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Category: Operating Systems
November 23rd, 2009
Sergey Brin: Google Android, Chrome OS likely to converge
Google’s two operating systems, mobile Android and desktop Chrome OS, will likely converge as a single OS in the future, said Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
“Android and Chrome will likely converge over time,” Brin said in an informal discussion with reporters after the company’s Chrome OS presentation last Thursday. Brin added that the common Linux and Webkit code base present in both projects facilitates convergence.
October 12th, 2009
McNealy zings iPhone, laments the PC, claims Sun started open source
The media is going to miss Scott McNealy as the head of Sun Microsystems. The guy has always been a reliable source of great quotes about the state of the tech industry and zingers against Sun’s competition. In what was very likely his last big speech as the leader of Sun Microsystems on Sunday night, McNealy gave the audience at Oracle OpenWorld several more McNealy-esque quips on his take of the tech world and Sun’s role in it.
October 6th, 2009
Study: 67% of Mac users would install, try Windows 7 if it was free
Memo to Microsoft: if you want to take Mac users back into the fold, channel your inner AOL.
Buried among the many facts and figures of a new study on Windows 7 adoption habits comes this little tidbit: a clear majority of users of Apple Mac OS X computers would give Windows 7 a go if it were offered to them for free.
September 23rd, 2009
Intel's Moblin demo looks promising
Intel’s open-source Moblin operating system is a work in progress, but looks like it’s coming together well.
At the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel product manager Claire Alexander shows Intel CEO Paul Otellini a demo Moblin, which will include next-generation mobile features such as a touch-screen interface.
Here’s a look:
The big question is whether Moblin can get traction. The operating system competition is fierce.
September 2nd, 2009
IBM, Dell gain server share amid server sales carnage; HP share flat
Server sales continue to tank with worldwide server revenue falling 30.1 percent in the second quarter to $9.8 billion. That decline has set up a market share duel that IBM appears to be winning, according to IDC.
According to IDC server revenue fell for the fourth consecutive quarter to the lowest sales tally since the research firm began tracking it in 1996. Unit shipments also fell 30.4 percent in the second quarter compared to a year ago. First quarter server sales fell 26.5 percent.
Simply put, few enterprises are refreshing their servers. What do you do amid the carnage? Duke it out for market share. IDC reckons that companies will have to refresh their servers at some point, but it’s unclear when.
In the meantime, here are the standings that illustrate how IBM and Dell are gaining share:
Dell and IBM have ganged up on Sun, the weak link, to gain market share, and HP stayed flat.
Under the hood:
- Windows Server revenue fell 27.7 percent in the second quarter, but Microsoft had 38.1 percent market share.
- Linux revenue fell 28.9 percent in the second quarter to $1.3 billion. That sum is good for 13.8 percent market share, up from 13.5 percent a year ago.
- Unix server sales fell 30.9 percent in the second quarter to $3.1 billion. IBM gained 7.4 percent of Unix server market share to 41.4 percent. Sun had 27.3 percent of the market followed by HP at 24.8 percent.
July 16th, 2009
Microsoft gets its edge back
Is it just me or is Microsoft a little more competitive than it has been in recent years? Microsoft has gotten under Apple’s skin—at least its lawyers—got Google’s attention with Bing and is even doing the Web app thing. Microsoft almost seems to be enjoying itself as honchos like Kevin Turner proclaim: “Competing is fun.”
The second part of operating chief Turner’s quote is: “Now, competing is a lot more fun when you’re winning than it is when you’re losing.”
Rest assured that Microsoft will win a few and lose a few, but you gotta admit the company is more interesting to watch these days. Let’s survey the battlefront.
July 10th, 2009
Google on offense: Chrome OS is a wager on the future of computing
When it comes to Google’s entry into the Microsoft-dominated computer operating system business, there’s a bigger question as to whether Google’s move is an offensive one or a defensive one?
