Tag: Windows

Moving between Macintosh and Windows

simonmackay 29/10/2015 Computing Tips, Moving between computer platforms, Multi-Platform Computing, Operating Systems No Comments

Article – From the horse’s mouth

Use these resources together if you are working both Windows systems and the Apple Macintosh.

Microsoft

Making The Switch: MacBook to Microsoft Surface Book

Apple

Switching PC Habits

My Comments

Increasingly Windows computers have reached or eclipsed the kind of aesthetic and stability calibre associated with Apple’s Macintosh computers especially the MacBook portable-computer family.

But a person who works on the Apple Macintosh platform will typically find it hard to move their computing life over to a Windows-based computer. This situation may also be of use for anyone who is working a “multi-platform” environment where they maintain a Macintosh and a Windows-based computer.

Microsoft’s article is focused on their new Surface Book but the instructions apply more or less to anyone who is moving from MacOS X to Windows 10 or a Mac user who is wanting to be familiar with the new Windows 10 operating system or know how it works.

Apple does provide similar resources for people who are used to the Windows platform moving towards the Macintosh platform ever since people moved from Windows because of Windows Vista.

Most of the basic keyboard shortcuts are:

	Apple	Windows
Undo	Command-Z	Ctrl-Z
Select All	Command-A	Ctrl-A
Cut	Command-X	Ctrl-X
Copy	Command-C	Ctrl-C
Paste	Command-V	Ctrl-V
Save this document	Command-S	Ctrl-S
Print this document	Command-P	Ctrl-P
Refresh Webpage / screen	Command-R	Ctrl-R or F5
Switch between open programs	Command-Tab	Alt-Tab
Hide current program	Command-H Command-M (Minimise)	Windows-(Down Arrow)
Hide all programs	Command-(Mission Control)	Windows-M
Stop current program	Command-Q	Alt-F4
Force a program to stop	Command-Option-Esc

Macintosh

The Command key on the Macintosh is the one with a snowflake and / or Apple symbol on it.

The “Mission Control” key will be the F3 key on recent equipment or F11 on older equipment.

Windows

The Windows key on Windows computers has a window icon and / or the Start word on it.

Could the Android and Windows platforms strengthen each other?

simonmackay 22/10/2015 Computer Hardware Design, Current and Future Trends, Mobile Computing, Operating Systems No Comments

Article

Android moving closer ti Windows as a platform for one’s personal computing needs

A Mobile Crossroads – Android and Windows 10 Mobile | SuperSite For WIndows

My Comments

The Android and Windows platforms do have some things in common such as the ability to share URLs and contact cards via NFC or Bluetooth. As well, these platforms offer native out-of-the-box support for various industry norms at the hardware and software level like USB Audio device classes, DLNA network media acces, FLAC audio codecs, and MicroUSB connections for power and data.

This is augmented by another facture that people who value open-frame computing setups that are vendor-agnostic are likely to run a Windows-based desktop, laptop or tablet computer alongside an Android-based smartphone.

But there are some questions about whether both these platforms are coming to a crossroads in both the desktop and mobile contexts. Issues that have been raised is the availability of mobile-platform software for the Windows Mobile platform as well as Microsoft developing for the Android platform.

Windows 10 in its desktop and mobile phones will tie in with Android for stronger open-frame computing

This disparity is being addressed by Microsoft releasing the so-called “Project Astoria” software to reduce the effort needed by a software developer to port an Android app to Windows 10 and have it work on both desktop and mobile setups and the XBox One games console.

Another attempt that Microsoft was trying is to include the ability to sideload Android app APK files as part of a leaked preview build of Windows 10 Mobile. Here, these files would run in a sandbox of their own so as to assure system stability and security.

On the hardware side, manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Sony including the VAIO personal-computing spinoff, and Lenovo are increasingly targeting Apple’s customer base by offering 2-in-1 notebooks, tablets and smartphones that have that same luxurious cachet and performance level as the iPhone, iPad and MacBook.

It is also in conjunction with Microsoft porting an increasing amount of their productivity software to the Android platform along with writing Android-specific native clients for their online services. A good question that may be worth answering is whether Google will write native clients for their online services as Windows 10 Universal apps.

