Category: Operating Systems

Article

How Microsoft Is Bringing Windows 10 Features, Including Cortana, To Android And iOS | Lifehacker

Microsoft furthers Android, iOS integration push in Win10 | ITNews

From the horse’s mouth

Microsoft Windows

Blog Post

Video

My Comments

They now can work together

Manufacturers and platform vendors live in a dream world where customers will have their phone, computer and tablet all on the same or related platforms.

But the reality is that most people will have a personal computing environment based on two or three different operating systems. Typically this is an iPhone or Android smartphone working alongside a regular computer running Windows or MacOS X and, most likely, an iPad or an Android or Windows tablet.

It leads to problems associated with data interchange between the various devices and may require you to use cloud services or folders on a NAS, along with software import / export abilities to exchange the data. Even keeping your phone book or contact list in sync amongst devices of the various platforms can be very difficult.

But Microsoft has taken off from where they have built developer tools to allow you to quickly have apps ready-to-deploy for iOS, Android and Windows. They have taken this further by providing iOS, Android and Windows 10 apps that interlink and share data between your computer, tablet and smartphone. It may go against the dream held by Apple and their fanbois that once you have an iPhone, you progressively move towards an all-Apple computing environment with your regular computer being a Macintosh.

The first of these is the Phone Companion. This determines the corresponding apps you need to download from the iTunes App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android) to interlink your phone with our Windows 10 computer on an application level.

These apps make use of Microsoft’s Windows OneDrive as a transfer point between your smartphone and your Windows 10 computer. For example, one of the apps provides a “hook” for your phone platform’s camera app to transfer photos to OneDrive so they show up on your computer.

There is also the XBox Music app which allows you to store your music on OneDrive and stream it to your iOS or Android smartphone while notes you create with OneNote on either your computer or smartphone show up on the other device. Microsoft is even making sure that if you modify a document on its Office mobile applications, the changes are reflected on your Office desktop applications.

Both the main smartphone platforms have their own integrated voice-driven personal assistant software in the form of Siri for iOS and Google Now for Android. But Microsoft has written a gateway app for each of these platforms so you can use Cortana as your voice-driven personal assistant. They are pushing the idea that, with Windows 10, Cortana will work across your smartphone and your regular computer in a platform-agnostic manner instead of just working with your smartphone or tablet..

A situation that can arise with any interoperability solution is that the solution can be engineered to be the hub of your computing life and not work tightly with the other platforms. For example, you may not be able to link your iOS or Android contacts function tightly with Windows nor would you be able to exchange photos between your device’s native photo storage and your computer’s photo collection smoothly. This can be of concern for, say, iOS users who make the Camera Roll serve as their handheld “brag-book” even though they have a PC or Mac having its own photo store or a cloud service like Dropbox being a photo exchange.

It is a step in the right direction to ensure data interoperability across the different mobile and desktop platforms when sharing data between devices along with satisfying the multiple-platform computing reality that affects most people.

Article

After a few versions, operating systems on computing equipment will need to be reworked

Apple iOS 9 upgrade could make old iPhones feel new again | The Age

My Comments

A common practice that takes place when an operating system is being written for a computing platform is that extra code is bolted on to the existing code to give it more functionality or cater to newer hardware. This happens due to newer peripheral types or connection methods being available to the computing platform or these devices being improved; along with security and stability questions that are raised through the software’s lifespan being answered.

But after a succession of releases, the operating system’s software-footprint becomes increasingly larger and ends up being slower to run. In the case of battery-operated equipment like smartphones, tablets and laptops, this same situation places a strain on the amount of time you can run this device on its own batteries.

This is more true when the operating system is partnered with older hardware that can be slower or not have enough storage capacity. It then comes to a tipping point in the operating system’s life that the software has to be rewritten from the ground up for improved performance and to have the newer abilities factored in to the software’s codebase.

This had happened with Windows when the security enhancements that were added on to Windows Vista made that version of the operating system become too slow and unwieldy. Microsoft subsequently rewrote the Windows codebase to provide for a highly-stable highly-secure operating system in the form of Windows 7.

