Microsoft just announced that they are including Hyper-V with the next versio n of Windows. This now makes the third (in our opinion) most interesting new feature to be included with Windows 8. We have briefly talked about the other two (USB optimizations and the new File Management system). This new feature, however, is something that could have a big impact... on VMware. You see right nowVMware is one of the leading companies in virtualiation and their products are in use by a large number of people (incuding us). Of course Microsoft tried to include a type of Hyper-V in Winows 7 (XP-Mode) but that did not go over so well. This time things are a little different.

The Hyper-V that will be included with Widows 8 includes a llittle more than the XP Mode that is on the current flavor of Windows. For starters you wll not be able to run this unless you have a 64-bit CPU and at least 4GB of RAM. On top of all that you will need to have a CPU that supports Second Level Address Translation. Now this is not a networking term but relates to memory addressing and is a feature that has only popped up in the last few generations of CPUs from Intel and AMD. I wonder, if there is any chance that Microsoft will enable this feature for the ARM archiceture and allow a sort of "dual boot" mode with the guest OS taking the lead in system resources and the Host becoming a background task just to keep the Guest operational. In all honesty I am just waiting to see what tablet manufacturers are going to offer Windows 8 drivers for existing ARM tablets. I will be very interesting to see things a they unfold leading up to November of 2012.

Source Windows 8 Blog

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It looks like the cheapest Android Tablet on the market is now the HP TouchPad. Ever since HP announced the death of the WebOS division (the moved into another department) the rapidly changing company has been trying to unload all of the hardware they have sitting around. To accomplish this they dropped the prices on the TouchPad from $499 (16GB) and $599 (32GB) to $99 and $149 respectively. This price has caused something of a rush on them and most of the stores that carried them are all sold out. Now while many are snapping these up, there are some that are not interested in a product that will have an OS that is not going to truly be supported anymore.

Well, have no fear. The gang known as Team-Touchdroid has found a way to get Android running on this hardware complete with full multitouch capability. Team-Touchdroid in combination with the group CyanogenMod (the ones that are responsible for most of the Rooted Android ROMs) have been working hard to make your new inexpensive investment pay off in a big way. Their progress has been amazing; the pair have already gotten 2.3.5 running on the device and now have added the full ten finger multitouch to the party. We are sure it will not be long before they achieve their goal of porting HoneyComb to these now very cheap but hard to find tablets. Check out the video below

Source Team-TouchDroid

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As there is so much news about who Apple is suing and who, in return, is suing Apple right back we are going to combine some news today. First up is an interesting piece where we find HTC has filed a new suit against Apple based on some patents that were formerly owned by one time bosom buddy Google. Remember that long ago time when Eric Schmidt sat on the Google board and things seemed so cozy between the two.  Now things are different and these two companies now sit on opposite sides of the market. However, where Apple wants it all (they really do want to control everything about their products) Google is willing to work with others (for now).

The suit that HTC has filed is based on Patents that were transferred to them from Google just days ago (September 1st). These were originally from multiple companies such as Palm and Motorola. This is the strongest show of support from Google since the Apple legal team began its campaign against Android. It may also be an indication that Google is getting ready to wade into the party. After all, the advertising giant recently bought Motorola and now has its stable of patents to bring to bear on Apple. Things are certainly going to heat up soon and with the last few “less than expected” verdicts handed down to Apple competitors in the EU we might indeed be seeing a shifting in the never ending patent wars over smart phones and tablets.

Moving on to the next item that we found interesting; we come to another Judge using that rarest of abilities; common sense. Here we find that Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett has told Apple that they cannot show that Samsung’s products can potentially hurt sales unless Apple is willing to show their exact sales numbers. This is something that Apple has never liked to do. They will hint at things, make indirect claims but it is usually up to the press to try and ferret out the information based on other factors that can be tracked. However, because of this policy of secrecy Apple may lose out one way or the other. If they reveal the numbers and they show that Samsung is not hurting them in the US or EU these exact numbers can be leaked to the rest of the world and it would set a precedent that might have echoes around the globe. It would be really a pain if Apple had to actually prove things instead of just claiming them and having done with it.

Sources CNET and Fudzilla

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Now it is time for the AT&T&T-Mobile news. It seems that competitor Sprint has opted to file a lawsuit in opposition to the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. This really should surprise no one as Sprint has never agreed with the deal in the first place. The suit filed by Sprint covers the same ground that the one filed by the DOJ does. You know the drill; it is bad for consumers, removed choice from the market and creates a douopoly (which sounds like a fun board game). Of course AT&T was quick to issue a statement saying that Sprint is only looking out for themselves (No kidding, really?) and that they are no concerned with consumers and how much they will benefit from this merger (of course they never really detail those benefits).  Pretty much Sprint said AT&T was a big bully and AT&T said “Nuh-Uh!” it really is like watching kids argue on the playground.

Other reports suggest that AT&T might not be worried because if the revisions cost them more than 20% of the original deal, then they might get some money off the price tag for T-Mobile. It things hit 40% of the original sticker price then AT&T can walk owning only 3 Billion to T-Mobile for their troubles. So really AT&T is not going to be worried they are in something of a win-win. Sure the merger is their goal (and they will lobby for it), but they still have lots of options. I really wonder what the outcome of this all will be, but I do hope that someone up there in Washington has some common sense and can see just how bad for consumers a deal like this could be.

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