TAG | Windows 7
At the beginning of 2010, let’s review what great events happened in the software industry in 2009, so that we can keep to the developing thread in 2009 to predict the development in 2010.
Oracle Bought Sun
On April 20 2009, Oracle bought Sun at about $7.4 billion. This was a heavyweight enterprise merger case in the global IT industry of 2009.
Now, this event is still in development and there are continual trace and observation for this news event. Although the American authority has approved this merger case which was expected to be finished in August 2009, this merger is still blocked in the EU.
The main worry the EU has with this case is from the open source database software MySQL which will be acquired together with Sun by Oracle. The open source community is worried about Oracle will affect the development of MySQL after Oracle owns MySQL in the future and impair the competition in database software market.
Although this event happened in 2009, its real impact on the IT industry I’m afraid will begin in 2010. As the result of this merger case clearer in 2010, it will be a great IT event that deserve much attention in 2010.
Some reading for you:
Oracle Acquisition of Sun Makes Perfect Sense
What does the Oracle-Sun News Mean for Enterprise CTOs?
Oracle Sun: Good News, Bad News for Google and Microsoft
Microsoft’s Search Made a Leap Forward
On June 4 2009, Microsoft’s search engine Bing was launched.
In 2009, Microsoft invested much in search engine market embodied in:
1. Launching the search engine Bing
2. Signing the search ads cooperative agreement with Yahoo
The two pieces of news looks like unrelated but in fact both served for Microsoft’s search business.
Bing is a great substitute in the field of search engine core and the ads cooperation with Yahoo is to promote the market share and ads revenue of Bing, which are two strategies prepared for each other.
Indeed, Microsoft’s Bing deserves Google’s fear. Firstly, the performance of Bing is not bad compared with Google; even some innovated features of Bing like image search also worth Google’s tension judging from our observation in the past half year. Secondly, it was showed in a market investigation report that after Bing was launched, Yahoo got converging attack from Google and Bing though Google’s market share was not affected, so Yahoo had to cooperate with Microsoft for the long run.
Some reading for you:
Microsoft Search Marketing Vs Google Search Marketing
It’s Official: Microsoft and Yahoo! Finally Strike Search Deal
Which IT Projects Are Right for the Cloud
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing could be regarded as the most loudly slogan in 2009. As the march of time and the development of IT, there are more content to talk about for cloud, but in terms of the basic concept, I really can not find any difference it has from the ASP (Application Service Provider) in ten years ago and the Web services popular a few years ago.
Perhaps, cloud computing is just a buzzword of IT industry and there will be other slogans as time passes by just like the Web 2.0 in a few years ago which is not talked about now but the content which referred to at that time is still evolving.
No matter the past Web 2.0 or the current cloud computing, after trace to the source, what we need to understand are theses questions: What changes does the Internet bring to the personal consumer and the enterprise? How many daily things will we do on Internet (including mobile Internet) in the future? How will the paradigm of IT change from the PC terminal to the Internet? We had these questions when the Internet came in more than a decade ago and so are us now and in the future no matter what the popular slogan is.
Some reading for you:
Smaller firms take a shine to cloud computing
Which IT Projects Are Right for the Cloud
Google Revealed Chrome OS
In November 2009, Google revealed Chrome OS and will directly confront Microsoft in 2010.
It was definite a great event for the global IT industry that Google released Chrome OS, since it is widely believed that besides Apple, Google is the most capable company in the world to compete with Microsoft, especially in software field.
Certainly, it has brought big anticipation for the IT industry that Google is entering the PC OS market, so there have been constant analyses and rumors for Google. It is reported that the Chrome OS netbook would come into the market in the middle of 2010. However, I would like to forecast that Chrome OS is incapable to compete with Microsoft in terms of a short time for I’m afraid the real product challenge will just begin in 2010 and we should consider the influence of Chrome OS in the long run.
Some reading for you：
What the Hell’s Google Chrome OS
Will Chrome Netbooks Really Be Competitive?
Windows 7 Was Launched
In October 2009, Windows was launched with the help of hundred computer manufacturers.
