Reaction to Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 OS have been decidedly mixed. The move towards a single OS for both PCs and mobile devices has angered developers and end users alike: worried developers fear that their years of .Net and Silverlight mastery may fall to the wayside as Microsoft shifts focus to standards like CSS and HTML5, and hardcore PC owners hate the idea of iPad-ifying the desktop environment. The latest build of Windows 8 has leaked onto the Net and should only stoke the mixed usage-hating fires.
For the record, the Maximum PC Lab keeps both feet planted squarely in the present tense. We don’t believe anyone should buy hardware based solely on its future potential. So what then to make of RIM’s nascent and decidedly half-baked Blackberry Playbook? Unless you’re 1) a Blackberry owner, 2) don’t care about apps or games, or 3) a devoted BB fanboy, the answer is: not much.
Dubbed Redmond’s “riskiest product bet” by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Windows 8 certainly does have a lot riding on it. No wonder a lot of people, especially those who occupy key positions within the computer industry, have an opinion on it. Peter Hortensius, president of the Lenovo Product Group, is one such guy. In a recent interview with AllThingsD, an excited Hortensius called Windows 8 “a big, bold move” on Microsoft’s part. Hit the jump because there is more.
Tech companies tend to get flashy at Computex. Want an example? Fractal froze a computer chassis in a giant block of ice using water from a Swedish river, then shipped the rig – still frozen – all the way to Taipei for the show, just because. Intel's not like that though. It's more of the strong, silent type, the kind of company that lets its numbers do the talking, rather than blocks of ice. Intel's numbers caused a stir at Computex when the company announced it had shipped more than 100 million Atom processors in the last three years.
Sandisk on Tuesday introduced two new SSD models for ultra-thin notebooks and tablets at the ongoing Computex trade fair in Taipei. According to the company, both the u100 (for ultra-thin notebooks) and the i100 (for tablets) use the SATA III interface and boast “a low-power architecture that reduces power consumption to as low as 10mW.” Hit the jump for more.
It's Friday! Fridays are great. Someone should make a song about Fridays. 
You can take our decked out desktop PC when you pry it from our cold, dead hands, but until then, we'll continue to play Crysis (yes, our PCs can run Crysis), burn Blu-ray discs, transfer files via USB, and watch Flash videos. You know, all the things we can't do on an iPad. Why bother bringing this up? Well, we wanted to preface what market research firm IHS iSuppli is saying, which is that rising consumer interest in tablets like the iPad is starting to take a toll on the global PC market.
Diehard Windows PC users, and Maximum PC readers in particular, aren't known for being shy in sharing their disdain for the evil empire known as Apple. Reasons are many: misleading advertisements, overpriced gear (the so-called 'Apple tax'), proprietary architecture, snooty iPhone owners, and the list goes on. Naturally, this contempt extends over to the iPad by those who wish bad things on Apple, which some consider the anti-PC. No keyboard? Oversized iPod touch? iTunes? Whatever your reason(s), it's fine if you choose to hate on the iPad, just don't blame Apple's tablet for weakening the PC market.
Apple pioneered the first-party mobile app store as we know it in July, 2008. Since then, the Apple App Store has played an increasingly important role in the success of the iOS ecosystem and continues to boast the largest app population (over 350,000) of any app store out there. But, according to market research outfit Distimo, its leading rival, the Android Market, is catching up with the App Store at such a fast rate that the former could become the most populous app store within the next five months.
Apple has been having a bear of time keeping up with demand for its iPad 2, which continues to be a hot commodity in the U.S. New iPad 2 orders on Apple's website will take 1-2 weeks to ship, and supply is low pretty much across the board. It's been reported that manufacturing problems unrelated to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan are at least partially to blame for the depleted stock. Be that as it may, Apple is forging ahead with its international release, launching the iPad 2 in a dozen more territories.
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