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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Facebook to organize friends in 'smart lists' (AP) : Technet

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Facebook to organize friends in 'smart lists' (AP) : Technet

Facebook to organize friends in 'smart lists' (AP)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 11:00 AM PDT

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay, Ap Technology Writer – Tue Sep 13, 2:00 pm ET

NEW YORK – It's a modern-day dilemma: You really want your Facebook friends to see that wild party photo of you wearing bunny ears. But you're not so keen on explaining it to your mother-in-law.

Well, Facebook aims to make life easier.

Beginning Wednesday, the social network will make it easier to share photos, posts and links with smaller, isolated groups of people. While the site has allowed users to separate their friends into lists since 2007, this option took quite a bit of work and only a small fraction of Facebook users took advantage of it.

Now, Facebook will automatically group your friends based on whether they live near you, went to your school or work with you. You can read posts or share updates with specific groups instead of dozens, or hundreds, of "friends" at a time. Facebook will use the colleges, workplaces and geographic locations that users share on the site to organize people into groups. Called "smart lists," the feature is optional to use, and the lists are customizable.

"Users don't really want to spend a lot of time creating and maintaining friend lists," said Naomi Gleit, the director of product at Facebook who worked on the feature.

In addition, you can create your own friend groups with as few or as many as you would like, based around hobbies, work projects or relatives, for example.

Listing people as "close friends," meanwhile, will ensure that you will see the posts and photos from the dozen or so friends you care about the most. Updates from these people will feature more prominently in your news feed and you can opt to receive email notifications every time they post something on Facebook, Gleit said.

Conversely, those categorized as "acquaintances" will feature less prominently on your Facebook page, and you will see just big news, such as marriages and new babies.

Facebook's latest move takes a page from Google Plus, the fledgling social network launched this summer by the online search leader. Google's service so far has not threatened to unseat Facebook as the world's biggest online social network. But its sleek design and innovative, privacy-focused features piqued the interest of many Facebook users and critics, helping to foster healthy competition among these Silicon Valley neighbors.

Cisco cuts long-term sales growth forecast (AP)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 07:58 PM PDT

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – 1 hr 41 mins ago

NEW YORK – Cisco Systems Inc. lowered its long-term sales forecast on Tuesday, acknowledging that its days of heady growth won't return in the foreseeable future.

Chief Financial Officer Frank Calderoni told analysts and investors at a meeting in San Jose, Calif. that Cisco, the world's largest maker of computer networking equipment, now expects sales to grow 5 percent to 7 percent per year for the next three years.

Its long-term target has been for annual revenue growth of 12 percent to 17 percent. That was easily achievable for a decade, as the Internet boomed. But its sales have grown by only 9 percent per year in the last four years, due to competition and the slow economy.

Analysts polled by FactSet have on average been expecting 5.5 percent sales growth for this year, so the midpoint of Cisco's forecast is slightly higher. However, they were expecting slightly better growth in fiscal 2013 than Cisco's forecast implies.

Cisco's shares rose 26 cents, or 1.6 percent, to close Tuesday at $16.35.

Calderoni said Cisco expects to grow earnings faster than revenue, at about 7 percent to 9 percent per year.

Cisco also expects to "hold or gain share" in its major segments, Calderoni said. The 5 percent to 7 percent forecast for sales growth compares to the company's 5 percent to 8 percent growth estimate for the total market for its products, implying that Cisco sees relatively stagnant market share expansion over all.

Cisco is in the midst of a drastic reorganization. The company has cut 6,500 jobs this year, and has gone from trying to expand into more than a dozen markets to focusing on five core areas. In the process, it has shut down its Flip Video unit, which made popular consumer camcorders, and trimmed its other consumer businesses.

Speculation is swirling that long-serving CEO John Chambers might be the next victim of Cisco's shakeup. Speaking at the event, he was combative, saying the company is gunning for Hewlett-Packard Co. as it expands its new business of selling servers for corporate data centers.

Chambers said another competitor, Juniper Networks Inc., "is the most vulnerable I've ever seen."

Cisco's toughest challenger, Chambers said, is Huawei Technologies Co. of China, which competes with low-cost equipment. Cisco plans to go after it in its home market, Chambers said.

Google's new airfare search section takes off (AP)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 04:45 PM PDT

– Tue Sep 13, 7:45 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Google Inc.'s search results for airline tickets are finally getting a lift from a key piece of technology that it bought earlier this year.

The Internet search leader's revised approach to airfare queries appeared Tuesday in a newly opened "flights" section of Google.com.

