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Microsoft Takes Another Stab At Tablets, Unveils Surface 2, Surface 2 Pro
Dputiger writes "Microsoft has unveiled both the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro, updating the former with a Tegra 4 processor and the latter with a new Haswell chip. Among the additional improvements are a more comfortable kickstand with two height settings, 1080p displays for both devices, USB 3.0 support, better battery life, and a higher resolution camera. Pricing for the 32GB Surface without a Touch or Type Cover is set at $449."
"This isn't an iPad 2" and "This isn't an iPad 2 pro".
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
Is like a broken Coke machine . . . maybe if they keep putting one more quarter in it, they'll finally get a cool refreshing drink . . .
The main thing that both Android and Apple based tablets have that Microsoft doesn't, is customers.
Solving Unix problems since 1989...
People don't want Microsoft on their tablet. They've lost this war. Ironically, they're losing for the same reason IBM lost control of the PC: They can make all the products they want, but the software that people want runs on an OS owned by someone else.
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
If they're looking to rid themselves of excess cash.
£200 for one with a good keyboard would be reasonable, but against the Nexus 7 + the Bluetooth keyboard I already have... Nah.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
"This isn't an iPad 2" and "This isn't an iPad 2 pro".
The iPad Market share of tablets is shrinking (down to 30%), they actual sell less than last year. Android are now dominant in tablets.
Current share from IDC http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24253413
Microsoft, in late 2013 just came out with 2 tablets that don't offer LTE? Oh right next year they say. Smart business move.
The people with the money to burn on these devices and a wireless plan to go along with them just want to pay once and then have connectivity everywhere without thinking. Definitely a short-sighted move IMHO.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
I did not read anything in the improvement list that solves why people didn't want the old versions. Just improved specs, but a faster tablet no one wants is still a tablet no one wants. What is going to prevent this from being another billion dollar loss? Building fewer upfront so they don't have to throw as many away?
They're still missing the point, so my bet is that it'll collect just as much dust as the old one.
What MS is selling is basically an ultrabook with a touchscreen, not a tablet. They're still not getting that a tablet is an entirely different device with different needs and usage cases.
MS has never been user-aware, always developer-focussed. I'm so happy it's finally biting them in the ass.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Is like a broken Coke machine . . . maybe if they keep putting one more quarter in it, they'll finally get a cool refreshing drink . . .
I am astonished they didn't al least take the opportunity to drop the price of the pro and create a mini pro at $200. Anything else is waiting another year to enter the tablet market. To come up with a different strategy is going to take time.
Bullwinkle: Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.
Rocky: Again?
Bullwinkle: Presto!
Lion: ROAR!!!
Bullwinkle: Oops, wrong hat.
Sorry, MSFT, I just placed orders for 33 AAPL iPad4 on VZW LTE for my office.
I read the list of prices for accessories (more power, keyboards, etc.) and thought, "only Apple can get away with charging an arm, leg, and testicle for pieces parts". A bare Surface costs $450, two to four times what anyone else's tablet costs, but when you buy the doodads to make it impressive then you've doubled the cost. And while we might not flinch at a $900 notebook computer, $900 for a tablet is a stretch.
But we'll see how many Win 8.1 tablet fanboys will shell out like they were Macintosh and iThingie fanboys of the last thirty years.
Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
No sign of a price cut on the old one here in the UK yet (and there's no hope in hell I would buy version 2 at list), but this got me thinking... how cheap would the old models have to be before I would pick one up?
The Pro, I'd probably take a look at if it was in iPad price range, but the RT... if it was in the £100 area? I'm still not sure. One thing's for sure, the keyboards are laughably overpriced. Here in the UK, at today's exchange rates, you'll have to fork out a cool $176.51 for the real keys one, and $104.30 for the squishy one.
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
if their tablet OS wasn't sitting on millions of desktops that I and thousands of others have to support. *ouch*
Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.
Still running Windows 8.x? DO NOT WANT!!! EVER!!!
Every time MS releases a new Phone or Tablet all I can think of is the execs at Apple and Google saying "Big whoop wanna fight about it?"
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Or is it bad money, after worse?