Two years after the launch of Windows Vista which has been fed up with criticisms, users finally got a decent new choice. From the subsequent report and investigation data, we know Windows 7 do get more popularity than Vista, but there were critics who deemed the good of Win 7 not really very good but just built on the lousy Vista.
According to what Microsoft and PC manufacturers said, the native support for multi-touch of windows 7 will bring innovation for the PC design and application. In 2010 the year for Windows 7 to get into market mainstream, let’s watch to see whether Windows 7 will really be the motivity of the industry innovation.
Some reading for you:
Microsoft Pushes Tablet PCs Windows 7 at CES But Not Mobile
62 Windows 7 Tips, Tricks and Secrets
Great change in Wall Street, ruin of Dubai Myth…–an economic crisis in 2009 had a big impact on all industries and “boost consumption” became the words most talked about in coping with the economic downturn. The IT industry had to lay off employees to cope with the depressed market. Meanwhile, the operating system manufacturers were busy with their products to create new features in a new look to fight in the fatigued market. Thus we saw Windows 7 and Google Chrome OS come into the market with lofty tone and mobile system of 3G age reform and so on. All of these brought numerous aftertastes and questions to us at the end of 2009.
Windows 7 – A Life Saving-Straw of Microsoft
In October 2009, Windows 7 was officially sold all over the world which meant the reclusion of its predecessor Windows Vista which was undoubtedly a failure like the earlier Windows Me system. Microsoft obviously doesn’t want to be entangled with Vista that was doomed to be a hurried passer, so it spared no effort to promote Windows 7 in the hope of retrieving the declining tendency.
Compared with Windows Vista, Windows 7 was made with great improvements in system compatibility, lowering requirement for hardware configuration and so on to redeem the faults of Vista. What’s more, Microsoft has strengthened the marketing promotion so we could even see Win 7 in home appliances chain stores. In fact, after experiencing the failure of Vista, Microsoft found a good way. Windows 7 has drawn on the excellences of XP and other operating systems and deleted some verbose procedures in Vista.
However, facing the ceaseless new challenges from its competitors like Google Chrome OS, will Windows 7 be the life saving-straw of Microsoft in 2010? Now we can learn the satisfactory sale volume of Win 7 and the wide acceptance by users. Obviously, we can be optimistic with the performance of Windows 7 in home use, but whether it will be successful in enterprise use market remains in doubt.
“Butterfly Effect” Performed by Google Chrome OS
Google officially revealed long rumored Chrome OS and released the source code of Chrome OS in November 2009. For a long time, IT news was around Chrome OS, which indicated Google had a new arm to fight with Microsoft. From previous online office apps to current Chrome OS, Google shows its ambition everywhere.
Based on Linux and Being Open Source, Chrome OS has three developing points that are (performance) speed, (operation) simplicity and (system) security with all programs network-based. As a whole, Chrome OS is the concept of “cloud” operating system with just a browser to run. We can see Chrome OS be intended to avoid the traditional desktop PC field of Windows operating system and then win a share in the operating system of netbooks and smart phones in the future.
Will Google Chrome OS which is based on Linux be the next one of Linux to have tepid fate? Facing the yet wispy “cloud” application of desktop system, how much cordial feeling will users have with Chrome OS? Maybe we shouldn’t ask like this. It seems to be a generally acknowledged truth that Google is the one of most excellent network companies with best searching engine. Anything this company does centers around advertisement business. It spent great efforts to develop the same type products or innovated products, all of which was to ensure it wouldn’t be pushed out from any market so as to firm its core search and advertisement business. Therefore, it’s easy for us to find the products of Google such as Chrome OS and Google Docs are intended to convert users to network. Will Google Chrome OS play a good butterfly effect? We wait for the answer in 2010.
High Speed – Highlight of Mac OS X 10.6
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard was launched in August 2009, earlier than Windows 7 and Google Chrome OS. Although this system has artistic and gorgeous appearance, it actually doesn’t have numerous new features to attract us to upgrade to it, while it indeed has a feature appreciated by all: high speed.
