Microsoft Bashes Apple's iWork Software, New iPads

[Moccasin]

What probably scares MS as much as the giving away of iWork is that with iCloud you will - as demonstrated yesterday - be able to send anyone a document from iWork and they can open it up through iCloud. Don't have to be on a Mac or iPad. That means that those people who have occasional home use for word processing etc won't need Office365 any more and can just send something from their iPad or open it up at work and print there.

While the large corporates won't get rid of Office anytime soon, small business could use iWork (or indeed the Google equivalent) and maybe at most have a couple of copies of Office for heavy users.

What's more, the steady growth of iPad use means that home users will become less and less familiar with Office.

Office365 I think replaces MS Works, which got people familiar with Word in particular. Most home users will use Word for the odd CV, letter etc. Pages can do that and means that there is no need for an Office365 subscription at home, thus breaking down the link further.

MS are being squeezed by OSX, iOS and Chrome. Yesterday's announcement ratchets up the competition further. Surface (Pro) 2 can't afford to fail.

 

[Renzatic]

The problem with Microsoft Surface is that it is very expensive for the version which runs the FULL version of Windows 8. My father wanted to buy one because he wanted a tablet that could run Windows but when we went to the store we found out that the Microsoft Surface version that actually runs Windows 8 (NOT RT) is $899. He decided that is way too much and now he is considering a Macbook Air.

I dunno why everyone keeps griping about the price. The Pro is the same hardware as the MBA, and costs about the same. It being in a tablet form factor doesn't mean it automatically should cost the same as the iPad.

 

[Battlefield 2]

I love my Surface Pro and would like to get my hands on a Surface 2 Pro. Not sure why there has to be such hate between everyone.

 

[topmounter]

I'd hardly call that "bashing"... more like begging for a sympathy f... err well, you know where I'm headed

 

[ani4ani]

The problem with Microsoft Surface is that it is very expensive for the version which runs the FULL version of Windows 8. My father wanted to buy one because he wanted a tablet that could run Windows but when we went to the store we found out that the Microsoft Surface version that actually runs Windows 8 (NOT RT) is $899. He decided that is way too much and now he is considering a Macbook Air.

The Microsoft versions, yes, but the Dell's, and others offer full Windows and Office from $300.

 

[Renzatic]

MS are being squeezed by OSX, iOS and Chrome. Yesterday's announcement ratchets up the competition further. Surface (Pro) 2 can't afford to fail.

Yeah, and with MS being hit by Valve with SteamOS, they pretty much are being attacked on all sides.

I don't think MS and Windows are dying brands, but I do think their days of hegemony are soon to be over.

 

[Tankmaze]

oh microsoft, you are like a dog with no teeth. all you can do is bark.

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

Apple doesn't understand productivity?

I just finished an amazing/beautiful $50,000 audit report in Pages/Numbers in about a week.

The customer - a CEO of a fortune 100 company - said they had never seen anything like it.

Guess I am not being all that productive

 

[twigman08]

Yep Microsoft it's obvious you know what they want considering how many Surface Tablets you have sold and how many iPads Apple has sold.

Oh wait....nevermind....

 

[slash7844]

cheaper and expandable storage, ok fairplay

no apps and has to run some WinMobile variant, barf puke, NO thanks!

do the Surfi have Retina displays? didnt think so...

'Retina display' is a marketing gimmick from apple, so only Apple's devices will carry 'retina display'. eg: Apple calls their iPad with 2048 x 1536 (264 ppi) a 'Retina Display. Google's Nexus 10 with 2560 x 1600 (300 ppi) is not called a 'Retina Display'. Hope that helps your confusion with what 'Retina Display' is.

And if you're just referring to a higher ppi, yes, ipads have higher ppi than Surface 2.

 

[wgnoyes]

Even if I'm a microsoft centrist, I'm still not going to buy a surface at those prices under the guise that they can get real work work done. For less than half of the cost of one of those, I'll get a full-bore laptop instead with a whole lot more capacity and speed and run office 365 on that.

 

[ani4ani]

I hate microsoft office. Since ever. When I was on PC. When i switched to Mac.

Everybody bitches about it anyway. It's not fast. It's bloated. The wretched ribbon made everything worse. **** key commands. **** menus. Lets make giant icons for idiots, despite the fact that 99% of the user base is old well-versed users.

So much about productivity and "knowing what users want".

And yet still the number 1 software Mac users buy?

 

[cdebnil]

I'm okay with MS bashing Apple. Every time they do, Apple comes out the winner in the end.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/08/opinion/the-apple-of-microsoft-s-eye.html

You need a history lesson...

