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posted by n1 on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:09PM   Printer-friendly
from the value-added-economics dept.

Business Insider reports that prior to the season, Microsoft and the NFL struck a 5-year, $400 million deal with one of the major components being that the Microsoft Surface would become "the official tablet of the NFL" with coaches and players using the Surface on the sidelines during games. But the campaign is off to a rocky start when during week one of the season at least two television announcers mistakenly referred to the tablets as iPads giving Apple some unexpected exposure. As the camera focused in on the sideline during Sunday’s matchup between the Saints and the Falcons, the commentators mentioned that Drew Bress wasn’t “watching movies on his iPad.” Instead, he was studying the Falcons’ defense on his “iPad-like tool.” The people in the booth seem to know that a deal has taken to place to get tablets on the sidelines, but it’s clear they weren’t briefed on the actual name of the device in question. Adding to the confusion, the tablets have been covered in enormous, protective cases to ensure they aren’t broken while dozens of 300 pound linemen stomp on and off the field. Microsoft may be understandably peeved about this after committing to spend $400 million on an exclusive advertising and equipment deal with the NFL, but then the networks that cover the games aren't under the league's control.

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by AnonTechie on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:15PM

    by AnonTechie (2275) on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:15PM (#92119) Journal

    It looks like there was a mistake. May be the TV Announcers are not familiar with MicroSoft Surface and described it the best they knew.

    --
    Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
    • (Score: 1) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:19PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:19PM (#92121)

      Definitely plausible when next to no one owns one. Having to pay people to use them is pathetic desperation.

      • (Score: 2) by arslan on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:32PM

        by arslan (3462) on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:32PM (#92151)

        Its all over the place here in Oz. Lots of ads, sponsored tv show placements, etc. Hipsters using them in cafe. Posers carry it into meeting rooms to poke at it feigning indifference to boring meeting discussions.. me, I'd rather stare at my small blackberry screen and read SN

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:36PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:36PM (#92153)

          Do they have Paul Hogan drinking a Fosters and using a Surface Pro?

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by tibman on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:20PM

      by tibman (134) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:20PM (#92122)

      I think that's probably the key thing. I've never seen a surface (is it still called that?) in person or advertised in mainstream media (like tv). How else do they call this device that they've never seen before? Probably by saying it's similar to another device that most people have seen.

      --
      SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
      • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Zinho on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:03PM

        by Zinho (759) on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:03PM (#92136)

        I avoid TV ads like the plague, but still manage to catch recorded episodes of some guilty-pleasure TV shows. Microsoft is paying for all sorts of product placement these days, the most egregious of which is on the TV show Arrow. On it there's a character who does the "computer genius" thing, and uses Surface and Windows 8. I find it a bit jarring and have to stifle laughs when they make a point of showing it being used.

        My favorite scene from that, I think was one where there was a tile on the Surface home screen that was streaming data from the nearest CCTV camera, which expanded to full screen when selected. Slick looking, and totally impossible. But hey, it's a TV show about a comic book character.

        --
        "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
        • (Score: 1) by arashi no garou on Friday September 12 2014, @02:30PM

          by arashi no garou (2796) on Friday September 12 2014, @02:30PM (#92405)

          My favorite scene from that, I think was one where there was a tile on the Surface home screen that was streaming data from the nearest CCTV camera, which expanded to full screen when selected. Slick looking, and totally impossible. But hey, it's a TV show about a comic book character.

          Why is that "impossible"? Live tiles on Windows 8/RT are perfectly capable of displaying moving video, and when you tap on the live tile it expands to the full screen app. If you meant to say that "streaming data from the nearest CCTV camera" is impossible, you obviously haven't heard of IP cameras. We have internet-connected security DVRs at work, as the IT manager I can access any camera feed or all 32 at once via my Android and Windows phones and tablets. There's an app for that™.

          I agree though, there is a ton of Microsoft product placement, and not just on "Arrow". On "Under the Dome" it slaps you in the face every time Joe pulls out his Surface RT tablet. And my wife watches "Vampire Diaries" which seems to contain a ton of Windows Phone product placement.

