Microsoft, one of the oldest tablet developing companies, released their first tablet 10 years ago with Chairman Bill Gate’s prediction that within five years it will be the most popular form of PC sold in America. The release was a complete failure mainly because of the operating system they had used in it – Windows XP, which was originally developed for Desktop PC customers. Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, recognized the importance of having a different operating system for tablets from Microsoft’s failure. Apple wrote its name in golden letters in the history of tablets, by introducing iPad in which they included a new operating system called iOS. iPad was a big hit in the US market and very soon Google followed with Android based tablets.

Recently, Microsoft released the preview of their newest operating system called Windows 8, to compete with iPad and Android based tablets. This operating system is being developed for both Desktop and Tablet PC customers. The Windows 8 tablets will have a marvellous new interface that looks rather like Windows Phone 7, called Metro. The Windows 8 Metro interface is well-suited for tablets with the UI designed and optimized for touch.

Windows 8 introduces a number of features in its tablet and PC versions.

Windows Store:- Windows 8 comes with Windows Store that is similar to Apple Store and Android Market. Application developers will be able to upload their applications to Windows Store.

Support for NFC:- Windows 8 also introduces APIs to support Near Field Communication (NFC) on Windows 8 devices, allowing functionality like launching URLs/applications and sharing of information between NFC supported devices just by touching the devices.

USB 3.0 Support:- In addition to USB 2.0 support, Windows 8 will have USB 3.0 support for higher data transfer.

Windows Live ID Integration:- Customers will be able to link their Windows Live ID with their Windows 8 operating system. This can be used to synchronise their settings and files across multiple computers running on Windows 8 operating system.

Windows To Go:- This feature allows Windows 8 to boot from a USB device. Windows To Go works both on USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 connections.

Protogon Filesystem:- News update states that Windows 8 will support a new file system called Protogon. However, the Microsoft team hasn’t released any more information about this file system or its features.

ARM Processor Support:- Windows 8 will will support ARM based processors in addition to AMD and Intel processors. There will be separate editions of Windows 8 for ARM based processors and x86 based processors such as AMD and Intel. ARM based processors consume less energy and this will be a plus for Windows 8 based tablets.

Windows 8 based tablets are expected to be released in the mid of 2012. The preview build released recently is getting the attention of the mobile and tablet application developers because of the wide array of supporting features and its fresh GUI.

QBurst, is eagerly awaiting the release of Windows 8 to see how it competes with iPhone and Android markets in the coming years. If you would like to hear more about apps development on various tablet platforms, just shoot us an email or contact us today.

mCommerce

Mobile commerce or m-Commerce is creating a lot of buzz in the web space and is poised for further growth. It has never been easy to shop online any time, anywhere from the comfort of our palm. According to a study by ABI Research, it is estimated that people around the world will spend around $119 billion shopping online. There’s a massive opportunity for not only improving the way mobile purchasing works but also for inventing new ways to sharing and promoting services and merchandises.

Strategies for mCommerce

Even though e-commerce has flourished into a billion dollar market, most of the e-commerce retailers are not willing to cater to this ever growing market of net savy mobile shoppers. “Let’s develop an app” seems to be the game plan for many vendors – which is not enough. Below are some of the online marketing strategies that all the online vendors need to consider if they are looking to unleash the power of mCommerce.

• Search Engine Optimisation & Search Engine Marketing
• Affiliate tracking tools
• Mobile web analytics
• Social media presence and compatibility

Mobile web has the power to implement a complete m-Commerce portal. The above listed strategies work on mobile web pages. But it’s quite impossible to fully accomplish these in native apps. Native apps have to be discovered, purchased & downloaded prior to use.

According to market share data published by AdMob earlier this year, iOS makes up 50% of the worldwide smartphone market, with the next-highest OS on the list being Android at 24%. We can still create robust, native-looking web applications using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Even though Safari on iPhone OS does not support flash, we have to agree that it is still a really great browser. It is also one of the most efficient browsers with its out of the box slick interface elements, which at times may vary between the iPhone and iPad.

Web Apps

Not everyone out there are aware of the fact that Apple has a section called “web apps” featured on its website, which is dedicated to showcasing optimized websites. Web applications or “web apps” as apple calls it - amalgamates the power of the Internet with the simplicity of multi-touch technology, all on a minuscule 3.5-inch screen. Visit the tApple website to check the 1700+ web apps featured in .

Below are the advantages of building a web app instead of a native app.

Advantages:

• No Apple approval process or red tape, which is especially important given the terms of service dispute going on right now.
• Optimizing the app for other popular platforms like Android, Blackberry, etc with the same code is comparatively easier and cost effective.
• Don’t have to learn Objective-C or download iPhone SDK.
• Don’t have to share any revenue with Apple.
• 100% control over the means of payment, promotion and distribution to the user.

If you haven’t spotted this niche yet, it’s time to dive in and familiarize yourself with the tools required to optimize websites and web applications for this OS, because it’s going to be very exciting to watch this space unfold in 2011.

