New Meego Build v1.1

I just installed Meego 1.1 on my Samsung N130 Netbook and it's all working a treat. A few minor security issues with the Software Updater and App Manager, everything else seems to be working fine.

See the screen shots here

Apache To Give A New Wave

Google Wave is being brought back from the dead by Apache, Read More Here...

Microsoft's Home Server Mess

Ed Bott reports for ZD Blog on Microsoft's decision to discontinue development of a core component of Windows Home Server code name 'Vail'.. Read Article Here

12-Year-Old Discovers Firefox Security Flaw

Alex Miller, 12, conquered a difficult Firefox security flaw which saw him earn $3,000 in the process. The reward was part of a challenge levied against developers by the Mozilla foundation. If you can find the flaw, the $3,000 is yours for the taking.

Miller spent 90 minutes a day looking for it and after 10 days he found one. Nore info here.. CNET BLOG

Google admits Street View cars collected e-mails, passwords

By Ryan Naraine | October 23, 2010, 4:00pm PDT

After analyzing the unencrypted WiFi payload data captured by its Street View cars, Google now admits that the system captured entire e-mails, URLs and even user passwords.

The admission came in the form of a blog post by Alan Eustace, senior vice president of engineering and research at Google:

It’s clear from those inspections that while most of the data is fragmentary, in some instances entire emails and URLs were captured, as well as passwords. We want to delete this data as soon as possible, and I would like to apologize again for the fact that we collected it in the first place.

“We’re acutely aware that we failed badly here,” Eustace added.

Eustace said the company was “mortified” by the discovery that sensitive information was collected when the Street View cars drove through neighborhoods around the world and said Google was making major changes internally to deal with user privacy, security and compliance.

Google had previously admitted to spying on users’ WiFi networks and collecting MAC addresses and SSID information. Some of the data has already been deleted and Eustace said Google will delete the rest of the data “as soon as possible.”

Ryan Naraine is a journalist and social media enthusiast specializing in Internet and computer security issues.

Microsoft vs. Apple: Who's winning? The numbers don't lie

Microsoft has been at the top of the heap for almost as long as people have used PCs. They’ve managed to sustain an overwhelming competitive advantage, even after a decade’s worth of antitrust action and the astonishing transformation of Apple into a profit-making machine that has built one billion-dollar business after another while the entire rest of the tech industry is stuck in neutral. Indeed, the presence of Apple and Google as direct competitors suggests that maybe Microsoft is overdue to take a tumble.

There is never a shortage of Apple-versus-Microsoft yammering in the blogosphere, but I haven’t seen much in the way of actual data. Is Apple really making a dent in Microsoft’s long-standing Windows monopoly? Are mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad taking over tasks that used to be done by PCs? Sales figures tell part of the story, but in my opinion the best data comes from analyzing how devices are being used in the real world. I went off in search of hard numbers, and I found them at the same source I used earlier this year to measure Windows 7 adoption rates (see When will XP finally fade away?).

Net Market Share publishes snapshots of PC usage based on data from 160 million visits per month to its large collection of sites (the exact methodology is here). Its monthly reports on operating system versions contain a wealth of detailed information about even the most obscure OSes, and they’ve tracked the performance of mobile platforms consistently for the past three years. To compile the charts in this post, I went beyond the simple summary reports and dug deep into the details, recording and cross-tabulating data for desktop and mobile OSes from November 2007 until October 2010. I found four unmistakable trends.

Windows XP continues its steady decline. In early 2008, more than a year after Microsoft launched Windows Vista, Windows users had emphatically rejected that upgrade. Fewer than 10% of Windows users had switched, and nearly 5% of all Windows PCs in use were running Windows versions older than XP. The Windows 7 story is very, very different. One year after the release of Windows 7, it has made a significant dent in the Windows user base, and those diehards holding on to pre-XP versions have mostly surrendered. XP’s share of actual usage has declined more than 20 percent in two years, and that trend is accelerating.

