Microsoft: ~*spooky thread*~ post if you dare

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cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

resident microsoft shill @ the verge is still very mad

# ¿ Nov 12, 2015 17:11

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 07:46

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

this is nerd armageddon. all the constants in their life are being upended and they're going down kicking and screaming

the age of intel is over. god bless stebe and timb

# ¿ Nov 12, 2015 17:14

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

microsoft shills still mad

# ¿ Nov 13, 2015 16:03

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

# ¿ Nov 13, 2015 19:40

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

qirex posted:

this seems like a tacit admission that he's functionally a microsoft employee

if i was a journalist i would be embarrassed by this

# ¿ Nov 13, 2015 20:14

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMATD2qk564

# ¿ Dec 1, 2015 17:46

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

lmao ballmer owns. didnt expect him to be an activist investor

# ¿ Dec 3, 2015 04:10

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

The Management posted:

he owns 4% of Microsoft

yea but he could have easily been a passive shareholder

# ¿ Dec 4, 2015 02:14

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

Agreed. Keep in mind Tim Cook specifically said this can replace a laptop. The bias is real and nothing new. All you have to do is look that most of the negatives the Surface Pro 4 has the iPad Pro has much more, in fact the iPad Pro is comparable to the original Surface Pro in a lot of ways, with it's limited keyboard that doesn't have proper travel, not all the keys you'd want, no backlight, only one angle to adjust to etc.

These things are massively better in a SP4 yet look at the review scores between the iPad Pro and the SP4, as well as how much they hammer them.

Ironically the review sub-title may be a bit of a subconscious double-entendre

"Too big to fail"

When I read that I laughed inside since I was expecting that any Apple product is too big to fail for them.

It's very easy to see the Apple bias in score comparisons on the Verge between the iPad Pro 4 vs SP4. Some examples

Display- iPad Pro - 10 SP4 - 9

WTF... They have a nearly identical pixel density, are nearly the same size, the SP4 screen was rated by Displaymate as the best tablet LCD screen they've reviewed yet, we'll see how they rate the iPad Pro, hint previous iPads don't topple Surface screens usually. How the hell did the SP4 get 1 point less, this seems like the easiest category to say it's a toss up.

Camera - iPad Pro: 7 SP4: 6

They do no actual review of either camera. If you go off specs they both have an 8 mp back camera, though the SP4 has a 5 mp front camera vs the 1.2 mp iPad Pro camera.

Without them actually writing any review about the cameras you'd think the specs would earn a 1 point advantage for the SP4, instead you get the Apple bias reverse lol

You see the same thing in other categories, a 1 point penalty to the SP4 in performance, despite the fact you can opt up to an i7 with 16GB of RAM. The iPad Pro both has a 1 point advantage in software and ecosystem, despite it not being a desktop OS and most reviewers specifically mentioning that professional level software is limited, you'd think that the SP4 might lose a point in one for it's lack of tablet apps but gain a point in another category or something along those lines, obviously it should excel in some category since most recognize it can run more professional level software, I can buy the bugs being a downplay so maybe this is one area I can understand.

The iPad Pro gets a 1 point design advantage too, not sure why, the Surface Pro design is pretty excellent especially a much better designed kickstand + typecover experience.

They also don't mention that the iPad Pro doesn't have any ports beyond a lightning cable, and a variety of other things you'd think they would bring up.

Again there's a clear bias... as a reviewer you should always approach a product skeptically and put aside your own bias. Instead you see them forgiving the issues in the Apple products while hammering those same issues (even when they are lesser) in the non-Apple products like the Surface Pro. Just look at the points side by side and some of those categories (like Display and Camera) it's hard to come to any conclusion other than bias.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2015 09:25

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

lmaoo

# ¿ Dec 8, 2015 17:37

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

the verge did a big PR story about how microsoft is going to make xbox great again

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/10/9880594/microsoft-xbox-games-2016-interview-crackdown-3-quantum-break-recore

# ¿ Dec 10, 2015 16:02

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

Windows 10�s next major update will let Cortana float around your PC

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/10/9884750/microsoft-windows-10-cortana-redstone-updates

clippy's back

# ¿ Dec 10, 2015 17:42

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

lol

# ¿ Dec 27, 2015 07:52

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

I knew WP would be my first smartphone after WP7 was introduced in 2010. I lusted after the Dell Venue Pro for months but never bought it until Nokia's announcement guaranteed I'd be waiting until Finland delivered.

I waited and waited another 2 years with my dumbphone before jumping onto the L920. I stuck with it for 2 years until I caved and bought an iPhone last year. And now, a year later, I realize I have my life back.

As a WP user and proud L920 owner, I spent hours each week scouring the web: Ars Technica, BGR, The Verge, Pocketnow, Neowin...I read every bit of news I could find on WP and Nokia, looking for updates on apps, hardware, market share, revenues, net income.

I was looking for validation that I made the right choice and it sucked up a ton of my personal life. And it was all bad news regardless. 2015 hasn't shaped up to be any better, I should add.

Now, I don't care about tech news. My cell phone is just a gadget like any other around the house. When I need it, I pick it up and use it, then put it back down.

