"Efforts are split between models in which keyboards detach from screens, ones in which the keys remain attached but can be hidden behind displays, and traditional fixed clamshell designs." None of these really float my boat. They work with clunky connectors and weird hinges, while I'd much rather have Surface's nice magnetic connection. On top of that, Surface just looks way better than this stuff. Pretty clear why Microsoft felt the need to make their own hardware.
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Member since:2006-12-05
Sad but true. Windows 8 absolutely sucks a big one with a traditional keyboard-and-mouse setup, and I would imagine it would be even worse with a typical laptop trackpad-and-keyboard interface, so everyone is busy trying to fling shit at the fan to see what sticks and doesn't come back to splash right back in their faces. This is not innovation; this is companies desperately trying to make something work that just doesn't, and it will probably never work as well as a traditional desktop for anyone who needs real power, no matter how much you try to change and mangle the physical interface in an attempt to try to make it fit.
For a company that spent so much money on R&D to come up with a GUI that, for the most part, is extremely easy to figure out and understand even for an idiot and complete newcomer to computers, it is amazing that they allowed this garbage to get to the heads of their upper management and start forcing this crap down millions of computer users' throats. This is a pure marketing gimmick--it only has the potential (key word there) to benefit a small group of users that buy a specialty/mobile form factor touchscreen device. To everyone else, it's a big flip of the bird.
It might be causing some very short-term innovation between companies right now, specifically for mobile touchscreen-based devices, but as I see it in the long term we all lose. Anyone who wants real power, at least. Windows 8--just like Windows Vista and ME before it--is a disgrace.
Edited 2012-09-03 06:37 UTC
Member since:2007-11-11
The reason how this got past usability testing is simple friend...the X86 PC is flatline and frankly its gonna STAY flatline because once we hit multicores PCs went way past good enough and are into insanely overpowered. This means that the PC will be like a washer and dryer, only replaced when it dies.
Meanwhile the ARM tablet is undergoing its own MHz race just as PCs did in the 90s and MSFT has pretty much ZERO percentage of that market, same goes for ARM cellphones. So Ballmer is throwing the Hail Mary and praying to every Deity in the book that he can gain some share.
Whether it will work or not I guess will depend on how much money Ballmer is willing to flush, if he sells iPad specced hardware at Kindle prices? he might be able to buy some share and hope it gets made up on the appstore. I think it will bomb on the X86 though, most likely it'll be like Vista where the OEMs offer you a "Windows 8 system" with Win 7 and a DVD in the bottom of the box nobody uses.
But I do feel sorry for the OEMs though, knowing just like Vista MSFT won't let them sell Win 7 PCs until the sales take a dive like with Vista and in a bad economy having 6 months of no sales is gonna seriously hurt.
Member since:2005-11-13
Well, that's the cool thing about Windows 8... if you need 'real power', just press Win+D, and you're off to the races
Of course, most people (probably 90% of them), don't need all those bells and whistles, so Metro will probably do fine for them, which is what MS is counting on. Of course, I have no idea if tech tards will take to Metro or not... only time will tell. Sure it's different, but then so was iOS and Android.
As for Windows 8 'classic' desktop, it's got some features that Win7 doesn't, such as native USB 3.0 support, taskbars on multiple monitors, hyper-v virtualization, improved task manager, native ISO mounting, etc. Plus, it runs faster and on less memory. It's not a huge improvement, but for $40, I plan on taking the plunge.
Edited 2012-09-03 16:26 UTC
Member since:2006-04-10
Member since:2005-11-13
98SE I was interested in running a newer version of DirectX that required it (can't remember which ver, I think 7 or 8)
WinME I skipped I was already on Windows 2000 but I was interested in the changes and it was the last of the Win9X series.
Windows XP I was excited about a single OS for consumer and pros built on the NT kernel
Vista I was excited about Aero and a load of other changes. Yes it was a let down. Windows 7 redeemed my feelings on it.
Member since:2006-12-05
I'm not to one you were responding to, but those are two easy answers.
1. Windows 98 was Win9x refined, done right, with more hardware drivers and stability without adding too much bloat. It was just a good Windows release for the time, and an improvement over its predecessors. Simple as that.
2. Ever use Windows ME? I was unfortunate at the time to buy a PC at the time, and it came with that version of the OS pre-installed. After you've used that incredibly bloated, slow, unstable disaster for a few weeks (let alone months), you'll be begging for a change. Hell, I even paid for a damn XP "preview" release and then immediately went out and bought an upgrade license when it was finally released--Windows ME was just that bad. It was slow and all it could do well is crash.
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Member since:
2005-11-13
The reason why all of these models are showing up that are a mix between a traditional PC and a tablet are because Windows 8 is broken from a design standpoint.
You can't make a great piece of hardware when the operating system it is meant to run is crap and the developers themselves do not know WTF it is supposed to be!
Is it a PC? Yes. Is it a Tablet OS? YES! Is it a frankenstein joke? Oh YES INDEED.
For the first time ever I have zero interest in the latest version of windows.