I see this ending up where Microsoft and Google could effectively give their mobile operating systems equal functionality for “home” and “work” use and support a tighter integration with Android, ChromeOS and Linux to increase the number of choices for personal computing options. Here, these platforms will end up forming a strong “open-frame” computing beach-head that competes effectively with the vertically-integrated platform that Apple offers.

Regular operating systems and their vulnerability to security threats

simonmackay 25/08/2015 Computer Systems, Data security, Operating Systems No Comments

Article

Which Is More Vulnerable To Viruses And Hackers: Windows 10 or Mac OS X? | Gizmodo

My Comments

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon – an example of a laptop based on a regular computing platform

During the 2000s, the personal computing scene focused on so-called “regular” personal computers i.e. desktop and laptop computers that ran a desktop-grade operating system. The main platforms were the Windows platform heralded by Microsoft and with hardware made by plenty of other manufacturers and the Macintosh platform that was made by Apple. Of course, there were a few personal computers that ran one of many open-source Linux distributions which were effectively UNIX.

There was the issue of security risks magnified due to an increased amount of personal and business computing time spent online through the Internet. In most cases, especially with the Windows platform, these risks were mitigated using a desktop or endpoint security program installed on the client computer. Although I have constantly seen the Apple Macintosh platform at risk of security exploits, that platform wasn’t at risk because there were fewer computer users using that platform.

Enter Windows Vista. This operating system had improved security features like operating as a regular user unless necessary but these were tacked on to the Windows XP codebase. This led to poor performance and computer users saw the value of switching to the Apple Macintosh platform for regular computing needs with some even using Apple’s iWork office tools as a way simply to dump Microsoft.

This led to the Apple Macintosh platform becoming more vulnerable due to its increased popularity and the use of “write once run anywhere” code like Java. Apple had to pull their finger out to improve the Macintosh platform’s security and, like Microsoft, engage in regular software updates and patches.

Improvements

Major upgrades for pennies’ worth or free

Windows 10 – a free upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1

Microsoft and Apple had even started to offer newer iterations of their operating systems to home users and small businesses at prices that would represent chump change or, later on, offer these iterations for free.

Apple started the ball rolling with Mac OS X for pennies’ worth starting with OS X Lion and for free starting with Mavericks. Subsequently Microsoft used Windows 8 to facilitate a software upgrade for pennies’ worth and used Windows 10 to instigate a free software upgrade program.

The major upgrades typically had security improvements like creation of app stores and newer secure codebases.

Blind updates for security patches

A way software developers keep their software going strong is to deliver updates and patches that rectify software bugs and allow the software to improve in performance. The delivery of these updates is being used to harden the software against known security exploits, often as soon as these holes are discovered.

Windows Update – one stop shop for software patches along with automatic delivery

This process typically involved users finding patches or newer code on the developer’s Website but Microsoft and Apple have put an end to this. Initially they set up a “one-stop-shop” program for downloading these updates including any peripheral-driver updates but have improved on this by providing for “blind updating”. This is where the operating system automatically downloads and installs these patches as soon as they become available.without you needing to do anything except, perhaps, reboot the computer when prompted.

Microsoft and Apple are even working on having these patches become effective once they are installed without you needing to reboot your computer. This is being achieved in the newer operating-system variants and with some newer patches.

The option for secure boot

Apple implemented in the Macintosh standard firmware a way to only let MacOS X boot on their Macintosh computers and this provided a sense of security because it can only allow these computers to run Apple-authorised code.

Microsoft and Intel are now implementing this through UEFI and Secure Boot which allows for authorisation of operating systems and pre-boot software that runs on a computing device. This has been considered controversial because it would wrest control of the computer from uses who may want to deploy Linux, especially a custom Linux distribution or wish to run with a dual-boot setup.

App stores and walled gardens

Windows 10’s own app store

Another weapon that Microsoft and Apple are deploying comes from the world of mobile computing where mobile operating systems implement an “app store” which is a one-stop software “shopping mall”.

