Microsoft Surface Review: a Tale of Two Tablets 183
zacharye points out an early review of the Microsoft Surface tablet. Here are some relevant snippets:
"When you get over the shocking realization that, yes, Windows is now different, you begin to realize that the new home screen makes a lot of sense. ... Despite the Surface’s quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 chipset and 2GB of RAM, Windows RT is not always as smooth as I would like. Apps sometimes take a few extra beats to open, and in some cases opening an application on the Surface is much more like launching an app on an old Windows PC than on a modern tablet. ... The good news, though, is that Windows RT was built for multitasking. Commonly used apps can and should be left open, and switching between apps is as easy as swiping in from the left side with a finger or touching a mouse cursor to the top- or bottom-left corner of the display. Open apps come back to life instantly, and the animations that transition the user from one app to another are quick and smooth. ... While Windows 8 is the version of Microsoft’s new OS that has split personality disorder, the Windows RT-powered Surface truly is a tale of two tablets. On one hand, it is an engineering feat with a design that is novel and functional. It really is the perfect combination of a tablet and a notebook thanks to the Touch Cover and the Type Cover, and I felt right at home with the Surface the moment I turned it on. On the other hand, the software experience does not feel like home. It’s new, and for many it will be scary." Additional reviews are available elsewhere, take your pick: AnandTech, Wired, Gizmodo, Ars Technica, The Verge.
Gotta admit (Score:5, Interesting)
While I can't stand the look of Metro, the Hardware itself is simply beautiful.
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While I can't stand the look of Metro, the Hardware itself is simply beautiful.
Agreed. But MS needs to reduce the price or throw in MS Office if they want to get any market share. Because as it is, I see no compelling reason to get this over an iPad 2 ($399) or even the latest iPad that came out yesterday. Yeah, the keyboard is nice but not worth the price parity with the new iPad.
Re:Gotta admit (Score:5, Informative)
Agreed. But MS needs to reduce the price or throw in MS Office if they want to get any market share......
Windows RT comes with MS office. It is already included.
Re:Gotta admit (Score:5, Informative)
Windows RT comes with MS office. It is already included.
No it comes with a crippled Office experience. http://blogs.office.com/b/office-news/archive/2012/10/23/office-for-windows-rt.aspx [office.com] "Student 2013 RT provides a complete Office experience and includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote."
Re:Gotta admit (Score:5, Insightful)
Also you cannot use it in a business !!!!!!
http://www.zdnet.com/businesses-cant-use-office-on-windows-rt-tablets-7000005882/
Re:Gotta admit (Score:4, Informative)
Also you cannot use it in a business
They're going for the young consumer market, which has been not clamoring for a Windows tablet for years.
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As sold, Office Home & Student 2013 RT Preview and the final edition are not designed for commercial, nonprofit, or revenue-generating activities. However, organizations who purchase commercial use rights or have a commercial license to Office 2013 suites can use Office Home & Student 2013 RT for commercial, nonprofit, or revenue-generating activities..
Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/home-and-student/office-home-student-rt-preview-FX103210361.aspx [microsoft.com]
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That seems like a really stupid license restriction. I bought this thing, it has software on it, I use it.
Oops. Can't use it to design a sign for my yard sale or track a church bake sale. Can't use it for Craigslist or eBay listings. Can't use it for my Tupperware or Amway business.
Does MS even want customers anymore?
- Jasen.
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Everyone keeps saying how Windows RT and the Surface is terrible for businesses because you can't use Office RT for profit or you can't manage the devices with group policies, you can't run legacy software.... well yeah. That's what the Surface Pro is for... hence the "Pro" moniker. Surface Pro does absolutely everything a Windows 8 desktop does. Sure it's going to be heavier and cost a littl
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Is that limitation legally enforceable? If you buy the product off the shelf (as opposed to as part of a bulk contract), then you bought it. Aside from the standard limitations of copyright law (no redistributing binaries), where does MS get the authorization to further limit what you can do with your purchase? If this was permitted, you'd see it in other fields ("Business model" cars that cost three times as much as "consumer" cars).
sort of yes it is (Score:2)
given that the license folks make National Socialist Troops look like MayBerry troops yes.
There are stories where Original Certificates Of Authenticity were not considered "valid" proof of being legit
they tend to want to see actual receipts with serial numbers for each and every program loaded on each and every computer you have.
