PC maker Acer hits out at Windows&#39; Vista operating system
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The head of Taiwan-based personal computer maker Acer, Gianfranco Lanci, hit out at Microsoft&#39;s Windows Vista operating system, saying that the &quot;entire industry&quot; was disappointed by it.
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Microsoft has launched the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment public beta.
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Even with the operating system released to the public, Microsoft cannot seem to catch a break with Windows Vista. The latest complaints come from game developers, who say the OS' parental controls are so strict they're disrupting gameplay.
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Microsoft Corp's Windows Vista operating system has only been available for a day but it has already made the company some new enemies, with the UK's Green Party and Computer Aid International lining up to voice their environmental concerns about the new operating system.
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(InfoWorld) - Thursday was finally windows Vista launch day. But though banners were flying in downtown Manhattan on the big day, celebrating the launch of Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange 2007, CEO Steve Ballmer made it clear that the company is anxious to move on, while business customers pegged for Vista adoption wondered whether there was really much to celebrate. âThereâs a bunch of work we still need to do,â Ballmer said of the next Windows client OS. Supporting the shift from single-core to multicore chips and improvements in network infrastructure are priorities. Microsoft also wants to add more features to meet the needs of IT administrators, software developers and end-users. âHow we do software plus service within Windows is going to continue to be a big theme,â Ballmer said. Enterprise customers were wary. âSure itâs a big day for Microsoft, but what are we really getting?â asks Paul Lindo, an independent New York IT consultant. âWith all the delays and features being dropped, this looks to me like it might just be Windows XP with a prettier face.â Vista suffered several features âadjustmentsâ as well as a lengthier-than-expected road to shrink, including the infamous 2004 dumping of WinFS and a ground-up re-programming effort. But now that the day is finally here, Microsoft is well pleased with its new OS offering. âIt may have been a long road, but watching how our early adopters are responding to the platform, we know weâve got a winner,â said Brad Goldberg, Microsoftâs general manager of client product management. Responding to views such as Lindoâs, Goldberg said he remained assured. âVista was designed specifically to give business users recognizable benefits over the last generation platform,â he said. âThat includes productivity, security, networking and noticeably less reliance on IT.â Those last two items especially represent significant development efforts, covering the new UAC authentication model, updated internal diagnostics (including error messages that actually speak English), a completely revamped networking client and new IT tools such as the Reliability Monitor -- a quick dashboard of system reliability. These features were built specifically so users would spend less time talking to the help desk, thus decreasing overall IT spending. Windows is far better prepared for initial deployment than its predecessors, Goldberg said, citing more than a year of overall QA effort, by far the longest QA period in Microsoftâs history. Despite the enterprise focus of some features, it will still be consumers who lead the charge on Vista adoption. According to a report released by IDC last week, Vista will account for 90 percent of new Windows client deployments in 2007 by home users, compared with just 35 percent of new Windows client deployments by businesses.
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Just not in UK Acer will pile into the SMB server business in Europe this year, but UK companies will have to wait until September before they see the benefit of the renewed drive.â¦
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More of the same Microsoft has warned European PC users face an even longer wait for Windows Vista if EU antitrust regulators mandate further changes for the delayed operating system.â¦
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Won't leap until SP1 arrives If it's not good enough for Intel, is it good enough for you? We're talking Microsoft's Windows Vista, which the chip giant's CEO, Paul Otellini, this week indicated has not won the backing of his technology experts.â¦
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Windows Vista, Microsoft's new operating system, goes on sale to business customers.
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While Gates closes up on Â£ for $ pricing Two controversial aspects of Microsoft's Vista were conspicuous by their absence at yesterday's launch event - neither digital rights management nor the way Microsoft will shut down or reduce the functionality of software it considers to be an illegal copy were mentioned.â¦
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Formally taking the wraps off its latest flagship operating system, Microsoft is releasing Windows Vista to the business community today, but it will be months, perhaps even years, before the software is widely deployed, according to industry analysts.
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(InfoWorld) - Acer Inc. has filed a patent counterclaim against rival Hewlett-Packard Co. as part of itsÂ response to two HP lawsuits. The lawsuits come amid a major push by Acer into the U.S. PC market, and brisk global growth. The Taiwanese company's shipments to the U.S., HP's home turf, grew 163.8 percent year-on-year in the most recent second quarter, according to preliminary figures by market researcher IDC. HP has also been gaining market share in PCs at the expense of other rivals such as Dell Inc., but Acer remains the fastest-growing PC maker among the top 10. The counterclaim filed last week by Acer alleges HP has infringed its antenna and DVD-ROM head technology patents. The suit was filed in the same court as theÂ HP lawsuits against Acer, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The HP lawsuits claim that Acer has infringed 10 HP patents related to PCs. The world's largest PC vendor is seeking to block Acer PC imports to the U.S. and is asking for compensation from Acer, payment of legal fees, and triple damages for alleged intentional violation of the patents. Court documents in the Acer counterclaim were not yet available at the time of writing. Acer has said it believes its contracts with contract PC makers indemnify it from HP's claims, and has already filed aÂ lawsuit against three of its suppliers aimed at forcing them to live up to their contracts. Many laptop and desktop PC suppliers do the design and manufacturing work for customers. Acer said that since its suppliers worked on the design of the PCs in question, they should share the burden of the HP lawsuit. The supplier agreements specifically indemnify the company from lawsuits such as the two brought about by HP, Acer said. The HP lawsuits come as Acer continues to gain market share in the global PC business, and some analysts have called the disputes a response to the inroads Acer has made in the U.S. PC market. Acer's shipments to the U.S. grew 163.8 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, according to preliminary figures from market researcher IDC, beating all other companies among the top six. The Taiwanese company more than doubled its market share to 5.2 percent from 2.1 percent a year ago. "Acer continued its rapid expansion in the Americas while posting strong gains in other regions as well," IDC said in a statement. New retail and dealer partner agreements are boosting Acer's drive into the U.S. market, the industry researcher said. By contrast, HP's shipments in the U.S. grew 26 percent over the same time. HP retained its title as the world's biggest PC vendor with a 19.3 percent share of the market, compared to 7.2 percent for fourth place Acer. Acer's worldwide shipments in the second quarter rose 55 percent against the same time last year, compared to 36.5 percent growth for HP.
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REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft's coming-out party for Windows Vista, its long-anticipated operating system, has a Cecil B. DeMille feel. The new Windows is the product of a cast of literally millions: more than 2 million consumers and businesses who tested it and offered their advice; tens of thousands of hardware and software partners who have helped mold the visually gripping operating system; and thousands of Microsoft employees who have sweated out the details.
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Microsoft recently partnered with Dell to create a special edition PC to commemorate the launch of Windows Vista. Only a few of the computers have been produced, and there are no plans to sell it, the company says.
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The software maker erroneously posts a note on its developer site saying a "release candidate" version of the Vista service pack was being made available. Microsoft does plan one eventually, but it's not imminent.
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Microsoft has provided further details on its plans to more broadly release the first release candidate of Windows Vista including a confirmation of pricing, however criticism of the build has come from some unlikely sources.
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For nearly a year, television and Internet audiences have been seeing a familiar string of ads from Apple attacking rival Windows-based computers. With this week's release of Windows Vista, the newest jabs aren't any friendlier.