Either way, get ready for the "great landfill contribution of 2014" from Microsoft.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
It seems most people here are more focused in bashing MS than understanding the product. In all fairness you can bash all you want Rt 2, i still dont understand this product , but the surface pro serves me perfect has the best portable legacy product
GUYS... a stand with 2 settings!!!!!!!!
Sold.
If history is any guide, most people will wait for version 3.1, when it may become just good enough.
At these prices, these tablets are guaranteed to sell as well as the first generation!
Finally! I've been looking for a nearly $500 wedge to prop the short leg of my dinner table up with!
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Oh, hell, yeah! He's on fire!
Android: the system you use while waiting for Windows to boot.
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
Give them your old ipad, get $200 credit toward in-store purchase.
I am not sure, however, what people would want more:
my old ipad 1 or $200 at microsoft store.
At least, it *would* make a better Christmas stocking stuffer than
some socks and a toothbrush.
to something else. I mean it worked when they released Vista 2.0, oh I'm sorry Windows 7.
Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
computing. Right now, the vast majority of offerings come with Win 8 which no one seems to want. It will either drive desktop sales to Apple or if Goog isn't dumb, they'll solve the problem by providing desktops with Android or Chrome OS. Of course, linux is always lurking, but most people will stay away from linux because it is too different from what they are used to. It's too bad- linux has had MS beat on reliability for years, but people don't seem to care about reliability.
MS is just another also-ran in tablets like they are in phones and were in music players. Now they are becoming irrelevant in the desktop market, too.
I predict an accelerating increase in "update" frequency to my Win 7 installation to make sure it becomes unusable as quickly as possible (as was done with XP when Win 7 came out).
You try burning $1,000,000,000 one $100 bill at a time.
Can it run Android?
"I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
White Star Line has announced the Titanic Deck Chair 2. Details at 11.
but against the Nexus 7 + the Bluetooth keyboard I already have
What Bluetooth keyboard do you use with your Nexus 7? Android 4.3 broke compatibility with my ZAGGkeys Flex; apparently it's detected as a "non-alphanumeric keyboard" (that is, a gamepad), and fixing it would require wiping the thing to gain root to rename a keyboard layout. At least if a keyboard is bundled with a tablet, you can be pretty sure that the tablet's manufacturer is going to put in effort not to break the keyboard.
Was it too difficult for you to write the extra two letters at the beginning, EVERY time?
You seem to have managed to write the rest of your post okay...
Idiot.
They closed the big thing holding people back on Pro -- the gap on battery life -- I will be getting a Surface Pro 2 to replace my everyday machine.
And a dock when they come out. Perfect.
MS still overpriced RT. They need to lose money and get it out there for the RT to have any hope of generating the critical mass of developers needed.
BYOD is the future of IT
You may be right about it being the future. The present, on the other hand, is 33 employees who happen not to already own a tablet supporting cellular data.
Here is the most remarkable fact about Surface RT (Windows on Arm) in combination with the new Windows Store at BestBuy:
A significant amount of the floorspace of America's last remaining generic brick and mortar electronics vendor, is now devoted to a product that does not sell.
The Surface RT is product does not have a naturally won position in the market place. The product exists simply because Microsoft has the money, a long standing relationship with BestBuy, and the desperation to place the excess inventory in front of customers who do not want to buy it.
Microsoft and BestBuy are flogging a product (Windows on Arm) which is doomed. Everyone in the industry knows it is. I can only feel sorry for the unsuspecting customers who purchase Windows on Arm.
Microsoft and BestBuy are stealing money from people in a last gasp attempt at flogging a dead platform.
I own a Nexus 7 tablet running Android 4.3, and my aunt owns a Gateway PC running Windows 8 with Classic Shell. In my experience, it takes about the same time to cold boot Windows or Android, and the same time to come out of suspend whether on Windows or Android. Are you comparing resume on Android to a cold boot on Windows?
But they just can't kill the beast.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Not valid online, and the nearest store is about 100 miles away.
Surface 2 and Surface 2 pro? That means we're still missing the Surface 2 Enterprise, Surface 2 Ultimate, and the Surface 2 Home.
