it's not really a Tablet at all, but a x86 PC in Tablet form
What distinction are you drawing there? When I think "tablet" I'm thinking a form factor with a touch screen interface, not a processor architecture.
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Well if you check the specs the Surface is a 10 inch touchscreen tablet with keyboard/cover peripherals available that just happens to be available with typical tablet ARM hardware, or actual laptop hardware crammed into it. Capable of running all the normal full versions of most productivity software.
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Great ScottKing of Wishful ThinkingParagon City, RIRegistered Userregular
But an Intel processor on a "tablet" form factor running a Windows OS has incredibly deep software compatibility (stable of programs goes back to most anything developed for WinXP through Win7). So "tablets" are defined by having less SW compatibility, like iOS and Android?
I've had the luxury of access to Windows XP tablets (fujitsu stylistic and motion devices) for over a decade, when the norm was either a passive digitizer or an active pen interface. The problem was the OS. Hopefully Win8 will make Windows tablets something other than a niche product. Before the iPad, Microsoft owned the tablet market, it was just a tiny market (1 million devices a year, not 100 million devices a year).
Not that it was ever much of a hassle to install something that would do it, but have the option natively on Win8 to save things as PDFs instead of printing them is a great addition.
But an Intel processor on a "tablet" form factor running a Windows OS has incredibly deep software compatibility (stable of programs goes back to most anything developed for WinXP through Win7). So "tablets" are defined by having less SW compatibility, like iOS and Android?
I've had the luxury of access to Windows XP tablets (fujitsu stylistic and motion devices) for over a decade, when the norm was either a passive digitizer or an active pen interface. The problem was the OS. Hopefully Win8 will make Windows tablets something other than a niche product. Before the iPad, Microsoft owned the tablet market, it was just a tiny market (1 million devices a year, not 100 million devices a year).
I could be mistaken, but weren't pre-iPad tablets effectively tablet laptops?
I mean, technically Microsoft still owns the worldwide consumer computer market (the market share ratios are hilarious). Apple created a new concept that resembled the earlier tablets somewhat, enjoyed runaway success, and transformed the concept fundamentally. Microsoft was left behind, with....well...the whole non-tablet computer market.
I'm thinking of those laptops that had tablet screens, mind you, so maybe I'm way off base.
There were also full "tablet" tablets, but they were basically laptops without attached keyboards to fit the slate form factor. And by slate, I mean around an inch thick. Your input options were typically pen digitizers (which can be really great and really terrible at the same time) or attaching some sort of USB keyboard/mouse to it.
I've supported a couple of these things before at work. Though they're depicted with a keyboard attached, it's completely removable. Despite being ancient as hell, and software that's honest-to-god touchscreen Windows XP, they weren't terrible products. At least, until about 30 seconds after Apple revealed their oversized iPod Touch. http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11755_na/11755_na.html
does anyone have any idea why my win8 keeps going to sleep after an hour of inactivity even though I pretty much told it not to under all circumstances in the power options?
it's really messing with my plan to download large files while I sleep
There were also full "tablet" tablets, but they were basically laptops without attached keyboards to fit the slate form factor. And by slate, I mean around an inch thick. Your input options were typically pen digitizers (which can be really great and really terrible at the same time) or attaching some sort of USB keyboard/mouse to it.
I've supported a couple of these things before at work. Though they're depicted with a keyboard attached, it's completely removable. Despite being ancient as hell, and software that's honest-to-god touchscreen Windows XP, they weren't terrible products. At least, until about 30 seconds after Apple revealed their oversized iPod Touch. http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11755_na/11755_na.html
Police vehicles and hospitals were big spenders in ruggedized tablets like these for a long time. The detached (or non-existent) keyboard allowed the screen to be placed higher on the dash and you could place a rugged keyboard on a swing out arm. While they were simply running WinXP (or CE - ugh) they were definitely a good fit for the use they needed them for.
Right now we've "upgrade" to CF-19s from Panasonic, though we keep them folded into tablet mode and use an external keyboard and they're still running WinXP. I thought about upgrading them but SteadyState hasn't been developed for Vista/7/8 and I haven't had the time to research a way to replicate it using group policies or something similar.
@Synthesis they did have touchscreen-enabled laptops and some convertibles as well, but they also had purpose-built tablets with no keyboard (though there was often a dock connector, and docks were quite popular in the models I tested). This thing brings back many memories. It was really neat to browse by touch, but I never found it a usable interface for getting my own work done. I mainly saw them used in the field to handle work orders, inventory control, or taking surveys; seeing one in the wild it was almost always running an app that presented forms with a bunch of checkboxes and fields for data entry.
