Installation and set up of Linux software is not always as simple as clicking the Terms and Agreements box and clicking the next button. It can require quite a bit of work and for some it can be completely impossible to install. The technical understanding needed to deal with some of the error messages, and configuration problems is too much for many would-be uers. Once Linux becomes as user-friendly as Windows we may see more and more people moving over to Linux OS for PCs.

What to Look for in a Good Laptop

Laptop computers are becoming more and more popular these days as the computer of choice. This is not only true among business people but also among college students, travellers, and young people in general. In many ways, the thinking is, why be weighted down by a clunky desktop when I can have a laptop and take my computer wherever I go?

Laptops were originally designed for, and used by, business people. They gave people the ability to walk around with their electronic files and to easily make presentations away from their offices. Laptops are still used for business purposes, however many non-business people use them as well.

Students use laptops increasingly. They bring them to lectures and study sessions and many non-students and non-business people use them as their main, standard computer. Laptops are convenient to carry around and they take up little space, and fold up nicely.

When you are buying a laptop, you should check all of the usual specifications such as processor speed, RAM and memory. If your laptop will be your main, personal computer, then you will need it to be just as quick as a desktop pc. If not, you will get very frustrated very fast.

There are certain things that pose a challenge for manufacturers of laptops. Some companies have mastered these challenges and others have not yet. So be sure to check that the laptop you are buying is lightweight. Modern, slimline components mean that laptops don’t have to weigh a ton anymore. Check that the power adaptor is small and not large and clunky. Check that the working life of the battery is at a minimum two hours – you will appreciate this every time you have to work off the battery.

If you already have your eye on a particular laptop, do your homework. Go online and find some reviews written by everyday consumers like yourself. The durability of your laptop is of key importance. Laptops are more subject to wear and tear than desktops, mostly due to the fact that they are moved and carried around more. It is a good idea to also check the warranty and perhaps get some extra coverage if it is available in the store where you purchase it.

Lastly, be sure that you like your laptop screen. You will be looking at it for a long time. There are a variety of screens that are popular these days. The clarity of laptop screens gets better and better with every passing year which makes laptops a great tool also for watching DVDs and not just for serious work.

Geeks2U can always help with your laptop problems and our excellent technicians are always ready to help. You can contact us on 1300 443 572 to book a technician in your home or office.

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