It also happened with Android where version 4.3 Jelly Bean and 4.4 Kitkat became unwieldy with certain functions like handling Bluetooth or security-related functions. Android 5 Lollipop had a lot of this functionality written in to its codebase rather than being tacked on thus making for an operating system that was more stable.

Now it is happening with Apple’s operating systems – the iOS mobile operating system and MacOS X operating system. Both these operating systems will be undergoing a rewrite with minimum emphasis on new functionality but more to iron out the bugs. The Age article highlighted the fact that iOS 9 will work more “tightly” on older iPhones like the iPhone 4 Series, giving some sort of freshness to these devices.

A reality that can happen after one of these major overhauls is that as the computer scene changes and the operating system undergoes further revisions to accommodate the new changes, it could end up being bloated again. Again, this is the time that one of these major rewrites would have to take place in order to keep devices of that platform running smoothly.

Article

Microsoft slams Android updates, claims Google ships a ‘big pile of… code’  | The Verge

Microsoft takes a pop at Android updates | TrustedReviews

Microsoft disses Android: ‘Google ships a big pile of … Code’ | Android Authority

My Comments

A common complaint by people who use Android phones and tablets is that it takes too long for an operating-system update to materialise on their device after Google releases the software code. Microsoft, a key competitor to Google, described Android as a “heap of … code” during the keynote speech for the Ignition 2015 business-computing conference’s keynote speech.

Typically what happens is that the update is delivered to the hardware manufacturers who will package it with their software like shell replacements before issuing it. In the case of smartphones or tablets that have wireless-broadband functionality, these updates have to be modified and approved by the telecommunications carriers before they are allowed on devices that their customers use.

Google has worked around this by using the Google Play Store to deploy updates to their software and, in some cases, offer plugins. Some manufacturers are even using this path or their own app store to roll out updates to their software.

Other platforms like iOS and Windows Phone allow the operating system’s software developer to push updates independent of manufacturer or carrier approval. This is similarly true for desktop operating systems like WIndows and OS X.

But what can Google do about this if the goal is to roll out security patches and bugfixes in between platform updates? This is important when, for example, my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 handset was failing frequently when it came to discovering Bluetooth devices and this was due to bugs in relationship to Android Jelly Bean’s Bluetooth stack which was based on Bluetooth LE / Smart functionality tacked on to an existing Android Gingerbread or ICS Bluetooth stack.

A way to assure the ability to work with manufacturers and carriers yet roll out the important patches could be to allow the deployment of the patches without need to have the prior approval. But Google would need to work with the manufacturers when rolling out major platform updates like when transitioning from KitKat to Lollipop.

A platform update for Google Android and any other operating system should also be about rewriting various parts of that operating system that gain functionality boosts that will change the device’s behaviour rather than “tacking on” the new functionality. This is what led to Windows Vista being criticised by the industry for its performance because the new security abilities were “tacked on” to an existing Windows XP codebase.

Articles

How Microsoft Is Going To Port Everything To Windows | Gizmodo

Android applications will be able to run on Windows 10 | Android Authority

From the horse’s mouth

Microsoft

Welcome speech for Build 2015 – Blogging Windows

My Comments

This game has been the test-bed for porting to Windows 10

The Web has been awash with rumours about Microsoft allowing Android apps to run on Windows 10. The image projected by these rumours underscored ideas of users running Android APK program files in the Windows 10 environment or a gateway to Google Play on this operating system.

But Microsoft announced at Build 2015 conference a very different scenario that is more about developers being able to easily port iOS and Android apps to Windows 10 Universal Apps. It is part of a simplified code-porting mechanism that will come with this new operating system.

As you already know, a Windows 10 Universal app is designed from the outset to run on a regular desktop / laptop computing environment, a tablet or 2-in-1 in “tablet mode”, a smartphone or even the XBox One games console.

