new Microsoft products

[Thunderboltedge]

And it all goes with the new Windows 10 which is insanely fast and gorgeous. I am using it in Parallels right now and it is even faster than El capitan although running in virtual machine.
MS is back.

 

[maflynn]

The surface pro however will probably getting cannibalized by the surface book.

There's a risk of that to be sure but I think both computers are directed at different users.

The SP is for people who get a tablet with laptop functionality and the surface book is for people who want a laptop but also get some tablet functionality. My understanding of these convertible laptop/tablets are they're generally considered heavy for tablet type uses. So if that is the case, then it will have limited appeal as a straight up tablet

And it all goes with the new Windows 10 which is insanely fast and gorgeous.

Agreed, I think win10 is superior to Yosemite though Apple closed the gap with El Cap. For me at this point its a toss up, I love my SP3 running windows 10, but I find myself using my MBP just as much.

 

[Fernandez21]

Couple of thoughts, didn't really like the presentation, felt too infomercial like. The products they announced though look really cool, especially the Suface Book. Never a big fan of the surface pro, but the book looks awesome.

Still not a fan of Windows phone, but the products do look solid if you want that os. Continuum looks like a cool tech demo but not sure when I'd use it. Id be more interested in a wireless user account, where when my phone is in proximity of a pc my user account shows up shows up on the lock screen, I enter my password on the pc and then scan my finger print on the phone. Then my entire pc setup loads from the cloud.

Even though I'm not big on Windows anymore, everything they showed was pretty impressive, and competition is always a good thing.

 

[Fernandez21]

If I wanted to buy a windows device without doubt it would be a Microsoft hardware device, however I don't. The 950XL are a little too late to my party for me to get excited about either and its a shame as I generally like windows mobile devices but don't feel they have improved in areas important to me and continuum whilst an fascinating idea in principal doesn't excite me or interest me in practice.

Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at too. The hardware looked impressive, but I'm just not into Windows anymore, and I don't see how what they showed would be a big enough improvement to what I have to warrant a switch.

 

[gotluck]

There doesnt really seem to be a good use case for a the continuum on the windows phones that I can think of. If you need all those peripherals, why not just buy a far more powerful mini form-factor pc or something like the mac mini, or a laptop, or anything else really.

I've always wanted something like this, but would I ever really use it? It's more of a tech demo than anything isnt it?

I do agree with the comments on windows 10 though, been enjoying it on my home PC's. Runs very well on some OLD hardware

 

[zhenya]

There doesnt really seem to be a good use case for a the continuum on the windows phones that I can think of. If you need all those peripherals, why not just buy a far more powerful mini form-factor pc or something like the mac mini.

I've always wanted something like this, but would I ever really use it? It's more of a tech demo than anything isnt it?

I do agree with the comments on windows 10 though, been enjoying it on my home PC's. Runs very well on some OLD hardware

For us in the first-world, I doubt too many people will find the need or desire to do this any time soon. For the developing world, however, phones are their primary computing devices so this will become relevant to them fairly soon.

 

[gotluck]

For us in the first-world, I doubt too many people will find the need or desire to do this any time soon. For the developing world, however, phones are their primary computing devices so this will become relevant to them fairly soon.

That is a good point!

 

[Renzatic]

There doesnt really seem to be a good use case for a the continuum on the windows phones that I can think of. If you need all those peripherals, why not just buy a far more powerful mini form-factor pc or something like the mac mini, or a laptop, or anything else really.

I've always wanted something like this, but would I ever really use it? It's more of a tech demo than anything isnt it?

I do agree with the comments on windows 10 though, been enjoying it on my home PC's. Runs very well on some OLD hardware

It's the idea that you have your entire PC right inside your pocket that's so appealing. When it's not docked, it's your phone. You use it just like any other smartphone. When it is, it's your computer, complete with all the bonuses and niceties a big screen, mouse, and keyboard give you.

