Eliot Weisberg writes for ReadWriteWeb, “On Monday, Microsoft held a secret press event in Los Angeles where it announced a new family of tablets under the Surface moniker.”
“Along with Surface, the event revealed a branding shift for Microsoft, one that values the unity of hardware and software, and the idolization of aesthetics,” Weisberg writes.
Yes, Weisberg writes, “Something about it felt familiar…”
Via ReadWriteWeb.
MacDailyNews Take: Devastating video. Congrats to Eliot Weisberg!
So, Balmer T. Clown and his flunky got their “hair” styles pretty close, but damned if they didn’t both forgot their Levi’s 501s, New Balance sneakers, and black mock turtlenecks. Maybe even they thought that would be too obvious?
As we’ve oft stated: Apple Leads. Microsoft Follows. As Usual.™
Microsoft is a bloated, dysfunctional blob stuck neck-deep in a pool of political molasses. Most definitely, it’s been shaped in the image of Ballmer. We see no evidence that Gates cares a whit about the company. Likely he knows how history will view it: Like a brain-damaged puppy that followed Apple around until it could no longer keep up. – MacDailyNews Take, October 25, 2011
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz,” “JayinDC,” and “David E.” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Thanks to Apple, Microsoft is doomed in the era of mobile computing – June 20, 2012
Why wouldn’t Microsoft let anyone touch its Surface tablets’ keyboard cover? – June 20, 2012
The cost of Microsoft’s Surface tablets – June 20, 2012
Apple’s revolutionary iPad vs. Microsoft’s anti-tablet ‘Surface’ – June 20, 2012
Microsoft’s Surface tablets provokes ‘sense of betrayal’ among Windows PC assemblers – June 20, 2012
Fox News: Copier Microsoft is doomed to fail with Surface tablet – June 19, 2012
Microsoft’s Surface tablet destined to be as successful as the Zune – June 19, 2012
Surface: Why Microsoft’s big mystery turns out to be a big mistake – June 19, 2012
Microsoft’s Suicide, er… ‘Surface’ – June 19, 2012
ZDNet Sr. Tech Editor Perlow: Microsoft’s Surface has catastrophe written all over it – June 19, 2012
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Microsoft touts ‘major’ June 18 event said to showcase Windows RT tablets – June 15, 2012
ZDNet’s Kingsley-Hughes: Microsoft’s Windows 8 is an awful, horrible, painful design disaster – June 8, 2012
Analyst meets with big computer maker, finds ‘general lack of enthusiasm’ for Windows 8 – June 8, 2012
Dvorak: Windows 8 an unmitigated disaster; unusable and annoying; it makes your teeth itch – June 3, 2012
The Guardian: Microsoft’s Windows 8 is confusing as hell; an appalling user experience – March 5, 2012
More good news for Apple: Microsoft previews Windows 8 (with video) – June 1, 2011
What a pathetic offering.
Indeed pathetic.
Now…., it took quite a while for these guys but they finally realized they could copy (ape) or mimic those amazing presentations.
It is the exact same thing you are strongly suggested (taught?) TO NOT DO in any higher education program…. avoid plagiarism of others’ work. They request you to be original and generate/come up with your own ideas and solutions.
Well, there you have it! Plagiarism Live!!
Surface is destined for the furnace.
Does it have a portrait mode at all? I have yet to seen a single photo of it in that mode.
No! It only has one kickstand.
Great take Alexkhan2000.
I just wrote about the 16:9 ratio, and it actually ending up being 26% area to work with than an iPad! Yes, that is true. Secondly, I plan on hitting the point you eluded too. It seems M$ was so obsessed with trying to get a full-sized keyboard to fit, this was the only way to make it happen – use a 16:9 screen, or end up with a 4:3 13/14″ display… Thus, Surface is only quasi useful in landscape mode only. Not a tablet, just a bad PC with a dumb keyboard. And when in landscape mode, does M$ get paid by the scroll? Working on a text or spreadsheet would be a scrolling nightmare. What productivity…
That’s amazing… It seems M$ is doing everything it can to make things easier for Apple. M$ has become so laughably incompetent that it’s almost surreal.
