The way windows 8 is designed and how it is made to be a hybrid os has been known for a very long time so I don't see how announcing this device early is going to change things.
Microsoft Surface Tablet announced
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The way windows 8 is designed and how it is made to be a hybrid os has been known for a very long time so I don't see how announcing this device early is going to change things.
True.
Yes, it is pretty disappointing. I'm not sure it will put OEMs on notice as much as I would like.
Gary Whitta
Member
Oh snap I hadn't seen the part where the demo model fucked up and he had to swap it out. Classic.
Can we buy these online or is it only at their retail locations.
Kung Fu Jedi
Member
You won't be able to buy them online?
Gary Whitta
Member
Only 20 stores in the US, they need to step it up.
Might go visit the local one in Palo Alto, I'm interested to see one. And in Apple's back yard!
By the way, anyone who doubts Apple's influence on MS only needs to look at their retail store design. Didn't they actually go out and hire the exact same guy?
Damn, I hope they set up at least one MS store in the UK before they release the Surface tablet (lolol! I doubt it).
Although, my company's main HQ is based in Palo Alto and I might be sent there for a week. I could visit the store there.
but I a lot less xenophobic I bet.
Although, my company's main HQ is based in Palo Alto and I might be sent there for a week. I could visit the store there.
Even the employees look the same...
but I a lot less xenophobic I bet.
I kid I kid!
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
Gary Whitta
Member
If I could get a photo with Ballmer to go next to the one with Woz that I keep by my bed, my life would be complete.
Even the employees look the same...
That's racist man, asian people don't actually all look the same.
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
Come on, thought never even crossed my mind.
There is an Apple store at my local mall so maybe we will also get a Microsoft store.
edit:
Watching the keynote he says it will be sold at Microsoft Store locations and available through select online Microsoft Stores.
Dont know what select means there. Is there more than one online Microsoft store?
Kung Fu Jedi
Member
I visited the one in Austin for the first time last weekend. It's a stones throw away from the Apple Store as well. They look a lot alike on the inside and it is clear where the influence came from.
As I said earlier in this thread. The MS Store looks nearly identical to the Apple Store, minus the customers.
faceless007
Member
I've been to the MS store near me. The minimalistic, square design is definitely ribbed from Apple, but it's not entirely the same. It feels more...colorful. There are these large video walls around the whole store that display background animations and info, it's actually kind of neat.
bloodydrake
Cool Smoke Luke
Marty Chinn
Member
Ya, I was about to point that out. The store feels more colorful compared the the Apple Store. It's so weird to see them directly across from each other at the local mall.
Gary Whitta
Member
That actually sounds good to me. It'd be nice to walk into a store like Apple's and actually be able to check out the products. All the stores here in the Bay Area, particularly the big one in downtown SF, are always mobbed with people using the demo models. Most of them treat the place like a fucking free internet cafe.I visited the one in Austin for the first time last weekend. It's a stones throw away from the Apple Store as well. They look a lot alike on the inside and it is clear where the influence came from.
As I said earlier in this thread. The MS Store looks nearly identical to the Apple Store, minus the customers.
desktop apps can be listed in the store, with a url link to where to buy them.
Gary Whitta
Member
Truly a seismic event.
That's nice but it falls way short of the Mac App Store, which has the great benefit of being a one-stop place not just to buy the apps but get updates. Having to follow a URL to some outside link totally defeats the purpose of a store, doesn't it?
Kung Fu Jedi
Member
I'd agree with that. And the Xbox are with Kintect is kind of cool as well. Really lets you check out the technology behind it.
It's the same in just about every Apple Store I've ever been in and I've been in quite a few. The two here in Austin are ALWAYS slammed. Doesn't matter if you get there when it opens or if you're there when they're about to close. They are packed. It definitely does get old when you just want to zoom in and out quickly.
I guess that's why the are the most profitable retail stores per square foot in the world.
Gary Whitta
Member
Go by any of the big Apple stores here before opening and there is usually a crowd of people waiting for them to open the doors. This is on any day of the week, not just product launches. I love my Apple but even I'm a bit WTF when I see things like that.
it gives you a safe place and secure place to get the apps, so that is enough for me. But yeah you can't download them directly from microsoft and sync them easily between devices etc.. like metro apps. I can see why they did it this way though. The only way microsoft would do it similar to metro apps is if they got a cut of the sales, and most devs already have mature delivery systems for their applications and would not like to give any money to microsoft so the store probably wouldn't have very many desktop apps in it. And of course, they want to drive the development etc... of their new app ecosystem.
nVidiot_Whore
Banned
Funny.
