Six Tech Products to Watch for in 2015
In 2014, the tech industry experienced important product launches such as the Apple iPhone 6, budget-oriented 4K monitors, and Intel processors based on Haswell-E microarchitecture. But with a new year comes new budgets and new product launches. Once again, wearables are expected to be important, but other tech products—especially operating systems—will likely be popular topics of discussion.
Apple Watch
Release date: 2015
Wearables have been around for a few years and the Apple Watch still has yet to be released though the official announcement and reveal for it happened in 2014. We know what it looks like, what it will cost, and the technical specifications for it. We just do not know when it launches.
What’s known: the Apple Watch will be priced starting at $349 for the base model, with the price points for the higher-end models undisclosed. Through the WatchKit Software Development Kit for the Watch, it has been revealed the device will come in two sizes, 38 millimeters and 42 millimeters. The resolutions are 272 × 340 and 312 × 390 respectively.
Windows 10
Release date: mid-2015
Windows 8 had several good features going for it, but unfortunately, companies and people did not like the changes it brought. This upcoming iteration of Windows brings back the much missed Start menu, which was unfortunately replaced by the Metro design in Windows 8. A unified code base—which allows the operating system to run on multiple platforms, including smartphone, tablet, laptop, and desktop—figures in heavily for the OS.
An event for the consumer version of Windows 10 will be held on January 21 and a full release sometime mid-2015. For enterprise and SMBs, Windows 8 did not look appealing. Most stayed with Windows 7 and skipped upgrading. To give professionals a glimpse of the changes, Microsoft made a Technical Preview of Windows 10 Enterprise available to down. Consider giving it a try, maybe an operating system upgrade is in store for you in 2015.
Touch-optimized Microsoft Office
Release date: mid-2015
Microsoft wants everyone to use their Office productivity suite—as if most are not already—and to that end recently made the mobile versions of it free for Android and iOS users. However, that version of Office and the upcoming touch-optimized Office are not the same. Details for this new version are sparse, but expect more news later in the year.
Windows Server 10
Release date: mid-2015
For IT departments needing to migrate from Windows Server 2003, 2015 looks to be a good year. It is available to preview as a part of the Windows Server 10 Technical Preview and has been a focus for Microsoft’s efforts. Updates to the Hyper-V hypervisor in particular have attracted much attention. When you install install Windows Server 10 to a Hyper-V cluster with Server 2012 R2 nodes, the cluster will remain on a Server 2012 R2 function level until all nodes have been upgraded.
Other improvements found in Server 10 include a new virtual machine configuration file format, integration services delivery through Windows Update, and more. For more details, see Microsoft’s Server 10 page.
Intel Skylake
Release date: late-2015
Though Intel’s Broadwell-based desktop processors are not readily available yet, its successor Skylake already intrigues us. Expected to debut along with Broadwell-K, Skylake will be produced with a 14 nm manufacturing process initially and downsize to 10 nm a year later. Currently, Broadwell processors can be found in laptops while the desktop variants have been delayed to early 2015. For IT administrators and power users, waiting for Skylake may be a better option—provided Skylake is not delayed as well.
Acer Chromebook 15
Release date: early-2015
Chromebooks typically have 11.6-inch or 14-inch screens, but Acer just increased that range with a 15.6-inch Chromebook aptly named the Chromebook 15. In a previous article, we discussed the popularity of Chromebooks in the classroom as they are low-cost computers, typically in the $200-$300 range. Acer’s price for the Chromebook 15? $250, right in the middle of that range. Best of all, the Chromebook 15 comes equipped with an Intel Broadwell processor.
2015 looks to be a major year for IT departments, considering operating system upgrades may be in order for both workstations and servers. In fact, if you have no upgraded from Windows Server 2003, you should be doing so soon. So which products are you looking for to in 2015?
