Posted on 05/06/2013 7:32:02 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Bill Gates took a shot at the iPad while explaining Microsoft's rationale for the Surface this morning on CNBC.
He was asked about the declining PC market. He said that tablets are growing in popularity, and it's "going to be harder and harder to distinguish products" that are PCs versus tablets.
The Surface, he says, brings the "portability of the tablet but the richness of the PC."
He then said of people using iPad-like devices, "A lot of those users are frustrated, they can't type, they can't create documents, they don't have Office there."
While some people are frustrated by the iPad's limitations, most embrace it. Apple sold 19.5 million iPads last quarter. Over that same period, HP, the world's number one PC seller, sold 11.7 million PCs, according to Gartner.
It's a cliche, but the truth is that the iPad just works for surfing the web, light emailing, videos, and some games.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
And for those who still don’t know... Bill Gates does not run Microsoft any longer. He hasn’t for 7 years.
He’s still the chairman though.
We own both an iPad and a Surface. The iPad is a gaming/media/e-reader device while the Surface has replaced my laptop giving me tremendous portability and access to all of my Windows programs (especially Office). Nearly all of the useful apps on the Apple are also available for the Surface. When I go for another tablet it will be a Surface-like device.
If all you do is surf social crap, watch videos, and email/chat you do not need a full PC. That is why PC sales are down. People who are not performing “real” work do not need PC’s. It is not that complicated.
Sorry, Bill. I know not a single person who is unhappy or confused about their iPad. It is a tremendous device. I do recognize it is not a replacement for a lap top, but it has many uses.
With a bluetooth keyboard, it works pretty well for some functionality...although having no mouse make it unworkable for spreadsheets and other purposes.
Since I retired I rarely use my pc and use my ipad for almost everything. I have a wireless printer so can print anything I need off of it and there are a slew of apps for almost anything you want to do on it. Correct you are.
It all depends on whether you want a computer to actually WORK on or a TOY. Tablets are toys. People buy them, mostly, for games and everything other than actually computing anything. Kinda hard to drop a PC-but how many tablets need replacing because of dropping or water in them or whatever? And you actually have to sit down at a PC. I don’t get the need to constantly have video input everywhere-walking, driving,eating,etc. UNPLUG sometimes-sheesh! All this fascination with zombies makes sense when you see how many are willing zombies walking around tuned out to the world, focused on a screen texting or playing games!
I’m so frustrated that I can’t wait to buy another Apple product.
Many people, as I, have a laptop with a large external monitor and an iPad.
The iPad is for the bedroom, bathroom and traveling, the PC is for work.
PC sales are down because people are not upgrading as often as they used to. The laptops have been very well built over the last few years. You only need to buy a new laptop when the cooling fan stops. Mine is 5 years old and there is no reason to buy another one that would basically have the same capacities as my current one.
My take on the iPad, mostly for surfing the Net and for kids playing games on it.
Microsoft is banking on the Tablet ultimately replacing the PC in the Enterprise, but they are going to have to figure out the keyboard issue.
There's MS Office for Mac, I'd certainly want to devote minimal effort to capturing the iPad market as well.
You know one now. I HATED my ipad. I gave it away after a couple of weeks. HATED it.
Gates is both right and wrong here (though of course one would expect him to present things in the most favorable light to Microsoft).
There are essentially two different types of computer users: content creators and content consumers. The content consumers are quite happy with a tablet — it serves all of their needs. Content creators either find workarounds with tablets or use a notebook (ultrabook class, most likely) which is more suited to their needs.
But content consumers dramatically outnumber the creators.
The Surface (Pro) tries to bridge the gap between tablet and notebook — how successfully will be judged by the passage of time, not by any predictions we make here. For my own purposes, I’d much rather get an ultrabook-class (as a content creator) while my wife wants a tablet because she’s a content consumer first and foremost (while she is an active blogger, she actually prefers working at a desk to do that... organization thing).
If I absolutely, positively had to have a single machine to do everything and it has to be Windows-based, the Surface Pro would be very attractive. But a smartphone and ultrabook is the way I’m looking, because I don;t have those constraints.
I think the original Einstein quote was:
“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.
The world will have a generation of Obama voters”...
If you get another one, you can give it away to me!
Office is becoming increasingly irrelevant Billy Boy.
A lot of enterprises rely on Excel spreadsheets and macros.
All computers are crap.
Bring back the slide rule!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.