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Microsoft: Surface Tablet May Alienate OEM Partners

HangingChad sends this excerpt from PCMag: "Microsoft this week admitted that its upcoming Surface tablet might hurt its relationships with PC maker partners. As first noted by the New York Times, Redmond said in a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that 'our Surface devices will compete with products made by our OEM partners, which may affect their commitment to our platform.'" The filing also made note of the difficulties in building up another app marketplace: "In order to compete, we must successfully enlist developers to write applications for our marketplace and ensure that these applications have high quality, customer appeal and value. Efforts to compete with these application marketplaces may increase our cost of revenue and lower our operating margins."

164 comments

  1. They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by RudyHartmann · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not only the Surface, but the Xbox can be a full blown PC with an interface just like Win8. What about the Microsoft Store? Sounds like the Apple store doesn't it? Just wait till Microsoft comes out with their own phone. This is another reason OEM's and deveopers are giving Linux another serious look. There is no viable alternative for them.

    --
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    1. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by jhoegl · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Your logic is pretty flawed on the matter.
      What is at issue is the hardware, not the OS.
      Microsoft wants to develop their own hardware, that is fine. But who controls the UEFI restrictions? What club do hardware and OEM manufacturers have to belong to now to conform?
      With Windows 8's added requirement to conform to this standard, hardware will have to go through testing with MS, which historically has not been that great.
      Well now, MS holds the reigns on competitor hardware as well as its own. So... where does that lead the industry?
      They can either conform and deal with what is dealt, or find alternatives.
      We already see that Apples Developers are leaving due to this "controlled" approach, so what will happen to hardware?
      Personally, i think the next 10 years of computing will be very interesting or very depressing.

    2. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by masternerdguy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Linux has already won. It has won the server and the mobile market.

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    3. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >This is another reason OEM's and deveopers are giving Linux another serious look.

      Let's see here: OEMs have failed pathetically at making appealing hardware for Windows and, now that MS has finally taken matters into their own hands, would probably going to fail miserably at making appealing hardware for Linux if they try. And somehow you think this is a win for Linux?

      Maybe you should be begging OEMs *NOT* to look at Linux.

    4. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by RudyHartmann · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Linux has already won. It has won the server and the mobile market.

      I agree with you in a way. But a full blown win will be when you can ask any guy on the street what Linux is and get an answer..

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    5. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by jhoegl · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Like when you ask "what version of windows are you using?".
      I mean, that answer is brilliant!

    6. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by jedidiah · · Score: 4, Informative

      Consumers can run Linux and not even be aware of it.

      It's step onto this side of the 90s timewarp you appear to be posting from.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    7. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > But who controls the UEFI restrictions?

      What are you talking about?

      > What club do hardware and OEM manufacturers have to belong to now to conform?

      None.

      > With Windows 8's added requirement to conform to this standard, hardware will have to go through testing with MS, which historically has not been that great.

      That's if you want to sign with MS certificates. So no, they don't. If it costs too much (takes too long is included there), simply disable UEFI.

    8. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by jedidiah · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What a pathetic little Microsoft shill you are.

      OEMs have done a great job of making appealing hardware for Windows. That's the only reason Windows even exists today. Otherwise MS-DOS would just be some obscure thing from the 80's that you never heard about.

      Tablets are a sticky wicket because consumer price points require using a microprocessor architecture that Windows doesn't support. Even if you do port Windows to ARM, you will have nothing to run on it.

      --
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    9. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by sexconker · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Linux has already won. It has won the server and the mobile market.

      I agree with you in a way. But a full blown win will be when you can ask any guy on the street what Linux is and get an answer..

      You can't ask any guy on the street what electricity is and get an answer.

    10. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Wrong, you will get an "answer".

    11. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by masternerdguy · · Score: 2

      OEMs have the unfortunate habit of bundling bloatware and crapware with their PCs. I for one think that M$ tightening the reigns a bit will actually force OEMs to change their ways.

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    12. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by RudyHartmann · · Score: 4, Informative

      I just read this article on Forbes. It looks like they've come to the same conclusion I have.

      http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/06/21/microsoft-first-branded-tablets-next-their-own-cell-phone/

      --
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    13. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by bhcompy · · Score: 1

      Until they buy Office and say "Why the fuck won't this just work?"

    14. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by __aaqvdr516 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Hooray for Pyrrhic victories!

      I don't think many people realize that Android is Linux. Not one of the people I work with could tell you what version they have on their phones. The only thing they can tell you is which applications they can or can't get compared to the iPhone. Of the people that have the iPhone that I work with, one of them is a fanboi and the others can barely operate their own computers.

      If MS can get their store in order and have decent hardware, they'll do just fine. You'll still have your Linux, everyone else will still be clueless, no matter what platform their phone runs.

    15. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by 0123456 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Until they buy Office and say "Why the fuck won't this just work?"

      How many consumers buy Office? And why would they when LibreOffice comes with their Linux install?

    16. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by 0123456 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If OEMs can't bundle crapware to offset the price of Windows, either Windows systems cost more or Microsoft will have to cut the cost of Windows to the OEMs.

    17. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by aztektum · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Just wait till Microsoft comes out with their own phone.

      They pretty much are. They've effectively turned Nokia into their "Windows Phone division".

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    18. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by oakgrove · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's called managing expectations. How well does Office run on the iPad?

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    19. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      >OEMs have done a great job of making appealing hardware for Windows.

      Mmmhmm. Then why are Microsoft and Windows OEMs staring longingly at the margins and loyalty that that the iPad and Macs have and chasing Apple's tail lights every chance they get?

      You obviously bought that low /. ID off of someone else 'cause you sure don't have enough of a clue to have come by it honestly.

    20. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by MacGyver2210 · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Microsoft should invest in getting a small form tablet which can run an x86 architecture. This is the only way they will compete with anyone else on the market, especially those that use their (normal) Windows OSes with ease on their tablet/convertible laptops.

      What the hell are you thinking, Microsoft? Nobody wants Windows 8, with your goofy-ass MetroUI boxes on some obscure(even if it's ARM) architecture. Please, just make a NORMAL WINDOWS TABLET if you are going to trip into that market. When I start my tablet, I want to see Windows 7, or better yet XP with the rolling hills and fluffy little clouds, and that friendly little START button right where I expect it.

      I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want a Windows laptop that I don't have to open and close...is that so hard?

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    21. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by datavirtue · · Score: 4, Funny

      Man, I ask people what browser they are using and I get panicked, confused looks.

      --
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    22. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      I see the price of Windows coming down. I can't ever remember Microsoft offering a new OS for $40, yet it is happening, and it will spur adoption.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    23. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Mabhatter · · Score: 2

      If Google would button up Chrome or throw behind Red Hat or Ubuntu brands they might gain something. Personally, Google should put together an Android environment that runs on a regular Linux in a sandbox. That way phone and tablet devs could port to that environment and media like Amazon could slip their media stuff (books, video, music, etc) in too. it would allow the normal distros to keep all the core Linux Desktop Apps in their repos too.

      Of course it's everything the OSS gurus freak and dread, but without the ability to PARTICIPATE in online media commerce, Linux will always be "behind scenes". Win 8 and Mountain Lion are leaving a lot of good software and machines in the dust. The "Android " brand might be enough to get individual people to convert their XP to Linux... Linking with people's phones is a pretty good carrot.

    24. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by DAldredge · · Score: 1

      Why is it that anyone who doesn't hate Microsoft is considered a shill?

    25. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Mabhatter · · Score: 1

      If Google ported the Android environment to generic Linux instead of ChromeOS, they might have a shot. The ability to run phone and tablet apps on your old PC and share all the stuff from mobile App Stores would be the angle to play.

    26. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I don't think many people realize that Android is Linux..."

