How interesting. Some poor-sportsmanship, methinks. Definite sour-grapeage.

As far as I'm concerned (And I have three tablets in my desk at work, an iPad1, and iPad2 and a Xoom, and I write apps for them), they're all useless lumps really. I have zero desire to have one. My thoughts are pretty much exactly as per this Engadget article

The sad thing is that Microsoft had the design and functionality damn spot on with their Courier device. THAT, with the stylus and interface/note taking etc. etc. really WOULD have been a useful device. Something that would have replaced the stack of notepads I have at work.

But no, they scrapped it

I don't care how huge this tablet market currently is, what I'd like to know is how many people are regularly using theirs a year after getting it...

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

It's only been about 6 months for me, but I'm still using my iPad 2 heavily - can't see that changing in a year. Definitely not a perfect device but pretty damn useful for Kindle, movies, web browsing and games. I'm typing on it now.>> ^spoco2:

As far as I'm concerned (And I have three tablets in my desk at work, an iPad1, and iPad2 and a Xoom, and I write apps for them), they're all useless lumps really. I have zero desire to have one. My thoughts are pretty much exactly as per this Engadget article
The sad thing is that Microsoft had the design and functionality damn spot on with their Courier device. THAT, with the stylus and interface/note taking etc. etc. really WOULD have been a useful device. Something that would have replaced the stack of notepads I have at work.
But no, they scrapped it
I don't care how huge this tablet market currently is, what I'd like to know is how many people are regularly using theirs a year after getting it...

It looks like he'd like to voice a few ideas not only in regards to Apple but also in regards to what MS should be doing (in the market). But he can't because it's not his role anymore. (I can imagine that he wouldn't want to over-step Ballmer. It'd be very destabalising to MS.)

And I liked what I saw of Courier, too.

>> ^shuac:

How interesting. Some poor-sportsmanship, methinks. Definite sour-grapeage.

Poor old Bill. When you have to say "no comment" you pretty much admit you're in a position of weakness. Microsoft have missed the boat with tablets all because they don't want to give up the money they make from Windows.

I've played with tablets and I might even get one very soon. I definitely see a use for them in terms of casual browsing and general entertainment. I've had many situations where I'm moving my laptop room to room and I know the keyboard is not needed and the mouse positioning is difficult.

Sitting with a touchscreen device that almost anyone can use is a big win and a far more elegant scenario than balancing a laptop awkwardly and wondering how to site the mouse.

I can see even my dad using one which would be a marvelous achievement. And if someone asks me to look up some info I can bring it over very easily.

Actually, the Gateses are two of the most generous philanthropists. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx. While the practices at factories that support Apple show that they may be ignoring "the good" of their workers for the benefit of their consumers.

I don't like judging those in the public eye because we don't really know them. But what's irked me in the recent years is the blind, almost religious, adoration of Jobs. I admit, however, that he can be an inspiration.

Has Steve Jobs ever given to charity? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070620152256AAtA8WX
Gates v Jobs (Wired article): http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/01/70072

Look at how he's gripping the armrest. Hilarious.

@spoco2

I have to disagree and it comes from someone who was in a very similar position to you when the first iPad was announced and came out. I've worked 13 years in IT and have a pretty good feel for technology and I was CONVINCED there was no real market for a device larger than a smartphone, but smaller than say an airbook. In my mind, the macbook air would have been something 100x better than an iPad for a lot of reasons.

When the iPad hit, I watched and initially felt vindicated because I felt it was just a larger iPhone that just didn't do all the things an iPhone did.

Over the following year though, I saw (at least in my office environment) a very clear niche that it fit far better than a laptop. While it is not as powerful, it was impressively useful in meetings. What people don't seem to get is that when you have a bunch of people with laptops in a meeting, it can actually get quite loud and distracting. There is also the physical barrier of the screen which seems to put people behind a wall in a subtle way. The iPad sits almost flush against the table, allows you to take notes silently and really reduces the distractions of larger laptops.

What impresses me so much about it as a productivity tool is that it doesn't replace a laptop or a phone, but allows for a very specific type of subtlety when in meetings specifically. A year later I got it to replace a macbook air and I'm VERY pleased with how good it is, specifically for meetings. The fact that you can turn it on and off quickly and the battery life is pretty damned good for all it does, I'm really sold for my own business purposes.

This said, I do have some major problems with the way that tablets are being pushed for things they absolutely SUCK at. I'm an avid gamer and I feel that while the iPad has been good with games that work in a touch-screen environment (puzzle games, rpgs, etc.) the insistence that apple and game developers have to try to shove motion/tilt control down my throat, or really shitty third/first-person shooter control is really really annoying. Puzzle Quest 2 - perfect on the iPad, Dead Space - unplayable on the iPad.

As for this video, he really didn't have a choice. Absolutely anything he said would have turned into a giant front-page BS article that would have hurt MS... I'm not surprised at all that he went with no-comment.

*talks

Adding video to channels (Talks) - requested by ant.

>> ^spoco2:

As far as I'm concerned (And I have three tablets in my desk at work, an iPad1, and iPad2 and a Xoom, and I write apps for them), they're all useless lumps really. I have zero desire to have one. My thoughts are pretty much exactly as per this Engadget article


And here's the thing. When the iPad came out, all the tech reviews and tech bloggers and the people who write about these things said it was rubbish. What they menat was that it wasn't a device they would want. What apple is great at doing is ignoring the tech guys, who are the niche market, and getting the normal, everyday people a product that works for them. My iPad is the most used gadget I have, by a long way. This is because it does the few things I want it to do and it does them well.

The iPad is just too successful for it to be a bad product. It's giving the majority what they want and ignoring the tech guys. Apple seem to be one of the few companies to realise where the money really is in computing, and it's not with people who know a lot about computers.

I have no use for a low resolution, awkwardly small device which you must crane your neck to use or hold in front of your eyes eternally. I like computing on the edge baby, with ultra high resolution big screen and a comfortable chair. And maybe most of all.... a REAL keyboard with buttons. I am sure there are some fast screen typists out there, but its not for me... I like tactile feedback and lit keys in a dark room. The tablet may be ideal for going to the bathroom however...

I bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 yesterday and I fecking LOVE it.

Size, weight and form factor are all perfect. It's easy to hold whether I'm at my desk or couch. It also allows me to quickly move around with it to share information with my family. And when I woke up this morning it was great to check my email in five seconds instead of powering on the desktop (I could use my phone but that doesn't normally occur to me when at home).

The whole touch interface is very tactile and pleasing. It's got a smooth learning curve (I got most of the basics right in the shop and set their display model to use Swype which amazed the sales guy) and once you have the wi-fi setup the next thing is to download any essential applications.

I definitely recommend Dolphin HD browser. The widgets work well and it generally feels like a cutting edge tech experience. The market can be flaky - I know it can drop connections over wi-fi which has happened - and I need to google for the tab-optimised applications, but other than that no complaints at the moment.

The next step is definitely support for multiple users. That oversight astonishes me as this is a device that will be shared unlike a phone.

>> ^deathcow:

I have no use for a low resolution, awkwardly small device which you must crane your neck to use or hold in front of your eyes eternally. I like computing on the edge baby, with ultra high resolution big screen and a comfortable chair. And maybe most of all.... a REAL keyboard with buttons. I am sure there are some fast screen typists out there, but its not for me... I like tactile feedback and lit keys in a dark room. The tablet may be ideal for going to the bathroom however...


The stock keyboard on these devices are crap and do not work. But add Swype or Slide-it and they work just great for short amounts of text. Once you start typing an essay then move back to the laptop.