Data provided by > Net Market Share

There’s no evidence that the marketplace is abandoning Windows to any significant degree. The overall share of Internet traffic from Windows PCs has dropped slightly in the past two-and-a-half years, from 95.4% to 91.1%. But that’s true across the board for competing desktop OSes as well. Linux usage is down dramatically in 2010, to 0.85% from an all-time high of 1.08% in early 2009. Interestingly, OS X usage is also down, dropping by roughly a quarter of a percentage point since a year ago, from 5.26% to exactly 5.00%. In relative terms, that’s almost exactly the same overall drop as the Windows platform has seen in the same period.

Apple is still gaining on Microsoft, thanks to iOS-based devices. There’s no doubt that the Mac has been a big success for Apple over the past couple of years. While Microsoft was stumbling with Vista, Apple used a very aggressive advertising campaign that resulted in considerable growth of OS X usage, at least in relative terms. The Net Market Share stats confirm that OS X’s share of Internet usage rose from 3.45% in early 2008 to more than 5% last year. As I noted earlier, the Mac’s momentum has stalled (which might explain Apple’s sudden “Back to the Mac” event last week). But Apple’s overall share of the Internet continues to go up steadily, thanks to mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad. Added together, Apple’s one-two punch of OS X and iOS has been a clear winner. It will be interesting to look at these figures again in a year.

Data provided by > Net Market Share

The mobile Internet is growing at an astonishing rate. This was the most fascinating set of numbers to me, and they’re also the ones that should have Microsoft most concerned. Back in 2007, Internet traffic from mobile devices was nearly nonexistent; today, mobile operating systems account for nearly 3% of all Internet traffic. The percentage of Internet usage on mobile devices has been doubling every eight months or so. If you extrapolate that trend, it’s easy to imagine a world in which mobile devices consume 20% or more of total Internet usage within the next two or three years.

Data provided by > Net Market Share

So where is all that traffic coming from? Not surprisingly, Apple’s iOS-based devices are the leader in the mobile category, as measured by usage, accounting for 42% of the total traffic from mobile sources. The very close runner-up, at 37%, is a big surprise: Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME), presumably running mostly on Nokia feature phones. Symbian is a distant third at 11%, with Android in fourth at 8%.

We are indeed moving rapidly into a world where mobile devices are taking over many tasks that were previously handled by PCs. The big question is whether (and if so, when) that growth curve levels off. This is a market that is only beginning to explode, which means things can change very quickly. I’ll be looking closely at these monthly numbers over the next year, especially with Microsoft jumping into this space so aggressively with Windows Phone 7.

Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications.

SONYS NEW E-READERS

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Dell Takes a Look at Google Chrome OS for Laptops

With Google gearing up to launch Chrome OS, a big hardware partner is reportedly taking a look: Dell. According to Reuters, the computer manufacturer is currently talking to Google about including its new operating system on laptops, though no specific devices are yet to be announced.

Dell and Google have already teamed up on a number of devices, so Chrome OS laptops wouldn’t be a huge stretch. Earlier this year, Dell brought its first smartphone to the US – the Aero – which runs on Android. The Android-based Dell Streak tablet is also expected to debut next month.

Having Dell on board at launch would clearly be a big win for Google, though, things have shifted significantly in the computing space since Chrome OS was first announced about a year ago. For one, the market appears to be shifting towards tablets – a market Google also plans to play a big role in. Second, Android is surging in popularity, leading some to wonder if Chrome OS is even really necessary.

Nonetheless, we’ll soon have a better idea of what Google’s planning to do in this space – recent reports indicate Chrome OS will debut this fall.

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Dell Leaks New Smartphone Range

April 21st, 2010

Dell storms smartphone, tablet scene with 7 new devices

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 11:53 pm

I thought this week was going quiet down after the HTC DROID Incredible announcement, but then I just read about the seven new Dell devices over on Engadget.

The folks at Engadget were given details for one Windows Phone 7 smartphone, four Google Android smartphones, and two Android tablets that should be released from this summer to 2nd quarter of 2011.

I never thought Dell would jump into the smartphone game after all of the rumors over the years never produced a smartphone here in the US so I was quite surprised by the news of some pretty compelling devices.

Let’s take a look at these possible new devices.

