During Microsoft’s company’s annual conference San Francisco, Terry Myerson the VP of Microsoft’s operating system has released a statement that their aim for Windows 10 is to be installed in one billion devices within 2 to 3 years. For users who are still waiting for its final release, the timetable is set for the summer of 2015. According to the executive chief of AMD which has been a long time partner of Microsoft, Windows 10 will most likely be in market in late July of 2015.

Experts think Microsoft’s plan for the new operating system is that it becomes more mobile across an array of devices as compared to the previous focus of just desktops and laptops. CEO Satya Nadella expects that the release of Windows 10 will usher in a new era, one where the experience of their software is essentially paramount regardless of the device.

For developers, the new software version allows their applications to be compatible with any device that runs Windows 10 as they only need to work on a single code base platform. Future applications will truly be universal and can be used in phones, PC’s, tablets, and even the Xbox One console.

This new approach is made posssible by the software called Continuum. This particular software helps Windows 10 detect what type of device you are using and adapt to it accordingly. Their goal for Continuum is to make any device function just like your personal computer.

During the news conference, Microsoft also demonstrated the capability of HoloLens which runs applications based on the Windows 10 operating system. The demonstration showed a holographic version of Skype that will allow you to have a conversation while you go from one room to another with a whole new visual experience.

Despite regaining the global lead when it comes to selling smartphone units, Samsung Electronics sits in fourth place for China’s smartphone market during the first quarter of 2015. The news comes from industry analysts and is surprising to consumers around the world.

Most experts think that Apple is not the only competitor that Samsung needs to worry about if it has plans in dominating the Chinese market. At the top of the list when it comes to smartphone sales in that country is the Chinese phone brand Xiaomi Inc. which accounts for almost thirteen percent of smartphone sales in China or 110 million units. The Xiaomi brand is closely followed by Apple which holds about 12% of the market with Huawei Technologies, another Chinese company, coming in third place with ten percent market share.

Strategy Analytics has not released the sales data of Samsung Inc. when it comes to its units, however they expect Samsung to return to the top three smartphones in China in the second or third quarter due to the popularity of its new S6 handsets released in April. Strategy Analytics also expects that Apple Inc. will surpass Xiaomi as the popularity of the Iphone 6 and 6 Plus is continuously gaining momentum in the country. Apple stated last Monday that they have experienced a 71% sales increase in this country which amounted to 16.8 billion dollars.

In the world market, Samsung continues to take the lead with its 24% market share. While Samsung holds a large percentage over Apple which sits at 18% worldwide, the 24% is a decline from last year’s figures which put the company at 31% market share.

After the success of Amazon’s home service marketplace launch online last month, the online retailer has now just introduced a B2B version of this same service. The B2B version allows individual business owners or companies to directly connect with any suppliers based in the United States.

Amazon Business aims to offer connections in any industry including oil companies, mining, or even those that are involve in biotechnology to get exclusive discounts and pricing from their website whenever they purchase in bulk. Additionally, there will be free shipping for any purchases above 49 dollars similar to Amazon’s other services. Customers can even have the option to get Amazon guarantee for additional security.

This new service that Amazon offers attempts to solidify its spot online as the primary middleman users choose whenever they need a certain product, service, or supplier for their business.

Forester Research has estimated that by the year 2020, the business to business online marketplace will account for about twelve percent of the total business to business earnings for the entire United States.

Amazon Vice President Prentis Wilson has stated that with this particular service, individual businesses will have the access that they need when it comes to products that are exclusively available with discounts normally given only by wholesalers. Amazon business will soon be available nationwide with categories inside the website ranging from large industrial equipment, medical products, office supplies to education and other business needs. Hard to find items like large deep fryers, steel drums, traffic lights, or even antibodies can finally be searched through the help of Amazon Business.

Ram Mahat, the Finance Minister of Nepal, stated today that the cost to be able rebuild back from the earthquake could possibly amount to 10 billion dollars and may take several years. The tragedy that occurred on April 25, 2015 now has a death toll that amounts to 4,300 which could rise to 6,000. The government of Nepal is in a struggle right now to save those who may still be trapped because of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the country last Saturday.