Like a suburban shopping mall with its physical goods, these app stores have tight controls on who can sell their software there. Here, the software has to be provided by an identifiable developer and approved and audited by the operating system developer who runs that app store.

There is also a requirement for the software to be sandboxed and have access to certain parts of the operating system rather than having full run of your computer.

Another factor that is also considered important is that if an application “does the right thing” by its users and the operating-system vendor, it is typically highly recommended or featured such as being given an “editor’s choice” or put in the “spotlight”. This gives the program increased exposure which attracts more installations and more purchases. As well, there are user-review mechanisms where people can uprate or downrate the software.

But both the Macintosh and Windows platforms require the ability to work with established software deployments that are typically installed via removable media or a download from the developer’s site. This is due to their legacy where people installed software from floppy disks or CDs or downloaded software from bulletin boards and download sites.

Windows 10 is providing a way to harden things further when it comes to this software in the form of Device Guard. This is a form of sandboxing which allows only certain programs to run on a computer but is made available to the Enterprise Edition only. It is because the process for setting up this whitelist would be considered very difficult for householders, small businesses and community organisations.

Steam – one of the most common games managers

For games, major games studios are implementing their own app stores and games delivery systems in order to allow for cross-platform game and supporting-content delivery. Here, they want regular-computing gaming to have that same level of confidence associated with console or mobile gaming. This is although Apple and Microsoft deliver games through their app stores. The best example of this is Valve’s Steam online games shop but there are others like EA’s Origin.

Conclusion

What is happening is that for both the Windows and Macintosh computing platforms, they are being made more secure and malware-resistant and it is becoming a race between Apple and Microsoft to keep the regular computing environment as safe as a mobile computing environment.

Moving those games to another hard disk without breaking them

simonmackay 03/07/2015 Computing Tips No Comments

Article

Windows Explorer (File Explorer) - two or more hard disks

Two or more hard disks or partitions on your computer may make you want to move games to the larger disk

How To Move A PC Game To Another Hard Drive (Without Re-Downloading It) | LifeHacker

New Information

How to Move Microsoft Store Games To A Different Partition | Next Of Windows

How to Move GOG Games to Another Drive or Computer | iFindSoft

My Comments

You may have two hard disks in your tower-style desktop computer, or the main hard disk is partitioned in to two spaces and you want to move your games to the secondary disk or partition. Or you are running a laptop with a small hard disk and want to use a USB external hard disk for your games.

An external hard disk could be useful for offloading games from your laptop

This may come across as being very difficult for games based on game managers like the Steam or Origin systems, or the Microsoft Store; which typically put all the software on the main disk or partition i.e. Drive C: . But how can you move an existing library out to the other disk or partition or to an external hard disk?

Steam – one of the most common games managers

One way is to use a utility like the “Steam Mover” utility to move the files and create symbolic links (system references) to them.

Another way would be to use the game manager to logically move the games across to the other storage location. This is simply by redefining where the game library should be for each of the games.

Steam

Steam – Settimgs – Downloads menu

In Steam, you use the “Add Library Folder” option in Settings>Downloads>Steam Library Folders to create the new library folder on the disk or partition you are moving your library to.

Library Folders list in Steam
Then you would need to add a “steamapps” folder to that folder you created in the previous step and insert in to that a “common” folder using File Explorer (Windows Explorer in Windows 7 and earlier). Then you copy the game folders using File Explorer from the existing steamapps\common folder to the newly-created steamapps\common folder.
Using Steam, you then right-click on the game and select “Delete Local Content” to logically uninstall the game at its old location, then click the Install button to logically install the game at its new location. This routine is about creating new logical references to the game’s new location.

Origin

In Origin, you just create a folder in the new location for the games using File Explorer then copy the games over to that location.
Then you start Origin and go to the “Application Settings>Advanced” menu and update the Downloaded Games option to reflect the games’ new locations. This step tells Origin where to download games files for newer games purchases.
Then you would have to go to the My Games view and tell Origin to re-install the games by clicking “Download”. Here, the games aren’t being drawn down from Origin’s servers but are having logical changes to point to the new location.

