Surface

Microsoft clears some fog over its new ecosystem

Microsoft has shed some serious light on the future of Windows, with Windows Phone 8 and Surface tablet revelations this week burning away much of the uncertainty surrounding Windows and devices.

As expected, Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 will have tight integration with Windows 8. The intent is obvious, and frankly, a good idea: make it as easy as possible for you to move from one Microsoft device to another, no matter if you've got a phone, a tablet, a laptop, or a desktop.

For one thing, Internet Explorer 10 will be present on the new Windows Phones as … Read more

Google exec: "Surface is a very complicated strategy to pull off"

Google's senior vice president of Chrome and Apps, Sundar Pichai, gave Microsoft some credit for innovating with its new Surface platform. "I think form factors need a lot of innovation," he said in reference to Surface. "It looks like they put serious effort into it."

But he was more dubious about Microsoft's odds for success, and seemed to welcome the potential disruption Windows 8 might cause among long-time Microsoft users. 

"The Surface is a surprising announcement, to say the least," Pichai said at the GigaOm Structure conference in San Francisco. He … Read more

Microsoft attempts market freeze with Surface preview

Microsoft gave a fairly good imitation of Apple in debuting its Surface tablets. The event, held at an artsy Los Angeles studio space, was shrouded in mystery, and Microsoft executives were properly dressed down for the occasion. 

The famously leaky company was mostly able to surprise the assembled press with the multicolored array of Surface tablets and ultrabooks. But Microsoft disregarded one key element that is part of Apple's show-and-tell script -- make the hardware real, available to the press on that day or before, and for customers soon thereafter. 

 

 

CNET reviewer Eric Franklin … Read more

Surface tablets: Microsoft's tabletop downsized?

Microsoft officials have been hinting for a couple of years that they hoped to someday shrink down the table-sized multitouch Surface technology and make it available in a tablet form factor.

So when Microsoft announced plans for not one, but two Surface tablets on June 18, my first thought was: Are these Surfaces in anything other than name? In other words, did Microsoft actually manage to shrink its multitouch table into a multitouch tablet?

The short answer: No.

Here's a bit of background on the Surface.

Microsoft introduced the Surface 1.0 technology, formerly codenamed "PlayTable" and then "Milan," … Read more

Reality check: Microsoft's calculated 're-Surfacing' of the PC business

So explain to me again why Microsoft doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt for picking a fight with its hardware partners?

In the 24 hours since Monday's Surface announcement, there's been no shortage of commentary attesting to Microsoft's disloyal treatment of its longtime OEMs by going head-to-head with them in the tablet computer business.

But loyalty cuts both ways, and you don't need to rewind Michael Corleone's quote about separating business from the personal to understand that Microsoft's "partners" left it little choice in the matter. No doubt this was … Read more

Microsoft will withdraw later from tablet market: Acer founder

Microsoft's objective in unveiling its new Surface tablet is to prod device makers to bring out Windows 8 tablets, then withdraw from the tablet market once that's accomplished, according to reported comments from Acer founder Stan Shih.

Microsoft "has no real intention to sell own-brand tablet PCs," according to a report in Taipei-based Digitimes, citing Shih.

"Once the purpose is realized, Microsoft will not offer more models," the report said.

Shih reportedly goes on to say that the strategy was conceived as way to "encourage" device makers to bring out Windows 8 … Read more

Microsoft Surface shows Apple could be wrong

In one sense, Microsoft has succeeded already, by demonstrating that there is a third paradigm: a transformable tablet.

That alone strikes me as a very intentional rebuttal of the Apple argument that a laptop and tablet is a "forced" convergence. (Tim Cook).

And Steve Jobs knocked the idea before that, saying it was "ergonomically terrible" and "we've done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn't work."

Well, Microsoft showed us Monday that it could work. That's all I (and consumers) need to see. (I had been … Read more

Google next up against Microsoft Surface

June is the perfect time for backyard barbecues, lemonade and tablet warfare:

Microsoft is taking tablets into its own hands with the Surface. And next week, so will Google. It's expected that Google will show off the Nexus tablet at its developers conference that begins next week. And some reports have Google's tablet launching in July -- which will likely be before the Surface hits stores.

The Surface boasts solid hardware, a kickstand and a cover that also serves as a keyboard. But how much will it cost? All we know is that the light version, using Windows … Read more

The 404 1,077: Where we scrape the Surface (podcast)

The mystery of the magic Microsoft device is finally solved, but what's with all the unanswered questions? In trying to add fuel to the Surface hype machine, Microsoft leaves too much to the industry's collective imagination as we all keep speculating about the tablets' battery life, release dates, prices, and UI experience.

The competition among tablets is still presently in favor of the iPad, so we're hoping that Microsoft has more compelling announcements in the future that integrate some of the company's other inventions.

Jeff and I always fight about which popular musician deserves credit for this generation's aural decay, but the Imperial College in London may have a solution to our problem: let computers compose the music!

A team of researchers believe that digital music can move beyond human creation and evolve autonomously without a real composer. They've developed a learning computer algorithm that continuously creates and combines loops in a random sequence.… Read more