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Bill Gates: Android and iOS tab users will eventually switch to Windows

This doesn't seem likely at all. Not with the directions Windows has gone.
 
I have a asus touchscreen notebook(not tablet) with windows 8. Only thing I like about metro is the email app and gestures. Other than that metro and most of the apps suck. I stay on desktop 95% of the time.

As much as I like the Lumia 920. WP8 doesn't seem like an OS for quick tasking. Too much tiles, scrolling, animations, and flicking. That's the impression I got when playing with it. I'm used to tapping once or several times to get something done quickly.

Bill Gates is on some B.S. I don't need MS office to create office docs and I can type just fine.
 
I doubt those over sized blocks are the future.

Metro is the reason i do not like upgrading to windows 8 (have no choice if i buy a new PC though) and did not want to use windows phone 8 as daily driver.

Even blackberry is using the traditional icon based UI which looks far better to me than those huge space wasting blocks on windows and windows phone.

In my 16 years of using windows, this is the first time i am strongly considering purchasing a mac as my next computer. Bill Gates must be on crack.
 
IMO he is 100% right, if MS would stop screwing up so badly. If they could get windows 8 just right to be perfect on a tablet there would be a heck of a lot of "frustrated" people on today's toy tablets who would switch over. The problem is that MS is not getting windows 8 right, and it's really turning a lot of people off.

I think it's grossly underestimated how many users are "frustrated" with today's tablets, today's tablets have never made the leap to make consumers throw away their desktops and laptops for example. A windows 8 tablet done right, with the right UI, with the right amount of horsepower and battery life, with the right amount of connectivity and input methods may very well bridge the gap in a revolution which see us move the mobile space completely over to a tablet, much like the mobile space moved to laptops very quickly.
 
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He has a valid point.

I don't need office but typing for long periods of time on a tablet sucks without a keyboard.

Problem is they priced the surface too high
 
thehustleman said:
He has a valid point.

I don't need office but typing for long periods of time on a tablet sucks without a keyboard.

Problem is they priced the surface too high
Click to expand...

People who want to type a lot on a tablet simply buy Bluetooth keyboards. For the iPad, there are a lot of options for keyboards that are incorporated into iPad covers, or keyboard + stand combinations.

In other words, there is no need to make a hybrid tablet + desktop OS in order to allow people to use a physical keyboard with their tablet. IMO that's where Microsoft went wrong.
 
I think he misses the point. While some users need the full power of an OS with a traditional file system, large storage, keyboard input (but BT keyboard for iPad negates that concern totally), mouse use, etc., MOST users who buy a tablet are not those users. So while iOS is not capable of a lot of things, having MS Office available in 2014 gives MS a bit of time to try to capture market share while giving up so much profit from users wanting it today. I suspect they would earn more revenue from subscriptions that start today for iOS users than they will gain in market share by having users migrate between iOS/Android/MS Windows 8 tablets.

For those who need full power, little can compare to Surface Pro, but I hope MS, and Bill Gates in his wishful thinking, are not waiting for the tidal wave of power users to flood the market soon buying up all the Surface Pros or similar. Tablets remain consumption devices and developers are working daily to correct that into consumption/creation devices. The power of the full Windows 8 tablet can't really be knocked for work purposes since they're more true productivity machines, but I suspect a lot of users will continue to use tablets at half the cost or down to $149 (Nook HD for example) and get 90% of what they need done without the huge investment into a full powered tablet.

If I were truly in need of that full-fledged desktop environment ALL the time, a tablet would not be my tool to use.

----------
AutoUnion39 said:
Bill Gates is delusional. WP8 is still too new and Windows 8 is overrated.
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No doubt! He should be embarrassed that he has to use his position as founder and former CEO to promote an OS that just isn't doing as well as they hoped.
 
I ditched windows PC's years ago.

I was very intrigued my WP8, and even more intrigued by Nokia bringing some serious game to the table with it. And while I like WP8, it's flaws are too many right now. I'm going to keep a close eye on it, but I'm grabbing an Android this week.