Here in the Seattle area...
I walk into Apple Stores, there are several "Geniuses" standing around ready to help me.. no lines, no crowds, no nothing.
Even if it's a busy shopping time elsewhere.
Granted, I don't have as much experience with the Apple Store near the University of Washington.. that might be a different story.. but the almost always crowded mall I go to has an Apple store, and it's just never that busy.
Interesting, I've gone to many Apple stores in the Northeast, from Virginia to NYC, and they're all packed like crazy. I recommend the one in Delaware if you live close enough for not paying sales tax. If you're going to buy the $2200 Retina macbook pro, it's cheaper to take a day trip there to buy it, even from NYC
same in Glasgow. The store is filled with people playing with the devices and there are a sea of blue shirts twiddling their thumbs.
Gary Whitta
Member
Is that because you're in Microsoft Country?
Napoleonthechimp
Member
Are Microsoft no longer allowed to use the same words as Apple executives or do they have to speak in a different language to avoid people thinking they ripped them off?
Keylime
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What they should have done was that pimp presentation at CES (I think) that someone did where there was a phone built into a tablet and they pretended to pull the phone out of the screen or some shit. Do something unique. Do something interesting.
When Apple talks about "magic" and "amazing" and "incredible"...it's expected because they are a bunch of idealist hippies. When MS does it...it comes off hollow and fake...especially when they have something that looks pre-alpha that they're trying to show off (no matter how cool it looks).
What he means is stuff like a Microsoft Store built into Amazon for instance. MS is likely going to sell these in their stores, on their online store and through select online retailers with MS branded stores setup.
Gary Whitta
Member
I think we know now why MS abandoned CES. It makes much more sense to unveil this stuff at their own bespoke event than in the middle of a clusterfuck like CES where 100 tech stories are getting filed every day.
That explains why they didn't use it during the WP demo.
Keylime
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There seems to be a trend that if you're a hardware vendor that doesn't have some kind of deal inked with Apple, Microsoft, Google or Amazon, your products aren't going to be getting that much attention.
Why buy a W8 laptop from ASUS if Microsoft themselves are selling a laptop that supposedly is going to work the best with that operating system?
Why buy a non-Google phone when you know they are going to get updates nearly as quickly and have random interfaces?
It seems like companies like Samsung, Toshiba, LG, Sharp, etc etc should be locking down component contracts with these big names and spend less time releasing their own consumer electronics directly.
w1ck3dn1nj4
Member
Bit LTTP having only just seen the video. Well I can see why MS Surface (particularly the pro) would appeal to some people, but with no price, detailed specs or concrete delivery dates, the entire event is just a premature hype exercise imo, delivering very little other than perhaps achieving what I would call an applause ripple effect somewhat similar to those obvious plants that you see in the crowd at the E3 press conference.
Because when you come to think of it, without any concrete info to offer at the end of the day, the only sure thing MS has announced here is to tell their potential tablet OEM partners that theres a new cowboy in town - one with a competitive advantage who doesnt have to pay any Windows licensing fees and can potentially hurt their already slim margins. If thats not a big fuck you I dont know what is. Who is MS trying to fool here? Stretch these OEMs to the limit where they have to start pushing open-source solutions for real? Well if thats the case, Im all for it. Open source deserves a chance to shine.
Secondly the reveal has done very little to change my mind that Windows 8 is nothing but a cluster fuck of a mess for traditional desktops. No, I have no use for this Surface hybrid. Its a big meh to me. It aint gonna replace my multi monitor desktop setups at work or at home. Yes I do like the improvements under the hood for Windows 8 but that still does not compensate the overwhelming hate I have towards your blatant troll attempt of trying to turn my desktop into a giant smartphone! Metro is butt ugly and fucking hideous and I dont want to be exposed to it, not even for a fucking second on my desktop!
