Anyone watching the MS-BN announcement?

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by stonetools

I think the vision is there, but its going to come down to excution. Now Microsoft is great at execution, and I wish them the best of luck. Still, they have a big mountain to climb.
1. They are starting so far back in the field that they need a telescope to see Apple.
2. They were missing a lot at at their presentation. Gruber:



With 90 days or so till launch, you would think that they would have a kickass MS Office demo, at least.
Now they should be able to have the core apps and MS office ready to go at launch, but this should be a matter of seeing, not believing.I'm hoping they won't follow the usual Microsoft way of not getting things right with software till version3.0. Like it or not, the expectation is now that everything has to be ready to go from Day One. The IPad launch has set that standard for our expectations.

I agree about the missing details. The battery life could absolutely make or break this thing. A device that did everything that every person in the entire world wanted it to do, only better than they had ever dreamed, would fall flat with a four hour battery. The iPad has made us all expect (and deservedly so) ten hour battery life from our tablets. Lots of devices have been non-starters due to short battery life. And a full Windows device with appropriate resources will be a battery hog.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

You seem to be saying that I am incorrect about iPads/Androids not being able to replace laptops/desktops because someday all of the software we will need/want will be available as apps. Is this a correct interpretation of your statement?

I'm saying that there is a difference between saying that today, you could not replace a PC with a tablet, and saying that tablets cannot replace PCs at some point in the future.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by stonetools

What that says is that Apple thinks of optical drives as useful, but not neccesary, to a certain level of computing experience.

You could say the same thing about keyboards.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

Agreed. Enterprise wants their employees creating content, not just consuming it. By all accounts, the Surface is way better then the iPad for that.

Plenty of people are creating on an iPad. Saying it is consumption only is like saying Macs don't get viruses. It's just not true.

No one has used a Surface for any appreciable amount of time in any appreciable numbers. We just don't know how good or bad it is.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

On another note, physical distribution of software may well be on its way out (and I agree, it is), but until we have nearly universally available broadband without data limitations, it will not disappear completely.

I agree. I mean, even dot-matrix printers are still in use.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

I'm saying that there is a difference between saying that today, you could not replace a PC with a tablet, and saying that tablets cannot replace PCs at some point in the future.

I don't think any rational person would argue with that. Unfortunately, I don't currently (and may never) live at this "point in the future". If/when that happens, I will gladly change my tune. But we are talking about today/next week/next month/next year. I don't think in that timespan every software package I need will be ported to an app. At some point in the future we'll have robot housekeepers and flying cars, but I'm not going to urge people to throw away their vacuum cleaners and scrap their Chevrolets until that future actually rolls around.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

I agree about the missing details. The battery life could absolutely make or break this thing.

People really panned the ipad three for its heat -- with a mobile processor.

Interested to see how well the x86 version of tablet handles heat.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

People really panned the ipad three for its heat -- with a mobile processor.

Interested to see how well the x86 version of tablet handles heat.

I can't complain about the heat on my iPad 3. I've never noticed it.

[stonetools]

When all this software becomes available, then I'll agree with you and joyfully ditch my computer, and fully embrace my iPad. Shall we now hold our breath together while we wait for this app Nirvana?

The thing is , why should it even go in that direction? Its like saying that a sports car is an inadequate version of the five ton truck, but that you hope it eventually evolve and then you'll joyfully get rid of your truck. No one talks like that.
It seems to me that there are different types of computer experience now. There are smartphones, tablets, and PCs Each would require different types of apps. You wouldn't think of doing top level graphics editing on a smartphone, and you wouldn't use a laptop as your everyday phone.

It seems to me that for a certain level of computing, PCs will be the preferred tool, just as mainframes will be necessary for the highest levels of computing. For certain types of work, tablets may be best.
In each case, there will be a need for different apps.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by stonetools

The thing is , why should it even go in that direction? Its like saying that a sports car is an inadequate version of the five ton truck, but that you hope it eventually evolve and then you'll joyfully get rid of your truck. No one talks like that.
It seems to me that there are different types of computer experience now. There are smartphones, tablets, and PCs Each would require different types of apps. You wouldn't think of doing top level graphics editing on a smartphone, and you wouldn't use a laptop as your everyday phone.

It seems to me that for a certain level of computing, PCs will be the preferred tool, just as mainframes will be necessary for the highest levels of computing. For certain types of work, tablets may be best.
In each case, there will be a need for different apps.

We agree entirely. My entire contention is, at this point, an iPad or Android cannot replace a computer for some (many?) users. I'm not saying that this will never happen. But you stated earlier that for the overwhelming majority of consumers, an iPad or Android is sufficient. I'm just not sure we are at that "overwhelming majority" point yet.

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

You could say the same thing about keyboards.

With the iphone, Apple made the bet that at the smartphone level of computing, a physical keyboard was unnecessary. Lots of people disagreed, pointing to the Blackberry as the defining paradigm of the smartphone user experience.
We can now agree that Apple was right.
Keyboards are neccesary to the PC experience: optical drives are not at this point.

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by hrosvit

We agree entirely. My entire contention is, at this point, an iPad or Android cannot replace a computer for some (many?) users. I'm not saying that this will never happen. But you stated earlier that for the overwhelming majority of consumers, an iPad or Android is sufficient. I'm just not sure we are at that "overwhelming majority" point yet.

OK, I can live with that.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by stonetools

It seems to me that there are different types of computer experience now.

This.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by stonetools

OK, I can live with that.

"...and then there was peace throughout the land, and the people rejoiced."

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by stonetools

With the iphone, Apple made the bet that at the smartphone level of computing, a physical keyboard was unnecessary. Lots of people disagreed, pointing to the Blackberry as the defining paradigm of the smartphone user experience.
We can now agree that Apple was right.

And with that said, note that there are still phones with keyboards (and Blackberry's) for those that want them. Just the same as tablets and downloadable apps won't completely kill towers, laptops and physical media.