Mahat states that even though they still have faith that there are a lot of survivors still trapped, they do not have enough equipment to rescue these people quickly. Even in the country’s capital Kathmandu, many buildings have collapsed and they are still looking for ways to get people out of the rubble. The figure that Mahat has estimated for the reconstruction of Nepal is actually half of the country’s twenty billion dollar economy. This is smaller than any given state in the United States. Nepal plans to appeal to the world for help financially once rescue efforts have been exhausted.

Completely Unexpected

Mahat has said in the interview that Nepal is absolutely unprepared for the scale of the unimaginable devastation that the earthquake has brought, and that it was completely unexpected. They are currently overwhelmed and having difficulty providing relief for the 28 million people of Nepal that have been affected.

The Finance Minister welcomes the support of the whole world, including countries bordering Nepal such as India and China. In the next coming days, the minister plans to create cost figure estimates that will cover the relief effort needs, and ask the global community for its support. As of the moment, their priority is to search for survivors, rescue them, and provide the needs of the injured.

Top MMA fighter Jon ‘Bones’ Jones has been accused of felony hit-and-run involving two other vehicles on Sunday morning.  The mixed martial arts fighter reportedly is being sought by Albuquerque New Mexico police officials regarding this incident.  According to statements and police reports, Jones ran from the scene of a three car accident on Sunday where he jumped a fence as he left the scene.  The charges were upgraded to a felony as one victim received a fractured arm and wrist.

Albuquerque police officials issued a statement about the arrest warrant for the 27 year old champion of the light-heavyweight division fighting for the UFC.  The statement notes that one witness saw Jones run from the vehicle up a hill and then came back to the silver vehicle he had been driving.  The witness stated that Jones retrieved cash from the vehicle and fled on foot.

Jones was scheduled to take part in a MMA match on May 23, 2015 against Anthony Johnson to defend his title.  No statement on the event’s cancellation as of yet from promoter UFC.  The charges could possibly cause the company to drop Jones from the event which would cause huge economic implications due to the event being widely promoted.

The UFC did make a statement earlier in the day:

“We are aware that the Albuquerque Police Department is interested in speaking to Jon Jones regarding his possible involvement in a motor vehicle accident. We are in the process of gathering facts and will reserve further comment until more information is available.”

Jones is innocent until found guilty in a court of law.

For those who are users of the online service Twitter, a new feature is expected to change up the hugely popular social media site.  Recently announced is the ability of users to direct message a Twitter user without having to first follow them as had been the rules in place.

According to a post on the Twitter blog page, new updates include:

* Updated messaging rules so you can reply to anyone who sends you a direct message, regardless of whether or not that person follows you.

* A setting that allows you to receive direct messages from anyone, even if you don’t follow them.

* A new direct message button on profile pages on Android and iPhone. You’ll see it on the profiles of people you can send direct messages to.

Twitter is widely used by celebrities, sports stars and regular users daily to send out short messages to recipients.  The most popular of these services has recently seen much competition from several rivals including WhatsApp which is owned by Facebook along with Facebook’s messaging service.   Twitter has stated they have 288 million active users per month sending over 500 million Twitter messages per day.  This pales in comparison to WhatsApp which claims 30 billion messages per day.

Hoping to spike sales in the spring season, Home Depot is pushing a new promotion this April with their ‘Cyber Week’ sale starting on the 19th of the month.  The move is expected to boost sales just like the winter holiday season but in a time where no holiday is celebrated.

While Black Friday targets shoppers for brick and mortar store purchases in the hours after Thanksgiving, cyber week or even the bigger Cyber Monday is focused on shoppers ordering online which has added a whole new element for retailers to cater to.  FOr weeks and even months before the event, shoppers go in search of the best online deals hoping to avoid stores by ordering holiday gifts online.  Home Depot appears to be bringing this type of atmosphere to the spring season with its latest promotion.

Just having ended its latest promotion called Spring Black Friday, Home Depot will continue with another special sales promotion on April 19.  The giant home improvement retailer is hoping this spring sale will rival the massive sales from the winter cyber week.  Experts in retail sales have commented that online sales for traditional brick and mortar businesses like Home Depot have grown into the lower middle percent area over the last few years which has brought more focus for the retailers to promote.

Home Depot will not be the only retailer putting out a spring Black Friday or Cyber Week type of event.  Rival Lowes matched the previous event that ended days ago with their own sale and is expected to also launch their cyber sale this month.  Wal-Mart is also expected to do the same having just finished sales program with ‘Black Friday-like’ pricing in its stores.