Microsoft's Surface with Windows 8 Pro go on sale Feb 9th

Business buyers who said no to Microsoft's Surface with Windows RT will get a chance to try the Surface with Windows 8 Pro when it goes on sale next month. Will the second time be the charm for Microsoft? Or will businesses pass on the radical tablet/PC design?

Read more at source:
Microsoft's Surface with Windows 8 Pro to go on sale February 9 | ZDNet

 

[Ray8]

Hi Ray,

Simple question: can you please give us the name along with the brand of tablets you are talking about? It just seems that if these are out there then why haven't some of us heard of them, or for that matter seen them in an ad on TV. I know of the "Safari" but no ever.

I've already mentioned this several times, the one I own is a Gigabyte and their latest version ups the ante. There are plenty of others about. Maybe some of these simply don't get to the US, like many things that the US gets, we don't. That said, the specifications that I'm talking about have been available in many devices for some time.

 

[Tepid]

Tablets and Convertibles - Microsoft Store Online

Keep in mind that these are initial offerings. There will be more, and models will change.

 

[Rickkins]

I'll bet that there are a lot of frayed nerves right about now over at ms central.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

Hi Ray,

Simple question: can you please give us the name along with the brand of tablets you are talking about? It just seems that if these are out there then why haven't some of us heard of them, or for that matter seen them in an ad on TV. I know of the "Safari" but no ever.

I've already mentioned this several times, the one I own is a Gigabyte and their latest version ups the ante. There are plenty of others about. Maybe some of these simply don't get to the US, like many things that the US gets, we don't. That said, the specifications that I'm talking about have been available in many devices for some time.

Is this the one you speak of?

GIGABYTE - Notebook & Netbook - Notebook & Netbook - T series - T1006

 

[Ray8]

Is this the one you speak of?

GIGABYTE - Notebook & Netbook - Notebook & Netbook - T series - T1006

NO, I'm talking about this series of tablets: GIGABYTE - Slate & Tablet - Slate & Tablet - S series.

 

[Lee]

Apple Reports Best Quarterly Results Ever in Q1 2013: $13.1 Billion Profit on $54.5 Billion in Revenue
Read this and saw it on the evening news. Along with this it was shown that Apple in the last quarter sold 22.7 million iPads, and 13.1 million iPhones (most the iPhones sales was in China). So at the moment Tim is saying that Apple is doing all right and the rumors behind them loosing ground is misleading.

Take all of this as you may.

 

[pparks1]

Funny because I just read a story on usa today saying sales while high did not meet expectations and stock was dropping.

 

[Ray8]

That's the problem with all companies today, they make a prediction about future sales/profit and if it doesn't come true, the shareholders get all wobbly. Never mind the fact that a massive profit was made, as it didn't meet the predictions, everyone gets worried.

 

[Coke Robot]

Yeah, I was reading in the Bing News app how apple's Q1 performance is more akin to 2009's Q1.

There should be concern with apple now, as they don't seem to be targeting developing markets how android and Windows Phone are. They're keeping hold with developed, saturated markets; and the stock is being viewed as in between a value stock versus a performance stock.

 

[Windunce]

CLAMORING!! Where can I get one of those Visicalc machine?

I am not the most avid poster, nor am I fanboi of anything but freedom.

Been involved with computers since I purchased my first clone [does anyone remember that term?]
back in 1981.

Worked/played on my brother-in-laws Apple II clone called the Franklin soon after.

The Apple gestapo squashed them out VERY quickly. So I wandered back to the IBM clone field
and never really looked back and have been enjoying the configurability of that platform ever since.

I'm 62 and of course used my computer mostly for bills and taxes and other financial endeavors.
Loved the launch of Quattro Pro for Dos which pioneered the tabbed spreadsheets.
Lotus 2.01 was soon relegated to the garbage can. I plodded through the various releases of Windows
and updated my box as needed throughout the years. Heck if DOS 6.2 recognized a terabyte drive and
USB 3.0 I'd still boot into it. DOS 'graphics' are still good enough for me. Now THAT was fast and fluid.
Durn sheet popped up nearly before you hit the Enter key.

Although I was quite myopic in my own use of technology, I couldn't help notice the kids and grandkids
graviatating towards their phones and .mp3 players and pads as the years went by. They want and use mostly
'content' but can and do use rudimentary cloud apps and are just fine with them.

They never knew,and therefore never much cared about the freedom of configurability. The veil of coolness
cloaked it, so that 'issue' never came up.

But the facts are the facts, and they were stated quite succinctly in this video.

Microsoft Has No Business Selling Tablets: Josh Brown | Daily Ticker - Yahoo! Finance

It's not the END for Microsoft in any way, shape or form, but they sure do have one huge marketing
job on their hands to turn the tide. Till their tablet is linked to 'the next killer app' it will be a tough job indeed.

I wish them all the luck in the world

 

[jimbo45]

Apple Reports Best Quarterly Results Ever in Q1 2013: $13.1 Billion Profit on $54.5 Billion in Revenue
Read this and saw it on the evening news. Along with this it was shown that Apple in the last quarter sold 22.7 million iPads, and 13.1 million iPhones (most the iPhones sales was in China). So at the moment Tim is saying that Apple is doing all right and the rumors behind them loosing ground is misleading.

Take all of this as you may.

Hi there
I don't think you understand how the market works -- now a lot of people here understand computers a lot better than I do but I DO understand the markets probably a lot better than those who are good with computers.