Dell Lightning: Windows Phone 7

Image courtesy of Engadget.com

I agree with the guys at Engadget and think this device looks like the best device of the bunch. This Windows Phone 7 device rocks a 4.1 inch WVGA OLED display, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, both AT&T and T-Mobile 3G (not sure if there are two devices or if Dell solved the US GSM carrier issue with a single device), 1GB of flash, 5 megapixel camera, 8GB of storage on an internal microSD card, GPS, FM radio, and more. I like the form factor where the display slides up to reveal a QWERTY keyboard, similar to the way the Palm Pre Plus works. There is also word it may be upgradeable to LTE in 2011. Check out the post on Engadget for all the slides and details.

Dell Thunder: Google Android

The Dell Thunder looks similar to the Lightning, without the keyboard. It also has a 4.1 inch WVGA OLED display, Android 2.1, an integrated Hulu app, 8 megapixel camera, AT&T 3G support, availability in Q4 2010. There are some great images of the Thunder on Engadget.

Dell Smoke: Google Android

The Dell Smoke has a rather unique form factor for a Google Android smartphone with a Palm Pixi look of the front facing QWERTY keyboard. This device may be running Froyo (later version of Android) with a 2.8 inch QVGA display, 800MHz processor, 5 megapixel camera, 14.4Mbps HSPA, microSD slot, WiFi, Bluetooth, and more. According to Engadget you may have to wait until Q2 of 2011 to get your hands on this slim device.

Dell Flash: Google Android

Another Froyo-based Google Android device may be coming from Dell. This model sports a 3.5 inch WVGA display, 5 megapixel camera, WiFi, TV-out, Bluetooth 3.0, and 800MHz Qualcomm processor. It may be coming to AT&T in Q1 of 2011. Visit Engadget for the slides and more details.

Dell Aero: Google Android

The Dell Aero is available now in China and we previously heard it would be coming to AT&T so it was no surprise really to see this one eventually coming out from Dell. This is a lower end device that may be running Android 1.x with an older 624MHz Marvell processor, 3.5 inch display, and 3 megapixel camera. Engadget has more details and images.

Dell Streak: Google Android tablet

The Dell Streak (aka Mini 5) is a tablet device with 5 inch WVGA (800×480) display, 5 megapixel camera on the back and VGA camera on the front, microSD card slot, WiFi, Bluetooth, and support for AT&T 3G. Check out the Engadget post for more details.

Dell Looking Glass: Google Android tablet

The Looking Glass is a bigger brother to the Dell Streak with a 7 inch WVGA (800×480) display, Tegra 2 processor, 1.3 megapixel camera, 4GB RAM, 4GB flash storage, and SDHC slot. According to Enngadget the Looking Glass should be out in November.

Matthew Miller is an avid mobile device enthusiast who works during the day as a professional naval architect in Seattle. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

Email Matthew Miller

Google To Release Android Tablet

Recently presented to you the leaked photos and videos that were released on Google’s blog as concepts for a future tablet device. It was widely rumoured that these images were those of un upcoming Chrome OS tablet; rather it seems Google had other ideas up it’s sleeve.

In recent news the New York Times revealed:

chief executive of Google, told friends at a recent party in Los Angeles about the new device, which would exclusively run the Android operating system. People with direct knowledge of the project — who did not want to be named because they said they were unauthorized to speak publicly about the device — said the company had been experimenting in “stealth mode” with a few publishers to explore delivery of books, magazines and other content on a tablet.

This (yet to be confirmed) decision by Google could quite easily be understood as an attempt to push a tablet product onto the market, in time to compete with the Ipad. The Ipad thus far has proved to be a very successful product but other players (notably HP and Microsoft) seem to think they have a better offering. It then makes sense for Google to also make an early entry into the Tablet market with an Android OS powered device.

Another way to look at this is that Android OS is the most logical competitor to the Iphone 4.0 OS. It is yet to be seen whether a Windows 7 powered device (e.g. the HP Islate) can succeed as a competitor to the Ipad due to the very fact that the Islate is using a “full-on” operating system. This then may have been Google’s ploy to compete using Android OS (another light, phone operating system) rather than using their “full-on OS” (Chrome OS)….I hope this is making sense; it seems to have made sense to Google’s product development team.

Nevertheless it is a welcome note that Google will bring some much needed competition in the Tablet devices market; even so this decision has also left us wanting. There is still little news of the much anticipated Chrome OS and it seems like the limelight has completely turned away from it.

