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A comment on Microsoft Is Disappearing Before Our Very Eyes. Parent comment

Re:Microsoft Is Disappearing Before Our Very Eyes by astrodust on Monday December 03, 2012 @11:00PM (#4869460)
The keyboard isn't glued on, it's held by magnets and flops off, provides no structural support. You can't prop it up in your lap like you can a MacBook Air or any notebook for that matter. It's a tablet with a keyboard that's only useful if you have a desk.

It runs Windows 8 and only Windows 8, so unlike a MacBook or even a small Dell notebook, Linux isn't an option. It's locked down in the worst possible way, more like an iPad than an Air.

I'm not even sure what the market for this is. People who want a computer with a relatively terrible keyboard? People who want a bulky alternative to the iPad?

My only hope is the pen is actually useful as this would be less expensive than the equivalent Wacom Cintiq.

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Re:Microsoft Is Disappearing Before Our Very Eyes by ja27 on Tuesday December 04, 2012 @12:02AM (#4869629)
Right. I'd much rather have an Asus Transformer style Windows 8 tablet + keyboard dock / second battery. Hopefully they'll come with more storage and battery time than the Surface Pro. Plus they'll likely be in the major retailers rather than just Microsoft's stores.
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Re:Microsoft Is Disappearing Before Our Very Eyes by damian2000 on Monday December 03, 2012 @11:06PM (#4869476)
Surface Pro can run classic Windows apps in desktop mode remember - hardly locked down.
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Re:Microsoft Is Disappearing Before Our Very Eyes by astrodust on Monday December 03, 2012 @11:40PM (#4869577)
I'm not talking about apps, I'm talking about the entire OS. This is not intended to be a general purpose computing device. It is not a traditional notebook or a replacement for one.
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Re:Microsoft Is Disappearing Before Our Very Eyes by recoiledsnake on Monday December 03, 2012 @11:11PM (#4869501)
> It runs Windows 8 and only Windows 8, so unlike a MacBook or even a small Dell notebook, Linux isn't an option. It's locked down in the worst possible way, more like an iPad than an Air.

Is that speculation or do you have a reference for that?

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Re:Microsoft Is Disappearing Before Our Very Eyes by astrodust on Monday December 03, 2012 @11:15PM (#4869510)
It's still speculation until someone confirms it, but as far as I can tell, UEFI is a requirement for Windows 8, and it's not good: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/software/3374039/installing-...

It's possible that a Linux certification for UEFI will come about, but that will mean you're restricted to certain flavors of Linux and not able to freely install whatever.

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Re:Microsoft Is Disappearing Before Our Very Eyes by recoiledsnake on Tuesday December 04, 2012 @06:23AM (#4870368)
You can turn off secure boot in the settings and run whatever you want to.
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Re:Microsoft Is Disappearing Before Our Very Eyes by gambiting on Tuesday December 04, 2012 @07:01AM (#4870490)
Any reference to that?
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