      And even more people don't realize that its actually Dalvik/Linux and doesn't give users the 4 Freedoms [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Freedoms_(Free_software)] which is the most essential part of what GNU/Linux provides.

    27. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by binarylarry · · Score: 1

      While I'd be first in line to try this out, isn't it a bit like what Microsoft and Windows 8 are getting railed for?

      Google would be taking a tablet OS and trying to make it a desktop OS, which is a radically different paradigm. Windows 8 being the same thing in the opposite direction.

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    28. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For what its worth, the licensing cost of embedded versions of Windows usually max out at about $40 per device and you have to deal with a third party reseller rather than buying direct from MS. DISCLAIMER: I last worked on a product that shipped an embedded version of Windows XP four years ago, pricing may have changed.

    29. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Mabhatter · · Score: 1

      Rather, OEMs are stuck in a race to the Bottom fueled by Microsoft and Intel themselves. If any OEM like say, Apple, gets a design too popular, One of those tries to make it "cheaper for everybody". It's right there in the OEM license agreements that Intel/Microsoft OEMS basically sign away any really unique ideas to the "herd".

      Needless to say, there is no incentive for R&D, they just wait for intel and MS to tell them what to do. OEMs already tried innovating to make netbooks and both Intel and Microsoft teamed up to box the little PCs into a corner of uselessness. Ey COULD have been pushing what they're calling "ultra books" three-four years ago with limited set of functions.. Like win8. Ey even tried using Limix but got backstabbed there too.

    30. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >Why is it that anyone who doesn't hate Microsoft is considered a shill?

      Because /. is the nerd equivalent of Fox News.

    31. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by bondsbw · · Score: 1

      Google has its own phone and tablet. They haven't driven OEMs away... Microsoft need not either, so long as they are careful.

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
    32. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I just read this article on Forbes. It looks like they've come to the same conclusion I have.

      If they're going to continue their tradition of trying to do what Apple is doing, then it's pretty much the only logical step.

      --
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    33. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FYI, Microsoft did announce an x86 tablet which looks pretty nice & runs all regular windows applications. That's why nobody really cares about this crippled ARM POS.

    34. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by colinrichardday · · Score: 1

      Doesn't getting an OEM price for Windows 8 require UEFI?

    35. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      Not only the Surface, but the Xbox can be a full blown PC with an interface just like Win8. What about the Microsoft Store? Sounds like the Apple store doesn't it? Just wait till Microsoft comes out with their own phone. This is another reason OEM's and deveopers are giving Linux another serious look. There is no viable alternative for them.

      What about Google? I mean Google has created a bunch of hardware they call as "reference" which can disrupt the market. You think any of the 7" tablet makers are happy with Google releasing the Nexus 7? Considering the price point, the 7" tablets until now pretty much sucked - with crappy low-res screens (600x1024, if you're lucky. Usually 480x800 or so), huge bulkiness, crappy processors, etc. In fact, the Nook Color/Tablet and Kindle Fire were probably one of the best 7" tablets around - decent formfactors, decent processors.

      For Linux - I'd be wary. There are enough differences between distributions that you'll probably find each Linux application comes with its own distribution - all the libraries and binaries it needs and uses bundled up as part of the application in order to present a "it works on all Linux" image to users. Of course, it also means having to deal with multiple painful versions of libraries and GUI toolkits and maybe even so far as having said toolkits ignore user settings because the developer pointed to their own configuration file.

      Then again, maybe what happens is they just end up being Android apps with an Android runtime - starting up the app starts up the user mode portion of Android just for that app.

    36. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by bhcompy · · Score: 2

      Tell that to my grandma

    37. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Umm, MSFT just posted their best Quarter ever. I hate to tell you but MSFT is about to start a long, long +EV run. I know it's not popular here on the unemployment board but to blindly hate MSFT is ignorant.

    38. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by erp_consultant · · Score: 2

      But they can't be Apple. If Microsoft's plan is to simply copy everything Apple does it will fail. Microsoft has never really been much of an innovator. Now before everyone jumps all over me, Apple has copied a fair amount of stuff as well. The difference is that Apple knows how to design hardware and, more importantly, they know how to market it. MS is so used to just selling stuff to corporate clients they forgot how to sell things to consumers. Remember those disastrous Seinfeld ads? Compare that to the "I'm a PC and I'm a Mac" ads. Brilliant and very successful as well. What's sad about it is that MS actually has some pretty good stuff. Windows Phone is good, XBox is good, the Zune was really good, the Slate looks promising. But when it comes time to actually sell anything to consumers MS falls flat on it's face. Android is cool, Apple is hip, Microsoft is stodgy and yesterday's news. MS will still be able to sell things to corporations for a long, long time but their consumer strategy is doomed. Balmer has to go.

    39. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hahahahahahahaha, what? Just for fun, read MSFT's earnings last quarter. Hint, there won't be an " Office doesn't work" entry."

    40. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by dingen · · Score: 1

      Most people say they use "Google", although most are also easy to admit they do not know what a browser is, according to this little investigation by Google: http://youtu.be/o4MwTvtyrUQ

      --
      Pretty good is actually pretty bad.
    41. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Link or its a lie.

    42. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      The average guy on the street will almost certainly be using linux regularly in one capacity or another, and simply doesn't realise it... Phones, routers, televisions, set top boxes etc, many of these things run linux. Even those who do, usually don't realise that linux can be installed on regular computers.

      What's really needed is a marketing campaign to raise awareness and promote the advantages and differences linux has. OEMs should really get in on this, as their current business model being 100% dependent on MS is very dangerous... Similarly Valve, if a few big names get behind linux and actively promote it you should see a big change.

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    43. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      Why would they buy msoffice?
      Put it this way, how many users buy msoffice and then complain it wont run on their ipad?

      This old "users will buy boxed software and be annoyed when it doesn't work" fud is ridiculous, as such a model is simply rendered obsolete by a repository / app store model. Why would anyone waste their time going to a store when they can just select what they want from a menu and have it installed and updated automatically?

      Buying software on physical media is not what the average consumer wants, at best it will end up as a small niche occupied by an ever decreasing pool of people who can't get a fast enough internet connection.

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    44. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by hawkinspeter · · Score: 1

      It's not so much about Linux winning, it's more about open standards and choice winning. I'm a huge Linux fan, but the important thing is that I should be able to run whichever OS works best for me and not be prevented from using documents/websites etc.

      It shouldn't make any difference to me if someone else wants to run a different OS as long as we can both conform to open standards. The big issue with Microsoft is their abuse of closed standards to deliberately disadvantage other OSes and poison how people share information (anyone else sick of getting word documents that just contain a picture?).

      At least with Apple (and I'm no fan of them), you can be reasonably sure that a website will work properly with their browsers. The important thing is that people can use different devices and not care what's under the hood.

      --
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    45. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Bert64 · · Score: 2

      There have been windows tablets for many years...

      They are expensive, bulky, and generally slow compared to full size laptops, and the speed is directly comparable because they run the same software.

      The interface of windows is simply not suited to use on a tablet... They are trying to address this with metro, albeit in a stupid way... Touchscreens and mouse/keyboard are totally different, and therefore should have different interfaces. Forcing a touchscreen interface on keyboard/mouse users is just as bad as forcing the regular windows interfaces on touchscreen users.

      Same thing with apps, sure an x86 tablet can run existing windows apps, but interacting with them is painful.

      The fact is that despite having been available for years, windows tablets have not taken off. The iPad on the other hand sold massively pretty much as soon as it became available.

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    46. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      with my clients the answer is often 'ermmmm 2010?'

    47. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At time of sale only unless it's a tablet it's not required to be always on so it's fine to be disableable

    48. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by nojayuk · · Score: 1

      When the iPad first came out I had to explain, repeatedly and at length, to some photographers that no, they couldn't run PhotoShop on it.