          • (Score: 2) by Zinho on Friday September 12 2014, @06:51PM

            by Zinho (759) on Friday September 12 2014, @06:51PM (#92546)

            Why is that "impossible"? [lots of stuff about it being plausible] There's an app for that™.

            Sure, live tiles are a real thing, which makes it look plausible. That's not what I object to.
            Here's my list for prerequisites for an actual "app for that™":

            * Accurate geolocation of all IP-connected cameras in the city so they can be sorted by proximity
            * Proactive and preemptive hacking of the security of all of the city's cameras
            * As an alternative to the preemptive hacking, make it just-in-time for the closest camera only
            * Control code for all camera systems deployed, including tilt/pan/zoom/focus
            * A true "Do What I Mean" (DWIM) interface
            * Auto-orientation to focus on the action of interest (already centered and focused when the app launches)

            There is no way that is a commercially available app. Beyond the fact that strong AI will be solved before DWIM is possible, the pre-emptive hacking would leave a large footprint, with a high likelihood of detection. Running the hacks on demand while moving through the city would require lots of computation, resulting in reduced battery life and lag between arrival and display. The auto-orientation trick requires telepathy to intuit the user's intent and information that's probably outside the camera's view to execute. This not only requires solving several intractable hardware and software issues, it would expose the vendor to legal liability for the trespasses it commits on behalf of the user. Add that all up and it sums to impossible.

            So, the other option is that it's a one-off program written by the genius hacker. This is a superhero show, so I'll even grant the telepathic interface and strong AI. My disbelief suspenders snapped when it was being done on a Surface tablet with a commercially-polished user interface, running on the main screen. Not hidden (as it would be since it's probably committing several felonies whenever it runs) or minimalistic (as it would be if developed by a hacker making it for their own use). So now we're talking about a genius hacker who complains about not having time on their hands to do anything, but spends what precious coding time they have applying visual polish to already-working code instead of fixing bugs or adding new functions. And they chose a Microsoft OS as their platform, because it's an alternate universe where Redmond isn't known for visiting evil on their users and partners alike.

            I just don't buy it.

            --
            "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
            • (Score: 1) by arashi no garou on Friday September 12 2014, @07:46PM

              by arashi no garou (2796) on Friday September 12 2014, @07:46PM (#92564)

              Or you could just suspend disbelief for the 42 minutes required to watch a fantasy TV episode. As much as I like the show "Person of Interest", if I tried to dissect every instance of "I just Bluejacked their phone even though I have no idea what model phone it is or if they even have Bluetooth enabled" I'd have to stop watching. It's called entertainment for a reason.

              • (Score: 2) by Zinho on Saturday September 13 2014, @03:15AM

                by Zinho (759) on Saturday September 13 2014, @03:15AM (#92658)

                My favorite scene from that, I think was one where there was a tile on the Surface home screen that was streaming data from the nearest CCTV camera, which expanded to full screen when selected. Slick looking, and totally impossible. But hey, it's a TV show about a comic book character.

                Why is that "impossible"? [lots of stuff about it being plausible] There's an app for that™.

                Here's my list for prerequisites for an actual "app for that™":
                [lots of reasons]

                Or you could just suspend disbelief for the 42 minutes required to watch a fantasy TV episode.

                Umm, what? How am I both unreasonable for thinking that something in a show is impossible and for not suspending belief because of it?

                I never said I'd stop watching or that I didn't enjoy it. I thought I had that point covered at the beginning with "guilty pleasure" and "But hey, it's a TV show about a comic book character." I can enjoy something and still have valid criticisms of it.

                I'm pretty sure you're just trolling.