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Windows 8 RT is specifically designed to be for consumers. If you want to use it in a business then you need to use Windows 8 Pro.
As awlays, a half-lie (Score:5, Insightful)
The Ars Technica review mention this several times, if you plan to use Office in a commercial setting, you need an extra license key.
So it comes with Office, as long as you don't use it for real.
Cripple ware.
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Screw that. If I can create documents, I can use those docs for whatever I damn well please.
Smells like yet another perfect chance to strike down EULA's and dumb licenses for good.
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It's for home use. That's the market they are going for. The have the business license for Office already tied up. This is for people who don't want to spend another 100 bucks just to use the device for what they are most likely to use the device for.
It's not crippleware. But you go ahead and makes things you don't understand palatable by making things up.
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But is that legal? How enforcable is that?
I mean...I have a surface, I use Word to write a song for my friend Sally and send it to her. Legal
Sally likes the song, and I take and submit same Word version of the song to a music publisher who pays me $1Million dollars....not legal and I could be sued or legally taken to court by MS for this?
Seriously...?
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>
It's not crippleware. But you go ahead and makes things you don't understand palatable by making things up.
Maybe not, but I will not be able to use it's version of Excel for HeroForge [nzcomputers.net] or similar utilities, all of which are consumer-only. Since that was my primary use-case...
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I'm still waiting on the tablet table... or whatever you'd call it so I could pull up several sheets and drag characters around a board with real time line of sight and dynamically generated boards.
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Click on "What Office Home & Student 2013 features are unavailable in Office Home & Student 2013 RT?"
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That's written on the outside of the box you'd purchase at the store I assume? I don't know many consumers that walk into a store and immediately pull up office.microsoft.com and look for the version that's installed.
Re:Gotta admit (Score:5, Insightful)
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If you're complaining that the RT version of windows only runs certain apps... well ya. It is a different chipset. You expect differently?
For my part, I don't have a problem with the lack of binary compatibility (which, as noted, stems from the use of different hardware). My problem is with the closed nature of the system: you can't sideload Metro applications (everything must go through the MS App Store), and no one except Microsoft is allowed to write desktop applications at all.
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Where did you get the idea that Winows RT doesn't support sideloading? It absolutely does. Officially, there are two purposes to sideloading: org-specific internal apps, and developers testing their apps.
Enabling sideloading is pretty trivial; launch Powershell as Admin (yes, Windows RT comes with a full scripting environment, and can run it as admin!) and enter the command Show-WindowsDeveloperLicenseRegistration. Enter Windows Live credentials and your computer or tablet will be unlocked for sideloading.
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The problem is that you'll have to do it every month, and if you are unable to (e.g. without Internet connectivity), your sideloaded apps stop working.
Re:Gotta admit (Score:4, Insightful)
It's not just binary compatibility that's lacking. The entire API has been changed, so existing windows desktop apps will never be built for the RT version. Some of them will be completely rewritten, I suppose, but essentially the Surface is an iPad with very few applications and no huge pool of 'ready to convert' stuff waiting in the wings. It's kind of a marketing bait and switch. People may end up buying the Surface because they think it's Windows and will run their office apps, but it won't - unless all they care about is MSOffice. The X86 version will, but that's a whole other animal.
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Windows RT devices don't have a desktop.
Yes they do. I'm not sure where you get that idea, but Office apps run on the desktop, as well as desktop IE, system utilities, and most important explorer. That's about it as far as the desktop goes on Windows RT.
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You're plainly wrong. Heck, just read the reviews [anandtech.com], it's all there with screenshots to prove it.
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Sure they will. Real multitasking, USB port, expandable storage, seamless integration with rest of win8 ecosystem.
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Quite the opposite. With a keyboard and touchpad, there's no reason why you cannot create documents on the RT. That's the entire point actually- it's an iPad form factor most of the time but if you need to do real work the real tools are there.
Right, and you can do the same with an iPad and a keyboard cover coupled with Pages or some other app.
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It does have the CLR on it. But you can't use it to run desktop apps (or rather you can, but only those desktop apps that are preloaded with the tablet, like PowerShell).
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Maybe not the Surface, but Dell announced their RT tablet starting at $399 yesterday, too.
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Isn't it $499?
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While I can't stand the look of Metro, the Hardware itself is simply beautiful.
Agreed. My first thought was "if this could run Linux...."
