Has Microsoft finally killed Windows XP, the operating system that refuses to die?

Microsoft's most successful operating system in its history, Windows XP, refuses to die, no matter how many stakes Microsoft drives through its heart. But now it appears that Microsoft's work is paying off: For the first time, Windows 7 market share has topped that of XP in the U.S.

Computerworld's Gregg Keizer reports that an Irish Web analytics company,StatCounter, says that Windows 7 average daily share of all U.S. usage bested that of XP for the first 10 days of April, 32.2% to 30.7%.

In January, Microsoft said that it had sold 300 million Windows 7 licenses.

For years, Microsoft has been trying to kill of Windows XP. Vista certainly couldn't do it. But now it looks as if Windows 7 may be the silver bullet that does it.

Why should Microsoft care whether XP dies? The obvious first reason is operating sytsem revenue. If people continue to hang onto XP, it means they're not buying newer versions of Windows.

But there's much more than just operating system revenue at stake for Microsoft. Microsoft designs new services, such as Windows Live services and cloud-based services, for the most advanced features of its newer operating systems. If people still use XP, that means they won't be able to use all of these new features, which in turn limits Microsoft's potential audience. That means less revenue from those services as well.

In addition, if Windows XP continues to have a sizable number of users, Microsoft needs to spend more money on XP support. It's hoping for the day when it can reduce the money it spends on XP support.

Even though Windows 7 has topped Windows XP use in the U.S. for the first time, XP still beats it worldwide. Keizer notes that one reason is China, in which a high percentage of people still use XP.

Still, Microsoft must be pleased to see that in the U.S., at least, Windows 7 has finally overtaken Windows XP.

XP isn't really dead yet, of course. It's still the most popular operating system in the world, and the second most popular in the U.S. But it's now clear that it's only a matter of time before it eventually fades away.

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Indian banks must heighten mobile focus

Some 50 percent of Indians have no access to financial services, offering a significant market opportunity for mobile banking players to tap. But while the country's telcos, IT vendors and banking intermediaries are eager to address this segment, the critical market push will have to come from the banks.
Despite industry statistics pointing to its potential, mobile banking has yet to see mainstream adoption in India where it remains a fifth channel for banks. The first four are: bank branches, ATMs (auto teller machines), Internet banking and phone banking.
According to Celent, as of January, there were 512 million mobile subscribers--accounting for 66 percent of total mobile subscribers--in urban India, but only 35 million to 40 million were active users of banking services.
In rural India, 259 million users have mobile phones but a large section of the population still has no access to financial services. In fact, only 5 percent of the 600,000 Indian villages have bank branches. This indicates the potential for mobile phones to become the first channel for banking in rural India.
"Mobile phone is a low-cost alternative to reach out to the potential unbanked population in rural regions," Prathima Rajan, an analyst at Celent, told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail.
Vijay Pratap Singh Aditya, CEO of Ekgaon Technologies, noted that while mobile banking adoption is still lagging in rural India, over the last five years, "financial-excluded populations" in other developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia have benefited from such services. Ekgaon provides IT-enabled products for financial services, agricultural services and e-government in rural areas.
According to Rajan, the Indian government has adopted a guarded approach in managing the market, where the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) established tight regulations for mobile payments.
"RBI has been cautious with guidelines and wants to address mobile banking in a phased manner," she said, adding that several developing economies which adopted a liberal approach to mobile banking had yielded undesirable results.
Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner, said in a phone interview that while stringent regulations protect consumer interest, they also slow down market development.
Noting that mobile payments are just emerging in India, Shen said growth in this segment has also been tardy because RBI has identified banks as the main driver of mobile payments.
"Generally, mobile carriers across the world have been found to be more aggressive in implementing mobile payments. With the banks at the helm, the rollout becomes slower," she explained.
Obopay CEO Deepak Chandnani told ZDNet Asia that RBI implemented several rules that emphasize additional security features for mobile payment services. Obopay offers mobile banking and payment products which it says are platform-agnostic and can run on any handset, service provider or financial institution.
The company tied up with Yes Bank and Nokia in India to offer Mobile Money Services for the bank's customers in Pune, Chandigarh and Nashik. It recently also partnered Union Bank of India (UBI) to launch UBI Money, a mobile payment service, in New Delhi and its suburbs.
The government made several regulatory changes over the past few years to encourage mobile banking. In 2006, for instance, RBI announced a new policy to allow banks to conduct business using a "business correspondent" framework. Under this model, third parties conduct business in remote areas on behalf of banks.
In January 2010, the regulator also relaxed technology and security standards, permitting banks to undertake transactions valued up to US$22.4 (INR 1,000) without the need for end-to-end encryption. RBI also allowed the remittance of funds for disbursements in cash, which is targeted to enable rural users to send and receive money through their mobile phones.
Government regulations limit growth
However, there remains various regulations today that restrict the growth of mobile banking such as the KYC (Know Your Customer) policy which mandates banks must attain relevant information about customers before doing business with them, stringent criteria for business correspondents, restrictions on financial product offerings, and limitations on cash transactions.
Business correspondents also face several challenges, including lack of financial support for marketing, lack of local service support, restrictions in range of product offerings, extensive KYC requirements, and poor level of institutional partnership with banks.
Aditya said: "Banks have not been very trustworthy partners with business correspondents. Overall, I think policies are going in the right direction. The institutional reluctance among major [banks] is the major reason why the services are still to catch up."
The implementation of local level institutional partnerships and "cash points" would take mobile banking to a new zenith, he added.
He noted that banks have been conservative and rank retail banking lower on their business priorities. "The major problem emanates from the fact that banks lack intent to provide savings accounts to low-value customers," he said, adding that the cost of offering services in rural areas is high and there has been no institutional incentive for banks to offer mobile banking services.
However, things may change with some regulatory changes, one of which, for example, allows business correspondents to charge customers for conducting transactions. "This was earlier a big challenge for banks as the business model did not work well otherwise," Rajan said.
Telcos keen on mobile banking
According to the Celent analyst, India has the lowest tariffs globally and mobile banking offers an attractive revenue stream for telcos which are struggling churn more profits from their subscriber base.
Aditya added that mobile operators are eager to introduce mobile banking services and have been lobbying for the government to allow them to do so.
India's policy framework previously did not allow telcos to offer mobile banking, but was relaxed a year ago to enable private operators to introduce such services. However, the market still has not picked up. "There has been hardly any marketing, product or a local level support to encourage customers to adopt the service," Aditya said.
Swati Prasad is a freelance IT writer based in India.