Though for it to work, everyone will have to have the dock and all the good stuff that goes along with it so you can use it wherever. And for that to happen, people will need to adopt it. So...yeah, I guess you're right. It's more an interesting feature than a sellable one.

 

[Renzatic]

For us in the first-world, I doubt too many people will find the need or desire to do this any time soon. For the developing world, however, phones are their primary computing devices so this will become relevant to them fairly soon.

...and I didn't take of that. Good point.

 

[Retired Cat]

I could use a Windows phone if Google would play nice with them. The only apps I use are Google apps, Nova Launcher and Pocketcasts podcasting app.

I was impressed with the Lumia 950 and checked to see if Windows phone had the same or similar apps as the ones I use on my iPhone, and now I have a similar problem.

Google apps for WP are few. Amazon music and video aren't available either.

 

[mrex]

wohoo! book looks amazing - but lets wait reviews at first... this makes me thinking will i replace my win laptop by mbpr (skylake) or this one. oh boy, just when it was time to close my doors with ms. i have to say that win10 is absolutely fast and great but it is also great to "spy"... that was the reason why im ditching my win laptop... too much "turning off" and stabbing the registry.

 

[FelixAng]

Man MS is killing it today, what are you thoughts on the conference so far?

I was impressed too, and glad to see another company finally setting a new standard. I don't see myself lurking in the Microsoft garden anytime soon, but I'm glad Apple isn't alone on tablets and laptops now.

What I think, however, is that Apple will offer something to blow this Surface Book out do the water next year. I bet Microsoft a coanidsrable amount of energy in solving the tablet-laptop equation, but simply putting them together doesn't seem like an Apple solution. I have a feeling Apple, which is far more experienced in ecosytem-ing and hardware has many likely superior alternatives in its pipeline. We know that Apple's labs are usually two years ahead of announcements, so I bet the iPad Pro is just a stepping stone.

I think most people's essential uses for tablets is entertainment viewing, surfing online, and playing with apps--in this case I can't see the average consumer choosing an unnecessarily versatile Surface tab over an iPad, especially if they're locked into iOS/iTunes/hardware ecosystem. This could change, but it won't happen anytime soon.

I doubt the music notation app will be a big selling point, and I think that just illustrates the pro-ness of the Surface Pro, while iTunes and the AppStore demonstrate Apple's strengths. I'm a musician myself, and I'd be happy to try this notation app, but most of us know Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Bartok all wrote the greatest classical music by hand; there's an immediacy and physical presence on paper that no touchscreen can match, and plenty of quality music scanning software is out there to convert written notation to Finale or Sibelius, should it be desirable. I know most of the leading composers today still write by hand and leave computerized notation to scanners/publishers. Anyway, this might be a sentimental response, but I think most people would agree digital technology hasn't really helped produce timeless art.

 

[VFC]

Microsoft also just released the world's largest touchscreen tablet: Microsoft Surface Hub at 55" and 84". Of all the specs, I thought the 100-point multi-touch input was most impressive. The 84" will set you back $20,000.

https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-surface-hub/en-us

Marketing video:
http://compass.surface.com/assets/c...4?n=Microsoft_Surface_Hub_Announce_816p24.mp4

MS has the entire home/mobile/office technology requirements covered.

 

[apolloa]

Microsoft also just released the world's largest touchscreen tablet: Microsoft Surface Hub at 55" and 84". Of all the specs, I thought the 100-point multi-touch input was most impressive. The 84" will set you back $20,000.

https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-surface-hub/en-us

Marketing video:
http://compass.surface.com/assets/c...4?n=Microsoft_Surface_Hub_Announce_816p24.mp4

MS has the entire home/mobile/office technology requirements covered.

Glad they are continuing with these giant touch screens, I guess some corporations use them but otherwise they look cool in films and are great for giant interactive screens for event etc.