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"if this could run Linux...."
So you want this too to become a nightmare of competing distros, half-ass driver support, and poor documentation--which no one outside of a handful of geeks will use?
What can I tell you, I'm a sucker for punishment. I did this to a brand new Windows 7 laptop, and after a week sorting out graphics drivers, which acpi configurations will work, etc. I have a very nice stable machine that runs noticeably faster than Win 7 and antivirus. I admit it is not for everyone though.
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"if this could run Linux...."
So you want this too to become a nightmare of competing distros, half-ass driver support, and poor documentation--which no one outside of a handful of geeks will use?
You say that like it's a Bad Thing. Some of us call it choice - in both the literal and vernacular senses of the word.
(And it's 'half-assed, by the way. If you're going to insult someone, at least do it right.)
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While I can't stand the look of Metro, the Hardware itself is simply beautiful.
Agreed. My first thought was "if this could run Linux...."
OK, that's just funny. I was just thinking to myself that with Microsoft's extremely poor job of clearly differentiating pro from RT, the return rate on this thing is going to rival the return rate seen in brick and mortar stores that tried to sell machines running flavors of Linux. Basically most of them were returned because people couldn't conceive of a computer that wouldn't run the software they had at home on CD. This thing will be similar. People are already buying them thinking that they can go home and load up their games / tax software / etc. I imagine the next few months to include a whole lot of returns on them and an updated message from Microsoft and any retailers carrying any RT machines about what will and will not run on these things.
Yes, for Linux you need a different mind-set; you look at the free applications that can do tax, different games, etc. You , may find you need to use two applications where one commercial integrates suite would have done it all. If you are not expecting to do this then it would come as a shock. -- ~~~~
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Re:Gotta admit (Score:5, Informative)
Why do you say that ? The Surface has an SD slot, a USB port, you can drag and drop content ï½to it.... Apps are indeed locked down though.
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You can insert a USB drive or SD card with videos/picture/music loaded on it, go into the appropriate app, and open them right from there. No need to go into desktop mode. Not sure why this reviewer is making it more complicated than it needs to be. You can alternatively open the drive in explorer and open whatever you like right there.
I think that's a reference to Explorer only running in Desktop mode. Also, he was using a preview version, so this particular issue may be dealt with.
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Something as simple as loading a video requires a jumbled process of USB importing, dipping in and out of the stripped-down desktop mode, opening a Video app, importing, going back into the Video app, and then playing. What.
You just launch the Video app, right click (or swipe from the bottom on a touch screen) to bring up the toolbar, and there's the "Open" button on it which will give you a file picker that can navigate directly to any device. There's no need to import anything - you don't even need to copy it from the USB stick, you can just play it directly from there.
Re:Gotta admit (Score:5, Insightful)
Just like on the iPad
...but not like Android, and that is kind of the point. Apple can get away with its closed nature, because it has first mover advantage, a fanatical fanbase, locked down customers and a perceived premium product. Android its main competitor competes on price; standards and openness. Where does a late entry with a closed OS fit into the equation!!
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there isn't much it can't do out of the box.
lets see!!! Things it can't do!
1) Play Flash on unapproved sites
2) Run Current Windows Programs
3) Run Programs not Installed from the Windows Store
4) Choose Apps from large selection
5) Run Microsoft Programs like Outlook!!
6) Run None Microsoft Apps in Desktop Mode
Oh and 7) Replace the OS
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You forgot.
8) Bind to AD for authentication
9) Use centralized GPOs for authorization
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1) Possibly true, but hardly a big deal. My phone can't play Flash at all, and remakrably enough, I don't miss it. A few years ago I might have.
2) At a minimum, they'd need to be recompiled for ARM anyhow; how many "current Windows programs" do you have the source for? With that said, I expect hackers will find a way aroung this limitation.
3) FALSE! Sideloading is officially supported, and free. The marketer-spiel talks about installing from the official store the same way that Android ads talk about Google
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Play Flash on unapproved sites
Actually (at least if it's like Win8 x86), it will play Flash on any website so long as you use the desktop IE rather than Metro one. Only the latter uses a whitelist to determine when to enable it.
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At least you don't have to buy your songs from the iTunes store. There are also plenty of music and video streaming services available which are not Apple's. Apps maybe are locked-in but so what? Most people (except nerds) don't care.
