Slashdot Mirror
Surface RT vs. iPad: a Comparison
First time accepted submitter thetechblock writes "On Tuesday, with the release of pricing and pre-orders for the new Surface RT tablets, Twitter exploded with comparisons to the iPad. So, I decided to put together a little comparison chart to contrast two equivalent models." The comparison is interesting, but note the source; you can discount the conclusions of writer Jeff Blankenburg by as much as you want for his role as "developer evangelist" for Microsoft.
Wake me up when there is a review by someone that isn't on either Apple or Redmond's payroll. This was nothing more than an advertisement.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
I actual bothered to click the link to the article, and all I see is a comparison of the cost of a few accessories and apps? Where's the comparison of the technical specs? How is this garbage even worth posting?
I'm thinking the nexus line is more comparable to the surface tablet, mostly since no itunes.
I'm somewhat leery of continued support from Microsoft given their history of Plays For Sure, Zune...
All I got from this article is that once you add in the cost of the Surface's most notable feature, it costs $20 - $30 more than an equivalent iPad.
Yep, everyone is going to buy a 40 dollar screen cover, and 30 dollars of Office apps.
That 'article' is a joke - of course Surface comes out on top - when 'reviewed' by the guy who wrote the book on Windows Phone 8.
It's also funny - I recall the exact same argument over quantity vs. quality of applications back in the 80's when Apple were the underdog. Seems like MS can't change their habit of... recycling other peoples' ideas.
I also especially like the sign-off... "It’s time for all of you, my faithful readers, to tell me why I’m wrong"... well, we might if there was ANY option to comment on the page.
So, why are Slashdot running this Surface ad under the guise of an article?
-- Always borrow money from a pessimist; they don't expect to be paid back.
When Slashdot is not fulfilling its role as the "anti-Apple" tech news site, of course.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
That all depends on whom they extinguish.
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
I hadn't even thought about the multiple user accounts aspect. For some reason its not being pointed out in the news much and I didn't realize the obvious on my own. I'm suddenly glad I read that article.
The other day, MS's engineering team did an AMA on reddit where they answered the question of screen resolution:
Hey this is Stevie. Screen resolution is one component of perceived detail. The true measure of resolvability of a screen called Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), not Pixels. MTF is a combination of both contrast and resolution. There are over a dozen subsystems that effect this MTF number.. Most folks just focus on one number out of dozens that effect perceived detail. Without good contrast resolution decreases. Check out contrast sensitivity of the human eye graph (http://www.telescope-optics.net/images/eye_contrast.PNG) and if you want more see the links below. Basically, as resolution/DPI increases the eye has becomes less sensitive. So as a result, the amount of light in a room and the reflections off the screen have a huge effect on the contrast of the display. In fact, a small amount of reflection can greatly reduce contrast and thus the perceived resolution of the display. With the ClearType Display technology we took a 3 pronged approach to maximize that perceived resolution and optimize for battery life, weight, and thickness. First prong, Microsoft has the best pixel rendering technology in the industry (cleartype 1.0 and 2.0) .. these are exclusive and unique to Windows, it smooths text regardless of pixel count. Second, we designed a custom 10.6” high-contrast wide-angle screen LCD screen. Lastly we optically bonded the screen with the thinnest optical stack anywhere on the market.. something which is more commonly done on phones we are doing on Surface. While this is not official, our current Cleartype measurements on the amount of light reflected off the screen is around 5.5%-6.2%, the new IPad has a measurement of 9.9% mirror reflections (see the displaymate link: http://www.displaymate.com/iPad_ShootOut_1.htm). Doing a side by side with the new iPad in a consistently lit room, we have had many people see more detail on Surface RT than on the Ipad with more resolution.
Some more links to share if you want to know more (http://www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF.html)... Also This is a great book to read if you really want to get into it: http://www.amazon.com/Contrast-Sensitivity-Effects-Quality-Monograph/dp/0819434965 or more here http://alexandria.tue.nl/extra2/9901043.pdf
So it seems that Microsoft has data that suggests that, despite the lower resolution, the Surface has greater precieved detail than the iPad. (although I find it annoying that they've muddied the waters by re-using trademarks - they've repurposed "Cleartype Display" as the MS equivalent of Apple's "Retina Display")
Ok, so it's a slightly less featured version that the full x86 Office 2013, but if it means I don't have to fart around with reformatting at teh last minute in Keynote, Page and Numbers on an iPad, or any of the other feeble attempts at Office compatibility to do a presentation, then that's just fine by me. Sure I could take a laptop, but I get some good results by simply passing the tablet around.
