Microsoft said Monday that the company has released a "technical preview" of its Windows Phone 7 software for developers and consumers.
The technical preview represents a major milestone for Microsoft, which is now placing the software into "thousands" of prototype phones from Asus, LG and Samsung, Microsoft's Terry Meyerson said in a blog post on Monday.
One of those phones made its way to PCMag.com, where editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff received some hands-on time with the Windows Phone 7 technical preview.
"The beta software clearly isn't done and not everything worked as expected or really as it probably should, but there's a lot to like and dig into here," Ulanoff wrote.
Microsoft launched the Windows Phone 7 "hub" concept in February, when PCMag.com received our first hands-on time, as PCMag.com did in June. This is Microsoft's first handheld mobile device to effectively act as a hub for all your digital activities.
"Before release of this milestone, the software has undergone extensive testing – in daily use by more than 1000 people at Microsoft who have been using WP7 as their only phone for the past several months, and the more than 10,000 devices in our test labs," Meyerson wrote. "We've been testing usability, battery life, network connectivity, and many other metrics for a long time. As a result of that work, I hope you will find the experience to be of surprisingly high quality."
Last week, Joe Belfiore, vice president and director of Windows Phone program management, talked to PCMag.com about how Microsoft will address some of the other aspects of the Windows Phone 7 launch, including the app store or Zune Marketplace.
Microsoft has said previously that the Windows Phone 7 software and phones would be ready by the 2010 holiday season. Meyerson's post did not touch on the issue.
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications enable professionals to target specific technologies and to distinguish themselves by demonstrating in-depth knowledge and expertise in their specialized technologies. more at http://www.certkingdom.com
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Google weighs in on Microsoft purchase of Yahoo, Yahoo may look to Google for help
Google’s senior vice president and chief legal officer, David Drummond, said in the company’s blog on Feb. 3 that given Microsoft’s anti-competitive conduct in the past, coupled with its continued dominance in the technology industry, would threaten “innovation and openness” on the Internet.
From the NY Times:
“Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC?” asked David Drummond, Google senior vice president and chief legal officer, writing on the company’s blog. “While the Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies — and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets.”
Yahoo declined to comment. Yahoo has said it is weighing Microsoft’s hostile offer and alternatives.
While control of Internet advertising dollars is an important consideration, it seems that Google is concentrating more on the issues of instant messaging and e-mail, contending that a combination of Yahoo and Microsoft would result in an “overwhelming share” of those markets.
But is this just Google’s way of getting back at Microsoft for trying to de-rail Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick?
From the NY Times:
Like Microsoft’s $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo, the Google-DoubleClick deal was announced on a Friday, and Microsoft lost no time objecting. By the weekend, Microsoft, working in conjunction with AT&T and others, had begun urging antitrust regulators to scrutinize the deal.Microsoft claimed that the Google-DoubleClick combination would reduce competition in the online advertising business and put too much consumer data into the hands of Google, raising concerns about possible intrusions into user privacy.
As that merger began to undergo review by regulators and faced inquiries from Congress, Microsoft, which itself had bid for DoubleClick but lost, remained one of its most vocal opponents. In September, Microsoft’s general counsel, Bradford L. Smith, for instance, told a Senate subcommittee dealing with antitrust matters that the deal would give Google “sole control over the largest database of user information the world has ever known.” And Microsoft filed some of the most detailed objections to the merger with the Federal Trade Commission, the agency in charge of reviewing it.
So, this could just be Google’s idea of a payback, or there could be other plans afoot. According to Reuters, Yahoo’s management is considering a business alliance with Google as a way to rebuff Microsoft’s hostile offer.
From Reuters:
Yahoo management is considering revisiting talks it held with Google several months ago on an alliance as an alternative to Microsoft’s bid, which, at $31 a share, Yahoo management believes undervalues the company, the source said.
A second source close to Yahoo said it had received a procession of preliminary contacts by media, technology, telephone and financial companies. But the source said they were unaware whether any alternative bid was in the offing.
According to Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Jeffery Lindsay, “the Microsoft bid of $31 is very astute” because it would pressure Yahoo management to take actions that could unlock the underlying value of Yahoo assets, estimated at upward of $39-$45 a share.
What is next? The blogsphere has been buzzing since the Feb. 1 announcement by Microsoft. Many people are afraid that Yahoo will disappear under Microsoft branding and popular sites like Flickr and del.icio.us will disappear completely or change so much that they will not satisfy the community. Whatever happens next, it is clear that Microsoft is determined to bring Yahoo under Redmond control. What do you think the best outcome will be?
From the NY Times:
“Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC?” asked David Drummond, Google senior vice president and chief legal officer, writing on the company’s blog. “While the Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies — and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets.”
Yahoo declined to comment. Yahoo has said it is weighing Microsoft’s hostile offer and alternatives.
While control of Internet advertising dollars is an important consideration, it seems that Google is concentrating more on the issues of instant messaging and e-mail, contending that a combination of Yahoo and Microsoft would result in an “overwhelming share” of those markets.
But is this just Google’s way of getting back at Microsoft for trying to de-rail Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick?
From the NY Times:
Like Microsoft’s $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo, the Google-DoubleClick deal was announced on a Friday, and Microsoft lost no time objecting. By the weekend, Microsoft, working in conjunction with AT&T and others, had begun urging antitrust regulators to scrutinize the deal.Microsoft claimed that the Google-DoubleClick combination would reduce competition in the online advertising business and put too much consumer data into the hands of Google, raising concerns about possible intrusions into user privacy.
As that merger began to undergo review by regulators and faced inquiries from Congress, Microsoft, which itself had bid for DoubleClick but lost, remained one of its most vocal opponents. In September, Microsoft’s general counsel, Bradford L. Smith, for instance, told a Senate subcommittee dealing with antitrust matters that the deal would give Google “sole control over the largest database of user information the world has ever known.” And Microsoft filed some of the most detailed objections to the merger with the Federal Trade Commission, the agency in charge of reviewing it.
So, this could just be Google’s idea of a payback, or there could be other plans afoot. According to Reuters, Yahoo’s management is considering a business alliance with Google as a way to rebuff Microsoft’s hostile offer.
From Reuters:
Yahoo management is considering revisiting talks it held with Google several months ago on an alliance as an alternative to Microsoft’s bid, which, at $31 a share, Yahoo management believes undervalues the company, the source said.
A second source close to Yahoo said it had received a procession of preliminary contacts by media, technology, telephone and financial companies. But the source said they were unaware whether any alternative bid was in the offing.
According to Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Jeffery Lindsay, “the Microsoft bid of $31 is very astute” because it would pressure Yahoo management to take actions that could unlock the underlying value of Yahoo assets, estimated at upward of $39-$45 a share.
What is next? The blogsphere has been buzzing since the Feb. 1 announcement by Microsoft. Many people are afraid that Yahoo will disappear under Microsoft branding and popular sites like Flickr and del.icio.us will disappear completely or change so much that they will not satisfy the community. Whatever happens next, it is clear that Microsoft is determined to bring Yahoo under Redmond control. What do you think the best outcome will be?
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