Report: Lenovo Aiming to Launch First Ever Windows 8 Tablet

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[citation][nom]drzharn[/nom]Why on earth would ANYBODY buy a product that has been proven to have spy chips in it, is beyond me. And the Lenovo Phone? OMG can you say espionage on a grand scale! These products should be BANNED world wide as long as they are made in China and by the Chinese Govt.[/citation]
Nearly everything is made in China now. Get used to it. (I do wish companies would start moving manufacturing back to the US more though.)
 
Guys, please.
Make sure you get this right.
This is a laptop that turns into a tablet. When you fold the laptop past 180degrees, the mouse + keyboard is deactivated for obvious reasons.
It is a laptop first, tablet second. Therefore, you can't simply compare this to an iPad. You should be comparing it to a Macbook Air/Pro.
 
[citation][nom]JOSHSKORN[/nom]Sell it to me for $900 ($1,200 minus the Windows 8 license fee) and we have a deal. I'll put Linux on it.[/citation]

There's been success lately going to small claims court to get a Windows Tax refund. Manufacturers don't want to reveal how much they pay for Windows so they don't even bother showing up.
 
[citation][nom]enforcer22[/nom]compeate with what? i havent looked but i have yet to see a apple slate or a worthwild linux slate.. at least i could do what i wanted with it with out breaking jobs 10 commandments.[/citation]

1. Take any slate you want, install Linux on it, and it's a Linux slate.

2. The irony in the last is hilarious. You're not going to be able to install Metro apps any way outside of MS's app store, so you'll be playing by Ballmer's rules instead of Jobs' commandments. They're both locking down desktops and laptops step by step; OS X now ships by default not allowing users to install apps outside of the Apple app store. Expect to see the ability to disable this disappear in another release or two. Microsoft is pushing developers to embrace WinRT and many developers are not likely to want to develop two different interfaces for the same piece of software. In another few years, Linux may be the only desktop/laptop OS remaining that isn't completely locked down. You're sniping at Apple, but you're buying into vendor control if you upgrade to Win8.
 
[citation][nom]alcalde[/nom]1. Take any slate you want, install Linux on it, and it's a Linux slate. 2. The irony in the last is hilarious. You're not going to be able to install Metro apps any way outside of MS's app store, so you'll be playing by Ballmer's rules instead of Jobs' commandments. They're both locking down desktops and laptops step by step; OS X now ships by default not allowing users to install apps outside of the Apple app store. Expect to see the ability to disable this disappear in another release or two. Microsoft is pushing developers to embrace WinRT and many developers are not likely to want to develop two different interfaces for the same piece of software. In another few years, Linux may be the only desktop/laptop OS remaining that isn't completely locked down. You're sniping at Apple, but you're buying into vendor control if you upgrade to Win8.[/citation]

what you say about apple makes sense.. but im not talking about apps in anyway. i could care less about them personaly.. i use full blown software and could give a crap about the apps market. and i cant think of one time a windows os has ever stopped me from installing what i wanted. and if your right about linux it would be a ncie time for linux to do alot of growing up cuz if its going to be the only desktop os in a few years the desktop is dead. btw got any proof of this windows 8 consperacy?
 
[citation][nom]freggo[/nom]Sorry, but $1200 for a tablet... even if I win the lottery I'd not go for it.[/citation]
this is not your typical "tablet". this is not the dumb little device you watch a youtube video on and play angrybirds on. this a fully powered beast. 830 bucks gets you the ipad3 with 64gb of storage and 1gb of ram
this thing sellin for 1200 has up to 256gb of storage and 8gb of ram.
 
Even ignoring the high price. Who wants to hold a 3 Lbs tablet? That's twice as heavy as a iPad. Sometimes I just wonder who is designing this stuff? Would they ever use what they design?
 
[citation][nom]jescott418[/nom]Even ignoring the high price. Who wants to hold a 3 Lbs tablet? That's twice as heavy as a iPad. Sometimes I just wonder who is designing this stuff? Would they ever use what they design?[/citation]
It's not a tablet. It's a convertible laptop, which makes it rather light for the form factor.
 
[citation][nom]enforcer22[/nom]what you say about apple makes sense.. but im not talking about apps in anyway. i could care less about them personaly.. i use full blown software and could give a crap about the apps market. and i cant think of one time a windows os has ever stopped me from installing what i wanted. and if your right about linux it would be a ncie time for linux to do alot of growing up cuz if its going to be the only desktop os in a few years the desktop is dead. btw got any proof of this windows 8 consperacy?[/citation]

It's not "conspiracy". Microsoft has said (repeatedly) that Metro UI apps (or "programs" if you prefer) will only be able to be installed via their new store, both on ARM and on the desktop.

