EVER-IMPROVING WEB TECHNOLOGY. Windows 8 and the Google Free Zone testify to today’s continuously evolving web-based technologies. Photo from Google Ph.

RECENT EFFORTS by US-based tech companies Microsoft and Google are looking to shape the local technological landscape in the near future.

Microsoft has recently launched Windows 8, its newest operating system, and its first tablet called Surface. The question now is whether at least Windows 8 would be a hit with Filipinos, who are still largely Windows users.

Google, on the other hand, has recently tied up with Globe Telecom to make the Philippines a Free Zone, which would allow subscribers to “share and search on your phone with no data charges.”

The new Windows

In a move to integrate graphics and utility for a tablet without sacrificing the fundamentals of a desktop, the Windows operating system has been completely redesigned with functional creativity.

The iconic “Start” is no longer just a button but an entire screen. The sequential access to programs (e.g. Start > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad), which can be tedious on a touchscreen, is abandoned and restructured with Live Tiles.

Applications like Calendar, Mail, Weather and People connect to one’s social media and email accounts, then simultaneously update in real time on one screen.

“You won’t find the close, minimize and maximize buttons anymore. That’s Microsoft’s major investment. It focuses more on content,” said Victor Tañedo, who is currently a computer science graduate student in the Ateneo and works with Microsoft Student Partners.

The new operating system introduces the Picture Password feature, which enables account login by drawing and clicking on specific locations of a user’s photo. Multitasking is also made easier by allowing two open applications to Snap into one screen.

In lieu of the taskbar is the Charms feature, which merges tools such as Search, Share, Start, Devices and Settings into a readily accessible sidebar. Additionally, users may add new applications to their computer conveniently from the Windows Store.

If one prefers Windows’ more familiar graphical user interface, however, he or she can switch to the traditional Desktop view. “All the programs made in the past decade still work under Windows 8, but [are] much faster,” said Tañedo.

Other Windows 8 features include SkyDrive, which allows cloud connection from the Surface to a desktop. Users may start a project by swiping on the touchscreen and finish it with a click of the mouse.

Microsoft released Windows 8 alongside Surface last October 26, 2012.

A Google-powered Free Zone

Meanwhile, Google chose the Philippines to be the first country where the company would test out Free Zone, in partnership with Globe Telecom. Free Zone will allow Globe subscribers to have free access to Google Search, Gmail, and Google+ on their mobile devices.

Jenna Atun, a Communication Department assistant instructor,  noted that choosing the Philippines as the first Google Free Zone is an important step in making the Internet accessible to more people. As the number of mobile phone users increases, she said, the demand for Internet access in the most random places go up as well.

However, the partnership with Globe already entails economic constraints despite the promise of Free Zone. “An obvious disadvantage is that access is just exclusive to Globe subscribers, which is getting a lot of complaints recently,” Atun said.

The next billion

The battleground has changed drastically for both Microsoft and Google.

While Windows 8 has gained positive reception during the immediate post-launch, product sales have shown lukewarm fluidity, as Microsoft is still floundering in finding its niche among tablet users.

Google, on the other hand, will not settle for a mere billion and is casting a wider net—starting with the Philippines, dubbed today as “the Social Networking Capital of the World.”

“In a few years, I can imagine almost every human task to have a computer to do it for them; almost everything will be automated,” said Trishia Gerobiese, a senior management information systems major.

Such technological developments show how the future that was once deemed impossible is now slowly becoming a reality.