Windows Most Recent Posts

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer is being accused of craziness -- even more so than usual (I kid, I kid). He's reported to have predicted that there'll be half a billion Windows 8 PCs in use by the end of 2013. Yeah, right; Microsoft PR is furiously clarifying the quote. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers sing-a-long-a-Nena.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) caused quite a stir when it reported Steve Ballmer saying that Windows 8 would have up to 500 million users by the end of 2013. But Microsoft says that Ballmer never made that prediction, and the AFP article was based on a misunderstanding.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says that he expected 500 million people to have Windows 8 by the end of 2013. But a look at Windows' sales history and PC growth shows that number is way off base.

Windows Aero lovers, say good-bye to your bad taste in user interfaces. Microsoft says that it's killing Aero in the Windows desktop, which it now calls "dated" and "cheesy." Is the move a mistake?

Mozilla is criticizing Microsoft because of the API restrictions it's imposed in Windows RT. Windows 8 on ARM won't allow Firefox and other non-IE browsers to run on the desktop. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers wonder if this is an anti-trust violation, or perhaps it's OK, because 'Windows RT' isn't actually 'Windows'? Not to mention: Incredibox...

When ARM tablets running Windows 8 ship, Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers will be at a disadvantage, because Internet Explorer will be the only browser allowed to take advantage of certain features of the operating system. Mozilla and Google are crying "foul." Do the restrictions really matter?

A security researcher has found a potentially massive security hole in Windows 8 that would expose someone's contacts and other information from social networking services and email including Gmail, Facebook, Hotmail, LinkedIn, and Twitter, among others. It sounds serious, but there may be less to the security hole than meets the eye.

Even though Microsoft has promised that Windows Media Center will be included in Windows 8, and was included it in the Consumer Preview, the company now says the multimedia app won't ship with Windows 8. Instead, if you want it, you'll have to pay extra for it.

Apple's Tim Cook took time out from Apple's earnings call to give a sideways slam to Windows 8, saying that Microsoft's attempt to get it to work on PCs and tablets was like trying to mate a refrigerator with a toaster.

Five-year Microsoft veteran Max Zachariades who blogs under the name Max Zografos just posted a scorched-earth account about his time at Microsoft in which he lambasts the company as a red-tape-ridden bureaucracy that punishes creativity and rewards mediocrity. It's not clear, though, whether the post is an accurate description of working conditions at Microsoft, or an attempt by a fired employee to settle scores.

A jump in Windows sales reported by Microsoft yesterday shows that reports of the death of PCs and Windows are premature. Microsoft reported an increase in sales in the Windows and Window Live division, marking a turnaround from flat or decreasing Windows sales in past quarters.

The brouhaha over whether Windows Phone 7 devices will be upgradable to Windows 8 Apollo seems to be over: The Microsoft evangelist who said they would be upgradable now says that he misspoke. In the immortal words of Emily Litella: Never mind!

[Update: How should we choose between Windows 8 and Windows RT?] Oh dear. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced the names and product editions for Windows 8, the backlash is palpable -- especially over the choice of name for the ARM edition: "Windows RT." In IT Blogwatch, bloggers complain and moan.

Every once in a while a tech rumor pops up that sounds so bizarre you expect it to be an April Fool's joke. Here's the latest: Microsoft will swap Bing to Facebook for shares when Facebook goes public. The rumor is wrong in every way.

A major key to Firefox regaining significant market share is developing a Windows 8 Metro version of the browser, says a high-level Mozilla engineer working on the project. And it's clear that this is more than talk, because Mozilla already has has a working prototype.