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Microsoft Band

microsoft.com

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Re: Microsoft Band

#211

Post by zamalek »

beggi wrote: post #32
curiousDog wrote: post #30

Wow, this actually looks fantastic. Microsoft has always killed it in the hardware department. Looks like it connects to their cloud service as well. Will probably consider getting one.

Erm, always killed it? Zune, Surface, Lumia?

> Lumia

If you had actually used one as a real phone, I doubt you would be saying that the "hardware" isn't good. The core components are as good as the competition. The amount of sensors available to developers is ludicrous. Not only that, if the build (phone body) forms part of what you would call "hardware" - it truly lives up to the Nokia reputation.

Re: Microsoft Band

#212

Post by basicallydan »

The video is actually pretty good. There's a lot of build-up but they do show the product working in a realistic manner to wrap it all up at the end, with, "Keep your phone in your pocket".

Re: Microsoft Band

#213

Post by dalys »

felixrieseberg wrote: post #64
guylhem wrote: post #35

All the sensors + apparently a very lightweight OS + small form factor = I like it. The killing feature is the integrated GPS. As mentionned on the website, you can go without your phone. That alone could make it a buy if it supports wireless charging (I don't want to bother with wires in 2014) Also, it is multiplatform, which is a big plus. I do not want an android watch or an iwatch, but something that will work re…

Hey, I'm an Open Source Engineer with MSFT (and the msft dude for YC) - there isn't anything out yet, but we have always released SDKs for pretty much anything we build.

Any idea about Microsoft Health and when an API might be available? Something we would like to work with at my company probably. :)

Re: Microsoft Band

#214

Post by rplnt »

piotrkaminski wrote: post #123
sytelus wrote: post #117

While everyone is trying to make a watch that looks as traditional as possible, Microsoft is thinking radically different for how the future watch should look likes. That's some guts. At $200 this looks like great device with built-in sensors including GPS and UV that also talks to whatever phone you own. I also like the fact that heart rate monitor is always on. Addition of barometer could have been nicer, however.…

They claim a battery life of 48 hours under "normal usage" (read: no GPS), with a charging time of 1.5 hours. Though if it's supposed to be used as a sleep tracker, I kinda wonder when we're supposed to charge it.

It would be great if it had wireless charger antenna in the strap and the charging surface would double as mouse pad. Then the right hand would make sense.

Re: Microsoft Band

#215

Post by darklajid »

- Click on 'Buy'

- See 'you need a store to find out the right size' (reasonable)

- Click on 'Find store'

- Notice 'Only available in the US'

- Close tab. Fail.

Re: Microsoft Band

#216

Post by darklajid »

thescrewdriver wrote: post #190
madeofpalk wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Finally This isn't 'finally'. This 'new Microsoft' has been doing this for a while.

Visual Studio doesn't seem to install correctly on my Ubuntu box.

Last time I tried running Unity on my Windows box I ran into some issues.

(Put differently: The argument is nonsense)

Re: Microsoft Band

#217

Post by molmalo »

rplnt wrote: post #205
suprgeek wrote: post #27

Got a nice package of on board sensors: Optical heart rate sensor 3-axis accelerometer/gyro GPS Ambient light sensor Skin temperature sensor UV sensor Microphone Haptic vibration motor The 2 day battery life is the one turn off for me. Otherwise this is actually quite nice for $199 cross platform fitness wearable

Just curious, what is UV sensor good for? And I'd really like altimeter for this kind of device.

According to the site, "Get a quick read of the UV Index so you can decide to apply sunscreen before you hit the road."

Re: Microsoft Band

#218

Post by jacquesm »

jmsdnns wrote: post #127
felixrieseberg wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, I'm an Open Source Engineer with MSFT (and the msft dude for YC) - there isn't anything out yet, but we have always released SDKs for pretty much anything we build.

What does "the msft dude for YC" mean?

It means: try to get companies that otherwise would not go for Microsoft products to give it a try through free product samples, and talking down companies not microsoft.

I really wished that companies like Microsoft, Google and so on would not have a 'HN guy' (and would not have non-disclosed HN guys either, Felix is at least above board on that), it can make it a lot harder to figure out what is a genuine user experience and what is product placement.

Unless the Microsoft stack is something you already have experience with you're much better off using non-proprietary stack software. Anything coming out of Microsoft will sooner or later cause a bunch of licenses to be sold somewhere down the line or monthly invoices for metered usage to appear so make sure you know exactly what you're getting into. $50K in freebies will have to translate into $50K more profit somewhere along the line.

Re: Microsoft Band

#219

Post by omgtehlion »

harshreality wrote: post #210
com2kid wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi! Dev lead here. Obviously not an official MS response! We are using a single threaded lightweight runtime based around call backs. We are completely non-blocking on all IO (including all sensors), and our CPU spends the majority of its time in a very low power mode. Every microsecond of CPU time is accounted for and justified! I cannot wait until people look at our battery size in mAh.

That sounds cool! Can you disclose/admit what language it was written in? I'm very tempted to try this out instead of getting a fitbit (not at all impressed with the Apple or Android watches so far).

[not an MS employee] I bet on C or C++

Re: Microsoft Band

#220

Post by jacquesm »

rjbwork wrote: post #161
grimmfang wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Companies like AWS, Google, and MSFT have representatives that consult with YC founders to help them with engineering goals. I suppose to up-sell them on scaling with their platform.

Person scaling with Azure here. It's pretty awesome and easy. But dear god, the XML! They've started making more and more stuff code-configurable though, so that's good.

> Person scaling with Azure here. It's pretty awesome and easy.

And it's pretty expensive.

Now, if your competitor is on an open stack and on real computers they will eventually run rings around you because they get more control and lower costs. The initial boost you're experiencing will turn into a straightjacket with a hefty pricetag over the longer term.

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