The Army goes Android - 12/22/2011
Summary: As does the Air Force, Marines, and Navy–but only with Android 2.2 and only on a handful of Dell devices. Here comes the Android army! The U.S. military stands to be stuck in its way when it comes to technologies. For ages the only smartphone you could use in Department of Defense (DOD) operations was a Blackberry. Now, as first reported by Stars and Stripes, you can use your Android phone and tablet on DOD business and with DOD networks. Don’t get in too much in a hurry to try to connect your new Amazon Kindle Fire or Samsung »read more

Windows 8 tablets will target what market again? - 12/2/2011
Summary: Microsoft is busy getting Windows 8 tablets ready to take the world by storm, but it is not clear exactly who will want one. Forget Android tablets and the iPad, there are a lot of folks waiting for the much ballyhooed Windows 8 tablets due to hit next year. A lot of folks believe a full computer like the Windows 8 tablets will offer lots more utility than the toy tablets currently available. The reality hasn’t hit these folks yet, that these future slates aren’t really aimed at the current tablet market. Microsoft is busy working on Wind »read more

Quickoffice Pro HD 5.0 for Android improves tablet experience (Review) - 12/1/2011
Summary: The new Quickoffice Pro HD 5.0 provides a complete, feature-rich office suite for Android tablets. In the past I included Quickoffice Pro application as one of five essential tools for an Android device. The developer has now released Quickoffice Pro HD for Android, specifically designed for high resolution Android 3.0+ tablets. I liked Quickoffice Pro HD for its simplicity, responsiveness, and ability to sync documents with several cloud services such as Google and Dropbox. However, there were some issues with missing formatting features. »read more

Microsoft to drop Desktop App from Windows 8 ARM tablets? - 12/1/2011
Summary: Microsoft may have done an about-face and decided against offering the Desktop App and thus non-Metro-style apps, on Windows 8 ARM tablets. Back in September, there was controversy as to whether Microsoft planned to allow “Desktop” (non-Metro) apps to run on Windows 8 ARM-based tablets. But I was told they would, and, indeed, the Softies and partners showed off the Desktop app on ARM tablets at the Build conference. However, if my Windows Weekly co-host Paul Thurrott is right, Microsoft has rethought that plan and is leaning toward cutt »read more

Seagate wins $525 million from Western Digital - 11/21/2011
Summary: While the hard drive shortage continues, Western Digital suffers another loss. Western Digital has suffered a major hit as rival Seagate Technology wins an arbitration award worth $525 million, pending confidential arbitration action in Minnesota. Basically, the arbitration award is based upon claims by Seagate against Western Digital and a former Seagate employee. Seagate argues that the said individual allegedly misappropriated confidential information and trade secrets. Despite the pending award, Western Digital is denying the va »read more

12 things that kinda suck about the Kindle Fire - 11/18/2011
Summary: Since it’s our job here at ZDNet to present you with all sides of technology, in this article I’m going to spotlight some of the Kindle Fire’s shortcomings. I’ve had the new Kindle Fire in my hot little hands for a few days now, and I stand by my assessment that — in at least seven ways — the Kindle Fire is better than the iPad. That said, it’s also not perfect. I agree completely with my ZDNet colleague Jason Perlow that the Kindle Fire is, essentially, the People’s tablet, in the that it’s inexpensive, accessible, and not entirely perfec »read more

One in five Brits ‘regret’ buying an iPhone - 11/18/2011
Summary: First the iPad, now the iPhone: Around one in five Brits are rejecting the iPhone, after battery flaws and the hope that a next-generation iPhone 5 would be in stock by now. What is wrong with us Brits? At first, nearly a quarter of all surveyed Brits said that they regretted buying an iPad, either because they either received one as a gift or simply “didn’t have the time” to pick it up and have a play. Now there’s even more crushing news for Apple. According to research carried out by a mobile phone retailer, out of nearly 1,700 po »read more

What's surprising, misunderstood about Microsoft's Windows 8? Testers weigh in - 10/18/2011
Summary: Now that Microsoft’s Windows 8 Developer preview has been out for just over a month, what do some of the hackers of earlier leaked builds think of it? Before Microsoft made a first public developer preview of Windows 8 available in September, a number of hackers had been tearing apart leaked earlier builds to try to discern what was new and different in the coming operating system. Now that these same hackers have had a chance to tinker with Windows 8, I thought it would be interesting to see what surprised them and what they’ve learned »read more

Reality check: Why desktop forecasts need reevaluation - 10/6/2011
Commentary - Gartner recently released a report saying that 42% of computers globally will run Windows 7 by the end of 2011. That is a considerable expectation shift from past reports that predicted great masses migrating in 2009 and then again in 2010. While any claim of less than 50% is more reasonable than past claims, there are still many variables, as well as continued anecdotal observations to the contrary: mainly that there will be a long, slow migration to newer operating systems. Considering these factors, Gartner’s 42% figure is still aggressiv »read more

New 32nm Atoms Surface on Intel's Website - 9/28/2011
The latest version of Intel's processor price list includes the company's first 32 nm Atom processors. Two yet-to-be-announced Cedarview Atom CPUs, the D2700 and the D2500, are now officially listed as available for tray purchases. Both versions are clocked higher than their predecessors, but are offered at lower prices. The D2700 arrives with 2.13 GHz and support for four threads, while the D525 was available with four threads support and 1.80 GHz. The D2500 is clocked with 1.86 GHz, supports only two threads and will replace the D425 with 1.80 G »read more

