With Tablet, Microsoft Takes Aim at Hardware Missteps
1–10 of 27 posts
Re: With Tablet, Microsoft Takes Aim at Hardware Missteps
#2This demonstrates everything that is wrong with Microsoft. They identified a problem, they couldn't get their products up to par with existing processes. So they go out of their way to copy their competitors.
By following this methodology they'll always be worse or the same as their competitors. Eventually they'll find a way to lock them out, and then the market will suffer from stagnation.
This to me is far more evil than anything Apple has ever done. As long as Microsoft has this culture I can't respect them as a company.
Re: With Tablet, Microsoft Takes Aim at Hardware Missteps
#3This demonstrates everything that is wrong with Microsoft. They identified a problem, they couldn't get their products up to par with existing processes. So they go out of their way to copy their competitors. By following this methodology they'll always be worse or the same as their competitors. Eventually they'll find a way to lock them out, and then the market will suffer from stagnation. This to me is far more evi…
I came here to write basically this. Additionally, I think that Microsoft is making a mistake with this Surface tablet. Consumers want a device that will be easy and fun to use, and that has good access to a lot of content. Maybe the iPad will eventually transition into more of a productivity device, but right now consumers (and Apple) don't view the iPad as a PC replacement.
Microsoft's approach (one OS for tablets and PCs) was a poor choice; the two devices have different needs, and require different UIs and feature sets. They have done so much work on Windows 8 in order to be a competitor in the "tablet market" but I fear that there is no such market. People don't want tablets as MS invisions them. People want iPads.
In my view, the Surface is a step between a laptop and an iPad. Does Microsoft intend for this to unify and replace these? They have produced a product inferior to both an iPad and a laptop, and thus I imagine the Surface will replace neither for most people.
Re: With Tablet, Microsoft Takes Aim at Hardware Missteps
#4This demonstrates everything that is wrong with Microsoft. They identified a problem, they couldn't get their products up to par with existing processes. So they go out of their way to copy their competitors. By following this methodology they'll always be worse or the same as their competitors. Eventually they'll find a way to lock them out, and then the market will suffer from stagnation. This to me is far more evi…
What you said doesn't make any sense. First of all, Windows 8 or RT is not really a copy of iOS in the sense that Apple scaled iPhone and its software up from the iPhone with only a bump to the resolution. Android is way more a copy of iOS than anything Microsoft out there.
Tim Cook called Windows 8 trying to merge a refrigerator and a toaster. Someone at Microsoft countered by saying it was converging a oven and a toaster and making a toaster oven. So, there's a fundamental difference between their visions for tablets with Android aligning itself with Apple on this.
>By following this methodology they'll always be worse or the same as their competitors.
There are a whole bunch of people who want a device that goes between an iPad and the Macbook Air and Apple doesn't seem to care. For those people, Windows 8 (on something like Surface Pro with the keyboard) may actually be better than "same or worse" than iPad or other Android tablets.
>Eventually they'll find a way to lock them out, and then the market will suffer from stagnation.
For almost all the products that lost to Microsoft, it has been significant missteps by the rivals while Microsoft concentrated on making the best product(usually by version 3). It was the same with Excel, Word, Windows and even IE (see http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.html and http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000027.html )
For the latest example of this happening, see XBox 360 vs. PS3.
>This to me is far more evil than anything Apple has ever done. As long as Microsoft has this culture I can't respect them as a company.
Making better products than their rivals is evil compared to things like charging 30% forcibly for all in-app purchases and rejecting a Android magazine app from the App store?
Re: With Tablet, Microsoft Takes Aim at Hardware Missteps
#5This demonstrates everything that is wrong with Microsoft. They identified a problem, they couldn't get their products up to par with existing processes. So they go out of their way to copy their competitors. By following this methodology they'll always be worse or the same as their competitors. Eventually they'll find a way to lock them out, and then the market will suffer from stagnation. This to me is far more evi…
I came here to write basically this. Additionally, I think that Microsoft is making a mistake with this Surface tablet. Consumers want a device that will be easy and fun to use, and that has good access to a lot of content. Maybe the iPad will eventually transition into more of a productivity device, but right now consumers (and Apple) don't view the iPad as a PC replacement. Microsoft's approach (one OS for tablets…
>People don't want tablets as MS invisions them. People want iPads.
How do you know this? What about corporate users and for company owned devices?