Microsoft Store

Click on “Settings” which is the “gear” icon within Windows, then open “Apps And Features” or “Apps” depending in how old your Windows 10 build is
Find the game you want to move and click the “Move” button. You will see a list of volumes you can move your game to.
Select that volume to begin the software move process.
Beware not all games offered through Microsoft Store will offer this simplified software-move experience

GOG Galaxy

Most games installed through GOG Galaxy will be simple to move if you are familiar with the Windows Explorer or similar file managers.

Use Windows Explorer to create a folder on your destination hard disk called “GOG Galaxy”. Then, within that folder, create another folder called “Games”.
Again use Windows Explorer to “copy and paste” the game folder from “C:\Program Files” or “C:\Program Files (x86)” folder to the “GOG Galaxy\Games” folder you have created on your destination hard disk or partition. You will find the game folders in the “GOG Galaxy\Games” within the abovementioned Program Files folder..
It will be more likely for those of us running a 64-bit Windows computing setup to have these games in the “C:\Program Files (x86) folder due to them being written for 32-bit Windows computing setups.
Run the GOG Galaxy software and reimport the games you have moved to the secondary hard disk. Here, you click the “gear” icon at the top right of the GOG user interface. Then you select “Add Games And Friends”, then “Scan Folders for GOG Games”.
You will be asked to find the folder where you moved your game to. Once you select this folder, you will find that GOG Galaxy will integrate the data that is in the new location.
On the other hand, you may then have to run GOG Galaxy and enter the “Add Games And Friends” menu. Here, you would select “Add Game Manually”. Then you select the game’s title and be required to look for and select the game’s primary executable file which has the game’s title.

Different game installers may use different methods for shifting the logical position of your game library or allowing to move games between one or more libraries.

A problem that may surface with this kind of routine is that if Windows decides to allocate a different drive letter to your removeable storage device every time you connect it, you may end up with unreliable operation. Here, you may have to run the “Download” or “Install” routine to logically update the game manager to the current drive-letter location.

This situation could be easily redressed by integrating library management functionality in to game-manager or app-store software so you can determine where to shift games or other programs. As well, the game manager could reference volumes by volume-names as well as drive letters.

Similarly, game managers or app stores focused on games could simplify the process of setting up games to run entirely from USB memory keys or USB hard disks in a manner to facilitate portable play. This could include installing a copy of the game manager on the medium, managing multiple titles on one medium along with storing the state of play on that medium.

Update:

15 December 2020

Added information for Microsoft Store and GOG Galaxy

Hey everyone! Windows 10 will be released at the end of July

simonmackay 02/06/2015 Computer Software, Operating Systems No Comments

Articles

Windows 10 launches on July 29th, here’s how to get in line | Engadget

Windows 10 Is Coming July 29th | Gizmodo

It’s Official: Windows 10 Is Out On July 29, Microsoft Confirms | Lifehacker

Préparez-vous : Windows 10 sera disponible le 29 juillet | 01Net.fr (French language | Langue française)

Windows 10: Release-Termin steht fest | Netzwelt.de (German language / Deutsche sprache)

From the horse’s mouth

Microsoft WIndows

Blog Post

Product Page

Video

SoundCloud Cortana reply

My Comments

Good news everyone! Windows 10 will be released on the 29 July 2015 for those who are using a regular (desktop, laptop or large tablet) computer.

The Windows icon you will see at the bottom right of the screen

There will be a free upgrade path for existing users who are running Windows 7 or 8.1 on their regular computers or tablets and this will be available for a year after the initial launch of this operating system. Windows has made it easy for us to reserve a downloadable upgrade copy of this operating system.

This is where you will reserve your copy of Windows 10

It will mainly apply to those of you who have stuck with the version of Windows that came with your computer but also will apply to users who have climbed up the version ladder by installing subsequent versions of Windows on the same computer. Similarly, you won’t miss out if you just bought that shiny new laptop or WIndows tablet for yourself or your small business, something you would have done in Australia due to the new tax breaks.

Fill in your email here to be notified when Windows 10 is available

It is infact similar to what Apple has been doing with their Macintosh platform by offering the major upgrades for free since they released MacOS X Mavericks and will become a way for platform vendors to keep the user base working with the latest and most secure code for their operating systems.