10 years ago, people were paying £450 for a full Office software suite, so the idea of spending an equivalent amount for Office on a tablet isn't that much of a dealbreaker when you consider it.
The "Total Cost" difference in the third table is $108.97, but that's with the more expensive keyboard cover for the Surface. There's also a cheaper keyboard cover for $10 less; see the second table. Perhaps the rounding assumes that a lot of people will buy the cheaper keyboard cover. In addition, retail prices in the United States are generally quoted without sales tax. Assuming the more expensive keyboard cover and the 7% sales tax of my home state, the $108.97 price difference becomes $116.60.
OMG - don't y'all know that car salesmen (er, people) (including USED car sales, er, people) are absolutely truthful, honest and sincere when selling you an automobile - or whatever it is you're buying...??? C'mon - don't ya reckon that both Microsoft and Apple are like, ya know, totally truthful, honest and sincere when pushing their products down our throats and have only ultimately, our best interests in mind? (Where's my meds)
YankDownUnder Veni, Vidi, volo in domum redire
Shills are paid to put out specific information and specific phrases.
He got his paycheck, that is all he is concerned about.
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
The Zune like was discontinued
With the demise of both Pocket PC and Zune, what pocket-size product line does Microsoft have that isn't priced to be subsidized by a 24-month cellular voice and data contract?
Is this Microsoft's attack on the App Store?
"When I hear about 600,000 apps, I’m just in awe. As I’ve said many times before, however, I don’t think it’s the right number for comparison. Nobody is using more than a couple dozen applications on their device."
Even If I don't count the many games and educational apps my kid use I still see many more than a couple dozen apps that I used in the last week on my ipad.
Also I don't think hooking a mouse to a tablet is a great feature for surface. It just shows me Microsoft doesn't know how people use tablets. Perhaps they should goto a coffee shop and look at all the people using there competitors tablets. the keyboard can make sense if you type large emails or even do word processing, but I would guess most don't use physical keyboards enough to need to purchase one.
Who has ever wanted to charge their phone with their iPad? Anyone? ever?
Never. However, many times I've wanted the opposite. "Hey, this thing I rarely use for talking has plenty of battery left; how can I get it to charge this other thing I use for almost everything else?"
I too await a side-by-side, hands-on comparison. But I hope the multi-user feature becomes big so that it trickles over to my iPad.
They must have found the same people off the street that looked at the iPhone 5 before it was released.
The problem with comparing the 32 GB Surface to the 32 GB iPad is that you also need to factor in how much space Windows 8 RT takes compared to iOS. My understanding is that iOS takes considerably less space.
Also, some of us are not interested in Office.
In addition, some of us are not interested in beta testing a 1.0 product that costs, at a minimum, $500. Waiting until at least version 2.0 seems wise.
Plus, let's wait to see how Windows 8 RT performs in the real world. iPad performance is already a known quantity.
Ironic that he talks about how the number of app's in the app store isn't important, yet that was Microsoft's anti-Apple marketing line for years. He says, "I believe it’s far more important to have the “right” apps," which is what the Apple advocates have always said.
And if he compared it to the 16GB iPad that would not have been a fair comparison because the Surface has a lot more storage. The 32GB iPad does not have 32GB of usable storage either.
The 32GB iPad has about 30GB free for data. The OS takes up only around 1GB.
So the 16GB iPad would have (to be conservative) 14 GB free for user data. That's quite a lot of space, it can hold a large number of apps/books/movies. Since a lot of people will not not need more than that, why not compare the lowest end models since the Surface only offers 6GB or so of space extra than the iPad?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
the keyboard can make sense if you type large emails or even do word processing, but I would guess most don't use physical keyboards enough to need to purchase one.
This tablet includes a copy of Microsoft Office software. Microsoft apparently thinks people who buy it for Office will use a keyboard enough.
When Slashdot is not fulfilling its role as the "anti-Apple" tech news site, of course.
Its not true, but if it was, it would be the only one. Apple has incredible media presence. Its extra ironic considering Android is not mentioned in the Title.
