Has Microsoft Got Apple Rattled?

The release of the new Surface tablets, especially the Surface Pro, seems to have started a bit of a measured round of verbal tennis between Apple and Microsoft.  The fact that the rhetoric is restrained indicates that they are playing a serious game here.

Apple are talking up the iPad Air and are touting an Office-like clone that will run on the iPad.  That has to be a way forward and takes the iPad out of the serious toy world into real productivity arena.  Like Microsoft or loathe them, they've forced this agenda.  I've been saying for the last two years that the lack of productive uses for tablet computers has been the elephant in the boardroom.  Sure there's a lot of serious applications for the likes of the iPad and its Android cousins, but until Microsoft launched the Surface earlier this year complete with the ability to run Microsoft Office and to connect to a secure network (for the Pro version anyway), the elephant roamed unchallenged.

But the tablets that Microsoft have launched, along with similar hybrid devices based on Windows 8 by other manufacturers, have changed the game.  Although the RT version of the Surface seems to have stalled, it still represents an amazing amount of productivity for very little cost - around the price of a lesser spec iPad, but weighing only about an ounce more.  You get the touchy-feely iPad-like environment with the tablet, but also the ability to write novels, update spreadsheets, produce PowerPoint presentations with the magnetic clip-on keyboard.  Add SkyDrive with its free 7GB storage and the WiFi connectivity then you have something that is more than the sum of its parts.  The weakness is the apps; Windows 8 is playing catch up with iOS and Android, Windows 8 RT is going nowhere fast.  Because RT has only the Microsoft store available to access apps and won't run legacy Windows 7 or earlier programs it is struggling to convince.

However the Pro, at admittedly nearly twice the price of the RT, can do all of the above and more.  It is heavier, though, and thicker.  I've been using one this last week to see how it compares with traditional laptops when out of the office.  The jury's out at present, but for those situations where a mix of legacy software and business applications are required, the Pro may be the solution.  Connection to a secure intranet seems seamless and the machine is fast in use.

So can Apple catch up with the iPad Air?  Well, one area the Surface Pro is struggling is in the weight department - it is relatively heavy in use.  Apple have a track record of addressing weight issues.  The Pro does have a minimalist approach that Steve Jobs would probably approve of - power button, volume button and one USB port but when used with the new dock it seems to expand nicely.  Apple have yet to get over the USB port concept, which may hold them back.  The unknown quantity is the Office-like software being suggested.  There are a few Office clones around, with Open Office being the best well known.  It works reasonably well and produces MS Office compatible files, but I always feel I'm wrestling with it (I use it on a netbook).  Apple have an uphill battle to create an Office replacement that works on the iPad and makes users feel it is worth the effort. And good luck with printing - after two years we're still struggling to print from an iPad at home, but I find my Surface RT prints wirelessly without any apparent effort, although I suspect that was part of the 8.1 upgrade as I did struggle before.

So Microsoft have challenged Apple and their responses this week suggest that they have struck home.  Apple are getting serious about making the iPad serious.  It should also make Microsoft sit up too - Apple are a very capable company with a track recode of delivering - if Microsoft want to keep their lead in this serious tablet arena then they have more work to do.  Hopefully by the third iteration of the Surface Pro it will have the weight and thickness of the first generation RT.

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Windows 8.1 for RT is available

Following the sudden removal of Windows 8.1 from the RT store the other day, Microsoft have quietly slipped it back on.  I might have been looking the other way but I didn't see  any announcement by Microsoft that the software was back available on the store, I just tripped over it when taking a wander through the other night.

To be fair, it is in-your-face if you open up the store.  You're not going to miss it, that's for sure.  I reckon the software was taken off the store for probably no more than 48 hours, but seeing as Microsoft slipped the software off as quietly as it returned it, there has to be a touch of guesswork.  Whatever the timeframe, it seems that the problems that Microsoft were sorting weren't as extensive as they sounded.  I don't know if those who rushed in when the software was first launched have solved their blue screen of death problem, but if that's you and you're reading this on another PC I would suggest contacting Microsoft and downloading the new improved files.

Anyway, in a moment of rashness I pushed the download button and was initially impressed in the visual indications on progress, then a little irritated because they were actually demonstrating lack of progress.  Of course, like most if not all Surface RT owners, I'm a little spoiled because RT comes pre-installed on the Surface.  I have no idea about how long it takes Microsoft to load RT onto each Surface they prepare for sale, and care very little to boot.  Until I'm watching a very slow update progress bar creep along the screen. 

