
Live from Microsoft's mystery press conference in Los Angeles - molmalo
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/18/microsoft-major-announcement-livelog/
======
csmeder
built in kickstand?
[http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/06/micros...](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/06/microsofttablet0096.jpg)
kinda cheezy

Cover is a keyboard?
[http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/06/micros...](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/06/microsofttablet0103.jpg)

That's actually cool

~~~
joe_the_user
Serious question, in what way is your second picture not a picture of a more-
or-less conventional laptop?

I'm asking because I find the "live blog" page incomprehensible.

~~~
molmalo
Because it's basically a tablet, but the screen cover (3mm thick), that is
attached with magnets and can be detached, is a full multi-touch keyboard.

------
pooriaazimi
Holy Shit! STEVE BALLMER SAID THIS:

 _"We believe that any intersection between human and machine can be made
better when every aspect of the experience, hardware and software, are
considered together."_

I need to lay down... I wouldn't be half as surprised if Steve Jobs would
announce in 2010 that they'll abandon making hardware and license iOS and OS
X.

~~~
huggyface
Why would this be even remotely surprising? Microsoft is currently trying to
cargo-cult what Apple is doing. That they ape the same philosophy isn't
unexpected.

~~~
Splines
Are you really implying that Apple's end-to-end ownership of their product has
little to do with their success?

~~~
huggyface
_Are you really implying that Apple's end-to-end ownership of their product
has little to do with their success?_

What a funny, looking-for-an-argument response. You know what, though- I'll
humour you.

Do you understand what a cargo-cult is? Are you _really implying_ (groan) that
end-to-end ownership is the precusor to success? With this transition,
Microsoft is guaranteed super success, right?

But let's go back to Apple for a moment: If you want to attribute their recent
success to it, you must also attribute their prior _failure_ to it as well, as
they went through well over a decade with dismal products and brutal sales.
During the same time that Microsoft, who didn't have end-to-end ownership, was
the darling of the tech industry with unheralded success.

I don't know why this sort of sophistry that is so common on here rubs me so
raw. I think it's that so many are so desperate to try to simplify the world
into clear differentiators, with a seeming blindness to the exceptions and the
history behind their ridiculous claims.

------
InclinedPlane
I'm impressed. Construction and overall engineering looks solid, the
integrated super-thin keyboard is cool, the stylus input is impressive.

Some nagging questions: battery life? price? availability? (most likely
concurrent with win 8 release) screen resolution? (it looked like an IPS
display from the screen shots) ram & cpu specs?

~~~
molmalo
Not everything is clear yet. But take a look at this. Some of the specs:

[http://www.microsoft.com/global/surface/en/us/renderingasset...](http://www.microsoft.com/global/surface/en/us/renderingassets/surfacespecsheet.pdf)

~~~
InclinedPlane
I've seen it, that's not a spec sheet. No CPU/GPU info. No RAM info. Not even
display resolution info. It doesn't even tell you what wifi standards it
supports except through reading between the lines.

~~~
molmalo
I suspect that's because they don't have a final model yet. Notice that this
page states: _Actual size and weight of the device may vary due to
configuration and manufacturing process_. They announce what they know will be
there in the final product. When they have the full final spec, they will show
it to us.

~~~
InclinedPlane
Hmm, interesting point. There's enough time before launch for that to be an
option, at least for the display.

------
dfxm12
Isn't this the wrong time for a press conference? It's good for the west
coast, USA, but who else is really paying attention? Most of the east coast &
are at home eating dinner or getting ready for bed & it's very early morning
in Asia, right? Am I missing something here?

~~~
RyJones
Microsoft is very much a west-coast-of-the-US company. I'm sure they had to
wait for markets to close, as well.

~~~
dfxm12
If they are waiting for the markets to close, does this mean they aren't even
confident in their new device? Why have the live press conference anyway?

~~~
RyJones
Microsoft always waits for the markets to close for events or announcements.
This is nothing new.

------
BenoitEssiambre
It's been a long time since I've been impressed by a MS product. Kudos to
them.

~~~
aik
Yeah seriously. Microsoft might actually become publicly cool someday soon.
This was the most impressive thing I have ever seen Microsoft do -- both in
terms of quality of presentation and product. I guess we'll see if it is as
impressive hands-on.

------
dm8
Microsoft Surface - Tablet from MSFT

More information: <http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en/us/about.aspx>

Looks cool to be honest. With Metro UI it can be game changer.

------
NTH
The tablet's name is "Surface"? Isn't that a bit odd, given that the previous
Microsoft Surface didn't ever really take off?