                --
                "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
                • (Score: 1) by arashi no garou on Saturday September 13 2014, @03:01PM

                  by arashi no garou (2796) on Saturday September 13 2014, @03:01PM (#92742)

                  I never said you were unreasonable, don't put words in my mouth. So let's back up. You said something was "impossible" in a show that you already accepted as fantasy. I presented a point of view that it is at least plausible, fantasy or not, with a real world example, and no malice intended; it was just an observation, like yours. You went into great detail about how it's not possible, taking an argumentative tone, which makes it seem that you take the trope very seriously and way out of the realm of a simple fantasy show. I rebutted with a suggestion that instead of trying so hard to disprove a fantasy trope, you could just accept that it is indeed fantasy and enjoy the show for what it is, which we both agree that it is.

                  With all that said, it seems like you took my initial post as an attack or argument, when I meant it just as an observation. This apparently set off something in you that made you want to prove me wrong. If that's what you need to hear, fine, I'm wrong, you're right. There. :)

                  And for the record, I never troll. For you to resort to that tired cliche just because we don't understand each other, speaks volumes about your state of mind.

                  • (Score: 1) by Zinho on Sunday September 14 2014, @07:42PM

                    by Zinho (759) on Sunday September 14 2014, @07:42PM (#93135)

                    it seems like you took my initial post as an attack or argument, when I meant it just as an observation. This apparently set off something in you that made you want to prove me wrong. If that's what you need to hear, fine, I'm wrong, you're right. There. :)

                    And for the record, I never troll. For you to resort to that tired cliche just because we don't understand each other, speaks volumes about your state of mind.

                    *head asplode* Yep, I think what you're seeing is that I need some detox time from that other site. I've become hyper-sensitive to trollish behavior and have kinda stopped giving people the benefit of the doubt. I keep being pleasantly surprised by the level of civility on this site, thanks for keeping that trend going. Also, I think I was channeling XKCD [xkcd.com] a bit when I wrote that response. And, I'll confess, I do love a good argument; I didn't mean my tone to be hostile, so I apologize if it came across that way.

                     

                    Looking into my psyche to find what bugs me about that scene, I think it's the "Reed Richards is Useless" [tvtropes.org] aspect of it that gets to me. If one genius hacker could casually code strong AI into a tablet, it would have been independently duplicated elsewhere, and weaponized. If that were to happen, I'd not be watching Arrow, I'd be watching Person of Interest. Oliver Queen wouldn't be roaming the night putting arrows in criminals because he and all the other metahumans would have been rounded up by the the Feds after they reprogrammed The Machine to locate and identify metahuman activity. In contrast, if the writers of Person of Interest were to include a Surface app like that I don't think I'd blink an eye.

                    In short, for me having the hacker on Arrow casually access conveniently-aimed cameras breaks the show. The fact that it's done as an in-passing advertisement for a real-world device of much lower capability offends me. I didn't mean that offense to be pointed at you. When you invited me to explain myself I offered the factual part in my text and you caught the emotional baggage in my tone.

                    Anyhow, thanks for being civil! In the future I'll ease off a bit before calling people trolls here. I'll probably still be argumentative, but I'll try to watch my tone; I really do mean it to be friendly about it.

                    --
                    "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
                    • (Score: 1) by arashi no garou on Sunday September 14 2014, @10:38PM

                      by arashi no garou (2796) on Sunday September 14 2014, @10:38PM (#93184)

                      No harm done, no offense taken.

                      As for "Person of Interest", I find just about everything in that show plausible on one level or another, except the Machine's ability to tell Root and John exactly where to shoot. Granted, John is a trained operative, but Root is just the stereotypical mad genius. She shouldn't be able to respond to spoken coordinates that quickly and aim a gun behind her back, perfectly hitting the target. Then again, we don't hear what the Machine tells her; there could be some sort of audio shorthand that only Root would understand and be able to act on so quickly.

                      But again, I file it away under artistic license and just enjoy the show for what it is. Most of the backstory of the show would have been science fantasy two years ago, but the Snowden revelations made the show uncannily accurate on a lot of levels. Certainly, in today's post-revelation days the show serves more as a "we told you so" than a "this is what could happen" cautionary tale.

      • (Score: 5, Informative) by edIII on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:25PM

        by edIII (791) on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:25PM (#92144)

        I purchased a Surface. Verified Owner.