I thought the Heaven’s Gate dude was in cyberspace…
“Secret”?
Do they want us to believe that Microsoft products create as much expectation as an apple product?
So Microsoft wants to copy the secrecy of apple too? What’s next? Make Bill Gates to die ( I don’t want to say the “K” word) in order to look more like apple?
Come on MDN, this is becoming silly. Who cares about this trivial stuff. Childish frankly.
I don’t think Microsoft’s profound creative bankruptcy, shameless theft of its competitors’ ideas, or its increasing panic as it slides into irrelevancy in the post-PC age can really be called “trivial”.
When I think of the future of everything Metro, I think of the phrase “EPIC FAIL”.
We’ve had Part 1, the Windows 7 phone. FAIL.
Part 2 will be the Windows 8 release, tick tick tick
Part 3 will be the Windows R(a)T on tablet release, tick tick tick
Three strikes and you’re out…
What about Windows Vista and the Zune?
Most certainly! But I was focusing my attention on Microsoft’s ongoing FAIL series: The Metro GUI.
Speaking of FAIL, true to form of any new MS product presentation we had the obligatory OS crash. At least they’re consistently bad.
What about (I love this acronym!) WINCE? Almost as good as the forthcoming W8!
Part of the moniker of the new Microsoft’s Surface tablet is VaporMg, which is Vapor: a Microsoft Gimmick.
Hilarious! (and sad, but we are used to it by now)
Epic failure….again. No one can compete with the iPad at the pricepoint offered by Apple. This should really be on the next commercial for the iPad. PROOF nobody does it like Apple!
Starting at the :40 second mark is great training for anyone who’s presentation is going all FUBAR.
When the first Surface screwup occurred, he should have talked while walking back to that table, then set it down to get a drink and picked up the backup. Instead, he waited too long, hoping beyond reason that the first unit would unlock, then rushed back to the table like an amateur, making it very clear that he needed to go to the backup.
It goes without saying that when a demo goes bad – any demo, especially an overhyped one by a major corporation – it engenders a great deal of doubt in the audience. If a product does not work in a scripted and controlled setting, then how can it be expected to work in the real world?
They named it “Surface,” but they should have called it oversized coaster.
Why walk when you can skip or chassée?
Besides, at the table he should have grabbed an iPad! …
I’m Lovin It!
That has to be the funniest thing I have seen regarding the Apple/ Microsoft thing in ages…
You can’t knock Microsoft for trying, but is soooooooooo obvious that they haven’t created anything new at all here…
Oh well… Makes for a good laugh though.
Watch the video folks. Hilarious.
3 microsoft engineers riding in a car . the car stops they can’t get it started so they get out lock all the doors walk around the car get back in and try to reboot .
i know… old joke but some things never change
You botched the punchline though: They had to stop and reinstall drivers.
Much better
In the end, Microsoft will release Surface to the public and it will be judged by the consumer. Will it be better then the iPad…..I don’t think so. The best thing Surface will do is keep everyone one on their toes to keep innovating their products. Could Surface become the next Zune…..you bet. If Microsoft does a great job at marketing, integrates it into their ecosystem and has a good amount of Apps created for the platform there is a chance it could gain some sustainable market share. Will this device be an iPad killer not by a long shot. The reality of it……Mircosoft got into the game to late and doesn’t have the talent that can advance them to the next level.
Ooo. Ooo. I want one! Especially since they use the best prototypes for major presentations! Sign me up! My PC repair show really needs the work.
Right. I think this is a case where they didn’t have anything even close to ready in time for CES but guys, putting on a show with no live demos, no hands on, no apps?
Oh wait, it was running IE with Flash when it crashed…
It’s called the Surface because you need a freakin’ hard surface to put it on. This is not a hybrid of a tablet and a notebook. It’s a hybrid of a tablet and a desktop. How the hell are you supposed to put this stupid thing in your lap to type?
