Microsoft Surface: Just When You Thought Windows 8 Couldn't Suck Harder

Instead, it's just a half-broken death march up the learning curve.

On the latest episode of "Windows Weekly," Paul Thurott, a tech journalist who covers MS spends the first 20+ minutes complaining about the Surface. Thurott is normally a very pro-MS kind of guy, and while he doesn't go on a Howard Beale level of rant, he says he has no clue as to what the hell MS is thinking with the Surface.

Apparently, many MS store employees don't understand it, either.

Jesus.

I'm sticking with Windows 7 for as long as possible until they sort this shit out. Or I may just go with a Mac for my next computer.

Don't really have any use for tablets though. I'm fine with my iPhone and my PC laptop.

MS is trying too hard to be Apple and its not working out right.

Windows 8 was an odd idea. I can't understand why M$ emphasized so heavily on tablet features. It's almost as if they think the PC is dead and tablet is about to takeover. Windows 7 is a very good OS, MS should spend the next few years supporting it. Instead they're so panic stricken by Apple's success that they think releasing an OS geared for tablets is making them innovative, or giving them an advantage in some way. Very silly.

You get Windows 7, for now, and they charge you 14.99 for the downgrade. Thanks for the tip. Saved myself 15 bucks.

You know what you get with Microsoft. Everything they touch turns to shite. For 20 years they have been consistent with every product they produce. Consistently awful, but consistent nonetheless.

I would have agreed a few years ago, but Windows 7 is really pretty well done.

Windows 2000 and Windows XP were also well done. But most of the other versions of the last 10 years have been utter disasters.

I understand Microsoft's position actually, they see the writing on the wall. The performance gaps between mobile and the desktop decrease every year, not only that, the performance of mobile hardware has gotten to the point that many tasks that were originally only able to be done with a PC can now be done with a mobile device. Consequently, if Microsoft wants to avoid fading into nothingness, they need to step up their mobile game.

From what I understand, Windows RT is not that great, and that honestly doesn't surprise me. Where I expect Windows 8 to shine is in the new Windows 8 tablets running x86 processors. Microsoft is heavily dependent on Intel, and up until recently Intel could not compete with ARM processors on power consumption. However, with their new Midfield chipsets, they have breached the performance gap. Combine this with a bunch of business tablets from major PC manufacturers, and I could see Windows 8 stealing the thunder back from Apple and Google in the mobile space.

Microsoft operating systems are like the odd/even rule of Star Trek movies.

That being said, I have heard that Windows 8 is actually great once you get used to it, it just has a few things that people are not used to. Personally I am going to give it a fair shake, I just ordered a laptop so I will be able to upgrade to it for $15. The Pro version has some features I can definitely use, especially on my desktop, like Hyper-V and Virtual Hard Disk booting. Those two features alone are almost worth it for me, just because they allow me to run other OS's on the same drive, allowing me to encrypt my drive and still run Linux. Plus Hyper-V means I can run virtual machines without having to install 3rd party software like VMWare.

Plus Windows 8 has native USB 3.0 support, the ability to run it from a USB drive, and the ability to sync application settings between devices (which is huge for anyone who uses multiple computers regularly).

Forget Gizmodo, Engadget and so on. Those 'reviews' are written by shrieking Apple fanboys. I mean, Giz calls the Surface 'too expensive' while churning out article after useless article about the overpriced and underpowered iPad mini featuring 2011's technology and a screen that can't hold a candle to a 60 euro chinese knockoff smartphone. I don't know why those sites are stuck so deep in Apple's ass; they certainly don't get paid for it.

I'm also very sad for store employees that don't get the difference between proper Win8 and RT. I do, and I'm only marginally interested.

Actually, Engadget likes the Surface, even though they agree that it does have some problems. Gizmodo has also called the iPad mini overpriced.

