Microsoft Courier-Dual Touchsreen PC concept

MCN wrote:

Fatal Exception wrote:

MCN wrote:

massimo wrote:Back on topic. Would Microsoft actually manufacture this themselves? Have they ever manufactured their own p.c.'s before?

To be honest, their track record with manufacturing consumer electronics has not been great.

Well, everything bar the initial batch of 360's has been top notch

For this device you have to wonder if it would be a product, like a Zune, or a reference & OS for Hardware vendors to make themselves.

And the original Xboxes with the power cables that could burn down your house.

Fatal Exception wrote:

MCN wrote:

Fatal Exception wrote:

MCN wrote:

massimo wrote:Back on topic. Would Microsoft actually manufacture this themselves? Have they ever manufactured their own p.c.'s before?

To be honest, their track record with manufacturing consumer electronics has not been great.

Well, everything bar the initial batch of 360's has been top notch

For this device you have to wonder if it would be a product, like a Zune, or a reference & OS for Hardware vendors to make themselves.

And the original Xboxes with the power cables that could burn down your house.

But then you could apply issues like that to any company, it's not like MS uses the same partner companies for all their consumer electronics.

Sony have had their fair share of problems with the PS2 Disc Read Errors and Exploding batteries (which found their way into nearly 2 million Macbooks that had to be recalled).

abcd wrote:I've never understood the anger.

Peter Crisp wrote:

abcd wrote:I've never understood the anger.

I have no idea either. A lot of anger seems to be directed at them simply because they are a large organisation with a product that sells hugely well. If windows really was as terrible as these people make out then why does it sell so well and why do so many intelligent PC users stick up for Windows?
Gamers should love Microsoft as they have been willing to lose billions just to get into the market and have bought us all 2 great machines to do so.

abcd wrote:Looks good....but I think the market for it won't be anywhere near to iphone penetration.

It's no doubt a lot money for something that wouldn't replace a PC/Laptop.

Fatal Exception wrote:

Peter Crisp wrote:

abcd wrote:I've never understood the anger.

I have no idea either. A lot of anger seems to be directed at them simply because they are a large organisation with a product that sells hugely well. If windows really was as terrible as these people make out then why does it sell so well and why do so many intelligent PC users stick up for Windows?
Gamers should love Microsoft as they have been willing to lose billions just to get into the market and have bought us all 2 great machines to do so.

It's the whole "anti conformist" mentality. Some people just have to believe their taste in OSs, Music, Films, Dietary Choices and the like is the best because it differs from the shitmunchers.

They hate the idea of being insignificant, therefore hate what is popular.

jamcc wrote:Tell me about it. Microsoft are a top company. Hate people who refuse to conform/ jump on bandwagons in that way.

Peter Crisp wrote:

jamcc wrote:Tell me about it. Microsoft are a top company. Hate people who refuse to conform/ jump on bandwagons in that way.

Because buying a product because it does what you want it to (Windows and the 360 both fit this criteria) is really jumping on the bandwagon. What you are calling for is everyone to go for niche products purely because they are niche not for how they perform.

Peter Crisp wrote:I'm really tired as I'm trying to swap from night shift to being normal so that entirely possible and if I have I apologise jamcc.

Courier project.

This video is produced by the same firm that collaborated with Microsoft's Pioneer Studios on the previous clip, and it walks through a slightly different (and more conservative/realistic) iteration of the Courier interface. While the first video showed a handful of use cases, this one actually provides an overview of the interface and Courier's features, and more of how you would actually use it if you are not a designer.

The heart of Courier appears to what's called the "infinite journal," which is what it sounds like: A journal/scrapbook that is endless, bound only by storage constraints (presumably). Hopefully they will call it something less awkward. The journal can actually be published online, and it's shown here as able to be downloaded in three formats: a Courier file, Powerpoint or PDF. There's also a library that looks a lot like Delicious Library, where things like subscriptions, notebooks and apps, are stored.

This interface does share a few things in common with the other one: In particular, the hinge between the screens is still used as a pocket to "tuck" items you want to move from one page to another. It also still revolves almost exclusively around using the pen for input: In 4 minutes of video, there's not a virtual keyboard in sight. Fingers are still used just to navigate, through flicks, swipes and pinches.

The interface has a few more traditional elements than the first video, with more of a Microsoft feel (fonts and titles bars) and less of the entirely handwritten journal aesthetic: a smart agenda, more defined folder system, universal search and multi-page web browsing. It feels more evolved and fined, and less convoluted, suggesting it's more recent.

It also begins to bring into focus Courier's priorities, and possible limitations: Other than the brief glimpse at the library and the web browser, there is basically nothing about viewing content, like watching movies, reading books, or listening to music. Courier, in this iteration, appears to be all about creating and writing with a pen, which is vastly different from what everybody expects out of the Apple tablet.

We expect to have more a in-depth breakdown of the Courier interface in the next few days, so stay tuned.

Update: ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley has more details from a "connected tipster" about Courier. According to her, Microsoft is running this on top of Windows 7, similar to how Microsoft Surface runs on top of Windows, and that the concept got its start as a reinvention of Microsoft's OneNote for a strictly tablet form factor. Word is that it's an "incubation project" (as opposed to a more conjectural Microsoft Research project) and Microsoft is apparently aiming for a mid-2010 release. The wildest part is that Microsoft is "leaning toward" the Xbox model of building the hardware itself, which apparently will help speed things along -- and delight hardware partners to no end, we're sure.