Microsoft to deliver #Windows 'Threshold' tech preview around late September

#GNN - #Summary: #Microsoft is aiming to make available a #technology preview of Windows Threshold around late September or early October.

Microsoft is aiming to deliver a "technology preview" of its Windows "Threshold" operating system by late September or early October, according to multiple sources of mine who asked not to be named.

And in a move that signals where Microsoft is heading on the "servicability" front, those who install the tech preview will need to agree to have subsequent monthly updates to it pushed to them automatically, sources added.

Threshold is the next major version of Windows that is expected to be christened "Windows 9" when it is made available in the spring of 2015. Threshold is expected to include a number of new features that are aimed at continuing to improve Windows' usability on non-touch devices and by those using mice and keyboards alongside touch.

Among those features according to previous leaks are a new "mini" Start Menu; windowed Metro-Style applications that can run on the Desktop; virtual desktops; and the elimination of the Charms bar that debuted as part of Windows 8. Cortana integration with Windows Threshold is looking like it could make it into the OS, as well.

I've asked Microsoft officials for comment. To date, Microsoft execs have declined to comment on what will be in Threshold, when it will be available, how much it will cost or what it will be named.

When Microsoft was working on Windows 8, the company delivered three external "milestones" before making the operating system generally available in October 2012. First there was a Windows 8 developer preview, which Microsoft released on September 13, 2011, followed by a Windows 8 "consumer" preview on February 29, 2012. The operating system was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012.

These days, Microsoft's operating system team is on a more rapid release schedule, so I'd think there won't be five or six months between any Threshold milestone builds Microsoft plans to make available externally.

I had heard previously from my contacts that Microsoft was aiming to deliver a public preview of Threshold available to anyone interested toward the end of calendar 2014. I'm not sure if there's still a plan to make a public consumer preview available at that time or if this "technical preview" is the only "preview" Microsoft will release before Threshold is released to manufacturing.

Update: One of my contacts who has provided accurate information on Windows in the past said the Threshold tech preview will be public and available to all those interested. (GNN)(ZDNET)(AIP)

Mozilla shows off flexible RAM on $170 #Firefox OS Flame

#GNN - #Summary: #Mozilla is still shipping its reference #phone for developers that want to reach consumers on low-spec Firefox OS devices.

Most consumers probably want a smartphone with more RAM, but the highlight of Mozilla's newish Flame handset is that it lets developers dial it down when they want.

Building a mobile ecosystem in the shadow of iOS and Android seems an impossibly tough task, but Mozilla is pressing ahead with its effort to encourage developers to build HTML5 apps for low-cost devices chiefly aimed at emerging markets.

Since May, developers could pre-order the first official Firefox OS reference phone, Flame, which Mozilla started shipping in July when the preorder period expired. The company on Thursday decided to re-announce the fact it was shipping the Flame, coupled with a new blog outlining how developers could use it.

The $170 Flame is an unlocked dual-SIM 3G touch phone with 1GB of RAM, a 1.2GHZ dual-core processor, a 4.5-inch 854x480 pixel screen, and comes with a five-megapixel rear camera and two-megapixel secondary one.

As Chris Heilman, Mozilla's principal evangelist for HTML5, notes, Flame's 1GB RAM makes it good for daily use, but not exactly representative of commercially available Firefox devices. While Geeksphone's dual-boot Revolution shared similar specs to the Flame, it was aimed only at developers and, without carrier distribution, was technically not classified as a Firefox OS phone.

Devices carrying the Firefox OS brand are markedly different from the Flame, such as Alcatel's One Touch Fire, which has 256MB RAM or ZTE Open C with 512MB RAM.

Meanwhile, other ultra-cheap and presumably low-specced Firefox OS devices are due soon include one from Chinese maker Spreadtrum. They're aimed at emerging markets including India, Indonesia, and China.

So, the news from Mozilla yesterday is actually a set of new instructions explaining how developers can use ADB to wind back the Flame's 1GB RAM to test how their app would perform on a device with 256MB, for example.

Mozilla's attempt to break into the mobile market comes as Android OEMs increasingly aim to push down prices, while Microsoft is angling for a way to bring would-be Nokia 130 consumers over to its lower-end Lumia phones. (GNN)(ZDNET)(AIP)