Windows 8 ship dates quietly avoided; Delays inevitable? - 9/14/2011
Summary: Delays are all but inevitable in the development of Windows. But whether Microsoft can negate those delays, it could have massive consequences in post-holiday sales. With all the booming headlines and flashy spectaculars flowing out of Microsoft’s BUILD conference, little has been said or even alluded to around the actual ship date of next-generation Windows 8. Application builders and consumer testers have been flooding to Microsoft’s download the developer preview, to get their hands on the latest build of the operating system. Over h »read more

Windows 8 will run on old Atom CPUs and 1GB RAM - 9/13/2011
Summary: Seems like Microsoft’s taken those bloatware claims to heart and has actually been working hard to minimize the system requirements footprint of the OS. Lots of interesting stuff coming out from Microsoft’s BUILD developer conference. One thing that struck me - how much bloat Microsoft has removed from the OS. According to Microsoft, Windows 8 will be able to run on systems fitted with Atom CPUs and as little as 1GB of RAM. Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft’s president for the Windows and Windows Live divisions, said that even an ageing Lenovo »read more

Could Windows 7 become the new Windows XP? - 9/13/2011
Summary: Could Microsoft have trouble getting desktop and notebook users to move to Windows 8? Is Microsoft in danger of turning Windows 7 into the new Windows XP? What do I mean by that? Well, take a look at the usage share statistics for Windows XP. Despite being two versions out of date it still commands an almost 50% usage share. People are holding onto XP for dear life rather than opening their wallets and upgrading to the latest and greatest. Could this be a problem facing Microsoft when it tries to get people to upgrade to Windows 8? »read more

Chromebooks are dead, they just don't know it yet - 8/30/2011
Summary: With the consolidation of WebKit and chromium source code, is there still a need for Chromebooks? When Google first announced the Chromebook, there were two basic reactions. For many people, the reaction was, gWhy would I need this?h After all, they already have the Chrome browser on their laptop and desktop computers. Their tablets already have built-in browsers and their own application ecosystem. Sure, the Chromebooks are small and light with great battery life, but you can buy a netbook with a fully-featured OS for the same price. O »read more

AMD might package Bulldozer processors with liquid-cooling kits - 8/13/2011
Summary: As if the anticipation for AMD’s new Bulldozer (a.k.a. Zambezi a.k.a. FX Series) processors isn’t already high enough among enthusiasts, the company may up the ante further by including a liquid-cooling solution with boxed versions of the new chips, according to X-bit Labs. Such a move would entice overclockers to look at AMD’s latest and greatest, [...] As if the anticipation for AMD’s new Bulldozer (a.k.a. Zambezi a.k.a. FX Series) processors isn’t already high enough among enthusiasts, the company may up the ante further by including a liq »read more

AMD bets on Bulldozer to take back the desktop - 8/4/2011
Summary: Starting this month, AMD will finally have a chip designed to go head-to-head with the fastest Core i5 and Core i7 Sandy Bridge processors. AMD has been working on Bulldozer for six years and it has a lot riding on the new chip design. Chipmaker AMD has had a busy 2011. Its low-power E-Series and C-Series processors have found a niche in netbooks and ultra-thin laptops. The A-Series, its first 32nm processor, is just now finding its way into laptops bringing a new level of graphics performance to mainstream PCs without discrete GPUs. As a res »read more

SSDs are fast, but do they last? - 7/29/2011
If you use a PC for professional purposes, you need a solid-state drive. Period. The difference in performance is profound, as just about any SSD owner will attest. The difference isn’t just faster startup and shutdown times, either. There’s a noticeable bump in speed and responsiveness for just about every common computing task. But SSDs are expensive, and they have a reputation for being finicky and failure prone. My survey, plus some new data published today, suggests that could be a bum rap. Jeff Atwood got a lot of attention for his blunt asse »read more

Intel says future Atom processors will match AMD Phenom II performance -- in 2015 - 7/28/2011
If you’re looking forward to improved performance from Intel’s tiny Atom processors — used to power netbooks and tablets — the company has plans to deliver it. In fact, the chip giant says future versions will match the performance of AMD’s desktop Phenom II chips. Which all sounds great — if you’re willing to wait until 2015 to snare a device with that speed boost. An Intel exec briefed some UK press about Atom’s future, which will include a 14nm manufacturing process in 2014, following a 22nm manufacturing process. It also promised performance in 20 »read more

Forget eight cores. AMD is planning a 10-core desktop CPU for 2012 - 7/26/2011
While time is running down on 2011 being the year of Bulldozer, AMD is looking to next year to be the year of Piledriver. A leaked roadmap shows the chip company’s desktop plans for 2012, and these include a processor that features 10 Piledriver CPUs, which will be improved versions of the forthcoming Bulldozer CPU. The Piledriver cores will be the basis for the new Virgo and Corona platforms. Corona will be the new enthusiast platform, featuring Komodo CPUs that include up to 10 Piledriver cores, while Virgo is designed for the mid-range, including T »read more

Google Chrome continues its rapid rise, IE and Firefox fall - 7/21/2011
If you’re looking for a tech success story, look no further than Google’s Chrome browser. Introduced less than three years ago, it has soared in popularity among techies and civilians worldwide. And its gains are coming at the direct expense of Microsoft and Mozilla. You can see the worldwide trend in the latest figures from Net Market Share, which publishes snapshots of web usage based on data from 160 million visits per month to its network (the exact methodology is here). Out of curiosity, I asked the analytics wizards at ZDNet to share the statist »read more