Splash Colour On Your Gadgets

Yes that's right, the boys over at Colorware are giving your gadgets a custom spray job.

Check out their website here.

Dissecting Apple's iPhone 4.0's sources of 'me-too' inspiration

Posted by Larry Dignan @ 11:28 am

Apple launched its iPhone 4.0 OS today and the big news is that it now multitasks. Why didn’t I jump out of my chair? Because other mobile operating systems can do that. In fact, many of the iPhone 4.0 buzz revolves around technologies I vaguely recall elsewhere.

Let’s recap the highlights:

Multitasking: Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted that the company wasn’t to the multitasking bandwagon first, but will be the best. In any case, Google Android, RIM’s BlackBerry, Nokia’s Symbian and Palm’s WebOS also do the multitasking shuffle.

Customized wallpaper. Sam Diaz can explain this one from his live blog.

A quick demo of how to customize wallpaper for the home screen, the lock screen or both. It’s pretty easy and also pretty widespread on other devices - but Jobs has a way of making it look like innovative breakthrough technology from Apple.

A unified inbox. The iPhone now allows for more than one Exchange account. You can also organize email by thread. And attachments can be opened with apps. Inspiration here: RIM’s Blackberry and Android.

Gallery: Apple adds multitasking to iPhone 4.0

iBooks and e-book reader for iPhone OS. Your iPad books will now come to the iPhone and iPod touch. There will be wireless syncing to hold your place. Sound familiar? See Kindle Apps.

Better data protection and enhanced encryption. VPN support. Inspiration: BlackBerry among others.

Social gaming experiences. You can invite friends to play games with you. Inspiration: Xbox Live. Nintendo DSi.

Add it up and Apple’s latest iPhone 4.0 push has a lot of me-too features involved. If you swapped Steves (Jobs for Ballmer) at this keynote, the guy from the Redmond would get crushed with these features. The Steve from Cupertino gets applause. The best item from Apple here is the iAds app advertising by far. That’s original thinking. As for the rest of the event, Jobs should have linked out to the mobile platforms that had these features first.

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Smart Planet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

Follow Larry on Twitter.

Email Larry Dignan

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Very cool new CSS framework called EZ-CSS.

http://www.ez-css.org/

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Panasonic Launch HD 3D TV's

Not since the introduction of color TV has there been such a quantum leap in home entertainment literally adding a whole new dimension to the home viewing experience, Panasonic Full HD 3D. See the secrets behind powerful 3D like you have never experienced before.

Virtusphere's virtual reality hamster ball put to the test

By Paul Miller posted Mar 19th 2010 1:26PM

For eons we've wondered what it would be like to walk around in a bona fide Virtusphere, and at GDC last week we finally got our chance. The large plastic cage can turn and roll in any direction, and once replete with a wireless head-mounted display and fake gun, we were ready to take on some polygonal alien baddies. Getting into the cage is surprisingly easy, but unfortunately once we had a screen strapped to our head our well-honed sense of balance was right out the window, and we found ourselves staggering around a bit as we got used to the motion of the cage. The real military versions have a motion sensing gun controller, but we had to do all our aiming with our head, which didn't help. After a minute or so we got used to the "momentum" involved in moving the cage, which felt pretty great, but we'd say our favorite part about the experience was just being able to turn in place to confront baddies -- there's something about a few well placed steps that really blows away a left or right tug on our 360 controller's analog stick. At the end of the day the sheer size, cost, and ultra-dated graphics has us hardly pining for one of these in our living rooms, but with a bit more work on the gaming end (and a working gun pointer) we could see this as the arcade experience to beat. Check out a video of our harrowing experience (from outside and inside) after the break.

Virtusphere virtual reality hamster ball put to the test

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Intel Brings Affordable Solid-State Computing to Netbooks and Desktop PCs

40GB SSD Offers Consumers Affordable Price Point for Solid-State Performance

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

• Intel introduces X25-V Value SATA Solid-State Drive (SSD) at $125 entry price point.
• Perfect for value netbooks or as boot drive for dual-drive SSD/HDD desktops, X25-V delivers SSD performance at an affordable price.
• Desktop PCs can now combine an SSD with HDD to boost overall system performance and speed system boot up and opening of applications

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Intel and Nokia Merge Software Platforms for Future Computing Devices

Intel have announced that their open source projects will be merged with Nokias. They are urging the three main players from The Linux Foundation to join forces for future platform development.