Mobile banking services in India (Source: Celent)

Service	Description	Technology availability
Eko	Person-to-person payment via no-frills accounts with State Bank of India.	Mobile phones, and retail outlets which act as agents.
FINO	Services include no-frills accounts, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Social Security Pension, remittance, micro loans and insurance. Available through 25 projects.	Various offerings include mobile, biometrics and smartcards.
ALW	No-frills savings account with payout of government-to-person benefits. Available through 25 banks.	Fingerprint biometrics and smartcard-enabled mobile phones. GPRS is used to transmit data between mobile phone and fingerprint scanner.
OboPay	Person-to-person and mobile payments via YES Bank and Nokia Mobile.	Mobile payments are linked to YES Bank's customer accounts.
Green Mobile	Money transfer through partnership between Tata Indicom, Corporation Bank and PayMate.	Mobile phones

In This Report

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Asian FSI still hindered in cloud adoption

Asia-Pacific enterprises across various verticals are warming up to cloud computing as an alternative delivery platform but one industry segment that remains slow in its adoption is the financial services sector, due to several challenges including government policies and security concerns.
Sudev Bangah, senior research manager at IDC Asean, noted that regulatory policies and the need for control over data have posed as key inhibitors toward cloud adoption in the financial services industry (FSI).
In an e-mail interview, Bangah explained that factors such as local law, jurisdictional issues, data security and confidentiality are of the utmost importance, and are pushing many CIOs in the FSI sector to lean toward the private, rather than the public cloud model.
"While the returns on investment (ROI) discussion on whether it makes economic sense [to adopt cloud] is still debatable, regulatory policies on cloud computing within the FSI sector have not been clearly defined," he said.
The analyst added that as demand for cloud deployment within this sector heightens, clear guidelines for the FSI will need to be established.
Arun Chandrasekaran, research director for Asia-Pacific ICT Practice at Frost & Sullivan, concurred, noting that the FSI is the most regulated sector worldwide, where various laws governing the industry include Basel II and Anti Money Laundering Acts (AML).
"Apart from global regulations, the FSI sector needs to adhere to country-specific privacy acts and central bank directives that place strict emphasis on confidentiality and integrity of information," Chandrasekaran told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail.
Noting that the legislative fine print is often hazy with a lack of clarity in guidelines on what is the right thing to do, he said most C-level executives err on the side of caution and limit the usage of external services.
"The central banks and privacy agencies need to issue clear directives to IT decision makers to minimize the ambiguity that [currently] exists," he said.
Rik Turner, senior analyst with Ovum, that the FSI will embrace the public cloud in a limited manner. "We've seen investment banks in Europe use the public cloud on an ad-hoc basis to do huge number-crunching and simulation work," he said in a phone interview. "Much of the time, this does not involve sensitive customer data and banks can still derive the scalability benefits of the public cloud."
Turner said he expects Southeast Asia to follow suit and to only deploy the use of public cloud services in a test-and-development environment or allow banks to try out certain scenarios for marketing campaign purposes.
Security remains key
According to Anderson Ding, head of solutions advisory at SAP Malaysia, security is still one of the main challenges in the adoption of cloud computing, where risk factors involving security and infrastructure within an agreed set of service level agreements (SLAs) are the main obstacles.
Ding said in an e-mail: "Cloud services for the FSI should include frameworks for data management so that the cloud provider can meet regulatory and organizational reporting requirements in a timely manner."
