END OF AN ERA FOR MICROSOFT AS GOOGLE MERCILESSLY TAKES OVER

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It’s the end of an era: Android has overtaken Windows as the world’s most popular operating system, marginally edging out Microsoft’s software.The margin is small and mainly down to the dominance of Android in Asia, according to the latest figures from web analytics company StatCounter. However, it does indicate a shift in the market that could mean difficulties for Microsoft.

StatCounter said Android internet usage showed a 37.93 per cent share across desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile, just ahead of Windows at 37.94 per cent.However, in Ireland, Windows remains top of the operating systems, although its share has fallen from 44 per cent a year ago to 36.3 per cent in march 2017. Android has climbed to 28 per cent from 22.5 per cent over the same period, while Apple’s iOS comes in third with 26 per cent, up from 22 per cent a year ago.

Asian market

The growth of smartphones and the decline of the PC are two factors credited with the change, but the impact of the Asian market is also a major factor. Android has a 52.2 per cent share of the market there, compared with Windows on 29.2 per cent. That compares with North America and Europe, where Windows remains the top operating system by a sizable margin.This is a milestone in technology history and the end of an era. It marks the end of Microsoft’s leadership worldwide of the OS market which it has held since the 1980s. It also represents a major breakthrough for Android which held just 2.4 per cent of global internet usage share only five years ago.

In the desktop PC and laptop market, Windows still dominates, with an 84 per cent share.Windows won the desktop war but the battlefield moved on said Cullen. It will be difficult for Microsoft to make inroads in mobile but the next paradigm shift might give it the opportunity to regain dominance.StatCounter bases its data on more than 15 billion page views per month to more than 2.5 million websites.

Sources:
http://gs.statcounter.com/press/android-overtakes-windows-for-first-time

APPLE FANS:MICROSOFT IS NO LONGER THE ENEMY

As Apple unveiled its iPad Pro, some wondered how the company had become a convert to an object that looks like a tablet and increasingly acts like a computer. Wasn't this Microsoft's idea?Three years after Cook's jab, the Surface Pro 3 is selling strong - strong enough that Microsoft is expected to launch a much-anticipated Surface Pro 4 at a special event on Tuesday.

In the meantime, Apple and Google have started to pay attention. This past September saw both companies introduce tablet-laptop hybrids: the Apple iPad Pro and the Google Pixel C.

Microsoft has posted a new TV commercial for the Surface Pro 4. It takes a big shot at Apple's recent ad that claimed the iPad Pro was a computer, stating the Surface Pro 4 has a powerful Intel processor and can run full Office apps.

The iPad Pro commercial is labeled "What's a computer" and tries to claim the tablet, with its optional keyboard combined with its touchscreen and pen, is somehow different that other PCs.The iPad Pro commercial is labeled "What's a computer" and tries to claim the tablet, with its optional keyboard combined with its touchscreen and pen, is somehow different that other PCs.

Where Apple and Android are going to have to convince developers and customers alike that their tablets can be a serious productivity platform, the Surface line has the advantage of Windows' 30-year history and Microsoft's reputation in the workplace.

But Apple and Google are simply attracting more developers, faster. Eventually they'll catch up.The world is changing, and so is the way we use our computers. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are just trying to stSources:d of the curve.

Sources:
https://www.google.com/amp/www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/guid/6F0BBEDA-9C7B-11E6-A942-2E624397FAB1

WHY MICROSOFT IS EATING UP APPLE MARKET SHARE QUICKER THAN EVERYBODY THOUGHT

Remember when buying a Mac meant that you got cutting-edge technology? Nowadays you're overpaying for old, stale ideas wrapped in "thin and light" aluminum shells.But Microsoft has made the PC interesting, relevant, and fun again. It began with Microsoft showing OEMs what a modern system should look like with the release of the Surface and Surface Pro line, then the Surface Studio. And now we have OEMs jumping on board the "Always Connected PC" bandwagon, which may finally bring cellular access to portables in a meaningful way.