It's not just visual but numerical, too.  The progress screen kept me advised on how much percentage progress had been achieved, to save me measuring the horizontal bar.  Eventually, after about an hour, the download was complete and was advised that it was preparing files for installation.  More percentage advisement followed by one or two more screens mentioning that it was 'just one more thing'.

Somewhere along the way Microsoft text you a code to validate your license, using the mobile number you registered when you first logged onto your Surface, or possibly when you first obtained a Microsoft account.  It may be worth checking that detail before you start your upload if you registered with Microsoft some time ago and you're in the habit of changing your mobile number.  I think you can alter it on the fly, but as I cling to my mobile number for dear life that wasn't a problem.

Eventually - allow at least 90 minutes - the upgrade was complete.  A bit of admin and Windows 8.1 is installed and running.  I'm just getting used to some of the features, such as the search anywhere function that doesn't ask you to select apps or Bing or your computer - it searches the lot.  I'm trying to find Bing at the moment because there are times when you know it's an internet search you need and Bing preserves your most recent search.  The new ways of splitting the screen is proving useful as I like to see  multiple applications running concurrently, although of course on the Surface you're going to struggle for real estate.  I was going to load Outlook on, but the general mail application has been updated and I'm playing with that first before I engage Outlook - it may sit comfortably side by side with the mail app but that's unproven right now.

The only issue I've experienced so far is running Blogger - it keeps telling me I should be using Chrome.  Now I ran Blogger successfully under Windows 8 and I can't find Chrome in the Windows store.  It does hang a bit, but if you're reading this I guess it isn't the end of the world

Ultimately the upgrade went seamlessly, if a little long winded.  Time will tell if it is a real benefit over basic Windows 8, but at least it didn't end up with the blue screen of death!

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Is Microsoft Killing RT?

It's no secret that RT, the ARM based version of Windows 8, isn't winning the battle.  The problems identified a day or so ago with upgrading existing RT Windows 8 to 8.1 certainly hasn't helped.

By the way, some reports, probably including my last post, may imply that the whole Windows 8.1 upgrade has been pulled by Microsoft.  It hasn't and if you are running version 8.0 on a laptop or desktop, or on a Surface Pro, then it seems there is no reason why you shouldn't upgrade and plenty of reasons why you should.

But the RT version is a different beast and is a compromise.  It's designed to run on a mobile phone processor so there is inevitably some areas that it is going to underperform.  To be clear, if you like the form factor of the Surface, virtually the same size as an iPad, literally one once heavier, with the touchy, feely interface that the iPad has championed but you don't want the RT, then buy the Pro.  But be aware that although you're going to get a faster machine that will run legacy Windows 7 programs you are going to have to fork out a lot more cash.  And if you want to do something productive, such as using Word or Excel (and let's face it, if you don't hanker after that level of functionality, why aren't you looking at an iPad or Nexus?) then on the Pro you'll have to pay for the license.

But with the RT you get iPad-like functionality, Office 365 to run and edit your Office documents and, should Microsoft get the update to 8.1 sorted out, Outlook as well for much the same price as an iPad.  It should be a no-brainer unless you're computing requirements are limited to Facebook and surfing, in which case perhaps 'no-brainer' may be literally true.  If you want to write using a real word processor, calculate using formulas, produce PowerPoint slides that can be used on any PC in the world then perhaps RT isn't looking too shabby.

However it still doesn't seem to spin a lot of wheels, even now it's being discounted ahead of the Surface 2 launch.  The reason is the lack of apps.  Full fat Windows 8 is doing OK, but the developers are fighting shy of expending effort on the RT version.  And there's the problem; until the apps reach a critical mass, sales of the RT based machines will be slow.  While they are slow, development of new apps will lag.  A vicious circle.  Microsoft have been flashing the cash lately, and have even offered serious cash to developers to jump on-board.  Perhaps they need to do more.

One way would be to set up an app development team that worked with the major app producers; give them a financial incentive to develop RT based apps or offer talent to do the development specifically for the RT on their behalf, still providing cash incentives.  Make the offer time limited; sign up before a certain date or take a risk that the well will be dry.

Whatever Microsoft do, hopefully they won't give up on RT.  Unless they can produce a full featured version like the Pro at RT prices the world will be a poorer place and we'll just have to stand by and watch Google and Apple slug it out.  Microsoft have offered  the possibility of a third way, an alternative route that makes tablet computing grow up and act like adults.  Without this level of competition there's no reason for the other two to make their devices suitable the grown up world.

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One Step Forward

Regular readers will know that I purchased a Microsoft Surface RT earlier this year when I was let down by the self destruction of my Google Nexus 7.  For those who haven't read all of my posts, here's an abridged bitch about how I ended up spending £400 on the Microsoft machine.

