Lenovo Announces Smarter, Slimmer Android Tablets at IFA

Press release from Lenovo:

Lenovo Announces Smarter, Slimmer Android Tablets at IFA

 Latest Tablets Offer Optimized Multimedia Experiences at Attractive Price Points

IFA 2012, Berlin– August 30, 2012: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today announced that it has expanded its Ideatab® product line with the Ideatab S2110, A2107, and A2109. Powered by the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system, the new product lineup provides smarter, slimmer tablet designs with a variety of multimedia options at attractive price points.   

 

“The newest line of Ideatab products provides an option for everyone who wants to keep all of their favorite books, songs and movies at their fingertips, no matter where they go,” said Liu Jun, senior vice president, and president, Mobile Internet and Digital Home business.  “Whether consumers crave a pocket tablet with 3G connectivity or seek a premium entertainment tablet for games and graphics, Lenovo has it, and at every price point.” 

  

Ideatab S2110

The Ideatab S2110 is a premium entertainment tablet with an optional detachable keyboard dock to provide a true PC+ experience that moves easily between the tablet and PC worlds. At just 8.69mm and only 580g, it is one of the thinnest and lightest 10-inch tablets available today. The tablet’s IPS (In-Plane Switching) screen with 178-degree viewing angle and unique 10-point multi-touch display is ideal for two-player gaming, and a Micro-HDMI port enables full HD viewing of 1080p on an HDTV. When attached the to the keyboard dock, the S2110 delivers double battery life for up to 20 hours of activity, as well as an SD card reader and USB ports to connect a thumb drive, external hard drive or mouse. The S2110 is also equipped with a 5Mp, auto-focusing rear-facing camera and an LED flash, in addition to a 1.3Mp front-facing camera, 1GB memory, WiFi connectivity, and a textured back cover that provides a more comfortable grip.

 

Ideatab A2107, A2109

The Ideatab A2107 and A2109 are affordable tablets that offer essential entertainment, social media, and productivity capabilities—all protected by the same metal alloy roll cage inspired by Lenovo ThinkPad products.

 

At seven inches—the same size as a standard book page—the A2107 display is designed for on-the-go reading, Web browsing and email. The A2107 also provides hassle-free entertainment with two speakers, a micro-SD card, Bluetooth 4.0, a built-in FM radio, 720p HD resolution, and up to ten hours of active use. In addition to a WiFi model, a 3G version gives users anytime, anywhere information access and fast A-GPS capability.

 

With a powerful quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 CPU and graphics card, the A2109 is an optimized entertainment tablet that features a 9-inch, four-point capacitive display with 1280x800 resolution, 1080p output via the tablet’s Micro-HDMI port, and two speakers with SRS TruMedia audio enhancement. At just 570g with a sleek metal shell backing, the A2109 also includes 1.3 megapixel front and 3 megapixel rear-facing cameras, dual microphones, GPS, a Micro USB port, and up to 16GB of storage with MicroSD card support up to 32GB.

 

Pricing and Availability¹

The Lenovo Ideatab A2109 and S2110 are available now with prices starting at $299 and $399 respectively. The A2107 will be available later in 2012. All products will be available through Lenovo sales representatives and business partners in the US.

 

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter andFacebook.

 

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $US30 billion personal technology company – and the second largest PC company in the world, serving customers in more than 160 countries. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the Company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina.  For more information, see www.lenovo.com.

 

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¹Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

Press release:

Lenovo Announces New ThinkPad Tablet 2 for Windows 8

Debuts premier tablet built for professionals and designed for life

Thursday, August 9, 2012 8:00 am EDT

Dateline:

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C

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"Our new ThinkPad Tablet 2 marries incredible hardware and software to give consumers a great device for office, home or travel while also offering companies and IT managers the oversight they need to help secure and manage their company’s networks and data."

