operating systems

Research In Motion may find that many of its customers are in motion, a survey of more than 1,000 smartphone users suggests. Asked about their next smartphone purchase, 39 percent of 159 RIM BlackBerry users told Crowd Science, an online research firm, that they "definitely or probably" want an Apple iPhone.

Another 34 percent said they would prefer a phone that uses Google's Android operating system. Combined with 38 percent who said they might consider Android, that makes a 72 percent opening for Android, narrowly beating the 68 percent opening for the iPhone.

After a record-matching February that flooded corporate security departments with 13 bulletins to address 26 flaws, Microsoft's March Patch Tuesday cycle will be more manageable for IT administrators. On March 9, Microsoft will ship two security updates to fix eight vulnerabilities in Windows and Office.

In its monthly advance notification, Microsoft gave a sneak peak into the bulletins. Both are marked important, Microsoft's second-highest severity rating.

Having the latest and greatest Windows phones will no longer matter once Microsoft releases its Windows Phone 7 Series. Mobile-phone users running the latest Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, made available in October, will have incremental upgrades but will need a new phone if they want to use the software giant's Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system.

Mobile-phone users with the latest Windows Mobile phones do not have the hardware needed to run the newest mobile operating system, according to Microsoft's Mobile Communication Business.

Although Windows 7 has been out for some time, many are just now thinking about upgrading. And that's when the questions begin. The existence of multiple editions, different upgrade options, restrictions on how a PC may be upgraded, the packaging of 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system in the same box, and volume pricing are enough to confuse even experienced techies. Read on for some help.

Mobile-phone sales worldwide headed up at the end of last year, according to a new report from industry research firm Gartner. Sales in the fourth quarter posted a 8.3 percent increase compared to a year ago, although overall 2009 sales dropped 0.9 percent.

Gartner said the drivers pushing up sales are smartphones and low-end devices. Smartphone sales, said Gartner Research Director Carolina Milanesi, "continued their strong growth in the fourth quarter of 2009," up 41.1 percent over 2008 to 53.8 million units. For all of 2009, smartphone sales were up 23.8 percent.

When Microsoft showcased its latest smartphone operating system in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday with innovative features and a new name, CEO Steve Ballmer noted that one thing that won't be updated is its business model. That means original equipment manufacturers who want to feature Windows Phone 7 Series will still pay a fee for each device, estimated in the past by Strategic Analytics at between $8 and $15 per phone.

With key mobile platforms and their application communities rapidly moving forward, a group of wireless carriers and device makers have decided to simplify. On Monday, two dozen of the largest telecom companies announced plans to create an open platform called the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC).

Adobe Systems will make its AIR platform and new Flash player available to mobile devices. The company previewed the new AIR version at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Unlike politicians, operating systems (OS) don't get a honeymoon with the general public. Windows 7 has been on the market for [about] 100 days now, so -- as in politics -- it's a good time to review how the software has performed so far. The results are largely positive.

It may be late, but Intel has launched a new Itanium processor that is expected to double the performance of its predecessor. After two delays, Intel on Monday launched the Itanium 9300 series, a quad-core processor code-named Tukwila.

The chip, a 64-bit processor designed for enterprise servers and high-performance computing systems, was slated to be released in early 2009, but Intel delayed the release, saying only that it was undergoing application scalability enhancements. A second delay was announced in May.