surface

Microsoft Surface Pro

Head on over to our Microsoft Surface first take to read about the company's Surface tablet plans.

Could I really ditch my laptop for an iPad?

Tablets are getting more and more advanced, but can they really replace a laptop when it comes to getting things done?

That's a question that's been hotly debated since the iPad first popularized the tablet product category. In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer my opinion on whether the iPad or any other tablet is up to the task of replacing a laptop for work. I also explain why it's a not a good idea to ditch your cell phone in lieu of your new tablet.

iPad as laptop replacement? Not yet.

Dear Maggie, I've … Read more

Microsoft's Surface is a 'design point,' says CEO

PC manufacturers shouldn't fear that the debut of Microsoft's flashy Surface tablet might shut them out of future device making for the company, according to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

During this week's Worldwide Partner Conference for Microsoft, Ballmer addressed the crowd and said Surface is the software makers' aim at creating a device heavily focused on design, according to All Things D.

Here's what he said:

Surface is just a design point. It will have a distinct place in what's a broad Windows ecosystem. And the importance of the thousands of partners that we have … Read more

Microsoft vows hardware fight with Apple

Microsoft is going to turn up the heat on Apple, with a more aggressive focus on hardware, CEO Steve Ballmer said in an interview with Computer Reseller News.

After making predictable declarations about advantages in the corporate "enterprise" software market, he said that "we are not going to let any piece of this [go uncontested to Apple]...Not the consumer cloud. Not hardware software innovation. We are not leaving any of that to Apple by itself. Not going to happen. Not on our watch," according to CRN.

"Hardware-software innovation" is the operative phrase here, … Read more

Here's Lenovo's answer to the Microsoft Surface (from 2010)

Not surprisingly, Microsoft hasn't been the only company working on a tablet-laptop hybrid system. A U.S. patent application published late last month reveals that Lenovo has its own solution to the problem that the Microsoft Surface tries to address.

The patent application, which was actually filed way back on Christmas eve in 2010, is in some respects already outdated. For example, it describes a tablet with Android and an ARM processor that can be snapped into a base unit with a keyboard running Windows on Intel processors. A handful of related patent applications describe the way in which the two systems would work together, or as they say it in patent speak:… Read more

Ballmer: We hope to sell 'a few million' Surface PCs in year

Since Microsoft unveiled its first Microsoft-branded PCs, the Surfaces, in late June, I've been wondering how ambitious the company's scale-up plans were.

Today at the Worldwide Partner Conference opening keynote, I got an answer. CEO Steve Ballmer told attendees Microsoft's goal is to sell "a few million Surface PCs" in the coming year. (I actually thought I heard Ballmer say "a few millions," with an "s.") Ballmer also said that according to estimates, there will be 375 million Windows PCs sold in the next 12 months. His implication was there would … Read more

Microsoft's Surface tablet suffers from low yields, report says

Microsoft's Surface tablet is suffering from low production yields, according to a new report.

The software giant is currently working with a "second-tier" Surface chassis supplier that's having trouble producing enough units to match Microsoft's expectations, according to Digitimes, citing sources. The low yield has caused Microsoft to spend extra time evaluating the company's manufacturing to see how it can be improved.

The issue, according to Digitimes' sources, is that the Surface's VaporMg case, which is made out of magnesium, isn't so easy to produce. The blog's sources say that Microsoft … Read more

Gates: Apple may have to make a Surface-like device

"The world's best companies are built by fanatics and when you're in your 20s and 30s being fanatical comes...well at least it came pretty naturally to me."

That's how Bill Gates described the making of Microsoft to Charlie Rose last night on Rose's PBS show.

Now that he's in his 50s, he's still fanatical -- fanatical about Microsoft's new tablet/PC thingy known as the Surface, a device he believes Apple may have to follow.

Gates described how his goal with Microsoft had been to deliver "the magic of … Read more

Microsoft and Apple: The roof tile analogy

Roof tile? That's over on aisle 9.

Stretch the analogy a bit. Windows tablets? They're on aisle 9, next to the laptop bags.

I could stretch the analogy even more, where the buyer gets lost amid a sea of generic Spanish roof tiles like Tom Anderson (the early version of Hank Hill) at Home Labyrinth.

Nobody has to ask that question about the iPad. It's front and center at the Apple store.

So, Redmond needs the Microsoft Store -- or similar boutique storefronts where its product can stand out.

On Friday, the Kansas City Star reported that people actually lined up … Read more