I was given the Nexus for my birthday last year, just after it was launched and to be honest it was a good machine.  It went everywhere with me - which is reasonable as it is a portable tablet.  I do have a generic case for it, but often it was carried around naked in my jeans pockets - did I mention it was pocket sized as well as portable?  Anyway, after a not too taxing bimble around the Lake District earlier this year I pulled my Nexus out of a side pocket to while away a few moments while crossing a lake on a steamer when I realised that somewhere along the way the screen had spontaneously self destructed, cracked from arsehole to breakfast time.

A quick search on the internet using my wife's iPhone revealed that this was a fairly common experience.  Anyway, to cut a long story short, Asus (manufacturer) will only consider looking at such damage if the owner parts with £50 and will only refund that if it decides (without arbitration) that the fault is a manufacturing one.  If they throw the bones down and decide it is user induced, they keep the money and offer to repair at an exorbitant cost.  Somewhere between the cost of a new Nexus and the ticket price on a Virgin Galactic flight.

So I decided to walk away from Google branded equipment and bought a Surface RT instead, hoping to find that replacement screens and digitisers come down in price in the near future.  I'm still waiting, and the near future is now a distant memory. As an aside, while in Boston, MA the other week I came across a stall in a mall offering to repair a variety of broken screens on iPhones, iPads, Galaxies, other machines.  Average price seemed to be about $60 all in.  I spoke with the young man at the stall to ask if they repaired the Nexus - I didn't have it with me, why would I take a broken tablet on vacation?  Anyhow, said young man pulled a pained expression when I asked if the Nexus could be repaired - he answered yes and started to fiddle with some spares he'd been collecting together, not really making eye contact.  How much? I asked.  About $200, he replied.  And he agreed that you could buy a brand new 16GB Nexus 7 for much the same amount, he just couldn't do anything about the price.  So if you're in the market for a pocket sized portable tablet then by all means consider the Nexus, just don't expect it to be portable or suitable for putting in your pocket.

Anyway, I bought the RT and it's been very good in general - it does have a habit of installing updates and rebooting without warning - we're talking Microsoft here remember - and I have had a few occasions when it didn't want to wake up at all, eventually rebooting.  Either it's a teenager, I'm interrupting an unannounced update or I've an intermittent fault on my machine.  On the upside, I've typed around 50,000 words on the snap-on keyboard and it's still working like brand new.  Outside of authors I suspect most users won't use the keyboard as aggressively.

But Windows 8 is far from perfect, so Microsoft have been working feverishly on a new version, Windows 8.1. Highlights are a Start button (I can't get too worked up about that - it lets you toggle between the old desktop and the new tiled interface, so what?).  It does allow unlimited web pages to be viewed by your machine - I expect there is a limit, but the current limit is way too small and the random culling of web pages is a little irritating, although the pinning facility means they are relatively easy to restore.  You can view up to four web pages side by side with the new OS, which is likely to be a little challenging on an RT screen, but useful on an extended screen.  Two pages maximum on the RT is considered the maximum that is practical.  It also allows a 50:50 split on screen - Windows 8 allows a 1/3:2/3 split, which has it's place but is often not a great choice.

Perhaps the biggest update is the inclusion of Outlook to complement the existing Office 365 that gets bundled in for free. 

So, what's the catch?  Well it seems that Microsoft pulled the upgrade off its store within 24 hours of launch.  There are a few sites out there that obtained the code to download but the way I look at this is if Microsoft are worried enough to pull the OS so soon after launch, why would I want to risk messing my machine about.  Plus some of the instructions to upgrade take me back to my maths degree - if you've got to resort to coding just to upgrade a piece of software then something is seriously wrong.

The upgrade sounds like it could be worthwhile, but I'm going to hold fire until I hear that Microsoft have re-launched the OS and then I'll let it stabilise, maybe 48 hours this time.

And the Nexus?  Well,  I'm convinced I'll get it up and running, it just may find itself in a different housing with a different function.  I'll canvas those inventive persons at B L O'Feld Megalomaniac Industries, I'm sure they will have a few evil suggestions that will make Google sit up.

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RT, But Not Farty

I've spent the last few days getting to know my new tablet, the Microsoft RT.  In many ways this has been a voyage of discovery as I'm learning a new way of working with a tablet and with a new OS.

