
Microsoft Bashes Apple's iWork Software, New iPads - adidash
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/23/microsoft-bashes-apples-iwork-software-new-ipads/
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hyperbovine
"A single, simple, affordable device that helps you both lean in and kick
back."

I feel like Mitt Romney is trying to sell me a Surface. Binders full of
applications!

~~~
yaeger
"It takes an understanding of how people actually work"

A bit heavy handed seeing as how they messed up the entire UI on the desktop,
basically giving the finger to the enterprise users. "Oh, you want to work
productively on your desktop machine? Here, Enjoy some non optional Metro
Tiles that slap you in the face every time you try to navigate around the OS."

~~~
JimmaDaRustla
Nailed it.

Everyone ponders Windows 8. I keep repeating - they've taken away the elements
which allow our mind to flow between applications as we WORK. Full screen apps
create a disconnection in my mind from the rest of the state of my desktop.

Edit: This really isn't relative to the context of the article, but rather the
UI of Windows 8.

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phaus
Before I start, let me say that I love the idea of a surface, and that the
only reason I have an iPad instead of a surface is because I couldn't warrant
spending $900 bucks on a secondary device at the moment. Both are great
devices, but if I had the money, I'd probably get a Surface Pro 2.

>That’s what Surface is. A single, simple, affordable device that helps you
both lean in and kick back. Let’s be clear – helping folks kill time on a
tablet is relatively easy. Give them books, music, videos and games, and
they’ll figure out the rest. Pretty much all tablets do that.

The problem with this statement is that its not relatively easy. I've owned
seven Android phones (starting with the G1), an Android tablet, an Asus EEE
Slate, and two iPads. When it comes to a streamlined system for delivering
entertainment, the iPad provides a superior experience to all of them.

>The Surface and Surface 2 are less expensive than the iPad 2 and iPad Air
respectively, and yet offer more storage, both onboard and in the cloud.

I never understood why people say things that they know are disingenuous at
the time they make the statement. Yes, its technically correct to say that the
Surface Pro 2 is cheaper than a 128GB iPad, but Frank knows very well that the
16GB model is by far the most popular.

>The good news is that Microsoft understands how people work better than
anyone else on the planet.

I think office is better than any of its competitors, but if Microsoft
understands how people work better than anybody, why did we get an overpriced,
gimmicky keyboard cover instead of something that can be used without a desk?

~~~
fekberg
Considering what you can actually do with the different devices, I think the
prices are a good selling point. I had an iPad before but after I got my
Surface (both RT and Pro) I found myself using the tablet for more stuff and I
found myself having it with me much more and enjoying it. I've used Surface
Pro for work (Visual Studio, Office) and it's been working good.

Regarding the keyboard and not having a desk, with Surface 2 it is supposedly
better as you have one more angle with the kickstand. I love the TypeCover
when I am by a desk, never really found TouchCover that enjoyable to write on.

Here's some of the prices:

Surface 2 with 32GB is $449

Surface 2 with 64GB is $549

Surface 2 pro with 64GB is $899

Surface 2 pro with 128GB is $999

Surface 2 pro with 256GB is $1,299

Surface 2 pro with 512GB is $1,799

iPad 2 with 16GB is $399

iPad Air with 16GB is $499

iPad Air with 32GB is $599

iPad Air with 64GB is $699

iPad Air with 128GB is $799

~~~
Toshio
Ahem, your post sounds so enthusiastic about a product that has proven to be a
dud with consumers, that I'm missing some kind of disclosure from you.
Therefore, let me ask you this: are you in any way affiliated with microsoft?
As in, you know, employee, freelance evangelist or member of a benefit program
such as MVP.

LATER EDIT: Yeah I looked at your profile, my suspicions were confirmed.

~~~
phaus
Its good to be aware that he does have a connection, but there are
unaffiliated people that do like the Surface Pro.

Its a dud with consumers because the price is high and the implementation is
lacking.

When the day finally arrives where someone absolutely nails the implementation
of a hybrid device that's light enough to function as a tablet, as powerful
and long-lasting as an ultrabook, capable of transforming from one to role to
the other, while remaining competitively priced, pretty much everyone is going
to want one.

I think that we are nearing the time when such a device is possible.
Unfortunately, it hasn't been designed yet, so here we are discussing the
failures of another half-hearted attempt at making convergence a reality.

There are bound to be people that say "Not everyone wants that", but if you
could have a device that's equally well-suited to each role, without paying
more, why wouldn't you?

~~~
Toshio
> "why wouldn't you?"