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.– AUGUST 9, 2012: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today unveiled its first tablet specifically designed for Windows 8, the ThinkPad Tablet 2. The multi-use tablet boasts differentiators that matter, including an optional digitizer and pen for precision input, 3G wireless with Lenovo Mobile Access pay-as-you-go plans and 4G models¹, along with security features like a Fingerprint Reader, IT manageability technologies, and corporate-level service and support.
“Customers want a versatile device that fits their lifestyle and the many ways they use technology,” said Dilip Bhatia, vice president and general manager, ThinkPad Business Unit. “Our new ThinkPad Tablet 2 marries incredible hardware and software to give consumers a great device for office, home or travel while also offering companies and IT managers the oversight they need to help secure and manage their company’s networks and data. “For the next generation of Lenovo PCs, designed to be great with Windows 8, we’re working closer than ever with Microsoft Corp. and our silicon partners. Today we are excited to reveal the fruit of this collaborative co-engineering, the ThinkPad Tablet 2, a joint effort between Lenovo, Microsoft and Intel.”
ThinkPad Tablet 2: New Power to Create
Technology like the multi-use ThinkPad Tablet 2 helps manage the increasing overlap between personal and work life today. Based on the upcomingIntel® Atom™ Processor-based mobile platform and Windows 8 Pro, the ThinkPad Tablet 2 works the way users do across their varied environments. It has an exceptionally thin and light design measuring 9.8 mm thin and weighing less than 600 grams (1.3 pounds), all in a 10.1-inch screen. The versatile tablet supports multiple input methods: multi-finger touch and an optional digitizer and pen, especially good for note taking, capturing signatures and completing forms. The optional ThinkPad Tablet 2 keyboard and dock can be paired with the tablet for more PC-like computing in the office. With an array of ports including a full-size USB port, workers easily can attach existing devices like monitors and printers.
Suited for commuting and in field scenarios, the tablet offers virtually anywhere connectivity and productivity with 3G and 4G wireless models. The tablet serves lifestyle computing uses just as well as business tasks with its package of communications and entertainment features: HD display, front and rear-facing cameras for video conferencing and uploading photos, noise canceling microphones, HDMI port and wireless video streaming.
While users will like the tablet for its aesthetics and powerful features, IT managers will particularly enjoy its security-enhanced and manageability technologies. With the optional Fingerprint Reader, passwords are biometrically stored. The encrypted internal and external storage meet the highest levels of security requirements. Using Windows 8 Pro and the Intel x86 architecture, IT managers can provide for VPN access, utilize existing Windows management tools, manage application deployment and block users from installing certain apps. In addition, Lenovo Services offer a complete suite of packages, including sealed battery warranties, accidental damage protection and custom imaging.
Availability²
The ThinkPad Tablet 2 is intended to be available when Windows 8 launches in October.
For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter andFacebook.
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $US30 billion personal technology company – and the second largest PC company in the world, serving customers in more than 160 countries. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, see www.lenovo.com.
¹Lenovo mobile access available in select countries. 4G only available in the U.S.
²All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

Microsoft's New Window Opportunity

CNBC discusses Windows 8, Microsoft's new operating system that will help the company position itself in the tablet market, with Richard Sherland, Nomura Securities.  To see the video, click the link below:

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000080483

Accenture Develops Innovative Mobile App for the “Lux in Arcana – The Vatican Secret Archive Reveals Itself” Exhibition Featuring Never-Before-Seen Vatican Documents

Note to visitors: We have moved!  For current news and information, please visit our successor blogs:  http://JBK-BizTech.blogspot.com and http://JBK-Current-Events.blogspot.com.  Thank you.


Accenture Develops Innovative Mobile App for the “Lux in Arcana – The Vatican Secret Archive Reveals Itself” Exhibition Featuring Never-Before-Seen Vatican Documents

 Related Assets

March 28, 2012

Accenture Develops Innovative Mobile App for the “Lux in Arcana – The Vatican Secret Archive Reveals Itself” Exhibition Featuring Never-Before-Seen Vatican Documents

App enables all 100 priceless documents of the exhibition to be accessible

 on smartphones and tablet PCs; also features augmented reality solutions

ROME; March. 28, 2012 — Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced today that it has developed a free mobile app that delivers rich multimedia content to the fingertips of visitors to an unprecedented exhibition featuring documents held in the Secret Vatican Archive that have never before been seen by the public and now can be admired at the Capitoline Museums in Rome.

