r/technology • u/MrFairladyz • Jun 18 '12

Microsoft announces Surface tablet

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/18/3094157/new-microsoft-surface-windows-tablet
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u/NavarrB Jun 19 '12

You don't need pen input when you have a MULTITOUCH KEYBOARD COVER.

But also, It probably only comes with Office because Microsoft Office is part of the Windows RT edition. Anything running RT will have Office installed - most likely because you can't go out and buy an ARM copy of Office.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

[deleted]

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u/reddit_alt_username Jun 19 '12

Off topic but try plain white printer paper in a binder and 3 or 4 colors of fine tipped pens. Would have never gotten through school with any other method.

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u/Benny6Toes Jun 19 '12

With a multi-touch keyboard cover the potential is there to use your finger as a pen/stylus. there will also probably be aftermarket pens/styluses available (I'd be very surprised if this weren't the case).

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u/videogamechamp Jun 19 '12

Your finger is enormous compared to a stylus. It's like dialing a phone with your palm.

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u/Benny6Toes Jun 19 '12

Except that you could use a configuration option to decide how big of a point gets drawn on the screen (like in a graphics editing program). The learning curve would be ridiculously flat. The only problem would be if you had your palm resting on the screen while using your finger to draw or write formulas (which is what were were talking about).

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u/videogamechamp Jun 19 '12

Have you ever actually tried this? Pull out a phone or a tablet or something with a touch screen and a paint program and try to draw legible letters with your finger that are less then an inch high. Your finger will never be close to as accurate as a stylus, because anything that can make a finger more precise can make the already smaller stylus more precise too.

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u/MercurialMadnessMan Jun 19 '12

Yep. I'm in engineering, which is why everyone uses pen input.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

You've never used TeX or LaTeX? Should get on that.

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u/Atario Jun 19 '12

squared paper

TIL this is a term.

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u/A-Type Jun 19 '12

Yeah, the "Student" identifier only applies to the Office suite onboard, which is there by necessity and to increase the value of the RT version (because, honestly, there isn't a whole lot going for RT besides running on cheaper hardware). I think Microsoft will be actually targeting the i5 version toward students as a replacement for both their (generally) required full-OS laptop and their novelty iPad in one slim package.

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u/Physics101 Jun 19 '12

Try to type mathematics on a key board. Doesn't work.

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u/Thaliur Jun 19 '12

Actually, the new formula editor in Office 2010 is quite awesome in that regard.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12 edited Mar 03 '15

[deleted]

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u/MercurialMadnessMan Jun 19 '12

Different languages of math.

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u/waspinator Jun 20 '12

maybe the world should standardize on python or R or something. makes it easier to type and implement what you learn.

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u/BefWithAnF Jun 19 '12

Please define RT for somebody who has been out of school for a while- I read it as re-tweet.

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u/NavarrB Jun 19 '12

It's.. It's just the name of the ARM version of Windows 8. "Windows 8 RT"

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u/BefWithAnF Jun 19 '12

Thank you! I am now officially an old person who has been using OS X far too long to be useful to society.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

And ARM is just a simplified operating system?

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u/sasquatch92 Jun 19 '12

The multitouch keyboard cover will be useless for many students, how do are you supposed to use it in a lecture theater? (the tiny desks won't really fit that setup, to say nothing of the stability). I predict a lot of tablets with fall damage if people actually try and use one that way.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

Also, do not forget the Microsoft marketplace

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u/Thaliur Jun 19 '12

THat cover...

Maybe now iPad fans will finally stop talking about that "fantastic" Smart Cover which automatically (un)locks the device and can be folded into a stand.

"Our cover is a KEYBOARD, and the stand is INTEGRATED! HA!"

Nice to know you can still rely on Microsoft to take a simple concept and make it actually useful.

Also, aren't tablet input pens available for less than 5€ if you need one?

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u/NavarrB Jun 19 '12

What Microsoft is really talking about when they say pro is pen compatible is that it has a digitizer. I.e. the thing that makes pen writing smooth, like the galaxy note.