 

[TechGod]

The difference being in the the surface book using Skylake processors and the MBP's still using broadwell, i can't find anywhere whether the processors are dual core or quad core so the direct competitor for the surface book would be the 13" retina macbook, which if similarly spec'ed cost less but doesn't offer the dedicated graphics card.

The Surface Book is dual core.

 

[spinedoc77]

There doesnt really seem to be a good use case for a the continuum on the windows phones that I can think of. If you need all those peripherals, why not just buy a far more powerful mini form-factor pc or something like the mac mini, or a laptop, or anything else really.

I've always wanted something like this, but would I ever really use it? It's more of a tech demo than anything isnt it?

I do agree with the comments on windows 10 though, been enjoying it on my home PC's. Runs very well on some OLD hardware

It's the idea that you have your entire PC right inside your pocket that's so appealing. When it's not docked, it's your phone. You use it just like any other smartphone. When it is, it's your computer, complete with all the bonuses and niceties a big screen, mouse, and keyboard give you.

Though for it to work, everyone will have to have the dock and all the good stuff that goes along with it so you can use it wherever. And for that to happen, people will need to adopt it. So...yeah, I guess you're right. It's more an interesting feature than a sellable one.

I was quite disappointed in continuum. I was under the impression that you could run a full windows desktop. You can only run mobile apps which developers will make going forward. Existing programs like full Office won't run, rather you get Office mobile. So if that's the case then what's the difference between continuum and just hooking up an Android phone to a mouse/keyboard/monitor? I had very high hopes for continuum and it ended up being a bust IMO. If continuum doesn't run a full desktop then I'd rather just get a tablet or laptop and dock that.

Continuum kind of reminds me of windows RT, another watered down version of windows which will only run mobile apps. MS bragged about water cooling, CPU/gpus, 2TB SD cards, but why bother when you are stilljust running a phone on a large screen?

My priorities changed a bit the more I thought about it. The 950XL with continuum is just another windows phone, kind of like WP with RT. The SP4 doesn't really have enough changes to warrant upgrading from my SP3, especially since I can buy the new type cover and stylus. The surface book is pretty cool but not my cup of tea, it's much too thick and the tablet portion is probably not going to last very long without the dock battery. MS really should have made a SP4 plus and gave us a type cover and also a laptop base as separate accessories. I'd much rather have the SB tablet, but with the type cover, kickstand and regular battery, and the option to buy the dock with the dGPU if I wanted to down the line.

Kind of funny, I was all ready to spend a couple k on all the new goodies until they were announced. But now that I know I'll probably just get the new type cover and stylus and keep my SP3.

 

[Fernandez21]

I was quite disappointed in continuum. I was under the impression that you could run a full windows desktop. You can only run mobile apps which developers will make going forward. Existing programs like full Office won't run, rather you get Office mobile. So if that's the case then what's the difference between continuum and just hooking up an Android phone to a mouse/keyboard/monitor? I had very high hopes for continuum and it ended up being a bust IMO. If continuum doesn't run a full desktop then I'd rather just get a tablet or laptop and dock that.

Continuum kind of reminds me of windows RT, another watered down version of windows which will only run mobile apps. MS bragged about water cooling, CPU/gpus, 2TB SD cards, but why bother when you are stilljust running a phone on a large screen?

My priorities changed a bit the more I thought about it. The 950XL with continuum is just another windows phone, kind of like WP with RT. The SP4 doesn't really have enough changes to warrant upgrading from my SP3, especially since I can buy the new type cover and stylus. The surface book is pretty cool but not my cup of tea, it's much too thick and the tablet portion is probably not going to last very long without the dock battery. MS really should have made a SP4 plus and gave us a type cover and also a laptop base as separate accessories. I'd much rather have the SB tablet, but with the type cover, kickstand and regular battery, and the option to buy the dock with the dGPU if I wanted to down the line.

Kind of funny, I was all ready to spend a couple k on all the new goodies until they were announced. But now that I know I'll probably just get the new type cover and stylus and keep my SP3.