Data should be segregated especially when in a multi-tenanted environment, ensuring regulatory compliance and that information is not shared with competitors, he suggested, adding that policies should also include infrastructure procedures such as data storage, backup and retrieval.
Laurent Lachal, senior analyst at Ovum, pointed out that the use of public cloud infrastructure requires a new thinking on the part of FSI players.
"It's no longer about disallowing data to get out in the open but about controlling the data as it moves around [the cloud] through the usage of encryption," Lachal said in a phone interview.
The FSI must change its approach to security and one that is dynamic and follows the data application as it moves across different boundaries, he explained, noting that this requires a more proactive data management strategy that does not treat data merely as a single entity.
"To do this effectively, the sector needs a mix of technology and new processes and a completely new approach to security," he said.
Best industry practices
According to Steve McWhirter, senior vice president for Salesforce.com Asia-Pacific, FSI players looking to deploy public clouds should be mindful of the targeted objectives from such deployments.
In an e-mail interview, McWhirter said: "For instance, FSI companies should ask themselves if the cloud is able to reduce cost and other resource burdens such as licensing updating, patching and the disruptive upgrade of complex software stack.
"And, does deploying the cloud radically speed up the creation and improvement of customized applications and offer advanced capabilities with social apps like customer community creation? Is it able to deploy customized applications to new mobile devices such as the iPad2, iPhone, or Blackberry without additional or redundant coding?"
Chandrasekaran advised that FSIs carefully scrutinize the ISMS (information security management system) and SLAs offered by public cloud players.
"Don't assume that having an SLA guarantees adherence to regulatory compliance and legal mandates," he noted. "If you aren't satisfied, it's better to invest in private clouds as cost shouldn't be the only objective in choosing public clouds.
"Also, constantly monitor and improve your cloud infrastructure, and invest some of the cost savings reaped from cloud deployment in tools that can enhance [data] visibility, reporting, security and privacy."

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HTC beats Nokia in market value

HTC has bypassed competitor Nokia in terms of market value, driven by its slew of Android-powered smartphones, and is expected to see further growth in the coming years, according to reports.
HTC's market capitalization jumped 33 percent this year to reach US$33.8 billion, topping Finnish rival Nokia's US$32.8 billion, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
Technology site, All Things Digital, also stated in a blog post that the figure is much higher than Research In Motion's (RIM) market value of US$28.5 billion.
HTC is Asia's second-largest handset manufacturer and with its new increased stock value, the Taiwanese company is now also the world's third-largest manufacturer, the Bloomberg report noted. HTC shares on Wednesday rose 5.3 percent in Taipei, compared to Nokia which inched up only 1.1 percent in Helsinki.
The report added that exponential demand for Android-powered smartphones contributed to HTC's ascension in the market. It noted that Standard & Poor's on Mar. 30 had for the first time cut its debt rating on Nokia, forecasting "further significant market share losses".
In contrast, the projection for HTC is optimistic. Goldman Sachs' analyst Robert Chan estimated that the company is set to see higher growth, shipping 200 million smartphones and 30 million tablets annually over the next three to five years, according to the All Things Digital post.
Previous reports also signaled the growing dominance of Google's mobile operating system (OS) over RIM and Nokia. Research firm Canalys announced in February that Android surpassed Nokia's Symbian to emerge the top platform for smartphones worldwide.
Nokia in February formed an alliance with Microsoft in a move aimed at reversing its diminishing stake in the mobile pie.