    49. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by jbolden · · Score: 1

      It is often more than the price of Windows. Both Sony and Dell have put it in the $50-75 range.

    50. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I couldn't care less what browser they are using if only they knew what's the difference between an address bar, a search bar and a confusing bar (the ones where typing stuff brings up either a search, an address, and most of the time a non standard reply, full of ads, to a wrong dns lookup)

    51. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because LibreOffice is shit

    52. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

      Linux has already won. It has won the server and the mobile market.

      I agree with you in a way. But a full blown win will be when you can ask any guy on the street what Linux is and get an answer..

      No. A full-blown win would be when Linux-based systems take an overwhelming share of the computing device market (mobile and otherwise) without significant fragmentation, and with a uniform user experience (uniform not necessarily being the best), and with people transparently using them without giving a shit what OS/software stack runs on them.

      The important thing is not whether it is Linux or whatever that takes over, but the consumer's experience.

    53. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by jbolden · · Score: 1

      Compare that to the "I'm a PC and I'm a Mac" ads.

      The Lauren ad was quite successful. Microsoft has tremendous brand awareness. The problem is people used lockdown or poorly maintained windows machines at work and associated their work machine with what Windows is capable of. To get out of that they would need to do something that would alienate corporate customers, like the Dude you're getting a Dell.

      Windows Phone is good,

      The Windows Phone is good, what it is not is compelling. To get someone to switch you don't need to be good, you need to be, in at least some ways far better. IN 2008 the people who had iPhones could tell me what was better about them than my Blackberry. And even before that the ads were pretty clear about what was better pre release iPhone ads.

      XBox is good

      And XBox sells well.

      Zune was really good

      It was. It had some nice features. But iTunes and the integration is what it didn't have.

    54. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Because LibreOffice is terrible. Seriously, I've tried using it.

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    55. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      I discovered my router ran Linux when I discovered it had an SSH server running - on the WAN interface - with no way to disable it. Strangely no SSH service on the LAN interface though.

      --
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    56. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      I think you'll find most people don't give a flying fuck about the 4 Freedoms. You'll also find that the aforementioned "most people" is actually a subset of people who give a shit about how "important" it is to call Linux "GNU/Linux" to ensure that Stallman gets the ego-stroking he believes he so richly deserves.

      And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. Users shouldn't have to read a doctorate thesis on how "libre" a piece of software is to decide whether it's "ethical" to run it.

      --
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    57. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 1

      I'll reiterate what other's have said... LibreOffice is shit. Ok, maybe not shit... but about as good as its name. "What's Lyber Office?" Fact is, LibreOffice is ok s a tinker toy, but when the apps can't even handle cut and paste between themselves very well, how can anyone expect an end user to like it?

      Some might say that Google Docs doesn't suck... well they'd be pretty far off. There are in fact dozens of Office like packages out there and all of them are fairly bad. Google Docs is 5-10 years behing MS Office and Microsoft's Office 365 should be pretty impressive when it finally launches (the new version), but it's still and online office package and frankly, if it can run local, it's crap.

      As far as how many consumers buy it... there ARE A LOT!!! Everyone I know who doesn't know how to pirate it simply spend the $99 for the convenience. In fact, through the Microsoft HUP (home user program) people who work for companies who license MS products can buy Microsoft Office for $10.

    58. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I did. She loves it more than she loves you. Mostly 'cos you're a lying cunt.

    59. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, you haven't. And no, it isn't.

      You're a Burson Marsteller employee shilling on behalf of Microsoft. You should be ashamed of yourself.

    60. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by erp_consultant · · Score: 1

      Couldn't agree with you more, jbolden. Certainly Windows PC's can be locked down sufficiently but the average user has no idea how to do it. In the office, often the PC is very locked down...to the point that it's not enjoyable to use. The Dell ads were very good but were pulled unfortunately. Dell, like Microsoft, seems content to sell most of their stuff to corporate customers. Your point about Windows Phone is well taken. Apple and Android have a tremendous amount of momentum which is going to be really difficult for anyone to stop, even if their platform is superior. Frankly, I don't see a lot of developers ready to embrace a third platform either. Zune could have been a lot more than it was. The hardware was very good and it had some features that the iPod didn't. However, the brown color was not a good choice and the lack of integration was it's real downfall. But at least Microsoft has shown that it can design good hardware. Their mice and keyboards are terrific so maybe the Slate has a chance. Time will tell.

    61. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      And yet, now they can.

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    62. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Omestes · · Score: 1

      And how would that make them, or anyone else, money?

      Most of the non-nerds I know are inherently biased against Linux (if they have even heard of it in the first place). It's hard to use. Its overly nerdy. Nothing runs on it. Its ugly and intuitive. "Hackers" use it. I can't learn it. I don't want to use command lines for everything. Etc... I'm sure we're all familiar with these statements or preconceptions. If Google made the best Android/desktop killer app in the world, it probably wouldn't get people to hop over to Linux, they would just bitch that it isn't on Windows.

      But then again I've never understood the Linux domination thing... Who cares if everyone uses it? Hell, if everyone did, everyone would complain about how dumb the users have gotten, and how being a Linux guy used to be somehow superior to what it is now.

      --
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    63. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Android is exactly that. Linux lost the desktop computer but won the tablet and smartphone.
      Android provides a single unified user experience with a common API to build software while using a linux kernel underneath and being an Open Source distro. What more could you ask for ?

      In the end I think linux does pretty well, dominating the server side AND the smartphone & tablet market, with iOS being second and windows phone and windows server side being complete losers.

      The only thing that saves Microsoft's sad ass is the legacy of windows software that people need and that can't be ported or replaced at once for alternative desktop OSes.

    64. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by sjames · · Score: 1

      These newfangled cars are all a pile of shit. I gently shift forward and nothing happens. So I cracked the whip and it didn't even pay attention. I finally gave it the spurs, but still nothing. I think it's dead.

    65. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by jbolden · · Score: 1

      Glad you agree.

      But at least Microsoft has shown that it can design good hardware. Their mice and keyboards are terrific so maybe the Slate has a chance. Time will tell.

      I think with the Slate it is going to come down to pricing. How aggressively do they want to price these devices? If they lose $50 each and move 100m units then they start to change the culture and but they are only out $5b. If they only sell a few million they may not have any impact. On the ARM side, the use of the term "Windows RT" which is going to be very confusing for consumers. I remember the (very good) Windows CE keyboard tablets that existed in the 90's and ran about $1200 in place of laptops causing massive confusion. We'll have to see how they handle this.

      But it is good to see Microsoft showing some leadership again.

    66. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by erp_consultant · · Score: 1

      Right. They used the same strategy with the XBox to great effect. Remember that Sony and Nintendo basically owned the gaming market before MS came out with the XBox. It took them a while, and they lost a lot of money before they made any, but now it's a great success. I think that with the Slate they're simply going to have to sell it for less than the iPad. What MS needs to do it to get it in as many hands as possible even if it means taking a loss in the short term. They are also going to have to do something to woo developers. Perhaps give them a bigger cut from their app store or other such enticement. Without great apps it's just going to end up like another TouchPad - great OS but weak on apps and intimately unsatisfying.

    67. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Bedouin+X · · Score: 1

      Before January of this year my last two laptops were tablets and they were by no means slow compared to full sized laptops. My last one (a Lenovo x220t) had a dual-core i7 processor and ran every bit as fast as a desktop.

      The thing is that the Windows tablets were never designed to be full on touch - or even pen - driven devices. You could exclusively use the pen if you wanted, but the real utility is in using the pen digitizer with MS Office. Once you start using it, that one feature justifies the added cost of the device. It's a completely different product from the iPad aimed at a completely different market.

