Microsoft confirms Windows 7 is done

Redmond (WA) – Microsoft officially signed off on Windows 7 and released the code of the software to manufacturing. The RTM code will be available for select customers and developers beginning on August 6, while the general public will have to wait until October 22. Windows Server 2008 R2 reached the RTM phase as well and will be “available on or before that date.”

Windows 7 is likely to be the most important operating system Microsoft has ever released, as the software will have to repair the reputation and perception Windows Vista has damaged and defend Microsoft against rivals such as Apple’s Mac OS X and some Linux distributions, which gained market share during Vista’s time. With Windows 7 at RTM, Microsoft sees the light at the end of the tunnel and can prepare to get rid of the current desktop Windows operating system and its broken brand.


Hardware and software vendors will use Windows 7 RTM (build 7600) to finalize their products that will adapt the operating system. As previously reported, Microsoft will begin selling the software on October 22, just in time for the Christmas season. However, developers and certain customers, including Technet subscribers, will be able to download the operating system as early as August 6.


Conceivably, Windows 7 fixes many of Vista’s shortcomings. Most importantly, the software will bring UI enhancements and feature a streamlined memory footprint, which will allow the software to run on much less powerful hardware, including netbooks. Given the extremely long development cycle of Windows Vista, Windows 7 was on a clearly accelerated schedule on Microsoft’s A priority list. Windows Vista was released on January 30, 2006 and we heard of the first Windows 7 Milestone 1 release in January 2008. The software has been finalized within 18 months after the release of the M1 version, which is an impressive achievement, if the final version of Windows 7 is as good as Microsoft claims.


Windows Server 2008 R2 also the RTM phase, and will be, according to Microsoft, “available on or before that date.”

Courtesy: http://www.tgdaily.com/

Google to Launch Open-source Chrome OS This Year

Google is developing an open-source operating system targeted at Internet-centric computers such as netbooks and will release it later this year, the company said Wednesday.

The OS, which will carry the same "Chrome" name as the company's browser, is expected to begin appearing on netbook computers in the second half of 2010, Google said in a blog post.
It is already talking to "multiple" companies about the project, it added.

The Chrome OS will be available for computers based on the x86 architecture, which is used by Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and the Arm architecture.

Prototypes of Arm-based netbooks began appearing last month at the Computex show in Taiwan and Google's support for the architecture could give it a significant boost. Microsoft's mainstream Windows operating system doesn't run on Arm chips so many manufacturers were talking about using Linux or a version of Google's Android operating system. It's not immediately clear how much the two operating systems share in common code but Google said they are aimed at very different devices.

"Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android," it said. "Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the Web."
While Google is initially looking at the netbook segment of the market it might compete with Microsoft and Apple on larger, Internet-centric machines.

Chrome OS is "being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems," said Google.
More to come.

Courtesy: http://www.pcworld.com/article/168029/google_to_launch_opensource_chrome_os_this_year.html?tk=rss_news

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/43138/140/

India Plans Spending More on Education Using Technology

India plans to spend 9 billion Indian rupees (US$189 million) on education programs using information and communications technology in the fiscal year to March 31, 2010, the country's finance minister said on Monday.

India needs to convert the demographic advantage that its relatively young population gives it into an economic advantage by providing them the right education and skills, the country's Minister of Finance, Pranab Mukherjee said while presenting the country's annual budget to Parliament.

The minister also announced a 20 billion rupee hike in spending on higher education, including on setting up new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The IITs have over the years provided key engineering staff for Indian and multinational technology companies.
India's outsourcing industry benefits from the country's large number of low-cost and highly trained staff.

The immediate benefit from the budget for India's outsourcing industry is, however, likely to come from the extension of tax holidays for exporters up to the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011. The minister said he was extending these benefits to help tide exporters over an economic slowdown.

Mukherjee also announced that the first set of unique identity numbers for Indian citizens will be rolled out in 12 to 18 months. The government has set up for this purpose a Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), and appointed as its head Nandan Nilekani, former co-chairman of outsourcer Infosys Technologies.

The UIDAI will set up an online data base with identity and biometric details of Indian residents and provide enrolment and verification services across the country, Mukherjee said.
The project could provide large opportunities to IT services companies, according to analysts.
The budget has been criticized by industry because of its large deficit of 6.8 percent of gross domestic product in the current fiscal year, and its focus on large development and rural spending. Share prices on Indian stock exchanges fell as the budget was being announced by the finance minister.

Courtesy: http://www.pcworld.com/article/167881/india_plans_spending_more_on_education_using_technology.html