Preview: "Mr. Gates and Mr. Jobs announced that Microsoft would inject more than $150 million into Apple and take other steps to guarantee Apple's near-term survival. Some Apple zealots in the audience hooted. Others sighed in relief. Virtually all were surprised and confused. Even in cyberspace it is odd for one company to bail out its only rival in a key area of business. Between them, Microsoft and Apple sell the operating systems, which dictate how computers analyze and display information, that run virtually every personal computer."

 

[trip1ex]

I dunno why everyone keeps griping about the price. The Pro is the same hardware as the MBA, and costs about the same. It being in a tablet form factor doesn't mean it automatically should cost the same as the iPad.

Problem is you can get an iPad and a Windows laptop for the price of a Pro and have a better tablet and better laptop.

 

[Bill Killer]

iPad > Surface

Office > iWorks

There.

 

[Moccasin]

And yet still the number 1 software Mac users buy?

I think that's the other point. Apple are probably fed up that MS haven't really shown Office for Mac much attention of late. By pushing iWork on the iOS devices, and integrating it in iCloud they're getting users used to not needing Office on their Mac. That has to be a win-win for Apple

 

[Laco]

I dunno why everyone keeps griping about the price. The Pro is the same hardware as the MBA, and costs about the same. It being in a tablet form factor doesn't mean it automatically should cost the same as the iPad.

My issue with the price of the Surface is that it is deceptive. Microsoft promotes the Surface as a cheaper alternative to the IPad which can run full Windows programs, which is actually false. Since, to be able to install most Windows programs on it you need to buy the Pro version which STARTS at $899.

 

[Mainsail]

I agree with others on this forum. This is basically just a rant by Microsoft.

Apple is now doing what Google has been doing for a while....making the applications and operating system free. This is a big time threat to Microsoft. Less than 10 years ago, you needed a full desktop operating system to do the most basic functions, including use Office Productivity Software. Never-mind that the majority of workers only use a small percentage of Microsoft's complex and bloated Office software. Businesses simply had no choice but to buy the full suite of MS offering.

Now, folks get a lot of work done whilst mobile. Business people can be very productive without using a full desktop operating system. Of course, a tablet is not a complete replacement for a laptop or desktop, but it doesn't have to be in order to help people get stuff done. A tablet simply needs to satisfy the users near term requirements, until they get back to their desktop for some heavy lifting.

 

[Alith]

Desperately clinging onto their Office suite like the final scene in Titanic.
"Don't let go Jack!"

 

[Keebler]

what a moron

Seriously. I think he drinks the same coffee as Thorsten Heins (RIM's CEO)!!!

Reality Distortion Field!?! LMAO

RIIIIGGGHHTTT Which is why the Surface has hardly sold and they took such a huge write down on it!

He's just creating publicity. Anyone with any sense knows he's full of it.

Back in April, Heins said the future of tablets was bleak.

http://www.dailytech.com/BlackBerry+CEO+Tablet+Market+Will+Die+Within+5+Years/article31455.htm

I LOL'd HARD when I saw Apple's "Life on iPad" video during the announcements which highlights so many of the gabillion iPad uses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLHFlHpPjgk713fMv5O4s4Fv7k6yTkXwkV&v=B8Le9wvoY00

Sure Heins....the future of tablets is dead. Um....no.

Back to the MS Moron, he slams the iPad for productivity? I guess he didn't fully watch the iWork announcements or watch the video on the 2 guys working on the same document at the same time.

He's scared....that's where it comes from.

Cheers,
Keebler

 

[31rhcp]

I don't think Shaw has actually used a Surface. Its keyboard is absolutely awful and barely, if at all beats a touch screen keyboard. It's not a bad idea, it's just implemented terribly on the Surface.

I also find it hilarious that many of the posters in this thread attempt to use sales as a means of downplaying the surface. Remember that OS X and iOS are very very distant second place Operating Systems on their respective platforms.

 

[blahblah100]

Look at Market share OSX vs Windows again...

Market share only matters if Apple's is higher... c'mon, everyone knows that...

 

[cmwade77]

Huh? Have they never tried any of the iWork software? It can save to word format and read from it, so I don't see this as the issue they are making it out to be.

Also, you can save to iCloud and people with a PC can edit the files just like they were behind a Mac.

So, I don't understand this, "They can't share" bit.

 

[Michael Goff]

Market share only matters if Apple's is higher... c'mon, everyone knows that...

Ain't that the truth.

 

[cameronjpu]

I wonder if anyone actually thinks that MS is ever going to release Office for iPad?