Why would I want to buy a Windows tablet?
That's it. If they can come up with a good answer for that, they'll be able to sell them. Thus far, they haven't been able to. "Windows" itself is a negative brand name that carries a ton of baggage from crapware infested poor quality OEM PCs, and not something that makes people feel good about buying. The market tolerates Windows because it doesn't have a choice, it doesn't love Windows.
Only problem is that in the tablet space, the market *does* have a choice. There's a clear leader, and it's not Windows. Why would I want Windows instead of the market leader? A lower resolution screen and Office are not exactly compelling selling features for home users.
-- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
One is a popular device with millions of users and thousands of software titles. Another is essentially vaporware.
Let's wait till *each* proves itself in real world before making any other "comparisons".
Does it come in brown?
Personally, I just want to see an MS advertisement where they drop the original Surface (the coffee table) on an iPad. Something like the old Bambi Meets Godzilla clip. They can then morph it into the tablet version or something.
The Sham Wow guy narrate it, "iPad?!? Check out the Surface! Bam bitch! They stuffed an entire fucking table into this bitch right hear. You're gonna need two hands to hold this mutha fucka. Can somebody get a Sham Wow and sweep that other piece of shit off my set?"
That would make me buy one
"Ever wish you could charge your phone with your iPad?"
No. I can charge my phone with my Android tablet if it weren't the stupidest suggestion I've ever heard. But it is.
Well that was a stupid post. I see now looking back he has a keyboard and a smart cover, I mistook the keyboard cost for a cover cost... the comparison seems fair (except for not comparing the 16GB model which has almost as much usable storage).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
TFA mixes Windows RT and 8 as if they were compatible, which they apparently aren't (http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/17/3514556/windows-8-vs-windows-rt-surface-confused-microsoft-store-employees).
To quote the blog: "Another thing that gives the iPad a leg up is the application ecosystem that exists for iOS devices. When I hear about 600,000 apps, I’m just in awe. As I’ve said many times before, however, I don’t think it’s the right number for comparison. Nobody is using more than a couple dozen applications on their device. "
I guess the Microsoft argument that Macs can't compete against Windows because of the installed base of apps was wrong all along?
The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
the largest PC maker sells PC's without windows.
According to the Gartner report released on October 10, 2012 (8 days ago), Lenovo ousted HP as the largest PC manufacturer in the world in Q3 2012. Lenovo sells PCs without Windows?
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
He needs to add the cost of the licensing needed in order to be able to use Office for any actual work. Unless he means just for writing letters to friends/family or something ...
"Ahh! I see you're in that indeterminate Schrodinger state where - oh, uh
... Microsoft's "embrace, extend, extinguish" in the mobile world?
That's no worse than:
Apple: Shiny, Sheep, Sue.
Google: Ads, Ads, Ads.
RIM: BlackBerry, BlackBerry, Broke.
Nokia: Solid, Solid, Sold.
What do you think they are embracing and extending? How are the 3 Es relevant in this case?
Even better, 32GB Surface = 20 GB available, 16 GB iPad = 14.5 GB available (i've been hearing 1.5GB for iOS on the iPad). That's only 38% more space, for heaven's sake.
...
Anyone know the relative efficiency of the filesystems involved? Cluster size, etc.?
Otoh, iPad apps tend to be bloated, because of the resolution requirements of any embedded graphics
"Ahh! I see you're in that indeterminate Schrodinger state where - oh, uh
Happy?
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Can we take a blog seriously when it doesn't even have a Surface RT to test?
If I didn't like the iPad then why would I even consider the Surface RT? I have a nice selection of Android tablets to choose from that actually have apps. Is this why Microsoft prefers to compare themselves to the iPad and not to Android?
These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
I do hope that if the Surface succeeds on some level it will be partly due to the removable storage and the peripheral support via USB.
I really like my iPad (bought a 1 when they came out, bought a 3 this summer) but I find putting content on it, regardless of the source, clumsy if the only way to do is either via wifi (through GoodReader, or other similar apps that let you load data this way) or via iTunes. Support for external storage in some manner or other would be a lot more convenient -- I could stick a dozen movies on a 64 GB usb stick or SD card and not have to worry about draining all my internal storage.
