Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#171

Post by CamperBob2 » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 12:35 AM UTC

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #15

http://www.microsoft.com/global/surface/en/us/renderingasset... WinRT (ARM) and a Intel version. Multitouch keyboard. Full HD on the Intel tablet on 10.6 inch screen (nearly the same density as the MBP Retina) Also, funny the comments here, the iPad edges are tapered, but the RT version is 9.3mm and Apple says the iPad is 9.4mm deep. Why oh why are they pushing Silverlight to show the video?

Why oh why are they pushing Silverlight to show the video?

It's as if they decided to rip off both Apple's and Sony's philophies in one presentation.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#172

Post by makecheck » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 12:36 AM UTC

Apple was smart to release the iPad 2 with a design that practically "had to have" a special cover. This allowed them to legally advertise the iPad's price at one amount even though the majority of their customers would really be paying more (i.e. $549 after shelling out for a $50 cover, instead of only the base $499 amount).

Microsoft probably has the same plan here. A cover that contains a keyboard can be even more expensive (say, $100 each instead of $50) and they can use profits from covers to mask the true cost of tablets.

Then again, they've said nothing about the price...

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#173

Post by balloot » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 12:36 AM UTC

IanDrake wrote: post #155

My client has started outfitting their sales reps with ipads complete with covers that double as a stand. After a few weeks, they wanted keyboards, after keyboards they wanted a stylus. Personally, I think MS nailed it. This could be just a tablet to some people, but it can be a whole lot more to the enterprise. Now to see the pricing...

So your client gave its its sales reps iPads when they needed laptops? :)

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#174

Post by CamperBob2 » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 12:37 AM UTC

galenward wrote: post #154

mey wrote: post #80

While a horrible launch approach (no price, no availability, no info on cpu or ram) I will be keeping my eye on this, and looking for a chance to test drive in a brick/mortar. This could become an amazing travel device, but not holding my breath.

I don't buy the complaint about CPU or RAM - featuring specs is not the way things are done anymore.

Waving shiny gadgets in the air without announcing price and (imminent) availabiilty is also not the way things are done anymore. And we do have Apple to thank for that.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#175

Post by ConstantineXVI » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 12:37 AM UTC

endtime wrote: post #92

postfuturist wrote: post #36

This device doesn't look like it will work well in my lap. I use a 5 year old laptop that I'm pretty happy with. I have a tablet that I never use but that's mostly because I don't like touchscreen interfaces, except on phones where they are lesser of 2 evils (the other evil being super-tiny keyboards).

Unless you have a very short lap, why can't you do this? + + |ta| |kb| ---- Where the +s are your knees, "ta" is tablet, "kb" is keyboard, and the ---- is your waist.

There's no solid hinge to keep the screen at a comfortable angle. Even with the kickstand, if you move your knees, the kickstand falls out of place.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#176

Post by cryptozeus » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 12:38 AM UTC

machinagod wrote: post #170

cryptozeus wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the color of the windows and background changes to the color of the keyboard as soon as we attach it ? reply

Yes, they showed it on the demo it seems.

That is pretty cool experience

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#177

Post by lazerwalker » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 12:38 AM UTC

ashbrahma wrote: post #67

Microsoft has a big event, announces new hardware and doesn’t announce price or availability?

I hope I'm wrong, but not mentioning a price says to me that they know they won't be able to match the entry-level iPad $500 price point.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#178

Post by JumpCrisscross » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 12:38 AM UTC

MrFoof wrote: post #7

They have a video on the main page. The video is a minute long. They have asked for my attention for a minute. In that minute, they have not told me anything about what the Surface can do for me, and why I should care about it. I'm absolutely baffled by that. Yes, I might know what it is, and have some idea about what it can do, but if this was a television commercial, I'd bet money that such a campaign would be a qu…

This is the Macbook Pro w/ Retina Display TV ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFIHewtEuJQ&feature=relmf.... It seems like Microsoft is figuring out that heart sells harder than specs.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#179

Post by flatline3 » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 12:38 AM UTC

photon137 wrote: post #81

mattiask wrote: post #33

I'm actually a Windows user (although I own an iPad), but you have to be a bit humored by all this. As usual where Apple has used a feather Microsoft have used the whole chicken with keyboards, screws, different versions, the whole enchilada. I'm only surprised there's no stickers. "ClearType display"? really, you felt you had to brand it just to compete with "Retina display". Despite all this the tablet might actual…

All-in-all, it's a big, big play on Windows 8/RT. A kernel that can perform optimally on ARM/Intel on mobile devices and also support PC devices is a huge achievement - the entire thread-library would have to be one super-cool piece of software engineering. That and elsewhere within the OS, is where the innovation lies, in my opinion. And now you can see why JavaScript was made a first-class language for the WinRT (n…

> And now you can see why JavaScript was made a first-class language for the WinRT (not Windows RT) API - content-consumption via touch is now going to be a big feature for Win 8 and nothing serves this better than HTML5/JavaScript.

I'm not sure how you reached that conclusion. I race for a native app when it comes to content consumption, and native is also required to provide the requisite stream DRM used by Netflix, HBO GO, etc.

Heck, I wish Netflix would hire a better development team and stop trying to do their app in HTML. It's poorly designed and frustrating to use.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#180

Post by aik » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 12:38 AM UTC

Samuel_Michon wrote: post #144

kulkarnic wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pen+touch+type seems like a great idea. It is something no other manufacturer has tried to do. I think the devil will be in the details, but this sure is interesting, because Apple's strategy is "people should buy multiple devices-- iPad, Macbook Air, Mac Pro...". MSFT wants one device that is a lot more versatile.

Pen+touch+type seems like a great idea. It is something no other manufacturer has tried to do. Apple Newton MessagePad, 1993. It had a stylus, handwriting recognition, you could use it with just your fingertips, and you could connect an external keyboard. http://www.flickr.com/photos/atow/4314242537/ That was almost twenty years a go. Newton was a very expensive experiment for Apple, and they have learned the hard wa…

And it failed. I think the point is that it's nothing that anyone has tried recently, as the technology just hasn't been good enough. We're in a completely different world than the one in 1993. The question now is whether the technology today is good enough to be usable. No one else has tried it recently, meaning common understanding is that even today it's too complicated/not good enough. Until now.