Week In Review (Aug 18 – Aug 22)

Goodbye of the Week Many would take this as an upbeat development, but the fact remains that Steve Ballmer is the man that has had a large part in charting Microsoft’s impressive rise. He will not be much of an influence now, after recently announcing that he was stepping down as board member. Adios Steve!

Release of the Week

Although purists will probably decry this, but repackaging an Android flagship as a Windows Phone model is a masterstroke from HTC. Now only if they could do it sooner, without a gap of say, half a year. Regardless, the company officially announced the HTC One M8 for Windows to appropriate fanfare.

Savings of the Week

Perhaps the most affordable new PC around. Sure, there are tablets that will retail for half this amount, but the HP Stream 14 laptop, with its price tag of just $199 is sure to delight many. The hardware is middling, obviously, but there is only so much you need for checking emails or browsing the web.

Bummer of the Week

A fair bit of interest surrounded the Windows 8.1 August Update, which was released a few days back. However, the experience was dampened a bit when news came out that four of the updates released as part of this cycle messed up user’s computers. Microsoft took down the links and is investigating.

Growth of the Week

Windows XP seems to have done its job. Is still doing its job, for some. Hardware companies as big as Intel announced that the retirement of this popular operating system helped increase sales and revenue. And now we can add HP to this list, with an official confirmation of growth, albeit very small.]]>