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Analysis: Gartner says 1 billion PCs in use today, 2B by 2014

We already have one billion PCs in use today according to many estimates (including Forrester’s forecast last summer of one billion PCs in use by the end of 2008).  The numbers are ahead of schedule, given that Microsoft predicted 1 billion Windows PCs by 2010 back in July of 2004.

Now, the news today stems from an interesting article via Gartner, predicting two billion PCs in use by 2014. a full year earlier than Forrester’s forecast of when we’ll hit the two billion served mark.

What will the average PC of 2014 look like?

Back in 2003 I presented at a conference and suggested that the PC of 2008 would be a multi-processor, 8GB machine with a 200GB HDD, DVD-multi optical and integrated web cam and telephony for under a grand (US$).  I’d be willing to guess that by the time our eldest makes it into senior high school, he’ll be taking a light and sleek slimline, multicore notebook with slot-loading DVD, wide screen display, 16GB or memory and a 256GB SSD drive… all for under $1,000.

But… his main device will be a phone.

 

Tags: Windows, Windows 7, Microsoft, Windows Vista, Gartner.

Also available via http://bit.ly/yO9sQA and https://t.co/etO8utIo

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Bill Veghte posts “An Update on the Windows Roadmap”

Today, Bill Veghte (SVP in the Online Services and Windows BG) posts a letter discussing Windows XP, more info on Windows Vista, and the future leading to Windows 7.

imageUpon visiting the Windows page on Microsoft.com this afternoon, I was prompted to open the following letter from Bill Veghte, Senior Vice President of the Online Services & Windows Business Group.  

Bill’s letter provides more information on the continued support and availability of Windows XP, with more facts on Windows Vista, and the future leading to Windows 7. Given the number of questions I get on both topics, I thought it would be good to post a couple of excerpts here and a few thoughts as well.  Bill says…

“Your experience and satisfaction are Microsoft’s top priorities. I wanted to take this opportunity to share some thoughts about Windows and to answer some questions you may have about Windows XP and Windows Vista.

“There are three things I want to give you an update on:

  1. Our plans for Windows XP

  2. Our progress with Windows Vista

  3. Our view on Windows 7″

In talking about the future of Windows XP, Bill covers what exactly the “end of sales” date (June 30, 2008) for Windows XP means, calling out that (as I mentioned here previously  on the facts about the future of Windows XP)…

  • Yes, Windows XP will continue to be supported, given we recently released Service Pack 3, and “we will continue to provide security updates and other critical updates for Windows XP until April, 2014.”
  • And yes, customers will be able to buy PCs with Windows XP after June 30. “We will stop selling Windows XP as a retail packaged product and stop licensing it directly to major PC manufacturers. But customers who still need Windows XP will be able to get it [via]…
    • “Downgrade rights” from Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate to Windows XP Professional. 
    • a new, low-end personal computer available with Windows XP, [and via] System Builders [and] major OEMs have the option to “continue to purchase Windows XP through Authorized Distributors through January 31, 2009.”

But chance are that you already knew that. 😉

What you may not have know of some of the details behind the progress with Windows Vista.

On security improvements…

“During 2007, Windows Vista had half the number of critical vulnerabilities as Windows XP Service Pack 2 did during the same time period. PCs running Windows Vista were 60 percent less likely to be infected by malware than those running Windows XP Service Pack 2. The phishing filter in Internet Explorer 7—which is included with Windows Vista—stops about 1 million phishing attempts every week.”

On Compatibility

“Today Windows Vista supports about 77,000 components and devices, which is more than twice as many as we supported at launch… [and] 98 of the top 100 applications for Windows sold at retail in US in the last year…

“But what about gaming?”

Yes, what about gaming?

“We are happy to report we now have Application Compatibility Updates for more than 125 popular PC games to enable them to work on Windows Vista. These updates are installed automatically using Windows Update.”

My kids can attest to this: their four-year old PC running Windows Vista Home Premium runs just about every game they have… including (as of Christmas 2007) Toontown. (If you want to see what runs and what has issues, run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.) 