Maybe because of my UNIX-influenced worldview which says that the things I'm
using should be streamlined, do-one-thing-but-do-it-very-well, and should be
"composable" as in ... via UNIX pipes, if we're talking about software
utilities, and by putting them on the same network, if we're talking about
computing devices.

~~~
phaus
Before the introduction of tablets, traditional computng devices performed the
tasks now expected of tablets. They simply offered an alternative input method
and a more convenient form factor.

We need to quit acting like convergence forces a computer to do something that
its not well-suited for. Before the iPad, computers were used to consume
content. In the past, we did have to make compromises, because the technology
wasn't sufficiently mature. Now it is, and we don't have to compromise.

In my hypothetical scenario, the device is equally well suited to being used
as a tablet or an ultrabook. Such a hypothetical device renders your argument
moot, because your argument depdends on a hybrid device not being able to
perform as well as a single purpose device. We are at the point where hybrids
are a small fraction of a lb heavier than a tablet while in tablet mode, and a
small fraction heavier than a Macbook Air while in laptop mode. This indicates
that the technology is there, we simply need someone to come up with a good
design.

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DigitalSea
I will have to side with Microsoft here, everything said is in-fact true. The
Surface from a technical perspective trumps the iPad, it's effectively a true
computer (USB ports, storage options) inside of a tablet form. In all honesty,
it was never Apple that was focused, it was Steve Jobs. When Jobs was at the
helm, he did things differently to everyone else and it was this different
approach that got Apple to where it is now. The legacy that Steve Jobs created
is being carried on, albeit rather loosely. It's obvious Apple are losing
their way very slowly, we can't forget that the iPad and iPhone were both
masterminded by Jobs and Johnny. I mean seriously, the iPad Air? It has
nothing to gloat about except being lighter, but was the iPad ever that heavy
to warrant being lighter? It already weighed less than some books can way.

Microsoft don't get enough credit, they've done a lot of things wrong, but I
think the Surface is a solid device that doesn't get enough attention. The
price point was definitely wrong, if you want to rival Apple you have to
undercut them in the market. Most people don't buy Apple devices because of
technical specs, they buy them because of the large library of applications,
the hype around owning an Apple device and the look and feel. When is the last
time you heard someone saying they were going to buy an iPad because of the
kind of CPU it has?

The iPad and Surface Pro 2 are both fantastic devices that can achieve the
same things. The software is different, but on a hardware level they are both
highly capable devices with seemingly limitless potential. Apple has the
better OS for the moment and the better design, but Microsoft has the better
hardware. For those that have used both iWork and Microsoft Office, it's
obvious that Microsoft wins hands down. You never see anything other than
Microsoft office being used in the enterprise and I doubt you ever will in
this lifetime.

If you want to win accolades and praise, making fun of the competition in this
way makes you look like a jealous douche, both Apple and Microsoft come across
as childish to me. Once upon a time Apple in terms of their public presence
and marketing never really mentioned the competition but based on remarks that
Tim Cook made, it's obvious their strategy is to no longer take the high
ground and let the consumer make their choice, they're playing hard-ball with
Microsoft and Samsung now.

~~~
jaxn
Do you remember the whole "I'm a Mac" commercial series? Apple didn't exactly
take the high road under Jobs—they just took the low road better.

~~~
DigitalSea
The "I'm A Mac" commercial series was a light-hearted campaign that people
from both sides found funny. As a PC user, I even found it funny. Things feel
different in the way Apple are handling themselves these days, after all these
years of being on-top, their competitors are finally catching up with a
vengeance. Apple have no new product ideas as revolutionary as the iPad or
iPhone which were turning points in the portable hardware race that left
naysayers struggling to compete in.

Going on the defensive when you feel threatened is a natural human instinct
which carries through to the business world as well, it's just filtered a
whole lot better generally (unless it's coming from the top as is the case
with Cook and Balmer).

~~~
FireBeyond
Somewhat. That's how it started. How it ended was nasty, actively deceptive
and minor nitpicking bitterness. Towards the end, that campaign just made me
cringe.

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z3niMAGiNE
In case anyone was wondering: iPads aren't desktop computers and Office is
more powerful than iWork. The rhetoric is reminiscent of the old Detroit.

~~~
phaus
You're correct, but the iPad should be sufficiently powerful enough to run a
proper office suite.

Pages is good enough for my purposes(writing papers for college), but the
other apps have a long way to go.

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blahbl4hblahtoo
To be fair Apple takes cheap shots at them all the time. Both companies have a
long history of taking pokes at each other.

The outrage among their fans is always entertaining, but people should
remember that "Apple" and "Microsoft" aren't people that are talking mean
about each other. They are companies that sell products. They are going to
advocate for their products vigorously. Shocking.

The emotion that gets wrapped up in these arguments is a little creepy. It's
really a sign of how marketing has been internalized by some people.
(Including the people at MS and Apple.)