The process of “porting” an app to run on different computing platforms is about making sure that the program conveys a user experience that doesn’t differ no matter the platform that you are running it on. Rather it takes advantage of the bouquets that the platform provides like improved sound or graphics and is something I have seen in action through the late 1980s with games written by the likes of Sierra and Broderbund. In that era, there were a few different home / desktop computing platforms in circulation ranging from the IBM PC (MS-DOS) platform, Apple’s Apple II and Macintosh platforms, to Commodore’s legendary C64 and Amiga computer platforms and anyone who wanted to cover a large market with a games title had to port these titles across the different platforms.

Now easier to port from mobile platforms to this platform

Take for example “Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego” which I had played on an Apple IIe and on an IBM-compatible running MS-DOS 3.3 . These games were ported in a way to take advantage of the graphics abilities the different platforms offered and were worked to give the same smooth operating environment for the platform you bought it for. If I had played that game on a Commodore Amiga, it would have come through with graphics and sound performance appropriate for that platform such as sharper graphics with many different colours along with a richer music soundtrack.

If you were to port an application or game to a different platform, you had to rewrite the program code from the ground up to target that platform. As well, you had to re-engineer all of the resources like the graphics and sound for that platform. This became a costly affair because you had to hire programmers who were conversant with your native computing platform and the target platform to do this job and make sure they run as expected on that platform. In some cases, the software may not run exactly as required nor would it properly take advantage of the platform’s assets.

Microsoft has made this process simpler courtesy of the Project Islandwood and Project Astoria software-development kits which simplify the process of porting iOS or Android apps to Windows 10 Universal Apps. These would allow the developer to reuse the iOS Objective C or Android Java/C++ code as the mechanism for the program and allow them to tweak the code to run smoothly in Windows 10, taking advantage of its assets like Cortana, Live Tiles, XBox Achievements and the like where appropriate.

They worked with King.com to use the new software-development kits to port Candy Crush Saga to Windows, having the gameplay experience on a Windows Phone similar to what was expected out of an iPhone.

What does this mean? It could allow a software developer to target iOS or Android for their programs then have it ready for the Windows platform very shortly after that without it being a costly affair..Who knows when a game like Candy Crush Saga could appear on the XBox One as a “quick-play” game to play on your TV?

Article

Microsoft to support Fido biometrics | NFC World

From the horse’s mouth

Microsoft

Windows For Your Business blog post

FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance

Press Release

My Comments

Microsoft is to enable Windows 10, which is the next version of Windows, to work with the FIDO (Fast Identity Online) Alliance standards for its authentication and authorisation needs.

But what is this about? FIDO is about providing a level playing field where authentication and authorisation technologies like biometrics, electronic keys and the like can work with applications and sites that support these technologies.

The goal with FIDO is to remove the need for drivers, client-side software and certificate-authority setups for 2-factor authentication or password-free authentication. As well, one hardware or software key can be used across compatible services and applications without user parameters being shared between them.

There are two standards that have been defined by FIDO Alliance. One is UAF which supports password-free login using biometrics like fingerprints; USB dongles; MiFare NFC cards; Bluetooth-linked smartphones and the like as the key to your account. The other is U2F which allows these kinds of keys to serve as a “second factor” for a two-factor authentication setup.

But what could this mean? With a UAF setup, I could set things up so I could log in to Facebook using my fingerprint if the computer is equipped with a fingerprint reader but not have to worry about using a password vault that plays nicely with that fingerprint reader. With a U2F setup, I could make sure that I have a tight two-factor login setup for my Website’s management account or my bank account but use a preferred method like a USB key or a smartcard reader that reads my EMV-compliant bank card.

The current implementation tends to ride on client-side software like browser plugins to provide the bridge between a FIDO-enabled site and a FIDO U2F-compliant key and this can impair the user experience you have during the login. It is because of you having to make sure that the client-side software is running properly and you use a particular browser with it before you can interact with the secure site. There is also the risk that the software may be written poorly thus being more demanding on processor and memory resources as well as providing an inconsistent user interface.

Microsoft will bake these authentication standards in to Windows 10 for the login experience and authentication with application-based and Web-based services. This will cut down on the client-side software weight needed to enhance your Internet security and allows those who develop the authentication methods to focus on innovating with them, just as Microsoft has done with other functionality that it has baked in to the various Windows versions. It will apply to Azure-based cloud-hosted Active Directory services and on-premises Active Directory services for business users; along with the Microsoft Account which is used for home and small business users with Windows 8 login and Outlook.com (Hotmail).

