Since Windows 95, Microsoft has been using the Start button, which eventually became a Start “orb” button in Windows 7. Leaked screenshots from the upcoming Windows 8 Customer Preview build shows that the familiar Orb button is missing this time round. Users will be expected to simply hover their mouse over any corner of the screen (almost like hot corners in Mac OS X), which will then bring up the new Metro-infused Start menu screen.

Touch screen users will also just hold their screen over a corner of the screen (or use a swipe action). Windows fans might be peeved at the lack of the Start Menu in Windows 8, but it should be pointed out that in future the Start Menu is now being replaced by the “Start Screen”, which uses Metro style apps that look very similiar to Windows Phone 7, and also share a lot of the code base. This will make future cross-platform development between Windows 8 and Windows Phone a lot easier.

Windows 8 is clearly going to be a major shift for Microsoft, and we are actually very impressed that Microsoft shows the guts to do this…

Source: WinSuperSite

We all know the de facto internet filesharing and cloud storage tool until now has been Dropbox, but Microsoft has always had their own offering, SkyDrive. SkyDrive gave you 25GB of storage for free, which is a good deal more than Dropbox’s measly 3GB. Problem was, SkyDrive was not really available on anything else other than Windows (and Mac), and there was no mobile integration except with Windows Phone 7. Now Microsoft is starting to put SkyDrive into the devices people use every day, instead of only giving it to the Windows faithful.

From today SkyDrive is also available on iPhone, which is a major shift for Microsoft. “We realize that not everyone who relies on SkyDrive for sharing photos or accessing Office documents uses Windows Phone… yet. We have a long history of supporting iPhone customers with built-in support for Hotmail and with apps like Bing, Messenger, OneNote (with SkyDrive sync), and now Skype.”

“More generally, we believe you should have access to your personal content no matter which device you use. This is why we are excited to invest in HTML5—both on the web and on mobile—on http://skydrive.com.” iPhone users can access all of their cloud stored files, create folders, delete files and share links to folders, which fires off a invite using Mail.”

If you have not yet heard of SkyDrive, here are some of the features:

• Storage. Store thousands of photos and files. TheSkyDrive storage meter shows how much storage space you’ve used.
• Organization. Arrange your files in top-level folders and subfolders that you create.
• Control. Choose permissions for each top-level folder that you create. Keep your photos, files, and favourites in personal folders so you can keep them private; in shared folders so you can share them with your Windows Livenetwork, your extended network, and people on your contact list; or in public folders so that they can be viewed by anyone on the Internet.
• Convenience. Keep track of your favourite websites even when you aren’t using your own computer.
• Flexibility. Move, copy, delete, rename, and caption your photos and files after you upload them.
• Display. Photos saved as the JPG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG, TIF, and TIFF file types display with thumbnail images, and can be viewed by other users on SkyDrive or in an online slide show, if they have the right permissions to view them.
• Sharing. Share links directly to your folders, files, and photos, or embed your photos and files in your blog or webpage. You can also let people know you’ve added their picture to SkyDrive by adding people tags.

In an interesting move, Microsoft did not release an iPad version of SkyDrive, which might be a further indication that an iOS version of Office is coming. Because of the lack of a file system on these devices, SkyDrive will have to include with Office for iOS.

But all in all, this is a great move by Microsoft…

Microsoft is slowly but surely starting to cater for people who use Apple’s devices – and the latest app from their stable is the My Xbox Live app. If you are a big online game player, and you hate tearing yourself away from your Xbox, the Xbox Live app will keep you posted on all the activity in your Xbox community. The app is beautifully made, and gives you a very special preview to how apps look on Windows Phone – it feels a little strange having a Metro interface on your iDevice.

Here is the feature rundown:

Track and compare your achievements, connect with your Xbox LIVE friends, and change up your 3D Avatar. Review all your recent great games you and your friends love to play and compare achievements with them. Jump into our games hub to learn about the latest LIVE games and apps. Access Xbox Spotlight feeds, get breaking news from Xbox LIVE, game tips and tricks, gamer spotlight and much more.

Go download it now on the Apple Appstore. With all this attention on iOS, maybe Microsoft should get Office for iOS out sooner than later…

We have seen a few great enhancements arriving in Windows 8, including a brilliant new touch interface, and much more efficient use of system resources – but most of the marketing seems to be focussed on tablet form factors and touch screens. The other major development is that Windows 8 will have the ability to run on ARM processors (the same type of processor you might find in your phone or tablet), but it has been recently rumoured that this is only relevant to the Metro style apps, and the existing “desktop” will not be made available on the ARM devices.

So what happens to the existing bog-standard mouse and keyboard users? If you have spent some time with Windows 8 Developer Preview, you will know the interface is not particularly intuitive if you do not have a touch screen. Yes, it is by no means complete, but it makes one wonder how relevant the Windows 8 update will be to users who use standard desktop and notebook PCs.

