Business

The official launch of the Windows 8 operating system (OS) is just a few weeks away. However, given early adoption numbers for the OS, Microsoft may be in for a major disappointment. According to industry research firm Net Applications, in September ... 2012 only 0.33 per cent of computers running Windows (or about one Windows computer in 300) were using Windows 8. Initially, this may not appear to be a significant statistic. After all, Windows 8 won't be released to the wider public until October 26. Windows 8 Early Adoption Rate Hardly Impressive However, it is currently available in Release to ... (view more)

Tech analysts are questioning whether the new Windows Store will have enough software available when Windows 8 launches later this month. It could make it difficult to build momentum for such a big change in the way software is distributed. Windows ... 8 will introduce people to a new way to acquire and install software. Until now Windows users acquired software from developers and used an installation tool provided to them by that developer. Microsoft thinks there are a couple of problems with this process. Firstly, software developers don't always follow Microsoft's preferences for the ... (view more)

One of the major attractions of the new iPhone 5 is its brand new mobile operating system (OS): iOS 6. However, it appears when it developed the new OS Apple may have forgotten about users of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Users of those devices are ... insisting their iPhone's battery drains very quickly after upgrading from iOS 5. It remains unclear what is causing the excessive battery drainage. Early reports had pointed to Apple's new and much-maligned mapping service. However, iPhone 4 and 4S users who haven't even installed that application now report having the same battery problems as users ... (view more)

Microsoft is hoping that consumers are excited enough about Windows 8 to turn their backs on Windows 7, which has received critical acclaim in the three years it has been on the market. That may be a tough act to follow. However, the company's ... founder thinks Windows 8's October 26, 2012 launch is a big deal. In a recent interview with The Associated Press (AP), Bill Gates said he considers Windows 8 "a very exciting new product" and "a very big deal for Microsoft." Gates "Very Pleased" with Windows 8 Gates also gave the new operating system (OS) his stamp of approval, telling AP ... (view more)

According to a new report, over the past three years Microsoft has used a series of complex financial maneuvers to avoid paying billions of dollars in U.S. taxes. The report is part of a United States Senate investigation. A Senate committee memo ... indicates that Microsoft made transactions with subsidiary firms in other countries -- including Puerto Rico, Singapore, Bermuda, and even Ireland -- to save more than $6 billion it would otherwise have owed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Corporate Tax Tricks "Exact a Tremendous Cost" The memo also indicates that major PC maker ... (view more)

Google's top executive in Brazil has been released pending a court date. Fabio Jose Silva Coelhoto was arrested because the company defied a court order to take down YouTube videos some say slander a mayoral candidate. The video clips reportedly ... suggest that a candidate in the city of Campo Grande has committed crimes. It's not clear at this point whether there is any truth to the allegations. However, local court actions suggests there is not. Judge Flavio Peren ruled last week that the videos breached Brazilian election law and must be removed. Peren also ruled that YouTube access should be ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced it will allow people who buy computers running its new Windows 8 Pro operating system (OS) to downgrade their PCs to Windows 7 or Windows Vista. However, the firm will not allow a downgrade to Windows XP. Downgrade rights ... allow consumers, at no charge, to dismiss a newer version of Windows in favor of an older edition. The wording is clear. "Instead of using the Windows 8 Pro software, you may use one of the following earlier versions: Windows 7 Professional or Windows Vista Business," the Windows 8 Pro licensing agreement reads. (Source: computerworld.com ) However, ... (view more)

China's Foxconn facility, which produces Apple devices like the iPhone, was recently shut down after 5,000 Chinese police were dispatched to break up a massive melee involving 2,000 factory workers. About forty people were reportedly taken to ... hospital for treatment following the incident. Foxconn may be the world's most controversial manufacturing plant. With 79,000 employees producing a wide range of popular electronic gadgets, it's an absolutely massive facility. Workers Complain of Poor Pay, Long Hours However, Foxconn has faced great change in recent months. First, employees caught media ... (view more)

Microsoft has unveiled its new Sculpt Comfort Keyboard and Sculpt Mobile Keyboard, both of which feature unique ergonomically curved designs. Both keyboards also improve on previous models in several ways, and are designed specifically to be ... compatible with the software giant's new Windows 8 operating system (OS), due out in late October, 2012. Good News: "Pinky Reach" Prevented The Sculpt Comfort Keyboard is an improvement on Microsoft's old Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000. The company has added a number of Windows 8 hotkeys to the design, and has made the space bar wider and split ... (view more)

Apple iPhone, iPod, and iPad users are complaining loudly that the combined software upgrade and elimination of Google Maps has resulted in Apple's new mapping service yielding some odd location-based search results. The problem affects anyone who ... has upgraded to iOS 6, the latest version of Apple's operating system (OS). The new OS for later editions of the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad was released just before the debut of the company's iPhone 5. Apple Cuts Google Maps with Software Upgrade Until recently, Apple used Google's mapping services on its devices. Now it has decided to drop that ... (view more)