Tag: windows 8

Drivers, hardware, and broken platforms

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Ewan Spence

James Kendrick takes a look back at the historical bane of computing (keeping your hardware drivers current on your Windows based desktop), and draws contrasts both to Microsoft’s Windows 8.1, but also issues in the Android ecosystem. The mobile space today, with the majority of customers who are not tech-savvy, calls for a change to the ecosystem. Continuing the way it is currently, both in the Windows and Android ecosystem, is a recipe for disaster. The time to change is now, no matter how it upsets hardware partners. Once customers are lost due to the way things are, they will

Microsoft broke the wrong compatibility

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Ewan Spence

Windows 8 has backwards compatibility with Windows 7, even though there was a brand new look of live tiles, user interface, and the look and feel of the hardware. Xbox One breaks compatibility with the Xbox 360, significantly reducing the usability of the gaming and media device out of the box. I wonder if Microsoft would have been in a better position at the end of 2013 if the Xbox One had the compatibility, and Windows 8 didn’t?

Where’s the money in Windows 8 development?

Posted on March 20, 2013March 20, 2013 by Ewan Spence

Aaron Standard, CEO of analytics firm MarkedUp, talks to Neowin: We haven’t seen a lot of virtual currency plays on Windows 8 yet, which is a popular in app purchase model on iOS and Android- typically for games. Overwhelmingly what we’ve observed are “feature unlock” in app purchases where a user has to buy access to some premium or advanced feature. Most developers on Windows 8 are still in a “figuring it out” phase when it comes to leveraging the power of the Windows Store – I expect we’ll see some more creative models over the next year. Developers should

Microsoft’s Superbowl advert

Posted on February 4, 2013February 4, 2013 by Ewan Spence

Windows 8. Windows Phone 8. Surface. Lots of tech that Microsoft should be promoting as if the company depends on it. So who decided to not buy a Superbowl advert?

Microsoft Surface Pro pulling a Daniel Cleaver?

Posted on January 29, 2013January 29, 2013 by Ewan Spence

I know that some people prefer the cad Hugh Grant over the very respectable Colin Firth in ‘Bridget Jones’ Diary’, but this isn’t a film. This is consumer electronics. When Microsoft advertise the new Surface Pro tablet with 64GB of storage, you don’t expect to have a massive 23GB to store your own files.

Never Gonna Give [Audiosurf Tilt on the Zune HD] Up

Posted on January 21, 2013January 21, 2013 by Ewan Spence

There’s a lot to like about Microsoft’s last portable media player, the Zune HD. They got the hardware right, they got the PC connectivity and syncing right, they got podcast support right, and it’s still the player I reach for when going on a long trip and I want to be one hundred percent sure that I’ll have music from my door in Edinburgh to the hotel room in Austin. Where they missed was in application support. The Zune HD could run XNA games, but they never made the jump to Windows Phone along with the other tools. Which means