Welcome to Technology News December 2015
Hello everyone! Let’s recap what has happened in the Technology World in December as well as look back on 2015!
Microsoft
What a year it has been for Microsoft.
We began our year with a journey of watching Microsoft build up a new Operating System – Windows 10, and new devices to go with it. Not only was the new stuff coming for PC’s, Microsoft also gave us insight to Windows Mobile 10. Insider Program users began sifting through bugs and features to help make a new Operating System that everyone could love, including picking up in the Mobile Market.
On July 29th, Windows 10 was released to the Public.
Windows 10 has been up and down for many users, whether it be bugs that cripple systems on one end, to businesses – who are usually never known to upgrade straight away, doing so confidently, we can truly say however, despite the bugs that have luckily not affected everyone, Windows 10 is the best Operating System yet, and it will only get better from here.
In October, Microsoft had an event that was a game changer. They announced various products, including the new Surface Pro 4, Surface Book & Lumia 950/950XL.
November saw the release of the Surface Pro 4 & Book, with the Pro selling like hotcakes.
On November 20th, 1985, Windows 1.0 – the very first Windows, was launched. Making Windows 30 years old.
Finally, December was the month where Windows Mobile 10 could be presented on some incredible devices, the Lumia 950/950XL. We now await the new Operating System to be available on Windows Phone 8.1 Devices, delayed until sometime this month of 2016.
To recap 2015, you can view our posts throughout 2015 by going to our Microsoft Categories Page.
Lumia 950XL & Surface Pro 4 review coming soon.
To skip to Final Rankings and Stats: Click Here
Apple
What a year it has been for Apple.
We saw 2 new products at the beginning of the year being showcased with a new Macbook and Apple Watch.
The iPhone 6/6 Plus gained a lot of traction.
For the Watch, it started off rough. It had issues with a motor inside that caused the experience to cease as it was a critical part of the watch. Those who ordered the watch in the first batch had to take theirs in to have it assessed, fixed or replaced.
Next was the issue of retrieving your heart rate and having a tattoo. The technology behind the heart rate detection was simply blocked by the tattoo due to blocking the light sensor.
Then there was a security risk and how easily the Watch can be reset, making it easy for robbers to just take yours and use it without issues. Of course people were finding it strange that anybody was talking about security for a “Watch”, forgetting that these are no ordinary watches.
Cortana was announced for iOS. Apple made improvements to Siri to tackle the ever growing Cortana, that now, is still quite powerful and yet not 100% complete.
iPhone saw an annoying hack via text.
In June, the WWDC 2015 Event happened, showcasing things like new Operating Systems (El Capitan, iOS 9, Watch OS 2) & Apple Music.
iPhone then seemed to drop in sales in US but went well in Europe, Japan & here in Oz. However, iPhone, on 29th June 2007, was released, making iPhone 8 years old.
Then announced in August, a major bug was found in OSX that could allow hackers to manipulate your device with the highest security level and do nasty things, proving even more that Apple isn’t 100% safe.
iOS 9 picked up some momentum when released in September, which made things a lot better when using the new iPhone 6S/6S Plus that was announced at the September Event Apple held.
The September event showcased the new iPhones, which included new technology called 3D Touch. 3D touch is a sensor that can detect pressure when you push down with your finger, giving you different options as a result. This was already implemented in the new Macbooks and Apple Watch.
The event also showcased the Apple Surface Pro… ok, ok… the new iPad, iPad Pro… with a Surface Pen… sorry, Apple Pencil. They also showed the iPad Mini 4.
Unfortunately, the malicious rampage continued with Apps in the App Store being filled with malware.
October saw OSX El Capitan released to the public and a new iMac.
Finally, the end of the year had chatter of iPads getting 3D Touch, a iPhone 6C or 7 and even a Mini.
All the hurdles Apple faced were flattened out by the big device and Operating System releases.
To recap 2015, you can view our posts throughout 2015 by going to our Apple Categories Page.
To skip to Final Rankings and Stats: Click Here
What a year it has been for Google.
The year began with major flaws in the Android Operating System, that, well, was too hard to fix. The best option is to upgrade to the latest version, however, not all models support this and people like Carriers need to be sure their services work on the latest.
They have faced countless patent lawsuits.
Google’s face of Android – Samsung, released the Galaxy S6/S6 Edge. Android has kept its high rating thanks to Samsung and the innovations of Google. The S6 however, has been dubbed the iPhone 6 “Copycat”.
In May, Google had their I/O 2015 Keynote Event. What it entailed included the new Android M OS – now named Marshmallow, Android Pay – which is Google’s answer to Apple Pay, which is a rip off of Windows Phone 8 “Wallet” that failed due to low user base of the OS. Improved Fingerprint and Android Wear, Google Now on Tap – Google’s answer to Siri & Cortana. An example, you can view information from the context you are viewing. If you look at a webpage of the Fast & Furious and see Vin Diesels name on it, you can select his name and get detailed info about him. Google wants this to make information access a lot easier and faster, attempting to remove the “Personal Assistance” aspects that Cortana & Siri have. It’s a great feature that all phones should have, but it isn’t a game changer.