Here, you will see a Windows icon on the right-hand side of your Taskbar which you click on and fill in your email details to reserve your copy of the operating system. Once you have reserved that copy, you can use the slideshow that is part of that app to “bone up” on what Windows 10 has to offer for your computing experience.

It’s done!

On the day that Windows 10 is finally released, you will then have to go to that icon to download your copy of the operating system as a package suitable for your computer.

The new installs will end up costing US$110 for Home editions and US$150 for Pro editions which will mainly apply to upgrading boxes that are running Vista or older operating systems, or are setting up a new system from scratch.

Drawcards

The feature drawcard for Windows 10 users will be the new Start Menu which has tiles for the applications but operates like the Windows 7 Start Menu. It will be more about bringing the Windows 7 and WIndows 8 experiences together including benefiting from the Live Tiles “dashboard” experience.

Windows 10 will come with the Edge browser as the Microsoft-supplied option. This will run as a Universal app with all the secure sandboxing that these apps will have to have. It will also have a “reading view” which makes it easier to read Web pages like a book. Edge will also have the ability to allow you to add comments to a Web page and share these comments, useful if you are sharing that page with friends or colleagues.

Windows 10 will also have the Cortana personal assistant which is now able to work with your iOS or Android smartphone and work across your computing environment whether you use your smartphone or laptop. You can enter your requests to her by typing them in or speaking like you could with Siri or Google Now on the mobile platforms.

Another key feature is Continuum which provides an adaptable user experience for your Windows 10 tablet or convertible / detachable computer. This allows for a full-screen Windows-8-style experience if you are working the device just by touch or the desktop experience with the Start menu if you are mousing around. The user experiences can be automatically determined by what mode you are operating your computer in as in whether you flip the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro’s keyboard over, unclip the HP x2’s keyboard or pair a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to your Dell Venue Pro tablet; or you can determine what you really want to work in, especially if you operate a touchscreen laptop or touchscreen monitor.

Conclusion

What this upcoming operating system has offered is the best of Windows 7 and 8.1 plus a lot more and if you have walked along the versions of Windows, you may be able to get the hang of it easily. Those of you who have stayed with Windows 7 or a previous Windows version may find that there is a minimal learning curve if you are primarily operating Windows 10 in the “Desktop” mode with the Start menu.

It is now simple to port iOS and Android apps to Windows 10

simonmackay 30/04/2015 Computer Software, Current and Future Trends, Mobile Computing, Mobile Computing Apps, Operating Systems No Comments

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

Candy Crush Saga gameplay screen Android

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.

Windows 10 Start Menu courtesy of Microsoft

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?

Windows 10 Software ecosystem–what will this be like?

simonmackay 27/03/2015 Current and Future Trends No Comments

Article

Windows 10 Apps Will Be ‘Windows Apps’ Or ‘Windows Desktop Apps’ | Lifehacker

My Comments

Windows 10 – what it’s about

Microsoft is taking bolder steps towards having software developers write one piece of software that runs across multiple types of devices. Previously, if one wanted to develop a program to run on a Windows Phone, the Windows 8 computer or XBox, they had to prepare three discretely different packages with user experiences that play in to the capabilities of the different devices.

Skype with uncluttered Modern user interface

Skype – an example of an app that has been demonstrated to work across Windows 10 and Windows Phone

TripAdvisor – an app that would be written to work across the phone or regular computer

Now Microsoft is using Windows 10 as a vehicle to encourage the development of a program that runs on a Windows Phone or small tablet, a regular computer running Windows 10 including a 10”-13” tablet or “2-in-1”, or the XBox. Each of these device classes has a different user experience need so there is the idea to develop a different screen for each of the different classes.

There will be the idea of packaging software as “Windows Desktop Apps” which are like the traditional Windows apps we run on regular desktop or laptop computers, while there will be the Windows Apps that run on the different user experiences such as the Windows Phone or the XBox One. This even applies to future device form factors that Microsoft will target Windows at.

