Microsoft to cut its Surface orders in half (2 millions units instead of 4 millions)

[Kumabjorn]

How can anyone judge if a write off of 3 billion or 6.2 billion is justifiable? I'm thinking that when MS has the opportunity for a write off like this, they go all in to use a mangled poker phrase.

[kennyc]

I'll judge (provided I get a nice percentage ).

Mee! Meee! Choose Me!

[Kumabjorn]

I could've had a V8.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

How can anyone judge if a write off of 3 billion or 6.2 billion is justifiable? I'm thinking that when MS has the opportunity for a write off like this, they go all in to use a mangled poker phrase.

Not hard.
The units are simply priced as a standalone business and if the book value exceeds the estimate, the difference is either carried on the books as goodwill (brand value and other intangibles) or gets written down.

A classic case is the TimeWarner merger with AOL just before the 90's internet bubble burst. It tooks years to write down all the lost value and by the final tally AOL had lost two thirds of its total *value*. TimeWarner was worth *less* after merging with AOL that it was worth without it.

http://www.time.com/time/business/ar...233436,00.html

The opposite is also true, BTW: some companies are composed of units that are individually worth more than the combined company is valued at.

[Top100EbooksRank]

http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/...ibution-144927

Both Windows 8 and Surface are off to slower-than-expected starts, missing the firm’s internal projections for the first month of availability by a wide margin. But Microsoft hopes that increased Surface distribution and a broader availability of diverse Windows 8 hardware can still save the quarter and set up the systems for long-term success.

[MV64]

I know a lot of people who aren't impressed with the way Windows 8 looks. Haven't heard of anyone actually using it yet, but it doesn't surprise me that Microsoft is struggling with the Surface (also a stupid name for a product).

I can say that from a marketing standpoint, to a savvy consumer, Windows 8 looks extremely limited. I don't know if it is or not, but from commercials and whatnot it seems much less customizable than Windows 7. Tablets are nice and all, but on my laptop I want a high powered, customizable OS that I can do basically whatever I want with, not be limited by stylistic choices like those menus.

[kennyc]

There have been a number of posts here of people using it.

[WillysJeepMan]

Originally Posted by MV64

I know a lot of people who aren't impressed with the way Windows 8 looks. Haven't heard of anyone actually using it yet, but it doesn't surprise me that Microsoft is struggling with the Surface (also a stupid name for a product).

I can say that from a marketing standpoint, to a savvy consumer, Windows 8 looks extremely limited. I don't know if it is or not, but from commercials and whatnot it seems much less customizable than Windows 7. Tablets are nice and all, but on my laptop I want a high powered, customizable OS that I can do basically whatever I want with, not be limited by stylistic choices like those menus.

I installed Win8 and kicked the tires for a few days. I then uninstalled it and went back to Win7. Win8 feels like a kludge...multiple personalities each fighting for attention. The odd thing is, I like many of the individual aspects of Win8, but the way they were all put together felt strange.

I installed a "flat" theme for Win7, and the Omnimo theme for Rainmeter and I have what LOOKS like Win8 but operates in a much more cohesive manner.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I'm really tempted to get a surface RT. It seems like a great choice for hacking presentations together for work in PowerPoint and Excel as well as a general purpose entertainment device.

[xendula]

^ If you use Office a lot, it is probably the best tablet for you.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^It probably is. I'm tempted to wait for the Pro for SharePoint Designer stuff as well, but then I'm losing battery life and gaining a lot of weight as well as well as cost. At that point running a VM on a Macbook Air or going down the path of an ultrabook would make more sense to me.

[Nathanael]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

The odd thing is, I like many of the individual aspects of Win8, but the way they were all put together felt strange.

I admit to having hardly touched Win8. I've seen non-interactive demos, and there are certain features I, as an iPad owner, find intriguing. I'd love to be able to view two apps side by side on my iPad -- even a four-finger swipe to hop back and forth can be inconvenient -- and I'd like to see something like live tiles (aka Android's widgets) on the iPad. I run a number of apps that don't need to take the whole screen. Who needs a 10" alarm clock at night, for example?

It's mostly the aesthetics that turn me away. All those 16-color flat rectangles look like a throwback to Win3 days. And, as others here, I sit a good two arms-lengths away from 27" monitor, making a touch interface on my desktop just a little impractical.

In any case, I've already got both a tablet and a laptop (running Kubuntu); there's just no room between those to squeeze in a Surface, even edge-first.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Nathanael

I admit to having hardly touched Win8. I've seen non-interactive demos, and there are certain features I, as an iPad owner, find intriguing. I'd love to be able to view two apps side by side on my iPad -- even a four-finger swipe to hop back and forth can be inconvenient -- and I'd like to see something like live tiles (aka Android's widgets) on the iPad. I run a number of apps that don't need to take the whole screen. Who needs a 10" alarm clock at night, for example?

It's mostly the aesthetics that turn me away. All those 16-color flat rectangles look like a throwback to Win3 days. And, as others here, I sit a good two arms-lengths away from 27" monitor, making a touch interface on my desktop just a little impractical.

In any case, I've already got both a tablet and a laptop (running Kubuntu); there's just no room between those to squeeze in a Surface, even edge-first.

It really works just as well as a mouse interface, that is what most people don't understand since it has been misreported in various places.

Scrolling mouse wheel shifts the tiles left and right. Mouse pointer to the top right corner brings up the charms bar, top left brings up the pictures of currently running programs. It is all well thought out, quick and easy.

[John F]

"Microsoft ups Surface production, to sell in more stores"

http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-surf...--finance.html

[kennyc]

Wait what roller-coaster is this that I'm riding....