~~~
InclinedPlane
And was based on completely different technology and served a different
purpose.

~~~
Kerrick
Yeah, I feel that Microsoft is bastardizing or abandoning everything that
Microsoft Surface (the table computer) was supposed to be by repurposing its
name into Microsoft Surface (the tablet computer) just to compete with iPad.

------
joe_the_user
Wow,

What better vehicle for an OS generally panned as a poor marriage of touch and
keyboard - than a tablet marrying ... touch and keyboard. Touchscreen laptops
have been a hit so far... I suggest they add a pen.

Even the engadget page is strikingly confusing. "Hey we can use javascript to
switch images as the scrolls down the page" - sure, that doesn't mean you
_should_ have such bizarro design. If the reviews are correct here, malform
follows malfunction..

~~~
koeselitz
You want them to add a pen? They added a pen:

[http://d35lb3dl296zwu.cloudfront.net/uploads/photo/image/632...](http://d35lb3dl296zwu.cloudfront.net/uploads/photo/image/6325/verge-
lb-1023.jpg)

------
jmduke
The keyboard-cover is a cool idea, but I can't imagine using it well unless
I'm using a desk (at what point I'd be using a laptop.)

90% of the time I use my iPad, its on the couch, in bed, or when I'm standing
up.

Still, props to Microsoft for this initiative.

~~~
cdr
You can do 90% of what you'd want to do on a laptop without the laptop. Why
carry both?

A lot of people I know in a certain live coverage niche have already switched
to iPads over laptops for composing and publishing content on the fly, with
and without external keyboards. A tablet with keyboard makes a lot of sense
over a laptop where mobility is important.

~~~
ditojim
but can i sit it in my lap and type, like on my laptop?

~~~
NeutronBoy
Not comfortably. But I can more easily play angry birds on it while slouched
in front of my TV. Each device has its pros and cons.

------
milesskorpen
Launching with Windows 8 (and 3 months later for the pro version). Pricing
starts as competitive with other tablets for their 32gb and 64gb variants,
going up to ultrabook range for their 128gb version.

So: No immediate launch. No major price advantage (and no pricing details
either)

~~~
mikeash
No mention of battery life, which I thought was a glaring omission. Either
they think that "tablet" implies great battery life so it doesn't need to be
mentioned, which seems unlikely, or the battery life sucks and they don't see
any point in calling attention to it.

------
nicktal
A link to Verge's live-blog feed...much better than Engadget's
[http://live.theverge.com/microsoft-live-blog-tablet-
announce...](http://live.theverge.com/microsoft-live-blog-tablet-
announcement/)

------
joejohnson
I watched WWDC via Engadget using the same interface. Everything about this
presentation, from the timing to the lame device they are actually announcing,
seems poorly thought-out and downright boring compared to Apple's keynote.

Just one of the reasons why "Surface" was a poor name choice: Surface is
trending on Twitter right now, but a search for 'surface' includes lots of
tweets unrelated to Microsoft or this product. Example:

 _Terms of Virgo ‏@VirgoTerms #Virgo can appear emotionally cold on the
surface when they repress their natural kindness._

A similar search for 'iPad' shows zero results that aren't referring to
Apple's iPad.

~~~
MartinCron
Not exactly a fair comparison, during the iPad's announcement, most of the
responses on twitter were lame feminine hygiene jokes.

~~~
joejohnson
Yes, but they were jokes _about_ the iPad. Do a twitter search for 'surface'
and you will see a significant number of tweets which are unrelated to
Microsoft's tablet in anyway.

------
koeselitz
It's funny that they did a whole presentation like this without mentioning the
price, aside from saying it'll be priced "like comparable tablets based on
ARM," which doesn't mean much on the face of it. Just recently there was a lot
of talk about how Windows 8 is too expensive for tablets running it to be
priced in a range to compete with the iPad. One would think that, since
Microsoft is making it in-house, it might be cheap enough to compete with the
iPad; but of course we won't know until we know.

Will we get a price today, or are they holding that back?

~~~
molmalo
Maybe, just because it was "too expensive for tablets running it to be priced
in a range to compete with the iPad", they put their own hardware (without
charging themselves the OS license) at the same price of an iPad or Android
tablet. That way, they would make the entire ecosystem bigger.

------
bosch
Did anyone find the Verge's live blog much more easier to use?

Also, is anyone aware of a way to "pause" a live blog? That would be
worthwhile if say you get a call...

