Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#371

Post by noveltyaccount » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 2:52 AM UTC

hcurtiss wrote: post #337

snowwrestler wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Onenote is a really great compromise. The handwriting remains, and it converts to text in the background. It's not perfect, but it doesn't have to be. As a TabletPC user and a lawyer, I've been waiting for this form factor for years. IMHO, the only reason the TabletPC didn't thrive is (i) short battery life, and (ii) weight/size. This machine is, to me, the great promise.

Yes. This machine may be The One. I've been craving a handwriting-friendly OneNote Extender for ~5 years. I envisioned it back then with e-ink for good battery life and as a dedicated, OneNote-only device. Times have changed.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#372

Post by rapind » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 2:52 AM UTC

hcurtiss wrote: post #337

snowwrestler wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Onenote is a really great compromise. The handwriting remains, and it converts to text in the background. It's not perfect, but it doesn't have to be. As a TabletPC user and a lawyer, I've been waiting for this form factor for years. IMHO, the only reason the TabletPC didn't thrive is (i) short battery life, and (ii) weight/size. This machine is, to me, the great promise.

Could the future be Gregg shorthand via stylus? Apparently over 200 wpm...

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#373

Post by vena » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 2:52 AM UTC

pud wrote: post #364

It looks cool but what is with Microsoft's naming conventions. Apparently the official name for this product is "Surface for Windows RT," as it is referenced here: http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en/us/about.aspx

i just don't understand why they named the OS after the API it's restricted to, something consumers will never encounter. the end result of WinRT is just Metro, something marketable and relatable. why the hell don't you just call it Windows Metro, Microsoft?

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#374

Post by NTH » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 2:53 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…

Remember the original iPod commercials? They were completely devoid of "meaningful content"; it was just people dancing. Consumers went apeshit for it.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#375

Post by greedo » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 2:53 AM UTC

mrdodge wrote: post #348

greedo wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft does ship a huge number of XBox, I think around 60+ million last year, but it's not really a cutting edge device since the console market is relatively sluggish when it comes to change. The Kinect is much more interesting from a technical standpoint. I think based on the dreck that the OEMs have been delivering for the last 8-10 years, it's not surprising that Microsoft felt it had to jump into the hardware…

Xbox 360 - 67.2 million sold since November 2005.

Ah thanks, I misread the CES announcement as 2011 sales, not cumulative sales. 9 million a year isn't much compared to Apple selling 315 million iOS devices since it all started. Not to mention all the notebooks, iPods and desktops shipped.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#376

Post by flatline3 » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 2:55 AM UTC

photon137 wrote: post #285

flatline3 wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

It doesn't - it provides a perfectly equivalent platform. In all cases, it will be the codecs registered with the OS that would be used - so the quality of the media cannot be better/worse. Where this differs is from a developer perspective - you don't have to learn a non-standard UI API (XAML/WinForms/MFC/COM/ATL/Qt/Gtk/Swing/awt/whatever) or a language you're not familiar with (C#/C++/Java - pick any). But you can…

It's perfectly equivalently poor.

What makes those platform APIs useful are all the tools they provide to simplify the creation of great, well-performing UIs that exceed the user's expectations.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#377

Post by Smudge » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 2:57 AM UTC

th5 wrote: post #93

is this a joke? their gallery page images link directly to the images in the most unprofessional way. could've at least lightboxed it.

Whatever was serving their .js files seemed to be down.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#378

Post by greedo » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 2:57 AM UTC

Can't wait to see how well the Pro version runs with Norton or McAfee burning up cpu cycles. Hope that's not the "desktop" experience they're aiming for.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#379

Post by jcitme » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 2:58 AM UTC

heyitsnick wrote: post #134

sho_hn wrote: post #83

So they're not just going after the iPad, they're also going after the MacBook Air: The Intel version + Touch Cover was repeatedly shown with the regular desktop and apps on it, and generally spun as a sort of light laptop. Ambitious, and finally makes sense of their Metro/desktop combo OS strategy to a degree. The hardware to go along with it was a missing puzzle piece, and I guess shows just how important it can be…

It strikes me as an entirely natural development and something that will appeal to many consumers. I get the feeling Apple have always wanted iPad to be an extra - an extension to the desktop experience. But the divisions between phone, tablet, "ultralight laptop" and "main laptop" are arbitrary and increasingly opaque. Many people are starting to see tablets and real possible replacements: for light users, it handle…

I do wonder a bit, how will this blurring of the laptop/tablet line affect their cash cow, Microsoft Office? The business world is trained to believe: they NEED office, and office == productivity. The iPad, long without these apps, challenged this ideal. How would the tablet world spilling into the laptop world affect Office sales...

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#380

Post by calinet6 » Tue, Jun 19, 2012, 2:59 AM UTC

lunchbox wrote: post #235

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…

Successful companies have learned that a (shockingly) large proportion of consumers form impressions and make decisions on a primarily emotional , rather than rational or practical, basis. That's what this video is designed for. It inaugurates the brand, piques the viewer's interest, and plants the seeds of desire. Trust me, there will be plenty of time in the coming months for in-depth product reviews, spec comparis…

You can say all that, and you might be right.

But the entire site is crap. And I'll admit I'm saying that on a primarily emotional, rather than rational or practical, basis. The images are just straight links, the renderings are poor half-assed CAD drawings, and the colors make it seem like a play-dough ad.

I'm sorry, but this is not professional work. It looks like something I did in high school, in one weekend. As good as the product might be, the site is not good marketing, no matter how you spin it. It's shoddy and lazy. I'm honestly surprised at how poor it is.