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I watch video and listen to music that did not come from iTunes. Admittedly, the music was copied through iTunes, but the sources was not the iTunes Store. And with streaming options, you don't even need to copy the music through iTunes.
Ugly Metro (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Ugly Metro (Score:4, Interesting)
Actually you can choose the color at setup.
And after all this crazy debate saying how there is so much eye candy you are now going that there isn't enough!
Windows 8 is actually very nice in appearance, it isn't trying to be show off but going more to a simpler effect. Being the Metro Display doesn't overlap stuff so you don't need to be 3d, with those other effects.
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no transparency/rounded_borders/shadows/effects
These lacks are good things. The rest, not so much.
Some things don't change (Score:5, Funny)
"On the plus side, my general takeaway is that the Surface is a highly capable and highly enjoyable device to use most of the time, and is likely in need of some bug fixing and optimization. However, that seems like it should have been done prior to the release of the product to the public. "
This seems like an unrealistic expectation once you remember that it is, after all, Microsoft.
Re:Some things don't change (Score:5, Insightful)
This seems like an unrealistic expectation once you remember that nobody bothers bug fixing and optimizing before release any more when they can just ship a patch a some point afterwards
FTFY
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FTFY
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I don't understand 'scary' (Score:5, Funny)
Never mind discussing the underlying technology. Will someone please explain to me why the reviewer says that this interface will be "scary" for some?
Hey, the new phone system we have at work is a really new and confusing, but I've never heard anyone exclaim "Holy baby Jesus! This is scary!"
If you find someone with a Surface in their hand and they turn to you and say "Help me. I'm really scared." just place your hand gently on their shoulder and slowly take the Surface from their hands and then violently smash that shit on the sidewalk. Then look them straight in the eye and say "I love you. Now go read a goddam book."
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Change makes a LOT of people anxious. I've seen simple tech changes at work give people panic attacks (no, seriously). We geeks take tech changes for granted usually, and can roll with it. But a lot of common people freak out when you so much as move a familiar icon from one part of the screen to the other.
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If you've never driven on the left side of the road, go to England and rent a car. Drive all over London.
It's scary, because it's different.
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No, it's scary because you can be fucking KILLED in a head-on crash. I've never heard of a computer killing anyone.
Microsoft is betting on next wave (Score:2)
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Re:Microsoft is betting on next wave (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft don't bother too much in losing this round with windows 8 in the tablets market, they know that is an uphill battle.
They are betting in the windows 9
You must be confusing today's Microsoft from 90's. Microsoft is terrified of not being part of Mobile, and has crippled its desktop experience to push its tablet one [whatever you think of that]. Microsoft has always been able to outlast;pay off;bribe its competitors by having Gazillions in cash. You may not have noticed who its competitors are in the tablet market Apple and Google who make Gazillions themselves, and they are incredibly successful!
Like you though I have already given up on this version of Windows being a success on the tablet.
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Microsoft can't survive with just 80% of the desktop market. If they get that low, they are done (but I don't belive they'll get there with win8).
Keyboard doesn't look that useful (Score:2)
Re:Keyboard doesn't look that useful (Score:4, Insightful)
Seems like you are trying to use a tablet when you really want a laptop.
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So, what exactly is the Surface then?
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Walt Mossberg's review said the same. Me, I have a real keyboard for my iPad but I never use it, because the inconvenience of placing the tablet usually outweighs the advantage of easier typing.
If only it were about the product, not marketing (Score:5, Insightful)
What is such a pity about this is that it really doesn't matter how good this is, how bad the iPad is, how boring the Android is, or any combination of those 3 features and platforms. Apple will either continue to convince the world that the Emperor is fully dressed, Android will convince the world that cheap is good or MS will convince the world that, well, they shouldn't change horses mid-stream.
The three platforms all work just fine. I happen to think and hope that the Surface Pro will show the world that both bulky laptops and tablets in general are technology of the past, but for the majority of consumers the difference is moot. The real challenge here is ridding the world of java applets and flash videos and getting moved on to decent, compliant, reliable web standards... Then who cares what the medium is...?
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What is such a pity about this is that it really doesn't matter how good this is, how bad the iPad is, how boring the Android is
There is nothing there that is true!
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LOL, reliable web standards. Maybe in 2015 or something like that. Meanwhile I have the impression we're replacing java and flash applets with windows RT, google store and apple store applets.