I can almost buy into the party line of no USB ports for peripherals. Almost, but not quite. I'd like to see at least allowing in-app support for USB peripherals.
It appears I've not been keeping up with current events. I just learned today that Windows RT (on the Surface) is not really Windows 8. It's a scaled down version running a scaled down version of Office and will not run Windows 8 apps. (It will run Windows RT apps, a considerably smaller selection.)
Is this scenario familiar to anyone? So, Microsoft thought it was time to dig up the moldy corpse that is the Windows CE concept, and call it new? And they thought this would put them on the map?
Apparently you have not seen the new retina screen. Nothing prepares you for it because you can't see it on any monitor you have now. Letters look like they are carved in the glass with a diamond stylus. They just pop with sharpness you never knew you were missing.
The microsoft people are just blathering about anti-aliasing on fonts. You can take a tiff of that and it will look how it looks on your screen.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
How about this for two equivalent models:
iPad 32GB with 2560x1536 pixels : $599
4xMicrosoft Surface 32GB tablets to yield a combined >2560x1536 pixel count : $1996
---
iPad looks like a much better deal to me.
Or, how about we just compare them the way a consumer will:
cheapest iPad: $499
cheapest Microsoft Surface: $499
"The iPad has a nicer screen but the Surface comes with more storage (32GB vs. 16GB). The iPad probably works better and has more apps--decision, iPad."
It is also manufacturer dependent.
For example, my Nexus One has 512MB Flash; the OS takes ~300MB of it, leaving ~200MB for me; but I can also pop-in a microSD card up to 32GB - which you cannot do on an iPhone. However, the Kindle and Nook while they supply a 16 GB flash drive, and take 1 GB for the OS, they also take 12 GB for content from their respective stores; ultimately leaving the user with only 1 or 2 GB for content from other sources. I don't know how Apple manages the space. Needless to say, those things make a big difference.
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. - Elvis Presley (source: imdb.com)
Absolutely. I would much rather to delete my music and movies, or uninstall apps so that I can free up space for something new. Inserting a microSD card is just so inconvenient.
Since you ALSO have to manage storage on SD cards if you do not have an infinite supply of them, in fact it is more inconvenient since it's a separate component, easily lost.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Except that it's no longer equivalent unless you add the same feature to the iPad which will cost at least $20-$30 for comparable quality?
No, the article ALREADY made it comparable by adding a keyboard to the initial cost, after which the Surface was $20-$30 more expensive (really a bit more since a 32 GB iPad would also have about 10GB more user storage on device which you'd have to buy an SD card for on the Surface to equal).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
One thing I don't see getting a lot of play is that there are two different versions of the Surface. On the face of it they both pretty decent and with the keyboard people should actually be able to use on to produce content. The resolution is disappointing, but as has been pointed out elsewhere Microsoft has figured out three different ways to address that issue.
The RT model is the one that just went on sale. That is your toy that is really just a windows version of an Ipad except that it can produce content. However this model has serious drawbacks if you want to use one in a professional setting. You can't load or distribute apps for the Metro interface without using a process called side loading. Side loading can't be used unless your on a domain. The RT model can't join a domain, effectively making this a burden at best to try manage (third party agents etc). You also can't use any traditional application on it as it uses the ARM processor and Microsoft has been very adamant about not allowing any backwards compatibility with x86 or x64 apps.
The Pro version can join a domain and use all the apps that a normal Windows 8 computer can use. This is the model that is meant for use on networks and for use in a professional setting. The best way to keep them straight in your head is to think back to the day when XP came in two versions. The Pro version was the one that was meant to be used for production work, the regular version was the one meant for home users. For all intents and purposes you have two very different products with the almost identical name and size.
If you have to work with them professionally you should seriously considering putting out a memo to only allow purchase of the Pro model. This of course is why the pro model is built this way, because that is where the money is.
Antialiasing fonts, and 'the iPad screen is SO DAMN SHINY you can't even see the pixelz through the HORRIBLE GLARE it's so EPIC FAIL LULZ'.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
The articles posted may not be (always) anti-Apple, but the comments sure are.
If you can't convince them, convict them.
My eyes aren't good enough to make use of the tiny fonts that would give me more screen real estate on the 9" iPad display
Even so it is easier on your eyes to read fonts at the same font size with crisper rendering. It's still useful for long-term reading.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Obviously you live in a house of needy selfish assholes.