And of course: improvements with Service Pack 1

“For example, Windows Vista SP1 copies files up to 50 percent more quickly, improves the time it takes to decompress contents of a large folder by as much as 71 percent, and provides diagnostic system enhancements that make Windows Vista easier for IT organizations to support.”

As I noted on my post Windows Vista RC1 brings improved performance…, the release candidate (RC) of SP1 performed quite well on old notebook PCs, with far less time to recover from Hibernate (20 seconds), and less than five seconds from Sleep.  Since moving all machines to Vista SP1, we’ve seen improvements on a couple of areas, particularly when I removed some of the additional software pre installed by the OEM — that alone reduced my start up time dramatically on my main home PC. 

I found that a clean install on the kids’ playroom PC cut boot time to what appears to be half of what it was on XP.  (Kids are an impatient bunch, and some of the harshest critics you’ll encounter when it comes to computer performance issues.)  This level of improvement is noted in Bill’s letter as well, calling out that “One major OEM we worked with reduced system boot times by almost half, and system resume time from 15 seconds to 2 seconds.”

You can view the letter in the entirety at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/letter.html for more details.

For more information about Windows Vista, please visit this page on Windows Vista.  And for more on Windows XP availability and support, please visit this page on the future of Windows XP.

Tags: Windows, Windows 7, Microsoft, Windows Vista, Bill Veghte.

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Of interest: More money for Windows advertising and image

Last week, Mary Jo Foley posted an article on how Microsoft earmarks another $200 million for Windows advertising…

According to a June 20 Fortune Magazine article, Microsoft has earmarked “an additional $200 million for Windows advertising this year, even though in nonlaunch years thre is typically no budget increase at all.” It sounds as though this is in addition to the $300 million Microsoft already has agreed to spend with Crispin Porter + Bogusky to improve the company’s overall image and brand.

Fortune explains Microsoft’s image makeover plan, codenamed “FTP168” (with FTP being “Free the People”):

“A year ago Ballmer okayed the effort, led by Bill Veghte, who is responsible for both Windows and search. He partnered with marketing boss Mich Mathews, then the two recruited an all-star team from across the company – the best experts at branding, packaging, online advertising, and other specialties…. The aim of the campaign will be to talk about things you can do with your PC that you could never do before.”

Interesting to note the reference to this as “Microsoft’s image makeover plan…” Well, now that ABC’s Extreme Makeover has ended its run, here’s another “makeover” you can watch from the comfort of your PC. 😉

Tags: Windows, Windows 7, Microsoft, FTP168, Mary Jo Foley.

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Your questions: “How do I make Internet Explorer my default web browser?”

As I work in the Windows division, a letter made its way to my office: a customer mail sent to one of our senior leaders that asked…

“How do I set up Internet Explorer to be my default web browser?”

Simple question you may say, but unfortunately in this case, the customer noted that they were unable to find the information on our web sites or using online help.  So, after first apologizing for the difficulty the customer had in locating the information, I then provided the following steps on how to configure your PC to use Internet Explorer your default web browser. 

The following Microsoft Knowledge Base Article answers the question: How to Make Internet Explorer the Default Web Browser (kb 284456, as located through Live Search).

For Internet Explorer 3.x, 4.x, 5.x…

  1. Open Control Panel and double-click Internet Options.
  2. Click the Programs tab.
  3. Click to select the Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser check box.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Start Internet Explorer and when you are prompted to make it the default browser, click Yes.

imageFor IE 6 and IE7, you may also use the following steps…

  1. Launch “Internet Explorer”.
  2. If a message is displayed asking if you want Internet Explorer to be your default browser, click “Yes”. That’s all you need to do.
    If a message does not appear, go to the next step.
  3. Click the “Tools” button, and then click “Internet Options”.
  4. Click the “Programs” tab, and then click “Make default”.
  5. Click “OK”, and then close Internet Explorer.  Internet Explorer is now the default web browser.

For future, immediate self help, you can often find answers using the Live Search site at http://search.live.com/, http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/cu_inventory, or visit the main Microsoft Support page at http://support.microsoft.com/.  In the US, customers may also use one of the free customer support features such as real-time chat at http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/cu_sc_more_master#tab1.

