Posted on 05/29/2008 2:59:05 PM PDT by HAL9000
Excerpt -
Microsoft is in a bind.Windows Vista has sold 140 million copies, but it's such a resource hog with unreliable hardware drivers that users keep asking Redmond to extend the support for Windows XP. Many corporations refuse to upgrade their server farms and cubicle-bound desktops at all. It's not often that 140 million copies of a software package that costs hundreds of dollars can be called a disappointment, but this one seems to fit that bill.
Vowing to release a new operating system every three years, the company now has about 20 months until the supposed release date for Windows 7. The tight-lipped mastodon has just started to let a trickle of feature details slip out, and I have to say that the early glimpses have not been very impressive.
The big news!
You know how the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch have these cool screens where you drag stuff around with your fingertips? Yeah, Microsoft will do that, too. Great, huh?
OK, so this version will do a bit more. Drag five fingers across the screen in a painting program, and you could leave five colorful glowworms in their wake. Play 10-finger chords on an on-screen piano, and resize photos by dragging the corners apart with two fingers. Wow, that's neato!
Yeah, so I lied. That's not really an update over the iPhone at all, save for the larger screens you'd see on a Dell desktop screen or a Hewlett-Packard laptop. The iPhone screen can do all of these tricks already, and I'm not really sure what the big innovation is here. At least Microsoft seems to be imitating an established leader in user interface design this time.
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(Excerpt) Read more at fool.com ...
But don't you know that means that Vista has the marketshare over XP? And as we all know, marketshare equals superior product.
Create a new administrator account. Use that for updates, software installations, etc. Then change your old administrator account, the one with all your docs, email settings, internet access, and stuff, into a standard account.
Touch screen is not the technology being demonstrated by Microsoft or that is already being shipped by Apple. It is Multi-touch, the ability of the screen to sense and react to multiple contacts at the same time. Apple holds the patent on that.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
They should sue Microsoft then, and put Google on notice their new Android phone can't have those features either. At least that's my understanding of what patents are for, unless there's a cross-patent license or other agreement that's more important. Companies and groups that innovate should be protected and nurtured, while those that duplicate protected technologies should have to wait a lawful time or face penalty.
So far, there is not much to sue over on either potential product. Neither is shipping and Apple may be negotiating to license the patents.
They would have actually had to have innovated in the first place in order to cease.
Few ideas are completely in a vacuum, but Microsoft has added great value to some ideas. Right off the top of my head they produced the first decent mouse, and Photosynth takes VR photography to a whole new level (I've done VR photos, it was never this cool and easy).
Good points. Licensing is definitely the way to go, in this case Microsoft should license the patent if they have not already done so, and Apple should be allowed to charge whatever they want for it. Wonder what, if any, agreements currently exist between the two, any idea?
Often such information is very difficult to obtain, even when actual partnerships are publicly announced, but surely they have met and have some sort of agreement. The ultimate conspiracy theory is there's a full partnership, but that's not one I believe, and the exact state of the relationship is always something of great speculation. I'd say if Apple is doing most of the innovating, they should be reaping most of the profits, and if others such as Microsoft want to use the same patented features they should be paying a royalty. If they're not, why isn't Apple asking for it?
Microsoft's first mice were not noticeably different from Genius mice and the optical technology was acquired from Agilent Systems.
Photosynth was developed by Seadragon Software and acquired by Microsoft in 2005.
Microsoft is magnificent in leveraging their considerable war chest to buy innovation and putting on a fresh layer of shrinkwrap.
I tried Genius mice, and they weren’t as good. I also tried optical mice, but up to that point I remember them requiring a special mouse pad that had markings the mouse could pick up. The Intellimouse was still the first really good mouse I ever used.
Didn’t know that about Photosynth though.
Yep. Sun boxes had optical mice for a long time but you needed a special mouse pad.
The Intellimouse was still the first really good mouse I ever used.
I use Microsoft mice. I like them. But Microsoft didn't invent it. They, as per usual, acquired the technology elsewhere.
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