“Windows 8 will be largely irrelevant to the users of traditional PCs, and we expect effectively no upgrade activity from Windows 7 to Windows 8 in that form factor.” – IDC

Now it looks like IDC has been asking this same question – stating that Windows 8 will be “largely irrelevant”, as one of their Top 10 predictions in 2012. Their reasons are simple –

users who do not see the use in new form factors have precious little reason to update. They also blame their assessment on Microsoft’s current seemingly ambiguous messages about the development future for Windows 8 – e.g. will ARM-developed Metro apps be easily ported to x86 platform, and vice versa?

We do not necessarily agree with the assessment though, seeing as Microsoft is in many ways now following what Apple did a few years ago with their mobile platform. Apple also built a cut down version of Mac OSX for ARM, which after many iterations became iOS as we know it today. It required many of the existing apps (like iWork) to be rewritten for ARM and the new interface challenges, but it seems to have worked OK for them.

Question is rather whether this will have the same fate for Microsoft – Microsoft has not yet shown or hinted at how Office will look on the new Metro interface. The ribbon interface might be a natural fit for Metro however, as Microsoft has luckily started to shift away from tiny little buttons which will never work with touch interfaces. The other consideration is that Microsoft has in recent years began using feedback from Alpha and Beta testers – and let us remind ourselves here that the Developer Preview is PRE-Beta. That means that Microsoft might not be particularly tight lipped, they just still have a lot of work to do.

This does not mean Windows 8 will not be a success – the IDC report focuses on upgrades in particular. Consumer buyers of new PCs will have very little control over what OS they might get with their machines. At the end of the day Microsoft has not really marketed their enhancements on the desktop-only side, so these reports might be a little premature. Enterprise markets are typically skeptics when it comes to new Windows versions – and Windows 7 was a major enhancement in terms of stability, speed and usability. The typical enterprise mindset of only adopting every second version of Windows is nothing new.

If Windows 8 does not see major enterprise or upgrade adoption, Windows 7 might be too blame – it is just plain good enough, thank you.

Source: IDC Report, Mary Jo Foley

The Daily is reporting that Microsoft is readying a version of Office for Apple’s very popular tablet computer. Microsoft has for a long time made Office for Mac, which is very popular with the Mac faithful. Even with the iPad’s limited functionality compared to the PC, the demand for the tablet is incredible. If iPad was considered a laptop computer, Apple would be the number one seller in the US. The iPad has also made significant inroads into enterprise, perhaps more so than any Apple product before it. Now Microsoft cannot stand by and watch this happen.

The iPad already has a few productivity solutions available to it from a variety of developers, the most popular being Apple’s own iWork apps which are going for $10 each. Despite their popularity, people have been clamouring for better file compatibility with an official Office software bundle for the iPad. When Microsoft does roll out Office for iPad, the bigger question would rather be what at price point it will go for. Office is traditionally quite a high priced item, but almost a necessity to many people. If Microsoft can match the $10 per app price, the demand will likely be massive.

Microsoft is no stranger to the Apple iOS platform, they already make a version of OneNote for the iPhone, and they have a few other apps as well. There is one problem though – Apple takes 30% of every app sold in the AppStore. Now will Microsoft be willing to part with this cash? Only time will tell.

Microsoft is not willing to confirm anything, but we reckon it will be a smart move by Microsoft.

That was the big news from the opening day of the software maker’s Tech-Ed and Partner Summit 2011 in Durban, which has attracted more than 3 500 technology vendors, developers and executives from across Africa.

Microsoft‘s corporate vice-president Jason Zander said that Microsoft’s cloud platform, Azure, is planned for release between March and May 2012. Office 365, which brings cloud productivity to businesses of all sizes, will be commercially available in the first half of 2012, with a trial towards the end of 2011.

“Microsoft has repeatedly made its commitment to the cloud very clear and has made repeated updates to its cloud offerings,” said Zander. “We recently announced several new updates to the Windows Azure platform – which we see as the most comprehensive operating system for Platform-as-a-service – that will help customers create rich applications that enable new business scenarios in the cloud.”

Microsoft SA MD Mteto Nyati said the event would focus on the two broad trends that are shaping the industry and are shaping Microsoft’s strategy: the cloud, both public and private cloud computing, as well as devices.

“You’re going to see a whole bunch of devices of different shapes, sizes, form factors, speeds, usage types. We need a world of devices, and they need to be smart. They need to create data, they need to connect to the cloud,” said Nyati. Nyati also noted all the Apple products in the crowd – and welcomed the competition from the “iThings”.

“The cloud for us is the extension of rich experiences that once began on the desktop or on the server, and it’s making them richer and more interesting to users and more compelling every single day.”

