[Macworld]

Post your comments for The Macalope Weekly: Slippery Surface here

[LenWilliamsrar3]

I'm glad to see Microsoft trying yet again to make a tablet that people will buy, and maybe in a few months some of those people will actually get a chance to actually buy it. This is a fundamental difference between Apple and Mcrosoft: Apple rarely announces a product that it doesn't actually have for sale, or that will be on sale in a few weeks. Microsoft's bold announcement of the new Surface tablet is in the "fall". It's the old school PR type of approach to advertising, to announce a product months in advance to check the interest level, and try to drum up expectations, want and lust. Unfortunately, Microsoft has a rotten track record of fulfilling user satisfaction and satiating all that lust. The Zune comes to mind, briefly, then runs away.

As with the ill-fated Courier tablet that Steve Ballmer announced and never shipped, the new Surface just aint here yet, and no one has been allowed to use or test any prototypes. I'm truly curious to see what the Surface is all about, but get off the pot already. Release the darn thing and let it stand on its own merits or lack thereof.

[BetunoGarcia]

Its funny how nobody mentions the "surface" that got stuck while trying to use its internet explorer during the presentation. That never happened to Steve.

[mike457]

I'm assuming that the more offensive comments on Bilton's blog post have been deleted. Certainly the comments that are there are reasonable and only moderately intemperate. People point out that they manage to create things on the iPad and that bluetooth keyboards are readily available if you don't like the on-screen keyboard. I found it quite striking that when Bilton is taking umbrage, he does not acknowledge either of these reasonable points, and he does not mention the problems people point out with the Surface's keyboard, not the least of which is that no one has actually tried it.

[flowney]

So far, Surface is like a concept car at an auto show. What later appears in dealer showrooms is always just a hint and a shadow of that concept car. Example: The Oldsmobile Rocket: http://www.shorey.ne...20rocket-02.jpg

[KPOM]

The Microsoft Reality Distortion Field was in full effect Monday. I think the Surface looks interesting, and it is a lot more compelling than Android tablets, because it isn't trying to copy Apple. However, there are a lot of basic flaws in most of the mainstream tech analysis. For starters, they are confusing the Surface with the Surface Pro. The Surface runs Windows RT, and although it has a special version of Office, it won't run existing Windows software. That is the one that will be priced more like the basic iPad.

The Surface Pro, on the other hand, is basically a Microsoft-branded Ultrabook with what seems to be a slick add-on keyboard. That one will run existing Windows software as well as Metro applications. However, it is also going to be more expensive (think high-end Ultrabook or MacBook Air territory here), and have Ultrabook-like battery life. Also, quite importantly, it won't be released until after Christmas, unlike the Surface, which is supposed to be available in October.

I think the Surface will be aimed at the consumer, while the Pro will be aimed at the enterprise. I'm not sure there's yet a big demand for touchscreen notebooks. Maybe that will change, but tech writers would do themselves a big favor if they recognized the two separate devices for what they are.

[Lenjc1957]

Mr. Bilton also neglected, apparently, to click on the link provided in the Daring Fireball entry, to read about people using iPads for all sorts of creative endeavors. Had he done so, he might have done the stand-up thing and admit that, "ok, maybe I was wrong to argue that you can't create stuff on an iPad." I guess he can only back-pedal so far before his knees give out.

This post has been edited by Lenjc1957: 23 June 2012 - 06:59 AM

[KPOM]

LenWilliamsrar3, on 23 June 2012 - 06:40 AM, said:

I'm glad to see Microsoft trying yet again to make a tablet that people will buy, and maybe in a few months some of those people will actually get a chance to actually buy it. This is a fundamental difference between Apple and Mcrosoft: Apple rarely announces a product that it doesn't actually have for sale, or that will be on sale in a few weeks.

That's not entirely true. Apple announced the iPhone in January 2007, and released it in July 2007. They announced the iPad in January 2010, and released it in April 2010. With a new product type (i.e. not simply a replacement for something you already sell), it is OK to announce it a few months before it becomes available, since there is nothing to cannibalize. By pre-announcing the iPhone, Apple gave advance notice to people whose cell phone contracts were running out that it might be a good idea to wait a few months. Similarly, Microsoft may be aiming at people who are considering their first tablets that they might consider waiting a few months longer before running out and getting an iPad now. At least that's the idea.