There are some free alternatives out there for you Start button fans.
I'm sure they existed, I just thought they were an exceedingly small part of the overall "tablet" market--itself a small part of the "Windows PC" laptop market. I can't recall having seen one in the wild, though I knew plenty who owned tablet laptops (with keyboards).
IDC and Gartner had numbers for the 2009 tablet market, putting it around 1 Million units sold (of 300+ million PCs sold) and MS was over 95% share. Unfortunately I cannot find those press releases anymore since historical tablet sales comparisons all start in 2010 (year iPad released) and iPad/Android entry made the tablet market 20X bigger so comps to 2K9 are comps to a niche market.
IDC and Gartner had numbers for the 2009 tablet market, putting it around 1 Million units sold (of 300+ million PCs sold) and MS was over 95% share. Unfortunately I cannot find those press releases anymore since historical tablet sales comparisons all start in 2010 (year iPad released) and iPad/Android entry made the tablet market 20X bigger so comps to 2K9 are comps to a niche market.
We had these (and the older model before it I can't find a picture of) in our patrol cars for years.
Definitely a niche market, but one that was well catered to by the specialty manufacturers that made these things.
I installed this the other day (final release product RTM) and I'm pretty impressed when I thought I would not like it. This is definitely a case where the newbies will be lost in the "metro" and be ok, and the power users will like it once they learn the key shortcuts. However the middle of the road folks will probably end up hating it. The only thing I see that is a deal breaker for me is while hyper v is part of the base client ( o_O in a good way), they "had" to upgrade hyper v to a new standard so it does not work with server 2008 of either flavor. I had just ASS U ME d that it would just work and didn't even bother researching that. Had I known that before hand I would have just stuck with 7 (as I admin a large virtualized environment and use remote server administration pretty heavily).
Other than that nitpick, it is pretty awesome. As people get used to the new way of doing things and apps for office etc come out, I see this thing being awesome for a large number of users with its built in AV, the easy to use metro screen (once you can keep your little sheep completely in that mode), and all other things. However, I fear we will be a few years out from that still, but the future does look bright to me.
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Apothe0sisHave you ever questioned the nature of your reality?Registered Userregular
I am suspecting that my Metro App problems are likely a result of moving my ProgramData and user directories with Audit mode and that I forgot to create a junction point. So even now, some Microsoft apps are not behaving politely and trying to access programdata via a magic number and not retrieving it as a well behaved application should.
IDC and Gartner had numbers for the 2009 tablet market, putting it around 1 Million units sold (of 300+ million PCs sold) and MS was over 95% share. Unfortunately I cannot find those press releases anymore since historical tablet sales comparisons all start in 2010 (year iPad released) and iPad/Android entry made the tablet market 20X bigger so comps to 2K9 are comps to a niche market.
We had these (and the older model before it I can't find a picture of) in our patrol cars for years.
Definitely a niche market, but one that was well catered to by the specialty manufacturers that made these things.
These sort of things also doubled as check out registers in small convenience stores in East Asia (combined with a lock box, it replaced the cash register).
Yeah, that'd be my expectation. I think they will be shipping Surface Pro with a keyboard cover standard, though? $999 with the touch cover included sounds like a decent enough price point to me.
I'm pretty excited for this hardware, but nonetheless I'll wait until it makes it into stores so I can go hands on with the two keyboard covers.
Can we preorder Windows 8? I remember with Windows 7 I bought it way before it released but I havent received any info on that vis a vi Windows 8.
I...I just want to take Vista off my HTPC.
Yep, I think most retailers (for example, Amazon) are offering preorders.
However, the preorder currently is for physical copies only. If you wait for the digital version, it will be $40. Amazon is offering a $30 promotional credit with purchase, which will effectively bridge that gap in price.
Additionally, WMC for Windows 8 is not currently available. Microsoft is expected to make it available on launch day, but if something goes wrong it might not be there. In Win8 they split WMC off so that they can sell licenses separately for it; there will be a promo running until January, 2013 that will allow Windows 8 users to claim the WMC license for free, though.
Can we preorder Windows 8? I remember with Windows 7 I bought it way before it released but I havent received any info on that vis a vi Windows 8.
I...I just want to take Vista off my HTPC.
Yep, I think most retailers (for example, Amazon) are offering preorders.
