Microsoft Announces New 'Surface' Tablet, New Hardware and Software Based on Windows 8

[faroZ06]

not powerful enough, trust me.

Vista ran perfectly fine on a Intel Core 2

Vista was actually more stable than XP, from a maintainability standpoint.

I'm sure Vista is more secure than XP, but it had issues on our school's i7 (or maybe it was i5?) quad-core computers that had 4GB of RAM and >3GHz clock speed. Mainly glitches, crashes, and overall annoying-ness that is put into the system.

 

[JayJayAbels]

It drives me nuts when people pit Apple vs Microsoft.
It's like the majority of people simply just don't get it.

Apple makes computers... first... and then... software on the side.
Microsoft makes software... first... and then... hardware on the side.

Name a Microsoft computer?
Anyone?
Bueller???

Apples competition isn't with Microsoft... as far as hardware goes.
It's with Dell, HP and Lenovo. The PC market is split between these companies.

The only thing Apple and Microsoft compete for is... with their operating systems. (And now tablets).

It isn't "Apple" vs "Microsoft"... it's OSX vs Windows. That's a HUGE difference when drawing comparisons between the two companies.

When Apple ran those "I'm a Mac... he's a PC" commercials... it wasn't directed towards Microsoft specifically. It was directed towards all the other hardware companies that sold PC's... who just happened to run Windows on them.

The whole Apple vs Microsoft is really nothing more than an urban legend that still persists today.

But this is the reason why The Surface tablet is such a big deal - it's hardware. And truth be told... Microsoft has a very spotty record when it comes to that department so the juries still out.

 

[AppleScruff1]

who cares what cash they have if when they brought it back, there would only be $50B left? boohoo... is that not fair that the US Gov't would punish good old Apple for repatriating their money?? the US Gov's has that rule in place for companies like Apple who want to funnel it off shore to live tax free, then bring it back once they want to spend on domestic R&D (where the real talent is...India and China just copy). if Apple wants to b*tch about it, then fine...go design oversees. "Designed in Switzerland, Made in China" ....has a ring to it doesn't it?

Apple and its products could disappear tomorrow and the world would go on quite well i might add (once the fanboys see their therapists and stabilize on medication).

if Microsoft and their products disappeared tomorrow... world commerce and the financial infrastructure would collapse. governments would not function, anarchy would be everywhere, every network would shut down. guess what...your iPad 4G all of a sudden wouldn't be able to connect to the internet

while you may love your iPad (i know i love mine) and your Macbook, your iMac, your Mac Mini, and your beloved pink nano...life...as in "real life" runs on windows. things that you depend on every day run on windows. every time you are flying in the skies, ground control is using microsoft products to ensure that you have a safe and uneventful flight. if you went into a hospital emergency room and were unconscious, your medical records would be pulled up via a windows-based system. your life depends on Microsoft and their products whether you like it or not. so instead of pretending like you F''ing know everything there is to know and that Apple is supreme, take a step back and realize there is more in the tech industry than consumer toys

Good post.

don't be sorry, i'm the one who feels sorry for your pathetic self.

while you may love your iPad (i know i love mine) and your Macbook, your iMac, your Mac Mini, and your beloved Pink Nano...life...as in "real life" runs on windows. things that you depend on every day run on windows. every time you are flying in the skies, ground control is using microsoft products to ensure that you have a safe and uneventful flight. if you went into a hospital emergency room and were unconscious, your medical records would accessed via a windows-based system. the traffic light systems that you depend on to be "Green" in one direction and "Red" in the perpendicular direction, are run and monitored on windows based systems. your life depends on Microsoft and their products whether you like it or not. so instead of pretending like you F''ing know everything there is to know and that Apple is supreme, take a step back and realize there is more in the tech industry than consumer toys

think outside of the box, or evaporate yourself from these forums

Liking the keyboard/cover. Unfortunately, the OS looks like a child's toy - hoping they will give it a more professional look.