Without special new features, what Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard brought are many small improvements, including built-in support for Microsoft Exchange, turning to Intel CPU from PowerPC CPU and the greatest highlight: high speed. Someone calls Mac OS X 10.6 as the copy of Windows 7 since both systems spent much in interfaces and details. But the strategy of Mac OS X 10.6 was successful with well known artistic and gorgeous interface. What’s more, the home edition of Mac OS X 10.6 costs only $49 and it has many similar features to Windows 7, which turn a part of the users’ attention to low-cost Snow Leopard from Windows 7.
With equal elegant desktop design and many similar features to Windows 7, it was the best strategy for Mac OS X 10.6 to highlight the speed with its many new improvements drawn from Windows Vista. The running speed of system was improved based on meeting users’ habit, which made Mac OS X 10.6 get more public praise. Besides, for users who are used to Mac OS, Snow Leopard at least let them see Apple striving for better user experience. Of course, price is the important charm of Snow Leopard.
A Habitat for Linux in Netbook
Netbook, a word created by Intel in Spring IDF Exhibition of 2008, was fashionable in the PC market of 2009 after a short market demonstration. The IT industry compared the netbook to “retrogressive innovation”. It was this little world built up by an Aton CPU and a small screen that aroused users’ consideration of balance between “want” and “need” and finally they chose “need”. Thus, it initiated a market battle among operating systems in netbook systems.
Early this year before Windows 7 was officially released, it was shown by an investigation that more than 85% netbooks run Windows XP. While what we may really need is not an all-round operating system like Windows but an operating system that is more suitable for mobile terminal and brings more excellent surfing experience as the gradual upgrade of netbook application and in view of the “second notebook” location of netbook. Therefore the netbook provides a big market space for Linux.
In fact, the industry has pushed out innumerable operating systems for netbooks. From Ubuntu Linux to Intel Moblin, all of the systems can let us daily surf online and do word processing work. The application tendency of Non-Windows systems in netbooks is self-evident with legerity design to finish starting up or shutting down in a few seconds. By virtue of Live CD feature of Linux, we can even run this system through USB flash drive or SD card without installing it. Although Linux system is not popular in ordinary users and Windows 7 is infiltrating into netbooks, the features of ingenuity and open source of Linux was bound to find a habitat in netbooks in 2009.
Bustling Mobile Operating Systems in 3G Age
The development and change of smart phones are very fast. No one would know Apple’s iPhone could become so popular today; no one would think of being so convenient with 3G today. The colorful network application of 3G age needs such carriers as smart phones and netbooks to come true. In 2009, the 3G mobile operating system field was already swarmed with old brand systems such as Microsoft’s WindowsMobile, Apple’s Mac, Nokia’s Symbian, but there were still emerging Google’s Android and China Mobile’s OMS, which made the mobile operating system market out of recognition.
Apple’s iPhone was such a hot seller and so was Blackcherry in 2009. However, the relatively close condition for hardware and software of iPhone and Blackcherry caused their exclusive operating systems appealed to just a small crowd. What we saw mainly was the contest between Linux-based Google Android and Microsoft WindowsMobile, the common feature of which was to contend for markets through vast mobile manufacturers adopting their operating systems. Eventually, in mobile operating system field of 2009, we saw Windows prevail in the contest.
It’s easy to understand this result. The essential of mobile operating system application is to extend various internetwork applications to the smart phone. For example, the key point of Google Android certainly is mobile search, while Windows system is better in implanting the PC terminal applications such as MSN, search, email, and chat in the mobile. Currently, what do we do most with mobile network application? The answers are chat, search and collecting & sending email. Considering the current most frequent applications of mobile network, we can find the advantage of the series of Windows operating systems. By contrast, Google can only popularize its search service through Android and thus the application scope of Android is not broad.
What Will We Use in 2010?
It is an indisputable fact that demand induces development and the development of operating system is also the development of computers in a sense. As a standard suit of package software, the operating system must meet the demand of multiple users as far as possible, so the operating system constantly dilates, its features constantly increase, the application environment constantly extends and grow up a platform environment from developing tools to system tools to application software. This is well embodied in Linux system.
