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Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

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Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#261

Post by snowwrestler »

aik wrote: post #180
Samuel_Michon wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Computerized handwriting recognition will never be good enough because even people have trouble recognizing handwriting--even their own.

And once the recognition fails, you're left with computer text that needs to be corrected. How? With a keyboard. So most people just gravitate toward using the keyboard in the first place.

A stylus is better for drawing (see: Wacom) but most people don't draw.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#263

Post by prezjordan »

tempuser007 wrote: post #158
prezjordan wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people praise VS - I just don't see it. It's so bloated, so slow, and so ugly. It takes 60 seconds to open on my high quality workstation and it crashes if you click the mouse when you're not supposed to. Not my cup of tea.

Is it a high quality PC or some overrated super hyped Apple workstation ? Cause on my 3 years old PC with a new SSD I just blink and I can start typing code. If it has no SSD .. it's not high enough :D. Ugly, bloated ??? Omg, youtube.com/watch?v=G1iaVD-B2IA

$2400 workstation laptop.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#264

Post by prezjordan »

steverb wrote: post #131
prezjordan wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people praise VS - I just don't see it. It's so bloated, so slow, and so ugly. It takes 60 seconds to open on my high quality workstation and it crashes if you click the mouse when you're not supposed to. Not my cup of tea.

If that is actually true, then you do not have a high quality workstation.

See, I always get this response, but no one has yet to prove to me that VS can open and be ready to use in less than a minute. I'd like to see video, until then I'll keep believing VS users are incapable of keeping time.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#265

Post by flatline3 »

photon137 wrote: post #206
flatline3 wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

That's because usually there is a browser-based layer which runs that HTML/JavaScript. Here it is Metro UI (via HTML5) powered using JavaScript (running natively on Windows) - equivalent to a C++ native app with a Metro UI.

I don't really understand why this provides a better environment for producing top-quality media applications over the platforms on the market today.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#266

Post by r00fus »

dredmorbius wrote: post #105
kjhughes wrote: post #76

After 5 minutes of scanning their site, I still cannot find the display resolution of their offering, but I have found: "Coming Soon." "Images are design renderings and not photographs." "1, 2 Actual size and weight of the device may vary due to configuration and manufacturing process" Anyone find a better spec sheet than this one? http://www.microsoft.com/global/surface/en/us/renderingasset... Why can't Microsoft pr…

Vaporware. They're trying to pre-empt anyone for capturing the tablet/mobile space by rushing their design concept out before anyone else has a chance to produce product, and force everyone to ape Microsoft's claimed, rather than actual, featureset. Oh, wait, that was NT, 1992. Scratch all of that.

Latest installment of Microsoft paper-launch was for the Slate (remember all the iSlate->isLate jokes back in Jan 2010?)

That product (they even had HP dialed up as a partner) never shipped, and Apple introduced the iPad to subsequently (re)define the tablet market.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#267

Post by barista »

Bud wrote: post #243
jrockway wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, nearly ever doctor or professional I've seen using a tablet was using a Thinkpad with a pen rather than an iPad with their finger. Screwing around with iTunes and doing work are two completely separate use cases, and it seems that Microsoft is more interested in "the Enterprise" than Apple is. So with that in mind, they're trying to accommodate all use cases. (I did have one doctor that insisted on…

"Screwing around with iTunes"? You've either both not worked in any large companies lately AND never really used an iPad, or you are just blinded by platform bias. The fact is that iPads are being massively adopted in Fortune 500 companies. And I can assure you that those users are not "screwing around with iTunes". In fact, iTunes doesn't even exist on the iPad, so you don't really know what you are talking about, a…

I think his point was that typing on iPad sucks. Feel free to disagree because sucks is a subjective measure.

I think that the integrated keyboard in both covers lets you make the choice which is what the point of the product seems to be.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#268

Post by greedo »

Microsoft is trying to straddle two models and risks failing at both. The Surface will apparently be both a touch based device but also a more traditional desktop. The problem will be when buyers expect desktop performance out of a lower power device. For applications that are designed for a touch interface from the start, it's comparatively easy to optimize for performance, or at least the appearance of performance and responsiveness. But load up something huge with a heavy footprint (Office/Outlook etc) and it's a different kettle of fish.

If MS can pull this off, while still hitting battery life and price points, hats off to them.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#269

Post by mixmastamyk »

Bud wrote: post #243
jrockway wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, nearly ever doctor or professional I've seen using a tablet was using a Thinkpad with a pen rather than an iPad with their finger. Screwing around with iTunes and doing work are two completely separate use cases, and it seems that Microsoft is more interested in "the Enterprise" than Apple is. So with that in mind, they're trying to accommodate all use cases. (I did have one doctor that insisted on…

"Screwing around with iTunes"? You've either both not worked in any large companies lately AND never really used an iPad, or you are just blinded by platform bias. The fact is that iPads are being massively adopted in Fortune 500 companies. And I can assure you that those users are not "screwing around with iTunes". In fact, iTunes doesn't even exist on the iPad, so you don't really know what you are talking about, a…

There are iTunes and App store apps on my iOS devices which can't be removed.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#270

Post by notatoad »

pcwalton wrote: post #204
bicknergseng wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HP went through 4 CEOs, bought and dismantled Palm for no reason and at great capital loss, announced and then rescinded their departure from the PC industry. It's well known HP doesn't know anything about anything. Agreed that OEMs should go away.

Why do you want them to go away? I think generally industry consolidation is a bad thing for consumers.

Industry consolidation is only a good thing when the competition it provides drives innovation. When all the players in an industry wallow around at the same level of mediocrity, that isn't really market diversity. The current tablet market is not a healthy one. It has apple at one end, and a theoretical other end that doesnt really matter. Squeezing out 15 companies that don't matter to make room for one competitor which has a chance is not a bad thing.
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