Lastly, Google Photo’s. It is a fantastic feature driven app that for 1, allows you to filter your photo view by faces and events like Christmas or Australia Day, creating a “Story” of your photo’s. Microsoft and Lumia already have a Story feature, but Google adding those extra touches makes it worth while.
On a side note, Google Photo’s isn’t without its fault’s. A Twitter post entailed an African American who had the app, finding their photo’s sorted out, calling herself and friends…. GORILLA’S!
It was truly embarrassing for Google and sadness/anger for those affected.
Google also made a simple innovation to Gmail, allowing to undo sent emails before it is read by the recipient. This is good for emailing the wrong people bad things, like to your boss instead of your family member… about your boss :-O.
In mid 2015, disaster struck when a major flaw in Android could have done some serious damage, codenamed “Stagefright“.
Google changed its Logo images and became a sub-business under the new Umbrella Company – Alphabet.
Google had its Google Nexus Event, showcasing products like the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Chromebook Pixel C.
Earlier in the year, Google decided to discontinue Google+, but in November, that all changed when Google said they won’t give up and revamped the whole system.
Finally, Samsung may be bringing their own “Force Touch” feature to their Galaxy S7 and it seems the google Glasses are making a comeback.
To recap 2015, you can view our posts throughout 2015 by going to our Google Categories Page.
Final Rankings and Stats below.
2015 Rankings & Stats
Well, its finally that time. We look at 2015 in the IT Industry, take down votes, read comments, listen to clients, make notes and view market share companies that crunch the numbers.
Thanks to NETMARKETSHARE for having statistics on hand. This is as of November 2015:
PC OS Market Rankings
1st: Windows 7
2nd: Windows 8.1
3rd: Windows XP (Sadly)
Windows 10, after 5 months of release, has nicely hit the 9% mark, but still unfortunately below Windows XP. It breaks our heart that we see people risking Windows XP for no good reason. What is more worrying is that we still see businesses running XP.
Despite the recent El Capitan release, Apple in the PC Market still struggle with no real strong reason to battle the power and finesse of a Windows PC.
In the battle of the Super Companies, if you could consider Chrome OS apart of the PC ecosystem, the rankings are:
1st: Microsoft
2nd: Apple
3rd: Google
Client, Comment & Voting results conclude (Unofficial):
1st: Microsoft
2nd: Apple
3rd: Linux
CPKN Computers choice is the same as the users.
Mobile OS Market Rankings (Microsoft/Android/Apple)
1st: Android
2nd: Apple
3rd: Windows Phone
As a whole number, Android and Apple tied with Microsoft blown out of the water, especially against the lesser known brands around. Android has it’s open door policy that allows more feature based apps where Apple is a premium, polished brand with innovations that turn heads.
Microsoft continue to fail at the Mobile. There isn’t enough marketing or too many delays that cause Microsoft to fall behind. The biggest example of bad deployment of Windows Phone is The Apple Wallet. Windows Phone had a wallet app that works exactly like Apple’s, the difference is that Apple had enough people to implement it.
We at CPKN Computers use Windows Phone, now having Windows Mobile 10 as our main driver, and have for years. Microsoft have other services that work well in combination with a Windows device, whether it be a PC or Phone. Then to combine it all, especially now with the Windows 10 ecosystem, its not even about business productivity, but it also covers personal usage with the focus Microsoft have on the 2 OS’s. The push continues for the Universal App that allows developers make one app that works on all devices, meaning less cost to duplicate it to other devices. Along side it is the continued push to some great Hardware like the Lumia 950 & Surface Pro 4 that work along side Desktop Brands and Custom PC’s.
We only show the big support like this as we are an advocate of giving every brand a fair go. We all stick with the crowd and so we have a Windows PC dominate Computer battle and a Apple dominate mobile battle in return that doesn’t show strengths or weaknesses of the 2, not even Google. It is good to have competition to keep companies on their toes and consumers a choice. If we have none, we are stuck with a business that will likely take advantage of it. So don’t knock it, until you try it.
Client, Comment & Voting results conclude (Unofficial):
1st: Apple
2nd: Google
3rd: Microsoft
CPKN Computers Vote:
1st: Apple
2nd: Microsoft
3rd: Google
Apple still takes the cake in our books. It has the perfect balance of features and apps. It only took it from Microsoft by a fraction, but that is because Microsoft need more work on the new system. As it improves, it will only be down to app support to determine the fate of the Phone Platform. We hope we see this in 2016, especially how productive we have been over other platforms, especially with Windows Mobile 10 & Windows 10 combinations.
We have a poll for you:
http://polarb.com/233848
That’s it for now.
Comment & Share Below.
Thanks for reading.
See you on Technology News January 2016.
Have a Happy New Year!
