I split my days between Windows and OS X. Sometimes I feel like a child whose parents got divorced and I have the responsibility of pleasing them both. At the same time I am the child who’s pampered by the parents who try to make up for their separation. For the tech lover in me, this situation is ideal: I don’t get bored and still manage to discover new features in both OS’, especially with the fierce competition between Microsoft and Apple. The general philosophy is clearly consistence across operating systems. Microsoft does it by offering the same OS on desktop PCs and mobile devices, while Apple’s strategy is the cohabitation of two operating systems (iOS and OS X) that share gestures and some UI consistencies so that it results in a consistent experience for the customer. After last year’s not very successful attempt of re-imagining the look and feel of Windows by adding the “touch”, but overlooking the responsiveness between devices (desktop, phone, tablet), Microsoft released the Windows 8.1 version through which it tries to calm down some of the critics. It reintroduced the Start button and included the ability to skip the Start screen and boot directly to the desktop; the colorful tiled look of the screen is ideal for tablets, but traditionalists wanted the classic desktop interface. Windows 8 is Microsoft’s attempt to create an OS that is as operational on traditional PCs and on mobile touch-screens. The idea behind the development of the dual interface is for Microsoft to gain market share in tablets  while preserving Windows’ longtime dominance of the desktop-PC arena. However, despite the aggressive marketing campaign, the software gained just 8.02 percent of the worldwide market, much behind Windows XP at 31.42 percent and Windows 7 at 46.39...

“If everyone is busy making everything, how can anyone perfect anything?” That was the opening line of the 24th Apple World Wide Developers Conference that wrapped up last week. Tickets to this year’s event sold out in only 71 seconds. Over 1,000 engineers from more than 60 countries gathered for the first-look reveals of software, hardware, and service updates. While technology perfection may be an impossible utopian dream, the continuing quest for improvement and exuberant excitement around Apple innovation makes WWDC a high-energy event every year. Although speculation on the unveilings was rampant in online software forums, Apple CEO Tim Cook and his team managed to present a few surprises. OS X Mavericks The reign of big cats (OS X Mountain Lion) is now ended, and cool California places are the new nomenclature theme for OS X), starting with the famous Northern California big wave beach, Mavericks. Craig Federighi, Senior VP of Software Engineering, introduced over 200 features of the new OS. Some of those are relevant to all Mac users, and others are geared towards professionals in different fields. New core technologies are the most impressive updates, with great impact on power efficiency and performance. Timer Coalescing groups low-level operations, reducing CPU utilization by 72 percent (it spends more time in a low-power state) without affecting performance and responsiveness. App Nap reduces the power consumed by unused apps and Compressed Memory increases speed and responsiveness by compressing inactive data when not used, uncompressing it instantly when needed. The sync between devices is deepened, Finder Tabs and Tags are introduced with applicability anywhere on the Mac and in iCloud, making Finder-browsing and document search easier, Tags acting as search filters. Safari’s new sidebar eases access to bookmarks and reading lists, while the Shared Links...