More than one billion PCs will be in use worldwide by the end of 2008, fuelled by high growth rates in emerging markets such as the Bric bloc of countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The latest PC market figures from researcher Forrester also predict that while it has taken 27 years since the launch of the first desktop PC from IBM to pass this one billion mark, the next billion will be much faster - with global PC adoption passing two billion by 2015, a compound annual growth rate of 12.3 per cent.

The majority of that future growth will come from the Bric countries, which will account for more than 775 million new PCs between them by 2015 as technology prices fall and personal incomes rise enough to open the market to millions of new users.

Forrester predicts there will be almost half a billion new PCs in use in China alone by 2015, compared to the 54 million PCs in use in the country today.

Simon Yates, Forrester VP and research director, said in the report: "There is nothing more important to the long-term health of the technology industry - and personal technology in particular - than the ability to deliver relevant, accessible and affordable technology to the billions of people worldwide who have not been exposed to it."

There is also still room for some growth in mature PC markets. The Forrester report predicts 51 million new PCs in the US and Canada and 75 million new PCs in Western Europe.

The report applauds vendor initiatives such as AMD's 50x15, the Intel World Ahead programme, Microsoft Unlimited Potential and the One Laptop Per Child $100 laptop project for increasing technology access in the developing world.

But Forrester said other major vendors such as HP and Lenovo also need to "step up" and get involved so the industry can scale production enough to deliver high volumes of PCs at a fifth of the cost to these markets.

Forrester's Worldwide PC Adoption Forecast to 2015 uses macroeconomic analysis of the 67 largest PC markets. The report does not distinguish between business and consumer use.

Posted by Anish Mohile at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

After years of squabbling, Intel and Nicholas Negroponte have agreed to put their differences behind them and join forces in bringing PCs to children around the world.

Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project is bringing Intel on board as a partner and a possible future supplier, the two entities announced. Intel will become the 11th member of the OLPC's board, joining other companies such as eBay, Google, Nortel and Intel's bitter rival AMD.

The OLPC's mission is to put laptop computers in the hands of children around the world, in the hope that access to technology will help improve the education of millions growing up in developing nations. The XO laptop at the heart of the project costs about $175 to produce but Negroponte, founder of the not-for-profit OLPC, thinks they will sell for about $100 once production starts in earnest later this year.

Just a few weeks ago, the notion of Intel and Negroponte working together would have seemed absurd. Negroponte's almost evangelical approach to the OLPC project and Intel's determination to grab a piece of the emerging PC market has produced rancour on both sides over the past few years.

Intel chairman Craig Barrett has been the public face of the company's work on its Classmate PCs for emerging nations, and he has been very dismissive of the OLPC project in the past, calling it "the $100 gadget". And in a May interview with 60 Minutes, Negroponte accused Intel of dumping Classmate PCs way below cost in order to win deals with local governments and sabotage Negroponte's dreams of bringing PCs to the world's poor children.

The dispute appeared petty at times, beneath both the world's largest chipmaker and the co-founder of the Media Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After all, there's unfortunately no shortage of poor children in the world who have yet to realise the power of the personal computer, and the developed world is big enough to support a huge PC industry with dozens of rich players.

After some discussion, the two groups realised they had more in common than they had in dispute, said Will Swope, a corporate vice president and general manager of corporate affairs at Intel. "We're trying to accomplish the same thing," he said.

Intel's immediate effect on the OLPC project will be to improve the open source software that ships with the XO laptop, said Walter Bender, president of software and content for the OLPC. "Intel has got a very strong team in Linux and open source," he said.

Intel is currently wooing developing nations with Classmate PCs that are available with either Linux and Windows, part of the chipmaker's continual dance between Microsoft - its closest partner - and the desire of some customers for open source software. But the OLPC is an avowed open source supporter, giving Intel a broader outlet for the work produced by its collection of open source software engineers. The company said it has no plans to stop selling its Classmate PCs, despite its backing for the OLPC machine.

At some point, Intel also wants its chips to be inside the XO laptop, Swope said. "We are going to try to win the XO business but it's the OLPC's decision. We haven't won the business as a result of this agreement."

At the moment, AMD is the silicon supplier for the XO laptop. This appeared to be at least part of the reason behind Intel's disdain for the OLPC project as well as Negroponte's suspicions that Intel wanted to lock him out of certain countries.

In the developed world, the PC market is rapidly maturing, eroding the growth rates that Wall Street loves so much. As a result, both AMD and Intel see a huge source of future earnings in the millions of people who have yet to buy a PC. The companies would rather attribute their efforts to a humanitarian desire to help the world but shareholders like profits, too.

AMD said it is undeterred by the news its rival is joining forces with the OLPC, despite the prospect of a few awkward board meetings at some point in the future. Rebecca Gonzales, AMD's senior manager of business development for high-growth markets, said: "Right now, we see no change in the way AMD will participate with OLPC. We welcome [Intel] to the table."

