Just flinging poo and hoping it sticks, happens with every new product intro from Apple. If Microsoft can be said to have an “ecosystem” at all, it’s populated with MS Certified cranks who come running like lemmings to trash the very product of which they’ll be extolling the virtues once somebody other than Apple figures out how to do it like Apple did.
Like clockwork, every time.
They still haven’t quite figured out how intentionally disruptive Apple is, in any new market segment they choose to enter. All they see is TV? How stupid, there are tons of TV manufacturers. They do not look at the Rube Goldberg contraptions requiring multiple remotes, they do not look at the ancillary uses into which a very large, very high quality monitor could be applied, they do not look at the content delivery that everyone loves to hate.
I think they’ll do quite well with it, but not in the established, orthodox ways that “television” and “cable” are viewed. They’re all about reslicing the pie, disintermediation of middlemen and delivering a revolutionary improvement in the experience, utility and ease of use of the device as well as the content.
There’s a very big “duh” moment coming, from several quarters, none of which have the capacity to capitalize or even compete without major acquisitions and scrambling.
How long have we been waiting for *the* iPad killer now? Three years?
Like clockwork, every time.
Yes, Microsoft fans nitpick and trash-talk every Apple device that comes out. And then when Microsoft copies it two years later it's a wonderful idea. I've seen this from the early days. MS fans trashed the mouse and GUI, saying it was for kids and would never be on a real PC. On and on over the years. iPod, a toy; then the Zune comes out. iPhone, likewise; now Microsoft phone. iPad, no one will buy it; now the Surface. If Apple is so bad why does Microsoft continually copy them? Success breeds imitation.
Anyway, I agree with another poster. Just get a TV box like Apple TV or Roku, and connect to any HD TV for under $100. You don't need to buy a new big HD set from Apple to get the features with your existing HD TV.