Live data from Hacker News

Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

microsoft.com

441–450 of 697 posts

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#442
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's .2mm thinner than the iPad.

Only if you don't count all the important bits they've crammed into the "cover" (e.g., the accelerometer).

The fact that the cover has an accelerometer shouldn't be interpreted to assume that the tablet doesn't.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Once Apple can get iOS working well on x86 I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that iOS already works well on x86 and has never not worked well on x86. After all, the core OS maintains ongoing heritage with an x86 OS, and every single app in the store has already been successfully compiled for x86...

> every single app in the store has already been successfully compiled for x86 Really!?

Theoretically it would be possible develop your app in Xcode and only ever compile it for ARM and test on the actual device.

But if you use the iOS simulator to develop/test your app (which I imagine every developer does), then you're running your iOS app natively on OS X, linked against a version of all the iOS libraries compiled for x86.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#445
post #398

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All they need is a good product at a lower price. iOS struggles at the tablet form factor. Great for phones, too limited for tablets. No, too limited to be the "main machine". Much of that is apple's fault for locking it down too far.

"too limited for tablets." mkay. I think the market disagrees with you a bit. And your strawman about being the "main machine" is contrary to Apple's goals. They would like nothing better than to sell you an iPhone, iPad and MacBook.

The OS is fine, except for the lack of a user-visible filesystem. It's the apps that are often limited, compared to their desktop counterparts.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I watched it and it did tell me one thing: it's a bit like an iPad but it comes with a cover that's also a keyboard. And that's probably going to be the big selling point. "It's a bit like an iPad, but it comes with a cover that's also a keyboard" .

I think the correct play here is for Microsoft to start selling keyboard covers for the iPad.

The keyboard is useless without a kickstand.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#447

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't pretend you're the world.

Ok, your argument is that this stuff works for the other 95% but it won’t appeal to us hackers. My question to you is, how does Apple make ads that appeal to the rest of the world and something like 75% of the hackers? When the iPhone first came out, there was no nonsense about the brand and emotion without substance. They made EVERYONE want one. Microsoft may have chosen not to appeal to us. But Apple has shown that…

> Ok, your argument is that this stuff works for the other 95% but it won’t appeal to us hackers. My question to you is, how does Apple make ads that appeal to the rest of the world and something like 75% of the hackers?

Asking that question is like asking an Olympic sprinter why he can't be as fast as Usain Bolt, or scolding a successful musician for not selling as many records as Lady Gaga.

Compared to Apple, pretty much every company sucks at marketing. So what? Apple is an extreme outlier in its PR success, owing to a number of unique factors other companies cannot realistically replicate.

How would you answer your own question? Do you think there's a simple solution Microsoft hasn't figured out?

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#448
post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

Probably not too badly, considering this tablet will likely be inescapably bundled with Office, if it isn't a core part of the system by now.

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am writing this from a Transformer Prime, which has totally replaced my laptop. But I have to augment the Android OS with Debian to make the machine useful to me (which I run in a chroot jail). I agree that Windows in such a form factor could be quite compelling to lots of users. I think the Asus Transformer has a better form factor though since it does not need a desk to support the screen/keyboard--you can use it…

It seems like the main advantage of the Surface will be Windows 8's ability to be used both as a mobile OS and as a desktop OS. In your case, Android doesn't let you run unported Linux programs and Debian, if you booted into it, wouldn't support touching the screen. If the Linux kernel supported the Transformer Prime's touchscreen, and if a touchable lightweight window manager were designed for mobile use, and if the…

Guys, it needs a lot of work to compile, but I ported X as an android app a couple of years back intended for this use case: github.com/tmzt/androix

Re: Microsoft Introduces New "Surface" Tablet

#450
post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

In other words, see the Verizon Droid ads that pushed android into being a major competitor to iOS..Android didn't do it all by themselves; Verizon put together commercials that evoked emotional responses that brought in the people who wanted the phone that was a robot.

But how much did those adds sell android versus somebody walking into the Verizon store lookinga for a better phone. Can we separate the two as the occured nearly simultaneously?
Post reply on HN