Another good post.

I used Windows 98 on my mom's Sony VAIO until I got my iMac G5. My dad got a tower with Vista (he knows nothing about Windows), and my school also used it for 3 years.

I'm not saying that Windows users are dumb compared to Mac users. I know that there are a lot of Mac users who don't really know anything about computers and get a Mac because they can't deal with Windows. I was just saying that the fact that so many people went out and bought Vista shows how few people really know anything about computers. Anyone at my school will say right away never to get Vista.

Speaking of that, how does everyone know that I'm in high school? I thought I only mentioned it a couple of times, not that I care.

Read the next quote.

Yes, a lot of people here own AAPL, including me. I know that Apple is sometimes sneaky and scammy (I know, not a real word) with their stuff. They're very good at getting people to spend a lot of money on their stuff, which is why they are a strong company. However, I personally love the Macs from 2006-2009 and use them. Mac OS kills Windows and Linux.

Even if you hadn't mentioned that you were in high school, much of what you post indicates that you are quite young. And I don't mean that in a bad way at all.

 

[stuffradio]

I'd be glad if this thing became mildly successful then died off. When they are successful, it would be good for them to have a popular app that is actually a plugin for another app, which iOS does not allow. This would pressure Apple into allowing plugins on their App Store. The lack of plugin support in iOS makes it too locked down, but adding it would make it perfect.

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If building your own computer was what it took to make Vista run well (which I doubt), then Vista still has major issues.

Adding to the argument about how you think I'm dumb, in the mid 90's while in Elementary School, I was using Apple Computers. There were the old all in one yellow computers, and the other one that was flat with the monitor on top, also yellow. Those computers froze up a lot while playing games like Where in the World is Carmen San Diego.

I am not just some Windows user that comes on here to make fun of Apple products. I have 15 years experience using Apple products. This is an Apple forum, an Apple forum that is so insecure about the iPad and competition, that they need to bash Microsoft's old flaws instead of being hopeful that Microsoft created some competition to the iPad. I am also currently using Macs every day on top of my Windows computer and iPhone 4.

 

[faroZ06]

You have the typical PC mentality. You don't want to pay for anything! You don't want another device such as an ATV, you don't want to buy accessories. ****, you want everything including the kitchen sink in a tablet. And also 60 days stand-by time and 2 days straight power use battery use.

It's never gonna work for you - apple products - so just stick with the pc junk.

You're only right about MS stuff being trash. For starters, their tablet is not a PC. And there's nothing wrong with wanting a capable device. My iPhone has Nintendo emulators and Terminal on it, which makes it great.

 

[coolbreeze]

With software Apple tells you when it will be out and how much it will cost. With hardware, it's generally that day or 1-2 weeks with pricing info and tech specs.

I think what MS has shown holds promise, but as of right now that's all it is. A promise of something to come at some time at some price point.

It was clear that this device will release with Win8, which is slated for October. 3 months later the Intel version will drop.

But I agree about the missing price. That's annoying. Microsoft probably has several pricing points and are closely monitoring the "buzz" (internet, corporate interest, financial reporting) before settling on the optimal pricing. If the feedback is overwhelmingly positive, they will go with their higher pricing strategy. If it's negative, it will be priced aggressively. Smart, actually (but still annoying).

 

[Medic311]

I'm sure Vista is more secure than XP, but it had issues on our school's i7 (or maybe it was i5?) quad-core computers that had 4GB of RAM and >3GHz clock speed. Mainly glitches, crashes, and overall annoying-ness that is put into the system.

again, hardware related but for a different reason. most likely the correct drivers were not installed. i ran into the same issue where basically i had to upgrade to Windows 7 b/c the components i used to build my machine did not support (reliably) anything pre-7. it's just the nature of the beast.

try to run that new Kepler NVIDIA graphics card in the Macbook Pros now with OS X Tiger and you'll run into all sorts of issues!

