Microsoft store staff to hold all night vigil for Surface 2 Microsoft is planning a midnight launch for its next-generation Surface fondleslabs, to be capped by a performance by rapper Pitbull. Reg readers may recall that Redmond pulled a similar stunt when it launched the Surface RT last October, holding witching-hour events at the 32 pop-up stores it opened for the holiday season. …
Microsoft has already lost a substantial amount of money, allowing the older models to just collect dust serves no purpose, sell them at a ridiculously discounted price would be a good way to build interest, a heathly user base and an eco-system (Just look what happened when HP had their fire sale for the WebOS tablets).
I do not work for Microsoft or any affiliate of theirs.
I have absolute choice of OS's for my personal use and for our current development project.
My choices are - iPad for the Mrs, Lumia 920 for me (perfect hand size), Asus touchscreen ultrabook running Win8. My personal home server is debian.
For work, now that W8 is security certified, we're going with Win8 embedded on 8 inch rugged touchscreens talking to a Windows Server 2012 datacentre running ANPR over four concurrent video streams per vehicle. We made this choice after extensive testing of which form factors our client - they wear a lot of blue - preferred.
In other words, you're wrong and you're an irritating fucking troll.
Piss off.
It's a tablet. It's one of MANY tablets which run Windows or Windows RT. It's a tablet which is likely to be in stock just about anywhere that sells it for as long as it takes to sell them or for MS to write them off. I wouldn't waste a minute queuing or turning up out of hours for these things. I wouldn't for any other tablet for that matter but especially these ones.
If they're *that* amazing then Microsoft will make more of them and if they aren't, well what was the point of buying one in the first place? Not that I have an objection to a Windows tablet at all, I'm extremely enthusiastic for them. Just not for these particular overpriced doorstops.
"eh? are you counting the unsold ones one at a time?"
There are quite a lot of models of Windows / Windows RT tablet out there. Most 3rd parties have written off Windows RT as a lost cause but I expect they'll continue to sell Windows tablets as part of their broader PC product lineup.
I think ASUS transformer-style tablets running Windows and a low power Atom / Haswell processor are a very attractive device - use them like a tablet on the road, but plug em into their keyboard and the full blown desktop becomes useful for producing, not just consuming.
However Microsoft seem to have lost their marbles with their offering. Both models are far too expensive for what they especially when the price of the keyboard is considered. The keyboard should have been included for the price they're charging. Better yet, the RT model should die a death and be replaced with an Atom model running proper Windows.
You know all those Apple employees who applaud people buying iPhones as they leave the Apple Store on the first day? Did you know they're not just coming to work to do that because they're impressed, they're actually told to do it and made to come in especially?
Personally, I'd rather they stuffed the queue, applauding customers is creepy.
I remember when they opened the one in Thurrock, we happened to wander in on the day and they scared the crap out of my little girl ( I think she was 5 or 6 at the time ) and she bawled her eyes out, then she when they offered her a balloon she hid behind us from them! Ha ha! Should have made a big enough fuss could have got my name in the Daily Fail, "Apple Employees in Child Abuse Shame Shocker!"!
Last week I had the following discussion with my (completely not interested in tech) wife:
W: Hey look, this [insert Taiwanese maker] tablet is really cheap. It also has a high resolution.
Me: (Point at the picture) This tablet runs under Microsoft's Windows RT.
W: Oh, I see. (loses interest and clicks the ad away).
Looks like Microsoft's ad campaign completely failed. At least in this case. For average people Windows just seems to have no brand value outside of the PC market. I wonder how Microsoft thinks they can sell their stuff, if they cannot make it desirable to end customers.
"one contest winner from each store will be flown to Orlando, Florida the next morning to attend a special performance by Pitbull"
Good grief, if you win you get to fly to Orlando to watch a wigger rap artiste that nobody has ever heard of?
Was Vanilla Ice unavailable?
So what is second prize then?
I went to one in London for Excel 5 (yes, that long ago.) with swirly dry ice smoke, enormous product box rising out of the stage, "I GOT THE POWER!" repeatedly blasted from the speakers. Demo guy selected some numbers, drew a 3D chart - yells of approval from crowd! Grabbed 3D chart and rotated - the crowd went wild!
Two weeks later, I went to the Yorkshire launch event. No smoke, no rising pack, no music. Same demo. Demo guy selected some numbers, drew a 3D chart - no reaction from crowd. Grabbed 3D chart and rotated - total silence! "They got really excited by that in London", he whined. From the back of the room, in broad Yorkshire came the reply "It's only a bloody spreadsheet."
This is only a bloody tablet. It'll still be there after breakfast tomorrow.
I've never seen one. Unless it's hidden behind a sex shop that as suddenly opened. Maybe if they close and re-open the shop I'll be able to pay a visit.
No more late 90's Windows jokes... but in all seriousness: if they are having to use concert tickets to lure people in, surely they should have given themselves a fighting chance by offering tickets to an artist with appeal? Justin Bieber or One Direction would have had the usual crazed Apple store queuers coming along at least.
I see the MS hating is still a fashionable sport for the kids.
Isn't their a Word Macro issue or Unix shell script you should be fixing?
I really like my Surface RT. Waaayyy more than my old iPad.
Agree with MJA, Pitbull is a poor choice. One Direction or Beiber would have been much more compelling for those who still get excited by a tablet.
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