Orbis Blog » Microsoft

Ballmer Throwing in the Towel at Microsoft

Kellie Rose — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 20:30:55 +0000

Everyone fails at some point in their lives, some more than others, but owning up to that failure is the most difficult part of being human. On Friday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that he will be retiring within the next 12 months and also owned up to one of Microsoft’s biggest failures.

After working as CEO for 13 years, Ballmer oversaw many operating systems, software launches and product releases. Through all the success, he admitted that he particularly regretted the launch of Windows Vista the most. In an interview with Mary Jo Foley, Ballmer states,

“I would say probably the thing I regret most is the, what shall I call it, the loopedy-loo that we did that was sort of Longhorn to Vista. I would say that’s probably the thing I regret most. And, you know, there are side effects of that when you tie up a big team to do something that doesn’t prove out to be as valuable.”

The “loopedy-loo” Ballmer describes was the thing most heavily criticized surrounding its launch. Vista’s high system requirements meant that many people, even those with new PCs, weren’t able to access all of the OS’ features. There were also many issues surrounding compatibility with pre-Vista hardware. User Account Control was also criticized for producing too many prompts, causing many users to simply disable the feature entirely. This caused more of a problem than a benefit for users.

It was not until two years later that Microsoft came up with another operating system, Windows 7, to correct the issues Vista was having and derived a whole new look that Windows users are now at ease with. Windows 8 was the last operating system released under Ballmer’s rein. Come October we will see what Bellmer’s plans are for Windows 8.1 and new management will have in store.

Overall, Ballmer is most proud of the impact Microsoft has had on peoples’ lives over the years. Being a part of “the birth of intelligent personal computing” was a significant part of his career. The future for Ballmer is unknown but he is ready for a change and for someone new to spruce up the Microsoft name for the better.

Does Blackberry still have Juice?

Kellie Rose — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 16:08:42 +0000

In 2003, BlackBerry introduced the first modern smart phone. This was a breakthrough device in the market that not only functioned as a telephone, but also allowed users to send and receive email and text messages. The need for mobile email access was clear, as email was a popular and vital means of communication in the business realm. People who frequently traveled needed a more efficient way to access their email without having to find a computer. Due to its early success, BlackBerry was widely referred to as “CrackBerry” in the United States, which alluded to its excessive use and obsession by its owners. Use of the term CrackBerry became so widespread, that in November 2006 Urban Dictionary, named “crackberry” the “Urban Word of the Day.” Although BlackBerry was the pioneer for the Smartphone industry, their future today is in jeopardy due to the recent success over the past few years of the iPhone, Windows and Android phones.

Blackberry is set to launch their new Blackberry Q5 handset on August 13th. The new device targets a more affordable audience than the high-end Z10 and Q10, and targets the legions of BlackBerry Curve owners who are approaching the end of their respective contracts. Blackberry plans to heavily target these consumers during the all-important back-to-school season.

Despite the emphasis on hardware, Blackberry’s future does not rely solely on the success of their new devices. Blackberry’s business model is changing with the launch of the Blackberry 10 platform. They are trying to be portrayed as a software company, and not just a device manufacturer. The company is focused on expanding the BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 deployments — including support for iOS and Android devices. In addition, Blackberry plans to extend its BBM social messaging service across multiple platforms and leverage its secure BlackBerry Global Data Network. The goal is allow Blackberry to be successful in the enterprise world regardless of which device a consumer has.

As of August 6, Samsung has announced their partnership with BlackBerry Messenger, BBM and is spreading the word quickly. They announced that BBM for Android will be available in Google Play and Samsung app store free of charge.

It has been 10 years since the BlackBerry Boom from the first Smartphones. In the beginning, BlackBerry was the hot commodity that everyone wanted to get their hands on. Now, 10 years later, BlackBerry is finding itself trying to reinvent their brand image as more than just a device maker by signing Blackberry 10 deals with the other device manufacturers.

Blackberry should continue to maintain some market share in the smartphone device segment, but they have lost a large portion of their users to other major platforms. Thus, Blackberry will need to continue to evolve as a software solution to stay relevant.

Last week, BGR shared the first picture of BBM for Android running on a handset and the app has reportedly been made available to early beta testers ahead of its public release. With group chat applications such as GroupMe and WhatsApp dominating the cross-platform group chat market, Blackberry is in desperate need for a successful launch of BBM. Time will tell what the future holds for Blackberry.

