No impact? It tanked PC sales. Down 20% from Year Ago

That is a huge impact. And now the astroturfing campaign seems shifted to "Wait for RT PRO - A Full Wintel tablet is our only hope!" Without a thought to the whole "Santa thing" or the fact that Wintel tablets have not ever moved significant units after being available for fifteen years.

If they're counting on a Wintel tablet to save them - and at that launched into the January post-Christmas inventory blowouts, they may as well give up hope right now.

Meanwhile Apple and Samsung are singing "I'm in the money..." as their supply chains churn out hundreds of millions of units to eager customers the world over with ready cash. Android and iOS devices are flying off of shelves effortlessly.

Then they have the gall to suggest macro-economic issues, as if we aren't laying out technology budget bigger and faster than ever before - just not on their stuff. Nonsense!

Web statistics...

Google Analytics webstats from a busy website, non-technical (health/lifestyle), transaction based (selling things). Period: 31st Oct to 30th Nov.

IE10 - 0.17%

In comparison, Opera gets 0.57%, Chrome 33.2%, Safari 18.18%, Firefox 15%, Android browser 6%.

I can't find any reference to IE10, Windows 8, or Windows phone in the mobile section (could be that Analytics doesn't recognise it?). The website gets 23% of its transactions from Mobile devices.

It would be fascinating to see El Reg's stats.

IBM released OS/2 before MS came out with Windows 3. IBM was the giant and MS the underdog. In the tablet world Apple is the new IBM with the dominant market defining position (everything was an IBM clone back then) and MS the underdog coming late to the party with something that was totally different from the previous ecosystem (DOS character apps) but that worked something like the leader was doing (Presentation Manager then, touch and guestures now) but still allowed previous generation apps to run (DOS box then, desktop now).

The analogy isn't Microsoft being the new IBM, its Apple that is playing at being IBM with a totally closed in, everything built by me ecosystem.

Likewise

I've been using mine since launch day and the only issue I've had was that our IT folks had used a self-signed cert for our Exchange server so I had to jump through some hoops to get the cert installed so I could connect. Other than that, it is fast, fluid and responsive as you say. I had already used Windows 8 on a desktop PC with a touch screen (and disliked it very much, and still do on a desktop PC without using tweaks to shove TIFKAM into the background) so I knew the shortcuts and gestures and once I used them on the Surface I had that "A ha!" moment. On a tablet it works. I imagine the UI works on a phone as well, but I haven't had more than 5 minutes with a newer Windows phone so I can't really say.

No audio issues other than the speakers are a bit soft for my taste (you aren't going to be playing music for a room full of people with this thing, for sure), and no issues at all with the touch cover.

Oh wait, I forgot - I do have one other issue with the unit. I am having the problem with the Windows logo on the back wearing off. Meh.

Now, lest those anti-MS folks think I'm a Windows fanboy, there are some design issues with the device that I have encountered (and a couple that make me go "how could they have missed that?).

First, both the front and rear facing cameras are 1MP. Seriously? Why in the world did you even bother with such a wimpy camera?

Second, the touch cover partially obscures the rear facing camera when folded back.

Third, the kickstand has one and only one position so you can't choose a more shallow angle for use, and the steep angle isn't appropriate for all of my normal uses.

Fourth, the SD card doesn't become an integral part of the file system - that is, you can't install apps to it, and you have to jump through hoops to get it to automatically store media and other files onto it to take some of the load off of the built-in storage.

Fifth, although the magnetically attached power connector is neat, it doesn't self-align usually, and a couple of times I've had to fiddle with it for a bit to get it to connect.

Sixth, I find myself inadvertently adjusting the volume when manipulating the device. Either the position of the rocker needs to change or the amount of effort needed to activate the switch needs increased.

Seventh, the kickstand only has a cutout / notch on the left side of the device to make it easier to open, it should really have one on the other side too.

Minor design issues aside (and I expect the next revision will correct most of them), the build quality is very good.

I agree. I often see such posts from supposedly IT literate folks getting themselves into a real muddle.

I sit there using the same kit thinking.."well it's all working okay for me!"

I often wonder how their day goes with other things they own.

"Damn you washing machine!! Why cant you make toast instead of just soggy bread??!!"

Re: sigh...

Oh and *insert deity here* forbid you ever say anything negative about Android. You may as well do the virtual version of chucking petrol over yourself and calling a guy with a flamethrower a raging Twilight-lover.

up vote for you sir.

From my surface RT

Re: "I dont have any issues"

Why the big surprise? Its easy to use for lots of people. In my office there is already a Surface RT a Sony Duo and a Samsung Ativ purchased individually by different people in spite of already owning other devices. No-one is having any problems using them.

Re: le sigh...

Some of us are aware that an 800lb gorilla beating up everybody in our neighborhood for 30 years does affect us personally. We would like to be rid of that gorilla, and it's starting to look possible. Already he's more of a Baboon, and we'd like to see him shrunk to about a spider monkey at least.

