same old routine
Get the carp into education and it will spread from there.
Microsoft is slashing the price on its Windows 8-powered Surface RT tablets to slap the unwanted kit into students' palms. For a limited time, Redmond will knock 60 per cent off the price of a 32GB ARM-driven fondleslab to $199 (£127); a 32GB with Touch Keyboard Cover will be slashed by 58 per cent to $249 (£158); and a 32GB …
Getting a Nexus 7 would give them a toy without a compliant office suite to submit their assignments with so they would have to buy a version of office and deal with the extra hassle of maintaining a computer. Some people don't like computers. (Or care anything at all about them). If this broke their documents would be on skydrive so they could just print them from a computer lab or whatever.
" It is not an environment where you could write an application of any great size."
True. But comms and sharing documents with colleagues on the team, tweaking the odd file perhaps direct in an online repository (git etc), with suitable apps you could do some lightweight development while on a train etc, and then there's Remote Desktop.
For those who just need access to fiddle with servers, to use as a portable console, it would be quite handy.
But then an Android slab would do all this too.
My interest in a Win slap is for Win apps... that don't run on RT.
Shall we start taking bets on whether RT will get Windows 8.1? and whether this is what will be used to enforce obsolescence?
This is a perfect example of the mess that Microsoft have got themselves into. They needed to get into mobile phones and tablets to try and stop Apple and Android partners, but they've picked the dumbest strategy
Android - Targeted phones then worked it's way onto tablets
Apple - If it's got an 'i' it runs iOS whether it be a phone a tablet or an iPod.
Microsoft on the other hand have gone for the same interface across three different OSes
Windows Phone 8
Windows 8
Windows RT
This has caused confusion amongst the less technical people I know and the way that the RT tablets are sold there is very little distinction made in shops by the staff or the signs to educate people of the differences. If you don't ask the questions the staff don't tell you and will happily let you buy a tablet running RT and an antivirus package that isn't compatible.
Now microsoft are talking Windows 8.1 and are keeping very quiet on Windows RT. Chances are some features will be ported to Windows RT, but then what does that become? Windows RT 8.1? Windows RT.1? Microsofts big interest is keeping people on X86 so they ideally need to limit the features of RT while at the same time exploiting the battery life benefits it brings to phones and tablets.
Microsoft obviously had a need to rush stuff out there and will more than likely try to unify all 3 OSes down the line, but they've stumbled out of the blocks and made a number of cock ups and I think they'll drive a lot of people away before they get their overall goal of one OS across all devices...
They've already relented and have a version of sorts of Office running on iPhones and iPads. That was their ace in their hand and now they are slowly giving other platforms access. How many customers are going to switch to iPhones / iPads and Android devices because of that? Yeah it's not the full feature set (yet) but a lot of people don't need the full suite and while they gain a 365 licence they lose potential Windows Phone, Windows RT and Windows 8 licence sales as well as the Office 365 sale.
I think they are selling these Surface RT devices off at this price because they are ready to cut and run. I imagine they'll withdraw the RT product in 5 to 6 months after little or no more development and they'll hope that Asus and the like continue to make them, but by then who knows how far Android will be ahead of Microsoft
Killing RT and using Haswell + Windows Desktop/Metro UI 8.1 down to size of the current ASUS 8" tablet at 10W (4.5W) allowing 1024×768
AND scaling up the Windows Phone 8 GDPR3 using Qualcom SnapDragon up to 800 Series 3W (5W for Tablets) allowing 1920x1080
THUS overlapping these two platforms => No need for RT
It's not about to be discontinued, no it's priced to sell.. once you strip out the profit margin that they were looking for, it comes down to the market price.. it then becomes a question of whether they want to push a product they just don't make any money from, and that's still a yes.
MS can't afford to skip on tables (it's not like Zune) because today's PC will start to look like a mini-computer of yesteryear very soon and they're not dominating in Cloud services... now that the diversion is out of the way, we can look forward to "price dumping" claims from Apple and the inevitable race to the bottom.
Ummm...surely that requires the Uni's et al to buy this stuff on a whim as the new term doesn't normally start until well into September in the UK. I really don't see any educational establishment chuckign large amounts of money out on the off-chance that they can encourage students to take one in place of the perfectly good laptop/iPad/other tablet they already bought.
I am pouring over the spec for a Win8 app as, apparently, Win8 is the best thing ever and poised to replace iOS. Clearly our product management don't read the news or operate in the real world.
They do get to go on lots of MS paid junkets, I wonder if there could be a connection...
I wouldn't mind having one if I could load Android on it. As long as it's running Windows RT it's useless. Even the Microsoft faithful aren't buying this dud. Let's face it: Windows 8, in all of its incarnations, is an unmitigated failure. Let's hope that Microsoft keeps pushing and pushing this fail until it's too late for them to reverse course.
How many of the critics here have actually used a Surface RT for a reasonable period of time and put aside the anti-Microsoft chip on their shoulder?
I have and find it an excellent tablet V's the iPad. And with full Outlook coming with the Windows 8.1 release it will be a real good business traveler device considering Office is free plus no file compatibility issues.
It has a full size USB 2.0 port , easy output to VGA / HD Video (for your protector and tele), capacity expandable to 64GB, will work with most printers simply.
As a productive tablet it takes some beating.
It's not even great for media consumption. It's ok for web surfing, but the media player apps are crap.
The only thing it can do better then my Nexus 7 is handle Office files (and I've still had it crash on some of my work excel 2010 files) where I need to do more then just take a quick look at something. I'm not 100% sure I'm actually allowed to look at my work files on it, maybe my licensed copy of Office at work covers me...
It might be the end of things. One of these with the UFEI turned off might actually be a nice things to have, all loaded up with my very own software that I want to use.
Thing to do: Walk into the "Microsoft Store" and ask if I can load MY software on the Surface goodie. The shopping mall isn't that far away, so I may do it. Of course the Microsoft store is across the isle from the Apple store (wonder why?).
What news is there on Masterful Applications for Greater Great Game Play?
An Immediate Great Game Changer already Initiated and Running like a Dream, is a Concern to Battle Yourself with or better, an Idea to Realise via Virtual Memes and AIMeans into a Stream and Growing Flow of Greater Consciousness IntelAIgently Experienced.
What worlds and free services, all possible costs paid, can the tablet deliver for real ......... for that is what Global Operating Devices are used for, and useful for too ..... and content for fledgling devices is always the master key to success of capturing device sales.
Microsoft does not have to answer to anyone. They don't need to post records. If the IDC wants to make estimates that's fine, but noone knows the real success but Microsoft. Thier actions state success, not failure. Thier stock states success, not failure. And being charitable to students has always been a cornerstone of Microsoft. Take Office Home and Student. Thank goodness too. Think of my tax dollars being spent for the lowest value per dollar spent Apple. I would hate that.