" and i cant think of one time a windows os has ever stopped me from installing what i wanted". Meet Windows 8, the first semi-locked-down Windows desktop.

Microsoft is heavily pushing WinRT, the Metro UI library, to developers because they want ARM applications. Unless developers want to maintain two different interfaces/target two different libraries, in the future many programs are likely to become Metro-only. As is, Metro programs can't multitask EVEN ON THE DESKTOP and can't overlap. Microsoft has also been talking about Windows Phone 8 being able to run the same Metro desktop programs, so again you can expect Microsoft to really be trying to get as many programs as possible shifted over to Metro. Wonder why Metro can't be turned off on the desktop? As Tom's Guide reported, the MS VP for mobile devices said this recently:
"The most familiar UI for people worldwide will be Metro very soon. And that's great for the phone business." It's the idea that if people are familiar with Metro (whether they want to be or not) they'll be more inclined to buy Windows-based phones and tablets. Apple is slowly making OS X more like iOS for the same reason.

This is the trend, and it's not good. OS X has gone from warning about unsigned programs to including an app store to now not allowing non-app store software to run by default (can be turned off for now) over its last three releases.

"and if your right about linux it would be a ncie time for linux to do alot of growing up cuz if its going to be the only desktop os in a few years the desktop is dead."

It already has all of the features touted for Windows 8, as several articles have detailed. Windows was playing catch-up this time around.
 
honestly nothing is playing catch up with linux... and metro UI was suppose to be an option in the final version. app and full feture programs dont share the same space so i can imagin ms wanting to grow the apps market for all those ipad grabbers and android users. yes windows 8 is going to be for thier phones pads computers. its been the plan from the begining to integrate them all together i dont see how thats a bad thing. if your reffering to winRT as in the old WINFS yeah they been pushing that for years.. but im assuming your talking about the file system. obviously ms wants to shift to a new UI they think the start menu is outdated.. but honeslty they are wrong. I honestly cannot see computers going back to 1992 and earlyer. what computing is becoming the graphical interface thats going to be used as your saying will be more intuitive for the targets. putting it as an option for the desktop os is a good way to get people use to the idea.though only really usefull for more portable or "kiosk" kind of applications.
 
[citation][nom]drzharn[/nom]Why on earth would ANYBODY buy a product that has been proven to have spy chips in it, is beyond me. And the Lenovo Phone? OMG can you say espionage on a grand scale! These products should be BANNED world wide as long as they are made in China and by the Chinese Govt.[/citation]
Good luck finding something not made in China that is part of the IT industry
 
wow some of you guys are goof balls. this is not a tablet its an ultra book with touch capabilities. why is the writer even comparing this to an i pad. im gonna buy this b/c i want a new laptop not a tablet ppl.
 
I installed win8 beta on my existing HP Windows 7 HP Slate pad. This pad really isnt designed for it (display) but I got it on and am testing the heck out of it. Its pretty good. Cant wait to to see a pad designed for it. This device (with a full OS) would sink the IPAD (why hasn't apple put the MACos on the ipad yet???). I can truly use the win8 pad as a company workstation connected to my active directories.
 
[citation][nom]enforcer22[/nom]honestly nothing is playing catch up with linux... and metro UI was suppose to be an option in the final version. app and full feture programs dont share the same space so i can imagin ms wanting to grow the apps market for all those ipad grabbers and android users. yes windows 8 is going to be for thier phones pads computers. its been the plan from the begining to integrate them all together i dont see how thats a bad thing. if your reffering to winRT as in the old WINFS yeah they been pushing that for years.. but im assuming your talking about the file system. obviously ms wants to shift to a new UI they think the start menu is outdated.. but honeslty they are wrong. I honestly cannot see computers going back to 1992 and earlyer. what computing is becoming the graphical interface thats going to be used as your saying will be more intuitive for the targets. putting it as an option for the desktop os is a good way to get people use to the idea.though only really usefull for more portable or "kiosk" kind of applications.[/citation]

The new features of Windows 8 include:

Dialog to pause/cancel file copies in progress: already present in KDE desktop for Linux.
Ability to mount ISOs and virtual drive images: already in Linux.
Touch interface: already present in KDE; can be turned on and off, unlike Windows 8.
Ability to "refresh" the OS with reinstall without losing data: already present in Linux.
Ability to create/use a live flash drive image of the OS: already in, and created by, Linux.
Native USB 3.0 support: Linux was the first OS to include USB 3 drivers.
ReFS Copy-on-write file system (in server version, eventually consumer version): Linux already has C-o-w file system.
If you want to count social integration and cloud integration, some distros like Ubuntu had those first too.
App store: Linux has had software install via repositories almost since its beginning.
ARM version: Linux already runs on ARM - the full OS, unlike Windows On ARM.
Ability to upgrade to Windows 8 over the Internet: once again, Linux pioneered OS upgrades over the Internet.
Metro's HTML5 + Javascript widgets: Not only does KDE have them, but the entire desktop (program launcher, task bar, system tray, etc.) are widgets, making the desktop incredibly customizable. Some parts of KDE and almost everything about the Gnome desktop can even be modified with Javascript code.

So please don't make statements like Windows 8 isn't playing catch-up with Linux. There's nothing it's offering that Linux isn't already, most of it back at least as far as the debut of Windows 7 in 2009. There's still a lot, like ability to upgrade the OS and all installed programs via one tool, logical volume management in the consumer version, and a completely customizable desktop that Windows 8 lacks.

There are no plans to be able to disable Metro UI. What you see in the Consumer Preview is almost certainly what you will get in about six months when Windows 8 is released.

WinRT is the library that programmers will use to build Metro UI applications and the only Windows library available for Windows on ARM. This is as opposed to Win32, the "standard" Microsoft interface library of code that your desktop programs use now. Since WinRT is available for WOA (Windows On ARM) and is said to be available for the next version of Windows Phone, Microsoft is going to want developers using this even for desktop programs, so many desktop programs will end up being Metro-fied. Firefox is already working on a Metro version of its browser, for instance.


 
[citation][nom]alcalde[/nom]The new features of Windows 8 include😀ialog to pause/cancel file copies in progress: already present in KDE desktop for Linux.Ability to mount ISOs and virtual drive images: already in Linux.Touch interface: already present in KDE; can be turned on and off, unlike Windows 8.Ability to "refresh" the OS with reinstall without losing data: already present in Linux.Ability to create/use a live flash drive image of the OS: already in, and created by, Linux.Native USB 3.0 support: Linux was the first OS to include USB 3 drivers.ReFS Copy-on-write file system (in server version, eventually consumer version): Linux already has C-o-w file system.If you want to count social integration and cloud integration, some distros like Ubuntu had those first too.App store: Linux has had software install via repositories almost since its beginning.ARM version: Linux already runs on ARM - the full OS, unlike Windows On ARM.Ability to upgrade to Windows 8 over the Internet: once again, Linux pioneered OS upgrades over the Internet.Metro's HTML5 + Javascript widgets: Not only does KDE have them, but the entire desktop (program launcher, task bar, system tray, etc.) are widgets, making the desktop incredibly customizable. Some parts of KDE and almost everything about the Gnome desktop can even be modified with Javascript code.So please don't make statements like Windows 8 isn't playing catch-up with Linux. There's nothing it's offering that Linux isn't already, most of it back at least as far as the debut of Windows 7 in 2009. There's still a lot, like ability to upgrade the OS and all installed programs via one tool, logical volume management in the consumer version, and a completely customizable desktop that Windows 8 lacks.There are no plans to be able to disable Metro UI. What you see in the Consumer Preview is almost certainly what you will get in about six months when Windows 8 is released.WinRT is the library that programmers will use to build Metro UI applications and the only Windows library available for Windows on ARM. This is as opposed to Win32, the "standard" Microsoft interface library of code that your desktop programs use now. Since WinRT is available for WOA (Windows On ARM) and is said to be available for the next version of Windows Phone, Microsoft is going to want developers using this even for desktop programs, so many desktop programs will end up being Metro-fied. Firefox is already working on a Metro version of its browser, for instance.[/citation]
How come when Apple copies something that already exists they are hailed as saviours because they "perfected" it, but when Microsoft does it they are met with howls of derision? It's not a level playing field. Sure Linux may have had a first pop at a lot of features but what they really need is a big commercial organisation behind it to push it into people homes and offices. There is no point in having something so good and so capable with a crappy 0.86% market share.
...
Another hot tip, if you are free and open source, you have to expect people are going to copy it and use it themselves, market it, then sell it. Welcome to the capitalist society.
 