 

[Medic311]

I am not just some Windows user that comes on here to make fun of Apple products. I have 15 years experience using Apple products. This is an Apple forum, an Apple forum that is so insecure about the iPad and competition, that they need to bash Microsoft's old flaws instead of being hopeful that Microsoft created some competition to the iPad. I am also currently using Macs every day on top of my Windows computer and iPhone 4.

it's so sad isn't it? so many insecure apple users here. i am like you, i build my own windows PCs. but i also like my iPhone and my iPad.

someone should kick up the Pfizer and Merck advertising on this site

 

[faroZ06]

Adding to the argument about how you think I'm dumb, in the mid 90's while in Elementary School, I was using Apple Computers. There were the old all in one yellow computers, and the other one that was flat with the monitor on top, also yellow. Those computers froze up a lot while playing games like Where in the World is Carmen San Diego.

I am not just some Windows user that comes on here to make fun of Apple products. I have 15 years experience using Apple products. This is an Apple forum, an Apple forum that is so insecure about the iPad and competition, that they need to bash Microsoft's old flaws instead of being hopeful that Microsoft created some competition to the iPad. I am also currently using Macs every day on top of my Windows computer and iPhone 4.

I only said that Vista is bad. Distant past and close present Apple and MS experience is irrelevant. My comment about Vista has nothing to do with Microsoft's new tablet or any of their products besides Vista.

 

[coolbreeze]

Name a Microsoft computer?
Anyone?
Bueller???


Microsoft has a very spotty record when it comes to that department so the juries still out.

How is it "very spotty" when you just said they have never made a computer? Spotty is an assumption. I'm sure they have a highly qualified team ala Johnny Ive that worked on the Surface. This isn't garage engineering. The stakes are extraordinarily high for them to deliver something great. And I think they will nail it.

 

[Renzatic]

After being excited about this tablet by watching the ads and reading the announcements, thinking about it a little more.....Microsoft still has a long way to go.

Firstly, there are two hardware platforms to consider:

* x86
and
* ARM

This means developers would have to either choose what hardware platform to develop for, or develop for both platforms.

This might sway developers away from Windows 8.

Apps can make or break a platform and Microsoft has a long way to go to catch up to the momentum that Apple and Google have with their apps.

Its all about the apps.....

It is all about the apps, which is why porting WinRT apps to x86 or ARM is about as painless as clicking a button in Visual Studio to tell it which architecture to compile to. Developers don't have to make their apps for one or the other. They're already making them for both.

Also, it's about damn time MS did something with Surface.

I only said that Vista is bad. Distant past and close present Apple and MS experience is irrelevant. My comment about Vista has nothing to do with Microsoft's new tablet or any of their products besides Vista.

Vista wasn't bad. When it comes right down to it, Windows 7 which everyone loves so much is nothing more than Vista with a newish taskbar, more Aero, and a better reputation. The only problem with Vista was that it was released before it was fully baked, and MS let OEMs install it on hardware that wasn't powerful enough to support it.

 

[flameproof]

True. Zune HD owners will buy anything with a Microsoft logo on it. Crazy.

You mean there are people that buy tech products purely based on the brand without comparing different companies or different technologies?

But that would be almost like religious people that usually don't look for a religion that suits them most and just to stick what was given to them in the first place.

 

[AppleScruff1]

You're only right about MS stuff being trash. For starters, their tablet is not a PC. And there's nothing wrong with wanting a capable device. My iPhone has Nintendo emulators and Terminal on it, which makes it great.

It's posts like this that give Apple users a bad rep.

 

[iMikeT]

If you can't beat Apple, copy Apple. Nothing new here.

 

[faroZ06]

again, hardware related but for a different reason. most likely the correct drivers were not installed. i ran into the same issue where basically i had to upgrade to Windows 7 b/c the components i used to build my machine did not support (reliably) anything pre-7. it's just the nature of the beast.

try to run that new Kepler NVIDIA graphics card in the Macbook Pros now with OS X Tiger and you'll run into all sorts of issues!

