Google Eyeing Mobile Payment Company, Softcard, Takeover

Several sources have claimed that Google is interested, and is most likely, to buy the mobile payment company, SoftCard. The mobile payment service is currently in collaboration with majority of the top mobile service providers in the United Sates, including AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and T-Mobile US Inc.

Softcard has Windows and Android compatibility and also allows its users to make payments via various payment terminals. The company initially entered the market with the name of ISIS but for obvious reasons it had to change its name and went with SoftCard.

Microsoft gives a sneak peak at its next version of Windows Operating system, code-named 'Windows 8’

Image via CrunchBase

Microsoft has released the first sneak peak of its upcoming Windows 8, which will be the next version of the Windows operating system. It has been designed to work on both PC’s and touch screen tablets. The sneak peak was actually shaped into a blog post, which also featured a YouTube video representing the functionality of the operating system.

The President of Microsoft Windows Division, Steven Sinofsky, personally demonstrated few of the features of this new operating system, which is not actually named yet but only coded as "Windows 8," at the D9 conference by All Things Digital. Sinofsky declared that "laptops, slates, desktops -- all can run one operating system." He said that "Things that people see work... on an iPad, I think we can do that and then bring with it all of the benefits that you have with Windows." Finally he also added "We have an approach that is different but builds on the value of an operating system that sells 400 million or so units a year."

Will Google Chromebook Be Able To Compete With Microsoft Windows

                                  Image via Wikipedia

The monopoly of Microsoft in single handedly leading the vast market of computing platforms is not forsaken by its rivals. The still has enough to offer as long as the rivals have the audacity to compete and replace the monopoly of replacing Windows. In a similar such attempt Google has announced its new Chromebooks in its I/O conferences this week. Chromebooks will be made available for online orders from 15^th of June, 2011 in all major countries including U.S., U.K., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

Image via Wikipedia

Chromebooks are told to be new kinds of laptops, which will now be powered by Google's Chromium, rather than Microsoft Windows, which rather an open-source browser-based operating system. The manufacturing of these laptops is trusted in the hands of Samsung and Acer, pricing these laptops at a retail amount of $499 with the 3G capability, and $429 with Wi-Fi-only products. These will be made be available to buy from both Best Buy and Amazon.com. Moreover, users will also be allowed to "rent" these Chromebooks from mentioned retailers. Businesses renting the Chromebooks will be bound to pay $28 per month, as the schools have concession down to the price of $20 per month. The up gradation of the software in the device will be constant and automatic, while the hardware will be warranted to be replacement automatically with any failures or newer versions coming in the future.