Microsoft’s official comment on Google’s latest announcement seems to be a big fat “no comment” from Bill Gates himself at a conference of media execs in Sun Valley, Idaho this week. But, Walid Abu-Hadba, Microsoft’s Vice President of Developer and Platform Evangelism, told VentureBeat yesterday that Google’s Chrome OS has nothing to do with making computing simpler and faster, nor is it part of a greater plan to go after Microsoft’s dominance. Instead, Abu-Hadab said Google is “on the defensive,” trying to keep competitors from going after the lucrative search business. From the Venture beat post:
He argued that whenever Google enters a new market, like releasing mobile operating system Android, it’s trying to force competitors to focus on existing products, rather than challenging Google in search. And the company may actually feel threatened for the first time in years, since Microsoft recently made a splash with its revamped “decision engine” Bing, and traffic appears to be growing.
I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say that Google is entering new markets as a way of keeping competitors from going after search. I also don’t agree that Google’s entry into computer operating systems is a defensive move. On the contrary, this step is another example of Google’s innovation and push toward an all-cloud way of computing.
Also see: ZDNet’s full coverage of Google Chrome OS
Initially, this OS is going after a netbook market and working under the assumption that there is a growing group of people - young people, if you will - who are comfortable with a life in a cloud and are looking for a computer system that understands that about them. Consider this exchange between Google co-founder Larry Page and CEO Eric Schmidt at SunValley, as told by the Wall Street Journal:
Mr. Page described the Chrome operating system as a kind of anti-operating system — one that is basically indistinguishable from a browser. Netbooks loaded with Chrome will boot up almost instantaneously and will store data on the Internet instead of a hard drive.
“I wanted the operating system to kind of be out of the way,” Mr. Page said.
“If you live your life in the browser maybe you don’t want all the stuff that came from Eric’s generation,” Mr. Page added, putting his hand on Mr. Schmidt’s shoulder.
Mr. Schmidt leaned back in his chair and groaned at being characterized as an old guy. “Why am I always in this position?”
When you’re an innovator, you have to think about the future. When you’re thinking about the future, you have to observe young people. In this case, I think of my teen and pre-teen kids and their comfort level with the Internet.
July 8th, 2009
CNET: It's time for Google's CEO to resign from Apple's board
In an open letter to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, CNET’s Tom Krazit this morning calls for his resignation from Apple’s Board of Directors, citing an inevitable collision course for the companies as competitors now that Google has announced plans to build a computer operating system called Google Chrome OS.
(Image Credit: Dan Farber/CNET)
Also see: ZDNet’s coverage of Google Chrome OS
Krazit is absolutely right on this one, pointing out that Schmidt is already recusing himself from board discussions about the iPhone - seeing how smartphones built on Google’s Android competes with the it. Does this mean that Schmidt will now recuse himself from discussions about Mac OS X development, too? Krazit writes:
It was pretty clear before, but now it’s completely obvious: you are overseeing two companies on a collision course. How can you possibly claim that you’re guiding the best interests of each company when the best interest of each company in two years will be to out-maneuver the other?
What’s left for Schmidt to discuss at Apple board meetings - the iPod? I would argue that the iPod Touch is so closely related to the iPhone, given all the apps and such that work on it, that discussions about that product might also require a recusal for Schmidt. Krazit sums it up best:
If Apple’s board doesn’t ask you do to so, please submit your resignation so both companies can free themselves of this obvious conflict of interest, and continue to develop the amazing products and services you have been separately creating.
July 8th, 2009
With the Chrome OS, Google's software stack is revealed; Shrapnel everywhere
Google is planning to launch lightweight operating system dubbed the Chrome OS that’ll target netbooks and Web apps. With the move—clearly targeted at Microsoft—Google’s software stack has come into sharp focus in just the last 24 hours. It should be noted, however, that Google’s stack is still being formed.
