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Windows Goes Multi-Touch

stefanski said:
>We'll sell 270m PCs a year, and Apple will sell 10m. Apple is fantastically successful, and so are we.

Got to love this guy. Windows 7... To be released soon. :D
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MS doesn't even sell PCs - Dell, HP, Gateway, Sony, etc. do. Steve Ballmer is a clueless megalomaniac who cannot seem to justify his own pitiful existence.
 
for once..... ballmer didnt COMPLETELY put his foot in it....

"apple is fantastically successful, and so are we"

at least he made a relatively neutral comment towards apple....
i tip my hat to him showing ONE sign of possibly growing up!


... it will be the last time :)

edit: ok. he is definitely ignorant as well, as the post above elaborates on.
 
DMann said:
MS doesn't even sell PCs - Dell, HP, Gateway, Sony, etc. do. Steve Ballmer is a clueless megalomaniac who cannot seem to justify his own pitiful existence.
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To be fair, all those PC sales would be non-existent without Windows on it. People are buying the computers to run Windows, not to look at the pretty touchpad.
 
Okay, you guys who want multi touch on a computer screen, give me a list of things you want to do with multi touch and why?

And then tell us all how any of that will be better, as in easier or more efficient, than using a trackpad, keyboard and mouse.

"Cool" takes you only so far. Nothing I've seen so far is even useful.

And finally, these fools have just sold this thing on a world forum using the blatant LIE that they SELL 270/290 million PCs every year.

If they had something that was capable of soliciting any more meaningful or higher response, than "cool", if this really was something new, if it was really useful... they wouldn't need to lie. Let me repeat that:

T H E Y
W O U L D N ' T
N E E D
T O
L I E.


caliguy said:
I'm betting Apple has had a team working on a touch tablet computer/OSX for a long, long time. These cool gadgets by Microsoft that we're seeing now Apple has probably been innovating and enhancing as well, but they've just been kept under wraps.

Remember when Jobs said when the PPC to Intel switch was announced that Apple had been creating Intel versions of Mac OS X for years? The same is probably true for fully touch-capable operating systems.
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Syrus28 said:
To be fair, all those PC sales would be non-existent without Windows on it. People are buying the computers to run Windows, not to look at the pretty touchpad.
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I disagree. Windows already comes on most PC's and not because consumers want it that way but because that's the way advertising (Microsoft/Dell et.al. ) wants it.
People buy a PC because it's A. Cheap and B. something they think will be easy and useful for them.


Something Apple does quite well. Usually.
 
I Have Seen The Future

10 years from now we will all be sitting in front of a 50" multi-touch display littered with stickers warning us of the hazards of using our displays for extended periods of time due to potential head, neck and shoulder injuries. A 400-page booklet will accompany the display written in verbose legalese with pretty diagrams showing you proper posture and technique for using your display while minimizing the risk of injury. There will be a 20 page addendum with a disclaimer for any potential liability from use/misuse, all stemming from the famous landmark decision made by a court after a particularly public lawsuit by a consumer who developed whiplash from using this type of display in 2015.

Several companies will release a system of cables strapped from your wrists to a set of counterweights through a series of pulleys to assist you in moving your icons on the desktop or scrolling through your billboard-sized Word 2018 document once your shoulder muscles give out.

A fancy new company, priding itself in its high-end industrial design, will make a $10,000 version of the contraption that replaces the counterweight system with a series of stepper motors in a dizzying array of fancy anodized colors and finishes to match the decor of your home or office.

Eventually, the technology-privileged will evolve by developing larger and broader shoulders that will distinguish them from the tech-deprived masses. For the first time ever, it will be the techno-nerds and geeks who are muscle-bound, kicking sand on the puny 98lb weaklings at the beach. Charles Atlas and Bill Gates will be proud...
 
G58 said:
Okay, you guys who want multi touch on a computer screen, give me a list of things you want to do with multi touch and why?

And then tell us all how any of that will be better, as in easier or more efficient, than using a trackpad, keyboard and mouse.

"Cool" takes you only so far. Nothing I've seen so far is even useful.
Click to expand...
Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed... Anyways, I agree on the multi-touch, its pretty useless. But people would be hailing it as the next great coming if this were a Mac.

And finally, these fools have just sold this thing on a world forum using the blatant LIE that they SELL 270/290 million PCs every year.
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Eh. Are people not buying the PCs for the sole reason of running Windows? When comparing Macs to PCs, people often relate PCs to Microsoft, and Macs to Apple. He's doing the same here. No reason to call him out. You know what he's getting at.
 