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One point it brings up, which I mentioned before on slashdot is how ridiculous the 16:9 ratio is and how tall it makes the surface, which is quite impractical as a tablet in both landscape and portraits mode.
What is widely interesting about this comment, is my Phone;Tablet;TV; Monitor are all 16:9 and regardless of whether I use them in portrait or landscape [or both]. Its a better ratio than my legacy 4:3 technology they replaced...my last Phone; Tablet; TV; Monitor. In fact modern media is designed for that aspect ratio. ...oh you have an iPad...sorry.
A new day and no anti-trust suits on the horizon (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft must be delighted, the good old days where you could get sued for trying to bundle a browser with your OS (at least in Europe) are long gone. Now, you not only include a free browser, you can include a paid office suite with the price part of the price of the device with no option to opt out. You can rig the OS to make sure that your own applications have access to exclusive APIs and functionality that third party developers will not be able to access ensuring that your apps will always be the best. All apps have to be installed and downloaded from your own app store, and you take a huge cut every single time, even for in app purchases in the future. You can ban third party developers from offering apps offering the same functionality as your own apps. Your own app store is the only one people can get apps from, they can't install or use other app stores. And you can get away with all this because Apple does it already and gets away with it just fine, and they have a monopoly and not you.
The wonderful new era of computing.
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Hah, and in the very next Slashdot article, MSFT getting fined up to $7B by Europe!
http://slashdot.org/story/12/10/24/135243/ec-sends-statement-of-objections-to-microsoft-for-violating-anti-trust-agreement [slashdot.org]
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This is fallout from the previous settlement, Windows RT is not going to come with a browser choice screen in Europe and all non IE browsers will be crippled.
The current anti trust bogeyman seems to be Google which is ridiculous. How hard is it to switch your search engine vs switching your OS and all your data services? How hard is it for a player who makes a new search engine to convince people to try it out, compared to getting someone to try a different OS or office suite?
Google advertise their own serv
A true MS product (Score:4, Insightful)
It has a magnetic charger connection. It has a powerful magnet... BUT when it pulls the connector out of your fingers, it doesn't align properly and doesn't work. it has to be fiddled with. Like a worn out old fashioned round charger. It is ALMOST but NOT quite the apple charger experience. Almost but not quite.
It comes with MS Office... except if you like to actually use it, then you need to buy a seperate license. The ONE thing MS can use as a sales argument is that their stuff comes with full MS support and then they don't deliver unless you pay through the nose on an already expensive device. MS has in the past given Office for free to entire governments to keep customers, yet on their own device, they charge you for a non-cripple ware version.
The touchpad on the the covers is there, possibly because you sometimes don't want to touch the screen but it is hopelessly primitive version, barely more then a trackpad.
Resolution is what top end devices came with, last yet. Full HD is what new devices come with now. And people know it.
Windows RT is compatible with nothing, not even most MS software. Don't think of running Windows Games on your Windows tablet. Another potential massive selling point, not realized.
You have to remember that the previous MS phones, Zunes and Kins weren't that bad either, they just were one step behind the competition and failed to make use of being part of MS to sell people who already use Windows. The simple fact is that Apple sold countless devices despite not being Windows. And MS didn't sell any because they ultimately also weren't Windows.
Only MS would launch a tablet with such a heavy focus on text input with a cripple ware office suite while trying to court the serious tablet user. Just give it away for free already. Geez. Live a little.
Re:A true MS product (Score:5, Interesting)
Hmm. I read a couple of reviews and I kind of like the Surface concept. I will not buy one, since it does not suit my needs and will certainly stay as far away as possible from Windows 8, but your post sounds like an unfounded anti-MS rant. Because I do not like Slashdotters to be considered mindless MS-haters (but only thoughtful MS/Apple/Google/XXX-bashers when there is good reason), I think I should address your post as it will be surely getting modded to +5 by the time I am finished...
It has a magnetic charger connection. It has a powerful magnet... BUT when it pulls the connector out of your fingers, it doesn't align properly and doesn't work. it has to be fiddled with. Like a worn out old fashioned round charger. It is ALMOST but NOT quite the apple charger experience. Almost but not quite.
Let me guess, you haven't tried it yourself and you are just selectively quoting reviews? Read Anand who is as big an Apple fan as you can find without reaching the "extreme-fanboi" status, and who says while it is not perfect he actually likes it and pointed out the fact that it has advantages over Apple's weaker magnets.
