Today’s top technology stories include details of how Windows 8 adoption is lagging behind that of Windows 7 – even before it’s launched.
Analysts have also got an explanation for middling Ultrabook sales, and Brian Eno claims the music industry is exaggerating the news of its demise.
Windows 8 showing poor pre-launch take up
Windows 8 is winning over fewer early adopters than its predecessor, according to Net Applications’ statistics. Windows 8 has 0.33% of OS market share a month before its official arrival, but Windows 7 had five times that figure a month before it arrived, ComputerWorld notes, adding that Windows 8 saw little “bounce” in new users when the RTM arrived, while Windows 7 did see an uplift.
Ultrabook sales held back by high prices
High prices and poor marketing are hurting Ultrabook sales, keeping them out of the mainstream, IHS iSuppli said, slashing its 2012 sales forecast from 22 million to 10.3 million, and its 2013 prediction from 61m to 44m.
The analyst firm said that could change if prices fall to $600 and with the arrival of next-gen Intel chips. “If Ultrabooks using the new Windows 8 operating system come close to the $600-$700 range next year, while adding in an attractive new consumer feature such as touchscreen, a good chance exists for strong sales in 2013,” said Craig Stice, senior principal analyst for compute platforms at IHS.
Samsung adds iPhone 5 to ongoing patent case
Predictably and inevitably, Samsung has added the iPhone 5 to a list of Apple products it wants blocked in its painful patents war with the company. Fresh from a legal ruling that saw a sales ban of the Galaxy Tab lifted in the US, Samsung added the iPhone 5 to a list of Apple products it wants blocked over alleged patent infringements. CNet has a copy of the revised Patent Complaint, for anyone that’s interested.
Eno: Web hasn’t killed music
Legendary musician and producer Brian Eno has always stood out from the crowd, but he’s one of a rare breed that claims the internet hasn’t been harmful to the music industry. In an interview with the BBC – during which he talked about the “open source music” created by his app – the industry great said the web had fuelled a huge growth in money made from live performances and said he had “never heard anyone say they’re out of a job because of the internet”.
White House confirms cyberattack
The White House has confirmed a hacking attack on some of its core systems, but accounts as to the severity of the strike, and its perpetrators, are entertainingly diverse. The Free Beacon, for example explained how “hackers linked to China’s government broke into one of the US government’s most sensitive computer networks, breaching a system used by the White House Military Office for nuclear commands”.
It’s a contrast to the way that the issue was reported by officials in both the US and China, whose state-run Xinhua agency simply reported a “spearphishing attack against an unclassified network”, with no mention of where the attacks originated.
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