I remember watching a piece on this it was called like surface or something. This was a few months before the iPhone came out, and it was to be tested and released in restaurants as a new way of ordering food. Then slowly moving to personal computers. Now Windows are scrambling!
 
Syrus28 said:
To be fair, all those PC sales would be non-existent without Windows on it. People are buying the computers to run Windows, not to look at the pretty touchpad.
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But MS doesn't sell PC's - this is what Ballmer claims. People are NOT buying PC's to run Windows on them, they're buying PCs with Windows pre-installed on them - it's not like they have a choice of OS when purchasing a PC. Many erase Windows and install Linux instead - others suffer through endless loss of productivity due to perpetual restarts, malware slowdowns, and enormous peripheral compatibility problems.
 
DMann said:
But MS doesn't sell PC's - this is what Ballmer claims. People are NOT buying PC's to run Windows on them, they're buying PCs with Windows pre-installed on them. Many erase Windows and install Linux instead - others suffer through endless loss of productivity due to perpetual restarts, malware slowdowns, and enormous peripheral compatibility problems.
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That's called "Restless Windoze Syndrome". Take a pill and re-boot.:p
 
DMann said:
True, that is if every customer buys 20 or 30 games.

Read the following article and learn how the econimics of the Xbox get worse over time:

http://www.red-mercury.com/mmceo/mmceo_current.html
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Well that article was about the last generation of consoles. It would have been relevant had Sony not sold their current console at a loss. Its looking increasingly difficult to profit off of hardware sales (unless your Nintendo) as people are expecting more power for less money.

Also, the Xbox's Entertainment and Devices Division has turned a profit for the last 2 quarters, and I don't think its because of the Zune. Link
 
I don't know if anyone really thinks differently here but I'm VERY careful not to touch my computer displays at all and clean them VERY carefully and thoroughly. As someone has said before, I don't want fingerprints on my screen.

Not even if Apple releases something similar (which I hope they don't in the near future, it's useless.) Can you imagine the strain on your arms, using multitouch on such a large surface in a crooked way?
 
LOL
Just visited Gizmodo to check this article in more detail...

There is a fanboy war flaming there....

I pity M$ fanboys.... by the time Win-7 comes out.... Entire Apple product line up would be running Multitouch in some way and apple would have innovated something else and taken off in a totally new direction.

M$ will always remain a few steps behind.... to be on the bleeding edge of technology you need to invent and innovate and not just copy ideas....
 
DMann said:
But MS doesn't sell PC's - this is what Ballmer claims. People are NOT buying PC's to run Windows on them, they're buying PCs with Windows pre-installed on them - it's not like they have a choice of OS when purchasing a PC. Many erase Windows and install Linux instead - others suffer through endless loss of productivity due to perpetual restarts, malware slowdowns, and enormous peripheral compatibility problems.
Click to expand...
Yes, Ballmer claimed to have "sold" that many PCs. His word choice is debatable, but his point is not. People ARE buying PCs to run Windows on them, you only need to look at Windows market share. If Dell just decided to replace all Windows PCs with Linux, I would bet their sales would flatten overnight. The consumers have a choice, with Dell, the 2nd largest PC manufacturer, offering Linux as a OS choice. If you don't want either of those, nothing is stopping them from buying a Mac. Also, "endless loose of productivity due to perpetual restarts, malware slowdowns, and enormous peripheral compatibility problems" makes me think you haven't used Vista in a while. The problems are largely overstated.
 
stupid.

i kill ppl who put finger prints on my (computer) screen... why would someone buy a finger print magnet. not to mention how dumb you are if you want to angle your picture. haha. stupid.

pc everything sucks. and always will.


2.2 ghz MacBook 4gb ram. 160 HD:apple:

MacBook Pro 2gb ram. 100 HD:apple:

8 gb iPhone:apple: (R.I.P) lost on roller coaster at six flags.

30 gb iPod classic:apple:

8 gb ipod nano:apple:
 
Lame. Wake me up when my dual processor PowerBook G5 can make a complete skillet breakfast on its aluminum nonstick casing. Thats the only Surface computing I care about.
I can't wait for multi-touch viruses and the ability to pinch and zoom the blue screen of death.
 
Syrus28 said:
Yes, Ballmer claimed to have "sold" that many PCs. His word choice is debatable, but his point is not. People ARE buying PCs to run Windows on them, you only need to look at Windows market share.
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Yes, Window's continually eroding market share.

Syrus28 said:
If Dell just decided to replace all Windows PCs with Linux, I would bet their sales would flatten overnight.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, Linux is not yet stable enough, but Linux has indeed caused erosion in Windows Marketshare, as has OS X.

Syrus28 said:
The consumers have a choice
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And they are exercising it by regressively choosing XP over Vista.

