MG Siegler has officially lost his marbles.

Posted by hrshtpassi on June 19, 2012 01:55 pm 93

Okay, okay, I know what you're going to say: "What else do you expect? He's a rabid Apple fanboy." But man, fanboyism (is that a word?) has a limit. At one point, you start to seem like a stark raving lunatic. And this guy has totally gone past that threshold.

He just posted this expletive-rich knockdown of the new Microsoft Surface Tablets, and hey, I have no emotional connection to the tablets (yet) but the points he raised seemed like nothing but misinformed bull excrement. Perhaps its just him being defensive of the fact that a competitor has finally released a compelling product in a space that his beloved company has been dominating. Perhaps his irritation is just a sign, foreshadowing the success of the tablets. Perhaps he's gone loony. Who knows?

Potshots aside, he makes some pretty darn ridiculous points, so I'm going to tear it down for you guys one-by-one:

At least Android is free (sort of — coincidentally, most OEMs pay Microsoft to use it ). Windows is not free. OEMs will be paying Microsoft to directly compete with — wait for it — Microsoft.

Okay, so what is he smoking? Android has already been proven as a lukewarm product in the tablet space, so until there are huge developments in that regard, Windows RT is going to be the more compelling tablet OS for OEMs, based on raw customer demand. Plus, if the Surface tablets sell really well, there would be a clear incentive for OEMs to ride the growing curve and innovate in the growing Windows RT tablet market instead of the stagnant Android tablet market. Moreover, we've already seen a huge amount of OEM interest in Windows RT tablets at Computex this year, and that is only rising.

It looks like a big Playbook. Dark. Lots of ports. Blocky. Vents.

Okay, so this is the first time in his post that it really becomes apparent how misinformed he really is. I think he isn't able to understand the implications of the differences between the two Surface Tablets Microsoft introduced. The WinRT one which I'd presume is for the majority of consumers, uses an ARM processor, so no vents, dipshit. And oh my, has he evan seen the angular, beautiful design of the WinRT one? It is pretty darn thin, and looks nothing like a playbook in my opinion (maybe from the front, but by that definition, all tablets are just panes of glass with a black bezel) plus the high quality materials Microsoft has used make it seem pretty darn compelling to me.

While, again, I think the keyboard thing is a smart thing to try to sell units, I have a feeling that in the long run, it will be a burden. It's not as bad as the hardware keyboards on smartphones — which, remember, everyone insistedat one point Apple would have to add to the iPhone — which took up valuable screen real estate. But it's in many ways a literal chain to the past.

Does typing on software keyboards suck? Compared to physical keyboards, yes. But the idea should be to reinvent the method of input (see: Siri, for example), not tack on an old one. It's a crutch. It's baggage. The only way to move forward is to throw it away.

Ummm does the guy not know that Windows 8 and RT have software keyboards as well? (pretty darn good ones at that) Nobody is forcing you to use the keyboard attachments. Plus, the pressure sensitive touch attachment is quite innovative, it stays out of your way (quite like the Smart Cover for iPad) yet provides functionality as well, more so than the Smart Cover, in fact. Don't you just hate it when ignorant people run their mouths? Especially those with some amount of pull in the tech world.

Again, it looks like a goddamn PC. It's a keyboard and a screen. Sure, it's thinner — great, Microsoft has made a more portable laptop that you can't actually use on your lap. Nothing in that gallery even suggests it's a touchscreen device. How weird is that?

This whole quote is empirical donkey feces. Ignore.

What are there differences? There's quite a few actually. The biggest is that one works on ARM chips (RT) and one works on Intel chips (8 Pro). But they're also different sizes, different weights, have different displays, different inputs, and run different OSes — and thus, different apps.

Cluster, meet double fuck.

Starting from nothing, the app situation on these devices was already going to be a sad story. This bifurcation of the line is a recipe for disaster.

But hey, at least Surface for Windows 8 Pro comes with a pen. To quote a guy I once met, “If you see a stylus, they blew it.”

Errr has Microsoft not been clear enough about the cross-compatibility of METRO apps? Quoting Wikipedia:

Metro applications can be cross-compatible with both x86/64 based systems and Windows on ARM, or compiled to support a specific architecture.

And in my opinion, what Microsoft is trying to do is ensure that all future development for Windows occurs for Metro, so that the apps can be run anywhere and they can eventually phase out the desktop. In that regard, supporting a consumer friendly and enterprise version of the Surface tablets seems like a sound product strategy. And again, the x86/64 tablet seems to be aimed at enterprise, so I'd assume a digitizer for pen input (like the one on the Galaxy Note, which was a successful product last time I checked) seems like a pretty good idea, seeing as how many people struggle to find good capacitive stylii for their iPads.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make with this whole post is that once you achieve a certain level of success in the tech blogosphere, isn't it supposed to be your job to be well informed and not post misinformed drivel? No matter your slight as a loyalist, you owe it to the community at large to not spout more shit than a dog with diarrhea. As a somewhat low-level, freelance tech blogger, it frustrates me how people like him are higher up the food chain in this world. Oh well, I only started last year.

If you want to read more of my opinions/rants/whatever, head on over to http://tech2.in.com/editor/harshit-passi and look under the "Opinions" tab.