The new look at http://www.google.com/flights arrived with little hoopla. The low-key debut might have reflected Google's desire to avoid attracting too much attention to the service, which has raised fears that the Internet's most powerful company will trample the competition in online travel — one of the biggest markets in electronic commerce.

It's the first time Google has extensively deployed the tools it picked up from its $676 million purchase of leading airline fare tracker ITA Software.

The deal faced fierce opposition from other online travel services that argued Google would be able to combine its dominance of Internet search with ITA Software's technology to gain an unfair advantage.

After a lengthy investigation, the Justice Department approved the acquisition in April. But the department imposed a series of conditions that included an agreement requiring Google to license ITA Software's technology to other companies until 2016.

Google has promised to make it easier and quicker to find the best prices being offered by airlines. The version that debuted Tuesday didn't appear to have anything dramatically different from what other travel search engines have been providing.

Kayak, which was among the travel search engines trying to block the ITA acquisition, says it's ready to answer the challenge.

"We're confident in our ability to compete, and we believe our flight search technology is superior," said Robert Birge, Kayak's chief marketing officer.

Volkswagen’s all-electric NILS concept seats one, stylishly (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 06:21 PM PDT

LED court lines change the game under your feet (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 06:11 PM PDT

Microsoft Prepares Windows 8 for Battle Against the iPad (Mashable)

Posted: 12 Sep 2011 06:39 PM PDT

Ben Parr Ben Parr – Mon Sep 12, 9:39 pm ET

Microsoft is set to unveil the next-generation of Windows tomorrow. The new operating system, currently known as Windows 8, is the tech giant's attempt to regain ground that it has lost to Apple, which surpassed Microsoft last year as the world's most valuable company. It isn't the MacBook or Mac OS X Lion that has Microsoft executives worried, though. It's the sheer dominance of the iPad.

[More from Mashable: Samsung to Use Windows on Its Tablets [REPORT]]

The iPad hasn't skipped a beat since its debut last year. Thanks to Apple's ingenuity, a shockingly low starting price and a strong marketing campaign, the device has sold more than 25 million units in less than a year-and-a-half. More importantly, it has defined a whole new category of consumer devices. And it dominates that category with an iron fist.

iPad competitors have come and gone, but none have been able to make a dent in the iPad's rapid growth. HP has given up on the TouchPad, the RIM Playbook has underperformed and countless Android tablets have fallen by the wayside. Nothing has emerged as the alternative to the iPad.

[More from Mashable: Exclusive: NBC iPad App Now Broadcasts Full Episodes]

Windows 8: One OS to Rule Them All

This presents a dangerous problem and an opportunity for Microsoft. The tech giant cannot let Apple monopolize the tablet market like Microsoft did with the desktop OS. That would seal its fate as a technology power destined to diminish into a shell of its former self.

There is a need for a legitimate alternative to the iPad, though, and the company that gets it right will emerge in a strong position to take a big piece of the fast-growing tablet market. Success in tablets would boost Microsoft's profits, ease investor concerns about the shrinking PC market and set it up for future growth.

That's where Windows 8 comes in. The next-generation OS, which will be unveiled at the Microsoft Build conference on Tuesday, is not only designed for PCs, but it is also made to work on tablets as well. We got a taste of its touchscreen capabilities at the D9 conference earlier this year, but we expect Microsoft to unveil the first Windows 8 tablet during Tuesday's keynote. Our sources tell us that the device will be manufactured by Samsung, but has been designed meticulously by Microsoft in an attempt to create the iPad alternative.

Will Microsoft's gamble work? Can the company create an OS that works seamlessly on both tablets and PCs? And most of all, will it be useful enough, different enough and cheap enough to give the iPad a run for its money?

We'll be closer to knowing the answers to those questions on Tuesday morning. The tablet wars are about to begin in earnest.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Carriers look to Android app publishers to survive mobile transition (Appolicious)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 05:30 PM PDT

DOJ investigating alleged criminal actions by eBay (AP)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 05:14 PM PDT

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer Rachel Metz, Ap Technology Writer – Tue Sep 13, 8:14 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of online marketplace operator eBay Inc. wrongfully used confidential information from Craigslist to build its own classifieds site.

The investigation was disclosed in a copy of a grand jury subpoena obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday. The subpoena was issued Sept. 7 by the Department of Justice in U.S district court in San Jose.