I don't need to think about whether the apps will be updated. I don't think about which new critical features are coming, because I already have them. I don't need to think about whether the manufacturer will have enough cash to support my device.

I just use the iPhone, I don't spend time thinking about it. And I have my life back in a way I didn't before.

Do any other WP converts feel the same?

# ¿ Dec 27, 2015 22:48

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxtBIcyTL9Y

# ¿ Jan 4, 2016 06:16

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

i like that they sampled the sunshine's soundtrack for this epic new product

# ¿ Jan 4, 2016 06:57

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

Microsoft is back from years in the woods, fearless and full of ambition

http://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-company-without-fear

# ¿ Jan 9, 2016 08:36

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

Scott Forstall posted:

he still hasn't posted his review

https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/microsoft-surface/64095/welcome-to-surfacegate

Welcome to Surfacegate

"Microsoft is having its iPhone 4 �Antennagate� moment, thanks to rampant reliability issues with its Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 devices. But rather than publicly face the problems head-on, the software giant has retreated behind a veil of silence. This is a huge mistake, and it is undermining the credibility and viability of its hardware offerings.

I�ve offered this advice privately, to no avail. Allow me to now make it publicly.

Microsoft, you�re f@#$ing up. Big time.

As an illustration of why, let�s go back in time to 2010. Apple had just launched the first major form factor change to its smart phone lineup with the iPhone 4, which was encased in a beautiful metal frame. There was just one problem: This design�dictated by the firm�s form over function principles, and an immature understanding of radio science�meant that iPhone 4 had much less reliable signal strength than previous designs. So much so that a user who �was holding it wrong��i.e. holding it normally�could in fact block radio signals to and from the phone entirely, disrupting phone calls.

More established phone makers had long before stopped exploring external antennas because of this well-understood issue, called attenuation. But the joke, revealed by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the time, and expanded on in his official biography, is that even Apple knew this system was broken. And they shipped the iPhone 4 like that regardless because Jobs was so in love with the design.

�The iPhone 4 antenna went through all of this [testing],� Jobs said at the time, in 2010. �We tested it. We knew that if you gripped it in a certain way, the bars were going to go down a little bit, just like every smartphone. We didn�t think it�d be a big problem � Phones aren�t perfect.�

Antennagate threatened to undermine the success of the best-received iPhone yet, a product that has grown to be Apple�s most successful by far. (So much so, in fact, one might argue that Apple is basically just an iPhone company.) So Jobs did the right thing, though again he was bullshitting: He addressed the problem head-on, and publicly, explained what was happening, explained why everything would be OK, and offered customers real solutions.

I can quibble with the explanation, but I can�t quibble with the results: Virtually no one returned their iPhone 4 for a refund, and this iPhone-happy world simply accepted less reliable cell signals as a way of life. (Future iPhone designs, including the iPhone 4 for Verizon, which shipped in 2011, featured ongoing but mostly secret changes to the antenna system, which improved matters in subsequent devices too.)

OK, I assume most of you remember Antennagate. But what I want you to understand is that the problems Microsoft is now having with Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 is the same thing. This is Microsoft�s Antennagate. And their response so far is unacceptable.

Before getting to the response, let�s step through some of the problems. Ongoing Intel display driver crashes, which in many cases Blue Screens/restarts the device, even after an issued fix. (And that fix caused boot problems on Surface Book where the power button stops working.) Rampant power management issues that cause �hot bag� issues and drains the battery because the device never actually goes to sleep. Surface Detach issues on the Surface Book, where the screen can�t/won�t detach. USB bus issues (which may or may not be tied to Surface Detach; it�s hard to tell because everything is interconnected on these SoC-based PC designs). On and on it goes.

Here�s what Microsoft has done so far.

Nothing.

In real world terms, they�ve done absolutely nothing: Microsoft has maintained complete radio silence on the rampant reliability issues that dog Surface Book and Surface Pro 4. There has been no press release. No blog post. No press event. No web video. No letter to customers. Nothing.

If, however, you were wasting hours in Microsoft�s support forums looking for help, you may have stumbled on two items of note.

In early December, a Surface Engineering Team program manager explained one of the big issues with the new devices.

�We can put the processor into a deeper sleep state than it is currently set to,� he wrote, before stepping right into it. �We couldn�t do it at RTM for a variety of reasons, power management is a very hard computer science problem to solve especially with new silicon. Currently it is not in the deepest �sleep� that it can be so there are wake events that would not otherwise wake it. We will have an update for this issue sometime soon in the new year.�

And then a week later, in a similarly hidden place in Microsoft�s support forums, the Surface team issued an apology. Which is like shouting into the wind, because no one even knew about it.

�For those of you who�ve had a less-than-perfect experience, we�re sorry for any frustration this has caused,� the note reads. �We are working to issue additional updates and fixes as soon as possible to further improve the overall Surface experience.�

It�s been over a month since those missives, of which virtually no Surface Book or Pro 4 customers are even aware. Realistically speaking, Microsoft has been silent on the issues. One can only imagine that the return rate on these devices is off the charts. But the bigger concern is the long-term harm that Microsoft does by remaining silent every single day. Hiding and ignoring the problem is not the same as solving it.