~~~
molmalo
I didn't know of it while the presentation was happening. But now I've checked
it, and you seem to be right, it looks much better.

Also, had checked a live coverage from Ars (
[http://s3.amazonaws.com/liveblogs/microsoft-
tablet/index.htm...](http://s3.amazonaws.com/liveblogs/microsoft-
tablet/index.html) ) but they had just a few pictures. (Now, it seems that he
had a problem: "I wish I could take pictures, but EOS Utility is being awkward
for me unfortunately." )

Anyway, while following this coverage, I was also watching the live streaming
from Cnet. You can watch also their live-blog:
[http://live.cnet.com/Event/Microsofts_mystery_event_in_Los_A...](http://live.cnet.com/Event/Microsofts_mystery_event_in_Los_Angeles?Page=5&tag=Column1;BottomPagination)

Both, the verge's and cnet's are better for the ones coming now :)

------
tysont
My Apple fanboi buddies are telling me that the Surface is ugly. I don't
really get that... seems like every tablet is just a border + glass at this
point, and mostly indistinguishable from the others. If the delta is just the
kickstand + keyboard, I'm a fan. Given that I own an iPhone, Kindle Fire, and
X-Box I claim brand neutrality in the religious war. :)

------
dmvaldman
does anyone else think this engadget live stream interface is absolutely
terrible?

~~~
WrkInProgress
It is atrocious. When you move the images "inline", they end up being 100 px
by 100 px thumbnails.

The Verge liveblog is much better: [http://live.theverge.com/microsoft-live-
blog-tablet-announce...](http://live.theverge.com/microsoft-live-blog-tablet-
announcement/)

------
ashbrahma
Multitouch keyboard on a cover. Brilliant!

------
mindblink
Kudos, Microsoft. Glad to see somebody give Apple a little competition. Been
looking for a way to get my Chrome extension and scripts onto a tablet form-
factor.

------
mladenkovacevic
When they called it Surface I thought it would have that haptic feedback
screen that lets you feel different types of resistance based on what's shown
on the screen. The keyboard/cover thing is pretty cool, though (although I
don't know how comfortable/responsive it'll feel when typing really fast).

This seems more like a showcase of how small, powerful and efficient new chips
have gotten then anything Microsoft has accomplished.

~~~
molmalo
No. If you want to see it that way, it's more of a showcase for their own
hardware engineering. They stated and repeated: "Every micron matters within
Microsoft Surface."

And take a look at this pictures:
[http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/06/micros...](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/06/microsofttablet0171.jpg)
and
[http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/06/micros...](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/06/microsofttablet0185.jpg)
and
[http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/06/micros...](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/06/microsofttablet0145.jpg)

~~~
mladenkovacevic
My point was that not more than 2 years ago you would not have been able to
make a tablet that thin, quiet, cool, fully featured and with an x86 processor
inside to boot.

------
rbanffy
Any word on pricing, availability and whether the x86 will have a locked down
bootloader (as the ARM will probably have)?

BTW, even for the locked down bootloaders, I read somewhere Red Hat was going
to use Microsoft-provided keys to sign their boot images. I wonder if that
means they'll be able to have Fedora on an ARM device.

------
GiraffeNecktie
I find the stretched rectangle proportions awkward to hold in portrait mode
which is how I usually want to use my Asus Transformer. But then I'm more of a
reader than a movie/game person.

------
BobbyBonsai
Steve Ballmer: "We designed Windows 8 for the world we know, in which most
computers are mobile."

That explains EVERYTHING!

------
patrickgzill
My weird guess: eventually Microsoft will end up buying Vizio.

------
startupsdesigns
The keyboard is so cool. Its hard to believe its real.

------
robomartin
Any links to the actual video of the conference?

~~~
InclinedPlane
No such video exists.

~~~
InclinedPlane
Looks like it does now: [http://cdn-smooth.ms-
studiosmedia.com/news/mp4_mq/06182012_S...](http://cdn-smooth.ms-
studiosmedia.com/news/mp4_mq/06182012_Surface_750k.mp4)

~~~
robomartin
Good one. Thanks!

------
CubicleNinjas
The multitouch cover/keyboard is very interesting. I think this could be a
game changer if it works well.

~~~
ojbyrne
When I saw that, I thought "they've managed to turn a tablet into a laptop."
and I actually thought the exact opposite of you.

------
Cloven
I wonder what Microsoft's hardware partners think of all this. It's not just
competition, they actively disparaged the others by saying that it was as
powerful as all the ultrabooks out there.