Microsoft has high hopes for Office 365, which it says will bring cloud productivity to businesses of all sizes, particularly smaller businesses without an IT department. The service will be hosted from the Microsoft datacentres in Europe, leveraging the economies of scale present in these large datacentres. Office 365 will have a lot of advantages for small businesses through better license management and cloud based distribution.

“Office 365 is the best of everything we know about productivity, all in a single cloud service,” said Zander. “The power of cloud solutions allows companies to rent computing power, rather than acquire it outright. Microsoft Office 365 is software-as-a-service, a form of cloud computing where business services are presented to the end user in a subscription model.” Customers and partners can visit www.office365.co.za to pre-register for the trial.

Going forward, all Windows Explorer windows will carry a Ribbon bar with the most popular file handling commands placed in the tabs we have gotten used to in Microsoft Office. Microsoft quite obviously states that drop down menus do not work well in touch environments, yet there is still quite a few commands in the Ribbon bar that relies on drop-downs. What gives Microsoft? But if you are not going to use Windows 8 on a touch device (we first have to wait to see a Beta which shows off the touch aspects more), you can hide the Ribbon bar.

Microsoft also shows off a few new ways in which traditionally difficult tasks are made a lot easier on Windows 8.One example I really like is the Share Tab which makes it very easy to quickly create Zip archives to send away, but most significantly, has a much better interface to quickly share files on your Homegroup or Domain. Often used people you share to are shown as well:

The Search tools are also a bit smarter – users are not forced to use text searches, and can quickly do context based searches like “Documents created in the last week” using simple buttons, and recent searches can be easily found as well:

Now you might be thinking that the Ribbon bar does not give a lot of added features to power users who anyway use keyboard commands to get work done – and that might be true. But one feature I especially like is that you can of course add your own favourite commands to the title bar, including a new “run as admininstrator in command prompt” button. So then it is as easy as clicking a file (say some batch job), then clicking your newly created button. Then watch the actual process in the command prompt box. Great.

All in all these changes look very good, but some might argue that it needlessly complicates the interface, especially if you compare it with other operating systems out right now. My opinion is that old hands at Windows will be very comfortable with these changes, but my interest is still in the touch based Metro interface for slates / tablets. That is where the innovation lies right now, and that is where Microsoft needs to impress us…

Here is hoping we will see more of this at Tech Ed Africa. Bandwidth Blog will be there…

Recently Bandwidth Blog spent some time with Windows Phone 7 (with the Samsung Omnia 7), and despite a great operating system and user experience, we were critical of the lack South African support – both for customers and developers.

Microsoft has announced a series of brand-new enhancements to its App Hub developer portal as part of the highly anticipated ‘Mango’ release. Windows Phone 7 developers can now publish their apps to consumers in 19 new countries, including South Africa. In addition to the 16 countries where Marketplace is already supported, developers can now broaden their opportunity for global distribution and competitive app prices.

Clifford de Wit, developer platform lead at Microsoft South Africa, is calling on all Windows Phone developers to submit Mango apps in August, ahead of the Mango release to market. The new App Hub developer portal allows developers to manage their account, change settings, submit applications and stay up-to-date on Windows Phone.

“The updated App Hub features enhancements such as greater geographic markets for developers, consumers and advertising coverage; new private distribution options; and enhanced application and account management capabilities. We’re making great strides in expanding overall demand for Windows Phone applications.”

Microsoft is offering developers two new private distribution options: beta and targeted distribution. Apps distributed through these private distribution methods can only be downloaded by users using a deep-link and the apps cannot be discovered via browsing or searching in Windows Phone Marketplace. Beta distribution enables developers to distribute pre-certified apps to a group of up to 100 access-controlled beta testers for up to 90 days. The targeted distribution enables developers to distribute applications through Marketplace in a hidden state, where they are not discoverable via browsing or searching Marketplace.

De Wit says he has no doubt that local developers are in a position to create compelling mobile content for the Windows Phone platform. “We want to attract a new wave of Windows Phone developers ahead of the ‘Mango’ release.”

Other enhancements to the Mango App Hub include better application management, an enhanced developer dashboard, more detailed reporting, a new “Crash Count” report, a streamlined application submission process and new application categories – education, kids & family, and government and politics.

For more information, visit the official Windows Phone Blog and the App Hub.

Whether you shoot-em-up or slice-em-up, YOU are the controller in these two fun, action-packed titles. The retail bundle will be available in South Africa from 16 September 2011.