Yeah, the more I think about it, they really should merge the book and the pro together and give you the option of the laptop dock or keyboard cover.

 

[bmt134]

Damn, I really regret getting a new Macbook Pro a couple months ago.

 

[Zune55]

Man MS is killing it today, what are you thoughts on the conference so far?

I don't find Microsoft product to buy each year. I bought the surface pro gen 1 when it was released I still it my in possession. To me Microsoft products are one time for maybe 5 - 10 years. Surface pro still works like a beast for me. Microsoft does not work on the beauty of the product just improved specs. On the other hand apple make their product physically beautiful with different colors and styles. Johnny Ive does a great job finding great designs. Other members of apple does great job getting best specs with new feature. Apple tempt me to buy every year their new products but Microsoft does not that's just my opinion.

 

[Rigby]

I was quite disappointed in continuum. I was under the impression that you could run a full windows desktop. You can only run mobile apps which developers will make going forward.

More precisely what MS calls universal apps.

Existing programs like full Office won't run, rather you get Office mobile. So if that's the case then what's the difference between continuum and just hooking up an Android phone to a mouse/keyboard/monitor?

The difference is that universal apps don't just display a huge version of a GUI that was designed for tiny phone screens, but properly scale to utilize the bigger screen real estate. They also typically work with mice and full keyboards.

At the moment it's probably of limited use, but perhaps in the future your phone could become the only computer you need. Instead of using different computers at work, at home, in hotels etc, just plug your phone into a dock wherever you are and find your own familiar environment, local documents, apps, etc.

 

[spinedoc77]

More precisely what MS calls universal apps.
The difference is that universal apps don't just display a huge version of a GUI that was designed for tiny phone screens, but properly scale to utilize the bigger screen real estate. They also typically work with mice and full keyboards.

At the moment it's probably of limited use, but perhaps in the future your phone could become the only computer you need. Instead of using different computers at work, at home, in hotels etc, just plug your phone into a dock wherever you are and find your own familiar environment, local documents, apps, etc.

Yes, but it's just a more refined version of what Android has. I wouldn't be surprised if Google took the idea of a PC in your pocket and put some work into its scaling and Google for Work on an external monitor. Of course they already have keyboard/mouse support. Don't forget chromebooks already scale Google stuff pretty decently when connected to an external display, I can't see it being difficult for them to also scale phones and tablets. Even the dock isn't original, Android MHL/OTG docks have been around for years.

Your 2nd paragraph is exactly what I expected out of continuum, instead of the continuum RT we got.

 

[Rigby]

Yes, but it's just a more refined version of what Android has. I wouldn't be surprised if Google took the idea of a PC in your pocket and put some work into its scaling and Google for Work on an external monitor.

I'm not saying nobody else can do it, but at the moment MS is clearly ahead. Perhaps their much-ridiculed "one OS" strategy will pay off after all.

Don't forget chromebooks already scale Google stuff pretty decently when connected to an external display, I can't see it being difficult for them to also scale phones and tablets.

Chrome OS is popular in the low-price segment, but personally I don't see Google's cloud platform as an alternative to an OS that can run local apps (at least not for the forseeable future).

Your 2nd paragraph is exactly what I expected out of continuum, instead of the continuum RT we got.

Well, it's not RT, but full Windows 10. It will take the developers time to figure out out to make good "universal apps" and to mature the necessary tools. What we are seeing is the next step in a big transition toward a new UI paradigm.

 

[zhenya]

I will say that despite my optimism about Microsoft's new hardware, the reality of any of it actually replacing my current kit any time soon hit home hard last night and this morning. My personal retina Macbook is at the service center for warranty repair, so I brought home my Surface Pro 3 to use at home last night for the first time in ages.