The exhibition “Lux in Arcana – The Vatican Secret Archives Reveals Itself” features, among other things, documents such as ciphered letters, manuscripts, codices, and ancient parchments. The materials date from the eighth to the 20^th century and the exhibition marks the first time they have ever been shown away from Vatican City.  The items were unveiled at theCapitoline Museums in Rome on Feb. 29 and will remain on exhibit thru Sept. 9 of this year.

The mobile app developed by Accenture, which is the official technology partner of the exhibition, significantly enhances the experience of users by delivering supplemental details about the historical items to their smartphones and tablets for both Apple and Android. For example, the app displays technical data, photos and images, provides detailed background information, and features rich, multimedia content. The app allows users to see the documents by alphabetical or chronological order, by the typology (letter, agreement, papal document, etc.) and by the location in the Capitoline Museums halls. Visitors can also follow the path of the exhibition listening to the audio guide feature available through the app.

“Accenture has been an outstanding technology partner and we’re very pleased with the unique user experience that their mobile app delivers”, said Luca Carboni, General Secretary of the Secret Vatican Archive. “We believe the people expected to visit the exhibition will benefit tremendously from the rich content they can access through their devices as they tour the various exhibits.”

The app also features an “augmented reality” capability that can be used outside of the museum at some historical sites in Rome.  One example is the statue of Giordano Bruno in the piazza Campo de’ Fiori. Giordano Bruno, a Dominican friar and philosopher, was burned at the stake in 1600’s after being judged a heretic by the Tribunal of the Roman Inquisition. The app allows visitors to focus their smartphone or tablet on the statue and see Bruno’s pyre burst into flames on the device’s display.  It also allows visitors to open special contents related to Giordano Bruno’s trial and to call up videos with more information on his life and his ideas. Augmented reality is available also for the angels of the Castel Sant’Angelo bridge, carved by the Bernini, and for the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, close to the place where Galileo Galilei abjured.

“We’re delighted to be the official technology sponsor of this extraordinary and unprecedented exhibition from the Secret Vatican Archive,” said Fabio Benasso, country managing director,Accenture Italy. “Our country possesses a treasure trove of culture and art that reflects many of the world’s most historical events and should be shared by as many people as possible.

As an integral and longstanding member of the Italian business community, Accenture is proud to support this important initiative celebrating this part of Italy’s cultural heritage.”

The app is available in Italian and English, and is compatible with almost all mobile devices.  It can be downloaded from the Apple store or Google Play for free.

The exhibition “Lux in Arcana – The Vatican Secret Archive Reveals Itself” was conceived for the occasion of the fourth centenary of the Secret Vatican Archives foundation, in collaboration with Roma Capitale, Assessorato alle Politiche Culturali e Centro Storico - Sovraintendenza ai Beni Culturali di Roma and Zètema Progetto Cultura.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 246,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$25.5 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2011. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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Windows 8 Tablets: Just as Crisp as the iPad's Retina?

Windows 8 specs include displays that are even sharper than Apple's fabled Retina display, which Apple claims is as clear as the human eye is capable of seeing.

Microsoft's newest operating system supports a 10.1-inch tablet screen with 291 pixels per inch resolution, the company says in its Building Windows 8 blog. That compares to the new iPad with 265 ppi.

For more, click the link below:


http://www.pcworld.com/article/252456/windows_8_tablets_just_as_crisp_as_the_ipads_retina.html#tk.nl_bdx_h_crawl

Ruby Tuesday Implements MICROS Table Management Solution

RUBY TUESDAY IMPLEMENTS MICROS TABLE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION THROUGHOUT ENTERPRISE TO ENHANCE GUEST EXPERIENCE

RUBY TUESDAY IMPLEMENTS MICROS TABLE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION THROUGHOUT ENTERPRISE TO ENHANCE GUEST EXPERIENCE

Leading casual dining chain selects fully-integrated solution to improve overall customer dining experience

Columbia, MD – March 20, 2012—MICROS Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRS), a leading provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, is pleased to announce that Ruby Tuesday, Inc. has implemented the MICROS Table Management System (TMS), across 750+ locations.  A fully-integrated component of the MICROS Restaurant Enterprise Solution (RES) point-of-sale software solution, MICROS TMS provides visibility to all aspects of the guest dining experience allowing  Ruby Tuesday complete control from the moment the first guest is greeted until the last diner is seated.