Because it's Microsoft. And no product is worthwhile unless it has at least a half a dozen or so pointless variations.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
What is the market for these?
For $100 more, you can get a real laptop, with a large disk and a keyboard.
For half the price, you can get a Android tablet.
Only people stuck with Windows, and in need of a really portable version, might want one of these. How big is that market, really?
It's like selling checken feet for $3.00/lb. Sure, someone might want them, but most people would prefer chicken breasts at $2.00/lb, or steak at $4.00/lb.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
I hear the design of these new Tablets from MS was personally overseen by Balmer and have corners so round that they will be practically circular, allowing them to be thrown much further than current Tablet models. However, Wham-O claims the new design may infringe upon some of their patents.
Otherwise it still has not caught up to the Iphone and Ipad 1 yet.
Sad and not worth the premium without a 150 DPI or the ability to use Bing Maps with a navigator, zagots guide, hotel finder, weather reports, or uses that every traveler must have before investing the big bucks.
http://saveie6.com/
You have to wonder if Microsoft's recent history of walking away from every hardware platform after a few months is starting to take it's toll. Even if you thought their new tablet was a good product, are you going to risk hundreds of dollars on a product that will be unsupported a year later because its manufacturer can't seem to stick behind anything?
Posting as AC for employment reasons. A few months ago, the corporate powers gave us all shiny new Surfaces. Every employee got one, and the lines were an hour deep at times. But I would estimate as of now, 1/3 of them are still in their boxes, and only 1 in 5 are seeing regular use. The problem is that the Win8 IFKAM blinky-tile interface is a hard sell even inside the company, and 8-RT's limited auth model just adds to the confusion. Presented with an RT device in a thoroughly AD-managed environment, it's still totally unclear how to associate the Live/MSN/MSID account with a domain account, and corp versus personal-id usage. Most employees still can't explain how it works. I can't imagine how customers figure this out if the mothership can't get it right.
The real twist is that the Surface hardware is GREAT. I was a fan of the Archos android tablet design (first with a kickstand), and the Surface RT did it better. The Surface RT also kicked ass wrt build quality (partly because initial refurbs were unloaded to internal employees -- you're welcome), screen and sensor quality, speed and memory right up there with Samsung and Asus high-end arm products The Surface Pro screen is top-tier, and the performance is excellent for the form and battery life. The problem is the OS. If I could run Android on the RT hardware, I would use it every day. If I could put *ANY* other OS on the RT hardware, I would. At least on the Surface Pro you can turn off the EUFI cruft and install Windows 7 or Ubuntu or Mint or whatever else floats your boat.... If only the marketing wasn't openly hostile to the way that a lot of users want to use computers.
Microsoft made IT departments able to completely over-manage and kill every enterprise Windows installation on desktops and laptops. There's no way I'm going for a Microsoft tablet and letting the same happens again.
32GiB where the OS eats up 26GIB?
So, it $449 for a 6GiB for a non-touch tablet?
...but just doesn't know it yet. They bet the farm on familiarity and they lost. Sad they had to take a decent company like Nokia down with them, but that's the breaks. Maybe MS Android could have saved the day, but it's pretty clear that such a move is way to late.
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
....and completely misses with both shots. Maybe they should put Vista on the Surface and see if that sells!
... does it run Android ?
When will Microsoft learn when these two models fail? Will they introduce Surface 3.11, Surface 3.11 Pro, or Surface 3.11 For Workgroups?
Another Big Fail from Microsoft
Similar to Custer's Last Stand, but with billions of scarce dollars thrown at it.
Same net result.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Are they really suggesting these systems for editing super HD? 64gb is a ridiculously small filesystem for cutting next gen video. Even 4K video is going to eat up all of that drive space faster than I can type this.
Just as with Surface 2, Microsoft wanted to make Surface Pro 2 a better Surface Pro. The major complaint leveled at Surface Pro was that its battery life was poor. The internal improvements made to Surface Pro 2 substantially address that.
That change is, however, basically invisible. The device looks and feels almost identical to the old one. It just goes faster and runs for longer. In practical terms, those are huge improvements that will make the new device far better than the old one. In a few minutes of hands-on time at a launch event, however, you'd never notice the difference.