        Well, not technically. I did buy one as a present about a year ago in Best Buy before leaving the country. It was pretty slick. While I was not a fan of the Metro and kept forcing it back to the standard Win7 Start Menu (best menu), the device itself felt solid and performed very well for the 4 days I had it and was setting it up with goodies.

        The girl using it is very happy at the moment and has said how much she loves it constantly.

        Only real complaint I had was how it kept going back to fucking Metro and could not be locked into the Start Menu mode of operation. That complaint is not unique to Surface. Metro sucks more than all that has suckethed before it. Everyone knows that.

        Aside from that very standard complaint, I would buy another Surface in a heart beat. What other options do I have? Apple? Fuck no. Not going to start to drink that Walled Garden Kool-Aid brand. Android tablets are perfectly fine too, but if you want something nice and MS compatible for a novice user with only MS experience....

        Surface may not be doing all that well, but I was happy with it. That's saying something too, trust me.

        --
        Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
        • (Score: 3, Informative) by frojack on Friday September 12 2014, @01:23AM

          by frojack (1554) on Friday September 12 2014, @01:23AM (#92206) Journal

          Yeah, my work bought me one as well. I like it too. (First edition).
          If I could even get half price for it now, I'd sell it in a heart beat and buy the Surface 3.

          I can travel with this and take my entire work environment with me, source code, compilers, ssh clients and all. I can compile entire systems on the road. The one-note app I use for an endless sheet of paper taking notes at meetings. Handwriting on this thing is the best I've seen. Beats both of my phones and Android tablets.

          If you want handwriting transcoded into text, well, its not there yet. That takes a different entry method, which is slower, but does a pretty good job guessing what you mean. But still not good enough to make it worth while.

          So I use it a lot for taking notes, an somewhat less for actual work, and some web and email, etc. I'd rather type on it than a cell phone any day.

          --
          No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday September 12 2014, @01:38AM

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday September 12 2014, @01:38AM (#92213) Journal

          The girl using it is very happy at the moment and has said how much she loves it constantly.

          Sorry, what? When did you change the subject from tablets to... ummm...

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 4, Funny) by davester666 on Friday September 12 2014, @07:39AM

          by davester666 (155) on Friday September 12 2014, @07:39AM (#92313)

          You bought a Surface as a gift and felt compelled to leave the country after giving it to the recipient?

          Why not just get them something else?

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by M. Baranczak on Friday September 12 2014, @01:14AM

        by M. Baranczak (1673) on Friday September 12 2014, @01:14AM (#92202)

        How else do they call this device that they've never seen before? Probably by saying it's similar to another device that most people have seen.

        Even if they knew the correct name, would they use it? The correct name is just a generic word. If they said something about "watching a movie on a Surface", most people would think "surface of what?".

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 12 2014, @02:19AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 12 2014, @02:19AM (#92223)

          > Even if they knew the correct name, would they use it? The correct name is just a generic word.

          The correct name is "microsoft surface." Of course they would say it that way, when a company pays your organization $400M to promote their brand, you say their brand name every single chance you get.

      • (Score: 1) by canopic jug on Friday September 12 2014, @06:42AM

        by canopic jug (3949) Subscriber Badge on Friday September 12 2014, @06:42AM (#92294) Journal

        I've never seen a surface (is it still called that?) in person or advertised in mainstream media (like tv).

        I've seen them on TV, but not being used. In fact, they were pushed to the side and students were using real tablets, probably their own. They were on the news when the inside of some high school classrooms were shown as part of covering some non-ICT related topic. At first glance, when they showed the classrooms, there were new-looking Surfaces on each students' desk. However, they were all pushed to the side in such a way that the screen and keyboard were not conveniently accesssible. That is to say unused. What the students were actively engaged in was whatever was on the other tablets, all of which where real tablets running ios or android, more details were not visible. But it was clear from the positioning that the Surfaces were there and not used, possibly put out for show.

