Operating System | featured news

IDC says PC global shipments of PCs fell 14 percent in the first three months this year, the sharpest plunge seen since the research firm started tracking the industry in 1994....

Word is that iOS 7 will bring a significant design overhaul to Apple's mobile operating system. That's potentially good news, but there's also some bad: The new software might be behind schedule. According to Daring Fireball's John Gruber— who has a decent track record when it comes to Apple rumors — "iOS 7 is running behind, and engineers have been pulled from OS X 10.9 to work on it."

A new tablet computer and Windows 8.1: The marriage of the summer? Like a blushing fiancé eager to step up to the altar, Microsoft picked a date and sent out invitations Tuesday for the Build 2013 conference, where the software giant is likely to announce early availability of an update to the Windows 8 operating system.

A flurry of new mobile operating systems were released at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year, all looking to take a piece of Android’s market pie. While each brings their own advantages and foibles to the table, Ubuntu has the best chance to hit the ground running, as it’s essentially an upgrade of a tried-and-true desktop operating system—as long as it’s actually ready soon.

Look out, Android: three challengers are gunning for your app cash. Firefox OS, Tizen, and Ubuntu Touch have all made their debuts at mobile industry shindig Mobile World Congress this week. And in my opinion, Samsung and the mobile industry are backing the wrong horses.

After lengthy delays, Research In Motion Ltd. unveiled its first two phones with the new BlackBerry 10 system. The Q10 will have a physical keyboard, while the Z10 has only a touch-screen keyboard. RIM also announced a company name change to BlackBerry to maintain a single brand.

The maker of the BlackBerry smartphone is promising a speedy browser, a superb typing experience and the ability to keep work and personal identities separate on the same phone, the fruit of a crucial, long-overdue makeover for the Canadian company....

In June 2011, I spent some time with an early version of BlackBerry 10 and commented that things “can only get better.” I said that because. at the time, things weren’t good. At all. BlackBerry 10 was a mess and the developer unit I tried it on was so glitchy I felt guilty writing a hands-on piece at all. Yesterday, off-site at CES, I got a full run down of a near-final version of BlackBerry 10 by the folks at Research in Motion. I can’t believe the difference six months can make. BlackBerry 10 is not only fully functional now, but it’s exciting.

The Linux-based Ubuntu operating system is to work on smartphones, allowing users to run full-scale programs on handsets designed for Android.

Sales of computers and tablets running Microsoft’s new operating system have been slow this holiday season, underscoring the challenges to the PC business.