It is symptomatic of the way software development is heading towards where a single program package can be pitched at multiple device form-factors like a handheld mobile device, a tablet, a regular desktop / laptop computer, a TV-based game console / media player and even an in-car display. An example of this is what Google is achieving with their Android platform where a software developer can write a program that plays well for the Android phone or tablet and for a TV (Android TV), in-car display (Android Auto) or smartwatch (Android Wear) just by adding a few lines of extra code pitched at the platform.

What will typically happen will be the provision of a “responsive design” user interface that adapts to the device that the user is running the software on, along with code that can run on the classic Intel processors or the ARM processors. This may be a cinch for various “front-end” programs for online services or some games where there is a desire to have access to all functionality no matter the device.

On the other hand, office productivity software may be focused to allow full-time document creation on a regular computer or quick amendments on a phone or small tablet but wouldn’t play with the XBox One. Or similarly, an MMO game may allow you to use a regular computer or the XBox One to engage heavily with it, including playing the highly-interactive segments but may allow you to use the phone to play it in a reduced-interactivity “incremental” manner.

What I see of value is that someone could get an app off the ground to run on a regular Windows computer, a Windows Phone and, where relevant, the XBox One as one effort. As well it could effectively mean that there are fewer platforms to target when developing that great app yet there is a similar or better level of market reach as they have had before.

Why do I describe non-Apple operating systems and hardware as being open-frame?

simonmackay 17/10/2014 Computer Hardware, Network Management, Operating system issues, Operating Systems, Systèmes d'exploitation No Comments

Sony VAIO Fit 13a convertible Ultrabook at Rydges Hotel Melbourne

Windows 8 – open-frame as can be

I make references to computer systems or mobile devices based on platforms like Windows, Linux or Android as being “open-frame”.

This is compared to Apple’s computer systems and mobile devices which are focused around hardware and software interfaces are peculiar to that manufacturer’s devices. As well, it takes a long time for Apple to integrate a common hardware or software standard in to a platform although other platforms are already implementing the standard; or an accessory or peripheral vendor has to go through hoops to have a device considered “fit” to work with Apple’s products.

Android – also open-frame

Computer systems that are based on an “open-frame” environment has the ability for one to connect peripheral devices easily to it no matter who the hardware or software vendor is. An example of this includes smartphones and tablets implementing a microUSB Type-AB socket for charging or transferring data.

Open-frame computer systems can attach themselves to a network or quickly discover and benefit from or share network resources using commonly-available standards that aren’t particular to one particular vendor. As well, the companies behind the platforms are quick to meld support for most. if not all. of these common standards and specifications in to the next major version of their software platforms and will nurture these standards through their platform’s lifecycle.

Naim UnitiServe – provides music va UPnP AV / DLNA to equipment independent of vendor

There are many examples here that I could mention.

One example is a Windows 7 or Windows 8 computer or an Android smartphone can quickly associate with a WPS-capable Wi-Fi wireless network segment at the click of a button on the wireless router as what happened when I stayed with some friends up in Sydney and when I stayed with another friend up in Ballarat. In both instances, I brought in my Samsung Android smartphone and a Windows-based review-sample laptop to these locations and brought them on to the hosts’ networks to benefit from their Internet access.

DLNA collections listed as sources on the TV

DLNA content collections listed as sources on a Samsung Smart TV

Another example is to have the ability to discover multimedia content held on a network-attached storage device or media-server software using UPnP AV / DLNA standards which many manufacturers and software developers offer. I have seen this demonstrated many times with setups based around different manufacturers and software developers and, one time, this provided a simple on-ramp for a couple to show travel pictures to the mother-in-law.

Sony SBH-52 Bluetooth headphone adaptor NFC tie clip

Touch your NFC-capable phone on the clip to pair it with the headphone adaptor

Yet another example is my Sony SBH-52 Bluetooth headphone adaptor that quickly pairs with my Samsung Android phone when I touched them together in a same vein as a Braven Bluetooth wireless speaker that I reviewed. In some cases, this even applies to the ability for Android users to exchange contact details with each other or Windows 7/8 computers via Bluetooth or NFC.

