Software News

Alexandria, VA (PRWEB) December 04, 2012

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Every time Microsoft launches a new operating system there’s one phrase you’re guaranteed to hear: "This version of Windows is outselling its predecessor". Microsoft claimed Windows Vista got off to a fast start, shifting more than 20 million copies in two months -- some three million more than XP sold in the same time frame. Windows 7 of course comfortably outsold Vista, and recently Tami Reller, finance and marketing head of the Windows business, announced that Microsoft sold 40 million licenses for Windows 8 to date, adding, "Windows 8 upgrade momentum is outpacing that of Windows 7". Of course, of course. The message here is clear: every version of Windows is a success. But how successful is Windows 8, really?
We don’t know. That’s the bottom line. When Apple says it’s sold X billion apps we know that’s true because sales go through the App Store and are counted. When Microsoft says it’s sold 4 million copies of Windows 8 in the first few days, or 40 million licenses to date, we have no idea what that means in terms of actual sales. Consumers activate Windows when installing it, so Microsoft will know how many activations it's had, and yet that figure, the one we know to be trustworthy, has yet to be revealed. There’s a lot of talk about how poorly Windows 8 is doing. An activations figure, if decent, would silence the critics. But there’s no sign of it.
Microsoft tells us it’s sold 40 million licenses to date, but as Rob Helm, managing vice president for research at Directions On Microsoft says: "Microsoft hasn't explained how it's counting licenses. Without that information, it's a little hard to tell what that 40 million figure really means."
What the number definitely doesn’t mean is 40 million sales to users. It’s likely a mix of pre-orders, discounted upgrades, and bulk licenses sold to PC manufacturers like Lenovo, Dell or HP. Hardware partners buy the licenses and then sell them to consumers and businesses. Or don’t sell them on, if no one's buying. And NPD says they aren’t. The PC sales figures are so bad it’s not unreasonable to suspect at least one-third of those 40 million licenses have yet to reach end users.
So how many people use Windows 8? We don’t know. How many people have activated it? We don’t know. And the fact we don’t know doesn’t look good for the new OS. Tech research firm StatCounter estimates about 1 percent of the world's PCs (1.5 billion) run Windows 8. If that’s the case, it means around 15 million users have the new OS.
"Windows 8 upgrade momentum is outpacing that of Windows 7" Microsoft says. What does that mean? Users are upgrading? From what? Windows 7? From XP? Users were desperate to upgrade to Windows 7. XP was years old, Vista was poorly received. Consumers aren’t anywhere near as desperate to upgrade to Windows 8. They might want to, but they don’t need to, so that statement seems a little suspect. The upgrade offer is incredibly cheap right now though, so it’s perhaps that which drives the numbers. Whatever those numbers might be.
Microsoft hasn’t revealed any solid sales figures for apps yet either. It crows a "number" of apps "have crossed the $25,000 revenue mark" (when Microsoft's cut drops from 30 percent to 20 percent) but doesn’t say which ones, or how much they are selling for. An app retailing for $5 dollars would only have to sell 5,000 copies. Hardly big sales numbers.
Anyway, does it really matter if Windows 8 isn’t outselling Windows 7? No. We’re in a global recession, a lot of people are more than happy with their older OS, touch-screen devices are still rolling out, so even if Windows 8 isn’t doing well now that's more than understandable, and the OS still has a good chance of picking up sales in the new year. Microsoft doesn’t have to front it out. Even if the number of current activations is low, it can’t be as bad as analysts are beginning to speculate.
Can it?
Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

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Fifth in a series. Welcome to this week's look at some of the best apps released over the past seven days for Windows 8.  Before we start, I'd like to quickly explain how you can browse the newest applications in Windows Store as the question came up recently.
All you need to do is open Windows Store, type * to search for all apps, tap on the enter key and change the sorting for relevance to newest. This displays all apps sorted by date they have been added to the store starting with the newest entries.
ESPN
The official ESPN application for Windows 8 brings news, videos, scores, photos and podcasts. Please note that it is location restricted so that you may not be able to access it if not living in the United States.
The application covers NFL, NBA, NCAAB, MLB, NFL, NCAAF, Golf, Auto Racing and Tennis news, which all have their own subsection that you can access to access news, videos and commentary.
ESPN subscribers can sign in with their account for extra information like live tile alerts, real-time updates, exclusive contents and favorite team, league and player relates news.
ESPN CricInfo

The official ESPN application for Windows 8 does not feature Cricket at all. Cricket, the second most popular sport in the world after football (that is soccer if you are from the United States), is popular in Asia, Australia and United Kingdom.
The ESPN CricInfo application features live scores, series news, headlines, features, fixtures, leagues, commentary, in-depth analysis, player profiles and photos.
Holiday Inn