However, the preorder currently is for physical copies only. If you wait for the digital version, it will be $40. Amazon is offering a $30 promotional credit with purchase, which will effectively bridge that gap in price.
Additionally, WMC for Windows 8 is not currently available. Microsoft is expected to make it available on launch day, but if something goes wrong it might not be there. In Win8 they split WMC off so that they can sell licenses separately for it; there will be a promo running until January, 2013 that will allow Windows 8 users to claim the WMC license for free, though.
Hmm, might be worth spending the extra initially on Amazon since I'll use that $30 eventually anyway and have a physical disc.
edit: Fine print - Ugh, can't use the credit on Kindle books, video downloads, or mp3s. Maybe it won't be worth it..
Hm, Surface RT is a priced a little higher than I expected... let's see if the same holds true for the far-more-interesting Surface Pro, when it rolls around.
I take it that, if you buy one of the cheaper Windows 8 upgrade packs, your previous version effectively becomes invalidated? I'm hoping to use my current PC as a media centre when it's retired, so would like to keep Windows 7 available for re-use.
Can we preorder Windows 8? I remember with Windows 7 I bought it way before it released but I havent received any info on that vis a vi Windows 8.
I...I just want to take Vista off my HTPC.
Yep, I think most retailers (for example, Amazon) are offering preorders.
However, the preorder currently is for physical copies only. If you wait for the digital version, it will be $40. Amazon is offering a $30 promotional credit with purchase, which will effectively bridge that gap in price.
Additionally, WMC for Windows 8 is not currently available. Microsoft is expected to make it available on launch day, but if something goes wrong it might not be there. In Win8 they split WMC off so that they can sell licenses separately for it; there will be a promo running until January, 2013 that will allow Windows 8 users to claim the WMC license for free, though.
Are they not doing a student upgrade copy this time around? I seem to remember that being cheaper (around the $40 pricepoint) but also purchasable way before release.
Can we preorder Windows 8? I remember with Windows 7 I bought it way before it released but I havent received any info on that vis a vi Windows 8.
I...I just want to take Vista off my HTPC.
Yep, I think most retailers (for example, Amazon) are offering preorders.
However, the preorder currently is for physical copies only. If you wait for the digital version, it will be $40. Amazon is offering a $30 promotional credit with purchase, which will effectively bridge that gap in price.
Additionally, WMC for Windows 8 is not currently available. Microsoft is expected to make it available on launch day, but if something goes wrong it might not be there. In Win8 they split WMC off so that they can sell licenses separately for it; there will be a promo running until January, 2013 that will allow Windows 8 users to claim the WMC license for free, though.
Are they not doing a student upgrade copy this time around? I seem to remember that being cheaper (around the $40 pricepoint) but also purchasable way before release.
I have no details on that. But, the regular straight-up upgrade to Windows 8 Pro (digital) is already $40, so if there is any student discount it probably will not be all that huge.
Can we preorder Windows 8? I remember with Windows 7 I bought it way before it released but I havent received any info on that vis a vi Windows 8.
I...I just want to take Vista off my HTPC.
Yep, I think most retailers (for example, Amazon) are offering preorders.
However, the preorder currently is for physical copies only. If you wait for the digital version, it will be $40. Amazon is offering a $30 promotional credit with purchase, which will effectively bridge that gap in price.
Additionally, WMC for Windows 8 is not currently available. Microsoft is expected to make it available on launch day, but if something goes wrong it might not be there. In Win8 they split WMC off so that they can sell licenses separately for it; there will be a promo running until January, 2013 that will allow Windows 8 users to claim the WMC license for free, though.
Are they not doing a student upgrade copy this time around? I seem to remember that being cheaper (around the $40 pricepoint) but also purchasable way before release.
I have no details on that. But, the regular straight-up upgrade to Windows 8 Pro (digital) is already $40, so if there is any student discount it probably will not be all that huge.
Yeah, $40 isnt bad and Im not sure if Im even eligible for the student upgrade since I utilized it to get Windows 7 Pro.
edit: picking out a few bits of info to post here:
-32GB Surface has about 20GB of usable space after Windows, Office, default apps
-Cannot install apps to expandable storage (MicroSD cards)
-No Ethernet bridge accessory planned. Wifi only.
-The touch/type covers report their orientation to the tablet, so that mouse/keyboard input are automatically disabled while the cover is either fully in front of or behind the tablet's face
-3G/4G options omitted due to research that showed 2/3 of tablet sales are wifi, and of the third that include mobile internet, only half of those are ever activated
-No physical GPS/NFC (Wifi-based location services for both)
-With kickstand deployed, Surface sits at a 22 degree angle. Apparently they did a bunch of research to come up with this angle.