      Also, I'm typing this on a Windows 8 machine and I have no problem navigating the Metro Interface with a keyboard and mouse. If you've used Windows in the past, it's pretty easy to get used to.

      --
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    68. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by jbolden · · Score: 1

      I bought an HP 7510 as my secondary printer they threw a mini touchpad in as the UI. :) Its fallen, though I do like it.

      Wooing developers is going to very hard. Give them 100% cut of the app store and that won't matter. Heck make it 110% it still won't matter. If Microsoft moves tens or hundreds of millions the customer base will do the wooing, a tablet is all about software. If Microsoft moves a few million nothing will work

    69. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by ignavus · · Score: 1

      Just wait till Microsoft comes out with their own phone.

      They pretty much are. They've effectively turned Nokia into their "Windows Phone division".

      Or possibly their "Windows Boat Anchor division" , judging from the way that Nokia's sales are sinking.

      --
      I am anarch of all I survey.
    70. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 1

      Depends on how they do it. If it's simply the phone interface stretched out to ~20", then yeah it'd suck. If it's a normal distro with a steam-like repository and access to the Android library, it could be fine.

    71. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 1

      With a closed-source OS, Microsoft has several advantages over their OEMs. They know how the OS works and how to blend it with the hardware. They don't pay a licence fee on their tablets. They get paid for the OEM tablets.
      Unless Microsoft completely fumbles the hardware side, the OEMs will be fighting for MS's leftovers. And they know it.

      Google's OEMs can breathe easier what with Android being open-source. They don't have to pay for permission to use it, and the only thing keeping them from delivering an experience every bit as polished as Google's is the quality of their own developers.

    72. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Oh my god. It is worse than I thought.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    73. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Funny? It is more than a pain in the ass for technologists and probably lends some explanation as to why spammers make millions.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    74. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by dingen · · Score: 1

      The widening gap between the tech savvy and the average consumer really is more serious of a problem in IT than any company dares to admit. It's pretty crazy to be in a business where you sell products and services to customers who don't really know what it is they're purchasing.

      --
      Pretty good is actually pretty bad.
    75. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by socceroos · · Score: 1

      I like Ubuntu's idea - I'm putting this on my phone the second it becomes stable enough: http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

    76. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Fucking finally! I've longed to be called a shill for so long, and yet noone's ever accused me!

      However, this is disturbing news if true, for it means that someone has been forgetting to pay me. And they forgot to give me a contract. And I forgot to even apply for the job. Oh dear.

      (Still, LibreOffice really does suck. And despite your revisionist history, I have actually tried to use it).

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    77. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Zaiff+Urgulbunger · · Score: 1

      just read this article on Forbes. It looks like they've come to the same conclusion I have.

      If they're going to continue their tradition of trying to do what Apple is doing, then it's pretty much the only logical step.

      Logical..ish. Certainly wouldn't surprise me, but they've already got an almost MS branded phone with Nokia, and they still can't sell them. However, they do have a decent user based with Xbox (as opposed to Apple) and I don't think Apple or Google have conquered TV - yet! So if MS were being clever, they'd leverage the Xbox foot hold they've got, and Xbox live, and produce their own brand TVs with integrated MS stuff. They prolly won't do this until Apple or Google or someone else has taken the market 'cos MS can't get anything right these days.

    78. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Idbar · · Score: 1

      Well, sorry to come here late. But Microsoft offers a heck lot of very thorough tools for testing. That's for Logo certification. However, how I see it is:
      1. They make those tools available to manufacturers, so manufacturers can make fixes to make the test pass instead of fixing problems.
      2. People is still free to install device drivers that are not Logo certified.

      So the main issue is if people want to install whatever they want or if they want to be option limited. To me, the option is the latter and I'm willing to risk the BSODs without blaming MS.

    79. Re:They're Concluding Microsoft Wants to Be Apple by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      Let's rephrase: We OEMs can't use off-the-shelf stuff produced by the billions to slap together hardware shoveled out the door anymore.

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  2. Of course it will... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When you compete with your partners it makes it tough for them Microsoft!

    1. Re:Of course it will... by bloodhawk · · Score: 1, Insightful

      It is about time, so far the oem's have failed misserably for MS. Perhaps this will spur them on to come up with some unique and innovative designs, it seems at the moment the only one that even tries is ASUS.

    2. Re:Of course it will... by cpu6502 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In the entire history of IBM PC clones, none have innovated. They usually copied the innovations from the Atari and Commodore machines..... and then the PC makers caught-up 5-10 years later to turn a boring business machine into one with sound/graphic cards. Or into integrated one-piece units like the iMac. THIS model has worked for them since the mid-80s so it's doubtful they'll suddenly change. It's cheaper to just copy.

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    3. Re:Of course it will... by oakgrove · · Score: 2

      In what way have the OEMs "failed"? There was no Windows for ARM so they couldn't go toe to toe with the iPad and Windows 7 is unsuitable for a touch screen tablet. If anything Microsoft failed the OEMs.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    4. Re:Of course it will... by MacGyver2210 · · Score: 1

      As Microsoft doesn't make any of their own hardware for PCs, I fail to see how OEMs have failed them, since their entire Windows line rests exclusively on OEM hardware, running on a third-party architecture. Without OEMs, there probably wouldn't even be Microsoft, or they'd probably be a 50-employee banking software company in rural Michigan.

      I agree, though, that ASUS is the only company pushing the boundaries of conventional 'laptop shaped computer' design. There are a few nice leaps from Lenovo as well, but they seem to be on to rehashing the same designs now with different guts, over and over and over.

      --
      If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can't be taken on its own merits
    5. Re:Of course it will... by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      ASUS doesn't get it and probably never will. They make some cool stuff, but the execution is lacking in ways I can't quite put my finger on (haven't made a big study of it). Maybe their marketing staff is tuned to the OEM side, therefor lacking the vision of creating a comprehensive product for delivery straight to customers. Definitely something to do with the distribution and segmentation strategies.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    6. Re:Of course it will... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Both the Asus Nexus 7 and the Asus z77 mini-itx board i have are incredibly well engineered, straight-to-consumer products. Microsoft restrictions and market realities keep Asus from innovating on the 'OEM ' front of Win 7 laptops.

    7. Re:Of course it will... by jbolden · · Score: 1

      Nonsense.
      Compaq was a huge innovator, they brought down the size and weight of portables and arguably invented the laptop.
      Zeos was an innovator in micro electronics and pen based computing a decade before the OS had any support for it.
      Micron was a huge innovator in memory technology.
      Dell was an innovator in the manufacturing process and brought a degree of customization never seen before to electronics at good prices.
      Packard Bell developed all sorts of ease of use features like: color coded cabling systems so that naive users could assemble a computer, their own DOS shell....

      Most of those companies didn't survive. There has been a race to the bottom for the since 2000. But there certainly was a point where PC companies were innovators. Atari and Commodore were vastly vastly inferior to the PCs of the early 1980s. They were quite often 10% of the price so no one expected them to compete. I suspect you hearing a version of history that's a bit biased.

    8. Re:Of course it will... by cpu6502 · · Score: 1

      >>>Atari and Commodore were vastly vastly inferior to the PCs of the early 1980s

      Okay.
      Give me an example of an IBM home PC that could play music-quality sound in 1979 (like Atari) or 1982 (Commodore). Or an example that could show full-screen in 1985 (both Atari & Commodore) or 1988 (Apple Mac).

      Or 4000 colors in 1985 (Commodore). Or an example of an IBM home PC that could do preemptive tasking in 1985 (Commodore).

