New MS tablet live blog

[diamondd]

I really hope this tablet is awesome and pushes some serious competition for the ipad, what we need is an innovation war

The ad for this was awful though, from what I gathered from it the tablet can smash rocks then melt whilst playing dubstep.......it really was a terrible ad I learnt nothing about the device from it. Or was this just me?

since when does an add teach you anything about anything?

90% of advertising is just making things look appealing to people who want to look cool.

[Auld]

Wow do you work for the M$ marketing team?

I am not suggesting that an ad should teach you something, however Microsoft are positioning a product against a deeply ingrained product already in the market for several years synonymous with tablets. Made by a company widely regarded as having the best marketing in the business and that ad was their launch ad?

Contrast to the iPad ads which are catchy tunes for the masses, sporadic "it does this, it does that, it does everything you want" kind of affairs.

Sure, tech heads will research the specs put the one they want in their letter to Santa but that won't sell volume and it won't keep a product alive in that market.

[MaddMoose]

Windows 8 just seeks to have a uniform homescreen like a tablet for performing common tasks. (...) You can disable it on a desktop PC and have it just like Windows 7 is now

How?

Click the lower left tile on the metro screen. Tadah!

[SaNE]

Click the lower left tile on the metro screen. Tadah!

That's how you get to the desktop, you however have no start menu and have no ability add/remove programs to/from the task bar.

[MaddMoose]

You can pin stuff to the task bar and metro interface.

[diamondd]

Wow do you work for the M$ marketing team?

hardly, I basically said that their ad was trash and that all ads are trash. It's nothing new.

Apple ads are just a circle-jerk anyway IMO.

[SaNE]

You can pin stuff to the task bar and metro interface.

Of which you need to use explorer to do, since there's no start menu (which is annoying to say the least).

You can download ViStart to get the start menu back but as you can see it's not exactly fitting, if MS don't wake up and give a proper desktop experience, W7 isn't going to be replaced anytime soon no matter how much they force W8 on people with new PC's and Laptops.

[Schikitar]

I've been using Win8 since the CP and now the RP on my work and secondary home machines. I actually find Win7, although great, starting to lack in other areas and there's a couple things I don't get;

1. Why do people have such a hard time with the Start Screen, get over it, it's actually not that bad! Yes, I work in enterprise and have dual screen monitors and are a power user. I'm also good at building bridges and getting over things.

2. Why does everyone think Win8 is just Win7 with no Start Menu. Seriously, if that's the only thing in it for you then you are not a power user or anyone that has a need to take advantage of all the other impressive technologies in Windows 8. I can't be arsed typing up a list for you - http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=windows+8+features

3. Touch, or more correctly "guesture" has-a/is-the future. I watched my 5yo try to change the TV channels on the screen in the back of the airplane seat by swiping left and right - it didn't work of course but she expected it to. With Win8 there are numerous times I go to reach out to my non-touch screen wishing it was touch-enabled!

What MS is doing with Win8 and WinPhone8 is pretty amazing really - all the integration but still embracing choice for what you lay down on top of the foundation. Much greater enterprise support than Apple or Android combined! Don't get me wrong, I like those devices too but this a middle ground that will take advantage of a HUGE install base and will deliver a framework for large application and entertainment development for years to come. Still plenty of work to do but the potential is huge.

I'll be keeping an eye on the Surface Pro myself - that's more a 'no compromise' experience IMHO. Hopefully other OEMs will lift their manufacturing game and perhaps trump what Microsoft has done with their hardware - here's hoping!

Competition is good, humiliating the competition is better!

[discobrad]

Microsoft have pulled a serious coup here, as long as the planets align this thing will blow tablets and laptops out of the water as far I'm concerned. They need to keep things running smoothly though, my main concerns are over bugs in the OS but we'll wait and see.

a coup? really? they are just catching up IMO, forcing to react due to what iOS and Android have already done. at the core of it its really just another windows OS with fancy buttons on the front end, the main reason why Android/iPads do so well is coz of the App stores - most users who buy these devices dont give a shite about what the OS is doing in the background

will make great inroads in business...consumer market not so much IMO

[diamondd]

Microsoft have pulled a serious coup here, as long as the planets align this thing will blow tablets and laptops out of the water as far I'm concerned. They need to keep things running smoothly though, my main concerns are over bugs in the OS but we'll wait and see.

a coup? really? they are just catching up IMO, forcing to react due to what iOS and Android have already done. at the core of it its really just another windows OS with fancy buttons on the front end, the main reason why Android/iPads do so well is coz of the App stores - most users who buy these devices dont give a shite about what the OS is doing in the background

will make great inroads in business...consumer market not so much IMO

this has SO much more potential than iOS or Android

everyone thought they were becoming redundant, and now they've shot past everything out there IMO

[Matty]

Agreed. The only reason I don't have a tab is because I don't one with a crappy mobile OS.

[SaNE]

1. Why do people have such a hard time with the Start Screen, get over it, it's actually not that bad! Yes, I work in enterprise and have dual screen monitors and are a power user. I'm also good at building bridges and getting over things.

It is actually that bad; Touch good, M&K bad.

The fact that they couldn't even bother to give you an option when you install windows (Are you installing this on a Tablet / Phone (Where our metro and touch would be good) or Laptop / Desktop (Where you aren't going to be using touch)) is just simply lacking thought to how people are going to see and use this interface that isn't designed for Desktops.

[diamondd]

1. Why do people have such a hard time with the Start Screen, get over it, it's actually not that bad! Yes, I work in enterprise and have dual screen monitors and are a power user. I'm also good at building bridges and getting over things.

It is actually that bad; Touch good, M&K bad.

The fact that they couldn't even bother to give you an option when you install windows (Are you installing this on a Tablet / Phone (Where our metro and touch would be good) or Laptop / Desktop (Where you aren't going to be using touch)) is just simply lacking thought to how people are going to see and use this interface that isn't designed for Desktops.

I think the fact that they're somewhat forcing it upon us will be to encourage the uptake of gesture-based devices for desktop machines..

[MaddMoose]

the main reason why Android/iPads do so well is coz of the App stores

Windows 8 has an app store.

[exe3]

1. Why do people have such a hard time with the Start Screen, get over it, it's actually not that bad! Yes, I work in enterprise and have dual screen monitors and are a power user. I'm also good at building bridges and getting over things.

It is actually that bad; Touch good, M&K bad.

The fact that they couldn't even bother to give you an option when you install windows (Are you installing this on a Tablet / Phone (Where our metro and touch would be good) or Laptop / Desktop (Where you aren't going to be using touch)) is just simply lacking thought to how people are going to see and use this interface that isn't designed for Desktops.

I think the fact that they're somewhat forcing it upon us will be to encourage the uptake of gesture-based devices for desktop machines..

Which won't happen imo, you can't force these things. What I think will happen is that people will see that for Win8 to actually be usable you need a bunch of new hardware to which they'll say screw it and stick with Win7. It may very well be the best thing since sliced bread for desktop users with Kinect and touchscreens but for the current 99.99% of people who either can't get this new tech for whatever reason or simply want to stick with M/KB (like gamers who will need them anyway) Win8's looking to be the new Vista and as we saw with Vista people aren't afraid to just say no.