Gosh is MSFT really going to tank out? I can't believe this is happening. Maybe they got too ahead of themselves. They should really stop following what others have already perfected and get in the business of being innovative again. How about creating a "virtual keyboard" where a usb sensor can sense your hand movements and create text from that?

Like this?

http://www.marcofolio.net/images/sto...keyboard_2.jpg

They (will) have the Surface Pro... No?

I don't think they followed anyone. They went further ("full" OS on a tablet instead of "phone" OS on a tablet)...

A virtual keyboard looks like the most uncomfortable keyboard. You will constantly have to look at the virtual keyboard in order to see where your fingers are (at least with typing on a touch screen you can see both your fingers as well as what you're typing).
On the Surface Touch cover you can actually feel where the keys are so you don't have to look at the Touch cover when typing.

Fail... More gimmick than useful...

IIRC, the screen specs on the Surface Pro is still a dreadful 720p.

Edited to add: Nevermind. It will have a 1080p screen.

Actually types very well even if not really suitable for propper touch typing.

No Windows 8/RT love from Google:

Google not planning to "build out Windows apps" because the users aren't there

But given that RT/WP8 is direct Android competition, that's not a big surprise.

Google just released Maps for iOS, which some people are saying is even better than the current version for Android.

They don't support iPad or offline mode but those are supposedly coming.

So apparently they will release apps. for the competition.

I think that was to rub salt into the Apple map wounds, especially as it became the most popular app yesterday on iTunes.

No I think they expect to get a lot of data from usage to help them make money in their primary business of serving up ads.

That too but I'd be surprised if there wasn't some salt rubbing going on.

And in another attack on Microsoft, Google ends ActiveSync support for new customers on 30-Jan-2013

http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/14/3...-windows-phone

Does anyone know if this impacts the Surface mail client?

I don't think so - pretty sure they use IMAP.

Seems someone has figured out how to load any old ARM-compatible software on the RT no need to use the MS store.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01...curity_hacked/

Hey for those of you who have the Surface, could it run full version of the Firefox browser along with all the addons? The bad thing about iOS and Android tablets is that neither could run full firefox browser. The addon support for mobile Firefox is very limited.

From TG Daily

$900 Microsoft Windows 8 Surface Pro launches on Feb 9

Posted January 22, 2013 - 16:13 by Trent Nouveau
Microsoft has confirmed that its Intel-powered Windows 8 Pro Surface tablet will launch on February 9, 2013.

The device - which is equipped with a Core i5 processor - starts at $900 and will be available at a number of retailers, including Microsoft's official store, Staples and Best Buy.

dot dot dot

Additional accessories, such as the Touch Cover and Type Cover, carry a price tag of $120 and $130, respectively.

Microsoft also announced a slew of new accessories for its tablet lineup, including three touch covers (red, magenta and cyan) for $130, along with a Wedge Touch Mouse for $70.

While I still think it's pretty pricey, I would certainly get this over an RT if I needed a windows tablet and nobody else was making them, and I had money to just toss out the window


Read more at http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-feat...sCMEgj8UVMx.99

I'm willing to give them another try - it sounds like Surface Pro fixes everything I hated about Surface RT.

Are they still lying about the memory each tablet comes with?

The wedge mouse looks pretty cool, I was not aware they had that. It's available for $40 and up from other vendors for those who don't want to pay $70 for it.

Looks interesting but would it be comfortable to move around?

Guess it has more surface area than Apple's mouse for the touch control though.

Yup, they are so bent on lying to you about the storage on RT that they even setup a page to explain it all to customers - http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-US/storage.

Additionally in the basic specs, you can see a #3 pointing to a note at the bottom that tells you that - "System software uses significant storage space; your storage capacity will be less. See surface.com/storage. 1 GB = 1 billion bytes. "

Yes, absolutely they are being dishonest and sneaky here.

Let's also not forget about how Apple does the same - "2.1GB = 1 billion bytes; actual formatted capacity less.", except I don't see a page that explains exactly how much is available, like Microsoft does.

With all due respect, that page didn't pop up until AFTER the controversy.

And the iPad doesn't use most of its storage space to hold the OS -yes, the whole bit/byte thing wastes a little, but a 16GB iPad still has about 15GB whereas the 32GB Surface only offers 16GB (yes - only half is available).

Microsoft wastes half the storage space for the OS, apps and recovery - with no way to relaim the space.

I am a technie, and fully understand that I will lose some space, but I won't accept losing half of it just for the damn OS.

Quite simply, it seems Microsoft seem to struggle with the concept of computing device as appliance. I had high hopes for Surface but it seems Microsoft are unable to do anything without shooting themselves in the foot. They are actually trying to turn a profit on these devices when what's needed is as many surface tablets in the hands of users as is possible.

Yeah I remember reading somewhere that they estimated even higher margins than iPads.

Obviously they didn't anticipate the Nexus 7. Not only 7-inch form factor being very popular but being sold at cost or minimal profit.

Despite your snarky reply Microsoft is actually lying to you about how much memory you will have. They did this specifically to be able to claim their 32gb unit was cheaper than an Apple 32GB unit, when in fact they are actually comparing their 16gb unit to an Apple 32gb unit.

That's really shocking. :td:

You think is shocking? Look at THIS!!!

http://9to5mac.com/2013/01/29/on-day...ith-83gb-free/

The 64GB version of Surface Pro has 23GB of free storage out of the box?!

Yep, confirmed by Microsoft, the "64"gb Surface Pro has less than 1/2 the advertised memory available for your use!!!! OMG!!!!


http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/29/s...pro-hdd-space/

That one is a little easier to deal with - there is a recovery portion that can be removed once you create a recovery drive, and you can uninstall the trial of Office 2013. I expect to have about 45GB free once I clean it up, which is quite normal for machines like that. RT didn't have this luxury.