        People won't use them unless paid to do so and even then they get in the way and real hardware+real software is needed.
        So it's no surprise the announcers are ignoring the brand, especially if the networks themselves (the ones actually paying the announcers) are not getting paid off for it.

        On the desktop side of things, Vista7 and Vista8 are helping drive the BYOD action.

        --
        Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
        • (Score: 1) by canopic jug on Friday September 12 2014, @06:45AM

          by canopic jug (3949) Subscriber Badge on Friday September 12 2014, @06:45AM (#92295) Journal

          Just to clarify, by drive BYOD, I mean drive the growth of the competition.

          --
          Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:22PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:22PM (#92123)

      "What's a Surface?"

      - Average Person

      • (Score: 3, Funny) by stderr on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:41PM

        by stderr (11) on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:41PM (#92131) Journal

        Well, mister Average Person, according to the Simple English version of Wikipedia [wikipedia.org], a surface is...

        ... the outer part of something. Most surfaces have a width and a length, but no depth.

        You're welcome...

        --
        alias sudo="echo make it yourself #" # ... and get off my lawn!
    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:02PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:02PM (#92135)

      > It looks like there was a mistake.

      Duh.

      > May be the TV Announcers are not familiar with MicroSoft Surface and described it the best they knew.

      When you pay $400M for a sponsorship it is is somebody's job to make sure all of the announcers know to toe the line. The NFL is 99% business and 1% athletics, somebody fucked up big time.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by SlimmPickens on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:11PM

      by SlimmPickens (1056) on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:11PM (#92141)

      May be the TV Announcers are not familiar with MicroSoft Surface and described it the best they knew.

      The summary at least says

      The people in the booth seem to know that a deal has taken to place to get tablets on the sidelines

      and

      studying the Falcons’ defense on his “iPad-like tool.”

      Sounds a bit contrite. I don't watch NFL but if it's anything like our NRL (rugby league) every second thing they say is a paid comment. They were falling over themselves to say anything was a "brut big hit" but that stopped abruptly one day. Until it started for another year or two and then stopped abruptly again. If you google for brut nrl you'll find nothing about sponsorship, but many people using the term. I guess that was successful. Actually a lot of what the administration, clubs/coaches and networks/commentators do are innovations taken from the NFL

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:16PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:16PM (#92120)

    Whwn you have to pay 100 of millions just for people to use a product, you know it's massively failed.

    Give it Micro$uck. No one wants your janky tablets.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:53PM

      by bob_super (1357) on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:53PM (#92133)

      Which is exactly why Microsoft is paying through the nose to put their products in the hands of The Real Macho Men of the NFL.
      The effeminate coast-dwelling metrosexual hippies can line up for their girly iStuff, Tough Guys deserve Surface.
      (If you think I'm kidding, I've got a bridge for sale)

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by archfeld on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:23PM

    by archfeld (4650) <treboreel@live.com> on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:23PM (#92124) Journal

    an etch-a-sketch by any other name...

    --
    For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:35PM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:35PM (#92128) Journal
      Regarding what's in a name, I still remember a time when photocopying something was asked as "Make a xerox of this paper for me, please"
      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 2) by e_armadillo on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:08PM

        by e_armadillo (3695) on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:08PM (#92139)

        According to my wife they still call it making a "Xerox" in India

        --
        "How are we gonna get out of here?" ... "We'll dig our way out!" ... "No, no, dig UP stupid!"
      • (Score: 1) by Buck Feta on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:46PM

        by Buck Feta (958) on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:46PM (#92156) Journal

        I'm sure the MS execs will be dabbing away their tears with Kleenex.

        --
        - fractious political commentary goes here -
      • (Score: 1) by archfeld on Friday September 12 2014, @10:39PM

        by archfeld (4650) <treboreel@live.com> on Friday September 12 2014, @10:39PM (#92596) Journal

        I'll bet that the folks at Crayola can sympathize as well...

        --
        For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
  • (Score: 4, Funny) by emg on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:37PM

    by emg (3464) on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:37PM (#92129)

    For having someone compare a Surface to an iPad.

