Microsoft to introduce its own tablet today?

[Tilted]

Pretty sad really. A guy that I work with has one and loves it. Of course, now I may be able to pick one up for cheap. I've seen lots of reviews that it really is a good tablet/computer.

I've played with them, there's good and there's bad. The device itself is well constructed and decently designed; but the interface is still clumsy and cumbersome. I think the most significant problem is of the same kind as that of so many tech devices: It doesn't know what the hell it is. It wants to be a tablet and it wants to be a laptop. Generally speaking, those kinds of mixed aspirations result in devices that aren't really good at either thing. If you want to be a really good tablet, you have to be committed to being a tablet. The same goes for laptops.

And they got the aspect ratio wrong - it's too wide and doesn't function equally as well in portrait and landscape, which is an important aspect of a tablet.

But there are some advantages to it running a version of windows. I'd consider getting one at the right price.

 

[Tilted]

I thought you were a Apple Guy .....



... have you seen the new Mac PRO

I'm a good product guy, a 'does what I need really well and makes my life easier in certain regards' guy, a 'gets the important stuff right' guy, a 'most real-world value added' guy, and a 'good bang for the buck' guy. I'm lots of guys.

Sometimes that means I'm an Apple guy, sometimes it means I'm a something else guy. I put my hands on every mobile tech device I can - for personal reasons and for investing reasons. My roommate brought home a HTC Evo the other day that he'd been given by work. He used to have an Android but he's switched over to iPhone now. Anyway, I played with it for a good while. I've always liked HTC products. I told him he should take it back and ask if he can have a One. I'd like to play with one of those long enough to decide whether it suits me.

And yes, I've seen the upcoming Mac Pro. Remarkable, but I think they're going the wrong direction with that particular class of computers. That's one place where I don't think much focus should be put into the look of the machine. It's not a consumer computer, it's a hard core machine - few concessions to aesthetics should be made, the focus should almost all be performance and flexibility.

 

[ylexot]

I've played with them, there's good and there's bad. The device itself is well constructed and decently designed; but the interface is still clumsy and cumbersome. I think the most significant problem is of the same kind as that of so many tech devices: It doesn't know what the hell it is. It wants to be a tablet and it wants to be a laptop. Generally speaking, those kinds of mixed aspirations result in devices that aren't really good at either thing. If you want to be a really good tablet, you have to be committed to being a tablet. The same goes for laptops.

And they got the aspect ratio wrong - it's too wide and doesn't function equally as well in portrait and landscape, which is an important aspect of a tablet.

But there are some advantages to it running a version of windows. I'd consider getting one at the right price.

I guess I disagree with everything you just said. The easy way for them to do the tablet/laptop combo would have been to use the metro interface for tablet and switch to the standard desktop interface when docked to the keyboard. The problem was that they were so set on trying to get away from the desktop interface (despite the huge uproar during the beta), they just wouldn't consider it. That is supposed to be changed in 8.1.

And an almost square aspect ratio (like the iPad) makes portrait/landscape distinction almost worthless. It's bad for both orientations. You get lots of unused space when watching videos and a bad ratio for magazines, comics, etc.

 

[ylexot]

I'm a good product guy, a 'does what I need really well and makes my life easier in certain regards' guy, a 'gets the important stuff right' guy, a 'most real-world value added' guy, and a 'good bang for the buck' guy. I'm lots of guys.

Sometimes that means I'm an Apple guy, sometimes it means I'm a something else guy. I put my hands on every mobile tech device I can - for personal reasons and for investing reasons. My roommate brought home a HTC Evo the other day that he'd been given by work. He used to have an Android but he's switched over to iPhone now. Anyway, I played with it for a good while. I've always liked HTC products. I told him he should take it back and ask if he can have a One. I'd like to play with one of those long enough to decide whether it suits me.

And yes, I've seen the upcoming Mac Pro. Remarkable, but I think they're going the wrong direction with that particular class of computers. That's one place where I don't think much focus should be put into the look of the machine. It's not a consumer computer, it's a hard core machine - few concessions to aesthetics should be made, the focus should almost all be performance and flexibility.

Disagree with this as well. You're right, the Mac Pro is not a consumer computer. It will be used by film crews, magazine editors, and photographers...all people who highly value aesthetics. And I seriously doubt that any "concessions" were made for it. You can pretty much package electronics however you want (within reason) with no change in functionality. So why not make it look good and make all your appearance-conscious customers drool with anticipation even though they are completely clueless about the specs?

 

[GURPS]

And I seriously doubt that any "concessions" were made for it. You can pretty much package electronics however you want (within reason) with no change in functionality. So why not make it look good and make all your appearance-conscious customers drool with anticipation even though they are completely clueless about the specs?

it is a 9x6.6 canister ... only expandable through USB and the thunder port - maybe that is enough in this day and age, but it certainly is NOT an expandable Tower ....

Apple - Mac Pro

no denying it is sleek and sexy .... you probably will not be putting a new video card in after the fact ....

up to 12 cores [2 6x procs ?]
60 Gb of Ram

PCI Express flash storage

 

[czygvtwkr]

it is a 9x6.6 canister ... only expandable through USB and the thunder port - maybe that is enough in this day and age, but it certainly is NOT an expandable Tower ....

Apple - Mac Pro

no denying it is sleek and sexy .... you probably will not be putting a new video card in after the fact ....

up to 12 cores [2 6x procs ?]
60 Gb of Ram

PCI Express flash storage

That Mac Pro looks pretty awesome, even more so than the G4 cube was back in the day. For all that processing power I think the size is pretty small though, Apple has a history of making great looking computers that had heat issues (I-Mac, G4 Cube).

 

[GURPS]

That Mac Pro looks pretty awesome, even more so than the G4 cube was back in the day.

I saw a jazzed up G4 Cube on ebay recently with a Sata SSD ... that will cut down on some heat

 

[ylexot]

it is a 9x6.6 canister ... only expandable through USB and the thunder port - maybe that is enough in this day and age, but it certainly is NOT an expandable Tower ....

Apple - Mac Pro

no denying it is sleek and sexy .... you probably will not be putting a new video card in after the fact ....

up to 12 cores [2 6x procs ?]
60 Gb of Ram

PCI Express flash storage

If they were smart, they'd put USB and thunder ports on the bottom of the case and make a few accessory upgrades (I.e. external drive) with the same diameter that would plug into the ports and duplicate the ports on the bottom of the add-on case. Maybe add a power bus too. Expansion would then be as simple as picking the computer up and putting it on top of the new expansion.

 

[merc669]

I just hate to see the cost of this thing! Its got to be expensive.

 

[ylexot]

I just hate to see the cost of this thing! Its got to be expensive.

I would guess in the $4-5k range, maybe more.

 

[GURPS]

I just hate to see the cost of this thing! Its got to be expensive.

one does not use Mac Pro and inexpensive in the same sentence


the MP reminds me of the 'computer' they build in this movie;

The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest (2002)

Andy, a successful marketing guy quits his job, because he feels disconnected with the values about work he learned from his father. He gets a new job at a top notch research facility, where he quickly makes a powerful enemy who makes him volunteer for a nearly impossible project: The $99 Personal Computer. He recruits the only available guys at the lab, three sociopaths. Together they really compile a revolutionary PC for $99, but then they become the victims of a venture capitalist and Andy's old foe from the research lab. Can he and his new friends find a way to overcome the problems?

 

[Toxick]

I have nothing to add, except that when I saw the title of this thread I was all

But then I read the date on the original post and I was like