For the rest of the world, iPad screams for user profiles as any parent with kids knows there are screens and screens of apps for each member in a household, and they are not going to buy an $800 device for their 4 year old and another one for their 6 year old along with a monthly data plan.
Also since I might actually use a Windows tablet at work I would like to have a separate work account and home account even though I might be the only one using the device.
The difference between Microsoft and Apple is that Microsoft knows their users are not clueless selfish assholes.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
I wish the iPad had multiple users. I also wish that my iPhone had work and home profiles. This is one area where Microsoft has gotten it right--and if you don't need or want multiple users, then you don't need to use it.
If you can't convince them, convict them.
If you've got money to burn, good for you. MY family of 5 is not getting 5 tablets, though. Sharing is okay... multi-user is a big plus for the Surface, imo.
Apparently you have not seen the new retina screen. Nothing prepares you for it because you can't see it on any monitor you have now. Letters look like they are carved in the glass with a diamond stylus. They just pop with sharpness you never knew you were missing.
Have you seen the actual letters MS based their fonts on? You can't tell from the way they look on your retina display, but in person each letter looks as if it emerged fully-formed from the head of Zeus. When I first laid eyes on the "A" I wept tears of sweet honey and was transported to a world of dazzling rainbows.
Apple - check
Microsoft - check
Sorry, what was the difference again?
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Actually, we've had the cure for cancer for almost a decade now.
Basically, it involves heating the cells 1 degree F internally.
That takes care of 50 percent of all human cancers.
We also have cancer-targeting ligands that allow us to provide docking receptors for targeted drug delivery, have binding tags that add phosphorescent snippets to cancer cells so we can locate any missed cancers during surgery (we actually turn out the lights and the cancer glows in the dark, it's way cool), and we have remote blood sugar measuring with wristwatch devices.
But human trials take a lot longer than you think, and we have to start with mice, which we squish flat between plates to measure cancer growth and then chop open at the end. And that makes you all squeamish. But it works.
Now .. you were saying?
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
they have a Walmart now, they've totally gone over to the Dark Side.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
I read this entire analysis and here is my answer *cough* bullshit *cough*
The basis of Windows is based on the idea that when you have higher resolution you have more things shown on the screen. This is also the basis of Linux. Thus if you have a retina display in theory there would be so much detail that it is hard to read. However, and this is the big gotcha with the Apple vs Windows debate, the retina display does not mean more "detail."
To illustrate the idea let's think about a webpage and using pixels as an orientation. If you have more pixels then a 20px number will take up less space on a retinal display than a non retinal display. But the catch is that on a retinal display your iPad is like a regular iPad. Thus 20px regardless of iPad looks the same. You would then think, "but wait this means you have wasted pixels." No the pixels are not wasted because they are used to refine the letters, and images, and any type of SVG type rendering.
Microsoft uses anti-aliasing to make things look smoother, and to the most part it works. Where it fails and I see it with my Android devices, is in reading magazines, looking at pictures, and look at web pages.
I think the real reason why Microsoft did what they did is for two reasons;
1) Windows would have to be retooled as it is not able to do what Apple does.
2) Microsoft does not have the hardware experience to make the tablet as light, and as powerful as Apple.
So in typical Microsoft fashion they baffle us with bullshit!
"You can't make a race horse of a pig"
"No," said Samuel, "but you can make very fast pig"
So it seems that Microsoft has data that suggests that, despite the lower resolution, the Surface has greater precieved detail than the iPad.
For me, it's not the "Perceived detail" that is important, it's about getting more information on the screen at one time.
At a Resolution of 1366x768, you get 1,049,088 pixels, and at 1920x1080 you get 2,073,600 pixels. Almost double.
That's a lot of room to put more information on the screen. Now if you're just watching movies, then the difference in resolution probably won't make that much of a difference. However, if you're doing applications, the higher resolution could make a world of difference. That's several more columns and rows on a spreadsheet, more text from a PDF, more bars in a chart, etc...
For me, the lower resolution is a negative, especially considering 1920x1080 displays are becoming more and more prevalent in the tablet market.
Visit the Arcade Restoration Workshop @ http://www.arcaderestoration.com
I actually prefer C#/.NET for apps development. I think XCode and Objective-C are awful. Unfortunately, as an OS, Windows 8 continues to be a mess.
they're so 2008
Nothing to see here, folks.