The subpoena seeks information and documents about incidents in which eBay employees allegedly misappropriated confidential information from the online classifieds site. The subpoena, which was reported previously by Reuters, aims to gather information and supporting documents related to a number of incidents in which eBay employees "engaged in alleged criminal activities and misconduct focused around the misappropriation of proprietary/confidential information from Craigslist."

Incidents outlined in the subpoena include a request in 2005 by eBay founder and Chairman Pierre Omidyar for information about how Craigslist went about adding new cities and for advance notice of its launch plans. It also alleges that eBay "engaged in false advertising and trademark and trade-name infringement in order to exploit Craigslist's trade rights."

It was unclear how many parties had been served with subpoenas related to the investigation.

EBay, which is based in San Jose, bought a stake in Craigslist in 2004. Craigslist has long accused eBay of using confidential information to start its own classifieds site in the U.S. in 2007.

Last September, a judge in Delaware's Court of Chancery ruled that Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and CEO Jim Buckmaster violated their responsibilities to eBay with antitakeover measures they implemented. The moves diluted eBay's share from 28.4 percent to 24.9 percent and made it harder for eBay to sell the stake.

Craigslist, which is based in San Francisco, adopted the measures in 2008 after deciding eBay had moved from being a partner to a threat. Buckmaster testified in a nine-day trial that after starting its own classifieds site in the U.S., eBay began buying online ads steering Internet users looking for Craigslist to its own sites.

EBay spokeswoman Amanda Miller said the company plans to cooperate in any inquiry related to disputes between the online marketplace and Craigslist. She noted that both companies are currently pursuing civil claims against each other in California.

"EBay believes that Craigslist's allegations against eBay are without merit. We will continue to vigorously defend ourselves, and we will aggressively pursue our claims against Craigslist," she said.

Craigslist spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best said the company had no comment. Justice Department spokesman Jack Gillund said the agency had no comment.

Shares in eBay slipped 40 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $29 in extended trading on Tuesday after reports of the investigation emerged.

Google to offer location opt-out to Wi-Fi owners (AP)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 04:05 PM PDT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – Tue Sep 13, 7:05 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Google Inc. is going to let people with home wireless networks decide whether they want to be lumped into a system that helps pinpoint the locations of people on cell phones.

The concession announced Tuesday will give wireless, or Wi-Fi, networks the right to forbid Google from listing them in a vast database that the company has been building in the past few years.

The adjustment is a response to concerns raised in Europe. Regulators there have periodically looked into whether Google's mapping services violate Europe's privacy laws.

To avoid trouble, Google is working on a way for owners of Wi-Fi networks throughout the world to tell the company to back off. The opt-out choice will be available this autumn, according to a blog posted Tuesday by Peter Fleischer, Google's top privacy counsel.

Like other Internet companies increasingly interested in targeting people on the go, Google relies on the publicly broadcast signals from neighborhood Wi-Fi networks to get a better handle on locations of cell phone users. The Wi-Fi database helps fill in coverage gaps created by inaccurate information from cell phone towers or the unavailability of global positioning system, or GPS, technology.

Apple Inc. made a programming chance earlier this year that the company promised would prevent its iPhone from automatically collecting data from Wi-Fi networks.

Google, the maker of the Android software used on millions of smartphones, believes people online benefit when their physical whereabouts are known. The information, for instance, could be used to deliver discount offers from nearby merchants — something that could also boost Google's revenue by selling more ads — or to let someone at a bus stop know how much longer they have to wait to be picked up.

But regulators and privacy watchdogs worry the location databases being maintained by Google and others could turn into tracking services that compile histories of people's movements. Google says it has never kept any records on the locations of individuals.

Google, which is based in Mountain View, also says it doesn't identify the names of people who own the Wi-Fi networks feeding its location service. Even so, "We think we can go further in protecting people's privacy," Fleischer wrote Tuesday.

The company lost some credibility among privacy experts last year when it revealed that cars collecting information for its online mapping service had been vacuuming up emails and other personal information transmitted over neighborhood Wi-Fi networks in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world. Google blamed the intrusion on an unauthorized program set up by one of its engineers.

The Wi-Fi intrusions resulted in repeated Google apologies, regulatory fines and a promise by the company to tighten its privacy controls over its nearly 30,000 employees.

U.S. safety board pushes for trucker cellphone ban (Reuters)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:55 PM PDT

– Tue Sep 13, 6:55 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The government should ban truckers from using cellphones while driving except in emergencies, transportation safety investigators said on Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendation came after it mostly blamed a fiery Kentucky crash last year that killed 11 people on the driver of a tractor trailer who was talking on his mobile phone.