-USB2.0, due to ARM compatibility requirements when they were selecting hardware
Blah, I was already put off by the low resolution but 10 gigs lost to windows ,no USB to Ethernet and USB 2.0 are all deal killers for me.
On a 10 inch screen a 1366x768 resolution is perfectly okay. Super high resolution screens are better for devices you hold a lot closer to your face (like a phone), but a tablet of that size is the kind of thing you set on a table or use in your lap.
My eyes are quite sensitive to resolution for some reason (I'm actually myopic or 'short-sighted', so my eyes should be less sensitive to resolution that a person with healthy eyesight), and I went into the Apple store to have a look at the differences between the 'retina' screens and the normal screens on MacBooks to see if it was really worth anything other than a marketing gimmick.
Up close in a situation like laying in bed foruming, yeah, the retina screen looks a bit nicer. But actually using it at a desk or in my lap on the couch? The difference was not immediately obvious, I had to be directly comparing the screens, and looking for things like rounded corners on icons and the tails of letters in small sized text to see a difference.
10 gigs lost to Windows & the office suite & the default apps. How much space is there left on a 32 GB iPad after you install Mountain Lion and MacOffice?
Microsoft say they won't be making an ethernet bridge accessory. That is a shitty move, yes. But that doesn't mean you won't be able to Ebay an aftermarket one very soon.
No USB 3.0 is because of the ARM hardware. The x86 model is USB 3.0, and will run a full HD (1920x1080) display.
Yeah, ARM doesn't have USB3.0 interfaces built in to any of their chipsets. As far as I know, the only ARM processor around that does have USB3.0 support is Samsung's Exynos 5 SoC, which they announced in early August.
Microsoft is asserting that their screen is focused on contrast rather than resolution, which leads to a very sharp display regardless:
Hey this is Stevie. Screen resolution is one component of perceived detail. The true measure of resolvability of a screen called Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), not Pixels. MTF is a combination of both contrast and resolution. There are over a dozen subsystems that effect this MTF number.. Most folks just focus on one number out of dozens that effect perceived detail. Without good contrast resolution decreases. Check out contrast sensitivity of the human eye graph (http://www.telescope-optics.net/images/eye_contrast.PNG) and if you want more see the links below. Basically, as resolution/DPI increases the eye has becomes less sensitive. So as a result, the amount of light in a room and the reflections off the screen have a huge effect on the contrast of the display. In fact, a small amount of reflection can greatly reduce contrast and thus the perceived resolution of the display. With the ClearType Display technology we took a 3 pronged approach to maximize that perceived resolution and optimize for battery life, weight, and thickness. First prong, Microsoft has the best pixel rendering technology in the industry (cleartype 1.0 and 2.0) .. these are exclusive and unique to Windows, it smooths text regardless of pixel count. Second, we designed a custom 10.6” high-contrast wide-angle screen LCD screen. Lastly we optically bonded the screen with the thinnest optical stack anywhere on the market.. something which is more commonly done on phones we are doing on Surface. While this is not official, our current Cleartype measurements on the amount of light reflected off the screen is around 5.5%-6.2%, the new IPad has a measurement of 9.9% mirror reflections (see the displaymate link: http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_ShootOut_1.htm). Doing a side by side with the new iPad in a consistently lit room, we have had many people see more detail on Surface RT than on the Ipad with more resolution.
Some more links to share if you want to know more… (http://www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF.html)... Also This is a great book to read if you really want to get into it: http://www.amazon.com/Contrast-Sensitivity-Effects-Quality-Monograph/dp/0819434965 or more here http://alexandria.tue.nl/extra2/9901043.pdf
Personally, I don't think it's a huge deal if they didn't acquire an ultrahigh resolution screen in favor of maintaining great battery life, but really it's something I'll have to see in person.
As far as USB to ethernet -- that'd be a feature that no other tablet on market has either, so I can't say I'd consider it a big deal.
I've got a healthy enough dose of skepticism about the product myself, but I don't think any one feature on the device is a dealbreaker. Gotta take the whole thing in and see if the little things that aren't perfect are outweighed by the things they appear to have gotten right on the device.