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    9. Re:Of course it will... by jbolden · · Score: 1

      Give me an example of an IBM home PC that could play music-quality sound in 1979 (like Atari) or 1982 (Commodore)

      The IBM PC wasn't released until 1981, so no they didn't have a good model to compete in '79. And with this any many other things I suspect you are reading spec sheets. In '79 if you wanted to use a computer for music you used analog computers not digital. Digital computers, except for extremely expensive ones, were worse than basic music equipment. Midi wasn't even untl about '85. Around '94 is when digital music on cheap hardware became a reality, not '79.

      Or an example that could show full-screen in 1985 (both Atari & Commodore) or 1988 (Apple Mac).

      I don't know what you mean by "full screen".

      Or an example of an IBM home PC that could do preemptive tasking in 1985 (Commodore).

      Commodore did not do preemptive multitasking in 1985. The 68000 didn't really support it, you had to wait until the 68030 for it to really work. You are reading too much Amiga propaganda. By 1985 people were happy that single tasking was working reliably. If you wanted to do task switching you were on a workstation in '85. You could multi task like that on a Mini or Mainframe. 1988 OS/2 Lan Manager was probably the first genuinely multi tasking application that ran on PC class machines and that was still expensive servers not cheap Commodores. Cooperative multi tasking / task switching existed for years because in real life these things were hard to do on the crappy hardware of the day. If Commodore had actually been capable of what you think they were

      In 1993 I used to sell the Amiga 500 as a toy for kids. Which was essentially a slight upgrade from the 1000, the model you are making these claims for. No the 500 could not do these things. The Amiga 2000, 3000 were starting to be capable of what you are claiming for the 1000 but even then... this is a serious stretch.

    10. Re:Of course it will... by cpu6502 · · Score: 1

      I meant full-screen VIDEO but left out the word. Atari ST and Amigas could do it in 1985, but certainly not IBM PC or the Microsoft OS.

      >>>Commodore did not do preemptive multitasking in 1985.

      Of course it did. It wasn't the rather lame cooperative multitasking we saw on Mac OS7 or Windows 3, but genuine preemptive tasking where the CPU stopped the current process and moved on to the next process.

      And no I wasn't reading amiga propaganda... I actually owned one. I routinely ran 3-4 programs at the same time, and just for fun (and to demonstrate the multitasking) ran ~100 desktop cartoon animations at the same time.

      I'm a bit surprised to hear you say Amiga could only singletask or cooperative task. You sound extremely uneducated when you say stupid shit like that..... well you did say you were a SALESMAN. It reminds me of the salesman I met at Staples last week..... he couldn't even answer a basic question like "How many gigahertz is this laptop?" He came-up with 1.6 which was flat wrong.

      You sound similarly uninformed.

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    11. Re:Of course it will... by jbolden · · Score: 1

      Lets assume I am an uniformed sales guy. And lets further assume you weren't approx a high school age kid in the around 94 who had an Amiga 2000 or 3000 and was unhappy when the system died... but that you were really around to talk about what was happening in '79 or 85. So we'll ignore the nonsense about what was happening in the 70s and 80s, and focus on the stuff you do remember.

      The Amiga did cooperative not pre-emptive multitasking. The hardware didn't support the kinds of memory protection and process protection needed for the sort of multi-tasking that exists today. At the same time, Commodore couldn't throw all the monitoring hardware that had existed in late 60s mainframes in for cost reasons. The reason your Amiga crashed so much is because it was attempting to do in software something the hardware couldn't really support. It did it well and that made for showy demos but there is a difference between a stage magician and a genuine psychic. Having built an OS with this lack of hardware support was of course one of the main reasons the Amiga died. Amiga's OS needed to evolve in the same way Windows did with the migration to the NT kernel, because people now expected a multitasking environment that was much more stable. But to do that, without the emulation layers that Microsoft would spend a fortune on, would require developer support. And heavy rewrites at a time of falling sales were not in the cards. The Amiga OS couldn't stay where it was nor move forward. You see this today, in fact one of the reasons Aros doesn't support Amiga software, unlike the other emulator OSes is to get the clean break for hardware supported multi tasking.

      This is why Xenix didn't support pre-emptive multitasking but SCO, BSDs and Linux did. This struggle of how to move from cooperative multi tasking to full pre-emption is what did MacOS in and almost killed Apple.

      Of course it did. It wasn't the rather lame cooperative multitasking we saw on Mac OS7 or Windows 3, but genuine preemptive tasking where the CPU stopped the current process and moved on to the next process.

      No, the program had to pass control back to the scheduler. That's why runaway programs could take the whole system down. It was close, and I understand why Amiga used this in their marketing; but there was a huge difference in what your Amiga 2000 was doing and what a mainframe was doing. Both used a similar system but on the mainframe the scheduler had its own memory and its own CPU so it could in a very electrical engineering sense of the word pre-empt.

      You aren't 15 anymore its time to stop showing your friends what your cool Amiga can do, grow up and realize that in adult world there are real differences between the systems that were $50k in in 1990 like the RISC/6000, the ones that were $7k like the NeXT and the systems that were $2k like the Amiga 2000.

    12. Re:Of course it will... by cpu6502 · · Score: 1

      >>>The Amiga did cooperative not pre-emptive multitasking.

      Bullshit. If that were true (cooperative tasking) when a program crashed it would freeze the whole system (because the crashed program would never release control of the CPU). As often happened with the cooperative tasking Macs and PCs of the 80s and early 90s (if for example Eudora Mail froze, the whole computer froze).

      In reality if a program crashed the Amiga CPU simply jumped to the next program because the CPU maintained control of which task executed. The user could continue working with the 2-3 programs that were still running. Just like a modern OS. It didn't freeze the whole computer just because one program froze-up.

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    13. Re:Of course it will... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lets see... you claim that a crashed program on an Amiga would not freeze the whole system, while jbolden claims that it would (the program had to pass control back to the scheduler. That's why runaway programs could take the whole system down.). Since they cannot both be true, at least one of you must be lying, and I'm sorry, but your reputation forces me to conclude that you are lying. jbolden may also be lying, but you are definitely lying.

    14. Re:Of course it will... by jbolden · · Score: 1

      In reality if a program crashed the Amiga CPU simply jumped to the next program because the CPU maintained control of which task executed.

      The Amiga CPU, the 68000, had no idea what a task was or what a program was. It doesn't maintain control of anything. That's the point there is no hardware here that can act independently of the current task. There was no protected memory. If Eudora went down lightly things might be salvageable, for example a scheduled interrupt. But if Eudora has a bad pointer it is corrupting all of memory including the kernel or even the interrupts table.

      Just think for a second about what you are claiming here. Figure out how this could work, in detail.

  3. Really? by geoffrobinson · · Score: 4, Informative

    You have to mention everything that could be a potential threat to your business in SEC filings. Not particularly interesting since this is "may do this, may do that."

    --
    Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
  4. I dont want an "App" store at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    appstores are a fucking pox on the web, no good will come of them, you got stuff to sell ? put it on your WEBSITE!

    these curator companies are nothing but 30% parasites, all trying to put their own little drm enforced tax on the computing ecosystem, filthy middlemen who hold in bondage your applications and thoughts, and god forbid if something happens to them or you dont pay the tax?, well chumps you have an illuminated paperweight, enjoy your fucking appstore

    1. Re:I dont want an "App" store at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      these curator companies are nothing but 30% parasites, all trying to put their own little drm enforced tax on the computing ecosystem, filthy middlemen who hold in bondage your applications and thoughts

      Put them on the 'B' Ark, I say!

    2. Re:I dont want an "App" store at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      dude, you're stupid. the appstore model is actually a copy of debian's "apt-get". apt-get is basically a "free appstore". you know the convenience of "apt-get install xyzapp" and it works automagically? well that's the convenience the appstore brings. also since the appstore takes care of your bandwidth costs and hosts promotional content and puts you in a place where costumers can actually find you i don't think 30% is very expensive at all. that's the problem with geeks, they have no clue about how to run a business. now get back to work before you boss sees you browsing slashdot again and chews you out, peon.