At least, not much. Maybe the remnants of an ongoing bad childhood ;)
If Dice were to impose some sort of comment filter, this isn't how you'd hear about it.
Sorta clever, but that's charitable, and only applies to the first time. Since this isn't the first time, it doesn't.
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
At a Resolution of 1366x768, you get 1,049,088 pixels, and at 1920x1080 you get 2,073,600 pixels. Almost double.
Except that most of the tiny (10") high resolution displays are used to increase information fidelity, not information density. Meaning that while you have almost double the pixels on a 1920x1080 display, it's being used to display the same information, only sharper. For instance, the reason the iPad has such a wonky 2,048x1,536 display is that it doubles the resolution on each axis from previous models, thus enabling developers to easily scale existing applications. So you have 4x more pixels as before, yet the home screen still only holds 20 icons. You're not getting any more information, but each bit of information can be displayed in more pixels.
The reason for this is as you add more pixels, the physical dimensions remain the same. Thus, if you want to increase the information displayed, you have to make it physically smaller... which runs counter to the usability of a touch interface. Even if the UI controls remain constant and the data scales, you will probably end up zooming in on specific regions to even see it, which defeats the premise that higher resolution => more data displayed at once.
Tune in tomorrow for part II, where Tim Cook gives us an in-depth review of the upcoming iPad mini!
5 iPads and 4 iPhones in one household?
Something about that is just soul-crushingly depressing.
Microsoft is embracing the ARM world by bringing its operating system to the platform. For many people, the Microsoft label alone will be sufficient to buy such systems. Over time, Surface RT will be extended by people writing software for the system. Ultimately, Microsoft will be able to leverage power given to them by the customers to extinguish at least the Android platform. They may be able to reconquer their monopoly. Is that something, we, as customers should want?
That's the sound of investors not caring....
If you want to store more photos, why don't you get a bigger SD card for your camera. At $700/64GB the iPad makes for a very expensive SD card replacement, if that's actually the role you've envisioned for it.
Nevertheless, apple offers the iPad camera connection kit for people who would like to use the iPad as you've described. My brother has the camera connection kit, but he never uses it. I think Apple offers it simply to overcome this objection at the time of sale, since once you actually have an iPad, it'll never occur to you to use it this way.
It's a lot like the keyboard dock (which Apple no longer sells) in that regard. Once you use the iPad, you really see that there's no sense attaching a keyboard to it. But there are a lot of people who think they're really clever and say "it needs a physical keyboard," that's why MS has this clever keyboard cover doohickey. They don't expect people to actually use it, but the still want to be able to sell it to people who think it needs to be a laptop because they can't wrap their brains around the concept of a tablet. It's really just a clever bit of hand-holding to help bridge legacy users such as yourself into the modern world of tablets and wireless computing.
http://www.zdnet.com/office-2013-on-windows-rt-business-as-usual-7000003594/
"I don't think it's selfish, to eat defenseless shellfish." -NOFX
That is simply, factually, incorrect. Win8, including Windows RT, supports sideloading. It's free and can be enabled via a simple command in Powershell. Third-party software must be packaged as .appx bundles, but it doesn't have to be approved for distribution in the app store. In fact, one explicit use case for unlocking Windows RT devices in this manner is to allow installing corporate or other organization-internal apps.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/Hh974578.aspx
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
The catch is that it will also make fine details appear blurry, which increases eye-strain as your eyes attempt to focus on an image which can't be brought into focus. This is the problem that the retina display addresses. By increasing the resolution so that fine details appear sharp, it eliminates the potential for eye-strain. No amount of technical mumbo-jumbo can achieve that, you have to actually increase the number of pixels.
As long as they continue to produce the yugo of the computer world, the snarky drivel will continue. Simple as that.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
ClearType increases that apparent resolution in one direction only by about a factor of two. In theory it sounds like it should increase resolution by a factor of three, but that would result in coloured fringes around the letters, so filters are applied which reduces the benefits but prevents the issues.