It doesn't matter what you've done in the past --Investors are ONLY interested in FUTURE PROFIT.

We all know that once the initial flurry of people buying new devices has finished you cannot sustain that sort of growth so what investors quite naturally are looking for is "Where is the next WOW device" especially as the brilliant inventor Steve Jobs is no longer with us.

As people have pointed out here almost "Ad Nauseam" that computer sales in general are declining -- that includes Macbooks too.
The Iphone has plenty of competitors and the Ipad after a final XMAS rush is now beginning to be seen as somewhat overpriced, very uncool now and limited by new competition from other manufacturers - and if you look at the stock price it's dropped 30% since Nov.

Of course with the sheer amount of cash they have it won't disappear overnight - but Apple needs to re-do it's whole business model or it will die quick enough. - The Market is a tough business place and if you get it wrong --doesn't matter how good you've been in the past you will be SEVERELY PUNISHED.

Enc graph of Apple stock. As you can see it's on a very slippery downward trend and there's no "Resistance point" that I can see (from Basic "Technical Analysis" if we have any market traders here).

Cheers
jimbo

 

[labeeman]

Hey something good about Windows 8 surface in the news RARE now days.

Microsoft Surface Pro: The movie | Microsoft - CNET News

 

[jimbo45]

HI there
I haven't actually heard anything BAD about Surface Pro yet -- apart from its Non Appearance.

Finally that looks like being addressed over the next 2 or 3 weeks.

USB3 and decent HDMI full 1080p output is DEFINITELY what people need -- now I would have 3 issues with these

1) USB3 port -- is the device able to support an externally powered USB3 hub so I could connect 2 or 3 USB drives on it.
2) HDMI out -- are the adapters fine to connect to large external monitor or are they too fiddly and break easily.
3) Price -- I'd have to think carefully as to whether I would chose one of these or a laptop. I have to say though from the promo this will KILL the IPAD

As before I enc the AAPL graph.

AAPL (Market Code for our favourite "Fruit Company") your shares are going down down down again .

Cheers
jimbo

 

[phillipduran]

Is this going to be like the Zune, only available in the US?

No, but it is probably going to be like the Zune.

 

[jimbo45]

Is this going to be like the Zune, only available in the US?

No, but it is probably going to be like the Zune.

Why should it only be available in the US. Can't fathom the logic here -- Ms will do very well all over the place - why restrict it to US only.

I'd like to see a "Stress test" compared with the Ipad -- by Stress test I mean Mechanical tests in fair wear and tear being taken on planes etc, mauled and roughly handled by zealous customs officials, coffee spilt, bicycle rider with one of these in a baclpack riding the bike on cobbled streets etc.

I've no trouble with an ultrabook laptop riding one of those so called "Boris Bikes" you see in Brussels / Paris / London.

"Boris Bikes" name given to those types of Bikes for Hire in cities such as Paris, Brussels, London -- so called after London Mayor "Boris Johnson" introduced the well known Paris Bike scheme to London.

Pic enc

Cheers
jimbo

 

[pparks1]

USB3 and decent HDMI full 1080p output is DEFINITELY what people need -- now I would have 3 issues with these

1) USB3 port -- is the device able to support an externally powered USB3 hub so I could connect 2 or 3 USB drives on it.
2) HDMI out -- are the adapters fine to connect to large external monitor or are they too fiddly and break easily.
3) Price -- I'd have to think carefully as to whether I would chose one of these or a laptop. I have to say though from the promo this will KILL the IPAD

As an aside, the $249 Chromebook that I use has both USB 3.0 and 1080p HDMI out.

I'm back to the point where I would really really like to buy a Surface Pro and really try it out. But I'm not sure if I can swing $1,000 for a techie learning experience.

 

[labeeman]

Is this going to be like the Zune, only available in the US?

No, but it is probably going to be like the Zune.

More on that point. Microsoft hopes it will be better than the Zune but I do not think so,

No UK date, no biz disties: Will Microsoft cock-up the Surface Pro too?

 

[Rickkins]

Personally, while I'm sure the surface pro is gonna be a first rate product, for that kind of money I would buy a laptop, not a tablet. But that's just me, I'm old and I'm cheap....

 

[rmeigs]

As a consultant that is often away from his deck, my needs are for a Microsoft ecosystem based tablet that lets me access client files and product data, stay on top of email, read tons of online material, do light document editing – you get the picture. In my situation, I’m not at all sure why I’d want a Surface Pro.

Having the ability to run desktop programs isn’t enough to spend that kind of money. I only need my desktop programs for substantial and/or extended computing. I’m sure not interested in doing my heavy lifting on a laptop (which is what a Surface with keyboard equals) the size of a Netbook. I’ll turn to my HP Quad-core laptop with the 15 inch screen for that which only cost 60% of what the Surface Pro is going to run.

I know everybody’s computing needs are not the same, so I’d be very interested in what others see as the real value of the Surface Pro in their computing context. I don’t ask in an antagonistic way, I’m really curious.

 

[mcnulty]

I think that the Samsung Ativ Smart PC Pro has a better chance of at least pretending to be an ultrabook than the Surface Pro.

Samsung Ativ Smart PC Pro - Video Review - YouTube

Personally, I think these hybrids are too heavy and pricey to be tablets and too constrained and compromised to be useful to replace light laptops. It's the only kind of device where the hybrid design of Windows 8 makes some sense though.