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e ARM support 'necessary' for Microsoft

Microsoft's move to develop its Windows 8 operating system (OS) to support both x86 and ARM chip architecture is a good business move and necessary to help Redmond grab a share of the mobile market currently dominated by Google and Apple.
Matt Healey, program director for software and services at IDC Asia-Pacific, noted that whle Microsoft's move to include an iteration of Windows 8 for ARM-based processors will diversify the company's offerings beyond its traditional base of x86 systems, it is a "necessary" step to take.
"Microsoft has not been a significant player in the booming mobile world and this announcement was required if it is ever to become a significant market participant," Healey said in an e-mail.
Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst at Gartner, shared similar sentiments. He said Redmond's announcement is "good from a business perspective" as ARM-based processors have a giant share in handheld devices and Microsoft will want to get in on the action.
With ARM-based smartphones and tablets already in the market, and small form-factor netbooks and all-in-one desktops not far off from commercial availability, he noted that Microsoft is seeing the platform's potential.
If its development efforts did not include the ARM architecture, Microsoft's Windows OS would risk losing market share to competitors including Google's Android and Apple's iOS, Tripathi added. "Microsoft realizes the momentum behind ARM is continuing to grow, and that eventually they will need to support ARM hardware in areas that they currently do not," he said.
Redmond announced its Windows 8 roadmap in January when it demonstrated how the OS would work on both x86 and ARM architectures.
It also announced partnerships with ARM chipmakers Nvidia, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments (TI).
Developer buy-in vital
However, Tripathi reckoned that since the ARM architecture is different from x86 and is not as powerful, existing Windows applications will have to be "rewritten significantly" to run on it.
Healey added that getting developers to come onboard to code for a different platform will be one of the biggest hurdles Redmond would have to overcome. He noted that since there are already several platforms available in the mobile and embedded devices markets, it might prove "difficult" for Microsoft to develop a similar ecosystem in a short time.
His observations were earlier highlighted by Dan Olds, principal analyst of Gabriel Consulting Group, who said Microsoft's success in adopting ARM-based chips depends on the support of independent software vendors (ISVs). "It's not just Microsoft moving to ARM but Microsoft also must get all the other ISVs [to follow suit] in order to have the ecosystem its wants," Olds told technology news site Computerworld in January. "It has to have apps from everyone else."
He noted that Microsoft had already tried, and failed, to support another chip platform. In the 1990s, Redmond offered a version of Windows NT for Digital Equipment Corp's (DEC) Alpha chip, which was developed according to the 64-bit RISC (reduced instruction set computer) architecture. Windows NT never gained popularity partly because there was a lack of applications that were developed for the platform, Olds said.
When contacted, Microsoft declined to comment.
However, one software vendor ZDNet Asia spoke to said it currently has no plans to develop for ARM architecture. A SAP spokesperson said in her e-mail that the company's applications and database run on 64-bit chip architectures. This will continue to be its platform of choice because ARM chips are only 32-bit, she added.
ARM revealed in February that it was considering 64-bit extensions for its CPU designs, but noted that its absence today would not harm its presence in the server market.
In another Computerworld article, ARM CEO Warren East was quoted to say: "There are certainly server applications today for which...a lack of 64-bit is not a barrier. A 32-bit processor is perfectly adequate to address multicore configurations and blades with multiple multicore chips."
He added that it was "logical" to suppose the U.K.-based chip design licensing company would extend its architecture to 64-bit "at some stage in the future"

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Inter Milan 2-5 Schalke

Inter Milan 2-5 Schalke

Inter Milan's UEFA Champions League hopes are all but dead after Schalke twice came from behind to claim a commanding first-leg advantage.

Dejan Stankovic needed just 25 seconds to volley his side into the lead with a stunning hit from the centre circle, but Joel Matip levelled, just as Edu did before half-time after Diego Milito restored Inter's lead.

It was all downhill for the Italian champions after the break as Raul netted for Schalke, Andrea Ranocchia scored an own goal and Cristian Chivu picked up his second red card in four days, before Edu notched again to round off a miserable night.

It all looked so promising for Inter, who were coming off a 3-0 defeat against derby rivals AC Milan, as they immediately took the lead in stunning fashion.

