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After Acer basically threw down an ultimatum over Microsoft and its Surface tablets, now we’re hearing that Redmond’s already hard at work on successors for its soon-to-be-released own-brand tablets. I can hear Ubuntu calling, Acer.
Despite what Microsoft’s Frank Shaw recently said, there are quite a few job listings currently up for the Surface team, including for mechanical and electrical engineers of mobile devices, that state “we are currently building the next generation [of] devices that fully express the Windows vision.” Now, if that doesn’t scream an extended Surface family, I’m not sure what does. At the very least it shows that Microsoft’s working on more hardware, Acer and its other complainers, be damned.
“Creating [exciting touch-first] devices involves a close partnership between hardware and software engineers, designers, and manufacturing. We are currently building the next generation and Surface needs you!”
Honestly, having gone this far and basically broken the old Microsoft mould, it would be barmy for Redmond to just jack it all in after one shot at a tablet. Ballmer and co are seemingly in this for the long haul, and, frankly, that’s a good thing. If Microsoft can pull off “an Apple”, get the hardware and software right, all under one roof, it can only be a good thing for quality, forward-thinking tablets and touch-based experiences. So, I’m afraid Acer can huff and puff all it likes, but it’s not going to be able to blow the Microsoft Surface down. Maybe Android should be your next port of call, Acer? [TechRadar]
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My Acer netbook already dual boots Android. I want to burn it with fire. So yeah, Acer should do that and move themselves even closer to obsolescence..
Here’s how shit’s gon’ go down:
Acer will shut their bitch-hole and take whatever Microsoft gives ‘em.
And they’ll be grateful.
Blam.
Cause stone cold said so!
I’ll just wait for a Surface 2 then…
Actually screw that, Ubuntu sounds more and more appealing every day, I can’t see Microsoft surviving that long if this venture into tablets bombs.
Hahahaha good one..
Well Ubuntu was quite usable for over 5 years now and it still didn’t hit mainstream. So IMHO it found it’s niche and is going to stay there on the fringes of market unless some big company decides to heavily invest into it on a Google with Android scale. And I can’t see Acer affording that.
Do you think that Microsoft with its BILLIONS in cash reserves and revenue coming from multiple business areas, is not going to survive one bombed OS version?
The problem is for acer, they either shut up and use Windows, or go to Linux, now Linux is great and I love using it, but my mother nor my sister, nor most of the people i know even know what Linux is, and want something easy to use and with the best compatibility, this is were Linux faulters, if Acer switch over to Linux only, they are f*cked, they will lose a hell of alot of sales, people know windows, people like OS X , giving them something that is completely different, something that might or might not work with their devices its just not going to work well for Acer, they should shut up and accept it, carry on like normal!
Microsoft are making one tablet, if Acer make something that blows the surface out of the water, people will buy that rather than the surface, so why dont they?
I’m still wondering when the tablet craze will die out like the netbook craze
well actually i think might already be, just because of ultrabooks, and surface
I see where Acer are coming from, if only for the sake of their employees’ futures. Having new and potentially overwhelming competition directly in Acer’s hardware market moves the company’s strategy a lot, all the while being kept in the dark by Microsoft about requirements future iterations of Windows…
…but what Microsoft are doing couldn’t be a better decision in the right direction. The way I see Windows (and Android for that matter) is a solid OS, but it’s lightness and potency is watered down by having to run on so many different hardware configurations, as well as run all sorts of fringe software.
If Microsoft nail down some hardware that directly benefits Windows 8 then I have to be all for it, because customers will be the ones who ultimately benefit, as they currently do with Apple products. I just hope Microsoft has the courtesy of keeping prices reasonable.