Regular Holiday Inn customers may like the application that has just been released for Windows 8. It enables you to find and book rooms, make reservations and find the nearest hotel using GPS.
Customers who sign in can see a list of upcoming reservations and use their corporate ID to get special rates.
The hotel details view needs some reworking, the photos are for instance only available as thumbnails and not full screen.
Wonderwall

If you like to follow celebrity news, Wonderwall may be the application you waited for. It displays a wall full of celebrity photos in all shapes and sizes on start and a small tag line beneath.
A click displays a larger version of the photo along with news or commentary. The application features news, photos and videos.
What I like about it is that you get lots of cross-references that you can follow automatically in the application.
Office Depot

The official Office Depot application features a store finder, either by entering a zip code or using the device's GPS to locate the nearest store near your location.
Weekly deals and hot offers are displayed for each store individually, which you can browse to see if there is anything of interest available this week.
Each product is listed on a details page with photos, description, customer reviews and ratings, and a details sheet. There is an add to cart button as well, but that will load the Office Depot website in the default system browser after confirmation.
TuneUp IncrediLock 

This application makes available a collection of high-quality wallpapers that you can use for the system's lock screen. Browse available wallpaper categories such as animals, around the globe, comic and art or technology, or select one a wallpaper from your local picture library instead.
The application makes available a set of widgets that can be displayed on the lockscreen of the system. Only the sticky note widget is currently available for selection, the weather, calendar and picture frame widgets are only available as previews.
Great Windows Apps

Windows Store has its issues, as I pointed out earlier this year. One of them is that the rating system does not take the number of ratings into account that an application has received. This means that an app that has been rated once with five stars, the highest possible rating, may be listed before an app with hundreds of ratings and an average of 4.8.
Great Windows Apps tries to resolve that by making available "true" listings in the application interface. What this means is that it takes factors into account that Microsoft does not currently.
The application features a top developers group on top of that which lists developers by accumulated ratings.
All apps link to their Windows Store profile page so that it takes the same amount of clicks to install them on the system.
iCookbook

Cooking applications seem to be highly popular in Windows Store, if you judge by the amount that get posted.
The iCookbook application features thousands of recipes that are sorted into groups such as Dish, theme, occasion or brand. Each recipe is listed with a high quality photo, information on preparation time and the number of servings, a difficulty, a detailed list of ingredients and how it is prepared.
Home Shopping Network

The HSN application offers a live stream of what is currently airing on the HSN channel. It does not appear to be restricted to users from a specific country, unlike other TV or video applications available in the store.
The HSN shop is integrated into the app as well. This includes options to search and browse all products, read customer reviews and shop right from within the application.
Music Maker Jam

A music creation application that puts you in control. It offers access to four free music styles, jazz, dubstep, tech house and rock, as well as additional music styles that cost $2.49 each.
Once you have selected a style you are interested in you are taken to the DJ control panel where you can add, remove and manage the music samples.
Songs are created using multiple parts each with its own set of music samples. You can record your songs right from the application window and save the resulting track as an mp3 song on your system.

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Quick, someone add "Nearer My God to Thee" to Steve Ballmer's Xbox Music queue. Microsoft's CEO has a real problem -- well, at least his OEM partners. Simply stated: US Windows PC sales still suck and got absolutely no lift from Windows 8's release. So much for 40 million licenses sold in the first month (and we know it really was longer, since license sales to businesses started in August). Then there is increasing context for Windows chief Steven Sinofsky's sudden departure. The new operating system sinks like Windows Vista. Cue the violins.
New Windows version is supposed to lift PC sales, but they're down 21 percent since the October 26 launch. Notebook sales slumped 24 percent and desktops 9 percent, for the same time period a year ago. "Clearly Windows 8 did not prove to be the impetus for a sales turnaround some had hoped for", Stephen Baker, NPD's vice president of industry analysis, says.
But he cautions: "After just four weeks on the market, it’s still early to place blame on Windows 8 for the ongoing weakness in the PC market. We still have the whole holiday selling season ahead of us". NPD measures US brick-and-mortar and online retail sales.
Tablets sink Faster
Not that manufacturers demonstrate enough commitment to Windows 8. The Modern UI and emphasis on convertibles and tablets should have brought bunches of new designs to market -- and consumer sales with them. Three years ago, Windows 7 launched about the same time of year and accounted for 83 percent of PC unit sales during the first month. Windows 8: Just 58 percent. That says much about what's for sale and what people buy.
Third-quarter PC sales already were bad and left some collateral damage for Windows 8's launch. "The bad Back-to-School period left a lot of inventory in the channel, which had a real impact on the initial sell-through rates for Windows 8", Baker says.
Most surprising -- and I'm seeing Sinofsky's pink slip before my mind's eye -- NPD describes Windows tablet sales as "almost non-existent", accounting (cough, cough) for just 1 percent of sales. Have you seen the Best Buy commercial with the kid using Apple gadgets to contact Santa? With retail partners like this, what are Windows 8 slates' chances?
Still, there's room in the lifeboats to save something from this sinking ship. "The strong performance of Windows 8 notebooks with touchscreens, where Windows 8 truly shines, offers some reason for optimism", Baker says. "These products accounted for 6 percent of Windows 8 notebook sales at an average price of $867 helping to re-establish a premium segment to the Windows consumer notebook market".
"Premium" is not a word often associated with Windows PCs -- rather Macs. But Windows 8 lifts average selling prices. Let me tell you from covering this market for so long, Windows PC ASPs usually only go one direction. Down. But, year over year, notebook ASPs are up 80 bucks to $477 (not exactly Mac pricing territory), while desktop ASPs are up 10 percent. NPD attributes the rise to costlier touchscreen models.
Surveying Wreckage
There has been much debate, particularly the past 10 days, about Windows 8's success or failure. Early holiday PC sales are simply tragic. Not that this misery is new. Ten months ago, IDC described 2011 as the worst year for PC shipments since 2001 -- the year terrorists attacked the United States and during a recession. There is no good news since, just more bad for PC manufacturers -- that despite Intel's efforts to rally the market around ultrabook.
In January, following disappointing Q4 2011 PC shipments, I asserted that "Only Windows 8 can save the PC market now". The new OS has come, and unless something really dramatic happens between now and Christmas Day, fourth quarter is a lost cause -- all while Apple sells iPads faster than the US Mint can print money.
If Sinoksky is captain of this ship, he isn't going down with it. Or stated differently, the crew threw him overboard and he is first casualty of the sinking. His future name is Scapegoat Sinofsky. No matter that the rudder was too small, the ship too big to turn around the iceberg.
Perhaps Windows 8's sinking was inevitable, as people shift buying to other device types. You know, tablets. That's the category where Microsoft bet the larger Windows ecosystem would give great sales lift. Not among US consumers. Sinofsky will be blamed, whether or not he deserves it. He's separated from Microsoft and surely won't risk any severance package by disagreeing too loudly.
For those left behind, I say this: Man the life boats. Women and children first.