@AC 30th Nov 15.17 GMT " Why is it that when someone asks a question like this......

..............about a Windows/MS product........."

The reason is straightforward. Some of the MS critics on threads like this are classic "anti-fanboi tribalists" and their tactics are boringly repetitive, howls of "shill" "astroturfer" and "you are expletive crazy" each time and every time. *

Declaration: I have zero interest in buying any kind of Windows RT tablet regardless of who the producer is. I will not under any circumstances by any kind of pc that is a "walled garden" device - which is one reason why Old Nick will be complaining about the thermostat on His central heating system before I buy a Surface RT or an iPad.

Re: Only use odd numbered versions of Windows NT

Windows 7 is actually NT 6.1, and Windows 8 is actually NT 6.2.

Re: Only use odd numbered versions of Windows NT

Crikey. Do people still post this shite and childishly stupid list.

I mean, it's not only tiresomely overused by morons, but it's so completely incorrect it's criminally insane

Somehow I missed your listings of Windows 3.11, 95, 98, 98SE, Me, and XP...and that's just going with the ones that had any sort of networking.

So please, just keep this tiresome crapfest of old bollocks to yourself and stop trying to sound clever. It makes you look like a turd. A steaming turd.

Re: Only use odd numbered versions of Windows NT

Somehow you missed that I was only talking about Windows NT, so you get a fail icon. I'm sure, seeing how you know its all tiresome incorrect bollocks posted by morons, that there are two families of Windows.

XP I did miss off, since that is NT 5.1, and simply a better shell for Win 2k.

I still don't understand why you all think this is bollocks [possibly because of instead of saying why it is bullshit, you've gone straight for the ad hominem. Who is the moron again?]. Are you saying I am wrong because Vista and 8 are awesome, or that Win2k and 7 are shite?

Re: simply a better shell for Win 2k.

And Windows 7 is NT 6.1, which is simply a better shell for Vista.

And Windows 8 is NT 6.2, which is simply a different shell for Windows 7

Completely ignoring the other improvements, fixes and the like that MS made in the various versions, your "Odd number good, even number bad" still fails.

Re: ballmer has to walk

ballmer is actually fixing the mess gates created. He is kicking out the old guard such as Sinofsky. Read "breaking windows"

Re: ballmer has to walk

that doesn't reconcile with Server and Tools division have double digit growth year over year

Re: ballmer has to walk

Or with Windows 8 shifting 40 million copies (that's more than Windows 7!) in the first month - Or with the record revenues from the Xbox division....

Re: ballmer has to walk

Nobody said 40m PCs were sold. 40m copies of Windows 8 were sold. More than Windows 7 at the same point using the same accounting principles, however convoluted those might be.

Re: ballmer has to walk

> Windows 8 shifting 40 million copies

How many of those were returned with a smashed screen?

Vic.

Re: ballmer has to walk

If they were from Microsoft then none as probably they are still awaiting a call from the phantom warehouse to arrange the return...

Ballmer is still mad.

Ballmer must either be quite mad or have shares in Apple, it's the only convincing argument for Microsoft's business practices. So glad I'm not a shareholder.

Re: hmmm nothing conclusive but ballmer is still mad.

Avatar of They

To be fair, shut down is as easy as it's always been - change default for power button, then simply press the power button. No going through menus has ever been needed since Windows 95.

Re: hmmm nothing conclusive but ballmer is still mad.

Hmmm. Three menus to shut down. That would be charm bar, power down button, select shutdown option, as opposed to Windows 7 start button, shut down button, select shuitdown option. Isn't total ignorance a blissful state of being?

Re: Ballmer is still mad.

I don't think Ballmer mad at all. Must admit I've only played with win 8 in a virtual machine, so I can't comment about the experience, except in a VM (ICK!)

I thought win 8 was about migrating people to Metro. Metro was supposed to be locked down, with apps only available through the store. Is that not the case? If it is Ballmer is playing for keeps (% of all software sales). Better to have a half baked solution out there and be in the game, than nothing.

The issue is of course the price of the hardware. If they could have delivered the surface for 1/2 the price plenty of people would give it a go and forgive it its foibles. To achieve that they'd need to have subsidized the hardware, to do that would be nuts, given the potential volume of PC sales. The answer get something out FAST and shove as many people as possible onto it.

Ballmer is relying on the massive inertia of the PC market to migrate enough of a percentage to the app store.

Expect a lot of development to metro, and a lot of spin saying its the best thing, cause it is, for MS.

Re: Whichever number is the bigger....

As I recall, there was a note in MS accounts for the last quarter, saying that sales of upgrade- to-W8-from-W7 licences sold for a pittance to users of W7, would not be included in the accounts until the next quarter, when W8 had been released.

Wonder why?

Re: Whichever number is the bigger....

Yet more confusion. Why do people equate licenses to PCs? Do they have no understanding of how the sales and oem channels work?