QBurst has an excellent track record in developing web apps for iPhone, iPads, iPod touch and other major mobile operating systems including Android, Blackberry and Windows Mobile. QBurst have all the tools needed to create a great web experience on the platform that’s currently dominating the mobile space are out there. Visit QBurst Mobile Apps page for more information.

Finally Google has arrived at the ‘Micro-blogging’ platform with a real ‘buzz’. On 9th February 2010, Google introduced ‘Buzz’, the new social networking application to embark on its battle to limit the popularity of Twitter. So, now there are lot of competitions going on in the Internet space. Google Vs Microsoft (Operating System & Enterprise Application Suits), Orkut (Owned by Google) Vs Facebook (Social Networking) Google vs Apple (Smart phone market). Before acquiring YouTube, they fought against them with Google Videos. So what we understand from all these competitions is that Google is not just targeting a niche or industry, rather it want to rule the entire IT Business.

At the first look, we may feel that Google Buzz is an integration of Facebook and Twitter, but it is beyond that. First and foremost advantage is that you don’t have to go to another web page to see the ‘buzz’, it’s there right below the inbox in  the Gmail. The conversation will go like an email thread which is the fascinating aspect of Buzz. You can post in the Buzz, which can be held as private or public. Also, you can connect your profiles in Flickr, Piccasa, Google Reader and Twitter to Buzz. That means you aren’t missing any of your friends and by start ‘Buzzing’, you are increasing your friend and professional network. See this wondeful Video of Buzz, to get more insights.

Now we can perhaps clearly say that it is now ‘Google Vs. Rest of the World’. Apple and Microsoft are companies that are worth more than  $ 100 billion each, Facebook and Twitter are the champs of their respective niche, though they are not monetizing it well. There is no doubt that the internet and enterprise software market will come under the reign of Google, which is not far away.

The wait is over. Microsoft is all set to launch its new Operating System Windows 7. Although the product was released to manufacturing on July 22^nd, 2009, it will be available for the public only today (Oct 22^nd, 2009). The Operating System comes in 6 packages. Each of these packages is meant for different types of customers. The packages are Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, OEM and Enterprise.

A look back

Windows XP has survived more than Microsoft would have imagined. Since its first appearance in October, 2001, the Operating System is still one of the best in the market. Microsoft says over 400 million copies were in use. Although Microsoft stopped the delivery of XP from Jan 31^st, 2009, downgrade option is still available. To be in market for 8 years and still find place to stick around, is an achievement to talk about.

Known by its codename ‘Longhorn’, Vista came into the picture with great expectations in 2007. But the Longhorn did not serve to be a horn for Microsoft. Vista neither compromised on low hardware configurations nor delivered the expected performance. Complaints and weird feedback filled the air. And not surprisingly, most of the customers either continued with XP or looked for alternative Operating Systems.

A positive look forward

With the bar set high for the next Operating System, the Microsoft team started working few years back and has now come up with a product which has generated non-skeptical positive response even from the world’s best analysts. Let’s take a look at a few features that has paved the way for this.

System Requirements – Normal

The Operating System is designed to support 32 bit and 64 bit processors. The minimum system requirements  for the best performance of the product are not highly demanding. Glance at the following table for the exact details.

Lightweight

It takes not more than 30 minutes for a normal install. However, this certainly depends on the hardware of the system and the type of install used (Upgrade or Fresh). The development team has worked in optimizing the underlying code and also removed software like Movie Maker, Mail etc. These are now available in the Microsoft site as free download. The adoption to this new trend has reduced the size of the Operating System and has made it lightweight. Windows 7 can be installed in netbooks and nettops also.

Better Battery Life

One of the concerns for a laptop user is the backup time his laptop offers. If the Operating System enables him to increase this backup time, it is definitely something to cheer about. Windows 7 saves 30% of the backup time if the previous Operating System used was Windows XP. This was announced publicly by Rob Bernard, Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Strategist.

Third Party Software Evaded

Windows 7 emdeds into it, functionalities that require third party software support. Notable ones are:

• ISO image burner
• Fingerprint sensor management

An ISO image file has so far been an unrecognized format in Windows without a third party software support. In Windows 7, you can double click an ISO file and burn it right away. Windows Biometric Framework is a new addition that avoids the necessity for third party software to manage all biometric management activities. Fingerprint sensor is one example. Windows 7 manages this on its own.

New Taskbar

The new taskbar is arguably one of the best features of Windows 7. It works even better than the Mac OS X dock. It looks like a modified Vista. But behind the screens, there is a complete change of code. Mouse over has been dealt with in an innovative way that is sure to attract the public. Pinning to start menu has also become much easier now. Jump list, a new feature, manages recently opened documents. The show desktop icon is brought into the taskbar. And it works with just a mouse over.

PowerShell

PowerShell is a command-line tool that administers various tasks using cmdlets. Cmd and command were available earlier. With the new command-line tool, it is possible to bring out all GUI functionalities. This tool could become very handy for administrators. Although PowerShell could be downloaded for XP and Vista, it was not a very big hit. Microsoft has decided to bring it as a built-in feature for Windows 7.