    3. Re:I dont want an "App" store at all by datavirtue · · Score: 1

      Any time you shave off the woolly parts the market slaps your hand. It is not the 30% that is the problem, it is the restrictions placed on the developer and the consumer that tame the potential for wild success. In those cases we have traded potential danger and great gain for safety and stifled innovation. Any time you regulate something, you get LESS of it. The app stores have tons of toys (fart apps and games), but I can't see a serious business application vendor risking their business on an app store.

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    4. Re:I dont want an "App" store at all by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 2

      appstore takes care of your bandwidth costs and hosts promotional content and puts you in a place where costumers can actually find you

      And deals with payment processing and identification and fraud. Those are an extraordinary burden on the small developer. A 30% fixed and predictable cost is a big win.

    5. Re:I dont want an "App" store at all by jbolden · · Score: 1

      If you mean the iPhone app store, Apple doesn't want serious apps. They want the iOS devices to be secondary devices. And as secondary devices there are tons of applications that allow for viewing, editing and replying to data. QlikView (an end user business intelligence layer) iPhone client for example.

      If you mean for OSX. there's little advantage to expensive apps through the app store, except for anti-piracy. And that might be enough.

    6. Re:I dont want an "App" store at all by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      I just checked my statements. Apparently, I (a small developer) am only being charged 2% fixed costs on each transaction, and have a fraud rate of zero. Yes, a 28% increase in fixed costs is definitely a "big win" for me. Where do I sign up?!?

      --
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    7. Re:I dont want an "App" store at all by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 1

      Really? You can process credit cards at 2%?

    8. Re:I dont want an "App" store at all by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      I can indeed. That's the fixed costs - just the transaction. However I don't believe the admin effort I put in is worth a 28% per transaction increase in costs. To me that's highway robbery.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
  5. OEMs key to Microsoft success story by aNonnyMouseCowered · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Failed? OEMs were the key to Microsoft's success! Much more than developers, developers, developers. That's why Microsoft was a bigger company than Apple for most of its history. For OEMs Microsoft was a benevolent dictator. Now Microsoft is a desperate despot willing to sacrifice its allies just to maintain its position as an influential tech company.

    1. Re:OEMs key to Microsoft success story by Desler · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yes. Have you not seen the long sting of crappy tablets coming from the OEMs the past decade?

    2. Re:OEMs key to Microsoft success story by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      They may have been the key to MS's success in the distant past, but they are also the key to there demise. OEM's ship boxes, that's all they care about, in the past they have simply been able to slap bigger drivers, faster CPU's and more memory in and that was enough to sell their bland boxes. the market has changed considerably over the past 5 years or so where more power isn't really needed by the vast majority and the OEM's have failed to take the lead from Apple who have realised it takes more than just more power to ship to consumers nowadays. OEM's either have to get more creative and innovative or they will start to die off regardless of their glory days, MS seem to have realised this and are at least attempting to get the ball rolling, either the OEM's follow suit or both OEM's and MS are are doomed to spiral down together.

    3. Re:OEMs key to Microsoft success story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was rally Intel which was the key to Microsoft's success - they constantly pushed PC technology forward to the point where it outperformed everyone else's custom architecture.

      PC OEMs are mostly just logistics firms that twist some screws and ship goods from point A to point B. Now that companies can go right to the source (Foxconn etc), they are unnecessary.

    4. Re:OEMs key to Microsoft success story by im_thatoneguy · · Score: 1

      Hardly. OEMs are leaches. They put together a product that any tech savvy 12 year old can do for less. What they offered was tech support, warranties and speed.

      Microsoft, Intel, AMD, Nvidia and others were the real innovators. All of the OEMs just put it in a box and labeled it.

      What's replaceable is the OEM, not Microsoft. What's replaceable is the OEM not Intel. If HP were to evaporate--another would simply take its place in a day. IBM was smart enough to see this--and took a swift exit.

      We're about to enter a phase I think in the PC world where the traditional desktop is going to be such a commodity that unless you offer a premium experience somehow you'll be put out of business. It's all about the experience now, not the technology. Microsoft sees that--Apple sees that, I'm sure Dell, HP and all the rest see that. HP even threatened to drop the market all together. They aren't jumping ship because the market for an OEM machine is going to evaporate. They are jumping ship because everybody and their grandmother is going to be a competitive OEM--and there is no room for a high profit margin company any longer. It's getting too easy.

    5. Re:OEMs key to Microsoft success story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let me guess, the crappy part was the OS.
      (captcha: validity)

    6. Re:OEMs key to Microsoft success story by jbolden · · Score: 1

      Not really. I've seen awesome tablets from Fuji and Lenevo for the last decade and Microsoft One Note. What I haven't seen was a commitment on the OEM's part to driving down the cost of crucial components like the hinge.

      But those types of tablets and the iOS / Android tablets which are touched based are fundamentally different in intent.

  6. Bears by Lord_of_the_nerf · · Score: 4, Funny

    As first noted by the NYT, they shit in the woods.

  7. doing what MS does best by pbjones · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It'll be second rate and fail. It's not because MS is bad at this sort of thing, it's because it can't concentrate of the user, and UI consistency, it doesn't need to be distracted by hardware design. There are still stupid differences in the way the parts of the Office suit work, and the UI should work the same way. An MS made tablet will be second rate because it isn't new, it isn't wanted. Just supply the software and let people who know how to build hardware do their job, MS has been doing it this way from the beginning, why change now?

    --
    There was an unknown error in the submission.
    1. Re:doing what MS does best by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because Ballmer is an idiot.

  8. Nothing a lawsuit can't cure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the OEMS don't like it, then we'll see how a patent suit strikes their fancy....

  9. Market Caps by RudyHartmann · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Microsoft's Market Cap
    http://ycharts.com/companies/MSFT/market_cap

    Apple's Market Cap
    http://ycharts.com/companies/AAPL/market_cap

    At one time Microsoft could have eaten Apple's lunch. They even bailed them out with a loan. Now look how things have changed. Microsft can clearly see where Apple has been a success and they think they can emulate it. A little envy?

    If the DOJ now gives Apple a pass on this business model, why wouldn't they do the same for Microsoft?

    --
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    1. Re:Market Caps by cpu6502 · · Score: 1

      Not the first time Microsoft emulated Apple. First time I laid hands on Windows 95, I had to doublecheck that I wasn't sitting at a Mac. With the trashcan, "create shortcut to desktop", shutdown procedure, and "it is now safe to turn off" screen..... it all felt like the Mac Finder.

      Oh and Bill Gates is probably thinking that Apple loan was the best thing he did. Jobs says he was only 60 days from bankruptcy. With the failure of MS competitors Atari, Commodore, and Apple in the span of just five years, Microsoft would have been the only company left, and the anti-trust trial would have ended very badly for them.

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    2. Re:Market Caps by MacGyver2210 · · Score: 1

      The downfall of America will be its corporations and their influence on politics. The downfall of corporations will be the government's over regulation of their business. The public suffers from both.

      The only one winning in America right now is the fucking politicians. Think it's time for a change...

      --
      If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can't be taken on its own merits
    3. Re:Market Caps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They (Microsoft) even bailed them (Apple) out with a loan.

      The $150 million wasn't a loan. It was for a stock purchase, at a time when Apple had much more cash than that in the bank. Microsoft later resold the stock at a profit.

      Far more important than the $150 million was Microsoft promising to keep selling new versions of Microsoft Office for the Macintosh for the next five years. From a purely "Office business" standpoint, this made sense then, and continues to make sense now, because Mac users provided Microsoft with a nice stream of revenue and profits from Office sales. But the promise allayed fears that Microsoft might lose interest in the Mac, or pull Office as a way to gain an upper hand in the OS wars.