For what it does, the Surface RT IS overpriced. It should be about $100 cheaper given the fact that it has almost no broad based app support. That being said, I would blow up a bus full of nuns to get my hands on the Surface Pro, I just hope it doesn't end up being more than $800.

As for the iPad mini, the thing is a fucking joke. My Nexus 7 has a better and higher resolution screen, and it was $130 cheaper.

I honestly don't get why they're trying to have the same OS for both desktops and tablets. In any case, I'm definitely sticking with 7.

It just means they have to dumb down the desktop UI so that it's the same UI as a tablet that is, by definition, supposed to be simple to operate.

If you believe Apple, iOS and OSX are the same OS, just skinned differently and with different features disabled. We are getting to the point where portable computers are as powerful as people need (after all, most of us don't need to render a Boeing 777 down to the last rivet), so MS is no doubt thinking that they'll push people in the direction we'll be in about five years: Your tablet will be as powerful a computer as you need (think three or so times more powerful than the current best desktop computer) and you won't want to buy a tablet, desktop, and laptop. You'll want one device that can do it all.

Problem is, MS doesn't realize that the tablet UI does not work all that well for a desktop and a desktop UI does not work all that well for a tablet. What you want is a device that has a tablet UI when you're using it like a tablet, and a desktop UI when you're using it as a desktop. You also want the apps to be able to seamlessly switch to the correct UI. We know that MS has fumbled, instead of getting ahead of the curve, so now the questions are: Is this a "fatal" (i.e. MS essentially abandons the consumer market and turns into IBM) mistake? And will it be Apple or Google that gets it right first?

I like my huge ass gaming desktop and my little netbook for something portable. Don't really see the appeal of tablets, personally, simply because of the lack of a real keyboard to do much practical with it (like typing documents or surfing the web), and the screen is too small IMO for watching anything.

I kind of felt that way about tablets until I got one. Aside from time at the office, I rarely use anything other than my phone or tablet. And they share the same OS, same apps, same cloud, it's pretty seamless between the two. I wouldn't mind a desk top that joins the party, but I still wouldn't use it that often.

Yes, they've released some stinkers.

But isn't it interesting that Windows XP -- an almost 12-year-old operating system -- is still twice as popular as any of Apple's OS.

Hmm.

I can't believe these morons are forcing the UI on personal computers. Do they really think I'm going to throw out my 27" monitor and replace them with touchscreens so I can reach over my keyboard and tap on the screen?

What's even more concerning is that it looks like Microsoft is going to throw up a walled garden. You want to install software? You're going to have to do it through some kind of Microsoft Store. I'll stick with Windows 7 or play around with Linux distros before dealing with that shit.

Tough crowd.

I love the idea and have pre-ordered the Surface.

BBC video of the Surface RT. I couldn't help but notice that while the reporter talked about MS aiming the Surface as a "personal and professional" device (i.e. you use it at work and at home), the only app he demonstrated was Skype, even though he mentioned that it has MS Office installed.

Only on the Surface RT are you restricted to the MS store. On Windows 8 and the Surface Pro, you can install from other sources. However, it may be difficult to install Linux on a Windows PC, because of hardware configurations MS is requiring of hardware vendors. Details are sketchy on what MS wants, and if there will be a workaround or not.

Yeesh. This version of Windows will ensure that Windows 7 stays around a lot longer, kinda like what Vista did for XP.

I'm reserving full judgment on whether 8 is a missed opportunity until tomorrow when I get my hands on a copy. I just bought an Ideapad Y580 and my solid state drive comes tomorrow so I'll be installing that along with Windows 8 Pro to give it all a try.

You need to see this not from a private but a corporate perspective. One unified ecosystem over desktops, smartphones and tablets? Any admin's dream. Every other solution, be it Apple or Google, will look like clunky improvisation next to what Win8 will be able to do.

That's a fine idea, but in practice, it's not quite as seamless and unified. Having used the release candidate, I found it clunky and non-intuitive.

But if they don't run the same apps, a lot of that advantage disappears.