Microsoft is absolutely focused on delivering the best customer experience.  We’ll always have more work to do, but we’re confident about delivering the best set of experiences for our customers and partners now and in the future.  It’s so important for us to hear from customers using our products, so please send us feedback on what we’re doing well and areas for improvement.

Tags: Microsoft, customer support, feedback, customer service, IE7, Internet Explorer.

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A USB smart drive is more than just a memory fob… especially when it saves my (email) bacon

Sometimes a backup isn’t a backup, especially when the file recovery fails.  So it’s nice to have a trick in your back pocket, literally when it comes on a small, USB smart drive.

Sandisk CruzerAs anyone who is an IT Pro or sysadmin for their family and friends, you know how frustrating it can be when you have to manage multiple PCs at home… and even more frustrating when you have trouble recovering a previous backup.  So it’s great when you find a small Swiss Army knife of sorts when it comes to making the process easier: in this case, it’s Sandisk’s CruzerSync software on the Cruzer drive.

Yesterday I noted that I completed a clean install of Windows Vista SP1 on to one of our notebooks at home, my wife’s old Dell Inspiron 600m.  Installing Vista was the easy part. The challenge came when the last back up of her mail was corrupted and I found myself without her most recent mail.  Sensing a potentially difficult weekend in store should I be unable to provide nearly a month’s worth of mail, I started on a recovery process that took me through various Outlook mailbox repairs (with a stint through using the Outlook Inbox Repair tool). 

That’s when I recalled that in addition to a new installed Windows Home Server (to which I was just about to add the Dell), I recalled that I also had recently backed up some of the files to a little Sandisk thumb drive, and had also had the presence of mind to try out the bundled synchronization software.

In short, the CruzerSync software saved my migrating email bacon.

We have a couple of SanDisk Cruzer Micro smart drives at home after I started using them at work. The Cruzer comes with a number of preinstalled applications (with more available for download), including CruzerSync from Dmailer.  This small app allows owners to to simply backup and restore files on personal files on the computer as well as Outlook data.  It’s part of the Sandisk U3 technology on the Cruzer USB drives.  From the Sandisk page…

"You can use U3 smart drives like a standard USB drive for copying and transferring files and documents. You can ‘drag and drop’ files from My Computer or Windows Explorer as before. But if you want to enjoy true mobility and Programs on the Go then you will find U3 as the ideal solution for carrying your complete personal workspace wherever you go."

U3 is an open-standard platform developed by SanDisk and M-Systems (and ultimately acquired by Sandisk).  (As noted in this SanDisk PR last year, Microsoft announced a business relationship with SanDisk to develop new hardware capabilities, including TrustedFlash security technology.)  In short, U3 allows customers to bring their applications along on smart drives and use them on a Windows-powered computer (as long as it has a USB port).

Back to my experience.

After doing a drag copy of files from the Inspiron to the smart drive before starting the clean install, I used the desktop-available CruzerSync to quickly synchronized all files on the computer.  After attempting a mail recovery from a previous backup that ended in failure, I remembered that I had backed up the Outlook data (and everything else, for that matter) using the CruzerSync software earlier in the week… and with a couple of clicks, I selectively re-installed just the Outlook mail data and contacts. 

Email saved. 😉

With CruzerSync, the added benefit is that once backed up, you can access your Outlook data on the smart drive from any Windows powered computer, even if Outlook isn’t installed on the computer.  I haven’t tried it yet, but the software allows you to access files and Outlook data, and according to the dmailer site, "send and receive emails with or without attachments, add a meeting in your calendar, change a contact, display your notes and tasks, edit a World or Excel document and even access to your Internet favorites."

Pretty cool.

Now, I’m off to install the Windows Home Server software on the notebook.

(A note that this is a personal endorsement: I’m a happy Sandisk customer and buy my drives like everyone else. 😉

More info on CruzerSync is available here.

Tags: Microsoft, Cruzer, Sandisk, CruzerSync, backup, utilities.