Let’s be clear: Every tech vendor wants to sell you a stack of stuff. Microsoft’s stack is the best known and includes Windows, Office, Exchange, Sharepoint, Dynamics and other items. SAP has its stack encompassing every business process you can think of. Oracle will sell you everything from the database up to the middleware and apps. IBM has its middleware stack that rides shotgun with business intelligence, hardware and services. Security vendors play the same game. The list goes on and on.
With the Chrome OS announcement Google is entering the software stack game and it’ll have implications for Linux, the enterprise, the cloud and Microsoft (albeit much less than you’d think). Coupled with Google’s long overdue move to remove the “beta” tag from Google Apps the move into the operating system business all begins to add up.
Google’s stack looks like this (Techmeme):
- The Chrome OS;
- The Chrome browser;
- Google Apps (an office suite sans the beta tag);
- Android for mobile;
- The ad monetization model (search based obviously and focused on ‘free’ services);
- The cloud.
In a blog post, Google said that the open source Chrome OS will run on both x86 and ARM chips and will be in netbooks in 2010. Hardware partners include: Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. The Chrome OS will focus on Web apps. Google said:
July 7th, 2009
Google goes after Windows with launch of Chrome OS
Google said late Tuesday that it will launch the Google Chrome operating system, a computer operating system that initially will target netbook computers by offering a faster, better and more secure way for users to access Web-based applications.
The Chrome operating system should not be confused with the Android operating system that the company launched for mobile devices. While there will be some overlap between the two systems, Android was designed to work across a number of devices, such as phones, set-top boxes and netbooks. The Chrome OS is being designed to power computers that range from small netbooks to full-size desktop machines.
The Chrome OS is a direct attack against Microsoft’s lucrative - albeit vulnerable - Windows operating system. By now, it’s no secret that Windows Vista was a nightmare and that Microsoft is eager to launch its Windows 7 operating system, which is scheduled for release in the fall. From the official blog post announcing Google Chrome OS:
We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don’t want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.
Google, which has long been singing the praises of cloud-based applications, is stepping up its game to bring the cloud to the mainstream. The operating system - a lightweight open source system that will run on both x86 as well ARM chips - is deigned to start up and have the user on the Web within seconds, as opposed to the long startup time on Windows. In addition, the company said that it’s “going back to basics” - just as it did with the Chrome browser - to redesign the underlying security architecture “so that users don’t have to worry about viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.”
For developers, the platform is the Web. All Web-based applications will automatically work on the Chrome OS and new applications can be written using any web technology, which means they will work on any standards based browser running on Windows, Mac or Linux.
Earlier in the day, Google ripped the Beta labels off of its Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk and Google Docs applications, presumably to make them more attractive to business customers who might have thought of them as unfinished, untested or unreliable because they still carried the Beta label.
Those apps also go directly at another of Microsoft’s sweet spots, its software suite. Gmail and Google Calendar, for example, provide an alternative to Microsoft’s Outlook while Google Docs is intended to challenge popular productivity tools such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Later this year, the company plans to open-source its Chrome OS code and is already talking to partners about having the first round of netbooks available to consumers by the second half of 2010.
Also see: Dana Blankenhorn: Netbooks, Chrome and the future of computing
July 1st, 2009
RIM: Is the BlackBerry OS the weak link?
The Boy Genius Report has a treatise on Research in Motion’s future and it’s a must read for BlackBerry watchers. In short, the limitations of RIM’s operating systems are becoming more apparent by the day and the company needs a plan to compete with the iPhone OS, WebOS and Android pronto.
The Boy Genius writes:
You have to look at the big picture here… for what RIM is working with (an incredibly miserable Java OS with so much security and encryption and smoke-blowing APIs) they’ve hit the jackpot. Their OS architecture is fantastic, their use of security is what makes them so trustworthy. But, as each handset release comes closer and closer, people start to see the bigger picture. And that’s the fact that RIM’s OS is more than antiquated, it’s borderline laughable. But it works, you’re thinking, so what’s wrong? I’ve been saying this for years, but it wasn’t designed to do anything the BlackBerry does now. Imagine scotch taping car parts to a 200hp engine and see how far that gets you. Obviously, it’s just a viciously rough metaphor, but we believe a correct one.
