[STOP PRESS] Ballmer could have actually DONE SOMETHING WELL!

[thorfinn]

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/microsoft-unveils-surface-tablet-powered-by-windows-8/?comments=1&start=40#comments-bar

'One Windows RT tablet runs an NVIDIA Tegra 3 ARM processor and the other Windows 8 Pro tablet runs Intel\'s Ivy Bridge Core i5 chips. One thing that looks really cool are new magnetic covers that are quite reminiscent of Apple\'s 'Smart Cover' for the iPad. But it\'s a lot smarter—Microsoft\'s cover actually includes a multitouch trackpad and a keyboard. There are two, as we explain in this story: a Touch Cover with virtual keys and a Type Cover with a tactile keyboard and touchpad.

Typing on the cover is twice as efficient as typing on glass, according to Microsoft. There\'s also a stylus.'

Also, USB3 and SDHC/SDXC integrated, and the x86 version runs full Windows.

If they\'ll be RROD-free, Apple is in for a rough ride

[rdfox]

Too bad they seem insistant on pushing Windows 8 as being a tablet OS for desktop platforms...

[mincespy]

\'could\' being the key word unfortunately.

[LukeTim]

I think it looks pretty damn badass.

I\'ll probably get one when the time comes.

[Foamy]

These tablets look amazing, especially the intel one; I\'m fairly sure the pro will replace my laptop.

As for windos 8 there is one magic bullet solution that instantly turns it into an amazing operating system for desktops: http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

[Tim_Barrett]

The funny thing is, it most likely won\'t be as expensive as an iPad.

Then again, this is Microsoft\'s first product they made entirely through themselves, although they can easily get that money back from the sheer sales.

inb4 my friends sell their ipads and get two of these.

[Sordid]

I don\'t get what\'s so great about this. It\'s a tablet. All of those are inherently pointless because of the touchscreen-only controls, which are useless for both work and gaming. To get around that, MS has attached a keyboard to their tablet to create... well, a laptop with a really flimsy keyboard, which means you won\'t be able to use it anywhere other than on a table. Seriously, what advantage does this have over a normal laptop?

[Ydoow]

I don\'t get what\'s so great about this. It\'s a tablet. All of those are inherently pointless because of the touchscreen-only controls, which are useless for both work and gaming. To get around that, MS has attached a keyboard to their tablet to create... well, a laptop with a really flimsy keyboard, which means you won\'t be able to use it anywhere other than on a table. Seriously, what advantage does this have over a normal laptop?

It has everything you just listed, except advertised as a positive. lol

[Foamy]

I don\'t get what\'s so great about this. It\'s a tablet. All of those are inherently pointless because of the touchscreen-only controls, which are useless for both work and gaming. To get around that, MS has attached a keyboard to their tablet to create... well, a laptop with a really flimsy keyboard, which means you won\'t be able to use it anywhere other than on a table. Seriously, what advantage does this have over a normal laptop?

The thing that\'s great is that you can use it as a tablet for the films/gaming/browsing, then when you want to take notes or do some work you can just bring out the keyboard, open the stand, stick it on a table and go as well as you would on a laptop. If you need to type more often or are willing to put up with an extra 2mm of thickness & don\'t need to be able to fold it around back then you can use the hard keyboard and use it just like an ultrabook.

Then when you want to get serious work done you use the display port to bring it up on a couple high res displays and the USB for a mouse/proper keyboard.

The intel one is powerful enough to run great as a simple tablet all the way up to a desktop with a 27' monitor.

The 3mm cover/keyboard is mostly a light cover for casual use but it dies allow you to use desktop mode in a pinch, the hard keyboard makes it the same as a laptop but due to being hard limits casual use.

It\'s an all purpose device that will be great at everything if they can maintain this quality through to release.

[thorfinn]

I don\'t get what\'s so great about this. It\'s a tablet. All of those are inherently pointless because of the touchscreen-only controls (....) Seriously, what advantage does this have over a normal laptop?

