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Thanks for the many laughs Macalope.

Regarding the Microsoft Surface Tablet it is too early too tell anything. The pricing needs to be announced and the Surface needs to be reviewed first. It will be interesting to see how Consumer Reports reviews the Surface.

From the author in the comments.

"Have any of you actually read the article fully before commenting?

I quote from the Conclusion: 'It might be TOO EARLY to call a winner, but it's certain that IF Microsoft can launch its tablet AS PRESENTED and with everything working smoothly, it WILL HAVE one heck of a contender on its hands.' [emphasis added]

@Winski - It's not a JOKE or LIES, - or a REVIEW for that matter, where does it say that? - it's a speculative comparison based on what we know.

Among other things it's meant to inform readers who want to make a tablet purchasing decision but aren't sure whether they should wait for Surface or go for iPad now."

So if you think a speculative article that just quotes a press release in comparison to a real product is dumb, you must not have read the article. Perhaps we did read the article and thought it laughable.

And the name of the site is "Trusted Reviews" but in no way were we supposed to assume that this "speculative comparison" was a review. That name at the top, just ignore that. Personally I'm going to ignore both parts of the name--maybe the first part more than the second.

I love the last sentence of the author's response though. Basically he admits that he is doing Microsoft's dirty work of injecting FUD into the tablet buying discussion. You can either buy a tablet that has known quantities now or you can wait for a few months for something that no one has actually seen or used (brief press demonstration not withstanding.) He praises the version of Office on the Win RT tablet but as far as I know, no one has actually seen that yet. How does he know that it will work well for productivity? Because its Microsoft of course. I mean when has Microsoft ever shipped software that didn't work as advertised.

This post has been edited by jdb8167: 14 July 2012 - 06:41 AM

The other thing in that "review" is that he awards Microsoft the winner on connectivity. He never makes mention of AirPlay at all. Just complains that Apple requires "expensive" adapters. So, since Microsoft has a built in HDMI port, it automatically wins the connectivity comparison? The convenience of actually having your mobile device be mobile while it is connected has no value?

Maybe Microsoft wins on connectivity because you can hook up your 10" tablet to a USB hub. Really, the author actually makes this point. Yeah, just what I want to do, hook my portable mobile device to not just a USB cable but a cable connecting to a hub. That has to have many use cases. I just can't think of one right now.

jdb8167, on 14 July 2012 - 06:52 AM, said:

I wonder what the process of disconnecting a bunch of external storage on Windows RT is going to look like. Will you have to eject them each like you do on desktop machines, or will you be able to simply unplug them like you can with the iPad and the camera connection kit?

It definitely isn't competition yet if you can use onomatopoeia to describe how poorly the latest "iPhone killer" is selling. And there isn't a bar in Cupertino big enough to hold a Macalope and a bunch of singing hobbits, either.

Looks like the Macalope skewering of Trusted Reviews got the site editor to think about changing his 'template' - to quote, "As a general point, we take onboard the idea that perhaps our templates for opinion pieces/features don't make it clear enough that they aren't reviews. This wasn't a deliberate decision to fool anyone, merely that because our reviews have the word 'review' plastered all over them, it seemed clear to us that those pages without these markers wouldn't be interpreted as reviews. However, this clear isn't the case. We're looking at redesigning our feature pages so will definitely take into account this point." I suggested he change the name of the site from "Trusted Reviews" to "Wishful Thinking"

You know, the situation Nokia is in with Lumia is quite... sad. It dumps the successful (but getting long in the tooth) Symbian for Windows Phone 7 practically overnight in the hope to regain its market position. But then it doesn't really catch on at all. Then MS puts a big stake through the heart right in the middle of the Lumia 800 introduction in the big markets by basically saying "this thing you buy today? It won't get updated to WP8. Ever."

I actually own a Lumia 710 and it's a nice phone. It's really too bad that it's not getting any traction in the market, because I think it does offer a lot less cluttered experience than Android and feels like a good competitor to iPhone. I also own a couple of Android phones along with several iOS devices, so I'm speaking from personal experience.

I'm really digging the conspiracy theory of MS planting Elop inside Nokia as a trojan horse that MS would eventually overtake the company and make it its cellphone business arm, sort of like Google-Motorola_Mobility thing.

wesley96, on 14 July 2012 - 07:39 AM, said:

Now that would be cool - Microsoft buying Nokia - after Nokia's stock price subsides sufficiently to make the purchase appealing but not so far as to make it useless. Only, how could you tell which is which? ;-)

bettercitizens, on 14 July 2012 - 06:23 AM, said:

Which Surface? The one that will try to compete with other tablets, the kind with good battery life and applications designed for that form factor? Or the one that's intended to be a no-compromise (think I threw up in my mouth a little on that one) laptop replacement that runs Real Windows™? Those are two significantly different products, even as they look too similar and Microsoft tries to hide the differences. My guess is that the endless confusion of the benefits and drawbacks of each Surface relative to the other, to say nothing of their benefits and drawbacks relative to other vendors' tablets, will be a wonder to behold. Apple likes to keep their products and their marketing simple; Microsoft wants an answer to every question and ends up confusing pretty much everybody.

wesley96, on 14 July 2012 - 07:39 AM, said:

It's none of my business really but I am always curious when I read tech comments from people who say they own several cell phones. I've never known anyone like this. The most phones people I know have are two, their personal one and sometimes one provided by their work. That's it. Two. I have an iPhone and I keep a cheapie phone without a plan on hand for visitors (I live in a tourist town so get lots of visitors). I could not imagine the need to have more than that. I would not know what to do with three or four phones. How do you decide which one to take with you? What happens if you leave three or four of them home and people keep calling on those ones causing a lot of missed calls? Or do you take them all with you wherever you go? Do you have to wear only wear cargo pants then? It appears you have at least three, likely more. Are they each on a plan? Seems like that's a lot of money to pay. Sorry, I'm just curious. I see this a lot where people say things like they have their iPhone and they like their Galaxy III better than their Droid but sometimes they'll just opt for their Nokia when it's cloudy and their EVO for a day at the beach. I don't get it. Truly I do not.

jdb8167, on 14 July 2012 - 06:39 AM, said:

I remember from those otherwise nearly forgotten days of my youth that I compared the prices at a local place called "Discount Auto Supplies" to the parts in other stores.

Yes. Not discounted at all. In fact, pricier.

So, when a site calls itself "Trusted," the ___ sense (fill in the appropriate adjective, be you ruminant or arachnid) should be tingling like the mother of all funny bone hits. Could this be a front for somebody's marketing? Could our boy, MacHeath, have done something rash?

This post has been edited by dannyo152: 14 July 2012 - 09:28 AM

Please stand by...

I am putting jam in my ethernet ports.

I will be back to comment soon...

Speaking of jam, did you know Lewis Carroll explained the Surface and Android's upgrade system back in the 19th century?

'It's very good jam,' said the Queen.
'Well, I don't want any TO-DAY, at any rate.'
'You couldn't have it if you DID want it,' the Queen said. 'The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday - but never jam to-day.'
'It MUST come sometimes to "jam to-day,"' Alice objected.
'No, it can't,' said the Queen. 'It's jam every OTHER day: to-day isn't any OTHER day, you know.'

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