Let me be blunt: As a desktop operating system, Windows 8 blows. It's completely unintuitive. It forces you to relearn the simplest tasks, like how to shut down your PC. (No, seriously; there's no more Start menu, so to shut down, you have to venture into the Settings menu. Seriously.) And from what I've seen so far, it offers no clear-cut advantages over Windows 7. Quite the opposite: I think it'll put most PC users at a disadvantage.
Let me be blunt: As a desktop operating system, Windows 8 blows. It's completely unintuitive. It forces you to relearn the simplest tasks, like how to shut down your PC. (No, seriously; there's no more Start menu, so to shut down, you have to venture into the Settings menu. Seriously.) And from what I've seen so far, it offers no clear-cut advantages over Windows 7. Quite the opposite: I think it'll put most PC users at a disadvantage.
Power and account options are grouped with other system controls, like volume and brightness? How unintuitive! Obviously they should be with the applications, since they're totally the same thing!
I mean jesus... the general interface has been the same since 1995. I think after 17 years they should be allowed to update it.
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
The FUD out there around Win8 is mind-boggling; not so much in scale (it's not being widely panned like Vista was) but some people really hate it. You'd think Ballmer kicked some tech writers' puppies or something.
Posts
What distinction are you drawing there? When I think "tablet" I'm thinking a form factor with a touch screen interface, not a processor architecture.
Instruction set / software compatibility. I can't even say "processor architecture" due to WART.
So it boils down to "what software can I run, and how fast?".
I've had the luxury of access to Windows XP tablets (fujitsu stylistic and motion devices) for over a decade, when the norm was either a passive digitizer or an active pen interface. The problem was the OS. Hopefully Win8 will make Windows tablets something other than a niche product. Before the iPad, Microsoft owned the tablet market, it was just a tiny market (1 million devices a year, not 100 million devices a year).
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
I could be mistaken, but weren't pre-iPad tablets effectively tablet laptops?
I mean, technically Microsoft still owns the worldwide consumer computer market (the market share ratios are hilarious). Apple created a new concept that resembled the earlier tablets somewhat, enjoyed runaway success, and transformed the concept fundamentally. Microsoft was left behind, with....well...the whole non-tablet computer market.
I'm thinking of those laptops that had tablet screens, mind you, so maybe I'm way off base.
I've supported a couple of these things before at work. Though they're depicted with a keyboard attached, it's completely removable. Despite being ancient as hell, and software that's honest-to-god touchscreen Windows XP, they weren't terrible products. At least, until about 30 seconds after Apple revealed their oversized iPod Touch.
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11755_na/11755_na.html
it's really messing with my plan to download large files while I sleep
Police vehicles and hospitals were big spenders in ruggedized tablets like these for a long time. The detached (or non-existent) keyboard allowed the screen to be placed higher on the dash and you could place a rugged keyboard on a swing out arm. While they were simply running WinXP (or CE - ugh) they were definitely a good fit for the use they needed them for.
Right now we've "upgrade" to CF-19s from Panasonic, though we keep them folded into tablet mode and use an external keyboard and they're still running WinXP. I thought about upgrading them but SteadyState hasn't been developed for Vista/7/8 and I haven't had the time to research a way to replicate it using group policies or something similar.
There are some free alternatives out there for you Start button fans.
We had these (and the older model before it I can't find a picture of) in our patrol cars for years.
Definitely a niche market, but one that was well catered to by the specialty manufacturers that made these things.
Other than that nitpick, it is pretty awesome. As people get used to the new way of doing things and apps for office etc come out, I see this thing being awesome for a large number of users with its built in AV, the easy to use metro screen (once you can keep your little sheep completely in that mode), and all other things. However, I fear we will be a few years out from that still, but the future does look bright to me.
I should fix this...
These sort of things also doubled as check out registers in small convenience stores in East Asia (combined with a lock box, it replaced the cash register).
Preorders are open. Word is that Microsoft is producing 5 million for the quarter.
they've stated the x86 version is meant to compete with ultrabooks, so probably around $1000.
I'm pretty excited for this hardware, but nonetheless I'll wait until it makes it into stores so I can go hands on with the two keyboard covers.
I...I just want to take Vista off my HTPC.
Yep, I think most retailers (for example, Amazon) are offering preorders.
However, the preorder currently is for physical copies only. If you wait for the digital version, it will be $40. Amazon is offering a $30 promotional credit with purchase, which will effectively bridge that gap in price.
Additionally, WMC for Windows 8 is not currently available. Microsoft is expected to make it available on launch day, but if something goes wrong it might not be there. In Win8 they split WMC off so that they can sell licenses separately for it; there will be a promo running until January, 2013 that will allow Windows 8 users to claim the WMC license for free, though.