In “The Gunstringer”, you control a fiery gun-toting marionette through his adventures, combining solo platforming and shooting mechanics into fun, competitive action with a full suite of collectables, unlockables, abilities, rewards and more. Plus, as a special bonus to celebrate the release of “The Gunstringer,” players can also download a free add-on pack for the game at launch called “The Wavy Tube Man Chronicles” which pits players against the time-traveling son of Wavy Tube Man, the first boss players battle in the game. In this add-on, Wavy Tube Man Jr. steals a time machine to prevent his father’s death at the hands of “The Gunstringer,” and it’s up to players to battle classic western cowboys and futuristic warriors to save the world from destruction.

Along with the disc for “The Gunstringer,”the retail package will include a token code for the full downloadable version of “Fruit Ninja Kinect” via Xbox LIVE.

“Fruit Ninja Kinect” is an amazing evolution of the slice-em-up genre created by Halfbrick, which brings the worldwide mobile gaming phenomenon to Kinect so you can use your arms as blades in an epic battle against the world’s most delicious produce is just beginning.

A rogue computer reseller who sold pirated software to unwitting consumers in Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg has been handed a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay compensation to his victims.

Computer shop manager Vikesh Singh, who traded as PE Technologies in Port Elizabeth and later as Vision Technologies in Johannesburg, was found guilty in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Port Elizabeth on June 15 of fraud and multiple contraventions of the Counterfeit Goods and Copyright Acts for selling counterfeit and unlicensed copies of Microsoft software.

Singh also pleaded guilty for contravening the Companies and the Close Corporations Acts by acting as a manager while disqualified, as he had previously been convicted of theft.

He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, suspended for five years, provided he doesn’t contravene the Counterfeit Goods Act or the Copyright Act. He was also sentenced to a fine of R80 000, or four years’ imprisonment conditionally suspended for five years, for contravening the Companies Act and the Close Corporations Act.  Singh was also ordered to compensate four customers, who had been sold counterfeit Microsoft software and acted as witnesses in the criminal case, three times the value of their purchases, and ordered by the court to pay compensation to Microsoft of R150 000.

Dale Waterman, Microsoft’s Corporate Attorney for Anti-Piracy for the Middle East and Africa, said every year, thousands of South African consumers and businesses are affected by counterfeit software which they have acquired unwittingly.

“Consumers are coming to us daily with complaints about counterfeit software. And they want industry and government to stand up and take action. Our commitment is to do everything we can to help our customers and protect our legitimate partners,” said Waterman.

“Software counterfeiting negatively impacts the entire IT ecosystem. Legitimate partners and resellers must compete with software pirates and unscrupulous businesses selling counterfeit software, making it very difficult for them to compete on a level playing field. They also lose sales and the opportunity to service those customers. This is why we pursued this investigation to a conclusion, even though it took 4 years.”

The effects of pirated software can have a devastating impact on the livelihoods of consumers, says Waterman. Counterfeit software can contain dangerous viruses, spyware and other malware that can actually harm consumers through identity theft, loss of data, system failures and opening the door to online spam, virus and fraud networks.

One of Singh’s victims said he had lost personal data after a system malfunction caused by the counterfeit software.

“I bought Microsoft Office 2007 from PE Technologies in Port Elizabeth in 2008. It was a packaged like a genuine product with what I thought was a genuine hologram CD and a certificate of authenticity, but I started getting messages to say that the product was not genuine. I then approached Microsoft for assistance after Vikesh Singh refused to replace the product with genuine software,” said the customer, who asked to remain anonymous.

The case followed an SAPS Commercial Crime Unit raid on PE Technologies in Newton Park in August 2008 after a two-year investigation by Microsoft, including undercover test purchases. Microsoft had received several complaints from local consumers and legitimate computer shops in the region. During the raid the SAPS seized a large quantity of fake Microsoft software, packaged to look like genuine products, and being sold to unsuspecting customers as the genuine article.

A further SAPS raid in April 2009 followed after another undercover Microsoft test purchase confirmed that PE Technologies in Port Elizabeth were still engaged in what is referred to as “Hard Disc Loading”, a term used when a PC shop or reseller installs a copy of Microsoft software onto a computer, but fails to distribute the authorized package of genuine Microsoft software components.

Investigations also confirmed that PE Technologies in Port Elizabeth had been using a stolen Volume Licence Key belonging to another legitimate customer to install pirated copies of the Microsoft Office suite, and that Vision Technologies in Johannesburg had then subsequently been engaged in the practice of Hard Disc Loading.

Marius Haman, Head of Anti-Counterfeiting at Bowman Gilfillan Attorneys, said increasing partnerships between the public and private sector is crucial to the success of combating software piracy and counterfeiting in general in South Africa.

“The government, through law enforcement channels like the SAPS Commercial Crime Unit and the Specialised Commercial Crime Court, can lead by example and be one of the most effective mechanisms for sending a strong and clear message that the government will not tolerate counterfeiting and piracy in South Africa,” he said.