Syrus28 said:
The problems are largely overstated.
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Only according to MS.
 
I'm a very happy bunny actually.

People are buying PCs with Windows on board because it's what they've always bought. People were the same about diesel in cars once! If PC buyers have no choice, M$ have no right to claim responsibility for the sales.

And they have not sold a single PC. But they still take credit for it. Whereas Apple have sold 10M computers because they have two revenue streams.

This isn't a new argument. Nor is it a new hypothesis. The practice of getting your market hooked on your product is very common in business. M$ just happen to have been the most successful at it. But comparing them with drug dealers is about as accurate as one could get. Actually I should have said drug barons.



Syrus28 said:
Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed... Anyways, I agree on the multi-touch, its pretty useless. But people would be hailing it as the next great coming if this were a Mac.

Eh. Are people not buying the PCs for the sole reason of running Windows? When comparing Macs to PCs, people often relate PCs to Microsoft, and Macs to Apple. He's doing the same here. No reason to call him out. You know what he's getting at.

Yup, buddy. You loose all credibility here. Your comparing Microsoft and Windows to drug dealers... Wow."
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DMann said:
Turned a profit, but no mention of Net. Since Microsoft Admits All Xbox360's Are Defective, lot's of that profit has evaporated:

http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/microsoft-admits-all-xbox360s-are-defective.html

Returns have been pouring in all year, and will continue to do so.
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Again, your clinging to old problems. That article was wrote nearly a year ago, and I can't help but notice no major publication has that story. Also, Microsoft claimed all Xbox 360s sold in the 19 months before that had a defect that MAY lead to problems. Fast forward 11 months and 8 million more 360' sold, the Division has claimed a profit of $90 million for the last 2 quarters.
 
Seriously instead of arguing who is better, or why we shouldnt fight because were friends; lets think about all the endless hilarious possibilities a multi-touch windows environment would be.
I hurt from laughing thinking about the hours you could spend spinning all those pop up adds around like a DJ because Explorer is stuck opening more. You could have an entire screen of off-kilter popup windows. Some could be spun so hard that 5-6 windows later they are still slowly turning under the new popups.
If you though Windows was chaotic and unpredictable now, lets toss in a hysterical GUI that makes that environment look like a fun house. Who said PCs were all work?
 
Nice, but I just don't see the touch screen interface taking over the mouse and keyboard - it just doesn't seem as practical to me.
 
Most people DO NOT buy a computer because it has windows...most people buy a computer because they need one for internet and email, the most basic of tasks, and only want to pay maybe a max of $500. The fact that it has windows is irrelevant to these people until they start getting viruses and such and then with shock exclaim "you mean there is another OS we could run that DOESN'T mess up all of the time?" Most people just don't want to put down $1200 for a computer up front...they would rather buy windows and pay $400 a year on either
A: services to disinfect, or cleanup said windows computer.
or B: a new computer to replace the windows computer that crapped out.
Of course doing this yearly, it's really just the same cost to buy a Mac that would last you 3 to 4 years anyways. I guess you can't fix "stupid" though.

Another thing is that people use Windows, because it's the only thing that most of them know. Their parents use it, their siblings use it, their work uses it, and their neighbors use it. I recently had a conversation with my mother who said that she had never considered buying a Mac until recent extensive use with my MacBook. She had never used one before. She knew no one who used them. But she saw from mine how clearly superior they are, and now my parents will be purchasing a new iMac for their house in the coming weeks. Macs market share has risen slowly over the years...I believe it is still only at about 7-9%. I have a feeling that once the Mac market share hits about 15%, that it will skyrocket within the 2 or 3 years after that...because people will suddenly start seeing them more frequently and knowing that there IS a BETTER alternative to Windows. It's just a theory but I think it makes sense.

I completely agree with the "touch will never truly take over the desktop" theory. Touch works AMAZING on portable devices, such as cell phones and iPods because of the simplicity of the devices. Surfing the web and emailing are awesome on touch devices, and more convenient in my opinion, then on a desktop. I could even see conventional laptops being replaced in the future with touch devices. I don't however think that the desktop could be replaced. It's just not comfortable or convenient to hold your arms in the air for a touch monitor, unless they incorporate it into the table. The desktop computer with advanced applications like Photoshop or Final Cut, is also much to advanced, with an exact precision needed that can only be obtained with a mouse so far. I don't think multi-touch is close to matching the precision needed for those certain applications yet.

And in closing this little essay/rant of mine:

Microsoft really needs to get busy innovating, or get busy shutting down. The company offers nothing of value anymore and it would be nice if they'd just give their money to Apple, so we could get some amazing technology. I can dream right?
 
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