Posted by Anish Mohile at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) organisation has announced that its rugeddised laptop, the XO, is going into mass production.

The laptop will be manufactured in Shanghai by Quanta. The production line will be turned on in August for testing procedures, and the first mass-produced laptops for use in schools will be made in October.

The XO laptop, which OLPC plans to sell eventually for $100 per machine, is designed to improve the educational opportunities of children in the developing world. The costs of manufacture are currently estimated by OLPC at $175 per laptop.

OLPC's chief technology officer Mary Lou Jensen said: "Next year we should have a cost-reduced version. We're trying to take innovation in electronics, drive costs down and not use bloated software. This is the opposite of what the PC industry does traditionally."

The laptops have been designed to withstand extremes of heat and moisture, and to be energy efficient in harsh environments. The screen, which OLPC claims is bright enough to read in sunlight, stays on while the rest of the motherboard turns off, saving energy. Laptop batteries can be recharged using a rip cord, a crank, a pedal, a car battery, or solar panels - in fact, anything that can produce between 10 and 20 volts of electricity, Jensen said.

The organisation has no immediate plans to begin commercial production or licensing of its technologies, although it has been approached by major electronics manufacturers, according to Jensen.

OLPC said it has received orders for three million machines but refused to say which countries are involved.

The Sugar open source operating system used on the laptops still has some minor bugs, according to Jensen. "Firefox got better and better after it was released. There's always bugs in any operating system," she said, "but the software is running just fine."

OLPC last week added Intel to its board. The organisation plans to continue to use AMD processors in its laptops but it is currently "working with Intel to figure out how to create complementary product lines", Jensen said.

Posted by Anish Mohile at 9:55 PM | Permalink | Comments

Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates sat down with Peter Jennings to discuss the future of the technology industry. Gates talked at length about Microsoft's effort to upgrade security in the computer industry, his foundation's charitable work, and his goals for the company.

This interview follows Bill Gates announcement that Microsoft will be releasing their newest version of Internet Explorer this summer. The new version, called IE 7, will add new levels of security to Windows XP SP2 while maintaining the level of extensibility and compatibility customers have come to expect from IE.

JENNINGS: I read an article coming up here on Firefox (Web browser) and its perceived ability to do this better than you. Is that fair?
GATES: Well, there's competition in every place that we're in. The browser space that we are in we have about 90 percent. Sure Firefox has come along and the press love the idea of that. Our commitment is to keep our browser that competes with Firefox to be the best browser best in security, best in features. In fact, we just announced that we'll have a new version of the browser so we're innovating very rapidly there and its our commitment to have the best.

JENNINGS: Are you going to have to push your browser faster because of competition?
GATES: Well, competition is always a fantastic thing, and the computer industry?

JENNINGS: I knew you were going to say that (laughs).
GATES: (smiles) ... is intensely competitive. Whether it's Google or Apple or free software, we've got some fantastic competitors and it keeps us on our toes.

Labels: Firefox

Posted by Anish Mohile at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

Microsoft's tight grip on the Internet browser market is rapidly slipping. According WebSideStory, an independent Internet traffic site, as of April 2005, Internet Explorer use has fallen below 90 percent of the market in the United States and as low as 69 percent in Germany. What's making people leave IE are the numerous security concerns and the simple fact that functionality (tabbed browsing and a built-in RSS feed reader) promised in version 7 of Internet Explorer, expected to be in beta late this summer, is already available in other browsers. Add to that Microsoft's controversial decision to offer the next version of Internet Explorer only to people running Windows XP SP2, and you see why those running older versions of Windows are starting to look elsewhere.

Rapidly forcing IE from desktop dominance is Mozilla Firefox. This open-source browser receives our highest rating, in part because it includes tabbed browsing and RSS feeds, is very easy to use, and is well supported with a variety of third-party plug-ins. Firefox's popularity has recently helped unearth a few vulnerabilities, but we've been impressed with the speed and forthrightness with which Mozilla has patched its browser. In short, we just don't feel as vulnerable surfing the Web with Firefox.

Netscape 8 takes the best of both worlds. It runs both IE and Mozilla's engines, should sites you want to visit render properly only with IE. Netscape 8 also includes tabbed browsing, and it's easy to use. Another browser actually built upon the Microsoft IE engine is Deepnet Explorer. Think of Deepnet Explorer as Internet Explorer the way you'd like it to be--today.

Two unique browsers are also available. One is Apple Safari RSS, designed to run on the Mac OS X operating system. Bundled with Mac Tiger OS (and available for download for previous Mac OS X users), Safari offers tabbed browsing, an RSS reader, and increased speed for Mac users fed up with IE for Mac.

