Surface

Microsoft's Surface a balloting device in one precinct in Virginia

Microsoft's Surface tablet is now a voting machine in Virginia.

Democracy Live, a company based in Washington, works with several states to offer electronic ballots through its software, LiveBallot. According to GeekWire, which spoke with Democracy Live CEO Bryan Finney, a single Surface tablet is being used in a precinct in Charlottesville, Va., allowing voters to mark their ballots from the device.… Read more

Xbox Surface gaming tablet reportedly in the works

Microsoft is working on an Xbox Surface tablet, according to The Verge.

The device, as the name implies, would feature a 7-inch display and focus largely on gaming, The Verge reported, citing unnamed sources.

The Xbox Surface would follow its larger brother, the recently launched Surface, which features a 10-inch display and runs a stripped-down version of Windows called Windows RT. The Xbox Surface would reportedly run on its own version of Windows as well. … Read more

Microsoft's Surface a bigger moneymaker than Apple's iPad?

Microsoft's Surface may be a more lucrative tablet than Apple's iPad, according to IHS iSuppli.

The tech research firm released new numbers today that show each $599 Surface costs $284 to make -- so, almost 53 percent of the cost is profit. The 32GB third-generation iPad, on the other hand, costs $333 to make and has a price tag of $599, which means just over 44 percent profit.

"The Surface represents a key element in Microsoft's strategy to transform itself from a software maker into a devices and services provider," IHS senior principal analyst Andrew … Read more

Surface tension: Acer needs to shut up about Microsoft tablet

Acer may only be hurting itself by criticizing Microsoft.

The Taiwanese company, best known for its low-cost Netbooks from several years ago, has been one of the most outspoken opponents of Microsoft's new hardware push since the software giant first revealed its plans in June. Comments have ranged from pleas for Microsoft to change its plans to predictions Surface will flop. The common theme is that Acer believes Microsoft should stick to what it knows -- software -- and leave the hardware to its partners.

The problem with that criticism, though, is that it makes Acer look like a … Read more

Acer warns Microsoft that hardware is like 'hard rice'

Acer is pretty peeved with Microsoft's hardware push and continues to let the software giant know it.

The latest comments from the Taiwanese computer maker again criticize Microsoft's recent push to compete with its hardware partners.

According to a rough translation from Google, Linxian Lang, Acer's manager of Greater China operations, compared making hardware to food. He described the process to "hard rice" that's "not so easy to eat."

Of course, the translation is riddled with errors, but the general sentiment is clear: Acer thinks Microsoft should stick to what it does … Read more

Oprah: Microsoft's Surface is like a Mercedes

When a person of influence endorses your product, your marketing department reaches for the sky.

Or, more likely, for the Skyy.

So, wherever you are, you will surely be hearing the ululations of vodka-fueled pleasure emanating from Redmond on hearing that Oprah has declared the new Surface one of her "Favorite Things" of the year.

As Mashable reports it, Oprah likened the Surface to a Toyota Prius, because it is such a perfect hybrid of tablet and PC.

No, wait, she actually said: "The Surface, Microsoft's first tablet, feels like a Mercedes-Benz to me, people!

Would … Read more

Surface is 'a quirky cat,' teardown shows

Microsoft's Surface is a little easier to repair than the third-generation iPad, iFixit says, but it's still pretty difficult to take apart.

The site rated Surface's "repairability" a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the easiest) following a teardown of the product. By comparison, the iPad has a rating of 2, and the Amazon Kindle Fire rates 8. According to iFixit:

The Microsoft Surface is a quirky cat. Microsoft engineers clearly took a different internal design direction than what we've seen in the iPad and the Nexus/Kindles. But … Read more

Life in the Microsoft Surface line

COSTA MESA, Calif. -- I'm no stranger to Apple lines. Come prepared with a chair, and a laptop to keep busy, and settle in among the converted. But a Microsoft line? The last time I was in one was for a midnight release of Windows 98. I didn't know what to expect as I joined the line Friday among the Microsoft faithful to get one of the new Microsoft Surface tablets.

I'd called the previous day to the Microsoft Store in my local shopping center, South Coast Plaza, in the Southern California city of Costa Mesa. A … Read more

Wait a minute. Is this an Apple store?

This week marked a pretty big time for Microsoft. It launched Windows 8 and its new Surface tablet, and it also opened up its first stores -- albeit temporary -- in New York.

But the reaction to all three has been a little mixed. It's uncertain what sort of demand Windows 8 will see, and reviewers say the company's Surface is innovative but lacks apps.

In the stores, meanwhile, there's a little confusion, a little curiosity, and a lot of resemblance to Apple.

The software giant officially unveiled Windows 8 yesterday during a New York event. To … Read more