How I see the personal-computing scene for both regular (desktop) and mobile applications is that there will be balkanisation taking place between Apple and the rest of the field and this has been underscored in the computer press as simply “the cult of Apple”.

The current direction for computing versus the Post-PC direction

simonmackay 26/09/2014 Current and Future Trends No Comments

Article

So What Ever Happened To Post-PC? | Gizmodo

My Comments

What was the “Post-PC” vision?

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 press picture courtesy of Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 – an up-and-coming Android smartphone

The 2000s era saw the use of larger computers for regular Windows-based or Macintosh-based computing. Steve Jobs who was Apple’s visionary leader talked of the “Post-PC” era with computing centred around mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone and “cloud+app” services which benefited from data held at one or more data centres and accessed using a lean client-side app running on the mobile device.

Current trends

Mobile-platform tablets

But current trends are leading towards mobile-platform devices like the recent iPads and Android tablets having the increased capability, and running more of the native apps with increased local functionality. Some of these apps can even run under their own steam without the need to regularly gain access to data.

Regular-platform computers being more compact, powerful and portable

9mm fanless tablet concept with regular computing power

The regular-computer scene is heading towards equipment that is more compact, powerful and portable such as an increased variety of portable form-factors like the Ultraboooks and the convertibles or detachables. Even the desktop computers are becoming more compact with baseline equipment that is the size of a large book or an increasing number of “all-in-one” computers where the computing power is located in the monitor like the iMac.

Gaming laptops and mobile workstations

Some manufacturers have released laptop computers that are best described as either “gaming laptops” or “mobile workstations”. These have been highly optimised for performance and highly-responsive graphics that is required of highly-advanced graphics software or “full-on” games. Previously, this class of performance was only relegated to desktop computers but is showing up in the portable class of computers.

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro convertible notebook - as a tent card

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro convertible as a tablet

It is augmented with steps being taken to improve quality control when it comes to writing games for regular-computing platforms. This was because of issues relating to games studios turning out inefficiently-coded games that needed more to run or Apple and Microsoft not becoming proper gatekeepers for quality-control logos that affect game software.

A return to the late-1980s multiple-platform computing era

What was the late-1980s multiple-platform computing era?

The late 1980s microcomputing era saw the presence of multiple computer platforms in wide circulation: DOS/Windows/OS2 (IBM Compatible), Apple Macintosh, Commodore Amiga, Apple II and Atari ST. Different people preferred the different platforms for particular applications like having DOS/Windows for business-information-handling, the Apple Macintosh for desktop-publishing and the Commodore Amiga for gaming, desktop-video or interactive-user-interface design.

The multiple platforms that exist nowadays

Dell Precision M2800 Mobile Workstation courtesy of Dell USA

Dell Precision M2800 – an example of a mobile workstation

Now, we are starting to see the same number of regular and mobile computing platforms in circulation: Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, Linux, Google Chrome OS, Apple iOS, and Google Android. The mobile platforms, especially Google Android, are being implemented in a desktop-style user environment with, for example, Philips releasing monitors that can run as standalone Android computers. Similarly, the Apple iOS and Android tablet platforms are appealing as platforms for baseline secondary computing tasks through people equipping tablets with USB or Bluetooth keyboards.

As for the hardware, we are seeing equipment that is based on the Intel x86/x64 microarchitecture or the ARM RISC microarchitecture with some specimens of both microarchitectures moving towards 64-bit variants of that microarchitecture. Some of these platforms are even showing up with hardware that has impressive graphics and gaming prowess such as the NVIDIA Tegra processors and the newer Apple processors for the mobile platforms along with Intel and AMD integrated-graphics systems that can stomach intense graphics work for the regular computing platforms.

Philips S221C4AFD Smart All-In-One Monitor - press image courtesy of Philips

Philips Android-driven monitor

It is becoming increasingly common for households to become less “pure-play” when it comes to choosing the platform they use for their computing devices. For example, I have seen an increasing number of households use a Windows-based desktop or laptop along with an iPad and either an iPhone and/or an Android smartphone.

Business computing is facing this reality with having to implement “BYOD” (Bring Your Own Device) information-technology solutions and utilise “mobile-device-management” solutions and “corporate app stores” to assure that these devices are working to spec for secure computing in the workplace. It is also a challenge that is facing schools, airlines, hotels and others who are providing computer resources for the general public.