Further strengthening its productivity credentials are additional RAM and storage. Four models of Surface Pro 2 will be offered: 64GB storage with 4GB RAM at $899, 128GB with 4GB at $999, 256GB with 8GB at $1,299, and 512GB with 8GB at a rather eye-watering $1,799.
Overall, it's clear that Microsoft isn't going to abandon its productivity tablet idea any time soon. If the Surface concept appeals, the new devices are in every sense better. They address the major shortfalls of their respective predecessors. In so doing, they become a lot more appealing.
If, however, the productivity tablet idea has no appeal—if you just don't care about Office or just can't give up the laptop form factor—then the new devices won't fundamentally change that. For that, Microsoft will need to take another step down its path to becoming a Devices and Services company. They'd need to develop, for example, an eight inch "Surface Mini" and perhaps even a Surface Ultrabook.
Both of Microsoft's new tablets will be available to buy on October 22 with preorders starting on September 24
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/09/hands-on-with-surface-2-and-surface-pro-2-second-verse-same-as-the-first/
My fucking nook has a 1920 x 1280 screen and cost 150 bucks
Of course, Microsoft probably thinks it's tablets failed because their marketing program needed tweaked.
More people dancing on tables and spinning tablets anyone?
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Microsoft needs to burn money here to drop the price point on these devices to compete with everything else.
otherwise they are toast.
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
And whose fault would that be, exactly? For five months, Surface MEANT "Surface RT." Did someone hold a gun to Microsoft's head and say "Release Surface RT first?" Did someone hold a gun to Microsoft's head and say "Do Surface RT in the first place?"
Remember that portability was supposed to be one of the primary design goals for Windows NT, and it originally ran on, IIRC, Digital Alpha, IBM PowerPC, SPARC promised (but never delivered), etc. etc. If they'd stuck to their design goals, every Windows application could have been offered for Windows RT. Did someone hold a gun to their head and say "Forget portability, break your promises, ditch every platform but Intel?"
And then, having deliberately burned their bridges to everything but Intel, did someone hold a gun to their heads and say "Now release a product that isn't viable now that those bridges are burned?"
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
keep pretending you did, until you can divest your stock options before the stock tanks.
Release another version
And that's just the regular Surface running Windows RT. If you want the x86 Surface Pro, that starts at $799 (without the touch/type covers).
Now they need an excuse, so the black egg can magically get some SF2 to the folks trapped under the dome.
And because there is not apps for this kind of crap they can play with the cursed tiles without do anything good, oh joy!.
At a certain point, proprietary software is going to make computers completely incapable of anything practical. The problem is, we live in a world where horrible decisions are always rewarded, especially when it comes to invention. Somehow we have to switch the duality we're stuck with, the minute it is possible to make horrendous decisions with open source software, Microsoft needs to have an amazing display of charitable competence. The minute that happens, PCs will need to defend their moral authority, because once they have this title, it's only time before entropy sets in and we move on to something else. If only Microsoft could really cultivate a holier-than-thou attitude, we'd see so much progress with Microsoft's demise.
Lets not forget that Win1.0, Win2.0, Win3.0 were failures.
Win3.1 was a success.
MS is good at pumping money and people into technology until it matures and succeeds.
I don't like a lot of things that MS has done, but I will admit that it was good at succeeding in the marketplace where others have failed. IBM had OS/2 and Micro-Channel Architecture, but in 1990, it seemed as if MS was doomed with EISA.
On Windows RT (Talking about C++ API)
- No Facebook SDK (only REST requests ? manually ? No Thanks).
- No AWS SDK (C# only, no thanks, I want C++ bindings).
- No Parse SDK or Flurry SDK for analytics.
- No Push notification (requires C#, no thanks).
- No Admob/Ads/Middle ware for banner for monetization.
Are your kidding me Microsoft ?
I've hated MS since I started with Linux in '93 due to a Win 3.1 data loss event. Since my last upgrade of openSuse, from 10.3 (really quite good) to 12.3, I can only describe it as "one big bug." I'm really pissed at the state of Linux desktops now, and yes I've tried others. My wife has Mint, and it's fair, but very constraining for me. I'm seriously considering Arch Linux, since their documentation is awesome. But back to the point...