The first impressions of the RT are very promising - clearly someone at Microsoft has been paying close attention to Apple as unpacking the RT is very much in the same vein as unpacking an iPad or any other Apple product, down to the white packaging and the carefully laid out compartments for each item.  Also in keeping with Apple products, the RT comes with minimal instructions or indeed any other peripheral equipment.  Basically it is the RT and the charger.  The one thing that does strike you, though, is that the RT is a solid piece of hardware - it feels solid and does weigh a bit more than an iPad in my estimation.  The screen size is figured to be larger than the iPad, too, but due to its widescreen format it may or may not appear to be.  The screen format is designed around watching films.

The keyboard is an optional extra - you can use the RT like any other tablet, but I would expect you wouldn't be getting the best out of the supplied Microsoft Office package if you decided against a keyboard.  With my purchase the keyboard was supplied in the price - £399.99 or about US$650. There is a choice of keyboard - they have a flat keyboard with no moving parts that senses when you tap the keys and is essentially waterproof - possibly a good option for those who need to type in a pub.  The alternative is a micro-keyboard that's quite tactile and is the option I took up.  Being a touch typist I find it works very effectively and can recommend it, but please note it is quite clacky in use.

Placing the keyboard close to the RT allows the magnets to do their stuff and the keyboard attaches itself effortlessly and firmly.  Removing and reattaching is a breeze and the keyboard itself doesn't have its own power supply - all power is derived from the Li-Ion battery supplied in the tablet.  Initially, though, the keyboard won't be recognised until you've started your RT and set it up.  However the keyboard provides protection for the screen when it is closed up, and given my recent experience with the Nexus screen cracking spontaneously I can be forgiven for being a little protective of it, even though the guys at the Microsoft stand at the Gadget Show did insist that the screen is Gorilla Glass, as per the iPad.

It's worth recognising at this point the differences between the RT and its big brother, the Surface Pro.  Apart from the price - and for reasons that I haven't worked out I could have bought the same model, with the same keyboard in the same shop for £150 more than I did. Naturally I resisted. The Pro would have cost a lot more, no matter what deals they were doing.  The RT is basically based on mobile phone ARM processor technology and comes in 32gb and 64gb flavours.  I chose the 32gb version which comes with MS Office, the Windows 8 OS and a handful of apps installed and I have about 16gb left to play with.  However there is a micro SD card port that takes up to 64gb cards - one on its way courtesy of eBay for £12.50 including postage - so there's no real need to fill the hard drive up with photos, music and documents.  And of course it automatically links to your SkyDrive account so anything you have up there in the cloud is available on the RT.

So, we have a mobile phone processor.  What else is different?  Well, the biggest issue anyone might find is that you can only load native Windows 8 software on the RT, whereas on the Pro you can load Windows 7 software.  There are some obvious gaps in the limited software that I like to use, including some Apps that are freely available on Android and iOS, unfortunately including Sherlock, the feature of a recent posting.  I've checked with Everett at Kaser Towers and he's not interested in supporting the RT OS while it's still a niche OS..  However this is a new OS and support is building.  For example my printer, an Epson all in one WiFi model, isn't currently supported but Epson state on their site that they are working on making their products Windows 8 compatible.  Until then I'll have to transfer any documents I want to print to the laptop via SkyDrive.  However, as I said in an earlier posting, this device does address the issue that Apple and Android have failed to tackle with their tablets and that is making it a machine you can do useful work on as well as play.  Until Office is available for those other OS machines, this is the most practical option open.

But this is supposed to be about what the difference is between the RT and the Surface Pro, well one major difference between the two models is that you have to pay for MS Office on the Pro, so that makes the RT even better value.

In use the Windows 8 OS is different from any previous Windows interface, but a couple of years of using iOS and Android devices has prepared me for many of the features and I didn't even look at the on-line manual for the first six or so hours of playing with the RT.  As I'd had a preview at the Gadget show I knew to swipe from the right hand side to get the charms, as MS call them, visible.  The most useful charm is the Windows 8 charm which takes you to the Start screen.  From there you can look at your emails - although you need a Microsoft email account to access the on-line features of RT it does allow you to link other email accounts such as Yahoo to it - or one of a dozen other tasks straight out of the box. 

The browser does take a little getting used to - MS were late to the field with tabs in earlier versions of IE and in the Windows 8 browser they appear to have disappeared again.  However, when viewing any webpage, if you swipe down from the top of the screen you reveal all the open webpages and can toggle freely between them.  You can close down ones you no longer need to keep things tidy, but you don't need to - Windows 8 will close down ones you're not using after a decent period.  It's the same with Apps - they stay running until the system decides you're not playing any more, then it closes them down in the background.  You can also save webpages by pinning them to the Start screen.  So if you always open the same webpages every morning you can pin them and you can open them straight off.

Checking what Apps you do have open at any time requires a nifty swipe from the left hand side of the screen, arcing around and returning to the side of the frame.  At that point the left hand side turns into a column of icons showing you what Apps are open.  Touching the App you want to work on opens it up full screen.  if you decide to stick with the App you're currently viewing, just swipe the column back into the side.

Clearly I've only just scratched the - er - surface of the RT but early impressions are very favourable.  I've written this blog entry with the supplied keyboard and RT sat on my knee while sat on a sofa.  I have a wireless mouse plugged into the USB port and I'm currently streaming Joe Bonamassa tracks from the Xbox channel for free, listening through my Sennheisser wireless headphones with no latency issues.  The sound through the built in speakers is pretty good too.  All in all the RT is living up to the promise it makes in the adverts, although I have got over the novelty of clicking and unclicking the keyboard on and off.


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Nexus 7 - Not All It's Cracked Up To Be

I've just paid a flying visit to Ambleside, in the Lake District.  Regular readers will know that I rate this part of the country very highly and Ambleside in particular.  The occasion was a visit to Zefferelllis Jazz Bar to listen to a blues band and to take in a few strolls in the countryside.  As is my habit I popped my Nexus 7 in a side pocket and had a full day of strolling around Lake Windermere.  I've travelled many miles with the Nexus carried in this manner - it's one of the attractions of a pocket sized tablet is that it fits in a pocket.

Anyway, on the last leg of the day, heading back to Ambleside on a lake ferry, I pulled the Nexus out of my pocket to read an eBook and found the screen cracked in multiple places and the device unresponsive - it turned on but the touchscreen didn't work so I couldn't unlock the device.  Basically it's just showing my background photo and the PIN keyboard.  I've rotated the device through 360 and tried the keyboard on all four rotations - nothing doing.

Back in Ambleside I Googled the fault using my wife's iPad and it appears that it isn't that uncommon.  In fact, if you follow the message boards from product launch to today you'll find a couple of trends.  Initially the main problems appeared to be around light leakage from the body, put down to loose screws holding the back away from the front.  Then the screen cracking reports started appearing.  Now they seem to be the main complaint about the Nexus 7 and by all accounts I've been quite lucky getting nearly nine months out of mine.

Of course you've got to take the reports with a bit of caution - devices that haven't had a fault of any kind won't have generated the kind of report we're talking about, and the Nexus does appear to have been a fairly successful product.  So it's difficult to decide how big a problem this is.  However there are some common threads filtering through and one, worryingly, is that the screen is not covered by the warranty.  The other, and I've verified this through searches on Google and sites such as eBay, is that the screens are expensive to replace. In fact, to pay ASUS, the manufacturer of the Nexus, to repair it costs about the same as buying a new device according to many reports.  From instructions posted by techies it also looks to be quite a problematical task as well, which is possibly one reason why ASUS levies such a high labour charge.

I contacted the store I bought the Nexus from, PC World on-line.  I say contacted, I mean I listened to a series of menu choices and when I got to the bit that referred to ASUS products I received a phone number and a suggestion that I should really phone them.  Did I not hear them, put the bloody phone down, why don't you?

So I phoned ASAS.  Here's a thing - calls have to be between 0900 and 1700 and cost at least 5 pence a minute on a BT landline, an undefined amount on a mobile, no idea about over the employer's VOIP.  So an early stack and back at home I worked my way through another menu - eight choices to listen to and I still got it wrong.  For anyone going through this, choose the EEE option, which I think is option 2.  There I spoke to a polite man who explained how it works.  First you need to find the serial number on the Nexus - I'm still looking.  It's on the transparent sticker at the bottom of the device on the back and the writing is both miniscule and virtually as transparent as the sticker.

I explained the situation and he said that if it was assessed to be user damage my warranty wouldn't cover the repair, but if it wasn't my fault, it would.  That sounds reasonable, so I asked for what to do next, apart from using a scanning electron microscope to read the serial number.  Well, it seems you log onto the ASUS repair web page, apparently UK.ASUS.com/RMA and fill in a form.  After a few days you receive instructions on how to courier the device to their authorised repairers who will make an assessment on who is to blame.  By the way, this isn't a conversation, let alone a debate.  They decide and that's that.  If they determine that it is a warranty repair you'll get your device back and working within a month or so.  If it isn't a warranty repair then you can have it repaired - cost currently unknown apart from rumours on the web, but expected to be about the cost of a new device, or you can have the damaged item back.  However if you take the damaged item back you do have to pay for the courier and the labour charges which are estimated to be about £50.  And you agree to this as soon as you fill in that form and start the ball rolling, so you may find yourself having to choose to pay the price of a new Nexus to get a repaired Nexus, or a third of the price of a new Nexus to get an inoperative model back.

I did speak to my household insurance and they're quite happy to cover this item for accidental damage, even when I told them that I didn't believe I'd damaged it.  But I do have a £150 excess on accidental damage claims, so it hardly seems worth it as that's the price of q new Nexus 7.

Whatever happens over the Nexus I'm certain that I'll be without it for a while - the repairs seem to take weeks according to many reports, and I'll likely only be doing that if it's agreed that it is a warranty repair.  In the meantime I've picked up a Microsoft Surface RT with a tactile keyboard so that will be my go-to tablet from now on.  It's day three and I'm still getting to grips with the new Windows methodology, but it's clearly a versatile machine  A first impressions report in tomorrow's blog.


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Tablets Set to Reverse PC Decline

The sale of PCs has been sliding for a few years, pretty much in parallel with the rise of the iPad.  It makes sense, given the current economic situation that seems reasonable - there's only so much cash sloshing around so a choice to buy one device limits the options for another.  But more than that, the iPad showed that there are other ways of computing.

The iPad came with an interface that was intuitive, that stretched and slid items around the screen without the need for a mouse.  All you needed was a finger or two, and consequently the computer buying public showed two of them to the PC industry.  Year on year, since the iPad appeared on the scene, PC sales have  declined.

To be fair to Apple, or in fact to Steve Jobs, they pulled a blinder with the iPad and the iPod before it.  I can only imagine the look of horror on the boardroom faces when Steve walked in, sold them the concept of the iPod and then said that anyone would be allowed to develop apps for the device.  Not only that, although nobody was allowed to make a device that could run iOS, anybody could build under license devices that connected to the new hardware.  He wrapped the apps up in the iTunes store, making  millions for Apple on the way while controlling the quality and by letting you, me and the guy down the road make docks for the iPads he ensured that Apple had a wide variety of interfaces for the iPad that Apple didn't have to design or worry about selling well.  Genius.

The only problem is that the iPad, smart that it is, attractive and cool too, isn't a business tool.  When it arrived it was a solution looking for a problem, and quickly it found them.  Apps sprung up left, right and centre, our music management issues - the ones we'd largely been oblivious to previously, was solved by iTunes.  Book management was pretty well sorted too, although Amazon probably thought they'd addressed that particular issue already.  The ability to catapult cartoon birds through virtual air was sorted quickly enough and in no time at all every possible permutation of Maj Jongg, Sudoko and other games for the traveller and individuals short on friends appeared too.  But no true business applications.

Which is a bit of a surprise when you stop and think of it, after all, Apple make some pretty well respected business machines.  They may not have a track record of designing business software - they've traditionally bought that in, although anyone remembering the arguments between Apple and Microsoft initially over Microsoft Office will recall it wasn't always easy.  But they have carved a perfect niche in desktop publishing and arty graphical work over the years.  My guess - and it is a guess, I'm no expert in graphical arts - is that PCs can do pretty much the same task as a Mac can now, for a fraction of the price, but the reputation in the publishing industry resists tarnishing the network with anything not a Macintosh.

But Microsoft have recognised that the humble tablet needs a purpose, have spotted a gap, and have designed Windows 8 to deal with it.  I'm sure, like all previous Microsoft operating systems it will prove to be an advanced beta version until at least the second release version - they do have a habit of letting us normal users shake down their software - but it does allow Microsoft Office applications to run on it.

And they have taken a leaf out of Apple's book, but to be fair I think Apple borrowed it from Microsoft initially.  Although they are manufacturing their own tablets for this software, they're really keen on others doing the hard work - the HPs, Dell, Samsungs of this planet.  That way they are ensuring that Windows 8 will appear in a myriad of forms, colours, features and price points that MIcrosoft really doesn't have to worry about too much.  Of course, they will want them all to succeed, because inside every successful Windows 8 tablet is, well, Windows 8.

So it isn't a surprise to find that analysts believe that PC sales are going to grow rapidly over the next two to three years.  Don't expect much action in the desktop sales - their decline will continue sharply except for those that have touchscreen monitors connected, maybe.  Laptops with touch screens are going to see a real increase in sales and Windows 8 tablets are set to lead the attack.  Especially as the no-name manufacturers in China are now gearing up their low cost Windows tablets for general sale.  The growth in mobile PC sales is forecast to grow from 360 million devices last year to over 760 million devices by 2017.

I'll be surprised if Apple take this lying down - once we start buying tablets that can do our office tasks as well as flick birds with a temperament problem skywards in meaningful numbers there will be less of an imperative to spend what is left of out finite fiscal resources on a replacement iPad, no matter how sexily it is dressed up.  So I'm expecting the next generation but one iPad to start looking like a business tool.  It may even be the next generation - I understand the iOS is undergoing a massive overhaul, being simplified and made less fussy.  Perhaps that's to make the transition to a real business machine easier.  At least Apple have the heritage to do this.  I'm not sure if Google have thought it through.

So before you buy your next tablet computer ask yourself what you'd really like to do with it.  If the answer genuineness is surf the web, send emails, watch you tube, play music and games, then maybe the iPad is for you.  But if you want to do more, then look further afield, Windows 8 devices might just be what you are waiting for.

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Tablet Sales Rise Again

No matter where you look today, somebody is using a tablet.  Some are using them to read books, some to surf the web, many to play games.  Now and again you might find somebody trying to do some work.

The work capability is the elephant in the boardroom problem - outside of Microsoft tablets, you can't do real work on a tablet.  You can draft a blog, perhaps, but it's not an easy write.  Not if you're used to typing on a keyboard and formatting your text.  Writing a report or a novel - well I do both on a regular basis, but I'd rather not attempt it on my Nexus 7, thank you very much.  I've looked at the word processors available on the Play store and I'm totally underwhelmed at the free options and quite cautious about the paid for variants.   I may be judging software I haven't tried, but I don't have money to throw around on unproven products and I've yet to find a product listing that convinces me.

And what is it about printing?  Apple try to pretend you can print from the iPad and  we did manage to print something once using the AirPrint software, but we've really struggled since.  Checking out the Nexus 7 on-line manual, searching for 'print' returned zero results.  I don't doubt someone will have developed an App for it, like the multiple Apps we bought for the iPad that didn't work.

But, despite the lack of business tools for any of the tablets (apart from the Microsoft products) tablet sales are booming.  The increase in sales over the last quarter compared to the same quarter last year is more than 140% and we bought more tablets in the last quarter than we did in the first half of 2012.  It seems a love affair destined to run and run.  At least that's what I think.

Mind you, the boss of Blackberry, Thorsten Heins, thinks tablets are a flash in the pan and gives them five years.  He may be right, but he hasn't proposed what will fill the space they occupy - I doubt it will be Blackberrys.  He does point out that tablets are not good business options - it's all work, work, work with Blackberry I guess - but he neatly sidestepped the Microsoft option, much as I did at the top of this posting.

Microsoft have seen some growth in the tablet market - nowhere near as much as they hoped, I'd wager.  Compared to Apple, which saw record sales in the last quarter with over 19 million tablets, Microsoft were sub 1 million.  The total sales over the quarter were over 49 million tablets, so Apple are seeing their total market share shrink while their total sales increase.  That must make interesting conversations over the water cooler at Apple - are we doing well or are we doing badly?  It's a bit like my conundrum at work.  Last year the boss said I had a thin chance of a pay rise, now he tells me I've a fat chance and I don't know if things are getting better or worse.

Microsoft, I suspect, are going to push aggressively on price and features - you know, Office software and the ability to print plus the chance to join Microsoft networks effortlessly - well for models above the Surface range anyway - they're not Exchange compatible.  But now that Apple have shown that tablet computing is a viable way forward, it only takes a handful of people using tablets to write a few reports that  don't look like they've been drafted on Facebook and Microsoft might be looking at more than the odd million sales a quarter.  Maybe they'll stop showing adverts showing college kids discovering the mystery of magnets and actually show real people, with real jobs, using their tablets to do the kind of stuff that iPads can't.

And Thorsten Heins - I can't help wondering if that's his porn star name or his real one - will have to get used to the idea that people will have business tablets that will let them access their business emails on the move in a package that is small enough to be portable yet big enough to do meaningful work on.  It will unchain the office PC in a way that laptops don't, and that should be a frighting prospect for Blackberry, because once you've done that, what have they got to offer other than as an over-specified mobile phone?

I guess that's another interesting conversation over the water cooler.

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Windows 8 - Touch and Go? It Is On The Surface!

At the Gadget Show Live it was impossible to get away from laptops running Windows 8.To be fair, Microsoft were a major sponsor of the show and they had the largest stand.  Apple were noticeably absent and Google were there only by default, thanks to the many Android tablets on sale throughout the building.

However it was my first hands on experience of Windows 8 and following the mixed reviews that followed its release last autumn it was a timely opportunity.  Obviously I wanted to look at the interface itself, but I was also keen to see how the OS would work on non-touch-screen PCs.  One thing that was immediately clear from the show is that touch-screen laptops are going to be the standard going forward - all the major manufacturers were represented and they all featured touch-screen technology.  To see how a non-touch-screen PC would work, I had to keep my fingers away from the screen and just use the mouse pad.  It's not as good as swiping with your finger, but it doesn't make the interface redundant - in fact, even without touch the interface seems pretty good.

My only complaint to many of the exhibitors pitching Windows 8 compliant machines is that, with the exception of the Microsoft stand, hardly any exhibits were loaded with Microsoft Office - it's possible that they had all hoped to use SkyDrive to pull Office 365 down on to demonstrate the capability of their products and run into the same problems I did with the so-called open WiFi which locked up my smart phone.  Needless to say, the Microsoft machines were loaded with Office and they had instructors to hand to demonstrate it.  Which was great, because the real differentiator between the Windows 8 tablets and laptops and the raft of other tablets including the iPad and the Nexus products is the ability to use functional business tools like Office.

From my playing with the various laptops, and there were some seriously sexy models to play with, I think I'm sold.  Obviously the concern is that all the machines on display are turbocharged and beefed up to make sure Windows 8 runs like a dream - we've all experienced Microsoft products, especially new operating systems, only to  find that they run like a snail with an anchor strapped to its leg.  According to the specialists on hand, the new OS runs lighter and more efficiently than windows 7 and outstrips Vista many times over.  Not that beating Vista is an accomplishment to brag about.  I have to take Microsoft's word that Windows 8 doesn't need the hardware resources of a NASA rocket launch, but the interface works for me.  Apparently overlaying in a Windows 7 machine like mine is OK, but anything earlier than Windows 7 has to be uninstalled first, and when pinned up against the stands the Microsoft specialists admitted that removing Windows 7 is still the smartest move.

Pricing is a bit sensitive, though.  Currently if I want to upgrade my laptop to Windows 8 it costs £99.  It's not Microsoft's fault that Acer didn't anticipate the move towards touch-screen technology when they built my machine a couple of years ago, but I have to stop and rationalise that I'm not going to be able to enjoy one of the cooler aspects of the new OS if I retro-fit it on my laptop.  The joined up thinking interface is an attractive option, but I'm not sure it's worth nearly a ton when I have Windows 7 installed and working adequately.  If I could install on a couple of laptops for that price I'd be interested, I'm certainly keenly looking for any offers.  I think £50 a license would work for me.

Of course there are two versions of Windows 8 floating around, and the lower tier offering comes pre-installed on the Surface RT.  In fact, all the software on the Surface is pre-installed although you can download Windows 8 apps to expand it, obviously.  It's an extremely compelling device given its price - £399 including keyboard, Windows 8  and Office pre-installed.  The keyboard took a bit of getting used to - its a flat membrane with very little tactile feedback, however I reckon it does the job as well as protecting the device when in transit.  The basic model comes with adequate memory given that it is easily upgradable using micro SD cards or plugging external hard drives using the USB port - two critical omissions from devices such as the iPad.

Plus there's the Office software that lets you write using industry standard formats - try achieving that on your iPad too.  Microsoft reckon the screen surface area is larger than the iPad - it looked comparable in the hand but I didn't have an iPad available to compare the difference directly.  The downside is that it's not a business machine - you'll need to fork out for the pro version for that - and it won't connect to Microsoft Exchange.  At last something the iPad compares with.  To be fair, I've seen iPads linked to Exchange servers but it's hard work and, of course, there isn't anything particularly useful you can do with them once connected apart from access email, maybe.  OK, share photos and surf thin clients possibly, but probably not all of the proprietary stuff you use in work.  With this device you can access SkyDrive and share documents that way, or use good old email to send documents to your work account.  And all thin clients that work with Windows should work, although Microsoft admit there may be some legacy issues.  Anyway, at least the documents would be readable.

So, would I have a Windows 8 touch-screen laptop?  Like a shot.  Would I manage with a Surface?  For home and travel, absolutely, especially as its pitched at iPad prices but with tons more functionality built in.  It's probably not as rounded for mindless enjoyment as the iPad, but I use these things for reading, writing, spreadsheeting and surfing the web.  For work and more challenging tasks needing screen real estate I'd want a larger screen, but I see the future being a reasonably large touch-screen laptop with a full fat Windows 8 OS loaded, a Surface for round the house and travel, backed up by a seven inch tablet such as my Nexus.

Given my new shopping list, I guess I'd better sell a few more books!

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