• Microsoft Surface shows Apple could be wrong



    Did Microsoft actually come up with a better design than Apple? Maybe the better question is, why not?

    In one sense, Microsoft has succeeded already, by demonstrating that there is a third paradigm: a transformable tablet.
    That alone strikes me as a very intentional rebuttal of the Apple argument that a laptop and tablet is a "forced" convergence. (Tim Cook).
    And Steve Jobs knocked the idea before that, saying it was "ergonomically terrible" and "we've done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn't work."



    Well, Microsoft showed us Monday that it could work. That's all I (and consumers) need to see.
    But wait. What about other decent Windows 8 hybrids? Asus' Taichi is interesting. And Lenovo's Yoga is nice too.

    But those are laptops first, tablets second.

    Microsoft flipped it -- and, as a result, nailed the concept. Design a good tablet first, then figure out how to do a really cool keyboard.
    After all, hybrids are all about the keyboard. And maybe Microsoft is simply showing us that keyboards need to change in a big way for convergence to work.
    (A more ominous take-away is that Microsoft is putting the PC industry on notice. Follow our lead or become irrelevant. But that's another post for another day.)



    Of course the burden is still on Microsoft to deliver. (Dare I mention the need for lots of apps?)
    But if Surface begins to catch on, then Microsoft will have one-upped Apple.

    And that's a good thing. Somebody out there in PC land should be able to prove that Apple is wrong once in a while.
    Comments 11 Comments
    1. mjmacky's Avatar
      mjmacky -
      I think Apple just wanted people to wait for their laser keyboard, or whatever the fuck that was in the promo video.
    1. megabyteme's Avatar
      megabyteme -
      All these sorts of things are cool, but I'm happy with my 12" Asus netbook. Give me a touch screen and a reasonably sized SSD, and I'm content.
    1. Apple_Fanboy's Avatar
      Apple_Fanboy -
      I would still totally prefer a MacBook Air to that terrible thing Microsoft created. Did any of you see the part of the presentation where the thing freezes?

      http://www.wimp.com/newtablet/
    1. mjmacky's Avatar
      mjmacky -
      Quote Originally Posted by Apple_Fanboy View Post
      I would still totally prefer a MacBook Air to that terrible thing Microsoft created.
      I'm sure you would, and great news, it only starts at $999, that's under a thousand dollars!
    1. Raiuc's Avatar
      Raiuc -
      Microsoft has a big problem: Windows OS
      They can create very good hardware, but with that crappy OS its very hard to talk seriously about Microsoft
    1. mjmacky's Avatar
      mjmacky -
      Quote Originally Posted by Raiuc View Post
      Microsoft has a big problem: Windows OS
      They can create very good hardware, but with that crappy OS its very hard to talk seriously about Microsoft
      Most of it isn't necessarily their hardware, but if I could get it in Win7, I'd consider it. I will avoid it due to Win8.
    1. megabyteme's Avatar
      megabyteme -
      Quote Originally Posted by Apple_Fanboy View Post
      I would still totally prefer a MacBook Air to that terrible thing Microsoft created. Did any of you see the part of the presentation where the thing freezes?

      http://www.wimp.com/newtablet/
      OhGAWD, how can the company move forward with a product that freezes. Oh yeah, just like Apple and everyone else do. Bios updates.

      It is only slightly interesting as a concept, and a crap shoot as a product. Go M$...
    1. mjmacky's Avatar
      mjmacky -
      Quote Originally Posted by megabyteme View Post
      OhGAWD, how can the company move forward with a product that freezes. Oh yeah, just like Apple and everyone else do. Bios updates.

      It is only slightly interesting as a concept, and a crap shoot as a product. Go M$...
      It doesn't surprise me to see the technical difficulties as much as watching how poorly he handled his presentation. Either he doesn't have the skill set or was terribly unprepared.
    1. your_creator's Avatar
      your_creator -
      I think its so funny that there are a lot of followers who will listen to the mass opinion that Microsoft OS is somehow a failure and will always fail. In my opinion they have turned their image around staring with windows7 and Windows 8 will be a new era. Yet I know fanboys who will be bias and will deprive themselves from experiencing Surface and Windows 8.
    1. duke0102's Avatar
      duke0102 -
      Quote Originally Posted by your_creator View Post
      I think its so funny that there are a lot of followers who will listen to the mass opinion that Microsoft OS is somehow a failure and will always fail. In my opinion they have turned their image around staring with windows7 and Windows 8 will be a new era. Yet I know fanboys who will be bias and will deprive themselves from experiencing Surface and Windows 8.
      I've used most of the Windows OSs and I personally don't think they've made a terrible one, I even like Vista. My ONLY issue is the Metro UI, it looks like it's designed for touch screens and that screws over the normal users. If that became optional I would upgrade but I'll wait to see if there are any hacks/patches to get rid of it in the mean time.
    1. mjmacky's Avatar
      mjmacky -
      I'm just upset that MS is trying to force users to adopt Metro UI by removing all of their legacy code that could be used to re-enable the Start Menu. If you want it back, you have to rely on 3rd party tools to recreate it. Stardock developed Start8, and I'm a big fan of their Fences product, but I use it as an extra, I don't want 3rd party to become essential for basic operating behavior of an OS when the OS developer already had it pretty right the first time around. I'm such a big fan of it that I wouldn't use any other Linux desktop besides KDE.