There are a number of other features that are sure to influence the public. The control panel has been modified and made more users-friendly. The Operating System integrates backup utility with the control panel. Problem Steps Recorder is a new tool that captures user actions and helps debuggers. System repair disc can now be created during administrator works. The features and innovative developments in Windows 7 makes it more than just a Vista debacle fixer or an ideal XP successor. I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

Since its launch about a year ago, Google Chrome has been in the limelight every now and then; and for good reasons too. The latest news has Chrome further zeroing in on its arch rival in a more creative fashion. On September 22, 2009, Google launched Google Chrome Frame “an open source plug-in that brings HTML5 and other open web technologies to Internet Explorer.”
According to Google, with GCF, you can:

• Start using open web technologies – like the HTML5 canvas tag and even technologies that aren’t yet supported in Internet Explorer 6, 7, or 8 – right away.
• Take advantage of JavaScript performance improvements to make your apps faster and more responsive.

IE6 is a nightmare, especially for developers. However, almost up to 25% of the world’s browsing is still done in this outdated browser. No matter how hard you cry out to kill IE6 and save the web world, it is still going to be around awhile. Accepting this fact, Google is trying to make life a bit easier –both for developers and users. For those users who have tasted the Chrome it is life as usual. But for those hard-core IE6 loyalists, this is a chance to enhance browsing experience without having to shift allegiance. The Google Chrome Frame promises the “lightening Chrome” experience within the familiar Internet Explorer interface.

As a developer, to make a webpage work with Google Chrome Frame all that needs to be done is to add a single tag to the page –”<meta http-equiv=”X-UA-Compatible” content=”chrome=1″>” . GFC detects the tag added and works automatically. For more advanced options you can check the GFC Developer’s Guide.

Having said that, it is a fact that users have to install Google Chrome Frame in the first place. So the ball is still in their court – The IE Users! It remains to be seen what percentage of them will opt to install the Chrome Frame. Let’s hope at least some of them will and help the web move on.

In response to Google Chrome OS, Microsoft has announced that the new version of MS Office, which is expected to hit markets by 2010, will feature online collaboration. This dramatic announcement was made at the partner conference in New Orleans.

The new generation office suite will enable users to access their documents online with co-authoring capabilities. PowerPoint will be streamlined with video and picture capabilities which will revolutionize presentations.

Though Microsoft is coming up with online capabilities for Office, they don’t have the intention to provide comprehensive online access, which they think can scale down their business. This won’t be a great concern for Google Docs, as they are providing comprehensive access to users. Google considers it as a weaker reply for the Google Chrome OS, which is the core of Microsoft’s business.

The new avatar of Microsoft’s latest search engine, Bing, is here.  An updated version of  Microsoft’s former search engines, namely Live Search, Windows Live Search  and MSN Search, Bing.com went fully online on June 3, 2009.

Bing Features

Here’s a quick look at some features of Bing that could give other search engines such as Google and Yahoo a run for their money (although it would be a while before Google can be, if ever they are, outsmarted!).

Do note that some of these features are available in the United States version only. You can change your country settings using the toolbar at the top right hand side of the Bing site.

• The background image changes daily.  They are mostly striking images of noteworthy places in the world. You can hover over the images to see interesting facts about them.
• Real-time listing of search suggestions as they are typed.
• Quick response to queries.
• Three-column format with the ‘normal’ results in the center.
• A list of related searches, on the left side of the page.
• Website’s content (of search results) can be viewed in an organized manner, by hovering mouse to the right of the search result.
• Sublinks (within the article) can be viewed for certain search results, as in Wikipedia.
• ‘Save’ search history.
• Preview thumbnail of video simply by hovering mouse over it.
• Video search with changeable setting for length, screen size, resolution and source.
• Image search with changeable settings for size, layout, color, style and people.

We will have to just wait and see if Bing can actually ‘replace’ Google as the next big thing in search engines. That could be ONE big challenge for Bing, given that for many people “Google is Internet”. Whatever the outcome, we can hope that the resulting competition in the search engine market is a only good thing.

Many newcomers to the programming field would be confused with the two terms – ASP and ASP.NET.  If you are one among them, here are some points that would help you to understand the differences between the two:

1. ASP.NET supports different languages like C#, VB etc., whereas ASP is a scripting language that supports VBScript, JavaScript.
2. ASP.NET is easy to debug (i.e. solve errors).
3. ASP.NET is a compiled language, which means it’s faster compared to ASP.
4. ASP.NET has two separate files for presentation logic and business logic, whereas in ASP both presentation and business logic are in the same page. This reduces the complexity in ASP.NET.
5. The size increases in ASP.NET because to execute the ASP.NET page, you need .NET framework installed. ASP on the other hand, doesn’t require it. (You just need to write your code in Notepad and execute it).
6. ASP is totally free.
7. ASP.NET is an object-oriented language. So with the use of classes, interface etc. you can reduce lines of code and the performance increases.
8. In ASP.NET, you can make your own user controls to access it through pages.
9. In ASP.NET, for security we have CAS (Code Access Security), which helps you to view only particular portions of the code.

That summarizes the differences between the two. I hope this article has helped you understand the two technologies better.