    • (Score: 2) by meisterister on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:13PM

      by meisterister (949) on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:13PM (#92142) Journal

      I know, right? Compared to the iPad, the Surface might actually start to look good!

      --
      (May or may not have been) Posted from my K6-2, Athlon XP, or Pentium I/II/III.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:25PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:25PM (#92145)

        Clearly. Everyone knows the Surface sales have been just outstanding and you can't even go five minutes without saying someone using one. Apple must be insanely jealous of Microsoft having to pay people $400 million just to use their device.

        Oh sorry, that was just Ballmer's pipe dream.

  • (Score: 2) by PizzaRollPlinkett on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:32PM

    by PizzaRollPlinkett (4512) on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:32PM (#92152)

    Has anyone ever seen a Surface? I mean, tech industry people have probably seen pictures of them. Someone bought one, I think. But how many people in the general public have ever seen one? Most of them are in a warehouse as I understand it, and regular stores don't seem to have them. Even if your locality has a MS store, would you ever go there? I wouldn't. Meanwhile, everyone has seen an iPad.

    To use a Star Wars analogy, if someone saw a pointed-eared near humanoid walking around, they might guess it's an Arkanian, but maybe it's an Arkanian Offshoot and they didn't realize that. Even if they knew what one was, they might not recognize one at a distance.

    --
    (E-mail me if you want a pizza roll!)
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:53PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:53PM (#92157)

      The only Surface I've seen in real life was used by a Microsoft product evangelist. But I also know a couple dozen programmers who work for Microsoft and they wouldn't be caught dead with a Surface. It's like how Microsofties use iPhones vastly more than Windows Phone.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:55PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @10:55PM (#92158)

      The only ones I've seen are those which Microsoft has paid to have used on screen in shows like Elementary.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by ragequit on Thursday September 11 2014, @11:11PM

      by ragequit (44) on Thursday September 11 2014, @11:11PM (#92164) Journal

      Here in the office a couple managers have them. They were issued by the company instead of laptops.

      The use them here, but neither own one. Our sales people all have iPads, because they are trendy, but they are so locked down (no calculator even) by our Apple-phobic IT folks, they are almost useless.

      --
      The above views are fabricated for your reading pleasure.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 12 2014, @12:56AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 12 2014, @12:56AM (#92194)

        Actually, iPad doesn't come with a calculator app, or a weather app. iPhone and iPod Touch do, and since they all run iOS, one wonders why Apple deliberately chose not to put those apps into iPad. You can buy alternatives (and way too many of them) from the App Store but, again, why are they left out in the first place?

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday September 12 2014, @01:45AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday September 12 2014, @01:45AM (#92215) Journal

      Has anyone ever seen a Surface?

      Sure. How many acres you need?

      To use a Star Wars analogy, if someone saw a pointed-eared near humanoid walking around, they might guess it's an Arkanian

      Arkanian? Doesn't ring a bell. The only one with pointy ears master Yoda is.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by SplawnDarts on Thursday September 11 2014, @11:06PM

    by SplawnDarts (3962) on Thursday September 11 2014, @11:06PM (#92163)

    $400M just to get the NFL to use them for 5 years? That's a remarkable waste of money even for Microsoft. I guess when you've lost $1.7B at last count on unsold Surface inventory (plus substantial additional R&D expenses, etc.) you're desperate to try anything. Go big or go home.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 12 2014, @01:11AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 12 2014, @01:11AM (#92199)

      $400M just to get the NFL to use them for 5 years?
      That's a remarkable waste of money even for Microsoft

      It is a general microsoft branding/sponsorship, it is not just about making the teams use surface tablets.
      Just like the budweiser ironman triathlon wasn't just about serving beer at the awards ceremony.

  • (Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Friday September 12 2014, @09:37AM

    by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Friday September 12 2014, @09:37AM (#92328) Journal

    This story warms the cockles of my bleak little soul. Thanks for submitting it.

    If any one from Microsoft is reading, this is for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_mK0nrrsbI [youtube.com]