LenWilliamsrar3, on 23 June 2012 - 06:40 AM, said:

As with the ill-fated Courier tablet that Steve Ballmer announced and never shipped, the new Surface just aint here yet, and no one has been allowed to use or test any prototypes. I'm truly curious to see what the Surface is all about, but get off the pot already. Release the darn thing and let it stand on its own merits or lack thereof.

Ballmer didn't actually announce the Courier. It was leaked about 3-4 months before it was officially killed (apparently because Bill Gates wasn't impressed by its lack of an e-mail client and office software). Ballmer did announce the HP Slate a few days before Steve Jobs introduced the iPad. That sold literally about 5,000 before HP killed it.

[danmusician]

"Now the only question is if the runner will score or if Microsoft will go one-two-three from here, as is traditional for baseball teams from the Pacific Northwest." - Nice!

[mblaydoe]

KPOM, on 23 June 2012 - 06:52 AM, said:

The Microsoft Reality Distortion Field was in full effect Monday. I think the Surface looks interesting, and it is a lot more compelling than Android tablets, because it isn't trying to copy Apple. However, there are a lot of basic flaws in most of the mainstream tech analysis. For starters, they are confusing the Surface with the Surface Pro. The Surface runs Windows RT, and although it has a special version of Office, it won't run existing Windows software. That is the one that will be priced more like the basic iPad.

The Surface Pro, on the other hand, is basically a Microsoft-branded Ultrabook with what seems to be a slick add-on keyboard. That one will run existing Windows software as well as Metro applications. However, it is also going to be more expensive (think high-end Ultrabook or MacBook Air territory here), and have Ultrabook-like battery life. Also, quite importantly, it won't be released until after Christmas, unlike the Surface, which is supposed to be available in October.

I think the Surface will be aimed at the consumer, while the Pro will be aimed at the enterprise. I'm not sure there's yet a big demand for touchscreen notebooks. Maybe that will change, but tech writers would do themselves a big favor if they recognized the two separate devices for what they are.

I agree. People seem to be conflating the two very different machines. And Microsoft seems to be encouraging the confusion so that people think they are getting the power of the "Pro" in the form factor and price (as yet unrevealed) of the "RT". They keep saying Win8 is both a tablet and a laptop, but they are producing to very different systems! The Pro is simply a laptop with an untried keyboard system that can run tablet apps that will no doubt be much more expensive than the iPad. If this thing ever actually hits the market, people will be buying the RT and being very disappointed that it doesn't run their favorite PC apps like Microsoft advertised. I don't know that Microsoft is taking buyer's remorse into account. This confusion could be absolutely disastrous for MS. They who live by FUD shall die by FUD.

[Lenjc1957]

flowney, on 23 June 2012 - 06:49 AM, said:

So far, Surface is like a concept car at an auto show. What later appears in dealer showrooms is always just a hint and a shadow of that concept car. Example: The Oldsmobile Rocket: http://www.shorey.ne...20rocket-02.jpg

I thought it looked familiar. It was used in a promotional GM film from the same year. MST3K also gave it the treatment it so richly deserved. Here's the video:
http://archive.org/d...ls/Designfo1956

[Kimkfeq]

Glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read "The Macalope will submit that, since the dawn of computing, the percentage of spreadsheets that can be considered "fun" is so de minimus it shares a pair of underwear with zero."

[TheHeeNow]

The Surface will end up pushing up Daisies alongside the Zune, the Kin, whatever that watch-thing was called, and Bob.

Katherine's just putting on her Church-of-Linux Jimmie Swaggart hat, hoping her evangelism will somehow sway the masses. Hers is a truly Quixotic (mis) adventure.

[sparkplug]

"Microsoft Surface Allows People to Create" - Nick Bilton, NYT

Oh, Nick, excuse me, but you left out the part about: this offer applies only in states where you are connected via WI-FI and void when attempting to connect via 4G, 3G, 2G, and any other G you might be thinking of using.