Headline August 02, 2017/ ''' MICROSOFT \ !WOW! / *MUNCHES* '''

''' MICROSOFT \ !WOW! / 

*MUNCHES* '''

SO MANY A KNOWLEDGEABLE  PEOPLE AT PROUD PAKISTAN........... -Parents, Students, Professors and Teachers  just about daily remind me-

[As if the unworthy me, ever needs a reminder]-

That Pakistanis are ranked as as  ''the  4th  most intelligent people in the world'',   according to a survey by    Institute of European Business Administration in 2012.

Being highly skilled in repartee, I trip them : 

'An intelligent nation with tremendous resources. what the hell then  did go wrong, ever and more.' :   Merium,  Rabo,  Haleema,  Eman,  Dee, Seher Khan/Kings College/UK, Saima, Ambassador Malala,  Hussain, Shahzaib, Salar, Zaeem?

I stop,  turn to look at  the   mind-boggling ascent  of Amazon and Jeff Bezos :   Amazon's stock market capitalization vaulted above $500 billion on Wednesday last. 

*History Repeated, Not made*.I mutter to nobody in particular, but my very own self. And then on a cue from  Zilli, I pick up a rake and go looking at a few of  Pakistan's technology   companies.

Recently, news appeared about the selection of a few start-ups and IT companies of  INDIA  for  long-term commercial engagement with AIRBUS, a leading aircraft manufacturer of the world.

It shows  both   maturity and strength of  entrepreneurial ecosystem in India. Merium? Rabo? Dee? Haleema? Saima? Eman? Zilli,   Wajahat? Haider? Faraz? Ali? Umer?, Furqan? ..............................    

     

Microsoft   -the surprise innovator in PCs, Yes, PCs!

And in the Spring,  Microsoft showed off  Surface Laptop, which sounds humdrum enough; in shape and purpose, it isn't much different from the MacBook Air,  Apple's pioneering  thin and light laptop.

But Microsoft machine has a better screen than the Air. and. more important, a future. People loved the Air, but Apple  doesn't appear to want to upgrade it, so Microsoft stepped in to perfect Apple's baby.   

Note, too, that the rest of the  Apple's PC  road map has lately been looking shaky.

Apple's latest  Laptops left many fans/students  disgruntled, and the Mac Pro has gone years without an update. 

Apple is now moving quickly to address complaints from its  high-end  ''pro'' users   -and it says Mac Pro will be redesigned, and a new Pro  version of the iMac is coming later this year.

''I think Microsoft has recognized over the last couple of years that maybe the  creative community  isn't as locked into the  Mac  as many people think it is,''  said Jan Dawson, an independent technology analyst.

''There's this  window of opportunity for  Surface  to get in there   -and even of that  window closes with some of  Apple's  upcoming devices, I don't think Apple has that market locked up.''   

Last month, I visited Microsoft's hardware lab at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Wash.

I arrived in the midst of renovation, finding a ream of its best hardware designers and engineers sitting in a cavernous, mostly empty room  -a scene that perfectly captures Microsoft's approach to hardware.

Under  Panos Panay, Microsoft's  Surface chief, the company has given its designers and engineers license to rethink the future of PCs in grand ways -to sit an empty room,  dream big things,  and turn those visions to reality.

''We have this mind-set that says:

''Hey. I/m going to take a shot at this, and if it is not going to work, we'll move on to the next thing,'' Mr. Panny told me. ''That is celebrated  -it's always,  'Let's go, let's move.''

The mind-set has resulted in several shinning ideas. 

For  Surface Studio. Microsoft built a brilliant companion device called Surface Dial  -a palm size knob that sits on your drafting table screen, creating a tactile interface with which to control your computer.

You can use dial for basic things like turning up the volume. But on the hands of a designer, it becomes a lovely tool; you can scrub through edits in a video or change your pen color in Photoshop with a turn of the wheel.

Like Microsoft's digital stylus    -which works across the company's Pcs and tablets,  whereas Apple staunchly, weirdly opposes adding touch-screen abilities to its Macs.

*Dial is one those interface breakthroughs that we might have once looked to Apple for.  Now, it's  Microsoft that's pushing new modes of computing.

Microsoft's machines aren't perfect. I found  Surface Studio , which starts at $3,000, to be underpowered for its price.

Surface Pro is a wonderful Laptop, but as a tablet, it isn't as good as the iPad. And it, too, is pricey   -though it starts at $800,..........you're looking at   $ 1,200  to   $1,500   to get a model with decent speeds and the pen and the keyboard accessories  [crazily they're sold separately].

For those reasons and others, it's unlikely that  Microsoft's PC hardware business will beat  Apple's anytime soon.

But anyone who cares about the future of the PC should be thrilled that Apple now faces a serious and creative competitor.

With respectful dedication to the Leaders, Parents, Students, Professors and Teachers of this great nation called, the United States of America. 

See Ya all on !WOW!   -the World Students Society and Twitter-!E-WOW!  -the Ecosystem 2011:

''' Untapped-!WOW! '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless