Report: Microsoft Tablet Is The Result of Partner Failures

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Consider Vista... It features new bits and bobs along with a nice new service called Superfetch which tried to cache events into memory for fast execution. What did the oems do? They released Laptops/Desktops with 256Mb/512Mb ram. Who got the blame for that? MS.

Either way they would have done the same again with the same said tired excuses for hardware and 1366x768 screens on EVERYTHING! They then have the BALLS to complain that MS is being strict! I do hope that a few of them fold due to MS making their own hardware but I doubt it.

OEMS.... STOP being lazy and produce good kit. Here's looking at you Samsung! (Yeah, I won't forget the screen issue with the Samsung 7 slate. A $1k+ device with a screen that wasn't bonded to the chassis properly)
 
This highlights an often overlooked aspect of the iPad. Before it's introduction, you could not touch a decent pad/tablet computer for under $1500. Apple managed to become a price leader, possibly for the first time ever.
 
damianrobertjones, you might want to also look at Vista's stupid use of memory with multiple windows, documented here at Tom's. MS deserves it's share of the blame.
 
I remember being interested in the original tablet idea MSFT had. it was really a traditional laptop but you could swivel the screen around and lay it down flat. I would sooner buy something designed like that than an iPad styled tablet.

As I've said before, this is a sound move by MSFT. It is a bit of a kick in the gut for the OEMs, but really the OEMs are beholden to MSFT. MSFT makes the software, they compete with one another over hardware. I don't see this as that huge a deal. Intel makes processors, chipsets, and motherboards, yet all the other MB makers don't seem to care that they have to compete with Intel. It's new for the computer builders, but they'll find a way to deal with it.
 
@DRosencraft: Someone actually made it: Toshiba Libretto W100

@john15v16: Nah! People eventually start to get bored of their once shiny slice of kit and after two years we're ready for something new. I hope
 
In this case I agree with MS. Dell and HP have both proven themselves to be essentially useless in terms of creativity and product creation. Both companies are ok at copying other people and firing people to reduce costs, but when it comes to actually investing in technology and producing new exciting products, both companies are an absolute disaster. They are so focused on cutting costs that they just don't have the vision to improve their technology. To them a dime spent on innovation is a dime wasted. The only reason they spend any money on R&D is for tax purposes. If it wasn't for the tax incentive they would be happy to produce Windows 95 PCs forever.
 
"... the partner's (PC OEMs) don't have any Oxygen ..."

Why?

"Microsoft extracts its hefty licensing fees from PC manufacturers..."

The reason couldn't be more clear.

To add to their plight, the OEM's profit margins were SO SLIM that Microsoft's ad rebates usually made the difference. If an OEM or vendor tried another OS they found their ad rebates from MS cut off, or they were threatened with increases in their per unit license fees. Either threat could prove fatal. It reminds one of the old "Company Stores" in the West Virginia coal mines. The miners always owed the company more for rent, food and services than what their wages could pay. To keep them in the mines the companies would put fences around the "towns" and company "police officers" would patrol the streets and business making sure "illegal assemblies" didn't occur. The miners were nothing less than slave labor, the same kind manning Apple's assembly lines in China.

Now that Microsoft has released a tablet which THEY are manufacturing we start hearing stories we've never heard before, like "the OEM's were lazy", or, "they didn't make good hardware, so Microsoft has no choice but to dump them". These are obviously planted MS PR stories repeated by fanboys and James Plamondon's notorious "Technical Evangelists". They are strange assertions considering that it was MICROSOFT that established hardware certification standards, the UEFI certification being just another example, and Microsoft forced the OEMs to meet the certifications or they couldn't sell Windows. Now, Microsoft and its lawn jockeys blame the OEMs because Windows powered tablets (and phones) aren't selling?
 
I remember back in the 90s, people said the USA would always have the edge because we are better at innovating and Apple, Google, Intel and to some extent MS have kept that tradition true. But when you look at strict OEMs Samsung, Sony and Lenova are all more creative and innovative than Dell, HP, Gateway or any of that useless crowd. And both Samsung and Lenova are making real strides to be even better.

Not a good sign for the future of the USA.
 
[citation][nom]GreyGeek[/nom]"... the partner's (PC OEMs) don't have any Oxygen ..."Why?"Microsoft extracts its hefty licensing fees from PC manufacturers..."The reason couldn't be more clear. To add to their plight, the OEM's profit margins were SO SLIM that Microsoft's ad rebates usually made the difference[/citation]


No excuse. Despite slim margins HP and Dell were making tens of billions of dollars in the 90s and all the up to 2008 or so. They made a decision to get fat on all that instead of re-investing into their product. It does not matter if you only make 20 bucks on a product as long as you sell a billion of them.
 
It's about time MS made its own hardware. They spend a fortune developing great reliable operating systems that work on such a huge range of hardware.

It's truly a huge achievement.

Then it gets handed over to the clowns at Dell/HP/Acer/Toshiba/Asus etc. and they just ruin it buy installing crappy builds full of buggy noisy crapware/bloatware. Just ruins all the good work. Really shoddy.

I can imagine MS looks at these machines and things "WTF have they done????!!!!"

I'd love to be able to buy a MS branded and made laptop with just Windows/Office and a few specific approved apps on it. Would be cool.

Then MS could also say "it just works out of the box!" too.
 
Microsoft already competed against hardware companies and won: namely Logitech. Logitech doesn't sell nearly the quantities of keyboards, mice, and webcams that they used to. Microsoft is making a killing in that market because of cheaper prices and superior products (battery use on cheap Logitech wireless keyboards gives you maybe 45 days of use, while Microsoft's battery consumption on even their low-end desktops sets gives you 6 months MINIMUM). Logitech closed their Canadian HQ because of declining sales while Microsoft is still a channel king.
 
Bloatware from OEM is cancer. The fact that MS are making their own hardware is a relief that I probably won't have to spend at least an hour trying to completely get rid of crap I didn't want in the first place. It's even worst on Android where you can't get rid of any of it unless you root.
 
[citation][nom]damianrobertjones[/nom]What did the oems do? They released Laptops/Desktops with 256Mb/512Mb ram.[/citation]
To be fair, they only did that so they could gouge their customers with $200 memory upgrades.

"Yes, we know we only put half as much memory in the system as we should. But here, you can have a reasonable amount for only 400% of the cost of the modules!"
 
[citation][nom]waethorn[/nom]Microsoft already competed against hardware companies and won: namely Logitech. Logitech doesn't sell nearly the quantities of keyboards, mice, and webcams that they used to.[/citation]
Unrelated. The article is referring to companies that make computers. Microsoft has been in the hardware business for a very long time. The difference is that hardware has never been in competition with those who license Windows, until now.
 
[citation][nom]willard[/nom]To be fair, they only did that so they could gouge their customers with $200 memory upgrades."Yes, we know we only put half as much memory in the system as we should. But here, you can have a reasonable amount for only 400% of the cost of the modules!"[/citation]

You mean like Apple?
 
[citation][nom]willard[/nom]Unrelated. The article is referring to companies that make computers. Microsoft has been in the hardware business for a very long time. The difference is that hardware has never been in competition with those who license Windows, until now.[/citation]

Well, they make hardware specifically for Windows, and they make Windows too. And they are killing a partner who had similarly followed their design recommendations for compatible hardware. It's VERY relevant IMO.
 
The only problem I see is that MS isn't know for making great hardware (or at least being behind the manufacture of great hardware). I don't know of anyone that has own a 360 that hasn't suffered the dreaded Red Ring of Death. My own experience with Microsoft branded mice and headsets has been pretty terrible, with each of those products breaking in less than a year of usage. Hopefully the Surface will be different but Microsoft + hardware typically leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
 
I wish Microsoft would just manufacture its own computers, like Apple. I'd like to buy a Microsoft branded laptop, for example.

I feel it's becoming increasingly important that software and hardware be developed with the same spirit, if that makes sense.
 
MS needs to learn it's not just about purchasing the mine, it's not so you can say I purchased a mine, it's so you can build a high quality component. Windows phone hasn't caught on because there is nothing as gorgeous on the market as the Iphone, MS needs to team up with not just a hardware manufacturer but an aesthetics company as well. Steve Jobs felt he had better taste than his peers and often he was write, the machine just doesn't need to be functional it needs to be elegant it needs to be a owrk of art, and MS seems to miss this point. The utilitarian computer days are over, especially, in that PC power is integrated into into every facet of our lives now. It needs to unobtrusive because computers aren't intrusive any more in terms of function, so get with it on the form. The XBox 360 high gloss black is the one place that MS has got it, it looks good sitting on my component shelf much better than the wei or PS3.

Car manufacturers are very good at this, especiallyl, the germans ones about stating style and luxury. Audi has a whole team dedicated to just finding materials for buttons , so they have the right feel, women are often employed in this department because let's face it, they often do have better fashion sense then men. The fact is MS puts out a phone that is high quality and gorgeous windows 8 phone will take off.
 
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