The iPad OS is different from a Mac OS. Isn’t Surface just a copy of Windows, but in Tablet form. What’s the point unless it offers something different.
Valiet effort by Microsoft. And some will bite. In the end, Windows 8 will be sad. I watched the entire announcement video. It proves that Microsoft doesn’t get it. They’re trying to copy Apple but they’re just copying. They’re not guided by the same core beliefs.
Billy, your mention of core beliefs is right on. If you watch Steve Jobs and Tim Cook present a product there is genuine humility present, even when Steve would proclaim something as phenomenal. When Ballmer and his crew present, there’s less humility and more marketing chutzpah, bordering on slight arrogance. I think Apple’s approach gives the viewer the choice of agreeing, and in a face saving way. That’s as opposed to the Microsoft (and most other marketers, even Phil Schiller) where your acceptance of their idea is more pressured, more like the king’s invisible clothes. I think the difference really speaks to Apple’s approach: It’s not about competing, it’s not about reacting, but it is all about fixing broken user experiences. Microsoft can’t identify the broken experience Surface is trying to fix because they created that broken experience with Windows and they’re continuing that broken experience with Windows 8 for tablets. I think it’s pretty sad. They clearly have some great engineering talent but it’s completely hobbled by management not having a solid reason behind doing things for the benefit of a marketplace.
Did any one catch the wording he used when speaking of price? Sounds like it’ll be priced bight than an iPad. Sou DS like they are aiming at Ultrabooks!
That bald guy is wearing a blue sweater and sneakers. It looks silly when Microlift goes to such extremes to copy Apple.
What an epic fail! Has it gone viral yet? How come no one is reporting this as big news?
Because the press wants so badly for something to challenge the iPad so they have something to write about. It gets boring writing “iPad #1, iPad dominates, iPad sells millions…”
Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Repeat, rinse, repeat = Failure to launch!
I am surprised at the lack of ability that the dude in the blue vneck had to recover from the device freezing. he easily could have played off as if he were walking back to the table to demo a feature, then swap out his malfunctioning device for a working one. no one would have noticed.
this crowd here at MDN woulda.
They copied Steve Jobs’ presentation almost perfectly. They only missed adding some “not suck.” Even a little “not suck” would have been an improvement. And the iPad worked for the demo. That would seem to be a pretty basic requirement.
Conan has been cracking jokes about this every night in the monologue
I love that guy. Such a pleasure to see Steve up there again…
I see MS is already preparing for the BOGO offer!!!
Watching the video reminds me how much I still miss Steve.
With a brittle magnesium case it is going to be a race to see if the kickstand breaks before the battery meltdown sets it on fire. And the cheesy crash of the program during the demo? Priceless, yet somehow reminiscent of a similar crash with Bill Gates at Comdex if I recall. Just like old times, yeah,the Good Old Days-they were rotten.
(o_0) (0_o) (o_0) (0_o) ffffFFFFFFFFFFFFAIL
I keep thinking, is this the best they can do…?
If these idiots have any idea of what is going on, then they must be seriously embarrassed by this pathetic copy of the iPad…. Oh hold on just one second….. Morons!
i remembered when jobs presented the ipad, he sat in the chair… it’ll be nice to add that in when Steven Sinofsky was uncomfortably sitting in the video as well…
These guys are so lucky locking the business world back in the 80’s with Windows. That cash cow keeps them afloat and profitable despite all the stupid products they build.
RE: The MDN’s take: “Like a brain-damaged puppy that followed Apple around until it could no longer keep up.”
Concise and so very true… lol thank you whoever in MDN wrote that.
Windows 8 is coming. All mac’s going back to there places where they belong under the desk, or a very lonely corner collecting dust. Cheer up mac fans your desktops gonna look lovely. Again.
If there was an appliance with Windows 8, I would use it to freeze my food not do my work.
No doubt the press will pick this up, ignore the detail, and regurgitate it as “…the iPad killer from Microsoft”. The whole thing reminds me of the ‘like a golf’ TV ad from Volkswagen.