The MICROS TMS delivers a user-friendly way of managing reservations, customer preferences, seating capacity, wait list management, and special requests, all while easing tedious restaurant management tasks, thus allowing more time to focus on the guest.  As guests arrive, the host at Ruby Tuesday is able to immediately increase guest satisfaction by providing accurate and consistent wait times.  The MICROS TMS allows Ruby Tuesday to increase its control of the guest experience by automatically opening a guest check once the table is seated.  An additional feature designed to improve diner satisfaction is an alert system that notifies managers when critical service points are not met, such as a table that is not greeted or a food and beverage order that is not delivered in a timely manner.  With more efficient table utilization and dining room capacity management, Ruby Tuesday is also able to increase revenue with additional table turns. 

“Our goal is to provide the best casual dining experience possible and adding the MICROS TMS to our technology solution set has given us the necessary tools to improve our operations and customer service,” stated Nick Ibrahim, SVP and CTO, Ruby Tuesday, Inc.  “An essential component that we sought was the ability to have our team members manage the guest’s dining experience.  We are pleased to have a completely-integrated solution that allows a guest check to open automatically once a table is seated.”

“The MICROS TMS is 100 percent integrated with the MICROS POS, making it easier to use and available for rapid deployment, and provides additional tools for operators to manage and enhance the overall guest experience,” noted Jeff Pinc, Vice President of MICROS Major Accounts Restaurants.  “We are excited that Ruby Tuesday has implemented the MICROS TMS, making it the largest United States-based chain to fully utilize the solution.”

About Ruby Tuesday, Inc.
Ruby Tuesday, Inc. has Company-owned and/or franchise Ruby Tuesday brand restaurants in 45 states, the District of Columbia, 14 foreign countries, and Guam.  As of November 29, 2011, the company owned and operated 742 Ruby Tuesday restaurants, while domestic and international franchisees (including Hawaii and Guam) operated 43 and 44 Ruby Tuesday restaurants, respectively.  Ruby Tuesday, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: RT).

About MICROS Systems, Inc.
MICROS Systems, Inc. provides enterprise applications for the hospitality and retail industries worldwide. Over 330,000 MICROS systems are currently installed in table and quick service restaurants, hotels, motels, casinos, leisure and entertainment, and retail operations in more than 180 countries, and on all seven continents. In addition, MICROS provides property management systems, central reservation and customer information solutions under the brand MICROS-Fidelio for more than 26,000 hotels worldwide, as well as point-of-sale, loss prevention, and cross-channel functionality through its MICROS-Retail division for more than 100,000 retail stores worldwide. MICROS stock is traded through NASDAQ under the symbol MCRS.

For more information on MICROS and its advanced information technology solutions for the hospitality industry, please contact Louise Casamento, Vice President of Marketing at (443) 285-8144 or (866) 287-4736. You can also visit the MICROS website atwww.micros.com or send an email to info@micros.com.

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News Release from Compuware - Fewer Online Purchases

Poor Web Performance Results in Tablet Users Less Likely to Make Purchases Online

DETROIT, March 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compuware Corporation (Nasdaq:CPWR), the technology performance company, today published the findings of the first global study of tablet users' web experience expectations. The survey reveals that global tablet users have high expectations for web experiences and a third are less likely to make purchases online from companies that don't meet those expectations.

Tablet users expect websites and transactions to work flawlessly. Their expectations have been shaped in part by years of using powerful PCs to access fast websites delivered by Internet leaders like Amazon and Google. The survey reveals that users expect tablets to perform as fast, or faster, than on a desktop or laptop computer at home.