    4. Re:Market Caps by jbolden · · Score: 1

      The public has much more control over government than it does over business. And while there is some over regulation right now, I'd say you are screaming fire during a flood.

    5. Re:Market Caps by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      One has to wonder though, was Microsoft ever in competition with Apple? In those days, Microsoft's OS and Apple's OS wouldn't even run on each others platforms anyway. And with Apple selling hardware, it seems IBM and the like were more of a competitor for them.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
  10. Re:nigerfaget grammer nazis will be trolled by thi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, don't mod these guys down. This is great! I mean, if people learn to associate this type of person with either Apple and or MS we win.

  11. yeah, by kiddygrinder · · Score: 1

    you should worry about everything microsoft does, sooner or later they'll do something mean that actually succeeds

    --
    This is a joke. I am joking. Joke joke joke.
  12. What If Microsoft Then Buys AMD? by RudyHartmann · · Score: 1

    Here is an apocalypse. First Microsoft kills all the other OEM's that were buying Intel CPU's to make PCs, notebooks and tablets. Then they buy AMD. What do they get? Radeon graphics and control of their CPU destiny. Then Apple buys Intel and Nvidia. Then many of the surviving OEM's buy ARM and Via processors to run Linux. I know it sounds unlikely. But it could happen.

    --
    Oh, yeah! Wise guy, huh? Woob woob woob woob! Nyuk! Nyuk!
    1. Re:What If Microsoft Then Buys AMD? by confused+one · · Score: 1

      With a market cap of ~$130B, I don't think Apple will be buying intel any time soon.

    2. Re:What If Microsoft Then Buys AMD? by RudyHartmann · · Score: 1

      If the OEM's making stuff with Intel CPU's are killed, Intel's market will decline. Thnn they would be ripe for the picking.

      --
      Oh, yeah! Wise guy, huh? Woob woob woob woob! Nyuk! Nyuk!
    3. Re:What If Microsoft Then Buys AMD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Apple buying Intel would be like, psh, I don't know... AOL buying Time Warner or something ridiculous like that.

    4. Re:What If Microsoft Then Buys AMD? by confused+one · · Score: 1

      You're forgetting that one of those OEM's making stuff with Intel CPU's is Apple itself. If the market collapses to the point where Intel, with it's war-chest, and all it's R&D muscle, can't survive... Then Apple is probably hurting as well and would not be in a position to "rescue" Intel.

    5. Re:What If Microsoft Then Buys AMD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Macs are only about 15% of Apple's total revenue.

      If both Intel and AMD folded tomorrow, Apple would be doing fine -- in fact they would massively profit from it.

    6. Re:What If Microsoft Then Buys AMD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How would they "massively profit" from it? Apple and their competitors both need Intel in the same market space. It's not like Apple is going to suddenly be able to jump to another processor seamlessly. If anything, MS would have the hand up on Apple in a situation like that.
       
      I swear, slash-fucking-tards don't think anything through.

    7. Re:What If Microsoft Then Buys AMD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you read any tech news outside of slashdot in the last five years? Because it sounds like you're completely unaware of how unimportant the Mac is relative to iPhone/iPad. You even seem to think that Wintel has a future, how cute.

    8. Re:What If Microsoft Then Buys AMD? by colinrichardday · · Score: 1

      Apple has already jumped to another processor, the Samsung-produced A5X.

    9. Re:What If Microsoft Then Buys AMD? by colinrichardday · · Score: 1

      Doesn't Apple require a Mac for iPhone/iPad development?

  13. Understatement. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "Alienation" is putting it to lightly.

    1. Debut of windows phone 8 effectively obsoletes all current windows phone products, including the weeks-old flagship Lumia. Microsoft made it clear that the current, entire phone7 ecosystem is EOL and NO devices will be upgradable. Anyone who buys a winphone7 is a moron.

    2. The surface tablet is zune 2.0. - Years ago, microsoft got a bunch of OEMs on board with the "Plays for sure" framework that lets compatable players and stores buy and sell music. Great idea.. Until Microsoft canned the whole thing, created their own music player along with a it's music store. The Zune was neither able to use plays for sure stores, nor were plays for sure devices able to use the Zune store. Effectively Microsoft duped most of apple's competitors, then intentionally destroyed them in order to reduce competition with their own product. The parallel here is that microsoft has clearly shown that the surface tablet is the "true" windows tablet with exclusive features that only the surface has. 3rd party windows 8 RT tablets are clearly inferior products.

    There are only two possible reasons for what we're seeing
    1. Microsoft is being Microsoft, and backstabbing their partners to get a leg up on the mobile device market. (As others have speculated, I believe we'll see an official Microsoft branded win8 phone, followed by the complete and final implosion of Nokia)

    2. Microsoft as a company has degenerated in to a sloppy and out of control monster where the left hand acts against the right, and the head is too incompetent to reign them both in.

    *Note that the above two are not mutually exclusive

    1. Re:Understatement. by im_thatoneguy · · Score: 1

      You're right, it is Zune 2.0.

      1) Microsoft Debuts play for sure.
      2) Everybody makes horrendous, terrible, clunky devices with bad battery life and shit for UI w/o a single good music store.
      3) Microsoft attempts to salvage it by releasing Zune, which in both of its generations received glowing reviews and was widely regarded as superior to the iPod.

      Unfortunately for Microsoft it was too little too late. But they did create a great product that had the potential to succeed.

      Microsoft sees the same thing happening again--if they leave their product in the hands of OEMs they are afraid the OEMs will release such inferior products that their software will be irrelevant. So they're releasing both a platform, but unlike Zune, also letting others compete. If they create a better product, great. If they don't, great. It's a win-win.

      OEMs will undoubtedly be alienated but screw'em. I don't see Microsoft offering anything in the Surface that any of them couldn't have (but didn't) offer.

    2. Re:Understatement. by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      I don't see Microsoft offering anything in the Surface that any of them couldn't have (but didn't) offer.

      This line is exactly the point - and Google does the same thing too. They both provide a platform which has the potential to do awesome stuff, and then OEMs take it and just release the same old shit. Not one of them thinks "hmm, I think I can do some cool stuff with this". Surface and the Nexus 7 are both examples of the First Parties getting sick to death of their platforms being flogged in boring devices without a single second of thought being put in.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    3. Re:Understatement. by Patch86 · · Score: 1

      I was under the impression that the Galaxy range outsells the Nexus range at a similar price point. I've not used either extensively, but I'm not sure what features Nexus is supposed to have over Galaxy. The only things I've heard that Nexus beats Galaxy on are ease of rooting and re-flashing and other such geeky treats- all good, but not exactly marks of great innovation; just marks of a different philosophy towards the end user.

      Other than the fact that Google like to have a flagship model under their own brand, I don't see how Nexus is a sign of the "first party getting sick of OEMs".

    4. Re:Understatement. by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      To be honest, I get the impression that Samsung is the only OEM even trying - shipping decent hardware, equipped with the OS in a usable configuration, with updates (and extra features like NFC).

      I said that Google was getting sick of lazy OEMs sticking Android on low end and/or boring devices. I notice I did say "not one of them" which should actually read "very few of them".

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
  14. Microsoft, "So ... ?" by LoudMusic · · Score: 1

    I believe Microsoft's stance on the topic is "So." It's not like the OEMs have anywhere else to go, with any significant product sales that compare to Windows based sales.

    --
    No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
    1. Re:Microsoft, "So ... ?" by 0123456 · · Score: 2

      It's not like the OEMs have anywhere else to go, with any significant product sales that compare to Windows based sales.

