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Microsoft Office 14 Won’t Ship This Year — Does Anyone Care?

PCWorld – It appears that the next version of Microsoft Office won’t ship until next year. That’s the word from Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet, who’s reporting that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told Wall Street analysts Tuesday that the upcoming Office 14 is slated for a 2010 release. The announcement likely rules out a dual launch of Office 14 and Windows 7, the latter of which is slated to ship later this year, possibly as early as this summer.

The Office 14 news doesn’t come as a big surprise, as Microsoft has yet to release a public beta of the productivity suite. It has, however, released an alpha version of Office 14’s server-based components to a select group of customers.


So does it matter whether Office 14 ships this year or next? Not really. While irate Vista users are clamoring for Windows 7, which is designed to fix many of Vista’s shortcomings, the same can’t be said for MS Office. In fact, a recent Forrester Research report states that many Word and Office users stick with their productivity apps out of habit. Think of it as an old marriage. You’re comfortable with Office, all of your files are in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint formats, and it’s too much trouble to try something new.

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Amazon Kindle 2 Vs. Kindle Original: We Compare

PCWorld – We break down the key differences between the Amazon Kindle 2 and the company’s original e-book reader.

On the whole, even though the original Kindle (at left) and the Kindle 2 share the same matte white color and have the same-size display (6 inches diagonally), their keyboards and their navigation buttons are clearly different. Here, you can see buttons to the right and left on the original Kindle, and the much smaller buttons of the Kindle 2.
The keyboard for the Kindle 2 (at right) has been completely redesigned, and now it more closely resembles what you’d find on a cell phone with a QWERTY keyboard. The new model’s circular keys are easy to press and incredibly handy. In my usage thus far, I’ve much preferred the closer spacing of the Kindle 2 to the angled spacing and more-rectangular keys of the Kindle 1.

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Netbooks: All About the New Ultraportables

PCWorld – Small, cheap, and surprisingly powerful, netbooks are the new ultraportables. Here’s a look at the upcoming crop of netbooks, with advice on what to look for and how to buy wisely.

The term netbook, coined by Intel, conveys little useful information about this category of machines. Sure, they all have wireless networking, but so does every other laptop. Originally what the term helped to identify was a class of small, ultralightweight, cheap-as-dirt mobile PCs. Netbooks are tiny–usually between half and two-thirds the size of a garden-variety laptop–and they typically weigh only about 2 pounds. With their cool, slim designs, they outclass some fancy ultraportables. And best of all, these diminutive laptops start at around $200 (in some cases $100, when purchased as part of a mobile broadband promotional deal).

But as the next generation of mini-notebooks emerges–with some examples illustrating this article–the distinguishing characteristics named above are in flux, spurring debate here at PC World. Is price still a decisive criterion? What about the size of the device, the operating system it runs, or the CPU under its hood? Ultimately all of these things factor into the category; but as new systems with an expanding array of features arrive, our definition of netbook will continue to evolve.

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Windows Mobile 7 Confirmed For 2010 Release

ubergizmo – Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has just confirmed via a conference call yesterday that we will only be able to see Window Mobile 7 hit the market sometime next year, as the operating system will be sent to manufacturers this November. That translates to a debut on consumer devices sometime in April next year at best. What’s the whole point of Windows Mobile 6.5 in the meantime? We wonder what the minimum system specifications for Windows Mobile 7 will be, and will it offer stability and a revolutionary user experience?

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Worldwide semiconductor revenues on pace to decline 24% in 2009, says Gartner

DigiTimes – The impact of the financial crisis will result in the semiconductor industry experiencing near record revenue declines in 2009, according to Gartner. Worldwide semiconductor revenues are forecast to reach US$194.5 billion in 2009, a 24.1% decline from 2008 revenues.

Market conditions have worsened since Gartner’s previous semiconductor outlook in mid-December of 2008. At that time, Gartner had forecast 2009 revenues to decline 16%.

The industry is expected to return to positive growth in 2010, growing 7.5%, followed by additional growth through 2012. Even with three years of increased revenues, the semiconductor industry will fail to return to 2008 revenue totals. In 2012, the worldwide semiconductor revenue is projected to reach US$253.4 billion, still below 2008 revenue of US$256.4 billion.

“We believe that the financial crisis has reset the semiconductor market,” said Bryan Lewis, research vice president at Gartner. “After the 2001 recession, in which semiconductor sales plummeted by a record 32.5%, semiconductor sales took about four years to get back to 2000 levels.”

“The rebound after this recession will be similar to that in 2001 because there will be three years of modest growth after the worst year. However, we see a difference in year four, where we expect another overcapacity situation for the industry, especially in DRAM, because of significant manufacturing investments made in the second and third years of the recovery,” Mr. Lewis said.

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