If that is the case, Dell and HP have been really screwing up. Now that I think about it, my cousin's Dell running XP did not come with network drivers , so Vista is comparably better in that case (even though my dad's HP that came with Vista did not have working wifi drivers). On the other hand, Macs have serious issues with running Mac OS versions that came out before the computer was made, which is dumb.

My main complaints about Vista are about its annoying interface and dumb programming. Even if I ignore the glitches that may or may not have been caused by hardware issues, there are a ton of things in Vista that really frustrated me for those 3 years.

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If you can't beat Apple, copy Apple. Nothing new here.

They did beat Apple in one way, the roll-out keyboard.

 

[Macclone]

Yes, because the orientation of his feet have something to do with the products. It's always interesting when Apple lovers lose a few million brain cells whenever a competing product is introduced.

He is a goofball. You can't deny that or the fact that he looks like a dork in that picture.

 

[AppleScruff1]

If you can't beat Apple, copy Apple. Nothing new here.

What tablet does Apple make that docks with a keyboard? Has USB? Micro SD? Runs Windows? An Intel processor?

 

[faroZ06]

Even if you hadn't mentioned that you were in high school, much of what you post indicates that you are quite young. And I don't mean that in a bad way at all.

Yeah, but I'd think people would assume that I'm in college. Anyway, I'm glad that you don't use "young" as an insult like some people on YouTube do

 

[PeterQVenkman]

Name a Microsoft computer?
Anyone?
Bueller???

 

[Medic311]

If you can't beat Apple, copy Apple. Nothing new here.

another post without a clue, nothing new

 

[mdriftmeyer]

It is all about the apps, which is why porting WinRT apps to x86 or ARM is about as painless as clicking a button in Visual Studio to tell it which architecture to compile to. Developers don't have to make their apps for one or the other. They're already making them for both.

Also, it's about damn time MS did something with Surface.



Vista wasn't bad. When it comes right down to it, Windows 7 which everyone loves so much is nothing more than Vista with a newish taskbar, more Aero, and a better reputation. The only problem with Vista was that it was released before it was fully baked, and MS let OEMs install it on hardware that wasn't powerful enough to support it.

Always the biggest false hood of any platform moving between architectures and one that continues to perpetuate throughout the Industry.

 

[faroZ06]

What tablet does Apple make that docks with a keyboard? Has USB? Micro SD? Runs Windows? An Intel processor?

They do dock with a keyboard, but I agree that MS's tablet has some different (sometimes better) points. Still, I would never buy one of these over an iPad (and would not buy an iPad either).

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Image

Ironically, the XBOX runs Linux. I think the XBOX 360 does too. Isn't MS not allowed to make hardware that runs Windows?

 

[mdriftmeyer]

Image

If it were a general purpose capable system, Microsoft would have long since been pushing it towards the Education markets. It is not and never will be. Hacking the kernel or putting Linux/FreeBSD on it doesn't make it any more of a PC than it was when it was designed specifically as a Game Console.

Neither is the Sony PS3.

 

[jca666us]

Running Ivy Bridge chipsets with fans, a 10.6" screen, and a robust OS that is still yet to be proven/optimized for mobile platforms may turn it into be a luxury peripheral when trying to conserve battery life though.

Even if MS gives us five hours on a charge, that won't be too bad. Let's just hope it's a lot more.

Please dont grade ms on a curve - if this device is to be competitive, it needs comparable - 10 hr. - battery life.

 

[Renzatic]

Always the biggest false hood of any platform moving between architectures and one that continues to perpetuate throughout the Industry.

I can't claim I know exactly what I'm talking about here, not being much of a programmer and all, but that is one of the big selling points of WinRT. Though there might be more involved with it that I'm aware of, it's advertised as being a rather simple affair moving your app between platforms.