That passage—and there are many more that you should run to read—sums up RIM’s challenge in the next two to three years. And the OS rant comes from a guy that plays with every BlackBerry that comes down the pike.
The BlackBerry operating system issue struck home for me while on vacation. My Storm was my only ramp to the Web. Under stress and heavy usage the BlackBerry OS was clearly struggling. You could almost feel it choke when switching between apps, browsing and handling basic tasks. The interface was fine, but under the hood something is off.
Will these OS limitations affect my next phone choice when my Verizon Wireless contract is up? Possibly. The device is only 25 percent of the smartphone game these days. The operating system is everything. Apple gets it. Palm gets it. Google gets it. I’m not sure that Microsoft gets it. For RIM, it remains to be seen if the company gets OS religion.
For my next phone, I’ll be buying and OS instead of a device. If the iPhone comes to Verizon Wireless it’s most likely a no-brainer for me. I have more than a year to see if Palm’s Pre and WebOS is the real deal. Even the Motorola Android devices may hold promise for me. My last phone choice was basically an escape from Windows Mobile. If RIM doesn’t get its OS strategy together I may ditch the BlackBerry too. All I really need is to browse and tether to my laptop as a wireless card on a good network.
Also read the comments to the Boy Genius post. He’s clearly not alone in his BlackBerry OS worries. While Wall Street is focused on RIM’s margins and next big hit it may want to spend some time asking about the company’s OS strategy.
Here’s the big question: Do the rewards of creating a new RIM OS outweigh the huge risk of derailing a company that’s largely firing on all cylinders?
June 3rd, 2009
Windows 7 to open another round in Apple-Microsoft rivalry
Will Windows 7 blunt some of Apple’s momentum? At least one analyst thinks it’s possible.
In a research note, JMP Securities analyst Samuel Wilson handicaps the Oct. 22 launch of Windows 7 (Techmeme, Microsoft statement). Wilson’s big takeaway: Apple will grab the news flow with a new iPhone release, but Windows 7 may impact Mac sales shortly after. Indeed, Microsoft is already revving up the Windows 7 marketing and incentive machine.
Wilson writes:
In all our work, surveys and channel checks, the biggest reason that Apple is preferred over PCs (Microsoft-based machines) is because of the Operating System. The hardware is a secondary reason, with many thin, light, and significantly cheaper PCs available today. The problem is that generally these machines run Vista, which by almost all accounts outside Microsoft HQ is a terrible OS. Rivals putting together good hardware, lower prices, and a decent operating system could equal a slowdown in Apple’s laptop and desktop sales.
That point raises an interesting question: Is the Mac resurgence a case of a Microsoft’s fumbling of Vista? We’ll never know completely but surely Vista gave Apple an opening it has exploited for two years with some great commercials.
Also see: Windows 7 special report and most popular Windows 7 content
However, Wilson notes that Windows 7 appears to have what it takes to give Microsoft some momentum. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s laptop hunters campaign appears to be working.
Wilson relies on a brand perception survey to prove his point:
Recent brand and advertising trends hint that Microsoft is rebounding. BrandIndex and AdvertisingAge have reported that Microsoft’s recent Laptop Hunters campaign is helping improve Microsoft’s brand. According to BrandIndex, the perceptions of Apple’s and Microsoft’s “value proposition” has shifted dramatically since the campaign started in late March:
Based on daily interviews, BrandIndex found the 18- to 34-year old age group gave Apple its highest rating in late winter, when scored 70 on a scale of -100 to 100. However, the score began to fall shortly after and is roughly now 12.4. Microsoft has risen from near zero in early February to a value-perception score of 46.2, or over 3x that of Apple.
Among 35- to 49-year-olds, Microsoft saw a jump 2-3 weeks after the campaign started and momentarily overtook Apple. For consumers aged 50-plus, the two brands are basically tied.