Hmm, might be worth spending the extra initially on Amazon since I'll use that $30 eventually anyway and have a physical disc.
edit: Fine print - Ugh, can't use the credit on Kindle books, video downloads, or mp3s. Maybe it won't be worth it..
I take it that, if you buy one of the cheaper Windows 8 upgrade packs, your previous version effectively becomes invalidated? I'm hoping to use my current PC as a media centre when it's retired, so would like to keep Windows 7 available for re-use.
Additionally, legally speaking, if the copy of Windows you want to transfer to a new computer is an OEM license, it's non-transferable to a new PC.
Are they not doing a student upgrade copy this time around? I seem to remember that being cheaper (around the $40 pricepoint) but also purchasable way before release.
I have no details on that. But, the regular straight-up upgrade to Windows 8 Pro (digital) is already $40, so if there is any student discount it probably will not be all that huge.
Yeah, $40 isnt bad and Im not sure if Im even eligible for the student upgrade since I utilized it to get Windows 7 Pro.
Is it $40 for the Pro version?
or $70 if you want a physical copy.
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbpage.Windows_8_Pro
Excellent.
Even though I remain unconvinced its worth upgrading my Windows 7 machine, its definitely going to be nice to get rid of Vista.
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/11kyja/iam_panos_panay_gm_of_microsoft_surface_amaa_ask/
edit: picking out a few bits of info to post here:
-32GB Surface has about 20GB of usable space after Windows, Office, default apps
-Cannot install apps to expandable storage (MicroSD cards)
-No Ethernet bridge accessory planned. Wifi only.
-The touch/type covers report their orientation to the tablet, so that mouse/keyboard input are automatically disabled while the cover is either fully in front of or behind the tablet's face
-3G/4G options omitted due to research that showed 2/3 of tablet sales are wifi, and of the third that include mobile internet, only half of those are ever activated
-No physical GPS/NFC (Wifi-based location services for both)
-With kickstand deployed, Surface sits at a 22 degree angle. Apparently they did a bunch of research to come up with this angle.
-USB2.0, due to ARM compatibility requirements when they were selecting hardware
On a 10 inch screen a 1366x768 resolution is perfectly okay. Super high resolution screens are better for devices you hold a lot closer to your face (like a phone), but a tablet of that size is the kind of thing you set on a table or use in your lap.
My eyes are quite sensitive to resolution for some reason (I'm actually myopic or 'short-sighted', so my eyes should be less sensitive to resolution that a person with healthy eyesight), and I went into the Apple store to have a look at the differences between the 'retina' screens and the normal screens on MacBooks to see if it was really worth anything other than a marketing gimmick.
Up close in a situation like laying in bed foruming, yeah, the retina screen looks a bit nicer. But actually using it at a desk or in my lap on the couch? The difference was not immediately obvious, I had to be directly comparing the screens, and looking for things like rounded corners on icons and the tails of letters in small sized text to see a difference.
10 gigs lost to Windows & the office suite & the default apps. How much space is there left on a 32 GB iPad after you install Mountain Lion and MacOffice?
Microsoft say they won't be making an ethernet bridge accessory. That is a shitty move, yes. But that doesn't mean you won't be able to Ebay an aftermarket one very soon.
No USB 3.0 is because of the ARM hardware. The x86 model is USB 3.0, and will run a full HD (1920x1080) display.
Microsoft is asserting that their screen is focused on contrast rather than resolution, which leads to a very sharp display regardless:
Personally, I don't think it's a huge deal if they didn't acquire an ultrahigh resolution screen in favor of maintaining great battery life, but really it's something I'll have to see in person.
As far as USB to ethernet -- that'd be a feature that no other tablet on market has either, so I can't say I'd consider it a big deal.
I've got a healthy enough dose of skepticism about the product myself, but I don't think any one feature on the device is a dealbreaker. Gotta take the whole thing in and see if the little things that aren't perfect are outweighed by the things they appear to have gotten right on the device.
"Why you should buy a new PC right now"
http://t.co/I9ZhuD4P
Power and account options are grouped with other system controls, like volume and brightness? How unintuitive! Obviously they should be with the applications, since they're totally the same thing!
I mean jesus... the general interface has been the same since 1995. I think after 17 years they should be allowed to update it.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
Win8 isn't gonna get off your lawn, stop yelling damnit.
Kind of reminds me of the Ribbon in 2007.