Youre fooling nobody with your one-size fits all form factors crap. I have no problem towards unification or convergence strategy for mobile devices and desktop counterparts. Thats not the issue. What I have a problem with, is your cuntish way of implementing it. The underlying code is already there to ensure that it works well for various form factors, so why not just limit the Metro UI to touch centric devices? Why not make it easy for users to flick a switch like a desktop mode, a tablet mode or a phone mode? Why not make it work like Windows media centre where we dont have to be exposed to it if we dont need to? How is Metro supposed to enhance my desktop experience or make me more productive?
Like I said youre fooling no one. Windows 8 merely a convenient pretext or excuse and your last ditch attempt at trying to shove your mobile UI in our face in the hopes that it translates into mass acceptance for your dying mobile devices. Only difference this time around is, instead of your strong-arm tactics with OEMs, youre also bringing your game to end consumers. To that, I still say a big fuck you MS.
Because when you come to think of it, without any concrete info to offer at the end of the day, the only sure thing MS has announced here is to tell their potential tablet OEM partners that theres a new cowboy in town - one with a competitive advantage who doesnt have to pay any Windows licensing fees and can potentially hurt their already slim margins. If thats not a big fuck you I dont know what is. Who is MS trying to fool here? Stretch these OEMs to the limit where they have to start pushing open-source solutions for real? Well if thats the case, Im all for it. Open source deserves a chance to shine.
Secondly the reveal has done very little to change my mind that Windows 8 is nothing but a cluster fuck of a mess for traditional desktops. No, I have no use for this Surface hybrid. Its a big meh to me. It aint gonna replace my multi monitor desktop setups at work or at home. Yes I do like the improvements under the hood for Windows 8 but that still does not compensate the overwhelming hate I have towards your blatant troll attempt of trying to turn my desktop into a giant smartphone! Metro is butt ugly and fucking hideous and I dont want to be exposed to it, not even for a fucking second on my desktop!
Youre fooling nobody with your one-size fits all form factors crap. I have no problem towards unification or convergence strategy for mobile devices and desktop counterparts. Thats not the issue. What I have a problem with, is your cuntish way of implementing it. The underlying code is already there to ensure that it works well for various form factors, so why not just limit the Metro UI to touch centric devices? Why not make it easy for users to flick a switch like a desktop mode, a tablet mode or a phone mode? Why not make it work like Windows media centre where we dont have to be exposed to it if we dont need to? How is Metro supposed to enhance my desktop experience or make me more productive?
Like I said youre fooling no one. Windows 8 merely a convenient pretext or excuse and your last ditch attempt at trying to shove your mobile UI in our face in the hopes that it translates into mass acceptance for your dying mobile devices. Only difference this time around is, instead of your strong-arm tactics with OEMs, youre also bringing your game to end consumers. To that, I still say a big fuck you MS.
I've never been to an Apple store that wasn't busy. And I've been to way too many Apple Stores for my own good
Gary Whitta
Member
I would never use a non-Nexus Android phone, but all that garish shit third-party manufacturers lay over Google's otherwise pretty neat interface doesn't seem to have held back the sales of those phones.
Keylime
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True, I'm just saying that there seems to be a trend that there are marquee devices, and just "other devices". Without seeing any hard data, I'm pretty sure folks that fall under "other devices" are suffering...and I'd expect them to continue to suffer unless they lock up some kind of contracts with the big boys.
Kung Fu Jedi
Member
"Unnamed Sources" say that the Surface RT will start at $600 and the Pro will be at least $800 according to the DigiTimes. Link here via BGR.
Gary Whitta
Member
That sounds high for the RT and low for the Pro. With that narrow a difference I don't see why many people would go for the RT over the far more capable Pro.
I still say the price points will be modeled on iPad/MBA. $500/$1000.
I've been to the houston galleria a few times over the past year and the ms store was usually more busy than the apple store.... of couse 2 of those times was when that wp7 challenge thing was happening so that likely contributed.... was actually surprised the ms store was busier.
$600 is too much if true, and $800 is really good if true. Basically, that seems like a very bad source.
Kung Fu Jedi
Member
Exactly my thoughts on all accounts, including the bad source.
When I was reading the story I thought "why would anyone buy the RT for $600 when the Pro is just $200 more?"
I'm a total tech nerd and gadget whore, so I know not everyone thinks the same way, but those prices seem skewed to the opposite end of the spectrum that I expect on both cases.
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