Microsoft's Surface turns first profit in 2 years

MIS Asia ^ | 10/26/2014 | Gregg Keizer

[SeekAndFind]

[Paladin2]

Can the Surface be made to run Linux?

[PAR35]

I’d probably spring for one at $199.00

[freedumb2003]

Win 8(.1) and I have come to a settlement.

Not bad for tablet, bad for a PDA, terrible for a laptop/desktop.

[SamAdams76]

If the Surface can run iOS, I might buy one.

[doorgunner69]

I was mildly intrigued by these tablet things until my brother visited with one. Then I found out that it could not do much of anything unless you had a "smartphone" and $$$ monthly data subscription.

Otherwise the thing was an oversize Palmpilot. Then again, I may be wrong and misunderstood him.

[Paladin2]

If one can jailbreak it to Linux, can iOS be far behind?

[GeronL]

It actually turned a profit? Shocking.

Maybe that music they used in the new ads (”I am the best” - 2NE1) put them over the top.

[Paladin2]

I have two (identical - one on the charger and one in use - then swap as needed) Android (former) smart phones that I use as PDAs getting their info off wifi (except for time/timezone which still comes through over the phone networks - no phone service for either)).

YMMV.

[GeronL]

The new IPADs does not need a “smartphone” but it needs a plan unless you just use it at home with the wifi

[Jonty30]

My surface has WiFi. Your brother may not have known how to activate it, or something.

He’s your brother and you know his backstory. I’m not here to judge. :)

[Nifster]

no

[doorgunner69]

"The new IPADs does not need a “smartphone” but it needs a plan unless you just use it at home with the wifi"

The obvious answer is what is the use of that if I have two desktops and two laptops in the house> The tablet would only be of interest as a very thin laptop.

[GeronL]

much more limited in use than a laptop unless your sitting on the potty

[RegulatorCountry]

Seems I recall that at least initially MicroSoft communicated that they felt compelled to produce the Surface in order to provide a platform to showcase Windows for touchscreen tablet, whatever that version of Windows OS is called, was it RT?

How many other devices elected to run this operating system? Very few as far as I can tell. Very few as in one. There’s a stray Windows phone from Nokia but no other Windows devices let alone tablets.

A very poor showing, imho.

[Paladin2]

Bummer.

Not even the Chinese?

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

BFL

[doorgunner69]

He traveled around with his Dingleberry or whatever the hell he had for all the connections. We drove all around the island and he got internet most areas. Actually had some sort of auxilliary widget that he said was the actual connection, but did need the basic smartphone data subscription.

He has a Ph.D in geophysics, hardly a non-tech type about this stuff. I am the one that lost interest in all that stuff when it went airhead with Twitter and Facefarque. I just checked out.

[miliantnutcase]

Yes, but it has to be a Linux build compiled to run on UEFI. Secure boot should be turned off as well.

[miliantnutcase]

Surface RT was a flop, but the Surface pro series which uses full x86 architecture and desktop OS is what is pulling the profit.