operating systems

User interface design guru Jakob Nielsen is none too pleased with what he's found in Windows 8, which he calls a "misguided" product.

Nielsen, who has spent much of his career analyzing all kinds of user interfaces, including most notably Flash software for Web animation, says that the new Windows 8 user interface "smothers usability with big colorful tiles while hiding needed features."

To arrive at that conclusion, Nielsen brought in 12 "experienced PC users" to try out Windows on both PCs and Surface RT tablets. In that study, Nielsen found that the … Read more

A new poll suggests that Windows 8 may be hampered by scant consumer interest.

Microsoft bills Windows 8 -- a world away from the familiar surroundings of Windows 7 -- as a "reimagining" of the PC operating system. It may indeed be that, considering Windows 8's touch capabilities and app ecosphere. But whether consumers will take to the new OS remains to be seen.

A survey of nearly 1,200 U.S. adults by the Associated Press and market researcher GfK found that 52 percent of respondents had not heard of Windows 8 and that 61 percent … Read more

Microsoft officially launched Windows 8 today, and with it comes a choice for those who use its predecessors: do I stay, or do I go?

My Crave colleague Eric Mack touches on the subject in an opinion piece today titled "The Windows 8 question: To adopt early or not?" Eric owns a perfectly capable Windows 7 laptop and would rather wait for a Surface tablet with Windows 8 Pro to debut before considering new hardware.

Personally, I feel a slight temptation to upgrade to Windows 8. In his review of Microsoft's Surface, CNET Senior Editor Eric Franklin praises Metro -- the primary interface of Windows 8 -- saying it's "innovative, elegant, powerful, and versatile," the last set of words I would use to describe my cluttered Windows 7 desktop. Maybe a new layout would feel like a breath of fresh air. … Read more

A U.K. design firm put Windows 8 under the microscope recently, and users reported some issues with handling the operating system.

The firm in question, Foolproof, had 14 "typical users" try out Windows 8 for the first time to see how they fared using the new-look operating system. This tiny group reportedly consisted of regular Windows users, so they supposedly weren't coming to the Microsoft universe cold.

But Microsoft's new user interface, which largely consists of a series of tiles, ditching the traditional look and feel of Windows, "comes with a huge learning overhead." Foolproof's relatively small number of testers made several observations, including:… Read more

Welcome to the Chrome channel. Google's operating system started off in December 2010 as being little more than all Chrome, all the time. Updates made since then have given Chrome OS users better file format support, faster navigation, revised menus, dramatically improved offline abilities, and a traditional-looking desktop.

But if you loathe the Chrome browser, it's still highly unlikely that you'll enjoy this operating system. On the other hand, if you love Chrome, then Chrome OS is a big heaping helping of Chrome with some extra Chrome on the side and more Chrome for dessert.

Like Chrome … Read more

A hacking group has updated its iOS jailbreak, Redsn0w, with full support for an unauthorized app store and the ability to re-restore a device to an older version of Apple's mobile operating system.

The updated Redsn0w jailbreak hit the Web yesterday, enabling iOS 6 users to get full access to the third-party application store Cydia. Previously, Redsn0w users were forced to install Cydia manually. Now, they will find the app marketplace -- which includes programs that are not authorized for Apple's official App Store -- built in.

The hacking group, which calls itself the iPhone Dev-Team, announced its iOS 6 jailbreak less than a day after the latest Apple operating system launched … Read more

AT&T and Nokia will announce a partnership on the upcoming Lumia 920 later today, according to a report.

AT&T will carry the Lumia 920 in the U.S., Bloomberg is reporting today, citing sources. AT&T won't immediately sell the Windows Phone 8-based device, according to Bloomberg's sources, but it's likely the device will be made available to its customers sooner rather than later.

Nokia unveiled the Lumia 920 last month. The device comes with a 4.5-inch display and includes everything from wireless charging support to near field communication. In addition, … Read more

Despite its elderly status in the Android world, Gingerbread is still the man.

Google yesterday updated its Android developers page, revealing that Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) is running on 55.8 percent of all Android devices. Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) came in second place with 23.7 percent share. Interestingly, the latest Android version, Jelly Bean, was only able to muster 1.8 percent share, while the outdated Android 2.2 (Froyo) came in at 12.9 percent market ownership.

That Gingerbread is still dominant is rather surprising, considering that this version of the operating system arrived on … Read more

Windows 7 scooped up more market share last month at the expense of Windows XP.

For September, Windows 7 carved out 44 percent of all Web traffic among operating systems, as recorded by Net Applications. Windows XP took second place with 41.2 percent. Those numbers showed a wider gap between the two since August when Windows 7 finally grabbed the lead over XP by a fraction of a percentage point.

More than ten years after its release, Windows XP has proven its strong staying power. Many users and organizations bypassed Windows Vista, which held just 6 percent of the … Read more