Manuel Neuer advanced out of his area under pressure from Milito and headed clear.

He got good distance but the ball went straight to Stankovic in the centre circle, who showed great technique and power to volley first time over the defence, over Neuer and over the line.

Raul had two good chances to equalise inside the next five minutes, heading first wide and then straight at Julio Cesar.

At the other end, Milito did well down the left beat two defenders and get a cross in, but Wesley Sneijder could not keep his header down.

But Schalke were level in the 17th minute.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos was left completely unmarked at the far post from Jefferson Farfan's corner and, though his header was straight at Cesar, the ball broke to Matip, who hammered home.

Inter appealed for a penalty when Milito went down under pressure from Atsuto Uchida when through on goal, but referee Martin Atkinson decided there was no foul.

Manuel Jurado then shot straight at Cesar, before at the other end Eto'o had a goal chalked off for offside to bring a hectic opening 20 minutes to a close.

Stankovic's eventful evening - he was also booked - came to a premature end when he succumbed to injury after 24 minutes and was replaced by Houssine Kharja.

But Inter did not let the change knock them out of their stride and they were ahead nine minutes later.

A neat move involving Milito and Javier Zanetti saw Sneijder cross to Esteban Cambiasso at the far post.

Cambiasso headed back across goal to Milito, who, having stayed just onside, had a simple task to finish from close range.

They could not hang onto their lead until half-time, though, as Edu drew Schalke level, following up to finish from a narrow angle after Cesar had done well to save his initial deflected shot.

Inter should have had a goal a minute into the second half as well, as Sneijder picked out Milito, who controlled well but sent a left-footed shot inches wide of the left post.

Two minutes later, Sneijder played in Eto'o, who turned Benedikt Howedes before seeing his shot brilliantly saved by Neuer.

But it was Schalke who took the lead in the 53rd minute as Raul claimed his 70th Champions League goal, finishing low past Cesar after good work by Farfan.

And it got worse for Inter four minutes later when Ranocchia slid in under no pressure and diverted Jurado's low cross into his own net.

Eto'o had a glorious chance to pull one back moments later but he dragged a left-foot shot wide from 10 yards.

Chivu was shown a second yellow, having also been sent off in the Milan derby, for a challenge on Edu in the 62nd minute which the Brazilian made the most of. They almost paid the price three minutes later when Jurado crashed a shot against the post.

Farfan's 75th-minute shot was saved by Cesar and his follow-up effort turned against the post by Ranocchia, but moments later the ball broke to Edu, who turned Ranocchia and curled the ball past the despairing goalkeeper.

A shellshocked Inter rarely threatened thereafter and they will have a mountain to climb in Gelsenkirchen next week.

Raul: Quarter-final tie not over yet

Inter Milan vs Schalke Player Ratings

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PACQUIAO VS MOSLEY

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Inter Milan - Schalke 2-5 Alle Tore All goals & Full Match Highlights 05...

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United rocked by Rooney suspension

United rocked by Rooney suspension

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has been charged by the FA for using abusive language and now faces a two game ban.

The England forward issued a formal apology following his foul-mouthed celebration at West Ham on Saturday, which he claimed came "in the heat of the moment" after he completed a match-turning treble, and insisted "was not aimed at anyone in particular".
However, an FA statement on Monday read: "The FA has charged Manchester United's Wayne Rooney for the use of offensive, insulting and/or abusive language.
"This charge relates to an incident during his side's fixture with West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday April 2, 2011.
"Rooney has until 6pm on April 5 to respond to the charge."
A one-match ban would rule Rooney out of Saturday's home game with Fulham, with a two-match suspension sidelining him for the following weekend's Manchester derby FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Sanctioning a player for swearing into a camera is understood to be unprecedented in English football.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was handed a three-match ban - with a further two matches suspended - by UEFA for a similar offence during the 2009 Champions League semi-final against Barcelona but his tirade was deemed to have been directed at the referee.
There does appear to be provision for punishment in the FA's own rules about behaviour, which state: "A participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour."
Rooney's three goals at Upton Park helped his team to a 4-2 victory which took them seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.
But, after completing his treble, the striker uttered an audible expletive into a television camera as he celebrated.
The game at was beamed around the world by Sky Sports and the incident prompted an on-air apology from the broadcaster.
The 25-year-old upset England fans during last summer's World Cup when he turned to a television camera and verbally criticised them at the end of the dismal goalless draw with Algeria.

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