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When Microsoft announced the Surface product family a few months ago, I was immediately drawn towards Surface Pro, and not Surface with Windows RT. Imagine my disappointment when Microsoft went silent again after the revelation of the company's first entry in the tablet market. Essential information like price or availability were missing at that point in time, and it was shortly before launch of the device that Microsoft revealed anything meaningful.
There was no word on the Surface Pro though, until now. Tami Reller, Windows and Windows Live Division chief marketing officer, reveals at the Credit Suisse Annual Technology Conference 2012 that Surface Pro will launch in January 2013. Today, Microsoft also revealed pricing: $899 (64GB); $999 (128GB).

We also have talked about -- I keep losing my clicker here -- we have also talked about not only Surface RT, which is shipping today, but we also back in June talked about the Surface with Windows 8 Pro, and you're seeing here a picture of Surface with Windows 8 Pro, or Surface Pro as we often refer to it. You'll see the same kickstand, the same covers work with Surface Pro as well, and you'll see the pen with Surface Pro as well.
And we talked about back in June that Surface Pro would be available in early 2013. And, in fact, Surface with the Windows 8 Pro will be available in January. So, there you see a picture of both. So, we're very excited about Surface, and how customers are reacting to Surface RT, and the excitement for Surface Pro for sure.

Timing and pricing give us another piece of the puzzle. But Microsoft has not revealed other essential information, such as full hardware specs, or how well the battery performs.
Surface Pro Features
Here is a short list of features that Microsoft has revealed about Surface Pro:
Intel Core i5 processorOn-board Intel HD Graphics 400010.6-inch ClearType Full HD 10-point multi-touch display (Surface RT has a 5-point multi-touch displays and a resolution of 1366 x 768 but uses the same dimensions)4GB RAM (Surface RT has 2GB)64GB or 128GB storagePen input and pen included with purchase48W power supplyFull USB 3.0 port (Surface RT has a USB 2.0 port)
Surface RT and Pro Main Differences
The main difference between Surface with Windows RT and Surface with Windows Pro besides hardware is the operating system. Surface RT users get Microsoft Office included with their device and access to Windows Store apps. What they can't do is install legacy x86 applications on their device, which Surface Pro users can.  That's the main reason I'm interested in Surface Pro and not RT.
Price
German retailer Notebook.de may have leaked the price for Microsoft's Surface Pro device when it started to accept pre-orders its website in the beginning of November. The 64GB version of Surface Pro was listed at EUR 809 including VAT, which is about US $1,050, while the 128GB model listed for EUR 909 or US $1,180.
The 64GB Surface with Windows RT and touch cover is currently sold by Microsoft for $699. Before today's pricing announcement, if I had to estimate, the 64GB model would start at $899 or maybe even $999, the 128GB version likely at $1,099. Real pricing, and that's without keyboard cover, is $899 and $999, respectively.
What's your take on Surface with Windows 8 Pro? Are you considering buying the device or is it something that you are not interested in at all?

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