>They have produced a product inferior to both an iPad and a laptop, and thus I imagine the Surface will replace neither for most people.
It can do more than the iPad because you can type on it much more comfortably and has Office and it's better than a laptop because it's much more portable. It's a device with different tradeoffs.
Re: With Tablet, Microsoft Takes Aim at Hardware Missteps
#6This demonstrates everything that is wrong with Microsoft. They identified a problem, they couldn't get their products up to par with existing processes. So they go out of their way to copy their competitors. By following this methodology they'll always be worse or the same as their competitors. Eventually they'll find a way to lock them out, and then the market will suffer from stagnation. This to me is far more evi…
Meanwhile, Apple has hidden APIs that nobody is allowed to use to compete with Apple's software, they have stolen ideas from their own developer community and incorporated them into OS X and they are generally unfriendly to developers.
I'm not sure why you respect them at all.
Re: With Tablet, Microsoft Takes Aim at Hardware Missteps
#7This demonstrates everything that is wrong with Microsoft. They identified a problem, they couldn't get their products up to par with existing processes. So they go out of their way to copy their competitors. By following this methodology they'll always be worse or the same as their competitors. Eventually they'll find a way to lock them out, and then the market will suffer from stagnation. This to me is far more evi…
I came here to write basically this. Additionally, I think that Microsoft is making a mistake with this Surface tablet. Consumers want a device that will be easy and fun to use, and that has good access to a lot of content. Maybe the iPad will eventually transition into more of a productivity device, but right now consumers (and Apple) don't view the iPad as a PC replacement. Microsoft's approach (one OS for tablets…
I'm a person and I want anything but an iPad.
Personally, I can't wait to be able to run a full OS on a 10" tablet.
Re: With Tablet, Microsoft Takes Aim at Hardware Missteps
#8This demonstrates everything that is wrong with Microsoft. They identified a problem, they couldn't get their products up to par with existing processes. So they go out of their way to copy their competitors. By following this methodology they'll always be worse or the same as their competitors. Eventually they'll find a way to lock them out, and then the market will suffer from stagnation. This to me is far more evi…
What you said doesn't make any sense. First of all, Windows 8 or RT is not really a copy of iOS in the sense that Apple scaled iPhone and its software up from the iPhone with only a bump to the resolution. Android is way more a copy of iOS than anything Microsoft out there. Tim Cook called Windows 8 trying to merge a refrigerator and a toaster. Someone at Microsoft countered by saying it was converging a oven and a t…
I was concentrating on their creation process and it's impact on innovation and the technology industry as a whole.
Regarding your example, tablet devices Android and iPad have distinct methodologies, Android being open and developer orientated while iPads are consumer focused. The app stores have both positive and negative points, but to software developers it's been a huge opportunity. It's funny you should mention the stagnated gaming industry. The current consoles are nearly a decade old, and Nintendo seem to be the only ones thinking outside the box.
Re: With Tablet, Microsoft Takes Aim at Hardware Missteps
#9This quote jumped out at me:
"..., Apple has proved that there are significant advantages to designing hardware and software together."
I'm assuming the NYT is referring to "design" in its high-level context, as used by graphic designers, etc. and not its low-level context, as used by engineers?
Apple has proved is that there are significant advantages to reusing other people's low-level designs, in the form of open-source software, such as BSD, but taking advantage of the source availability to control the high-level design. In this case, the low-level design has not been done in tandem with the hardware, since it preexisted the hardware.
Re: With Tablet, Microsoft Takes Aim at Hardware Missteps
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I came here to write basically this. Additionally, I think that Microsoft is making a mistake with this Surface tablet. Consumers want a device that will be easy and fun to use, and that has good access to a lot of content. Maybe the iPad will eventually transition into more of a productivity device, but right now consumers (and Apple) don't view the iPad as a PC replacement. Microsoft's approach (one OS for tablets…
I'm a person and I want anything but an iPad. Personally, I can't wait to be able to run a full OS on a 10" tablet.
I'm sort of wondering, when the trend on the desktop is dual 30" (or more) monitors, how many people will feel like they can do anything "productive" on a 10" tablet, keyboard or no.
I can't really imagine doing serious work on a 10" screen. Quick edits, surfing, scanning email and dashing off a quick answer, yeah. But a lot of demand for a "full" OS I'm not sure about.