Survey: Share your thoughts on Microsoft’s Xbox One
The web is abuzz with talk of Microsoft’s Xbox One, which was announced on Tuesday. Here’s a chance for GigaOM readers to share their own thoughts by taking our survey. Read more »
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Where new opportunity lies in the mobile operating system space
Roughly half a dozen new mobile operating systems will come to market over the next 6 to 12 months. Many of these look to be more sophisticated than the older ones controlled by Apple and Google, for whom serious competition could be just around the corner. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Can Windows 8 thrive on small tablets? Acer thinks so, debuts 8.1-inch Iconia W3
Acer’s Iconia W3 is the second coming of Ultra Mobile PCs, only this time, there’s a touch-friendly user interface. The Windows 8 desktop is still the biggest challenge on a small slate; perhaps Microsoft should offer a “Metro”-only license? Read more »
The week in cloud: Google and Microsoft spar while IBM and SAP play hot hands
photo: Shutterstock / Alexey Repka
Google and Microsoft slapfest continues; IBM pushes Watson for third-party apps; SAP bets big on HANA for ERP. Read more »
As Amazon, Google, Microsoft beat each others brains in, who wins? The user
photo: Official U.S. Navy Imagery
It may not be pleasant for the competitors, but cloud competition is nothing but good for cloud consumers — whether they’re startups or Fortune 100 companies. Read more »
Amazon cloud watcher Newvem now watches Azure too
With Amazon beefing up its own AWS monitoring tools, it makes sense for companies like Newvem to take on other clouds. That’s just what Newvem is doing. Read more »
Microsoft’s Tami Reller: Windows Blue, or Windows 8.1, will be free to upgraders
Microsoft’s CMO promised an easy upgrade route for both Win 8 and Win RT users to Windows 8.1. Read more »
Nokia’s real innovation is happening on Asha, not Windows Phone
The Lumia 925 is a fine-looking device and it successfully answers criticisms levelled at the plasticky 920 and 928. However, it’s very similar to other high-end Nokias. The company’s real “wow” moments happen at the low end. Read more »
The week in cloud: Google picks Debian; AWS console for Windows; Adobe faces wrath
photo: Shutterstock / Gena96
Google picked Debian as the default OS for the Google Compute Engine; AWS builds console to enable Windows IT admins to manage on-prem and AWS workloads, Adobe feels artists’ ire. Read more »
Laggard Rackspace growth sparks concern: is there enough cloud biz to go around?
photo: Flickr / mnsc
There are lots of potential cloud workloads out there but there are also about a zillion clouds. Is there really enough paid work to support them all? Read more »
In Nook, Microsoft sees a chance to compete against Amazon and Apple
Microsoft already has a stake in Nook Media, and now it is reportedly seeking to buy out the entire company. In Nook, Microsoft sees a shot at competing against Amazon and Apple — in a way it might not be able to do from scratch. Read more at paidContent »
Please let the newest HTC Windows tablet rumors be just that: rumors
Another month brings another set of HTC tablet rumors. Maybe the company is looking to build Windows tablets but I can’t think of a single reason why. Read more »
How an old-school telco gear maker got the cloud religion. Can it convert the carriers?
Metaswitch is bringing the cloud model to telcos by open sourcing it’s new IMS core software that runs on commodity hardware. IT’s a good first step for the telcos but they must go further. Read more »
Dropbox to host first-ever developers conference this summer
What better way to draw developers to your platform than by hosting a developers conference? That’s exactly what Dropbox is going to do. Read more »
EMC plots software-defined data center journey from ViPR storage virtualization base
photo: EMC Corp.
EMC says ViPR will abstract out a company’s storage and automate how it gets divvied up by the workload. The company will roll out its software-defined data center plan this week. Read more »
Amazon offers cloud certifications; more proof that AWS is all grown up
photo: Mega Pixel
Amazon is following the lead of its IT elders by rolling out technology certifications for developers, solution architects and admins. Read more »
Ring, ring! Skype video calls arrive in the browser … with Outlook.com
Skype in the browser is finally arriving, but there’s a bit of a catch: The service is fully integrated with Microsoft’s Outlook.com email service. It’s a smart move by Microsoft to integrate the service, which will require a browser plug-in. Read more »
Say what? Microsoft Azure’s a $1 billion business?