"Distracted driving is becoming increasingly prevalent, exacerbating the danger we encounter daily on our roadways," said Deborah Hersman, who chairs the safety board.

"It can be especially lethal when the distracted driver is at the wheel of a vehicle that weighs 40 tons and travels at highway speeds."

In the Kentucky crash, investigators said the truck driven by Kenneth Laymon for Hester Inc crossed a median, broke through barriers and struck a van carrying 12 people in the early morning of March 26, 2010.

Laymon and 10 of the people in the van were killed.

The Freightliner was on a 700-mile (1,125-km) trip from Lansing, Michigan, to Cullman, Alabama.

Investigators said Laymon used his mobile phone for calls and text messages 69 times while driving in the 24-hour period prior to the crash.

This included four calls in the minute leading up to the accident, the final one coinciding with the time the 18-wheeler ran off the road at 5:14 a.m.

It was not clear whether the mobile phone was a hands-free device. Driver fatigue may have compounded the distraction, investigators said.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has campaigned against distracted driving and last year his agency banned commercial truckers from sending text messages while at the wheel.

Transportation regulators have also proposed prohibiting hand-held cellphone use by truckers, and the NTSB recommendation is seen as an important endorsement.

Trucking groups support texting and cellphone bans but not any prohibition of hands-free devices. More than half of the 50 U.S. states ban texting while driving, while far fewer outlaw cellphone use.

(Reporting by John Crawley; Editing by John O'Callaghan)

Facebook Racks Up 53.5 Billion U.S. User Minutes in May (NewsFactor)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 04:04 PM PDT

Mark Long, newsfactor.com Mark Long, newsfactor.com – Tue Sep 13, 7:04 pm ET

Facebook had 140.3 million U.S. adult visitors last May, when the social networking site reached 70 percent of all active U.S. Internet users, according to a new Nielsen report. Moreover, U.S. adults collectively spent nearly 53.5 billion minutes on Facebook during the month, the firm's researchers said.

With respect to the sheer amount of time users spent at the website last May, Facebook dramatically outperformed Yahoo (17.2 billion minutes), Google (12.5 billion minutes), AOL (11.4 billion minutes), Windows Live (9.5 billion minutes, including visits to MSN and Bing), and YouTube (9.1 billion minutes). And in the social networking category, Facebook bested its nearest rival Blogger (723.8 million minutes).

Nielsen noted that emerging social-media player Tumblr nearly tripled its audience during May in comparison with the year-earlier period. Still, the new report underlines just how powerful Facebook has become with respect "to connecting people with just about everything they watch and buy," Nielsen researchers said.

Overall, social networks and blogs accounted for nearly a quarter of the total number of minutes that adult Americans spent on the Internet -- and with 53 percent of active adult social networkers following a specific brand. Nielsen also observed that nearly 40 percent of social-media users were accessing social-media content from their mobile phones.

Influencing Purchase Decisions

The value of the time consumers spend online and on social networks and blogs is most visible through the influence on purchase decisions, Nielsen observed.

"For instance, 60 percent of those who use three or more digital means of research for product purchases learned about a specific brand or retailer from a social networking site," Nielsen researchers wrote in a new report. And within this group, 48 percent "responded to a retailer's offer posted on Facebook or Twitter."

In comparison to the average Internet surfer, active social-media users are 75 percent more likely to spend heavily on music. Nielsen also noted that active social-media users are 47 percent more likely to be heavy spenders on clothing, shoes and accessories.

Additionally, older American adults are becoming more of a social-media force. According to Nielsen's latest survey, the highest year-over-year growth rate (109 percent) among U.S. mobile handset users involved in social networking involved users who were 55-plus years of age.

Inexpensive Ad Investments

Forrester Research predicts that advertisers will spend $77 billion on interactive marketing by 2016, which is equivalent to what advertisers spend on television ads today. So as the influence of social media -- and those using social media -- continues to grow, traditional media, retailers, brands and advertisers need to understand how different consumer segments use and share content.

Search marketing, display advertising, mobile marketing, email marketing, and social media will grow to 26 percent of all advertising spend within the next five years, predicted Forrester Research Vice President Shar VanBoskirk.

"Search marketing will continue to own the largest portion of the interactive marketing pie," VanBoskirk wrote in a blog. "But its overall share will decline as marketers shift search spend into biddable display investments, mobile marketing, and even social media."

