Week in Microsoft: Windows 7, Windows Live, Chrome attacks
Let's look back at the week that was in Microsoft news.
90 percent of Windows 7 flaws fixed by removing admin rights: 90 percent of the vulnerabilities in Windows 7 are mitigated by configuring users to operate without administrator rights.
Windows Live Wave 4 Milestone 2 leaked, screenshots galore: Milestone 2 of Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 has leaked. Screenshots and details inside of what we saw.
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Report: Apple purchases another processor design house
Apple's gigantic bankroll may be burning a hole in its pocket. Almost two years after purchasing PowerPC designer P.A. Semi, Apple appears to have snapped up ARM design house Intrinsity. According to a report that first appeared on EDN (via electronista), a number of engineers at the company have indicated that they are now or soon will be employed by Apple. Some of them have even gone as far as to change their LinkedIn profiles, with one reverting it—possibly out of fear of drawing the wrath of his new, secretive employer.
Intrinsity is known for its expertise with ARM processors such as the one used in the iPad. The design house has always been fairly quiet about its client list, so it's quite possible that Intrinsity contributed as much, if not more to the A4 ARM processor that powers the iPad than did P.A. Semi. Intrinsity has done work on customized Cortex A8 processors for the likes of Samsung, so the company's expertise in the area would be extremely attractive to Apple.
If the sudden disappearance of Intrinsity's web site is truly an indication that Apple has made another purchase, it's a clear sign that Cupertino has really big plans for ARM and doesn't see a future for x86 outside of its desktops and laptops. In addition to powering iPads and iPhones, it's possible that we could see Apple-created ARM chips in other consumer devices—even HDTVs—if Apple wants to try and stake out more consumer electronics turf.
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FCC photos reveal iPad internals, sculpted aluminum case
The Federal Communications Commission beat iFixit to the punch in publishing the first iPad take-apart photos, although the Commission did have an unfair advantage since it got pre-launch access to the device for its usual RF testing. The photos do give a first look at the iPad's laser sculpted aluminum casing as well as a little detail about how the hardware is put together.
What's not surprising is that most of the internal volume us taken up by two large Li-Ion batteries. The logic board is tiny and appears to be not much bigger than an iPhone. All of the internal components are jammed in there good and tight, as one might imagine. But what's most surprising is that there is actually a good amount of empty space inside.
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Lego Harry Potter: 140 characters, 20 spells, infinite fun
You can tell someone cares about their games when they get excited about a small detail. "Check this out," Jonathan Smith, the head of production at TT Games, said, showing off one of the 140 playable characters in Lego Harry Potter. It was a dog, and his ears moved up and down when he jumped. Smith was inordinately proud of the detail, and showed some more of the character's very dog-like animations. "Fang is the best," he gushed.
Fang is, of course, Hagrid's dog. The world of Lego and Harry Potter work very well together, and since we already know this story and these scenes, the developers are free to pervert our preconceptions. The sense of discovery and humor soaks the game, and each scene is filled with multiple nods to the films.
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Windows 7 surpasses 10% market share
Last month, Windows 7 crossed into double-digit market share numbers. Microsoft disclosed that it sold more than 60 million copies of Windows 7 by the end of 2009, and now we know this very quick growth has continued through the first quarter of 2010.
On the whole, between February and March 2010, Windows dropped a sizeable 0.54 percentage points (from 92.12 percent to 91.58 percent). More specifically, Windows XP dropped 1.03 percentage points (from 65.49 percent to 64.46 percent), Windows Vista dipped 0.50 percentage points (from 16.51 percent to 16.01 percent), and Windows 7 jumped 1.31 percentage points (from 8.92 percentage points to 10.23 percent).
At Ars, our readers have embraced Microsoft's latest operating system much faster. Windows users accounted for 65.01 percent of our visitors last month. Of those, 31.23 percent use Windows XP, 10.85 percent Vista, and 21.85 percent Windows 7. One in 10 users on the Internet are using Windows 7, compared to one in five on Ars.
Even if Windows is slowly losing share, Windows 7 is doing phenomenally well. Above, you can see how quickly the OS has been gaining share in its first few months compared to Windows Vista's first few months. In the two quarters after their respective releases, Windows 7 grabbed 10.23 percent while Windows Vista only managed only 4.54 percent of the market.
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Poll Technica: To iPad, or not to iPad, that is the question
So Apple has this "magical" mobile computing device called the iPad that is launching this Saturday. Some are heralding it as a revolution in computing, the savior of publishing, the computer your mom would finally be comfortable using. Others are not so impressed with the device or Apple's hype.
Sure, the device is more portable than a standard notebook. Apps can give the device any number of capabilities for work and play. And its standards-loving browser and multimedia capabilities make it a great device for consuming almost every sort of media: books, magazines, music, movies, TV, websites, etc. Many of us are excited by some of the apps. But we are wondering what is the most compelling reason that iPad buyers are taking the plunge.
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Top broadcast journalism prize goes to... a website?
When most folks think about George Foster Peabody awards for distinguished broadcast journalism, famous recipients like Edward R. Murrow or the Frontline TV series come to mind. Certainly the vast majority of Peabody picks are either people or programs. But the latest winners, announced on Wednesday, include a website: National Public Radio's "topically boundless counterpart," as Peabody calls it. Everybody else knows the site as npr.org.
"A whole lot of things considered, from 'South Park' to North Korea, make this one of the great one-stop websites," Peabody adds. Needless to say, the suits over at the service are tickled pink by this prize.
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Top 6 iPad apps the Ars staff is dying to try out
On this iPad eve, the most constant flow (or is that a waterfall?) of news is not about the iPad itself, but third-party iPad apps. It feels like the entire world is making announcements about their apps ahead of the first iPad launch, and many of us feel buried under the sheer volume of announcements.
We here at the Ars Orbiting HQ are no exception—how do you even begin to sift through the mountain of iPad apps already available? We tried, and came up with a list of the top six iPad apps that those of us on staff are looking forward to checking out come iPad day. Without further ado...
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