Finally, there's Opera, which uses neither the IE nor the Mozilla engine. We like many of the cool new features introduced in Opera 8, such as its ability to stretch and resize Web pages to fit your desktop needs without sacrificing content. Unfortunately, Opera comes with a catch: in order to get all of the advanced features, you'll need to pay $40 or put up with an endless stream of banner advertising on the free version. This makes the value proposition for Opera 8 questionable at best.

Labels: Firefox

Posted by Anish Mohile at 8:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

Firefox 2 vs. Internet Explorer 7

For years, Microsoft Internet Explorer has enjoyed near dominance of the Web browser space--but not any more. Since the release last year of Mozilla Firefox 1.5, Firefox has been steadily eroding Internet Explorer's claim of superiority. According to information from NetApplications.com, in October 2004 Internet Explorer had 92 percent of the market; in September 2005 that dropped to 86 percent; and as of September 2006 Internet Explorer's market share dropped to 82 percent, with Firefox's rising to 12.5 percent. In two years Microsoft ceded 10 percent of its audience to its competition.



Internet Explorer 7

Installing IE 7 requires a reboot and takes forever. Plus the download is giant, and you have to turn off your virus scanner. My installation went smoothly, but I got the feeling IE was reprogramming my computer's DNA as it worked.
The IE 7 installer asks users to temporarily disable their antivirus and antispyware protection, which doesn't inspire confidence. Installing IE 7 requires Windows validation, a restart, and a connection to Microsoft servers, which significantly slows down the process.
IE 7's installation recommended that we back up important files, close all programs, and eventually restart, while Firefox asked us only to close the old Firefox. And Microsoft checked that we were running a valid copy of Windows XP before we could download IE 7, which felt intrusive (if not insulting) next to the hands-off Firefox installation. But I'm not crazy about IE 7 or Firefox creating browser icons by default for my Windows XP desktop, Start Menu folder, and Quick Launch bar; you'll have to uncheck those during installation if you don't want the shortcuts.
The two browsers both look very good. IE 7 is a bit slicker than Firefox, and it takes more chances with the interface, pushing the standard menu items off to the side. It may take users a few moments to learn where everything is, but it is a thoughtful redesign.
Departing from the classic look of version 6 by hiding the menu bar, IE 7 allots more space to the main browser window. The full-screen view is particularly well designed--tabs and the address bar disappear until you hover over them, creating a true full-screen window. The tabs are clunkier than necessary.
Internet Explorer's status as the browser people love to hate is unlikely to change anytime soon. IE 7's drastic redesign is likely to alienate users initially rather than wow them, even though it's now easier to find functions via graphical icons--once you stop looking for the now-gone drop-down menus of its predecessor. IE 7 thoughtfully offers more customization than in the past, such as the ability to add more search engines to its search field.
With the latest versions, both browsers treat tabs similarly. You can close tabs with their own little close boxes and open new tab windows by clicking in the tab bar (IE 7 makes it more obvious by displaying a tiny, empty tab). Both highlight the active tab subtly (too subtly for my taste), and let you drag tabs around and save open tabs. Differences: Firefox makes it easy to reload all tabs; IE has a thumbnail viewer.
IE 7 includes a New Tab button to the right of your last open tab that takes up unnecessary screen space. I couldn't find a way to remove it. IE 7 bunches two Favorites icons, all open tabs, and the standard browser toolbar in the same row of real estate. A helpful tab preview icon displays thumbnails of all your open tabs for any window.
Is it my imagination, or does Firefox open a new tab about a millisescond faster than IE 7 does? At the same time, IE 7's blank tab can help users discover tabbed browsing.
There are fancy little flourishes in both browsers (IE has page zoom; Firefox has a spelling checker), but the big news in new browser features right now is RSS reading. Both browsers recognize when a page has an RSS feed, and both will parse XML and display a readable page instead of code when they see it.
RSS feeds: Once you've subscribed to a feed via IE 7, it's easy to see, sort, manage, and read your subscriptions from a two-panel interface. Firefox's Live Bookmarks do a similar job, but not as neatly. I only wish IE 7 detected available feeds better.
I have to defer to security gurus in this category. Historically I've been impressed with how seamless installing security patches to Firefox has been. As far as privacy, both products now let you quickly erase tracks from your browser, which is good.
A phishing filter within IE 7 checks the Web pages you visit using heuristics and a whitelist of legitimate sites. IE 7 lets you clean out your history, temporary files, and Web cookies with one button, but it's not easy to delete specific files in those groups. Another nice browsing-security touch is the "Web page privacy policy" feature. The past history of exploitable security holes in IE is a factor to consider.
At least during setup, IE 7 appears to care about security by giving you the choice to install a phishing filter. Firefox doesn't make its security offerings obvious during setup. Both browsers allow you to clear cookie crumbs that show the sites you've seen, but we found such features tricky to find within IE 7's new interface.