Social media marketing is expected to grow moderately as advertisers invest in integrated social-media campaigns like Facebook gifts or sponsored conversations, social assets development and social-media management technologies. "None of these investments are actually very expensive," VanBoskirk said.

What's more, social networking has become a global phenomenon of major importance to multinational companies. "Across a sample of 10 global markets, social networks and blogs are the top online destination in each country, accounting for the majority of time spent online and reaching at least 60 percent of active Internet users," Nielsen researchers wrote in a blog.

Just Show Me: How to customize the start menu in Windows 7 (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 02:36 PM PDT

Android App Tablet Review: CNN (Appolicious)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:00 PM PDT

Momentum grows for U.S. wireless spectrum bill (Reuters)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 02:44 PM PDT

By Jasmin Melvin Jasmin Melvin – Tue Sep 13, 5:44 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Washington insiders have high hopes for legislation this year that would open up large swaths of spectrum to wireless companies desperate to meet the booming demand for data-heavy wireless devices.

Language giving the U.S. Federal Communications Commission authority to auction some airwaves currently held by TV broadcasters is popping up in bills in both chambers of Congress, as well as in President Barack Obama's jobs plan.

Analysts say these incentive auctions, where some of the proceeds would go to the broadcasters giving up spectrum, are also likely to be part of the debate for the bipartisan congressional "super committee" tasked with slashing at least $1.2 trillion from the U.S. deficit over 10 years.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated auctions of TV spectrum would generate $24.5 billion, while Obama's proposed jobs bill eyes some $28 billion in proceeds from the auctions.

"This is one of the rare instances where you see moving on an idea will actually generate revenues for the Treasury," said Rhod Shaw, executive director of the High Tech Spectrum Coalition that includes Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Nokia Corp (NOK1V.HE), Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) and Qualcomm Inc

(QCOM.O).

"The issue now becomes what is the final deal ... And I think there is a reason to believe this can actually get done."

The need for a national, common communications system for first responders has added momentum to the debate.

First responders still cannot easily talk to emergency personnel outside of their division or unit a decade after airliners hijacked by al Qaeda operatives killed nearly 3,000 people.

"Shame on the Congress," Representative Anna Eshoo, the top Democrat on the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, told Reuters last week.

Auction proceeds not set aside for TV broadcasters giving up spectrum would help fund the construction and maintenance of a wireless public safety network. Any money left over after that would go toward reducing the U.S. budget deficit.

Although they failed to pass a bill before the symbolic September 11 date, Democrats say the momentum is there to get a bill signed this year.

Eshoo said she is hopeful her subcommittee is on the threshold of introducing bipartisan legislation for a nationwide broadband network for first responders.

Republicans are also keen to usher in improved communications capabilities for emergency personnel while generating revenue for deficit reduction.

"The nice thing is this discussion has not been should we do incentive auctions, it's now how do we do incentive auctions," said David Redl, counsel for the Republican-led House Energy and Commerce Committee.

HURDLES ABOUND

Still, much of the talk about incentive auction authority is tied to the public safety network and lawmakers remain split on fundamental elements of its build-out.

Of particular contention is how to handle 10 megahertz of highly sought after airwaves called the D Block, which will provide the infrastructure for the network.

Generally, Democrats want to allocate the airwaves to public safety, while Republicans want to see it auctioned to a wireless company who would be required to give first responders priority access on its network during emergencies.

"It won't be easy to come to a meeting-of-the-minds because you're coming up on an election year," said Medley Global Advisors analyst Jeffrey Silva.

But the revenue-generating potential of the auctions, coupled with the super committee's need to find trillions of dollars in savings, left Silva believing there is a "decent chance" of passing public safety and incentive auction legislation this year.

"It's a very powerful legislative vehicle for that legislation to ride on," Silva added.

(Reporting by Jasmin Melvin; editing by Andre Grenon)

The top 10 singles and albums on iTunes (AP)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 10:36 AM PDT

By The Associated Press The Associated Press – Tue Sep 13, 1:36 pm ET

iTunes' top 10 selling singles and albums of the week ending Sept. 12, 2011:

Singles:

1. "Moves Like Jagger (Studio Recording from `The Voice' Performance) (feat. Christina Aguilera)," Maroon 5

2. "Someone Like You," ADELE

3. "Pumped Up Kicks," Foster the People

4. "Party Rock Anthem (feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock)," LMFAO

5. "Stereo Hearts (feat. Adam Levine)," Gym Class Heroes

6. "You and I," Lady GaGa

7. "Cheers (Drink to That)," Rihanna

8. "You Make Me Feel...(feat. Sabi)," Cobra Starship

9. "Mr. Know It All," Kelly Clarkson

10. "Super Bass," Nicki Minaj

Albums:

1. "Tha Carter IV," Lil Wayne

2. "1," The Beatles

3. "21," ADELE

4. "Hands All Over," Maroon 5

5. "I'm With You," Red Hot Chili Peppers

6. "Watch the Throne," Kanye West, Jay-Z

7. "Nothing But the Beat," David Guetta

8. "Here for a Good Time," George Strait

9. "Teenage Dream," Katy Perry

10. "Torches," Foster the People

___

iTunes is owned by Apple Inc.