Cracking video though. Every potential buyer should be made to watch it – just so they can’t say later that they didn’t go into the buying decision with their eyes fully open.
A few issues with the presentation. The first issue is at the beginning. He went like: As you can see, I’m at Internet eplorer. I can browse see using the, using clear type. The way he said it made m e realize he lacked confidence in what he was doing. Note for the thumb: when presenting, stay. calm and speak clearly.
Secondly, when something goes wrong with the demo, don’t leave your audience unattended, keep talking. While walking to get the backup, he should have continued talking and describe the movie experience in Surface.
Talk about the quality, or something. I don’t know, improvise. Youre killing time to get the demo back and running.
Well, don’t know if anyone agrees. But I’m just a perfectionist like that.
Good parody.
If you enter the market late you have to have a Unique Selling Point or you will crash and burn – because you are by definition less developed at launch than the competition – particularly when Apple follow Version 1 with an update and better featured version 2 a year later. You can bet Appl could have delivered iPad 1 with most of the features of iPad 2 – but it chose not to because it then gave itself growth in the knowledge that the competition might develop a copy at version 1 standard by the time they are at version 3.
Adding the keypad and all the bits that make it into an ultra puts it in competition with the AIR range ( and you’ll have noted they said ‘at a cost comparable with the Ultra notebooks’ – not iPad)
How can people feel any joy in being part of an organization whose whole orientation seems to be about shamelessly copying the creativity and innovation of others, while never giving the slightest recognition or respect to those they are attempting to mimic? It’s sad on one hand, disgusting on another.
I quite like the Surface (if the specs match up to the demo), but the presentation was one of the worst I’ve ever seen for a product launch. What I don’t understand is how they copied an Apple presentation almost word for word, and still came up with something that looked and sounded like a car launch from the 50s.
Freezing Surface was the best joke made by Steve
Will be found “surfacing” in land fills and cesspools.
WINDOWS 8 IS COMMING. All mac’s going back to there places where they belong under the desk, the bottom of the tech department storage closet, or a very lonely corner collecting dust. Cheer up mac fans your desktops gonna look lovely. Again.
VaporMg. Whoever comes up with these names at MS needs to be fired.
Microsoft really need to invest in better photocopiers, their current ones have a massive 2 year lag and don’t produce good results. The facsimile is no where near the original!
Why is that Sugar Daddy dressed up like a Teenager while demoing the Surface iPad?
pathetic…turn off your lame copier, Microsoft…you’re done…
I can only say murder at birth
MDN, thank you for your post on this pathetic offering from Mr. Softie … in a word … PRICELESS!
Why does the very sight of the Microsoft product, name, logo or colours instantly produce a feeling of depression? Somebody should do a study – could be a great Post-Grad thing.
So this is an iPad killer? It looks like Surface is a Surface killer.
Good for a laugh- but they’re just shameless. its Zune part 2
This is what MS’ Surface (aka: Big Ass Table) has evolved into or are they recycling product names now?
What’s really tragic is when Apple fanbois can’t appreciate ANY product from any other company.
Three things:
1. Apple didn’t invent the keynote
2. Apple didn’t invent the tablet
3. The Surface is neither a tablet or a laptop, it’s *different*
Grow up. Competition is good for everyone.
Three things:
1. Apple didn’t invent the concept of a keynote but it did invent its own distinct keynote, which Microsoft aped shamelessly.
2. Apple didn’t invent the concept of a tablet but it did invent its own distinct tablet, which Microsoft aped shamelessly as well.
3. The Surface is an awful laptop that can be converted into a sub-par tablet. There’s nothing *different* about that, considering that other tablet/laptop hybrids already exist(and are failing to sell. Kudos to Microsoft for knowing a good idea when they see it…).
Show me something to appreciate about the Surface and I’ll appreciate it.
You’re right, competition is good for everyone. However, this is about as much competition as the Zune was to the iPod. E.g., none.