Even Windows 10 S, Microsoft's cut-down, streamlined edition of Windows 10 -- a Windows RT reboot -- is an example of Microsoft thinking out of the box, Sure, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but there's nothing wrong with that.But while Apple's billions aren't tied to the success or failure of the Mac, the desktops and portables are still part of the ecosystem, and having devices that support the iPhone and iPad is still important because it keeps people in the ecosystem.

Windows 10 is on a rapid, free-of-charge update cycle, based around the Windows Insider program designed to ensure that Microsoft focuses on features that users actually want, rather than ones they don't want.

And Windows 10 is aggressively pursuing the sort of influential customer who used to be steadfastly in the Apple camp.
It now has a Linux subsystem built right into it, that for this web app developer at least makes Windows my platform of choice for the first time ever.

 If there are no new Macs, people will start to look elsewhere, and that weakens Apple's grip on users.But if Apple has dropped the ball, and can't keep the Mac offering updated, it seems that Microsoft, along with its army of OEMs, is ready to fill the void.

sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-windows-is-beating-apple-2017-3

MICROSOFT IS NOW PAYING YOU TO USE THEIR SEARCH ENGINE BING

Microsoft is now paying  users  search  points for using its Bing search engine. The points can then be transferred to a number of different rewards, including Xbox digital gift cards, Groove Music passes, and Skype credit. Microsoft is also partnering with a number of UK charities so you can donate points to these organizations instead.

How to earn Microsoft Reward points
So how does the point system work? Allow Microsoft to explain: “The more searches you do through Bing, the more points you will earn.

“On Bing, Level 1 members can earn points for up to 10 searches a day and Level 2 members can earn points for up to 50 searches a day (30 PC, 20 mobile). The search limit resets every day, so you can start earning again tomorrow.”

One search on Bing equals three points. You can also earn points by purchasing products through the Windows, Xbox and Microsoft stores, and you’ll get one point for every £1 spent.

If you fancy earning extra points, there will be daily quizzes and challenges on the Microsoft Rewards dashboard - you'll need to sign up first though at

Microsoft Rewards works almost identically in the UK as it does in the US. You’ll get 3 points per Bing search, and this is doubled (until August 15th) if you’re using Microsoft Edge. You can obtain a maximum of 30 points per day (60 points using Edge) through searches, or participate in quizzes to gain more. Microsoft also gives out 1 point for every pound spend at the UK online Microsoft Store.If you manage to hit 500 points in a month, there’s a second level with better rewards and the ability to earn a maximum of 150 points a day.

The entire Microsoft Rewards scheme is designed to get people using Bing. It’s one of a number of ways Microsoft attempts to convince consumers to use its search engine, alongside setting it as default in Microsoft Edge and promoting it throughout Windows 10. Microsoft Rewards is available in the UK today, with a launch in France, Germany, and Canada planned in the coming months.

LINUX IS TOO POWERFUL FOR WINDOWS 10 S, SO MICROSOFT BLOCKED IT

Microsoft said it created Windows 10 S as a way for students and even mainstream users to add a bit more security to their Windows 10 experience. Windows 10 S only runs apps that have been vetted by Microsoft and appear in the Store.

If Windows 10 S will only allow apps that can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store, it can run the new downloadable Linux apps, right? Wrong!
Here's why: Microsoft is actively blocking "command-line" apps that run outside the safe environment of Windows 10 S, Microsoft senior program manager Rich Turner wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

And it's not just Linux. Examples of other low-level apps that won't run under Windows 10 S include the Windows Console, Cmd/PowerShell, or Linux/Bash/WSL instances. Linux does,however.

And in Turner's words, those apps won't run on an operating system "that has been deliberately constrained to prevent just these types of apps and tasks from running!" Though they install just like a traditional Windows 10 UWP app, they behave like command-line tools that run outside the UWP sandbox and the secure runtime infrastructure, Turner wrote. Fortunately, there is a solution: Windows 10 S contains a built-in upgrade path to Windows 10 Pro available for a limited time

The question becomes a bit thornier, though, if Windows 10 S does in fact take off in the classroom. It could be hard to encourage kids to code, and then hack, without giving them access to low-level functions.