Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 6th Feb 2013 11:23 UTC
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Member since:2006-02-15
The problem is there are no such processors (at least not yet). The i5 they used is the 17W variety. That is as low as any Intel ULV processors get currently (not counting Core 2 Solos from 2008, which don't have GPUs, or Atoms which categorically suck).
The new 7W Ivy Bridge - CPUs from Intel ( http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/power-saving-through-marketi... ) should make things a lot easier for manufacturers and a lot more interesting for end-users once they arrive properly in the mass-market. I would love being able to run x86/x64 software on a tablet without terrible compromises in speeds or loud fans keeping the thing from scorching my fingers.
Member since:2006-01-25
The new 7W Ivy Bridge - CPUs from Intel
Yeah. Those are the ones I was referring to as being released last month. They are technically 13W TDP - the 7W number is SDP, some new made up metric for "average" power use. i.e. they are lower power, but not as much as the number implies.
Member since:2005-11-29
I think Atom would be adequate for most tablet uses. Just not heavy duty Photoshop or whatever. Its doable, but not perfect. I think THAT could've waited a year. A Surface Pro running haswell would make sense a year from now.
But given that the Atom in Clovertrail out muscles what they put in the Surface RT, with comparable battery usage, it would make sense to put one in a normal Surface.
As for the lap issue, I'm not sure how they'd fix it, but I'm not worried. They're smart people. If they want to fix it they can figure out a solution. I'd be surprised if they weren't receiving a lot of feedback on this.
Member since:2011-07-18
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 23:22 UTC
"Ilja van Sprundel, a security researcher with IOActive, has discovered a large number of issues in the way various X client libraries handle the responses they receive from servers, and has worked with X.Org's security team to analyze, confirm, and fix these issues."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 22:04 UTC
"Google is facing a new antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into whether the company is using its leadership in the online display-advertising market to illegally curb competition, people familiar with the matter said." Sucks to be Google today, apparently.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 22:01 UTC
"In the midst of the major press blitz surrounding its annual I/O Conference, Google dropped some unfortunate news about its instant messaging plans. In several places around the web, the company is replacing the existing 'Talk' platform with a new one called 'Hangouts' that sharply diminishes support for the open messaging protocol known as XMPP (or sometimes informally Jabber), and also removes the option to disable the archiving of all chat communications. These changes represent a switch from open protocols to proprietary ones, and a clear step backward for many users." That's why I always say: only suckers trust companies.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 17:52 UTC
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 22:23 UTC
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:38 UTC
"The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:30 UTC, submitted by JRepin
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 22:06 UTC
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:45 UTC
"There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 15:53 UTC
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"More News »
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Member since:
2006-01-25
This one I 100% agree with. I think this ends up being the platforms achilles heel.
The problem is there are no such processors (at least not yet). The i5 they used is the 17W variety. That is as low as any Intel ULV processors get currently (not counting Core 2 Solos from 2008, which don't have GPUs, or Atoms which categorically suck).
A handful of 13W models were just released last month - too late for Surface Pro. There is a 10W Pentium too - but it has 1st generation GPU which is absolutely awful and would cripple such a machine.
I think they should have waited for Haswell and worked to figure out how to put a bigger battery in it, but it would have set the product back almost a year... That only addresses the battery life issue though. I don't know how to fix the kickstand-on-your-lap problem. Maybe someone could design an aftermarket "shell" with a hinge to hold the screen at a comfortable viewing angle, but the problem is you need to counterweight the screen - that means the base of the thing would need to weigh at least 2lbs.
I _really_ want to like it. I can live with the battery life and the price as is. But the kickstand thing has put me seriously on the fence - if it is uncomfortable to use in laptop scenarios Im afraid Im going to hate the thing...