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Microsoft Announces New 'Surface' Tablet, New Hardware and Software Based on Windows 8
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I love the idea (congrats Microsoft) of having an intelligent smart cover. Having it do something more than just be a stand, or screen cover is a great idea.
That said, a keyboard? and more efficient data entry? With Apple and Google pushing for voice and other forms of input (Gyroscope, accelerometer, etc), I think the Keyboard is a bit backward thinking.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see what Apple and Google push going forward, with this new Windows 8 Landscape taking shape.
That said, a keyboard? and more efficient data entry? With Apple and Google pushing for voice and other forms of input (Gyroscope, accelerometer, etc), I think the Keyboard is a bit backward thinking.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see what Apple and Google push going forward, with this new Windows 8 Landscape taking shape.
While the keyboard built into the cover is nice there is one area where Microsoft has failed.
Apple long ago realized that presentations have more impact if you include the phrase "Ships Today!". Without that all you presentation is for naught
Apple long ago realized that presentations have more impact if you include the phrase "Ships Today!". Without that all you presentation is for naught
I personally don't care what anyone has to say about the Surface. As a diehard Android cellphone user, a diehard iPad & Mac user, and overall lover of technology . . . .
That thing is HOT!!!
Can't wait to try one out.
That thing is HOT!!!
Can't wait to try one out.
I disagree. I think MS does get it. They are offering both solutions and giving the consumer a choice to have 1 experience or both experiences.
Windows RT is also much more full featured in what it can support, and that support addresses every shortcoming of the iPad. Forget that some Windows RT apps can almost be full blow desktop apps...
Keyboard and mouse driver support
Peripheral support
Just those 2 tiny things make their entry level tablet appealing to someone who might not want to cart a laptop, but needs to work some Office suite. Can you do this on the iPad? Yeah, but less featured, and keyboards on the iPad don't function as they do in a pc environment. You still have to tap at the screen all the time.
Add in other features and it puts heat on apple, which is good imo. The iPad is just a big iPod Touch! It should stand out a little more than it does.
Vertical
Not once did this say or show you could work in vertical.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/19/3096420/microsoft-surface-event-video-live
14:10 - 14:27 Best part of the presentation video. (That guy is a terrible public speaker too, btw)
Not once did this say or show you could work in vertical.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/19/3096420/microsoft-surface-event-video-live
14:10 - 14:27 Best part of the presentation video. (That guy is a terrible public speaker too, btw)
iPad didn't ship for 60 days after it's announcement.
Did you think the same thing about Apple's iPad wireless keyboard ?
You tried to stab me with the wrong product. I like the wireless keyboard, it works great with my Macbook or Mac Mini.
The iPad dock with keyboard, totally different story, and I do share the same feelings for that, as I do the Microsoft Smart key-cover thing.
Ive been using Windows in a working envrioment for about 12 years now, and I've never had any major system crash, I've never lost my data. I've never gotten a virus. And I've never gotten " lag " because I always buy systems with decent specs. A High end netbook is better than an iPad are far as functionally goes.
Lets see, on a high end netbook. I can multitask, can't do that on an iPad, I have a real keyboard that isn't a POS Bluetooth keyboard. Though if anyone would make a decent iPad keyboard ( no one does ), that could be fixed.
Oh yeah, Netbooks run a real OS, not iOS.
I had to smile at around 14 mins into the video, he has to replace the tablet as it looks like it froze.
OMG that is a very embarassing moment.
It happens right when he says "I can browse smoothly" (with Internet Explorer!) 
You can do work on an Ipad, but there is far more to " work " than just Office, and email. For a good number of people thats why I think the business world is going to be very interested in this tablet,
The Multitasking is the biggest problem, so is iOS if we are talking about getting work done, iOS is great for a bunch of stuff, but for anyone who needs to do things like...multitask....its an issue.
Did you think the same thing about Apple's iPad wireless keyboard ?