The full press release can be found here.

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Series: Too little too late?

Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:30 am

Microsoft has finally come up with an answer for its mobile phone operating system conundrum: Take the Zune software and extend it into something unique and fresh. The big question is whether Microsoft has solved the Windows Mobile puzzle too late.

At the Mobile World Congress 2010, Microsoft introduced Windows Phone 7 Series (statement, Techmeme). Clunky name aside, the software giant’s take is solid. If you have a Zune HD you’ll recognize Microsoft’s phone platform immediately. The Zune HD software works well and does what it’s supposed to without a lot of clutter. One can only hope that Windows Phone 7 does the same.

Microsoft said Windows Phone 7 represents a “fresh approach” that will layer in simplicity, context, applications and the Web. In a nutshell, Xbox Live games and Zune music are now features of Windows Phone 7. These phones arrive by holiday 2010.

First off, Microsoft appears to be generating some real return on investment for its Zune adventure. Sure, Microsoft is an also-ran on the music player front, but at least it started a mobile operating system. Kudos to the software giant for starting over from scratch.

The elephant in this mobile room is whether Microsoft’s move is a case of too little, too late. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged that it is in “a crowded market filled with phones that look the same and do the same things.” Ballmer added that he challenged his team to deliver a new experience. The team actually built on the Zune experience.

All of that is swell, but at some juncture the mobile phone platform wars will settle out. I’d be more optimistic if Windows Phone 7 devices were going to launch in the second quarter. The fourth quarter launch complicates matters for Microsoft. If Windows Phone 7 devices land in September the software giant has a shot. If these phones launch in November, Microsoft may have issues.

Ten things we still don’t know about Microsoft’s next-gen Windows Phones

• Image Gallery: Windows Phone 7 Series
• Will all Xbox games work on Windows Phone 7 devices?
• Is Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Series a game changer?
• Windows Phone 7 Series … what we know, and what we don’t
• Old dogs show they can still rock the mobile world
• Microsoft Phone press conference, Mobile World Congress ‘10
• Microsoft announces Windows Phone 7 Series with Xbox and Zune integration

Why? If Microsoft is taking share from any company it will be RIM. It’s highly unlikely that Google Android and Apple phone buyers will even consider a Windows-powered phone. In addition, RIM hasn’t rolled out its next-gen plans. If Microsoft beat RIM to the punch it would have a nice shot with Windows Phone 7.

Today, we’re clearly in a mobile renaissance period. We’ve got innovation from Google’s Android, Apple’s iPhone, RIM’s BlackBerry—assuming the company delivers something next-gen in 2010—Palm’s WebOS and a new flavor of Symbian from Nokia. If Microsoft gets its mobile act together you can argue that the mobile industry will have six perfectly fine mobile platforms across the globe.

We all know how this movie turns out. You have six companies duking it out. A few years from now it’s four. Then three. Then the days of a happy duopoly.

We’re far from duopoly days, but you have to wonder if Microsoft can make the first cut to four. Android is coming on strong with an army of devices. Apple’s iPhone’s App Store alone will keep it in the game. RIM needs to innovate, but still has a commanding 41.6 percent smartphone platform market share in the U.S., according to comScore. Microsoft has 18 percent behind Apple’s 25.3 percent in the U.S. based on comScore data.

Microsoft’s challenge will be to hold market share for about 7 months (best case scenario) as Android grows at a frenetic pace. Microsoft says its Windows Phone 7 devices won’t launch until the holidays. Meanwhile, the days where Microsoft could announce a platform and freeze a market are long gone—especially in mobile. How much will Microsoft have to play catch up by the holidays?

Chances are Microsoft will have a huge gap to close by the fourth quarter. ChangeWave Research recently documented future smart phone buying intentions. It’s all about the iPhone and Android. Windows Mobile is an afterthought at this point—and that’s the OS that’s holding the fort.

If you assume Microsoft’s mobile platform share further erodes the Windows Phone 7 launch will have to be big to compete. That’s why you hear the stray rumors about Microsoft buying Research in Motion.