New Microsoft Ad for IE reaching out to a younger audience

Chris — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 20:38:03 +0000

As the new marketing for Windows 8 and IE10 starts to become more common, it is interesting to see how much Microsoft is trying to target younger users. Internet Explorer, which has seen it market share decrease in recent years with the increasing popularity of Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc. has made great improvements with IE10 […]

Top 5 Benefits of Windows 7

Anthony — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:05:05 +0000

New Taskbar
This is one of the most visible changes in Windows 7. The Quick Launch toolbar is gone. A user can now ‘pin’ applications to the toolbar (Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer are here by default). Applications are now launched and managed from the toolbar. All open windows of a given application will be grouped together under a single icon. A user can simply hover over this icon to get a thumbnail sized live look-in to each window, a feature known as “Aero Peek”. While this may take some getting used to, we really like that it organizes windows better and allows a user to change applications more quickly and easily.
Device Recognition
One of the biggest knocks on Windows Vista pertained to hardware compatibility issues. Simply put, often times if you plugged something in (a printer, external hard drive, cell phone) the computer could not communicate with these devices without installing additional software. Windows 7 comes preinstalled with a large number of drivers and can automatically search for new ones via Windows Update.
Less Restrictive
Thanks to new customizable and controllable settings, Windows 7 features fewer pop-up notifications and permissions windows. Windows 7 also utilizes the “Action Center” to centralize messages pertaining to security status, Windows Update, and User Access Control.
Problem Steps Recorder
Have you ever experienced a problem on your computer and when you call Orbis for assistance, the problem seems to have gone away? With the new “Problem Steps Recorder” this will be a thing of the past. Simply open up this program and click record and try to perform the troublesome task again. Everything you do can be tracked with screenshots to assist a technical support representative in troubleshooting your issue.
Aero Snap & Aero Shake
These are a couple of the cooler new features of Windows 7. “Aero Snap” allows a user to take an open window and drag it to one side of the screen and ‘snap’ it to take up half of the screen. Doing this with multiple Microsoft Word documents for example would allow you to view two open documents side-by-side.

“Aero Shake” allows a user to grab an open window and ‘shake’ the mouse back and forth, doing so hides all other opened windows except the one selected. Shaking the mouse again restores all hidden windows. As monitors continue to grow in size and users transition into having multiple windows open at one time, we see these features being a convenient way to organize your work.

Internet Explorer Critical Update

Jessica — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:18:51 +0000

Microsoft has released an official security update to Internet Explorer which fixes an exploit announced yesterday. The update fixes the hack which could grab passwords and other sensitive information, so you will want to download it.

Click here for a handy table which will direct you to which update is best for you, as they differ depending on which version of IE and operating system you currently use.

Zune vs. iPod

Jessica — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:10:22 +0000

CNet recently conducted a head to head comparison of Microsoft’s Zune and Apple’s iPod. Both are sure to be hot gifts this Christmas!

http://reviews.cnet.com/4370-11399_7-324-101.html?tag=bubbl_2

Easy Image Resizing

Alex — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:11:35 +0000

When you email a photo, you’ll want to reduce the size of the file since large digital images can take a long time to view or download and potentially be too large for someone’s inbox. This can be done in most image editing programs, such as Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, and even Microsoft Office Picture Manager. Here’s a free tool from Microsoft that will let you resize one or more image files with a right click.

This tool only works with Windows XP. For some other fun, free and functional tools from Microsoft, check out these Microsoft Power Toys.

New Critical Microsoft Update

Jessica — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:30:13 +0000

Microsoft has released a new critical patch for Windows XP and Windows Server 2000 and 2003 operating systems. This patch fixes a servere bug that would allow a hacker to gain control of your computer system remotely. Be sure to run Windows Update today to ensure you get this important update. Windows Vista is not affected by this problem.

Microsoft Security Bulletin

Backing up your data

Alex — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:16:22 +0000

Most corporate networks have a system for backing up all company data stored on the server. But what about all the personal photos, pictures, and music that are on your home computer? Most people think about backing up their data about 5 minutes after it’s too late to do any good. Make sure you’re not headed for a disaster and give some thought to a system for backing up your personal data.

Fortunately, backing up your data doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. If you’re using Windows XP, it’s especially easy.

Microsoft Outlook keyboard shortcuts

Jessica — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:34:13 +0000

For those who use email regularly, click here to check out a listing of some useful keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Outlook 2007. If you are interested in upgrading to Microsoft Office, or Microsoft Outlook 2007, contact us today.