Note: A score of zero means that people are giving equal amounts of positive and negative feedback about a brand.
Why do these nuances matter? Apple gets 35 percent of its sales from laptops and desktops.
My hunch: After the iPhone buzz recedes, Microsoft’s Windows 7 will have some time in the limelight. But then Apple breaks out the a tablet iPod to compete with netbooks and a new front in this entertaining rivalry is opened.
May 19th, 2009
Wither the 'smartphone': Reorganizing the mobile market when all devices get smart
Smartphones as a term is dying a quick death as all phones become smarter with Internet access, email and other capabilities. Meanwhile, the mobile market will be carved up based on whether devices are open, foster consumption or content creation, and utility and entertainment, according to Forrester Research. Simply put, the organizing principles around the mobile industry are about to get blown apart.
In a research report, Forrester analyst Ian Fogg slices the mobile market. Here’s the Fogg’s bottom line:
Apple’s and Google’s arrival in the mobile market is causing knock-on effects throughout the market and is opening up opportunities. All mobile handsets are becoming smarter and Internet-capable. Yesterday’s smart high-end phone is today’s midrange phone and tomorrow’s entry-level phone. The “smartphone” category is no longer useful as all phones become smart. Instead, we propose three new frameworks to segment the smart mobile device market: openness and extensibility; consumption and creation; utility and entertainment. All mobile strategies must adapt now: Consumer electronics makers must decide on their response to widely available smarter phones and the mobile Internet; handset makers must leverage software to play the mobile Internet game and differentiate long term; media, finance, retail, and other Internet companies’ strategies must exploit mobile opportunities now or lose ground to faster rivals. But the mobile market will remain fragmented with no single platform — no Windows PC equivalent — anytime soon on mobile devices.
That reality is what makes the mobile industry so much fun—it’s a free for all.
The key points:
April 20th, 2009
Have we arrived in the post-Windows era?
Microsoft knew this day was coming. This was the reason it desperately wanted — no, needed — to take down Netscape in 1996. Netscape wasn’t just trying to build a program for reading text and photos across a network of connected computers. Netscape was trying to build a new platform - the ultimate platform - to run software and share information instantly and on a global scale. And no one understood that better than Bill Gates.
Gates had recognized a similar shift a little over a decade earlier when he first saw Steve Jobs’ Apple Macintosh and its graphical user interface. Gates knew it would make his text-based operating system, DOS, irrelevant. So he created Windows and eventually stole Jobs’ thunder.
It took Gates slightly longer to pick up on the power of the Web, but once he did he immediately grasped its potential to make Windows irrelevant. That’s why he catalyzed Microsoft to create Internet Explorer and drive Netscape into oblivion, by any means necessary. By 2000, Microsoft had pulled off the great reversal, taking 80% share of the Web browser market, which Netscape had dominated at 80% just four years earlier.
March 23rd, 2009
Vista grows share; Data suggests businesses stick with XP
Microsoft’s Vista operating system is finally surpassing the 30 percent market share mark, according to an analysis by StatCounter, which monitors Web traffic.
The firm says the consistent presence over the 30 percent mark suggests that the operating system is finally starting to gain some traction - well, at least among consumers. Macs, of course, are more expensive that Windows PCs and, in most retail outlets, Vista is really the only other option for the mainstream crowd. (I know, I know… Linux. But we’re talking mainstream, not techies.)
In the past, the traffic monitoring firm - which bases it data on the monitoring of four billion pageloads per month - has seen Vista usage cross the 30 percent mark, but not consistently. (click on image to enlarge)
The monitoring shows that usage of Vista peaks on the weekends while the use of machines with Windows XP peaks during the work week, a trend that suggests that businesses have been slower to adopt Vista.
Windows XP still leads the market with 56.6 percent market share. Mac OS X has about 8.3 percent of the share.
Sam Diaz is a senior editor at ZDNet. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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