Anyone watching the MS-BN announcement?

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

The issue is that a large proportion of the tablets in existence are inadequate for (insert your own quantitative amount) people,

New technology. Give it time.

[BeccaPrice]

Originally Posted by heySkippy

Physical media is dead, it just hasn't quite realized it yet.

The need for physical media won't be dead until we have universal broadband - which we don't. i live out in the country, and the only way we can get internet connectivity is via satellite - which has a strict bandwidth per day limit - we've got the highest possible non-commercial program, and it's still not enough to download software. I can't even download my audiobooks at home.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

New technology. Give it time.

Really; you think that every piece of software will make its way into the app market? What about the ones that are total resource hogs? How are they going to work out on that limited-resource tablet?

[ScotiaBurrell]

The touchpad problem illustrates why Microsoft had to build the Surface rather than let its hardware partners take the lead on Windows 8 tablets. Making a great trackpad isn’t easy. Humble as it seems, perfecting the interface depends on a host of skills that most companies don’t possess—top-notch industrial design, perfectionist control over manufacturing processes, and, most importantly, software that’s finely crafted to work with the hardware. If PC vendors can’t even get this small thing right, how could they possibly make something as polished as an iPad?

If you want perfection, you need a single company to design everything from touchpad on up. Microsoft, finally, is coming around to this truth.

http://pandodaily.com/2012/06/24/why...-own-hardware/

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Really; you think that every piece of software will make its way into the app market? What about the ones that are total resource hogs?

Yes. Developers will adjust to consumer needs.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

The need for physical media won't be dead until we have universal broadband

Is being driven by changing tech landscape.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

The need for physical media won't be dead until we have universal broadband - which we don't. i live out in the country, and the only way we can get internet connectivity is via satellite - which has a strict bandwidth per day limit - we've got the highest possible non-commercial program, and it's still not enough to download software. I can't even download my audiobooks at home.

This.

About 8 years ago I moved from an urban area, where I had enjoyed cable broadband, to a rural area, where I went back to dial-up. Do you know how long it would take to donwload 2.3GB on dial-up?

My other option was satellite (which got terrible reviews at the time, and was vastly more expensive). I toughed it out for a couple years, and then switched to wireless broadband from a wireless provider. But the speeds were still relatively crappy (often <1Mb/s), and there was a data cap, to boot. Everyone does not have the same resources and access to the internet. That's one of the reasons I laugh everytime someone touts the cloud as the greatest thing in the world, and dismisses the need for storage. That stuff on the cloud is only useful to you if you can actually access it.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

Yes. Developers will adjust to consumer needs.

Wow. That's quite an outlook. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Wow. That's quite an outlook. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one.

They always do.

http://arstechnica.com/information-t...ffice-2013-rt/

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

They always do.

http://arstechnica.com/information-t...ffice-2013-rt/

Well, we'll see what the RT version looks like. Don't expect me to get all misty eyed about Office being available on tablets. Will it run other more specialized software? And you'll notice it's not a full version of Office.

[teh603]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Well, we'll see what the RT version looks like. Don't expect me to get all misty eyed about Office being available on tablets. Will it run other more specialized software? And you'll notice it's not a full version of Office.

And by the same token, will it be able to run FOSS equivalents like LibreOffice and GIMP? MS Office and Photoshop are nice (at least Office before '07 was nice) but who has $500 per piece of software?

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Will it run other more specialized software? And you'll notice it's not a full version of Office.

You expect tomrrow to arrive in one hour??

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

You expect tomrrow to arrive in one hour??

Will it get here before I die? Because if not, it's irrelevant. You can't sell me a technology concept using the statement, "Someday, this will all work exactly like you want it to." Call me back when it's ready.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by teh603

And by the same token, will it be able to run FOSS equivalents like LibreOffice and GIMP? MS Office and Photoshop are nice (at least Office before '07 was nice) but who has $500 per piece of software?

Google has your answer:

http://androidcommunity.com/libreoff...type-20120206/

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-touch.html

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

Will it get here before I die?

At speed is moving: YES