It should not be possible to have 5 "copies" of the same app open, hogging up RAM. When I use the home button to close, and then tap that same app again, it should bring me back to where I was, not open a second version. Really annoying. Sad thing is, the third party apps don't do this, but the built in stuff like mail and contacts does.
 
ugahairydawgs said:
There's Kool Aid drinking....and then there's this.
Click to expand...

My guess - tablets are just about peaking. There will be a drift back from tablets and mobile devices to "proper" laptops as the tablet hype bubble deflates. There already seems to be a drift towards 7in tablets and "phablets" and away from 10" tablets.

Media consumption, personal organiser, email and note-taking are what mobile devices are good at. Creating documents and 'serious' typing are what traditional PCs are good at.

Night Spring said:
People who want to type a lot on a tablet simply buy Bluetooth keyboards.
Click to expand...

I bought a keyboard cover for my iPad.

Mistake.

When you strap a keyboard to a tablet it looses the portability and immediacy of a tablet. Meanwhile touchscreen + keyboard just doesn't hang together (gorilla arms etc.)
 
theluggage said:
My guess - tablets are just about peaking. There will be a drift back from tablets and mobile devices to "proper" laptops as the tablet hype bubble deflates. There already seems to be a drift towards 7in tablets and "phablets" and away from 10" tablets.

Media consumption, personal organiser, email and note-taking are what mobile devices are good at. Creating documents and 'serious' typing are what traditional PCs are good at.
Click to expand...

The problem with that is most people don't need a traditional PC for their needs. And those that do own one or are issued one for work. That is not to say that PCs will ever go away, but it'll be tough for them to 'make a comeback.'

Another issue is that PCs will never be more mobile than smartphones or tablets. But if consumer interest shifts to creating documents and serious typing, all these fancy companies will come up w/ a suitable solution to typing.
 
theluggage said:
When you strap a keyboard to a tablet it looses the portability and immediacy of a tablet. Meanwhile touchscreen + keyboard just doesn't hang together (gorilla arms etc.)
Click to expand...

My answer to that is to get a stand alone bluetooth keyboard. Most of the time I'm typing on my iPad is spent leaning back in my chair with my legs propped up, my mag cover holding my iPad up on the desk in front of me, and my keyboard in my lap. It's surprisingly comfortable, though it's probably wreaking havok on my lower back.

If I want to use the iPad as a tablet, I just put the keyboard down, and pick the iPad up. Pretty simple, pretty smooth, pretty nice. The only relatively small downside is if I want to type something while I'm out running around, I have to drag the keyboard along with me. But that isn't that big of a deal.
 
Renzatic said:
My answer to that is to get a stand alone bluetooth keyboard. Most of the time I'm typing on my iPad is spent leaning back in my chair with my legs propped up, my mag cover holding my iPad up on the desk in front of me, and my keyboard in my lap. It's surprisingly comfortable, though it's probably wreaking havok on my lower back.

If I want to use the iPad as a tablet, I just put the keyboard down, and pick the iPad up. Pretty simple, pretty smooth, pretty nice. The only relatively small downside is if I want to type something while I'm out running around, I have to drag the keyboard along with me. But that isn't that big of a deal.
Click to expand...

If a tablet is easier to use with a keyboard because of the need of much typing, why bothering and not just use a laptop? Laptop might be heavier but no possible comparison in terms of usage
 
Twixt said:
If a tablet is easier to use with a keyboard because of the need of much typing, why bothering and not just use a laptop? Laptop might be heavier but no possible comparison in terms of usage
Click to expand...

It's a personal preference thing. After all these years spent on desktops, I find I like having a keyboard separate from the monitor. Having a little freedom of movement just feels a more comfortable to me.

The only thing I don't like about it is having to reach up and touch the screen to quickly move around in a document, or navigate the UI. Sometimes I wish the iPad accepted mouse input.

