Posted on 12/01/2011 12:40:16 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Intel Corp. has formed a partnership with Google Inc. to optimize the Android operating system for its processors, with hopes the move will help the chip giant make inroads into the mobile market and have everything from servers to smartphones running on its technology.
While the Santa Clara, Calif., company dominates the PC and server markets, it has struggled to make inroads in smartphones and tablets because its chips are viewed as too power-hungry compared to designs based on ARM Holdings PLC architecture. But Intel hopes new lower-power chips and advanced-process technology will help it break into the market.
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MSFT has had the world at their feet, not because the world was eager for Vista, Win7 and the lack of progress since WinXP - but because we really didn’t have much choice.
Businesses, essentially rejected Apple as a contender, and standardized on the MSFT line of products. Unix was rejected (perhaps unfairly) due to the implied level of complexity and learning curve.
Now, people are getting experience using other OS’s, and Apple is not only gaining marketshare, but also mindshare; but moreso Android is leaping into the hands of many technical decision makers. People are starting to ask questions, like “Can I do what needs to be done with a free Android OS, instead of paying $160+ per copy of Windows?”
I think MSFT’s gravy train has left the station.
Android 4.0 For x86 Is Now Available,
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Posted by Michael Larabel on December 01, 2011
Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" is now available for x86 platforms.
Android 4.0.1 was announced for x86 by the Android x86 community in source and ISO form. It was announced in this mailing list message.
Android 4.0.1 for x86 can handle WiFi, multi-touch, and OpenGL ES hardware acceleration for Radeon hardware. The OpenGL ES graphics support comes thanks to Mesa/Gallium3D advancements for Google's Android.
Missing functionality includes sound, camera, Ethernet, and Intel hardware acceleration support.
The ISO that's spun right now for Android 4.0 x86 is targeted at the AMD Brazos platform.
And it is about time too!
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Could be. Looks like Microsoft is going to push Windows 8 very hard which of course will be pushed with their "Metro Apps" and tablet OS feel.
Saw their conference given to developers and they do have some sweet stuff in the pipe.
Now, they just have to execute.
Cool Competition is good.
I question their ‘execution’.
MSFT announced that they intend to make MSFT Office for the iPad, priced at the same point as Apple’s iOS iWork suite ($10 each for Word, Excel and PowerPoint). So, MSFT will have products in the iPad market, competing against Apple’s iWork suite.
Now, remind me again why I need to buy the MSFT Tablet?
You can certainly buy what you please. For me? Apple will NEVER be one of my possessions. Can't stand their control freak nature, closed environment, poor performance in a network environment and their higher costs.
Why would I ever want to buy an Apple tablet?
A bunch have been purchased for the teachers here in the school district I do IT work for. Every one of these teachers also has a notebook. Basically, these $500 devices have turned into a simple email machine. They do terrible in a proxy environment and can never fully replace a laptop.
And they were NEVER intended to replace a Laptop. A Laptop is primarily (~80%) a PRODUCTIVITY device. Sure, you can watch movies on it, music and play games - but it's big and clumsy for that. It is ideal for programming, reports, business, spreadsheets etc.
An iPad is ~80% a LEISURE device. Small, lightweight, great battery life - perfect for reading, watching a movie on a long flight, surfing on the couch, sending SHORT emails out.
Who would want to write a report, or author a long, detailed email on a Laptop with a 3" x 5" display? When you pull up the virtual keyboard, you lose ~50% of your display - so, while you can read reports, maybe edit them - I sure as heck wouldn't want to create them.
That's why it's taking the world by storm; it's not designed for Productivity (at least business-wise), it's a fantastically portable LEISURE device. You can send, view and edit MS Office documents on your smartphone - would you suggest that the cell phone would replace your laptop? Nope. Handy and convenient - yup; replacment for a productivity tool - nope.
Businesses, essentially rejected Apple as a contender, and standardized on the MSFT line of products. Unix was rejected (perhaps unfairly) due to the implied level of complexity and learning curve.
Now, people are getting experience using other OS’s, and Apple is not only gaining marketshare, but also mindshare; but moreso Android is leaping into the hands of many technical decision makers. People are starting to ask questions, like “Can I do what needs to be done with a free Android OS, instead of paying $160+ per copy of Windows?”
I think MSFT’s gravy train has left the station.
I doubt it, Microsoft is still by far the most used operating system in the word, even in all the countries that have built their own version of Linux (just as Android is) and tried to mandate it for their country. When it comes down to it, Linux is just a clone of the ancient (in technical terms) operating system Linux. You want to replace Microsoft, then come up with something better, not a rehash of something already super ceded.
You're going to need billions of dollars in revenue too, to help feed the hardware manufacturing companies that load Windows by default, and Linux systems like Android don't provide that. In fact, most every phone that runs Linux pays a patent royalty to Microsoft, that's often greater than what the actual manufacturer makes on the device.
The only thing that's sustaining most of these phones and tablets running *nix are the subscription contracts you have to sign for 2 years for hundreds if not thousands of dollars. If you want those monthly fees to start showing up on PC's too, then you might finally see something that can compete with Microsoft. As for me, I'd rather see something so better than Microsoft that it can sell on it's own. A clone of an ancient O/S won't ever achieve that.
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