A second problem is that that the direction in which ClearType works depends on the physical arrangement of sub-pixels on the screen. On a normally aligned PC monitor, this is great, because text needs horizontal resolution more than vertical resolution, as most glyphs have thin vertical lines close to each other. However, as soon as you rotate the screen the benefits of ClearType are hugely reduced. In the PC world this is rare, but with tablets it's common. I'm reading an eBook right now on my iPad in portrait mode, because that matches the page layout of a typical book. Reflowing the content for landscape mode isn't always possible, for example with PDFs.
The iPad has ~4x the resolution of the Surface tablet, and it also has anti-aliasing to further refine the edges of fonts. Sure, it doesn't have ClearType, but it doesn't need it!
On top of that, the Microsoft marking guy is carefully skirting around a much more important detail: ClearType does exactly nothing for all other graphics, such as vector art or bitmap images. The iPad meanwhile has 4x the pixels to throw at everything, not just text.
Sure, I could waste my time reading his reference, or... just open my eyes and look at the obvious difference.
Apparently you have not seen the new retina screen. Nothing prepares you for it because you can't see it on any monitor you have now. Letters look like they are carved in the glass with a diamond stylus. They just pop with sharpness you never knew you were missing.
Have you seen the actual letters MS based their fonts on? You can't tell from the way they look on your retina display, but in person each letter looks as if it emerged fully-formed from the head of Zeus. When I first laid eyes on the "A" I wept tears of sweet honey and was transported to a world of dazzling rainbows.
Doesn't help you a bit if what you're staring at is a print-sized PDF. The "retina" iPad still looks like a laser print then.
I think both Android and iOS could use a "guest mode", possibly accessible from the lock screen, which just allows you to use all apps without their stored data (using some temporary storage for cookies, history, etc.) and erases everything as soon as someone truly unlocks the thing.
This would give you about 90% of all what you need from true multiuser capabilities with about 10% of the trouble. Most of the time you don't want or need a true user account. What you need is something that offers access to most apps in a "virgin" state without giving access to your data. A guest mode would fit that bill very nicely. At least iOS does a bit of this with the camera being accessible from the lockscreen even on a totally locked down device without giving access to the stored photos. Extend this to all apps and almost all complaints about lacking multi-user features would just evaporate.
I think a true multi-user system would open so many cans of nasty worms on what basically is an appliance that nobody with half a brain would try to implement this. What about sharing data? What about storage quotas? Do you need a superuser? But a guest mode, which would mean that you could hand over your tablet to anyone without having to fear him mangling with or looking at your data would be great and very easy to implement. And surely enough to hand over the thing to your children or your girl just to play a game or to browse the web.
I would buy an iPad because the MS tablet isn't out yet.
I bought an Android tablet [Nexus 7] because it was because it has better than an iPad for less money. The surface has nothing to make me regret that purchase.
So you're saying that heating cancer cells 1 degree F kills them, but doesn't kill non-cancer cells?
If so, why?
If so, why doesn't that mean that you couldn't just cause someone with cancer to get "a fever" to raise one's temperature? (If you're raising the temperature you can measure up to a couple of degrees, wouldn't that mean you're raising the entire body's temperature by at least a degree?)
Surface needs Multi-user because, on average, it's sitting around not being used so to maximise ROI it NEEDS to be a shared resource.
As for the Apple side of the universe, you can have my iPad when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands.
And THAT, my friend, is why Apple doesn't need a multi-user tablet.
Visit CryptoGnome in his home.
Long involved biochemical reason why. Basically, the easiest way to kick in the apotosis chain is to heat the internal cell temp by approx 1 F. Heating to 1 F kills circa 98 pct cancer cells and impacts 2 pct non-cancer cells. Heating to 4 F kills 100 pct but kills 20 pct non-cancer cells, which causes organ failure and terminal death for person.
Methods for doing this vary. Trials underway right now.
Science never sleeps, it just doesn't always get attention when it says stuff, cause people get distracted by useless things like football and celebrity weddings.
Good point re fevers. Note risk factors in medical science for very old or very young in running fevers. Much higher than for 20-60 yo. Sadly, cancers crop up later in life.
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That is not what embrace, extend and extinguish means. What you are suggesting is just standard practice for anyone writing an extensible platform. For the 3 Es to work, Microsoft has to develop "software substantially compatible with a competing product, or [implement] a public standard." They have not done this here, as the fact that they use an ARM processor is irrelevant. If they had used an Atom chip instead, then it would have made no difference.