      True. Windows tablet sales are massively outpacing Android sales.

    2. Re:Microsoft, "So ... ?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What you did there...I saw it!

  15. The Microsoft Phone by RudyHartmann · · Score: 1

    There already was a Microsoft branded phone. It was a failure called the Kin. I don't know anybody that ever bought one of those. But MS usually does better the second time around. Now they have been putting their hope in Nokia. Nokia has hit an iceberg and is rapidly sinking. But this time Microsoft will swallow them if for no other reason than patents.

    --
    Oh, yeah! Wise guy, huh? Woob woob woob woob! Nyuk! Nyuk!
  16. You forgot that the OS and apps for them sucked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And continue to suck. Sucky tablets was (and is) a Microsoft, OEM and third party developer fiasco. That Apple and to an extent Android have succeeded is a testimony to them getting what tablets are useful for.

  17. And it should. by HerculesMO · · Score: 1

    Look at MS over the last few years, they've actually put up a pretty damned good product and due to their OEMs, have suffered in reputation heavily. Apple has been able to gain a foothold not because it was so great, but because people really hated Windows PCs. What made them so terrible? Dell. HP. Gateway. And all their fucking crapware.

    If you look at what MS is doing with the Surface they are building a device that tells the OEMs, if you build it shittier than this, don't bother selling it. They are trying to raise the bar. Look at Vizio, now coming out with some great looking PCs and -- surprise surprise, have NO crapware installed. It's a simple Windows 7 image with anti-virus. It runs smooth, clean and fast, as Windows 7 really does run. Despite what Linux lovers may say, Windows 7 is a pretty damned good desktop OS.

    And why not? Microsoft has more OEMs (Vizio for one, and a few other Chinese ones) to offer their OS, and some opting to go the "Microsoft Signature" route -- no crapware, like Vizio. They don't need every OEM, but every OEM does need them. If Dell's sales drop off because Vizio starts to cannibalize them -- low cost, good looking PCs with no junk -- then you can bet that Dell will start to rethink its way it packages Windows 7. It will NOT at least, push out a tablet that's a piece of crap -- well, I say that by thinking that Dell has a modicum of sense, but I may be wrong. Surface sets the bar pretty high, and I expect that any tablet that comes into the ARM/x86 world with Windows on it will need to exceed that, or cut the price in order to compete against it.

    And honestly, we could do with some higher quality hardware anyway. Now that Vizio is out there, and the Surface, I have a little more hope to see some good hardware from the PC centric OEMs. But I may have my faith misplaced in the others, but I am eyeing a new Vizio laptop at some point... after Windows 8 launches probably.

    --
    The price is always right if someone else is paying.
    1. Re:And it should. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... Vizio ... Vizio ... Vizio ... Vizio ... Vizio ... Vizio ...

      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.

    2. Re:And it should. by Rockoon · · Score: 1

      I agree that the Surface "tablet" looks like very nice hardware. I put "tablet" in quotes because it isnt really a tablet, is it? Its designed to have a keyboard and trackpad always being there with it. If anything its a hybrid between an ultrabook and a tablet.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
    3. Re:And it should. by colinrichardday · · Score: 1

      Dell. HP. Gateway. And all their fucking crapware.

      My HP G60-630US doesn't have any crapware on it. Well, not in the Linux partition.

  18. The commodity. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    initially hardware was expensive and software cheap often free. One of Bill Gate's initial visions was that PC hardware would become a commodity and software would become ( relatively speaking ) expensive and the lucrative part of the business.

    As computer's evolved the comptitors Commodore, Atari, Tandy etc. died and the PC took over.

    Now Apple and Android have made the hardwatre a feature as much as the software, and the MS fanboys are all crying that the OEM aere ionnovative. Well where is Microsoft? Since they don't want OEMs to inovate, then they should be doing it themselves. IOf course Microsoft can't innovate. It never could. But it blames the OEMs and tries to go into competition with them by "innovating" what?

    A kickstand, a keyboard, and a magnesium case. None of these so called innovations are things that make me want to go out and get a Surface. This is what they risk pissing of their OEMs for. The OEMs who were none too happy with them in the first place.

    The worst thing that can happen to MS now is that OEM can suddenly discover how to innovate, and in the process they innovate with Linux, maybe a Desktop/Laptop Android, and even Beos/Haiku.

  19. Microsoft does not have any option by ninjacut · · Score: 1

    Why would any company want success of a very strategic OS dependant on OEM's who have no history of developing competitive hardware (against iPad)? Apple has demonstrated how good hardware, form and function can be addictive. There is no challenger (yet) to iPad. Surface, if priced right could be the first contender to grab share in the market. Why? right form, function and user experience. iPad is quite common in enterprises but the limitations are there, especially lack of true Office, USB, keyboard, etc. Quick reply to emails, browsing is fine but anything more and they open up their laptops.

    1. Re:Microsoft does not have any option by colinrichardday · · Score: 1

      Why would anyone want to depend on a "strategic" OS from Microsoft?

    2. Re:Microsoft does not have any option by ninjacut · · Score: 1

      Strategic for Microsoft, and who would want it? Just few % of Windows 7 users will make it a huge success - http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-microsofts-massive-windows-sales-compared-to-apple-2010-7

    3. Re:Microsoft does not have any option by colinrichardday · · Score: 1

      It might make it a success for Microsoft, but what about its customers?

  20. Ballmertine by tripleevenfall · · Score: 1

    By now you must know that Nokia can never be turned...

  21. Ehm, not really by dutchwhizzman · · Score: 2

    The vast majority of the phones that Nokia is actually selling isn't based on Windows Phone. The windows phones aren't selling, since they are already announced to be a dead platform before the end of the year. Nobody wants to buy a phone that doesn't get updates, there are no users for the phone so nobody develops apps for it, so it's not the Windows Phone Devision but the Windows Phone house of morning.

    --
    I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
  22. Re:nigerfaget grammer nazis will be trolled by thi by redback · · Score: 2

    Their.

    They're is they are

    There is a place.

  23. proof of a paradigm shift? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    PC's are not disappearing any time soon. However, if you look at the history of Microsoft and its relationship with the OEM partners, this looks like huge red flag that something is about to change. Look at all these years of Microsoft actions pushing out other Operating System alternatives, pressuring OEM partners through its licensing agreements. Microsoft's 11 year legal battle with Apple. Now Microsoft turns around and says " you're not that important any more". Has the monopoly actually starting to crumble? If not it sure looks like it because the foundation that maintained the undeclared monopoly in place is starting to show cracks.
    Interesting note: In July 2012 Microsoft suffered its first loss in its 25 year financial history. Something to think about.

  24. Don't see the problem by garyoa1 · · Score: 1

    Don't see the problem if they go the apple route and charge twice as much as the product is worth. On the other hand if you go to the microsoft store you'll note that their machines all say "Asus".

    --
    Wuddooeyeno? IITYWYBMAD? Like nuts? eclecticallyincorrect.com
  25. This is Just an Excuse for a Graceful Exit by macs4all · · Score: 1

    'our Surface devices will compete with products made by our OEM partners, which may affect their commitment to our platform.'"

    What this REALLY means is "We can't get the damned thing to work, and the hardware engineering team is fighting with the software engineering team over whose at fault."

    So we're killing the product.

    Please. Like no one at MS considered before embarking on the "Surface" project that their hardware OEM "partners" might consider it a direct threat? Riiiiiiight.

    Nope. This is just an excuse to kill of a dog of a (non)-product without revealing the real reason: Engineering incompetence at MS (or whoever is actually doing the Surface) from top to bottom and side to side.

  26. XBOX IS GOOD. by ryanmika · · Score: 0

    XBOX IS GOOD. ____________________ Laku.com belanja online grosir eceran murah dan aman