In 2010, on which operating systems will we see development and change? 3G network and cloud concept that are two catalysts will presumably be more apparently embodied in operating system in the future after they experienced healthy development in 2009. It is believed that the well-known operating systems such as Windows, Mac and Linux will roll out more branch versions of which Google Chrome OS is a good example.
Certainly, some curious imaginations might occur to us at the end of 2009. Will Windows 7 completely replace Windows XP in 2010? Will Linux engage more attention with the help of 3G wave? Will Mac OS X become the new land for hacker attack? We look forward to the answers in 2010…
I have recently changed to use Windows 7 from Windows XP and found some apps lose its value in Win 7. Then I sorted out some apps that I must use no matter in Win XP or Win 7 and thus they are regarded as the must-have apps in my daily life. Hope they will be also useful for you.
1、Firefox
Firefox is my favorite browser among the browsers I have ever used. Although the speed of Google Chrome is much quicker, I won’t switch to use it since it doesn’t have so many plugins and extensions as Firefox. Why to use Firefox? In a word here, you can browse webpage more efficient with it.
Relevant resources:
· Firefox extensions & add-ons recommended
· Top 10 Firefox greasemonkey script
2、Notepad++
Notepad++ is an application similar to Windows Notepad but it is much more powerful with support for tab, word count, closing tab by double click, line number mark, Macro and batch replacement.
It can identify most programming languages, distinguish different codes in different colors and fold the subfunctions for you to look over the program structure conveniently.
3、Fence
Fence can divide your desktop into different parts and you can allocate icons to different parts. The following is the screenshot of my present desktop:
The two black and semitransparent parts on the upper right are created by Fence.
One main reason for me to use Fence is I want to put the icons on the right (not by manually dragging) and Fence lets me realize it indirectly.
4、ClipX
I like ClipX very much, for Windows clipboard can only store the last copy which is inconvenient, while ClipX is the software allowing you to store the copies of recent many times in the clipboard and the copies won’t vanish after you turn off the computer. ClipX also supports operations with Unicode and shortcut keys. One feature of ClipX I like best is I can see the images in the clipboard list which is very convenient for me to choose the item to use.
5、Process Explorer
This is an enhanced edition of official Process Explorer of Microsoft. Besides providing rich data, it also provides process contents in tree form. The two features of it I like best are:
1) Users can look up the process of a certain window by dragging and dropping the icon of the Process Explorer 
to the window.
2) Different states of processes are distinguished in different colors.
6、7zip
7zip is the best free substitute of commercial software WinRAR for compression or decompression. It not only supports the 7z format of itself but also supports almost all compressing formats including WinRAR’s exclusive format rar.
The icon of 7zip official version is a bit ugly and you can search for its beautifying version to install.
7、Launchy
Launchy is the software for you to open a program quickly by a shortcut key. After installing Launchy, click Alt+Space (or you can customize it as other shortcut keys) to call out it, then input a segment of a program and you can find the program immediately through Launchy, which largely improves the operating efficiency.
Apart from quickly opening the program, Launchy also supports shortcut search. Input the keyword in Launchy and then click Enter and the system will open the browser to search this keyword.
8、NetSetMan
NetSetMan is for rapidly switching the Network Parameters. You can preset the frequently used IP, Gateway and DNS into NetSetMan and when you need to change the parameter, you can choose the designated tab and enable it. If you need to often switch DNS, NetSetMan is good for you.
9、Everything
Everything is a powerful app for file search with not only high indexing speed but also high searching speed. Also it provides support for regular expression. Meanwhile, its index database is very small. With it, you absolutely don’t need to use the self-containing search tool of Windows.
It’s a pity that Everthing only supports NTFS file system and can only search filename but this is enough for general search. If you want more powerful local search you can try Google Desktop. However, the database of Google Desktop for desktop search may surpass 1G at any time, while the maximum database of Everything is only more than 10MB.
