The next phase of computing

Over the last few years it has become increasingly apparent that the mobile phone and in particular the smart phone has gained in prominence not only as a communication device but also as a multi-function tool that facilitates our ability to complete our everyday tasks efficiently. In some cases enabling us to do things that weren't possible in recent memory. This trend is not an isolated instance but rather part of a much larger wave that  has every indication of growing and accelerating the more we become comfortable and reliant on being always connected to the Internet and each other.

Five years ago the world was accessing the Internet and staying connected to each other primarily through their personal computers. With the desire to be more mobile and the speed increases and advances in smaller and smaller hardware the desktop gave way to the laptop for many people and it sufficed. In present day the smart phone has increased in great strides in terms of computational power, storage capacity, interface methods, and screen size and resolution. This in combination with an always on 3/4g connection to the internet and the mobile phone is truly becoming or has already supplanted the main computer system for many.

This has come about by no small part from the iPhone and its associated app store, which greatly expands the perception of what a mobile phone is capable of. Granted these concepts that Apple has brought about have existed in some prior form but they do deserve the credit of popularizing it to the masses which opened the door for competitors such as Google to attempt and attract more people to the idea of mobile computing with their Android operating system. Microsoft also is taking their Windows Phone 7 in a new direction which again takes advantage of a ripe market that is eager to have the best. Apple, RIM, Microsoft and Google all are working frantically to snatch up those on the fence with the assurance that their platform is that mythical "best".
For certain though with this level of competition and the degree of quality we are already seeing in shipping products; the mobile computing platform will be and is the battlefield to watch going forward.

Windows 7 thins its product lineup

Well maybe, it depends how you look at it.

• Windows 7 Starter
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• Windows 7 Professional
• Windows 7 Enterprise
• Windows 7 Ultimate

Starter will be available with new PCs but is very crippled (no glass, can only run 3 applications at a time, etc.).  Home Premium and Professional will be the major push for retail and the average user while Enterprise will provide features for businesses and Ultimate will include everything but won’t be marketed as extensively as Home Premium and Professional according to Microsoft.

So what we have here for the average consumer is really a choice between Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate (for those who really need to have it all).  Which really is the same number of versions that you had with Vista when you think about it (Home Basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate).  From the way Microsoft is talking though I suppose their marketing campaign will differ though to simplify the apparent choices.

It’s important to remember than unlike Vista, each version of 7 supersedes the previous, lower version meaning that as you move up from Starter you will always be gaining features never losing what you had from the lower tiers, which is a very smart move.  I just hope Microsoft is as smart with their pricing as they haven’t yet released that information.

The UAC Debacle

As I’m sure you’re all aware (if you’ve been following the very popular Windows 7 beta) there has been some issues with how Microsoft is handling UAC (user access control) in Windows 7.  Initially they wanted to lower the default alert threshold so users wouldn’t be bothered when changing settings for Windows since it was a major complaint with the way Vista operated with UAC.  Then in an outcry from the security-conscious testers/observers Microsoft bends to their demands for it to be more like Vista (more secure but more alerts) considering malware on the system could lower or disable UAC and not prompt the user—leaving the system open to run anything without the users consent.

It just seems that Microsoft can’t please everyone and the user base can’t agree what they collectively want from the vendor.  Personally I feel that Windows should be as secure as possible and the user needs to adapt to the world in which we live where security is a survival trait—we can’t remain to be lazy and naive about real threats that exist and no Mac OS X isn’t the solution.  Apple handles their version of UAC the same way (high alerts) and they have already proven that they aren’t immune to attack.