Microsoft Killing the Surface

Surface RT

The Surface from Microsoft, launched October 2012, was pre ordered and eagerly awaited. Why did I pre-order ? – -Why a Microsoft tablet? – clearly Apple has the market not only through branding but in quality and reliability. The problem of course with Apple is the interoperability with the other market leader in applications, Microsoft. Microsoft have almost standardised use of #Office software to create documents, reading, accessing, sharing or editing those documents on anything produced by Apple has, until recently been almost impossible, and even now is expensive , as everything Apple produces is !

Microsoft develops a tablet, I run Microsoft software for just about everything so it seemed to make sense to try the #Surface and compare it against the Apple iPad.

I had never used an Apple product of any kind until one of our household decided to be radical and get one. After some frustrating hours of searching the web for solutions, readers and apps I could access the network, retrieve files and manage them, all be it a “long way round”. Eventually I worked around the poor email app and setup shared calendars etc. The apple product is, as everyone will tell you, technically superbly built and operationally it is superior in every way to it’s rivals. It has taken me a little time to finally acknowledge this to myself, being a Microsoft baby, youth and adult, so to speak.

Delivery day for the Microsoft #surface approached, confident emails prior to this confirming delivery date and time. Disaster – Microsoft cannot deliver the product that I had pre-ordered months before, they decide, mistakenly, to service their US market and UK stores first, dumping possibly their most loyal supporters on day 1 and making them wait for their product while Joe Bloggs next door waltzes into the store and just picks one up ahead of the band of supporters who pre-ordered. A brilliant marketing stroke, how to alienate your customer in one move !

I’ve been using the surface for 7 months now. Do I love it, sort of, does it do the job, kind of, is it a quality item yes. However, in typical Microsoft style they are slowly killing the surface with updates that seem to break things. Take the wake up from sleep without the keyboard, my surface will not wake up 90% of the time unless I hit the power button. The behavior prior to update No 300 (or seems like that) was as soon as I touched the screen, tapped the windows home button it started up, not any longer !

The trouble with all these tablet devices is the are not quite the complete link. The link to all your email accounts in one place, the link to your stored files on your network storage, the link to other tablets in your household. The corporate giant culture will just never allow it. We will continue to work in isolation on our tablet devices until the corporates chill out and open up the connectivity and interoperability between devices.

I’m told the #Google #Nexus is worth a try and is more integrated. Perhaps that will be my next one.

In the meantime, Microsoft stop killing off my surface with updates  !!!

‘True village people’ angered by anti-turbine group’s ‘nasty’ comments – Angus / Local / News / The Courier

A war of words has broken out in an Angus community over a proposed windfarm application.

Lunanhead councillor Ken Stewart has reacted strongly to a claim from the Stop Turbines at Lunanhead (STAL) group, which said there is an “overwhelming” objection to the plans for a five-turbine site at St Mary’s Well, near Forfar.The comments from STAL came in the wake of an independent poll carried out by developers Element Power last week.This appeared to show 75% of households in the Lunanhead area who responded to the developer’s questions “considered windfarms an important part of the energy mix” and 63% of respondents favoured the proposals.STAL spokeswoman Susan Oliphant said the survey was a PR stunt and there was, in fact, an “overwhelming” objection to the plans within the community.However, Lunanhead and District Community Council member Ken Stewart has disputed the claim and said there is “little or no objection” from the people he has spoken to.“As a member of Lunanhead Community Council, I am somewhat dismayed by the statement from STAL, who have only showed an interest in the community since the windfarms%2

via ‘True village people’ angered by anti-turbine group’s ‘nasty’ comments – Angus / Local / News / The Courier.

Collapse of Caithness freezer maker Icetech

The collapse of the UK’s “last” freezer manufacturer will have an “awful” effect on local employment, the firm’s provisional liquidator has said.

New owners are being sought for Icetech Freezers in Castletown, near Thurso.

Most of its 70 staff were made redundant on Monday and the company was put into provisional liquidation the next day.

David Hunter, of chartered accountants Campbell Dallas, said the small Castletown community could be hit hard.

He told BBC Radio Scotland: “Our first job is to find out if there is a buyer for this business.

“If we are not able to sell, it will be pretty awful for the little town of Castletown. It would be badly affected as Icetech is a very large employer in the area.”

via BBC News – Warning over collapse of Caithness freezer maker Icetech.

Rats! China Chews on New Food Safety Scandal – China Real Time Report – WSJ

With memories of the global horse meat scandal finally fading, consumers in China are being served with a fresh round of controversy at the deli – this one involving rat meat being passed off as mutton, among other deceptions.

Chinese officials arrested 904 people who allegedly sold adulterated and mislabeled meat products, according to a report from the country’s official Xinhua News Agency. The arrests came after a three-month crackdown in which police uncovered 382 meat-related offenses and seized more than 20,000 tonnes of illegal goods, Xinhua said.

Bloomberg News

Street-side skewers being sold in Beijing. Is it mutton? Or mink? Or rat? Or…Offenses included producing water-injected meat and treating rat, mink and fox meat with chemicals in order to pass them off as beef and mutton, the report said.

The authorities’ newest beef with meat producers’ bait-and-switch comes as China’s food safety regulators renew efforts to clean up a sector that has for years been mired in scandal. The country’s leaders are aiming to create more trust of homegrown companies and boost consumer spending.

via Rats! China Chews on New Food Safety Scandal – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

Hillman Imp: The car that drove Linwood to disaster

Which tiny 1960s car was proud to be British, was loved by families, and had a name to match its miniature size?Probably not the one youre thinking of.While the Mini became a motoring icon, another little car was once the rival to its crown – the Hillman Imp.When it first rolled off the production line in May 1963 the Imp was intended to revive the car industry in Scotland. Instead it was a commercial failure and left one town on the brink of disaster.Industrial expansionThe Hillman Imp was conceived by the British car firm Rootes. The Suez crisis in 1956 had led to petrol shortages and manufacturers needed small vehicles with better fuel economy.Rootes car was designed to be speedier and more spacious than the Mini, with a host of innovative features. It had a rear-mounted aluminium engine, an automatic choke, fold down back seats, and an opening rear window to squeeze in more luggage.

via BBC History – Hillman Imp: The car that drove Linwood to disaster.

Mozilla accuses Finfisher makers of ‘hiding’ under name

The Mozilla Foundation has accused UK software group Gamma International of falsely associating one of its products with the Firefox name.

Finfisher is a legitimate surveillance software thought to be used by governments to covertly obtain data.

It is installed unknowingly by its target computer user, often by disguising itself as an update to a well known programme such as Firefox.

via BBC News – Mozilla accuses Finfisher makers of ‘hiding’ under name.

Finger-free phones, full body gesturing, and our “touchscreen” future | Ars Technica

Understatement of the century: touchscreen technology evolved at a rapid pace in the past decade. In the days of Y2K, Palm Pilots were a big deal. Five years ago? The iPhone debuted and the corresponding touchscreen explosion hasn’t slowed up since. Today we’re at a point where we think we understand how all the innovations in touch technology can fit into our future. But based on these last few years, good luck. Did anyone see the tablet-craze coming?

via Finger-free phones, full body gesturing, and our “touchscreen” future | Ars Technica.