[citation][nom]back_by_demand[/nom]How come when Apple copies something that already exists they are hailed as saviours because they "perfected" it, but when Microsoft does it they are met with howls of derision? It's not a level playing field. Sure Linux may have had a first pop at a lot of features but what they really need is a big commercial organisation behind it to push it into people homes and offices. There is no point in having something so good and so capable with a crappy 0.86% market share....Another hot tip, if you are free and open source, you have to expect people are going to copy it and use it themselves, market it, then sell it. Welcome to the capitalist society.[/citation]

1. Marketing and the Reality Distortion Field.
2. Actually in the last few months Linux has surged to 1.5% market share. 🙂
3. I'm not complaining that Microsoft has added any of those features. I'm just pointing them out when people make comments that suggest that Linux is technologically far behind Windows and needs to "catch up".

Regarding market share, I think we're in for some very interesting times if certain entities play their cards right. Microsoft and Apple both believe in a "post PC" world and are trying to merge their technologies. Apple is proceeding very slowly with iOS and OS X merging. Microsoft only managed to produce a scaled-down winRT library for Windows on ARM and are attempting to force it on the desktop. Because all non-.NET desktop programs that exist now use win32 instead of winRT, they can't be recompiled for ARM and run on WOA.

On the other hand, Linux is the only OS that does have a full implementation on ARM. With the Linux kernel that was released today, the Android and Linux kernels are back together again after having been separately maintained for a few years. This opens up amazing possibilities. Ubuntu has shown demos of "Ubuntu for Android" on a phone. The phone runs Android but when placed into a dock it switches seamlessly over to Ubuntu (no need to reboot because they'll run the same kernel). There is significant integration to the point where open tabs in the Android browser will be open when the user launches them in Ubuntu! A monitor, keyboard and mouse are hooked up to the dock and the user gets a full, normal desktop Ubuntu experience running the same software they normally run on their existing desktops! This really IS post-PC... use your phone, come in to work, plug it into a dock, and use it instead of a PC for normal work! Obviously this is possible for more than just Ubuntu, including distros that use KDE, which is a very normal, standard desktop interface.

When this is perfected, this feature, properly leveraged, could do what Microsoft and Apple are hoping for; in this case, get existing users of Android to look at the Linux desktop OS. Microsoft looks to be a long ways away from being able to offer this; they seem to want to have developers re-write all existing software to winRT/Metro UI. Apple's probably closer but still a ways off. In the meantime, Ubuntu )and other distros) may be very close to putting a Linux desktop into every Android phone user's pocket. Very interesting times indeed.
 
I think a Windows 8 tablet is just a pipedream. By the time it comes out, there will already be 20 million or so iPads, 5 million or so Android based tablets, etc. Who do they think will by them? Businesses, such as hospitals or banks? Dream on. Apple already has those industries covered.
If I really wanted Win8 (and I don't), I'd by an ultrabook with Ivy Bridge or Haswell on it. To get Win8 running on an ARM architecture to run a few watered down apps. I don't think so. To get one with an SSD, Win8 license and an Atom based CPU and charge at least $1200. Really. Windows 7 is a great OS but I think will be the last for M$. They'd be better off focusing on peripherals and gaming, such as the rumored new XBox.
 
[citation][nom]alcalde[/nom]2. Actually in the last few months Linux has surged to 1.5% market share. .[/citation]
Impressive, if they can double every six months they will be up to Windows in just 3 years
 
first off if microsoft added all those things in which they tried to do the everything in thier os so you didnt need third party. they just get sued by morons that say they are being anti competative becuase they add it in.. linux doesnt get sued becuase no one gives a rats ass about linux.
 
[citation][nom]enforcer22[/nom]first off if microsoft added all those things in which they tried to do the everything in thier os so you didnt need third party. they just get sued by morons that say they are being anti competative becuase they add it in.. linux doesnt get sued becuase no one gives a rats ass about linux.[/citation]

The things we are talking about here are inherent features of the OS, not anything that requires bundling programs. Microsoft wasn't "sued by morons"; it was prosecuted by the United States Department of Justice for abuse of monopoly power. Linux isn't a single entity or corporation, and as it is far from being a monopoly, it doesn't have any legal issues with abusing monopoly power.

Finally, as regarding caring about Linux, it powers over 90%+ of the top 500 supercomputers (and all of the top 10), most of the world's major stock exchanges, most routers and other embedded devices, the most popular smart phone OS, Android, Kindles and Nook tablets, car info-tainment systems like GM's forthcoming CUE, the majority of the Internet's servers, the servers of Amazon, Google and Facebook, the Large Hadron Collider, etc. It is also at the forefront of the biggest topics in IT today, the cloud, big data, and virtualization.

I don't think you had a clue what you were talking about.
 
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