Posted 10/16/08 at 06:24:30 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer touched upon virtually all the major issues concerning MS – from Windows 7 to Yahoo - at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo in Orlando. Unsurprisingly, he was confronted by many questions regarding Vista and Windows 7.He ardently defended Windows Vista. “The adoption rate of Vista is two times faster than XP at two years in,” Ballmer said in Vista’s defense.

However, he tacitly gave the thumbs up to enterprises that have abandoned all plans of upgrading to Vista and are already waiting for Windows 7.  Regarding the possibility of a deal with Yahoo, he said that a deal would make sense for the shareholders of both the companies. The price of Yahoo’s shares shot up by 17% after Ballmer’s comment.

Ballmer believes that Google Apps has “very primitive” capabilities. He further derided Google Apps by not even acknowledging it as serious competition.

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vista, windows, Yahoo, deal, steve ballmer, stockholders, gartner, enterprises, google apps, gartner ITxpo, share

Posted 08/19/08 at 03:20:22 PM by Paul Lilly

With Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba, Acer, MSI, and everyone else offering mini-notebooks, it might be easier to list which companies aren't jumping on the netbook bandwagon than vice versa. But is the recent hype surrounding ultraportables just a passing fad, or is it here to stay?

If it is a passing fad, research firm Gartner says to expect the craze to stick around for at least a little while. The firm reports that worldwide mini-notebook shipments are on pace to reach 5.2 million units in 2008, with 8 million expected to ship in 2009. However, by 2012, Gartner says the market could balloon to nearly 10 times the size it is today with the potential to see as many as 50 millin units sold.

"The demand for mini-notebooks will be driven by several factors: by their small form factor and small screen, their light weight, their price, their ease of use and their basic, but sufficient, PC functionality," said Annette Jump, research director at Gartner. "Mini-notebooks are likely to attract a variety of users with different usage scenarios."

If Gartner's predictions hold true, the ultraportable market will have shifted from low-cost education PCs to consumers in both mature and emerging markets, including some business buyers. The research firm says the largest growth opportunities for mini-notebooks are in the consumer subcategory, which will eventually account for about 70 percent of all ultraportable sales.

Are mini-notebooks here to stay?

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mobile, notebook, laptop, ultraportable, netbook, gartner

Posted 08/14/08 at 12:14:18 PM by Paul Lilly

Technological trends may come and go, but every once in awhile they turn out to be more than just temporary fads. Consider that many of today's gamers weren't even born yet in the Atari 2600's heyday, yet 30 years later gaming consoles have become so popular that there exists an entire generation of FPS junkies who actually prefer lining up a headshot with a gamepad instead of using a keyboard and mouse. And speaking of videogames, let's not forget the 3D revolution sparked by the now defunct 3DFX (moment of silence).

More than just fun and games, recognizing lasting fads can prove lucrative for companies and upstarts who ride the hype, but it's not always easy predicting where PCs are headed. If we were to look back 10 years from now, what would we say were most influential technologies of the time? No need to hop into your time machine, because with the help of Gartner Inc., an information technology research and advisory company, we answer that question right now.

Hit the jump to see which of today's technologies are at the pinnacle of their hype cycle.

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Software, technology, hype, hardware, Social Networking, IT, Microblogging, cloud computing, gartner, green, videoconference

Posted 07/19/08 at 01:33:30 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Stamford-based IT research firm Gartner has revealed the worldwide PC industry’s sales figures for the second quarter. Overall, the global PC industry registered a growth of 16% as a total of 71.9 million units were shipped during the quarter. More and more people are turning to notebooks, as opposed to desktops, as notebook prices continue to plummet. However, the US PC industry couldn’t keep up with the highly promising growth rate seen globally and managed a much subdued rate of 4.2% - total shipments stood at 16.5 million units.

If its Q2 performance is anything to go by, HP is not moving an inch from its position as the top PC maker in the world. HP’s sales grew at a faster rate than even the global average. But Dell is not too keen on staying at No.2 either. It raised its market share to 15.6% and even outshone HP’s year-over-year growth rate. These days one can’t resist mentioning netbooks but they really didn’t leave much of a mark in the US; still early days, though.

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notebook, dell, hp, Desktop, hardware, netbook, global pc sales, gartner, us