Over the course of the evening, using it for light Internet browsing sporadically over the course of about 5 hours, I used up 70% of the battery, even with a full reboot to clean any 'work' stuff out and the only thing running being the Edge browser with a few tabs open. This morning I turned it on to 10% battery and a low battery warning - it'd lost another 20% overnight. So now I'm typing this on my iPad which is at 60% battery after 5 hours of screen time and nearly a week of standby. Even my Macbook routinely goes an entire weekend - from Friday evening until Sunday night without me bothering to plug it in.

I realize that it's supposed to be better than this, but the reality is that the long-term average for this device has been about 5 hours battery life, and that's with constant baby-sitting - shutting down programs, monitoring browser tab cpu usage - dimmer than ideal screen brightness. Far more often over the year I've owned it I've had cases like this than I've had cases when it's gone anything near its rated 9 hours.

 

[spinedoc77]

I'm not saying nobody else can do it, but at the moment MS is clearly ahead. Perhaps their much-ridiculed "one OS" strategy will pay off after all.
Chrome OS is popular in the low-price segment, but personally I don't see Google's cloud platform as an alternative to an OS that can run local apps (at least not for the forseeable future).
Well, it's not RT, but full Windows 10. It will take the developers time to figure out out to make good "universal apps" and to mature the necessary tools. What we are seeing is the next step in a big transition toward a new UI paradigm.

Yes they are ahead, it's much more refined than other solutions for sure. I'm curious though, they are pricing this more than the nexus P, so we'll have to see how much that affects adoption. Not to mention the MotoX or others. Still, using Google for work on a big screen is not a bad experience at all and I'm not really feeling MS is ahead that much. Having a full desktop experience, now they would be light years ahead of anyone else.

It's not full Windows 10 until it's full Windows 10, meaning full desktop support. Until then it's just windows mobile scaled up. Windows RT is actually a compliment as it was more powerful than windows mobile. But it's certainly much much closer to windows RT at this point than full Windows 10.

 

[spinedoc77]

I will say that despite my optimism about Microsoft's new hardware, the reality of any of it actually replacing my current kit any time soon hit home hard last night and this morning. My personal retina Macbook is at the service center for warranty repair, so I brought home my Surface Pro 3 to use at home last night for the first time in ages.

Over the course of the evening, using it for light Internet browsing sporadically over the course of about 5 hours, I used up 70% of the battery, even with a full reboot to clean any 'work' stuff out and the only thing running being the Edge browser with a few tabs open. This morning I turned it on to 10% battery and a low battery warning - it'd lost another 20% overnight. So now I'm typing this on my iPad which is at 60% battery after 5 hours of screen time and nearly a week of standby. Even my Macbook routinely goes an entire weekend - from Friday evening until Sunday night without me bothering to plug it in.

I realize that it's supposed to be better than this, but the reality is that the long-term average for this device has been about 5 hours battery life, and that's with constant baby-sitting - shutting down programs, monitoring browser tab cpu usage - dimmer than ideal screen brightness. Far more often over the year I've owned it I've had cases like this than I've had cases when it's gone anything near its rated 9 hours.

This is definitely an issue and one I'm quite surprised MS did not address. Well I'm just assuming they didn't address it because the stated battery life of the SP4 is 9 hours, same as the SP3. Hopefully the SP4 will run closer to its specs, unlike the SP3. Without baying, full brightness, and mainly web browsing, email type stuff I can get a solid 6 hours out of my SP3, sometimes more, but I've never gotten close to 9 hours with typical use. It shouldn't discharge so much overnight, that's not normal, but windows hibernate has always had issues since the beginning.

The iPad are phenomenal in this sense, they last for a long time. But it's a trade off in how you use your tablet. If you simply need a consumption device then definitely stick with the iPad, although personally I'd MUCH rather consume content on my SP3.

Also keep in mind the comparison, the SP3 is not mean to be compared to the iPad. Although in all fairness the MacBook air also gets more battery life than the SP3. I'm not sure that the surface 3 real world battery life is, but that's a better comparison.