When Windows 8 came out I was sure I'd never use it. I also had no interest in tablets or laptops.
But an unfortunate health situation has left me on a desperate quest for continuous mental stimulation in order to avoid agonizing sleepiness.
I decided there was one program I wanted to be able to run while out: LTspice.
Plus, I just don't have time to waste on Linux desktop shoddiness anymore. And I'm willing to pay money for it. So I wasn't willing to futz around with a Linux laptop. I needed a tool, that works out of the box. Remarkably, I even opened my mind to the thought that if I have to learn a UI and OS that I'm not used to, so be it, if it WORKS rather than being a bug-ridden piece of garbage that reveals 2 or 3 show-stopping bugs within the first few minutes of tinkering.
That USED to be my experience with everything MS. I'd lock up Word within minutes, even though I only touched it for 30 minutes per year to edit a specific corp. doc. Now however, the tide is turning, and it's Linux desktops that I can find hideous bugs in within minutes. Anyway...
I ruled out ultrabooks because I want something flat so it's not obvious when I'm at a restaurant with my wife that I'm looking at a screen instead of her. She is Ok with whatever I do, but I feel more comfortable NOT using a laptop in that situation. Plus, a CAD-like program with a laptop touchpad sucks. I started thinking that a touch tablet with an optional keyboard might be a workable solution.
After reading about countless options, I went to Best Buy to look at the Surf. Pro, and the guy there actually let me install my program on their demo!
I wound up buying one at the MS store in Palo Alto. What an experience! They sure treated me nice. They threw in Office Home+Student for free with the extras I bought. I don't mind having that despite all my docs. being in OO.org format, since many Word docs just don't work well in Open/LibreOffice.
To sum it up, the thing is completely satisfactory. The build quality seems superb. The digitizing pen is kick-ass. And I can do just what I wanted, which is to be able to do everything CAD-ish in tablet mode, with the keyboard as a backup in case I need to do more extensive typing. The MS touch keyboard on screen implementation is very good, including handwriting recognition. It is also plenty fast.
Windows 8 at first seemed completely incomprehensible. I could write plenty on how stupid MS was for the way they went about releasing this. For a desktop without touch, Windows 8 just doesn't make sense. I'm still planning to have nothing to do with it on my desktops. But on the tablet it is actually Ok, and kind of fun to be using something new that's also understandable (once you begin to "get it.")
Unfortunately, my wife's Android tablet touch screen just doesn't respond to my dry fingers. It's the strangest thing. I just can't get it to "go" at all. No such problems with the Surface Pro. I'm extremely happy with it.
There are some things I don't like, but they are mostly avoidable, such as MS's desire to tie everything in to a "Microsoft account." Well, in today's Orwellian age, I wouldn't plan on putting much personally relevant info on ANY mobile device, except maybe a Blackberry.
So, still no MS fanboy here. But they won the sale because they had the tool that best met my needs, albeit somewhat niche ones. I'll probably buy a Surface Pro 2 if the price is reasonable, and give my wife the original, or just have a spare. We'll see. I'm also eager to upgrade it to
To quote Albert Einstiend:
"To repeat the same action and expect diffrent results is madness".
Microsoft is/has gone mad
...if Steve Ballmer were still alive.
The CB App. What's your 20?
Surface 2: Electric Boogaloo. Cmon, you know it'll be better than the first!
They can either aim for consumer market with a high resolution device (no, 1080p is not high resolution), full of applications and easy to use AND reasonably priced, since they got in the game late, the price should be no more than 2/3 of existing devices with similar functionality.
Or
They could aim at the pro market, again with a high resolution device, a super fast CPU and at least 10 hours of development/gaming time, price could be anywhere in the pro/gaming ranges.
Neither the RT/Pro answer these markets, I'm afraid its another missed opportunity.
Watch the video, they're pitching it as an alternative to a laptop first, and a tablet second. They're not going after the Ipad market so much as the buisness/productivity market. All the people who wish the Ipad was more than a consumer device.