It\'s funny: to me, it\'s tablets that make laptops pointless

I mean, if I had a device that allowed me to do all the 'light computing' tasks like web browsing, writing brief emails, reading ebooks/newspapers, showing pictures and videos to friends, making some quick notes/light calculations while walking around in the lab, displaying presentations... while on the move, I don\'t think I\'d use my laptop anymore. I don\'t really type so much on the move that I need a better keyboard than those supplied, unless I\'m at my work place; but there, I have desktop computers I can use anyway.

I\'d go back to having a fixed PC in the home, for my heavy data (media center, file storage) and computation needs (games and big simulations... hell, I could even SSH into it from a desktop at work if I need it.)

Also, touch controls aren\'t bad per se, it\'s just that people are still learning how to write really good applications that use that paradigm. But they can be even better than traditional controls in some areas: think drawing and retouching, for instance, if the stylus is good you get essentially a small Cintiq that\'s also the whole computer for less money than a true 12' Cintiq.

[Ydoow]

:l

[Foamy]

That is a longstanding issue with windows 8 right there. Why it hasn\'t been fixed i have no idea but it has absolutely no bearing on the functionality of this tablet. It will almost certainly be fixed soon.

To be fair though, windows 8 is still under heavy development and i was amazed that that was the worst thing to go wrong. MS shouldn\'t have announced this until September but I don\'t think that will hurt them considerably and there\'s a reasonable chance they are doing this intentionally early so that they can show off windows phone 8 earlier (considering this was announced on the 18th and WP8 is being shown off on the 20th).

[Sordid]

[AlternNocturn]

image

'It\'s like a laptop only without a keyboard.' Yeah, that\'s what the Windows XP tablet was when it was released earlier this decade, before Steve Jobs even had the idea for the iPad. Microsoft is half competing with Apple, half making their older tablet PCs more accessible and easier to use for everyone with an actual Tablet interface built-in to the OS.

Also, about Windows 8, let\'s be honest, it\'s for touchscreens only, which is why the only way I\'m going to actually use Win8 is through the Surface. It doesn\'t quite belong on desktops despite the fact that you\'ll be spending pretty much the whole time in the desktop interface.

Personally if the specs an price are good, I\'ll be getting the Pro version. I\'ve been looking for a reason to justify getting a tablet and the Surface is the perfect thing.

[Foamy]

\'s for touchscreens only, which is why the only way I\'m going to actually use Win8 is through the Surface. It doesn\'t quite belong on desktops despite the fact that you\'ll be spending pretty much the whole time in the desktop interface.

Seriously, try Start8 (http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/) I had used windows 8 previews on my touchscreen laptop for months before and i was certain i would hate it on my desktop, so the first thing i did was to find a start menu replacement. Start8\'s start menu transforms the start screen from a hindrance to a massive improvement over anything that has come before.

[RC1062]

Has anyone seen the Asus transformer?

A friend of mine has one and loves it. It is more like a netbook though, it isn\'t trying too hard to be a tablet.

[thorfinn]

Wait, I don\'t understand... the classic interface doesn\'t have a start menu by default?

Concerning Metro: the Win 8 previews I tried to install on virtual machines never worked well enough to let me evaluate the concept correctly, but the desktop metaphor and the WIMP paradigm NEED to die, so anything that tries to go forward is interesting to me

Anyway, since the Start menu seems to have become a hot topic again after many years.... NOSTALGIA TIME!

[Ted]

Then again, this is Microsoft\'s first product they made entirely through themselves..

I think the Xbox and Zune products might have something to say about that.

[bandit4910]

I\'m probably going to buy. I have a 3 year old tablet that I\'m gonna sell on amazon or on something else. Save up extra money and buy the windows 8 pro one.(the windows RT one you would be stuck using IE.)

[Katalliaan]

I could have sworn that Microsoft announced that they don\'t want people to be able to make a replacement for the start menu. While it may do well as a tablet OS, it probably will suffer as a desktop OS.