However, the new global survey titled "Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect from Websites," reveals that four out of ten global tablet users have experienced a problem when accessing websites. Among those that experienced a problem, two-thirds reported slow load times, and more than four out of ten experienced website crashes or problems with website functions.

Key survey findings include:

Poor web experiences on tablets impact the bottom line.

·         A bad website experience will also drive 46 percent of tablet users to competitive web sites; 35 percent are less likely to visit the problematic web site on any platform; and 33 percent are less likely to purchase from that company.

·         Nearly half of tablet users will retry a web site only once or twice if it did not work initially.

Tablet users' web experience expectations are high.

·         Almost 70 percent of tablet users expect a web site to load in two seconds or less.

Website issues are common for tablet users.

·         Among those who have experienced a problem, slow load times are the most frequently cited issue (66 percent), followed by site crashes (44 percent), problems with site functions (42 percent) and issues with site format (40 percent).

·          

"Consumers and enterprises have embraced tablets in large numbers for everything from web browsing and social networking to key business applications that increase employee productivity and drive revenue," said Steve Tack, CTO of Compuware APM. "However, based on the survey results, companies are not meeting tablet users' web experience expectations. Tablet users represent a coveted audience that in general tends to spend more per order, so organizations that ignore tablet users do so at their own peril."

To view a summary of the key survey findings in an interactive graphic, go to http://ow.ly/9Bmcp

To read the full survey findings, go to http://ow.ly/9Bi1Z

The Compuware Gomez platform is the industry's leading solution for optimizing the performance of web, non-web, mobile, streaming and cloud applications. Driven by end-user experience, Gomez provides a unified view across the entire application delivery chain, from a user's browser or mobile device, across the Internet or a corporate WAN, in the cloud, to inside the data center, eliminating blind spots from the First Mile to the Last Mile.

Follow us on:

·          Twitter - Compuware

·          Twitter - GomezAPM

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Compuware Corporation

Compuware Corporation, the technology performance company, provides software, experts and best practices to ensure technology works well and delivers value. Compuware solutions make the world's most important technologies perform at their best for leading organizations worldwide, including 46 of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies and 12 of the top 20 most visited U.S. web sites. Learn more at: http://www.compuware.com.

Wireless Charging

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Built-In Wireless Charging for Electronic Devices

By ANNE EISENBERG

THINK how convenient it would be if you could recharge electronic devices without ever having to plug them in — or even take them out of your briefcase.

Instead, you could leave your briefcase, tote bag or backpack on a counter in the living room at home, and the smartphones and tablets within could see to their own recharging. And the robotic vacuum cleaner in the corner of the room could do likewise.

The WiTricity Corporation in Watertown, Mass., has developed a novel technology to handle just these sorts of wireless energy transfers. The company makes and licenses a system of magnetic coils and companion electronics that turn wireless charging into a built-in function of smartphones and other devices.

Eric Giler, the C.E.O., said consumer electronics using systems from WiTricity, which is short for wireless electricity, would appear this year. The systems will not be sold directly to consumers, but to equipment manufacturers who will embed the magnetic coils in phones, laptops and other products and systems.

WiTricity has signed a technology transfer and licensing agreement with MediaTek, a semiconductor company in Taiwan, to collaborate on systems for wireless charging of mobile handsets, tablet computers, game controllers and other devices, Mr. Giler said.

WiTricity is also developing technology for wireless charging of electric vehicles and, later, for use in implanted medical devices like heart pumps, said Katie Hall, its chief technology officer.