Firefox 2

Firefox, on the other hand, is a small download and installs in about 30 seconds, no reboots or gene sequencing required.
Installation of Firefox 2 was much faster and easier, completing in a minute or two. It scanned my old version for incompatible extensions, then updated any that were available. Firefox 2 did not include my custom-created search engines, only those defaulted by Mozilla. Any custom engines need to be manually moved into the Searchplugins directory.
Firefox was a faster download, plus it migrated every toolbar and all but one of my dozen bookmarklets from Firefox 1 without a hitch.
Firefox doesn't have a radical visual refresh, but it does have some new UI features, such as a "word wheel" in the search bar. Firefox destroys IE in the extension and plug-in department. There are hundreds of tools for Firefox to enable all manner of customizing. IE has extensions too, but not like Firefox.
Hovering over a tab in Firefox 2 now highlights it, and each tab has its own close button, which was previously possible only with add-ons. Most themes aren't yet available for Firefox, but one of my favorites, Littlefox, works OK. Selecting a new theme now prompts Firefox to ask whether you want to restart the browser to see the effects. Customization for Firefox 2 via add-ons is a major bonus.
Firefox's open-source status and myriad add-ons give it a community edge over IE 7.
One change in Firefox 2 that is a step backward from the last version: If you open a lot of tabs, Firefox shrinks their size a little and puts arrows at the left and right of the tab bar so that you can scroll back and forth. The previous version shrunk tabs a lot, so you could fit many more into the tab bar. I'm dinging Firefox's score for that one. IE 7 has the same problem.
Firefox adds a new Close Tab button to each open tab but didn't add thumbnail previews (a feature that can be added via Firefox extension). It would be nice to incorporate more features from Tab Mix Plus, such as the ability to customize how Ctrl-Tab switches tabs.
Firefox's tiny drop-down menu next to its tabs is a convenient shortcut for finding recently viewed pages, and its layout offers more room for tabs--although once we had a dozen tabs open, we were forced to scroll awkwardly to view the thirteenth tab and beyond. Luckily, though, if Firefox crashes, you can restore those tabs, which IE 7 can't do.
Firefox does a much better job of managing feeds: It will let you subscribe in Firefox's own reader, which awkwardly makes bookmarks of headlines, or in Google, Bloglines, Yahoo, or any reader application you have on your PC. IE will subscribe itself only to feeds, and it doesn't display RSS content as reliably as Firefox.
In Firefox 2, I love the Manage Search Engines dialog, but I'd say the Session Saver feature is the biggest improvement. I know that many people who accidentally quit the browser will love it.
Firefox's RSS features are even more flexible since (as Rafe mentions) they can let you subscribe with a third-party newsreader. Overall, however, I found the RSS features somewhat clumsy in both browsers and easy for RSS newbies to overlook. IE 7's easy ability to zoom in on a Web page makes for better browsing if you have vision problems. Ctrl-T does the same trick within Firefox, but most users may not memorize such keyboard shortcuts. Firefox also checks your spelling, which could save you from embarrassing yourself in a hasty e-mail or blog post.
Firefox makes it a one-click operation, though, which is much better. On the other hand, it's far too easy to reveal all your stored passwords in Firefox. You can put (another) password in front of this feature, but most people won't, leaving their passwords easily visible to anybody who gets on to their PC.
Also adding antiphishing measures, Firefox 2 offers a choice to check sites from a preexisting blacklist or via Google. Firefox 2 also offers more customization than IE 7, letting you specify which warning messages you'll receive and allowing you to view all your cookies in a list.
Firefox's stronger reputation for security and Mozilla's practice of addressing vulnerabilities soon after they're discovered precedes its latest update.

CONCLUSION
Firefox 2 still rules the browser roost for now, despite a much improved version of Internet Explorer. The most obvious new feature for IE 7 (tabs) has been in Firefox forever, and the security additions from Microsoft aren't enough for us to allay concerns over new possible exploits. Lastly, the extensibility of Firefox 2 is its knockout punch, and IE's add-ons cannot compare. The flexibility and customizability of Firefox might be best suited to more advanced Web users, but it has earned its spot at the top of the browsers.

Labels: Firefox

Posted by Anish Mohile at 8:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

FirefoxIE is a customization of Firefox 1.0 by Mozilla.org to make it look and feel more like Internet Explorer. It is an alternative for those who want to keep all of the convenience of the Internet Explorer browser plus gain all the security of the Firefox browser and more.

FirefoxIE has a eight step but very simple guide to make your Firefox application resemble IE. It shows you how to change icons, toobar text, padding between toolbars and some more customizations.

internet

Labels: Firefox

Posted by Anish Mohile at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments