TechStew

The Nokia of old is dead! Last year I predicted that this year would mark the demise of Nokia, at one time the biggest cell phone manufacturer in the world. After its disastrous dithering and the resulting market failure Nokia was snatched up by Microsoft for a measly $7.2b, a fraction of its worth from just a couple of years ago (in comparison, Skype was bought for $8.6b). However, I do not think that Microsoft really wanted to buy Nokia, rather it was forced into this move by Nokia’s dismal performance, and the fact that Nokia carried 90 per cent of all Windows Phone sales. Microsoft had no choice but to purchase the flailing smartphone maker in order to save its position in the market.

             Microsoft has made a name for itself as a company by continually meeting the technological needs of the masses by regularly releasing new software, operating systems and peripherals that provide intuitive function and ease of use. From its very beginnings in the early 1980s, the Windows interface has come to be beloved by users of PCs for its ability to be customized and utilized by novices and tech experts alike. Windows has continued to evolve, and since the advent of Windows 95 in 1995, the operating system has become a household mainstay for those who choose to use PCs for their home computing needs. PC titans eyeing tablet makers to regain customers In our technology driven society, having a computer with access to the Internet is no longer an option as much as it is a necessity. So much necessary information is stored online that having no access to the Internet at home is a massive inconvenien...

Today Microsoft introduced Windows Phone 8, its umpteenth attempt at conquering the mobile world arena. All the buzz (or FUD, since no release and pricing information was given) that has been created lately in order to promote this new iteration of MS mobile platform as the something utterly new, something that will ride like a tsunami through iPhone and Android ruled ocean fails to acknowledge that there is in fact not much new here - it is NOT a new operating system. Its first iteration saw the light of day, 2 years ago as a Windows Phone 7 , a successor to clumsy Windows Mobile, which has, in one form or another been on the market since April 2000. Yes, folks, Microsoft has been in the mobile game for over a decade now, way before the onslaught of Apple and Android powered devices.