Strictly speaking Apple doesn't make a wireless keyboard specifically for the iPad. While the now discontinued dock keyboard was obviously optimized for it, the only first party wireless option is the Mac keyboard.
Yep, Apple is kind of Ships today :
iPad 3
iPad 2
I think I could go on here... Apple doesn't always do "ships today", not even close.
iOS is a mobile operating system, its incredibly limited compared to a ' real ' OS like OSX or Windows
That onscreen keyboard is useless for large amount of typing, as is any touchscreen keyboard, and right now, most of the Blue Tooth keyboards are garbage.
the iPad can't even multitask, thats a problem. And there is a good deal of business and consumers who use those legacy windows apps for a great many things.
The difference is Apple in the Jobs II era has been extremely disciplined in product launches, where M$ launches products in an almost willy-nilly fashion, numb to what the market wants or can be sold on.
The last huge flop Apple had was the Cube, which failed mostly because it was too expensive for what it was, and adding to that was the fragile build quality of the case. But even those who bought Cubes were able to use them, and upgrade them, well after Apple discontinued them.
Compare that to M$'s flops like Bob s/w, the Zune (including the Windows Plays For Sure incompatibility fiasco), UltimateTV, the Kin phone (lasted all of, what 3 months), just to name a few off the top of my head. Most of these became bricks once, or soon after, M$ dropped support.
OTOH the Apple products you list were discontinued mostly because technology eclipsed their need. iDVD/DVD Studio Pro -- both still work fine. iWeb and Ping are the only real clunkers in the list. Everyone who set up an iWeb site knew it couldn't be exported. And Ping was 1) free, and 2) not anything anyone depended on. Heck I don't think anyone even used it. iDisk was ahead of its time, and not a short-lived product but people like me who used it easily xfered all their data to services like DropBox. Nothing was lost.
Did you think the same thing about Apple's iPad wireless keyboard ?
Or any keyboard for that matter.
The keyboard won't be backward thinking until there is a more efficient way of text and data input. Siri and S-Voice come close but even moderately efficient typists do better and with less time wasted backtracking to correct mistakes.
That's not even taking into consideration the noise level of a university library the during finals week. A large building full of people shouting into their tablets won't be great for concentration.
I didn't try to stab you, just pointing out that even Apple recognizes the value of offering a full physical keyboard as the on screen one isn't ideal to type for long periods while sitting at a desk. Looking down at the tablet laying flat on the desk is bad for your neck.
With productivity apps running on these tablets, a keyboard is almost mandatory. If you don't use them for productivity, don't use the keyboard. But don't knock it. It's an option, one that some people are happy to have.
So far on any tablet today you can only do Number.3
It would be really nice if you could do a little bit of #1 and #2 from the get go instead of using Citrix.
This leads me to so called "Ecosystem" terminology. It all comes down to user, "ecosystem" is how user adapts the environment to his needs, it's not about Apple, MS or anything else. If fart apps are what user wants then that is his "ecosystem" and he can pick iOS or Android or whichever has more fart apps. If his thing is to be productive on the go then his ecosystem is most likely an notebook not a tablet.
Point is tablets are consumption devices and if you are to believe that is going to stay that way you are very shortsighted. Yes maybe Apple wants to present the case that tablet needs to be tablet and PC needs to be PC but that is until they figure out how to merge those two into one. Then it's just another "revolution". Don't listen to either people of Apple or MS, they are masters of deception and they play to their needs and current abilities.
If you want to stick to hardware and dismiss all the software examples, then iPod Hi-fi comes to mind after the Cube.
So what you're saying is that Apple flops are not flops and that Microsoft flops are big flops. Way to show bias there. Both companies had successes and flops in the last decades. That's just how the business is in consumer and enterprise product lines of software/hardware/services.
I personally don't think Apple has been any better than anyone else. Steve was no god, he made mistakes as much as the next guy.