...you know, the more I talk about it, the more I think I should just pony up for a Surface Pro. It's got a little bit of everything in it. I can use it as a touch based tablet, use a standalone keyboard if I want, it accepts mouse inputs for those moments when you need to make precise selections, and it has a nice, high quality digitizer built in.

If only it lasted more than 4 hours on a charge. Sigh. I tell you. Nothing's perfect.
 
spinedoc77 said:
IMO he is 100% right, if MS would stop screwing up so badly. If they could get windows 8 just right to be perfect on a tablet there would be a heck of a lot of "frustrated" people on today's toy tablets who would switch over
...
I think it's grossly underestimated how many users are "frustrated" with today's tablets
Click to expand...

Based on what? What do you have to support this claim?
 
tjl3 said:
The problem with that is most people don't need a traditional PC for their needs. And those that do own one or are issued one for work. That is not to say that PCs will ever go away, but it'll be tough for them to 'make a comeback.'

Another issue is that PCs will never be more mobile than smartphones or tablets. But if consumer interest shifts to creating documents and serious typing, all these fancy companies will come up w/ a suitable solution to typing.
Click to expand...

Yeah but why not have a FULL pc with you as a tablet? I know the issue with that is the crappy job MS has done in making Win8 a tablet OS, but if in some alternate reality MS actually did a good job incorporating Win8 into tablets why wouldn't you want a full OS on a tablet which was the same size, same battery life, same thinness, etc as an ipad?

For me iOS and Android were stop gap measures before we had hardware capable of running a real OS like windows or OSx. I believe it is only a matter of time until Apple releases OSx on a tablet, but they have to be careful not to cannibalize sales of their laptops. MS didn't do their OS right for tablets, but Apple might.
 
theluggage said:
My guess - tablets are just about peaking. There will be a drift back from tablets and mobile devices to "proper" laptops as the tablet hype bubble deflates. There already seems to be a drift towards 7in tablets and "phablets" and away from 10" tablets.

Media consumption, personal organiser, email and note-taking are what mobile devices are good at. Creating documents and 'serious' typing are what traditional PCs are good at.



I bought a keyboard cover for my iPad.

Mistake.

When you strap a keyboard to a tablet it looses the portability and immediacy of a tablet. Meanwhile touchscreen + keyboard just doesn't hang together (gorilla arms etc.)
Click to expand...

Here's the thing. If I am typing a document, even today's cheap tablet can do it. Presentations, spreadsheets, you name it. There are professional apps for creating technical drafts even on an ipad. Some time soon we will perhaps have native coding tools too like web ones on ipad.

While my laptop can do it all a little better, what I HATE about them is they all get hot, generate noise, are bulky to carry, and simply feel as if I am using an "overspecced machine" to do my work.

And I WANT something that doesn't get hot, isn't heavier than a kilo, will not generate noise, and guess where do we arrive?

Yup, a tablet.

I don't think it's logical to go back to laptops and net books from tablets. Tablets are going to evolve and get better at replacing our laptops and I welcome such future.
 
SlCKB0Y said:
Based on what? What do you have to support this claim?
Click to expand...

I'm just stating my opinion, same as the rest of us all. Windows is what like 90% of the market? That's a lot of windows users of whom many also use ipads and android tablets, it's a fair guess that many like myself have felt stifled and constrained by not having a real OS, but once again that's just conjecture based on my own frustrations and recent liberation when I purchased a windows tablet.
 
spinedoc77 said:
Yeah but why not have a FULL pc with you as a tablet? I know the issue with that is the crappy job MS has done in making Win8 a tablet OS, but if in some alternate reality MS actually did a good job incorporating Win8 into tablets why wouldn't you want a full OS on a tablet which was the same size, same battery life, same thinness, etc as an ipad?

For me iOS and Android were stop gap measures before we had hardware capable of running a real OS like windows or OSx. I believe it is only a matter of time until Apple releases OSx on a tablet, but they have to be careful not to cannibalize sales of their laptops. MS didn't do their OS right for tablets, but Apple might.
Click to expand...

This man gets it right.
 
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