Windows 8

Windows 8 Consumer Preview Is Ready for Business

At CeBIT, Kevin Turner demonstrates how Windows 8 delivers a no-compromise experience.

inShare2

HANNOVER, Germany — March 6, 2012 — In his CeBIT keynote speech today, Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft Corp., showed how Windows 8 will bring together the potential of a tablet with the power of a PC. He also invited IT professionals around the world to test the recently released Windows 8 Consumer Preview, now available for download at http://preview.windows.com. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview offers a more robust experience for testing the world’s most popular operating system and is available to the widest range of people yet following the initial release of the Windows 8 Developer Preview late last year. “Windows 8 will deliver no compromise experiences on a range of devices from tablets and PCs to desktops. It will give people functionality they love and the enterprise-grade capabilities that IT departments demand,” Turner said. “We encourage IT professionals to begin using it to get a firsthand experience of how Windows 8 will give people a beautiful, fast and fluid experience with the mobility and familiarity they need to effortlessly move between what they want to do and what they need to do.” “We believe Windows 8 will bring an evolutionary solution to Windows users that delivers business productivity, while helping IT to manage and secure new devices using their existing infrastructure and tools,” said Al Gillen, program vice president, system software, IDC. “Windows 8 will help bridge the demands that end users are placing on IT departments with what IT wants for its business — a smooth transitional path to add tablet devices into an existing Windows client infrastructure.” Windows 8 highlights for enterprise organizations include the following: • Great user experience. Windows 8 bridges the gap between a personalized experience for users and the security and management features that IT professionals trust. Features include the new Windows 8 Start screen and fully immersive Metro style apps. People can be more productive with both multitouch and traditional keyboard and mouse interfaces. Critical line-of-business apps also can benefit from an immersive full screen, allowing people to easily interact with the app. • Tablets without compromise. Windows 8-based business tablets are built for touch and are deeply personalized. Powerful, connected Metro style applications are the focal point to create an immersive experience that helps eliminate distractions while having the productivity benefits of a PC. In addition, it works well with a mouse and keyboard. It also enables organizations to use Windows 7 productivity and line-of-business applications, and IT departments can leverage their existing infrastructure to help manage, secure and support it. • New possibilities for mobile productivity. For people who are increasingly mobile, Windows 8 helps them stay connected and productive in a more secure way. Windows 8 includes Windows To Go — the ability to provide users with a full corporate copy of Windows 8 (along with users’ business apps, data and settings) on a USB storage device. Windows 8 also includes improvements to DirectAccess and built-in mobile broadband features that natively support 3G and 4G telecommunication. And Windows 8 can stay always connected with Metro style apps. • End-to-end security. Features such as Trusted Boot and improved BitLocker drive encryption, AppLocker and claim-based access control help protect corporate data across the client device, the network and back-end infrastructure. • Advancements in virtualization. With Windows 8, users can get a virtualized experience with high-definition graphics, support for touch and support for USB devices on a local PC. It will be easier for IT departments to implement virtual desktop infrastructures in a more cost-effective way. In addition, Windows 8 includes Microsoft Hyper-V, a high-performing client virtualization technology that enables enterprise developers to develop, debug and test multiple configurations of apps and operating systems on a single PC instead of each configuration requiring its own PC. • Improved management. Windows 8 easily integrates into most existing client management infrastructures, and management tasks are easier with Windows PowerShell automation. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview will be available worldwide for download to users running Windows 7-based PCs in English, French, German, Japanese and simplified Chinese. As Tami Reller, chief financial officer and chief marketing officer, Windows and Windows Live Division, shares in this video at http://win8.ms/lfolnd, Windows 8 will give businesses a personalized experience that is both convenient and productive to fit well with today’s changing work styles. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is available for download and evaluation at http://preview.windows.com. Additional resources and information are available at http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/business orhttp://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/windows. Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Some information relates to a prerelease product, which may be substantially modified before it is commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

Tablets May Replace PCs

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

As New iPad Debut Nears, Some See Decline of PCs

By NICK WINGFIELD

The chief executive of Apple, Timothy D. Cook, has a prediction: the day will come when tablet devices like the Apple iPad outsell traditional personal computers.

His forecast has backing from a growing number of analysts and veteran technology industry executives, who contend that the torrid growth rates of the iPad, combined with tablet competition from the likes of Amazon.com and Microsoft, make a changing of the guard a question of when, not if.

