microsoft announces new tablet

[bazwillrun]

I'm interested ,looks like a good option if you dont want the closed apple.

I dont particularly like the look of the Metro GUI, but that doesnt bother me because like every other version of Windows within hours of it hitting the streets it will be jailbroken,hacked cracked, customised etc you name it, so you can make it look like whatever you want and probably work how you want.

The missing Start button in Win 8 already has workarounds to bring it back and this piece of kit will be no different.

[aMUSEd]

What is it with MS's horrible obsession with green and blue interfaces? They have zero design sense

[cytone]

EDIT

For the problems with real time audio and Metro development, check out this thread:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4764721

In other words, unless the Caustic dev is wrong, you should shoot for the pro model if you want to use a Win8 tablet for audio stuff.

Just a quick look a that thread I think he was talking about being limited to C#. Windows 8 Metro will allow C++ and directx so it should be a similar platform to iOS for audio apps but MIDI is not supported (yet?).

[polaris20]

EDIT

For the problems with real time audio and Metro development, check out this thread:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4764721

In other words, unless the Caustic dev is wrong, you should shoot for the pro model if you want to use a Win8 tablet for audio stuff.

Just a quick look a that thread I think he was talking about being limited to C#. Windows 8 Metro will allow C++ and directx so it should be a similar platform to iOS for audio apps but MIDI is not supported (yet?).

Yeah, he was referring to C#. Interesting, I was under the impression that Windows 8 RT development would also be limited to C#, as Windows Phone 7 is. That's encouraging if it's not.

[oskari]

Just a quick look a that thread I think he was talking about being limited to C#. Windows 8 Metro will allow C++ and directx so it should be a similar platform to iOS for audio apps but MIDI is not supported (yet?).

WASAPI audio, no MIDI.

[egbert]

Will Windows RT support anything beyond Metro apps?

If Win RT is full Windows 8 but on ARM/NVidia Tegra/etc then is it possible that full OS apps could be compiled to support those other (i.e. non-x86) hardware platforms?

[discoDSP]

This product is not ready for prime time.

Already crashed on the keynote. Good old MS...

http://youtu.be/jozTK-MqEXQ?t=14m8s

[mkdr]

Do you really need antique 80's hardware spec to run music apps? Isn't there other solutions already? USB?

[UltraJv]

This product is not ready for prime time.

Already crashed on the keynote. Good old MS...

http://youtu.be/jozTK-MqEXQ?t=14m8s

You do realise its in Beta right?

[4damind]

This product is not ready for prime time.

Already crashed on the keynote. Good old MS...

http://youtu.be/jozTK-MqEXQ?t=14m8s

This is true, that's why it will be released in 3 month when Windows 8 is ready. The Pro version in 6 month. It's only a keynote and a announcement for a new product.

[egbert]

Looking at that demo (thanks George) the stand, angled camera, multi-tasking and integrated keyboard/trackpad all look pretty good. I am familiar with interfaces and setup of Asus 121 slate (which is reviewed as the best Win 7 slate so far) and the iPad2. The keyboard addons for iPad where you need to change keyboards to even enter an email address seem pretty stupid in a device that size. Having to hold an iPad or park it vertically in a keyboard/stand is also inconvenient if I am watching a video on youtube.

I like to sit back from the screen to focus comfortably so touch-screen only navigation is actually unergonomic for me. I want a trackpad in the keyboard and the Asus 121 slate uses a supplied MS bluetooth keyboard with no trackpad. You need to add another accessory to get the mouse/trackpad thing going.

The Asus 121 uses a Core i5 dual core @ 1.33 Ghz and Win 7 64 with 4 GB RAM and a 12" screen (1280x800). That is a good size for reading web based material but it makes the device a little big for handheld operation perhaps.

The Surface seems to address a few of the issues I have with these two devices. I would probably be a little disappointed to lose 2" of screen size. The stand, keys and multi-tasking and USB and HDMI access are all big pluses for me compared to the iThing and that is without mentioning the sandboxing and planned obsolesence stuff.

For music it would seem like the forthcoming Ivy Bridge one would have more to offer.

[discoDSP]

This product is not ready for prime time.

Already crashed on the keynote. Good old MS...

http://youtu.be/jozTK-MqEXQ?t=14m8s

You do realise its in Beta right?

It crashed right after opening Internet Explorer so yes, it's due a eternal beta state.

After reading some rumors about pricing, I think it's better to get a UltraBook or a MacBook Air instead.

And if it's arriving in 3 or 6 months, there's plenty of time for the competitor to react, so I guess this product is DOA.

¿Productivity on a 10" screen? Please.

[egbert]

¿Productivity on a 10" screen? Please.

I like a decent screen size too. The trade-off - screen real estate sacrificed to fit the hand-held form - undermines the capability of what is probably a pretty fast computer by the standards of even just a few years ago.

Edit: if you watch the section on the pro version it supports large displays on the Display Port outlet (possibly 2560x1600 judging by the size of the screen on the demo). There's your large screen for productivity.

[SadPuppyBlues]

It's inevitable that Microsoft takes the tablet market.

Probably not this gen, though.

[discoDSP]

It's inevitable that Microsoft takes the tablet market.

Probably not this gen, though.

Yeah, like Zune did.

Best thing Microsoft could do is release a Ultrabook alike laptop with their brand at a very competitive price, without bloatware and the best Windows 8 version including Office.