The question yet to raise with FIDO UAF and U2F functionality is whether this will be provided for application-based “client-to-server” authentication for situations like word-processors being used to upload blog posts or native clients for online services like Dropbox and Evernote. Similarly, would this technology allow a device to serve as a temporary or conditional authentication factor such as a smart lock that has just been used with your electronic key; or allow a card like a SIM card already installed in our smartphone or a MiFARE-compliant transit pass to serve as an electronic key for our Webmail.

Personally, I find that Windows implementing FIDO Alliance standards will allow us to make more use of various authentication technologies on our home or business computers.

Article

Specify 2.4 or 5 GHz WiFi bands on Surface Pro 3 | Barb’s Connected World (blog)

My Comments

A problem that Barb Bowman had highlighted in her blog was that the Surface Pro 3 was preferring to connect to her Wi-Fi home network on the 2.4GHz band rather than the 5GHz (802.11ac) band that it was capable of. This may be a problem with a lot of dual-band 802.11n/ac devices.

Here, she had ran the same SSID and security parameters for both the bands on her network and the Surface preferred the 2.4GHz band. To work around this, Barb had used the Device Manager to force her Surface Pro 3 to stay on the 5GHz 802.11ac band. With this 2-in-1’s network adaptor, there was an “Advanced” option to lock on 2.4GHz or 5Ghz or simply switch between the bands. The problem would become worse when she took the Surface on the road because of having to head to the Device Manager to set these parameters.

Another way to work around this is to run separate SSIDs for each band, having the 2.4GHz and 5Ghz networks work as separate segments. Here, the network could be set up as MY-NETWORK for the 2.4GHz band and MY-NETWORK-54 for the 5GHz band. Most simultaneous-dual-band access points and routers allow you to set this up and your can prefer to connect to a particular band using your device’s network-selection function. If you wanted to allow automatic switching, you then just set both SSIDs up on your device for automatic connection.

On the other hand, it could be feasible for operating systems to have support for “preferred” bands or operating modes for wireless networks in a similar way to how you can determine in Windows whether a network is a public, home or workplace network and adjust its sharing behaviour according. This kind of manual override could allow a device to prefer the 5GHz band for better performance but fall to the 2.4GHz band if this band works better. 

Windows 10 could allow this HP laptop and Naim USB DAC to handle FLAC files without extra software

Article

Windows 10 will play your .MKV and .FLAC files all on its own | Engadget

My Comments

As I have observed through the previous Australian Audio And AV Shows, there is increased interest in high-resolution file-based audio. Here, these studio-grade recordings or remasters of classic albums from the studio master tapes are being offered as a “download-to-own” digital audio option along with the regular CDs and MP3 files.

These files would be enjoyed either through a DLNA setup involving a network media player that can handle these files or a regular computer connected to a USB DAC (essentially a USB sound module) connected to the amplifier. But the latter scenario would typically require the use of add-on software and codecs to realise the FLAC audio files for the onboard or external digital-analogue conversion devices to turn in to amplifiable audio signals.

As part of many improvements to the operating system, Microsoft is integrating into Windows 10 the necessary software to decode these high-grade digital files. This is to avoid running a third-party codec pack that may be unstable or be part of a hasty download. Instead it is software that is effectively tuned to run with the operating system and play well with Windows Media Player.

Auralic USB DAC – no extra software or codecs needed to handle FLAC files from Windows 10 onwards

For audio software developers who write for Windows, there isn’t a need to “reinvent the wheel” when catering to this high-quality codec for “download-to-own” digital audio. As well, it is an attempt to make the FLAC file become the “new MP3” file for distributing file-based audio content.

Personally, I would also like to see Microsoft write the necessary codec software to allow the creation of these files so as to take some work off the hands of anyone who is creating digital-audio-workstation software for Windows. It could increase the ability for Windows to become a highly-capable multimedia creation workhorse that is on a par or better than Apple.