Posted on 07/09/2012 7:06:08 PM PDT by SmokingJoe
Australian chief information officers (CIOs) have been impressed with Microsoft's answer to the iPad — the Microsoft Surface — which was announced last month.
Two tablet variants have been announced; one running Windows RT on an Nvidia ARM processor, and the other running Windows 8 Pro on an Intel Core i5 system. Both devices have a 10.6-inch display employing Corning Gorilla Glass 2.
Because Microsoft is so late to the market with its tablet — the iPad was launched in 2010 — it has been stated that the Surface's only chance of success is in the business market, which will be lured by the desktop-like experience of Windows 8.
The kickstand and keyboard included in the case (either a slimmer, multi-touch keyboard or a fatter, mechanical keyboard) are also meant to turn the device into a business workhorse.
We asked the members of the ZDNet Australia CIO jury what they think of the Surface.
The question asked was:
Will Microsoft's Surface tablet provide a real alternative to the Apple iPad? Of the first 12 CIOs who answered, eight said yes and four said no, although two CIOs voted both yes and no (we awarded half a point for each side in these cases).
David O'Hagan, CIO, Queensland Department of Education and Training corporate services division, is convinced by the Surface's USB port, expandable storage and direct access to the file system — all features that the iPad lacks.
BUPA Aged Care CIO Paul Berryman pointed to fact that the tablet should work better with existing enterprise systems than the iPad, saying that Apple hasn't yet provided adequate enterprise management features.
(Excerpt) Read more at zdnet.com ...
Is it going to be made in China too?
I read that HP said Windows RT won’t run current PC programs. In fact, HP won’t be building tablets with ARM processors for Windows RT. The company is going with Intel’s x86 for Windows 8 pro tablets.
What have you heard?
Running Windows 8 on my ThinkPad right now. It rocks. Cant wait to get a Surface tablet.
This just doesn't sound very "sold" to me at all:
Quick Service Restaurant Holdings group manager of information systems Peter Smith, on the other hand, doesn't even think that a competitive price would save the tablet. He thinks that Microsoft has missed the boat.I guess we'll know more when the Surface actually ships in a few more months. Yawn..."I am not sure [Microsoft] can make up the lost ground to IOS or Android devices. It is not really apparent whether Microsoft is trying to position the product as a tablet or an ultra-light laptop. Reviews in the intuitiveness of the interface are not particularly positive, so it sounds like Microsoft still has some work to do," he said.
I read that HP said Windows RT won’t run current PC programs.It won't run any existing Windows software. The software vendors will have to rebuild their programs to work with RT. You'll have to hope that the vendors of all the software you use decide to take this extra effort, and that they offer a reasonable upgrade path. Right now, I think the only software guaranteed to be available is Microsoft Office.
I have also read that RT doesn't support Active Directory, which is the main reason that businesses like Windows (it is used to manage large numbers of computers). Without AD, these devices are all but useless for corporate business use.
Unless you're buying one just to have a cool new toy, make sure you don't need Active Directory, and make sure that whatever software you want is actually available for WinRT before you buy one.
Microsoft has a habit of pulling the rug out from under early adopters. They're doing so right now with their Windows phones. All of the current phones are dead-ends, and cannot be upgraded to Win8.
I'm sure they will make a good try at making this true. There are certainly enough "administrators" out there who don't know anything but MS-Windows, who will do anything they can to make sure they remain relavant.
As we've seen in the past, there will be "enhancements" rolled out for Microsoft products to make other programs/platforms difficult to work with them.
Personally, I hope they are unsuccessful this time, but it's not generally smart to bet against microsoft in a market where they can leverage existing monopolies to squeeze out other players.
You could of course read the article which says, and I quote:
“Of the first 12 CIOs who answered, eight said yes and four said no, although two CIOs voted both yes and no (we awarded half a point for each side in these cases).”
***Shakes head at the sheer lunacy of the Applebot crazies*** “
This just doesn't sound very “sold” to me at all: “
These sound sold to me:
“David O’Hagan, CIO, Queensland Department of Education and Training corporate services division, is convinced by the Surface's USB port, expandable storage and direct access to the file system — all features that the iPad lacks.
BUPA Aged Care CIO Paul Berryman pointed to fact that the tablet should work better with existing enterprise systems than the iPad, saying that Apple hasn't yet provided adequate enterprise management features.
Rondo Building Services group manager of IT services Andrew Paton agrees that features like the USB port are a must for Microsoft's tablet to come out on top, and that its integration with other Microsoft products might help the device win the day.
“Coming from a Microsoft-based environment, it will certainly have to be considered as a potential laptop replacement for the likes of sales representatives in the field,” he said.
Win RT tablets like the Surface and those from Samsung, Toshiba etc are for the consumer market. They will probably run the over 100,000 apps in the Windows Phone market place. The Windows 8 Pro, intel based tablets are for the enterprise, and will run all your Windows 7 programs in desktop mode.
“Microsoft has a habit of pulling the rug out from under early adopters.”
Ummm..no.
XP came out in 2001, and Microsoft is still suppporting it.
“In an unprecedented move, Microsoft has committed to providing support services for its soon to be retired Windows XP through 2014 — a full 13 years after the operating system was originally released.”
http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/208800494
“They're doing so right now with their Windows phones. All of the current phones are dead-ends, and cannot be upgraded to Win8.”
Upgrading us overrated.
Again, XP came out in 2001, and nearly half computer users are still using XP over 10 years after it launched, without upgrading to the much more superior Windows 7 yet. Clearly most users simply don't upgrade the OS of their computers, preferring instead to buy a new computer with the latest OS, when the old computer finally breaks down or gets too old to run thr latest programs.
Window Phone 7.5 is an excellent mobile OS. Plus Microsoft is offering Windows Phone 7.8 uprade to current Windows Phone users, which will offer some of the great new features that Windows Phone 8 has.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=windows+phone+7.8&gbv=2&oq=windows+phone+7.8&gs_l=hp.12...0.0.0.2125.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0.t3eF-fjTf4Y
Win RT tablets like the Surface and those from Samsung, Toshiba etc are for the consumer market.The article was about CEOs discussing the use of WinRT in the corporate world.
Ummm..no.
Read it again.
They will probably run the over 100,000 apps in the Windows Phone market placeThat's fine, but it's still true that you can't take any existing Windows program and move it to a WinRT computer. You have to wait for the vendor to port their software to WinRT and then acquire the new version. If you're vendor doesn't port their software (or if they are gone), then you're out of luck. Make sure to factor in the cost of upgrading all your existing software when you switch to WinRT.
Enterprises will run Windows 8 Pro tablets, running on Intel, which will run the millions of enterprise ready and custom programs that Windows 7 already has.
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