So the phrase is not appropriate in this case.
I would love to have an iPad and a Surface tablet behind a black board with identically-sized rectangular holes cut in it. (Covering part of the screen so the shape of the display wouldn't give it away.) Then cycle some content: an image, a map, some text--identical content on both screens. Then ask people which looks better. I bet most would say the iPad. I've seen cleartype displays with comparable pixel density before. (Like older high-res Dell laptops.) Yes, I know about how matte and glossy finishes affect perception and the benefits of bonding a display to the screen. You can still see the pixels. Period. A real retina screen just looks like a printed page. Everything just looks perfect. You don't see squares or dots no matter how hard you look. You just see perfect little shapes. Put them side by side and the iPad will blow the surface out of the water.
Go to an Apple store and look at a retina laptop next to a regular one. I'll concede that the new Surface display might be better than a base MacBook but the difference between retina and non- is just night and day.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Apart from a limited comparison on base prising, ending that section with 'OK, so we’ve addressed costs of ownership' yer, right. It goes down hill from there. Sorry, still waiting for a real comparison and not a product announcement.
There was an unknown error in the submission.
"Long involved biochemical reason why. Basically, the easiest way to kick in the apotosis chain is to heat the internal cell temp by approx 1 F. Heating to 1 F kills circa 98 pct cancer cells and impacts 2 pct non-cancer cells. Heating to 4 F kills 100 pct but kills 20 pct non-cancer cells, which causes organ failure and terminal death for person."
That is interesting but seems to be contrary to experience. A 1F change in body temperature is close to the normal diurnal variation. If a 4F rise "kills 100% cancer and 20% non-cancer cells", then a) you could cure cancer by giving people a good dose of the 'flu and b) I and many others I know shouldn't be here, having had sustained body temperatures in the order of 103F when ill at some point in their lives...
But Android does provide support for pluggable IMEs which iOS does not (look at all the additional keyboards such as Swype).
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The world is divided in two categories:
those with a loaded gun and those who dig. You dig.
Is slashdot funded by M$? :) I see no other reason this "article" should stay in first page!
Cool stuff. I kept reading about typhoid survivors who also got rid of various solid tumors in the process.
Something bad is coming when people are suddenly anxious to tell the truth.
Reports are that the Windows RT OS on the Surface takes up 10GB of flash. That's a much larger number than the space used by iOS 6 and its preinstalled apps. So comparing versions with the same amount of storage isn't entirely fair because the Surface will have less space available to the user.
Internal cell temperature not median body temperature.
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So you call "bullshit"...when you have no real facts to deny anything he said? You'd have to wait and compare both displays in a variety of situations to have an informed opinion, so you have what I guess would be called the opposite of an informed opinion.
4X the resolution.. odd. That's odd, you'd think with 4X the resolution I'd be able to stuff 4X the number of icons or play games with 4X the independent number of controllable pixels? I wonder why I can't do that...
Oh, I remember. The "retina display" actually only uses pixel doubling to stuff those 4X pixels, it's real effective resolution is half the number of pixels it has.
He didn't skirt cleartype - he mentioned it as one component, they use other techniques to manage effective resolution.
Let's face it, the "retina display" is a sham on the iPad, just a way to make Apple users think they have something cool. On Android it wouldn't be a sham because you'd have 1:1 pixel resolution, but that would break all the iPad apps.
Slashdot is a US-centric audience.
Sadly.
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There's a small connection kit for the iPad which allows the plugging in of SD Cards and USB devices. True, it would be nice if there'd simply been a USB port, but the functionality *is* there, and there's a couple of different file explorer programs that let you muck about with your storage space directly.
You can even use an external HDD, although a jailbreak is required.
And where did the reviewer buy his keyboard and cover, and why separately? I bought a Logitech Keyboard Case for AUD$70. It's effectively a "full size" keyboard, considering the size of the iPad, and it covers the screen with an aluminium shell when the iPad is tucked away - it doesn't latch on to the iPad but "holds" it with rubberised grip around the edges, so some people may want to use a different case.
There's a few leather ones with keyboards, but one I find most interesting is The Brydge. It attachs to the iPad like the lower half of a laptop and effectively turns the iPad into a 9" "MacBook".
Te Quiero, Puta!
Sorry, I meant hardware keyboards (over USB or BT).