Then, I can share my experience with a MacBook I got back around 2008 and its magnetic charger coupling: I could not detach the damn thing without grabbing the cord. The tiny and shiny plastic plug was most of the time (depending how dry your fingers were I guess) impossible to grab without it slipping from your grip. I immediately went to apple.com and looked at the reviews for the charger. Well, 2/5 stars average with most reviews saying that while it was so expensive, the cable would break in less than a couple of months since the users had to pull it! I did not break mine because I replaced the Mac with a Mac Mini (due to other reasons related to how it handled my multi-monitor setup).
It comes with MS Office... except if you like to actually use it, then you need to buy a seperate license. The ONE thing MS can use as a sales argument is that their stuff comes with full MS support and then they don't deliver unless you pay through the nose on an already expensive device. MS has in the past given Office for free to entire governments to keep customers, yet on their own device, they charge you for a non-cripple ware version.
I don't understand your comment. According to the reviews I read, Surface comes with the Preview version of Home/Student, because the final version is not yet ready. Once it is available, it will be a free install for Surface. Are you referring to something I had read in earlier reviews, that Office RT would be lacking some pro features like VBA? But I read that it is not a matter of paying for a license, you just won't have some features with the RT version.
The touchpad on the the covers is there, possibly because you sometimes don't want to touch the screen but it is hopelessly primitive version, barely more then a trackpad.
Well, there is no space left, so according to the reviews nothing much better could really fit. They were going for maximizing the key size, which is what is really missing from a tablet. I would thin it would have been even better to not put a touchpad at all and use those little thumbsticks my old Thinkpad had - but maybe others prefer touchpads...
Resolution is what top end devices came with, last yet. Full HD is what new devices come with now. And people know it.
Hey, you got one point. While I think something like retina is certainly overkill, Full HD would probably have been a good idea. But I do prefer a good screen with a lower resolution than a higher-res that has glare, low contrast etc. According to the reviews the display at least has some solid performance, so they got it half right. Yeah, higher resolution BUT with similar performance would have been nice. No, not all new Full HD devices come with good displays. Not even the majority.
Windows RT is compatible
The point (Score:3)
People fail to understand the point of the Surface products, wondering why Microsoft is doing things the way they are. There are two Surface computers with a similar form factor and name, however they are aimed at different markets and are meant to do very different things for Microsoft.
The RT model is the cheaper consumer based model and it is meant to establish Microsoft as a tablet player in consumers minds.
Microsoft is hedging their bets with ARM. A lot of people don't realize that Microsoft has historically almost always supported at least two different processor architectures. Right now they are wholly dependent on Intel, and Intel is no longer reliable as they once were to do things the Microsoft way. By establishing the RT model first and selling millions of them they hope to create a market for windows apps for the ARM architecture (which does much better for power consumption).
The cheaper (but not as cheap as expected) RT model is meant as a baseline that other vendors can beat to sell their own windows based tablets at a cheaper price. Microsoft viewed that other vendors weren't stepping up to the plate and exploiting the potential of Windows based tablets. Tablet based hardware with a Microsoft OS has been around for about a decade longer than the Ipad and most people are oblivious.
Microsoft wants a Windows tablet 'ecosystem' since mobile is seen as the way of the future. This is why the tablet interface is the default interface and you can't bypass it. Microsoft wants to force everyone to start thinking of Windows as being viable for mobile computing. They are sacrificing an entire enterprise upgrade just to make this point.
The more expensive x86 model is aimed at production work for the Enterprise. This model can run legacy software and join domains, both of which are required for selling tablets to the enterprise. For all intents and purposes this is the 'Professional' model.
MS misses the point of tablets, again (Score:3)
What they can't understand, which Apple and Google have, is that tablets are for (interactive) content consumption not content creation. There is a big difference. People don't want to sit and write word documents on these things. Now, you may use your tablet to tweak a word doc, but then, still, it is used to consume data.
This is true even in enterprise and why tablets are picking up there. Not everyone is creating content. Those on the go are consuming, not creating. If they are creating, it isn't building big powerpoints, it is inputting specific data related to their task.
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This is not entirely true. I know of plenty of potential content creation uses for tablets in businesses -- filling out forms, taking notes, product validation (with the imbedded camera), group presentation mockups, etc. It's obvious that Microsoft is aiming to get its foot into the potential corporate tablet market, and is not really competing with Apple for the recreational content consumer market.
