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CNN Anchors Caught On Camera Using Microsoft Surface As an iPad Stand
MojoKid writes Since the release of its Surface Pro 3 tablet, Microsoft has pushed their new slate hard. It's as if the company wanted it to overwrite that part of our memory that recalls the Surface RT and its monumental losses. This past August, we saw the company make a big move by deploying a boatload of Surface Pro tablets to every team in the NFL, gratis. All season so far, coaches and even players have made use of them to plan their next course-of-action, and for the most part, they seemed to be well-received. Unlike some of the products Microsoft tries to get us to adopt, the Surface Pro 3 really is a solid tablet / convertible. Unfortunately, at least where the CNN political team is concerned, Microsoft hasn't won over a few anchors, like they have in NFL, when they were supplied with brand-new Surface Pros. In recent shots captured and tweeted about, a Surface Pro 3 can be seen acting as an "iPad stand," and quite an expensive one. As humorous as this is, it might not seem that interesting if it were just one correspondent who pulled that stunt. Let's be honest, some people just like their iPads. That wasn't the case, though. There were at least two commentators using an iPad on the same set, despite having the Surface right in front of them and seemingly hiding it behind Microsoft's darling Windows 8 slate.
...the street does have its own uses for technology.
I can't decide if this post is interesting, funny, insightful, or flamebait.
I'd happily give a Surface Pro 3 a try if you want to send one my way.
I was considering buying a Surface (some previous-gen ones were on sale for a reasonable price), but was driven away by the extra $$$ for the keyboard/case and the lack of decent apps in the Windows 8 store... there's a whole lot of crap there, and not a lot of things I'd like to use.
- chrish
They are NOT comparable devices. Surface Pro addresses an ENTIRELY different segment of users and is an entirely different class of machine (can run arbitrary code)
Good-bye
They put full Windows OS in their tablet, it's not as easy to use as an iPad.
They put a tablet OS in their tablet, it doesn't have full Windows functionality.
That is one way that Microsoft can make some money from them. As seen on CNN...
The surface pro is one of the better devices to come out of redmond. It hands down beats the Ipad in lots of areas except for the apps.
and the sales.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
The vast amount of apps out there are not tablet optimized however, and the majority would actually be hard to use without a keyboard and mouse.
Microsoft doesn't support Apple products..
Given a choice, they'd still be using iPads.
This is the first season that any electronic device could be used by coaches and players during an NFL game. They weren't using iPads before...they were using steno pads.
In terms of sheer numbers, I'd guess you are right: more Win32 applications have been written since 1995 or so than there are apps for iOS. Especially if you include in-house software.
In terms of applications to do something most people want to do, which is a subjective measure I admit, iOS may have the lead. Particularly so if you look for software that's optimized for tablet use: there are a lot of very capable Windows programs which are rather less usable on a tablet than with a physical keyboard and mouse, whereas iOS apps are all designed around touchscreen use.
For example, I've been looking for a map program (similar to Google Maps) that runs on a handheld Windows 7 PC with attached GPS. It's surprising how few choices there are that do the basic function of showing your GPS position on a map, and aren't some crusty thing last updated in 2004. True, if I included Windows 8 "Metro" apps there would be a wider choice, but still it is dwarfed by what you get on Android or iOS. (FTR - in the end I went with Anquet Maps for hiking maps and Mapfactor PC-Navigator for city use.)
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
Or ask said Nascar driver to make a right turn.
It hands down beats the Ipad in lots of areas except for the apps.
I think this sort of thinking misses what has made Apple successful over the years. Techies keep worrying about whether a device beats another in terms of functionality, and meanwhile Apple focuses on usability. Yes, having a full desktop OS running on a tablet allows you to do more, but Windows 8 is a mess of an OS. Yes, Windows 8.1 improves the mess a bit, but it's still a mess.
At least, that's been my experience. Using Windows 8 on a desktop, I'm thinking, "Well it would be pretty good if they got rid of all this touch-interface crap. It's confusing and useless." Using Windows 8 on a tablet, I'm thinking, "The tablet UI could use a little work because it's a little too confusing. It's great that I can run desktop stuff, but for that stuff, I'd probably be better off with a laptop." Using an iPad? I'm probably not thinking much about the features and interface, because it's pretty clear what the device is, what it does, and how to use it.
Just because you value a SD slot more than life itself doesn't mean that everyone else does. I use three or four different platforms every day. Never once have I caught myself saying: "damnit, if only I had a SD card slot!"
Physical media is a pain in the ass.
Solving Unix problems since 1989...
Except it's close to 2X the price of the ipad. That tends to blow it up hard.
And honestly the Surface is not the only game in town, Fujitsu Stylistic has a better build quality and honestly is a far more mature tablet PC platform.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Off topic: I cannot imagine for one second that Ubuntu through whatever hack is required to run natively on a macbook is a better user experience than OSX itself. I get a lot of the legitimate mac bashing that goes on (expensive hardware, elitist culture, etc etc) but the OSX gripes baffle me.
I'm typing this on an early 2009 macbook my alma mater handed me freshman year. It started with Leopard and is now running Yosemite. It has a unix shell, it has vim, it has a compile toolchain (clang via xcode and gcc via homebrew), it has git...it even has x11. OSX is unix, and a darn good one. Not only that it came preloaded to edit your gnar vids from your snowboard go pro.
Back on topic, the Surface Pro 3 is a great little machine. Got one for my daughter for her graduation present, as she didn't want to learn mac or droid and wanted something to replace her aging laptop. She takes notes with the pen in her own handwriting. The keyboard/cover/thing is actually a decent keyboard - the trackpad on it is kind of meh, however. I just wish the price points were a little lower, but that's just cos I'm a cheapskate.
...the street does have its own uses for technology.
"The Surface Pro is a stable platform on which I rest my iPad"
claims he was using both tablets
Of course he didn't just use it to hold up an iPad!
Later on he put down the stand and put a cup of coffee on it too. Totally no rings on the table.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
If you don't want people putting other things over your product, don't name it Surface.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley