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The Surface is "Bad" because you're comparing it with the iPad 4, the Kindle Fire HD, the Asus Transformer (3rd or 4th gen), etc. Microsoft missed the first 3

The Surface is "Bad" because you're comparing it with the iPad 4, the Kindle Fire HD, the Asus Transformer (3rd or 4th gen), etc. Microsoft missed the first 3 or so iterations of touch-only tablet computing. There are bug fixes and refinements to come I'm sure. Compare the Surface to original iPad when it first came out and maybe it's not so bad? Granted, the surface isn't competing with the original iPad, it's competing against the 4th gen iPad and that's a different beast altogether.

timcederman 14y ago
You're suggesting folks should grade on a curve?
RyanMcGreal 14y ago
FTFA: > So if it took Apple a couple tries to perfect the tablet, shouldn’t we cut Microsoft some slack, too? > No, we shouldn’t. The first iPad was released in 2010. It may not have been perfect, but it was unquestionably the best tablet of its era. The Surface is hitting the shelves in 2012, when, in addition to Apple’s tablets, you can now get Google’s Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 or one of Amazon’s super-cheap Kindle Fires. Because it was first to market, Apple’s first-generation device had some leeway to miss the mark, but its competitors have little room for error. Anyone who’s considering this tablet will be forced to stack it against the competition, and the Surface doesn’t wear these comparisons well.
danso 14y ago
It makes sense to judge the Surface against the original iPad if the Surface were released in 2010.
greedo 14y ago
When the iPad was first released, all the Windows/Microsoft apologists went on and on about how this was nothing new; that Microsoft had pioneered tablets for decades. Now when MS releases a subpar tablet, they want to claim that it's new, and fragile, and shouldn't be compared to the competition; compare it to a two year old iPad instead! Get real. This is the same MS that we've all known for decades. The hardware isn't too bad, but as usual, the OS is a kludge that makes poor design decisions, is poorly optimized, and performs terribly in comparison to its competitors.
atacrawl 14y ago
The Surface is "Bad" because you're comparing it with the iPad 4, the Kindle Fire HD, the Asus Transformer (3rd or 4th gen), etc. Well, those are its competitors.
programminggeek 14y ago
My only suggestion is that v1 of anything will be a bit jankedy. I'm not making excuses for Surface at all, just that a reasonable person expects problems with a v1 product, esp from MSFT.

timcederman 14y ago

You're suggesting folks should grade on a curve?

RyanMcGreal 14y ago

FTFA: > So if it took Apple a couple tries to perfect the tablet, shouldn’t we cut Microsoft some slack, too? > No, we shouldn’t. The first iPad was released in 2010. It may not have been perfect, but it was unquestionably the best tablet of its era. The Surface is hitting the shelves in 2012, when, in addition to Apple’s tablets, you can now get Google’s Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 or one of Amazon’s super-cheap Kindle Fires. Because it was first to market, Apple’s first-generation device had some leeway to miss the mark, but its competitors have little room for error. Anyone who’s considering this tablet will be forced to stack it against the competition, and the Surface doesn’t wear these comparisons well.

danso 14y ago

It makes sense to judge the Surface against the original iPad if the Surface were released in 2010.

greedo 14y ago

When the iPad was first released, all the Windows/Microsoft apologists went on and on about how this was nothing new; that Microsoft had pioneered tablets for decades. Now when MS releases a subpar tablet, they want to claim that it's new, and fragile, and shouldn't be compared to the competition; compare it to a two year old iPad instead! Get real. This is the same MS that we've all known for decades. The hardware isn't too bad, but as usual, the OS is a kludge that makes poor design decisions, is poorly optimized, and performs terribly in comparison to its competitors.

atacrawl 14y ago

The Surface is "Bad" because you're comparing it with the iPad 4, the Kindle Fire HD, the Asus Transformer (3rd or 4th gen), etc. Well, those are its competitors.

programminggeek 14y ago

My only suggestion is that v1 of anything will be a bit jankedy. I'm not making excuses for Surface at all, just that a reasonable person expects problems with a v1 product, esp from MSFT.