Last month, Microsoft announced Windows 11, the evolution of and replacement for the six-years-old Windows 10. The new version will be released later this year (some reports speculate it might be in October) as a free upgrade to Windows 10. Panos Panay, Microsoft's Chief Product Officer and the executive in charge of Windows, posted a narrative of features to expect in the new OS. He speaks of "simplifying the design and user experience," noting: It’s modern, fresh, clean and beautiful. … [Read more...] about Will Windows 11 be the most beautiful Windows yet?
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Memories on floppy disks
Sorting through some boxes and things in storage as part of the type of chore you often do on a Bank Holiday Monday, I came across some items that took me on a little journey. Floppy disks. The 3-1/2 inch, double-sided, 1.44Mb type. Boxes of them. I had time only to look in one box (thus exhibiting an extraordinary level of self-discipline) and encountered a few great memories (pun not intended) of my computing landscape 25 years ago. While my curiosity didn't extend to viewing any of the … [Read more...] about Memories on floppy disks
For Immediate Release 113: Not a 280-Character Episode
Shel and I recorded the November edition of the monthly Hobson & Holtz Report podcast. We had a great chinwag on these topics: A follow-up to our KFC story (about 11 herbs and spices); the social media team struck again. Twitter has made its new expanded 280 character count available to almost everyone. Not everyone is happy about it. Uber’s new CEO took an investigator’s advice and scrapped the company’s old values statements. Instead of simply crafting a new one, he crowdsourced … [Read more...] about For Immediate Release 113: Not a 280-Character Episode
The human error of Tay
Microsoft's public experiment with artificial intelligence in the form of Tay, an AI chatbot, made news headlines everywhere during last week - but not for positive reasons at all. Launched on March 23, Tay was developed by Microsoft's Technology and Research and Bing teams to experiment with and conduct research on conversational understanding. Microsoft says: Tay is designed to engage and entertain people where they connect with each other online through casual and playful conversation. … [Read more...] about The human error of Tay
Windows 10 is just around the corner
In just a few days, on July 29, Microsoft will begin the public rollout of Windows 10 in 190 countries. If you want to upgrade your desktop or laptop computer, it's a free upgrade in specific circumstances. Lifehacker has a simple flowchart that makes it quite easy to see if you qualify. The only difference to this chart is that Windows 8 won't get you the free upgrade but Windows 8.1 will. According to Microsoft: The only requirements are that a) your device is compatible, and b) you’re … [Read more...] about Windows 10 is just around the corner
Windows 10 shows the scale of Microsoft’s ambition
On July 29 - in just over two weeks' time - Microsoft will begin the formal roll-out of Windows 10, the new edition of the Windows operating system for PCs and tablets (and Windows phones). It's been the subject of a comprehensive beta-testing programme by around five million people since the programme was launched at the end of September 2014. I've been part of this programme as a Windows Insider since last October, running the incremental builds of 'Windows 10 Insider Preview' as they … [Read more...] about Windows 10 shows the scale of Microsoft’s ambition
The new image of Microsoft
Microsoft is changing its logo to the one you see above, the first change to its corporate and brand logo since 1987. In explaining the new look, Jeff Hansen, Microsoft's General Manager Brand Strategy, says the company's wave of new product releases coming this year - notably the new Windows 8 operating system, currently in release preview - "represents a new era for Microsoft, so our logo should evolve to visually accentuate this new beginning." [...] The logo has two components: the … [Read more...] about The new image of Microsoft
I’d love to try the new Office Preview if I could get it installed
This concise comment on Microsoft's Office Preview support forum says it all about the frustrations that many people including me have experienced in trying to install the free trial version of Office Customer Preview: Hey Microsoft, make it simple yo...... Announced yesterday, Microsoft is making the trial universally available to anyone who cares to try it out and who has a suitable PC, and you're in a country listed on your account page. Basically, any modern computer running Windows 7 or … [Read more...] about I’d love to try the new Office Preview if I could get it installed