I do see it as a pity that Apple doesn’t seem to play properly and smoothly with other platforms, rather users either load up their Apple devices with apps that “bridge the gap” by offering DLNA functionality for example, or work around the various incompatibilities by using cloud services for example. Similarly, peripheral designers have to make sure their devices do pair properly with the Apple devices along with the Windows or Android devices that may support advanced paring techniques like NFC.

Conclusion

It is so easy for one computer visionary to determine what is to be the “status quo” but as the industry evolves with different computer devices and platforms and makes these devices and platforms more capable, it is hard to really determine what is to happen for consumer and business IT.

Quality control to arrive for regular-computer gaming

simonmackay 08/12/2013 Computer Software, Network Gaming No Comments

Article

PC Gaming Alliance Launching Certification Program in March | Tom’s Hardware

From the horse’s mouth

PC Gaming Alliance

Program Page

My Comments

Quality is now part of the games experience on these computers

A major part of the personal computer’s history has been about integrating the playing of games on these computers and every personal-computer platform had ended up with many different game titles available in a retail context or, in some cases, available for download. This has been the basis for heroes like Leisure Suit Larry and Carmen Sandiego in the late 1980s and early 1990s let alone people practising flying and golfing or solving puzzles on these computers as a spare-time activity.

There are those of us who still like to game on with our regular computers, be they desktops, all-in-ones or laptops or that they run Windows, MacOS X or Linux. This is although mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, along with games consoles of the XBox One and PS4 variety are being viable alternatives to the regular computer. Similarly, newer tablet and touchscreen-equipped convertible computers have been showing up, working under Windows 8.1 which is still considered a “regular-computer” operating system. This has extended to the likes of the Sony VAIO Tap 20 and its ilk which have a strong gaming appeal.

HP Envy X2 detachable-screen hybrid tablet-notebook computer – now to be a viable games machine

Of course, a significant amount of time on a regular computer is spent on various games whether they be conquering many worlds, setting up many empires, mimicking real life or engaging in car races or test flights. And I wouldn’t put it past flight attendants who work the long-haul flights to see these games being played on laptops through these flights.

But, unlike the games consoles and the mobile platforms where there is oversight through the companies behind these platforms, there hasn’t been a strong level of oversight when it comes to game quality. Some people have continued to raise issues about EA’s software quality especially in the light of the recent SimCity fiasco.

Sony VAIO Tap 20 adaptive all-in-one computer as a desktop

These “adaptive all-in-one” computers like the Sony VAIO Tap 20 are ending up as games machines

There have been a few quality-assurance programs out theire like the Microsoft “Games For Windows” program and Apple’s developer-assistance program for the Macintosh platform along with Valve’s Steam ecosystem. But the PC Gaming Alliance want to have a quality-assurance platform that is open and not bound to a particular developer in order to keep with the open nature of the regular-computing platforms.

One technical goal is to have a regular computer paint the graphics for a game to the 720p HD specification at 30 frames per second under load as a median requirement. This could allow the game to run on a modest processor like the Intel i5 processors which could typify a modest computer. Similarly, games titles that benefit from a console-style game controller as their user interface should benefit from these controllers and the games should take advantage of large-screen displays. The latter requirement would come in to its own with someone who wants to connect their laptop to a large-screen TV or projector to get the most out of their game.

Personally, I would like to see this apply across Windows, Macintosh and Linux builds of a game title so that no matter the platform, there is consistent software quality across the games. The companies representing these platforms could then be part of this alliance in order to encourage quality games development for their platforms.

Similarly, the games would have to be as though they are a part of the operating environment like what used to happen with Sierra’s and Broderbund’s output where these games worked smoothly with their host platform, exploiting what these platforms offered. It could also encompass network-game compatibility whether online or local-hosted and encompass multi-platform games where console players cam play alongside regular-computer or mobile-device players or play part of a game across different devices.

Could this be a chance for EA and others to lose their tarnished image when it comes to software quality for regular-computer gaming?