Slashdot Mirror
Early Details On Courier, Microsoft's Take On a Tablet
rbanffy points out an article on Gizmodo about Courier, a tablet (or more accurately, a booklet) in development at Microsoft. "The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. They're connected by a hinge that holds a single iPhone-esque home button. Statuses, like wireless signal and battery life, are displayed along the rim of one of the screens. On the back cover is a camera, and it might charge through an inductive pad, like the Palm Touchstone charging dock for Pre." A concept video shows off the ability to use the two different screens for separate purposes, like browsing the web or a photo album on the left and using the right as a notepad or workspace.
You can have any colour you like, so long as it's Beige
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
To me this thing is in a completely different category from eBook readers.
What you're really paying for on eBook readers and the real benefit is an e-ink display, which this most certainly does not have unless Microsoft has made some technological breakthroughs they're not sharing. If you get an eBook reader that uses regular LCDs you're right back in the realm of trying to read a book that's printed on top of a lightbulb that's switched on, with the accompanying battery requirements of powering said lightbulb.
The XO-2, most definitely: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XO-2
Asus are also working on something with a similar form-factor, last I heard.
It's almost like companies noticed that the original XO laptop spawned the whole netbook craze, and decided they wanted to be in on OLPC's next big idea.
one of the screens could be replaced by a full Querty keyboard for rapid word processing. You could then hold it in your lap while typing with the speed of both hands.
It still has a backlit screen. I have yet to be able to read any ebooks on lcd or any other backlist screen. I've tried on my desktop, my netbook and my iphone.
At this point, it's e-ink for ebooks or nothing.
Yep. Only e-ink for me for future readers. What's funny is that the only people that I know who have bad things to say about ebook readers are those who don't actually read. For some reason, they seem the most opposed to this change, yet they're the ones who won't be affected by it in any way (sort of like the hyper-religious and gay marriage). Everyone else seems at least interested, and when they see how you can use an e-ink device in full sunlight, they're pretty much convinced that's the way to go. That's not to say that other devices won't work for casual reading (iThings, netbooks, this thing, etc), but as far as truly dedicated reading devices go, e-ink has a HUGE advantage.
Remember that? Wasn't it supposed to do this shit 3 years ago? Here we go again.
This is my sig. There are thousands more, but this one is mine.
...dual blue screens of death
0 = 1 + e^(Alt something)
I would mostly be using it in a bed to read something or surf the web and so on.
You can just come out and say that you want it for porn. It's okay.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Even better question: Will they ever bother selling it?
Microsoft has a nasty habit of fending off emerging threats by promising vaporware products that do the same job, only somehow better. In many of these cases, it's main job isn't to do $functionality, but distract attention and hype away from competitors (like, say, Apple's rumored tablet thingy), then the proposed product gets quietly buried once the hoopla is over.
It's a great way to suck the oxygen out of an emerging concept that threatens any sort of status quo... after all, Microsoft's profit margins got socked in the gut pretty hard by the whole netbook emergence.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
In this case. it's pretty likely.
Anyone who's been around long enough will see this footage has all the signs of a typical Microsoft marketing puff piece.
Check out this video. See any similarities? Can you tell us what happened to the innovative product being marketed? Do you remember Origami? Natal? Surface?
Microsoft operating systems are too bloated and slow to make an interface like this work, it's just another attempt to convince shareholders that their research money isn't being wasted.
Ignore it. Nothing of value will come of it.
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
I've seen Surface in action and used it. It is very fast and responsive and actually everyone who used it was greatly impressed. Resolution was great...good enough to inspect x-rays and MRIs in detail. /.)
As far as the other projects you mention: not every R&D project becomes a product...that is the nature of R&D. I, for one, am glad to get a glimpse into what people are working on and thinking about. If MS didn't show these R&D efforts, you'd be the first one complaining how secretive they are.
You are clearly too biased against MS (yeah, I know, welcome to