Take a fine fall weekend road trip with these iPhone apps (Appolicious)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:00 PM PDT

Developers get early taste of Windows 8 (Reuters)

Posted: 13 Sep 2011 02:03 PM PDT

By Bill Rigby Bill Rigby – Tue Sep 13, 5:03 pm ET

ANAHEIM, California (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp handed out 5,000 sleek Samsung tablet computers running a test version of Windows 8 at its annual developer conference on Tuesday, hoping to stoke excitement over its new operating system.

The devices, powered by Intel Corp i5 chips, are the first chance for people outside Microsoft to play with Windows 8, the temporary code name for its next software system that includes features tailored for touchscreens and tablets. The company is betting the new system will stem the tide of consumers switching to Apple Inc's iPad.

Microsoft, whose software still runs more than 90 percent of personal computers, needs the new system to appeal to developers in the hope that they will create thousands of applications to attract users.

At the same time, it needs to lure a younger, tech-savvy audience and halt the march of Apple devices into Microsoft's business market, analysts said.

"Kids today are seeing more Apple logos than Microsoft logos, and Microsoft needs to change that if they are going to continue being the force that they have been," said Michael Silver, an analyst at tech research firm Gartner, who was attending the developer conference.

"If you look at where Apple is successful, it's from consumers who have more power to bring in what they use at home to the business," Silver said. "That's important for Microsoft to go after, to get this fixed."

Tablet makers are expected to start selling products with Windows 8 by the middle of next year at the earliest.

The giant U.S. software company also hopes to woo an applications development community that has already taken to Google's Android and Apple, by making the process of building apps in a variety of computer languages simpler.

Developers worldwide can download a preview of Windows 8 from Microsoft beginning Tuesday evening (at http://dev.windows.com ).

FAST AND SLICK

The new system boots up in seconds and features a home page filled with colorful tiles taking the user directly into applications such as Facebook, messaging or news feeds.

Rebuilt from the ground up, Windows 8 uses less memory to run than Windows 7, freeing up space for apps. The test Samsung device, using Internet Explorer 10 as its browser, worked smoothly, although some of the demonstrations on stage at the conference did not work perfectly.

"Clearly this is pre-beta, but all things considered, I was impressed with the speed and responsiveness of the user interface and also the IE 10 browser," said Al Hilwa, an analyst at tech research firm IDC, who tried out the Samsung tablet.

Windows 8 is less likely to appeal to business users, analysts said, given that many companies are still working their way toward switching to Windows 7, released in 2009.

Microsoft has sold almost 450 million Windows 7 licenses in two years since it was introduced, but the newest version still accounts for less than one-third of global Windows users, many of whom are clinging to older versions.

The new system is the first to be compatible with low-power chips designed by ARM Holdings, which have become the standard for mobile devices.

Windows unit chief Steven Sinofsky stressed the new operating system is the first to focus on applications -- it will contain an online app store for the first time -- reflecting the way people now use computers, tablets and smartphones.

He said tablets running Windows 8 will be able to connect easily to printers, cameras and other devices. Windows 8 will also work on PCs with regular mouse and keyboard commands. Thin new laptops by Acer, Asustek and Toshiba featured in presentations at the conference.

Sinofsky -- who called the free tablet distributed at the conference "not an iPad" -- emphasized it was a development machine only, and will not appear in stores. It features about 30 different apps written over the summer by Microsoft interns.

Analysts said Microsoft wants to get Windows 8 devices in stores for the "back-to-school" season next year, starting around July, or the holiday shopping season at the latest.

Microsoft itself has not set a schedule publicly for release of Windows 8, with Sinofsky saying on Tuesday the process would be "driven by quality, not by a date."

Microsoft shares closed up 0.6 percent at $26.04 in a generally higher market.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Derek Caney, Maureen Bavdek and Tim Dobbyn)
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