So my advice is simple.

Microsoft, you gotta pull a Steve Jobs.

Put Terry Myerson, or Panos Panay, or Terry Myerson and Panos Panay up on a stage (in person or on video) and then walk us through the problem. Explain how excited you were to be first of the gate with Intel Skylake hardware, and why some of the problems you�re seeing are common to other PCs, and why some are not. Explain when you knew about these problems, and what you�ve been doing, and what you will do going forward, to fix them. And when. Offer Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 customers a warranty extension of at least 6 months, or from the date when these problems will be fixed, whichever is longer. And then start heaping on the gifts, because you can never really make this right: Free Microsoft Complete on top of that warranty extension, perhaps. A year of the Office 365 of your choice. Something.

Most important, Microsoft, tell us that you WILL fix these problems, that they are just a perfect storm of glitches in new hardware and new software and that there is nothing there to suggest that Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 are irreparably broken. These are beautiful and expensive devices. But our faith is shaken.

You can�t just talk about trust, Microsoft. You have to establish and keep trust. And silence will not achieve that."

lol

# ¿ Jan 22, 2016 20:40

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

good tweet and it was weeks ago too

# ¿ Jan 25, 2016 05:29

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

Dell�s XPS 15 makes big laptops cool again

What if you took the XPS 13 and made it bigger?

http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/2/10888636/dell-xps-15-review-windows-10

# ¿ Feb 2, 2016 14:50

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

lol

# ¿ Feb 2, 2016 19:45

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

Anyone else have the sudden realisation that they're way too emotionally invested in this platform?

Supposedly the first step to getting better is admitting you've got a problem so here goes.

I've had a horrible week. I've been so stressed and angry over the last few days and just generally pretty down. My wife got fed up with my moodiness and forced me to tell her what was wrong - it was the constant negative Windows Phone articles. So much doom and gloom was being spread about my favourite platform and I was so loving frustrated that I couldn't do anything about it. I'd been spending several hours a day reading them and getting more and more upset and I had no way to vent.

She laughed at me and told me to get my poo poo together. She's right. I had what can only be described as an epiphany - but not the kind of epiphany where you yell "eureka!", the kind where you say "oh gently caress, what have I done".

I am so much of a hardcore fanboy that I've let this poo poo affect my life - my real, non-internet life. What the gently caress was I thinking?

I feel sick to my stomach when I think about the countless hours of my life that I've wasted praising/defending a mobile platform; putting so much effort into converting others to my way of thinking. Oh my god, the pathetic poo poo that I've pulled in the name of Windows Phone over the years. Here's a taster:

I write essay length rebuttals in comments sections to any negative WP article I come accross.
If I don't get enough support for said rebuttals, I'll register new accounts to reply in agreement or give myself one or two "recommends" or "likes".
I sometimes pretend to be an iPhone/Android user to post a stupid, biased comment about WP that I can then refute.
I've created posts about how my 950 works perfectly and is bug-free, even though I don't own a 950 yet.
I make a lot of comments on various websites about how laggy and unstable my Android phones have been but I've never even used an Android phone.
I've written my fare share of "this guy at work saw my phone and was amazed" fantasies.
I've pretended to be a developer and written about how poo poo iOS/Android are to develop for compared to WP.
I've criticised the iPhone cameras for being rubbish in comparison to my Lumia (never actually used an iPhone past the 4s)
I've hounded people like Tom Warren and Paul Thurrot on Twitter for their negative WP articles (I've never written anything nasty or personal but I feel pretty guilty about giving them so much poo poo).

Phew! I feel 10 lb lighter! Writing all that out and re-reading it, I can't help but think what a loving basket case I am. What the gently caress is wrong with me? I think maybe it's just tribalism. Like I needed one side to support (Microsoft) and one side to despise (Google, and to a lesser extend Apple), and I invented my own reasons at a later date.

I don't for a second think that any of you lovely folk are as bad as me. But maybe a few of you are also letting this stuff get you down a bit - well now you can at least say you're not as bad as that other lunatic!

So anyway, I'm going to take a step back and get a different phone. Not because there's anything wrong with WP or my 930, but because I need to go cold turkey and reclaim a bit of sanity. Also, maybe it's a little poetic that I'm leaving this side of my life behind as the platform seems to be winding down.

So long chaps, you will be missed. I have no idea what I'll do with all my free time now. Maybe I should get into sports...

https://www.reddit.com/r/windowsphone/comments/43pkci/anyone_else_have_the_sudden_realisation_that/

cremnob fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Feb 5, 2016

# ¿ Feb 5, 2016 02:29

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

holy moly

# ¿ Feb 16, 2016 02:39

cremnob: Jun 30, 2010

Happy_Misanthrope posted:

Remember that this man actually makes a living doing this (?)

Yes, Apple is 'curiously' deaf to the 'need' of making a lovely compromise device

can't add anything to this

yes, he is literally saying Apple is far worse than that company convicted of violating antitrust law because they won't release an OSX tablet

what
in
the
gently caress