Microsoft makes big announcement- audience falls asleep
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The big issue that I see with the RT model is that you will need to purchase special software just to run on it. You most likely will not be able to just install any off the shelf windows application on the device since it has an ARM processor.
I will say that I really like the smart cover that they have developed.
well even if you could run off the shelf applications, you'd quickly ran out of internal storage. most windows applications are not models of programming efficiency.
I thought I remember seeing "office included " but I could easily be mistaken.
that would be interesting strategy, skipping the profits on a generation of 1 of their cash cow products to maintain market share.
and I think the keyboard cover is smashing.
until people get their hands on shipping product it's all speculation and guess work.
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I thought I remember seeing "office included " but I could easily be mistaken.
that would be interesting strategy, skipping the profits on a generation of 1 of their cash cow products to maintain market share.
and I think the keyboard cover is smashing.
until people get their hands on shipping product it's all speculation and guess work.
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2
I actually think this looks pretty cool. I like the Xbox Live style UI. However, I won't be buying one for the same reason I haven't bought an iPad. I have an iPhone 4S that handles my mobile emailing, web browsing etc... for both play and work while on the go. I have a Desktop at work and a lap top I use at home and on the road for more intensive work. I just don't need a $600+ toy that is really just a larger screened version of what I already carry in my pocket and isn't capable of running the software I need for more serious work. I think the iPad and this Surface both look like cool toys that I would probably enjoy and find uses for. For that much money I just don't see enough benefit though.
The only reason I could see that they were demoing now was to build buzz about Windows 8 and to try to stop the iPad bleeding.
Microsoft must know that it is facing a real problem that Windows 8 could be irrelevant. If it is too tablet oriented it will die the Vista death on the desktop with no one wanting up upgrade from Win7. And who will buy a windows tablet when all the content is on Apple/Amazon. They could end up speeding up the iPad adoption...
Microsoft must know that it is facing a real problem that Windows 8 could be irrelevant. If it is too tablet oriented it will die the Vista death on the desktop with no one wanting up upgrade from Win7. And who will buy a windows tablet when all the content is on Apple/Amazon. They could end up speeding up the iPad adoption...
Windows 8 will do well regardless, only debate is if it will be Vista-well or XP/7 well.
What MS has never really done well is create synergy between devices... that's clearly their strategy with 8, 8 RT, Surface, and the Xbox.
Apple seems to do well with their tablets and OS with a 9% share of the OS market, will be interesting too see what the market leader with 70% can do with all the right products in place.
There are many people like me... Predominantly Windows households (use a Mac for work, but no Mac can replace a PC for gaming, maybe one day...) and 60 million people with XBox 360s. A tablet that successfully merges those very common components together would have to have some serious faults to not produce a natural market... and that's in addition to those who want it just as a Windows-based tablet.
I'm not likely to own one anytime soon, but hardly see room for comparisons to the Zune.
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I think the success of Surface and of all other Windows tablets for that matter significantly depends on how well Microsoft Office works on them. Particularly the success in businesses environment.
Microsoft Office is one of the most important applications that I seriously miss on my iPad. I have purchased several "Office-compatible" apps, like Docs-to-Go, QuickOffice, etc., but none of them are 100% compatible. Every single one I tried has compatibility issues, even in simplest Word documents: the page layout gets messed up, pictures disappear, tables don't show up correctly, fields don't work at all, etc. I have pretty much given up on editing Office documents on my iPad. If Microsoft can get this thing done right on its tablet, many businesses will be happy!
Microsoft Office is one of the most important applications that I seriously miss on my iPad. I have purchased several "Office-compatible" apps, like Docs-to-Go, QuickOffice, etc., but none of them are 100% compatible. Every single one I tried has compatibility issues, even in simplest Word documents: the page layout gets messed up, pictures disappear, tables don't show up correctly, fields don't work at all, etc. I have pretty much given up on editing Office documents on my iPad. If Microsoft can get this thing done right on its tablet, many businesses will be happy!
Probably not... Current trends show a large number of households dropping PCs for smartphone/tablets.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/technology/as-new-ipad-debut-nears-some-see-decline-of-pcs.html
2010 PCs outsell tablets 20:1
2011 PCs outsell tablets 6:1
Some contend that tablets will pass PC sales in 2013-2017, right in the middle of the prime windows 8 period. Yes, businesses and many households will still need PCs for a lot of applications, but the casual PC user is on the way to tablets...
I've got to say, my laptop just seems so clunky now that I've used my wife's iPad. I still need it for remote access to my desktop at work- but that's about it.
Now- does anybody really think Microsoft will put out a product, a Windows product, that will boot quickly, not get bloated and slower over time, and never produce a BSOD? The very fact that they are trying to get some existing programs to work on it pretty well guarantees, IMHO, that the future is very clear. And very in keeping with Microsoft's track record.
Now- does anybody really think Microsoft will put out a product, a Windows product, that will boot quickly, not get bloated and slower over time, and never produce a BSOD? The very fact that they are trying to get some existing programs to work on it pretty well guarantees, IMHO, that the future is very clear. And very in keeping with Microsoft's track record.
Meanwhile over the same period and so far this year 600 million Windows 7 licenses were sold.
I never said they were not going to sell a lot of licenses, my point was that there may not be enough computers sold to match Vista's numbers going forward as many households switch to tablets. My contention is that Windows 7 is the peak for MS in desktop windows licenses. Now if they can sell "windows" phones/tablets to make up the difference? Only time will tell.
And they've got to have a competitive product. I just don't see anything Windows based matching the performance or reliability of Android or iOS devices.
The question is also why would people by Windows RT? It is not Intel based, so the compatibility factor is out. Win8 RT will not have the content of the iPad/Kindle Fire. To support it MS will have to buy up or bribe a lot of content providers to provide for it.
The tablet based on the Intel processor is more interesting to me since it could essentially have all the content a PC would have, unless of course content providers try to block it like they did with Google TV.
The tablet based on the Intel processor is more interesting to me since it could essentially have all the content a PC would have, unless of course content providers try to block it like they did with Google TV.
Microsoft Office for iPad is due out in the fall.
But seriously - the iPad is not intended to be a laptop-replacement for Word and Excel. Pages for iPad is not bad, but it won't solve his compatibility issues.
Count me in! Thanks Mike for the advisory. This will probably sell bigger than this "surface" tablet.
There was a big news piece on this awhile back. But they obviously go at their own pace. It only took them a year to update Office 2011 for Mac to support full-screen mode in lion.