There’s a lot to be excited about with Windows Phone 7. Indeed, I think Microsoft has finally figured it out. We’ll see if Microsoft has found the answers too late to matter though.

End note: As a Verizon Wireless customer with an upgrade available I just don’t see the point in moving. For starters, RIM’s OS upgrade has made the Storm more palatable. In addition, the app selection for the BlackBerry has improved dramatically (amazing what a Sirius app can do). Every time I research a platform I find some sort of dealbreaker—tethering is a big one. Simply put, there is no perfect platform yet. And given the way handsets are developing I see no need to jump on the latest greatest thing—especially when I know it’ll be trumped in 3 months anyway. While the mobile space is in a renaissance today, it must be damn confusing for the consumer that doesn’t follow this space daily.

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Smart Planet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

Follow Larry on Twitter.

Email Larry Dignan

Task Squid: Task Management Meets Activity Streams [INVITES]

About 12 hours ago Jennifer Van Grove

Name: Task Squid

Quick Pitch: Collaboration focused on completing the tasks that ultimately complete the project. Its group tasks done easy.

Genius Idea: In the spectrum of project collaboration tools you have the completely free form Google Wave () and structured enterprise tool from SAP called 12Sprints. In the middle is Task Squid, a private beta project management tool (we’ve got invites!) that takes an activity stream approach — designed with productivity in mind — to project collaboration.

The Task Squid experience is centered around task management, with you as the focal point. Upon login, the service displays the tasks assigned to you or those that you assigned to others. The activity stream also highlights all recent items — tasks, subtasks, comments, files, time — in reverse chronological order and color-coded by type for an overview of all recent project activity.

During the initial setup process you can connect your Twitter (), Facebook (), and Google Calendar accounts. You’ll also want to start the process by predetermining categories — which you can treat like separate projects — for tasks. Those categories will be shown on the right-hand side of the page so you can filter through tasks. Should you wish to be notified of new or completed tasks you can add your mobile number to receive SMS messages for updates.

Tasks themselves can be basic notes or robust action items, which means you can include stylized text, rich media (including flash), add files, assign multiple owners and add a due date. Each task also supports comments (with replies), subtasks and time entry options. Tasks can even be shared via direct URL or Facebook and Twitter, though login will be required to access the shared task.

For those of you with a penchant for aesthetics, TaskSquid doesn’t disappoint. The experience looks and feels clean, and the comments are treated as colored chat bubbles that make back and forth repartee visually appealing. Task Squid won’t work for everyone’s project collaboration needs, but it does get simple task management right.

The service is still in beta, but Mashable () readers can enter “sparkofgenius” in the invite code field to get in early. That code will work for 1,000 users, so get in there, try it out and let us know what you think in the comments.

Windows 8 Will Blow Your Mind. Hopefully Not Like Vista

About 1 hour ago Stan Schroeder

The folks at Microsoft Kitchen dug up some cool quotes from Microsoft employees about the upcoming Windows OS, currently codenamed Windows 8. Though it does bring up painful memories of what was promised about Vista (the marketing campaign, you may remember, was called “the wow starts now”), Microsoft did partially redeem itself with Windows 7, so we can put some (if not all) trust in what’s said about the next version.

First, John Mangelaars, regional VP of consumer and online at Microsoft EMEA, simply said that Windows 8 will be “mind-blowing.” Doesn’t really reveal much, but OK, we can set our expectations to “unreasonably high” if that’s how Microsoft wants to play this.

Another quote, this time from an unknown employee, tells us a little bit more:

“So what are our plans for this next version…The minimum that folks can take for granted is that the next version will be something completly different from what folks usually expect of Windows – I am simply impressed with the process that Steven has setup to listen to our customers needs and wants and get a team together than can make it happen. To actually bring together dozens and dozens of teams across Microsoft to come up with a vision for Windows.next is a process that is surreal! The themes that have been floated truly reflect what people have been looking for years and it will change the way people think about PCs and the way they use them. It is the future of PCs…”

So besides “mind-blowing”, we can now add “surreal,” “the future of PCs” and “completely different”. I’m not exactly sure I want to enter an altered state of mind upon launching my brand new Windows 8 PC for the first time, but I agree it’s time for something completely different. Because, you know, Windows 7 wasn’t really all that different from Vista…