Tablet sales are likely to get another jolt this week when Apple introduces its newest version of the iPad, which is expected to have a higher-resolution screen. With past iterations of the iPad and iPhone, Apple has made an art of refining the devices with better screens, faster processors and speedier network connections, as well as other bells and whistles — steadily broadening their audiences.

An Apple spokeswoman, Trudy Muller, declined to comment on an event the company is holding Wednesday in San Francisco that is expected to feature the new product.

Any surpassing of personal computers by tablets will be a case of the computer industry’s tail wagging the dog. The iPad, which seemed like a nice side business for Apple when it was introduced in 2010, has become a franchise for the company, accounting for $9.15 billion in revenue in the holiday quarter, or about 20 percent of Apple’s total revenue. The roughly 15 million iPads Apple sold in that period was more than twice the number it sold a year earlier.

In the fall, Amazon introduced the iPad’s first credible competitor in the $199 Kindle Fire. Although Amazon does not release sales figures for the device, some analysts estimate it sold about four million in the holiday quarter. Later this year, tablets from a variety of hardware manufacturers based on Windows 8, a new, touch-screen-friendly operating system from Microsoft, could further propel the market.

E-Books on Tablets

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Monday, March 05, 2012

E-Books on Tablets Fight Digital Distractions

By JULIE BOSMAN and MATT RICHTEL

Can you concentrate on Flaubert when Facebook is only a swipe away, or give your true devotion to Mr. Darcy while Twitter beckons?

People who read e-books on tablets like the iPad are realizing that while a book in print or on a black-and-white Kindle is straightforward and immersive, a tablet offers a menu of distractions that can fragment the reading experience, or stop it in its tracks.

E-mail lurks tantalizingly within reach. Looking up a tricky word or unknown fact in the book is easily accomplished through a quick Google search. And if a book starts to drag, giving up on it to stream a movie over Netflix or scroll through your Twitter feed is only a few taps away.

That adds up to a reading experience that is more like a 21st-century cacophony than a traditional solitary activity. And some of the millions of consumers who have bought tablets and sampled e-books on apps from Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble have come away with a conclusion: It’s harder then ever to sit down and focus on reading.

“It’s like trying to cook when there are little children around,” said David Myers, 53, a systems administrator in Atlanta, who got a Kindle Fire tablet in December. “A child might do something silly and you’ve got to stop cooking and fix the problem and then return to cooking.”

“These apps beg you to review them all the time,” he said, but he remains a fan of the device.

For book publishers, who have already seen many consumers convert from print books to e-readers, the rise of tablets poses a potential danger: that book buyers may switch to tablets and then discover that they just aren’t very amenable to reading.

Computers Become More Phone-Like

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Apple and Microsoft Unwrap Products That Resemble Phone Apps

By JENNA WORTHAM and NICK WINGFIELD

BARCELONA, Spain — These days much of the action in the world of gadgets is happening in smartphones — like their sophisticated design and the apps that run on them. That has left desktop and laptop computers looking a little dull in comparison.

So computers are suddenly getting more phonelike.

Microsoft and Apple are leading the charge in this area. On Wednesday, Microsoft took the wraps off its latest operating system for computers and tablets, Windows 8, which mimics the look and feel of the company’s new software for phones. And Apple recently offered a preview of its next operating system for Macs, incorporating familiar elements from the iPhone and iPad.

“All of the major innovation for PCs is coming from the mobile phone,” said Tim Coulling, an analyst at the research firm Canalys.

The companies hope this strategy will give them added leverage in the market for tablets and smartphones, which is growing to rival the market for personal computers. And it could also help them sell more computers or, in Microsoft’s case, software for computers.

People who buy an iPad or iPhone, for example, might be more inclined to also buy a Mac computer if they work together seamlessly and have features that operate the same way on both devices. For Apple, which still has only a small share of the computer business, that could be a big advantage.

In Microsoft’s case, it needs to defend its traditional dominance of the PC operating system business with software that is versatile enough to also run on tablet computers.

This idea of a “continuum of computing” across various devices has long been “a promise of the future,” said Carolina Milanesi, a research analyst who covers the mobile industry for Gartner. “But now it is critical for success among consumers.”