Microsoft says it’s sold a billion dollars worth of cloud services. But as is usually the case, the value of cloud sales depends on what your definition of cloud is. Read more »
UK prepares for white space broadband rollout in 2014
photo: Flickr / Cillian Storm
The UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has announced an industry pilot of the long-range broadband and M2M technology later this year, in order to make sure everything works properly ahead of a likely national deployment next year. Read more »
Can Pivotal really offer cloud nirvana?
photo: Albert Chau
Will Pivotal’s corporate overlords let Paul Maritz do as he pledges — offer a cloud-agnostic operating layer? I’m sure business customers hope so. Read more »
Why it’s time for Twitter to add two-factor authentication
photo: alexmillos/Shutterstock.com
As the stakes rise for Twitter when it comes to the security and monetary risks surrounding tweets, it’s time for the company to consider stepping up its security practices to keep accounts safer from hacks. Read more »
Sector RoadMap: Social customer service in 2013
“Social customer service” refers to those services that provide customer support via social media channels. Providing such services is no longer merely a niche or specialty sideline. Challengers, or disruptors who were early with the new technology, are working to expand and integrate their offerings into enterprise systems and processes. Read more »
Zombies vs. Lazarus: The digital resurrection of canceled television
It’s now common practice for canceled shows to find their way to fans via digital means, but there’s a big difference between uploading unaired episodes and truly coming back to life. Read more at paidContent »
Microsoft earnings: Windows wasn’t as bad as expected but it wasn’t good either
photo: Flickr / ToddABishop
Despite flat year-over-year WIndows revenue, Microsoft logged a 19 percent profit year over year. Not too shabby for the much maligned company. Read more »
Google’s infrastructure spending spree continues; $1.2B in Q1
photo: Google
Google spent $1.2 billion on property and equipment in the first quarter of 2013, nearly doubling last year’s first quarter. Read more »
Dell mistakenly sees hope in Windows RT where others don’t
Among Microsoft’s hardware partners few are publicly backing Windows RT after low sales and demand. Dell is standing out from the crowd here, likely in an attempt at relevancy in the mobile market. But it’s not a good bet on Dell’s part. Read more »
Don’t hold your breath for a Microsoft Surface Windows Phone
There’s really no need for Microsoft to build its own Windows Phone 8 hardware since partners are offering solid handsets, says Microsoft’s Terry Myerson. Maybe hardware isn’t the problem. Read more »
At long last, Microsoft is ready to compete head on with Amazon Web Services
Microsoft Windows Azure GM Bill Hilf calls Amazon a competitor, a partner and a neighbor: But that won’t stop Microsoft from launching an IaaS price war against Amazon Web Services. Read more »
Suppliers say Microsoft planning a smartwatch: It’s almost past time
Microsoft suppliers say the company is considering a touch-face smartwatch. If true, it won’t be the first time the company offered such a device, but the time to market is critical. Read more »
Connected consumer first-quarter 2013: Analysis and outlook
Many long-standing legal rules of engagement between publishers and consumers tilted the playing field in unexpected ways in the first quarter. The period also saw a major expansion in the amount and quality of original productions for web-based video platforms and a major move by chipmaker Intel to stake a claim in the digital living room. Read more »
Amazon takes another step to suck up more enterprise data
Amazon Storage Gateway can now run in Microsoft Hyper-V as well as VMware ESXi (and of course Amazon EC2) environments. Welcome to the world of blurred boundaries. Read more »
Microsoft brings 3D maps to Excel users
photo: Microsoft
Microsoft has rolled out a new visualization feature for Excel called GeoFlow. It’s definitely pretty, and if you’re using Windows and trying to track activity over space and time, it might be useful, too. Read more »
Social first-quarter 2013: analysis and outlook
Social business technologies remain in the foreground of discussions about business transformation, but the events of the first quarter of 2013 raised as many questions as they answered, or more. Read more »
Cloud adoption: It’s not about the price, stupid
photo: Corbis / Don Mason
Remember when the decision to go to Amazon Web Services was all about saving dough? Smart consumers now know that’s not the real reason to move workloads to the cloud. Read more »
With a 7-inch Surface tablet, Microsoft can finally deliver on its UMPC concept
Reports indicate Microsoft is planning a smaller Surface tablet for later this year. It won’t be the first though: Remember UMPCs? The idea was sound, but the interface and hardware weren’t; two things that Microsoft can easily fix now. Read more »
Microsoft takes hits after bad PC numbers
photo: Flickr / ToddABishop
With Q1 PC sales breaking records — and not in a good way — Microsoft is taking heat with two analysts downgrading its shares. Read more »
Really, Microsoft? Your vision for the future of TV is… an HDMI cable?
photo: digitpedia
Microsoft is reportedly looking to closely integrate its upcoming Xbox successor with live television – but it’s using a very cumbersome way to do so. Read more »
This might be the best thing anyone can do with data
photo: Shutterstock / Karuka
After hearing about the applications of big data for better ads, song recommendations and social media analysis, nothing makes me happier than hearing about technologists coming together with non-profits to use data to fight human trafficking. Read more »
Dropbox adds single sign-on support to woo more business users
In a bid to make itself more palatable to IT, Dropbox will add single sign-on, SAML support to its business edition. Read more »
Mobile first-quarter 2013: analysis and outlook
The mobile platform wars escalated once again in the first quarter of 2012 as BlackBerry finally took the wraps off its much-anticipated new operating system. Meanwhile Android continued to build on its dominance both worldwide and in the U.S., cementing a two-horse race with Apple. Read more »