I read the list of prices for accessories (more power, keyboards, etc.) and thought, "only Apple can get away with charging an arm, leg, and testicle for pieces parts". A bare Surface costs $450, two to four times what anyone else's tablet costs, but when you buy the doodads to make it impressive then you've doubled the cost. And while we might not flinch at a $900 notebook computer, $900 for a tablet is a stretch.
But we'll see how many Win 8.1 tablet fanboys will shell out like they were Macintosh and iThingie fanboys of the last thirty years.
Pardon, but who's 10" tablet costs $115 - $225?
You only get 7" tablets in that range. And in the $115 range only really cheap chinese tablets. If you're going to bash at least have your ducks lined up.
The original Surface didn't sell and now what is m$ doing? The same. Only difference being it's got more of the same than in the first attempt. Yes! My prayers have been heard. We are going to see the downfall of the company.
It counts web browser visits.
I use mostly "apps" nowadays (Android devices) and rarely open my web browser, unless I am on my desktop.
Since we are speculating let me spin another theory: people using iPads to do web browsing continue to do so because they are a bit dumber than average (they are the people that queue, for days sometimes, to *buy* something that will be widely available a few days later) and haven't got the paradigm changes in personal computing (a web browser is beginning to be "old tech").
That is fine, but if my theory is correct, such numbers of iPads would only show that their owners are behind the technology trends, not that more devices are being bought.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Slashdot isn't the same without them.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
A kick-stand is no improvement, maybe it wasn't the tablet the failed. Maybe it was the operating system, putting the same pile of dung into a different case with a different processor is not going make any difference.
That's the main advantage of running a x86 tablet is that you can run regular windows app while running droid apps too.
If it's going to run Windows, it should look big enough to handle the slow. (It may be faster now, but if looking at it makes me think Windows, then I'll think slow and resource hungry.) One way they could use all their cash to differentiate themselves from the crowd is to make a tablet with a 17" screen. What OS is behind my browser is less important than not having to squint. I have both a fancy (Motion Computing) tablet with a powerful processor and a ~12" screen and a cheap HP made-for-Walmart laptop, and I use the laptop for my browsing because it has a larger screen. They should use Motion Computing's idea of hot swappable dual batteries, though. That works nicely.
In my opinion, no matter how much Microsoft puts into upgrading the hardware, it's like putting lipstick on a pig. Windows 8 is still Windows 8 (whether it's RT or not). If MS wasn't so against open source, I think the surface tablets would make them a LOT more money if they were to sell them with an Android OS, or hell anything that's not windows for that matter. And before I'm accused of being biased, I personally run an android phone, iPhone, android tablet, iPad, OS X, Windows, and various linux flavors. Every one of them has a purpose and their own strengths, and I honestly wouldn't even take a MS tablet if they were handing them out for free. Just stick to what you know and excel at, you don't see Apple trying to push a gaming console because MS does it.
- Be rude to a bully and he'll beat you up. Be rude to a geek and your computer will never forgive you.
MS and tablets remind me of a Far Side cartoon. The posse is attempting to hang the Bad Guy, but they keep screwing up the rope, including wrapping it around the horse. The leader is saying, OK, OK, stay calm, we will get this right.
Those are the acronyms making or losing money. Trust me, when I say, we sat on wanting to get the Surface for hours...
And what -- letters are money or something? I mean, AAPL is one freaking letter shorter than Apple. Using the stock tickers in place of the names just makes you look like a character out of Dilbert as well as making the sentence harder to read for no good reason.
This is Slashdot. It's News for Nerds, not Twitter for Tools.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
If something is hard for your to read / understand, do not attempt it.
If something is hard for your to read / understand, do not attempt it.
If something is hard for to communicate, then you probably don't understand it yourself.
(Or should I say, "your" don't understand it?)
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
Expanded version of my first post for 'dummies': "Sorry, Microsoft, I just placed orders for 22 Apple ipad4 on Verizon LTE (Long Term Evolution) for my office."
since we're not installing 8 on anything....yet. If enough enterprise customers refuse to play along, MS might get a clue. But I also realize 7 won't live forever, so we may get dragged kicking and screaming into a Metro world
Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.