The key word repeated up there is 'potential'. Is this tablet good enough to make corporations change thei
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What a lot of people are calling "content creation" is really Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SPSS, AutoCAD, etc. which are all things that can be done well on a PC; it is a PC-centric concept. Desktop publishing and spreadsheets largely validated the PC.
Tablets are for places and work where a PC can't go. It is the "distributed" computing, where your work is as much receiving data as inputting data, all on the go in a wide variety of situations.
It is a new set of apps that didn't exist before because they made no
New != Scary (Score:2)
I want a GNU/Linux KDE / Unity / Gnome alternative (Score:4, Interesting)
I have an Android phone and an Android tablet, both of which I like a lot, but with the tablet's 10" screen I do now find myself wanting a more power user desktop environment to use on it. I could make a list of features that I would like to see but I'd just end up describing a typical Linux distro with a decent desktop environment with some modifications tailored towards touch.
So what is the status of projects working towards this goal? I know KDE is working on Plasma Active and Canonical is obviously working towards making Unity as touch friendly as possible, so how far off are we from seeing tablet devices running a GNU/Linux distro with one of these desktop environments? Most GUI apps will require some work to be made touch friendly but that's never going to happen until a stable OS is readily available for them to run on.
Give me a proper taskbar, support for running KDE / QT / GTK / X applications, scripting and all the CLI stuff we take for granted on Linux along with a decent collection of apt-get style software repositories and I think I'd fall back in love with my tablet.
And before anyone replies with 'get a laptop!', I'm quite happy with my laptop thank you, but I also like the tablet form factor for many reasons and I'd just like to see some options for more 'traditional' computing brought to these devices.
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Don't get me wrong, I like the Android tablet and use it for a couple of hours a day on average. But it just seems to me that Linux distros have been very slow to get on the tablet scene. Until I can get Ubuntu / Fedora / SuSE on my tablet, I'll certainly settle for Android.
"Magsafe" Fail? (Score:2)
From the Ars Technica review,
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and this is my 2nd magsafe P/S for this machine because the cord broke (which was part of a class action lawsuit that I failed to get anything from)
the magsafe idea is good, but the Apple macbook pro power supplies are crap -they also seem to be really picky about what will get them to charge because I sometimes have to plug it into severa
Re:Not impressed (Score:5, Informative)
What you want is the Surface Pro then, or any of the x86 Win8 tablets coming from Asus, Acer, HP, Dell... These are compatible with legacy Windows apps and most peripherals.
Only the ARM-based Win8RT tablets are, for obvious reasons, incompatible with legacy x86 apps.
Re:Not impressed (Score:5, Insightful)
"legacy" x86 apps? What?
When you're referring to the entirety of the -current- Windows software ecosystem, except for a few corner cases that have been ported, "legacy" hardly seems the proper label.
Re:The Ars Technica review is a joke (Score:4, Informative)
Hardware reviews (hint: read the title) generally are about the... you know.... hardware ?
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Re:Troll the buying public (Score:5, Funny)
Whenever you hear the new Microsoft Surface mentioned, say, "Oh, is that the one that's Linux-based?"
Well, at least when you say that with Apple's stuff, there is at least a kernel of truth to it.
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Well, at least when you say that with Apple's stuff, there is at least a kernel of truth to it.
Kernel. You did that on purpose.
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Whenever you hear the new Microsoft Surface mentioned, say, "Oh, is that the one that's Linux-based?"
Well, at least when you say that with Apple's stuff, there is at least a kernel of truth to it.
Yeah, no. Linux is a kernel. OS X and iOS both have a XNU hybrid kernel which is a cross between the Mach microkernel and BSD. I does not have any Linux kernel code in it.
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They're not prisoners, they're free to jump out a window any time they wish.
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You should give them more realistic names. Like Steve and Steven.
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"Of note, Microsoft uses the word "perfect" quite often when discussing its new tablet and it's more than just marketing. During my trip to Redmond it was obvious from the start that Microsoft is incredibly proud of the Surface, and of the team that built it. "Great people make amazing products," Sinofsky told reporters during a presentation. 'Amazing products don't make great people.""
Wave your magic wand, tech boy - and make the statements of an MS VP "more than just marketing".
My diarrhea just kicked in.
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Would that be Word Perfect?