astera

That would be a bit comical to be honest as these devices aren't even in the same category.

When my wife's second Macbook Air gave up the ghost we looked at all sorts of solutions to replace it (barring a third substandard Air). We even looked at the Surface briefly, but at the end of the day it didn't look like a good replacement but more like a turbo-charged tablet running a strange OS.

Deciding to stick to laptop form, and at the same time not wanting another Air and - even more so - not wanting anything to do with Windows ever again, we discovered the Chromebook. And in particular, the Google Pixel (the laptop, not the tablet called the Pixel-C or something like that).

Best laptop money can buy, a higher resolution screen than any laptop ever made by Apple, solid build quality, super fast, great OS, awesome battery and quick charging via USB-C on both sides (so unlike other laptops you can charge it from whichever side is more convenient).

Only problem is you cannot purchase it anywhere in the world apart from 2 countries.

Beoz

That's nice, if you do all your work in a web browser.

Glad to see you saw the light on the MacBook Pro. I was lead to believe those things are rock solid. No wonder MS are going after it.

GarryP

ChromeOS is much more than web apps, particularly now that you can get Android apps on under ChromeOS.

Developers tend to have Macbooks; which tells you something.

Beoz

As much as you tart it up, it still doesn't help the millions of applications written for Windows only.

Too much style, and a pay packet to go with?

GarryP

RDP into a VM?

Windows is heading towards 'legacy' status - most people wouldn't target it today as the only platform for an app, or indeed the first. Even I am thinking about a collection of VMs for my next desktop, running on a hypervisor, with a browser at the native level. No real reason not to, so I can run Win7,OSX , Linux, and when I'm feeling masochistic, Win10.

Style?

Developers?

Have you met any developers?

Beoz

Hilarious on all counts. I work with developers every day. They don't design, but they think Apple is style

Anyhow. Speaking of apps, just hooked up with a mate with a new iphone 7. "I haven't set it up yet"

Its needs setting up. Seriously?

http://www.news.com.au/technology/warning-for-iphone-7-users-you-could-lose-your-favourite-apps-in-setting-up-your-new-phone/news-story/000201b136f1c4caa50989b6d2ec1053

GarryP

Err, not exactly sure who you work with, but that's not how developers think.

Seriously, I'm the most stylish person in the room when I meet them - and that is no high bar to jump I assure you.

Macs find favour because the are bullet proof, light weight, and run a version of unix. Never yet seen a developer use a surface tablet. Although, to think on it, it would be a smart move of mickeysoft to give developers surface pro tablets for free - might get some apps that way.

Beoz

Devs of firms of a decent size don't use Mac's. Companies won't standardise on Macs. Personal owned maybe.

I didn't say devs were stylish. I said they think Mac's are.

Yeah right. Giving stuff away. Where's the value in that? People don't value stuff if its given to them. That's why MS charge an arm and a leg for a Surface - because its best in class and people value it.

You should try the Surface before you knock it

GarryP

Ahh, so you are talking about IT teams of corporates. Devs of software companies or independents are much more likely to be Macs, and to standardise on them as well.

Well mickeysoft are poorly off for dev support as it stands, they could do with more developers taking them seriously. You can bet that no dev will be paying an arm and a leg for a surface, you'd kind of have to give them away to get any take up.

I've tried one, but it really didn't work for me, more a consumption device. Too small to really work on, compared to a cheaper 15" laptop, or indeed a desktop.

Beoz

The Surface is not about attracting the small dev market. Its for those who need a small and easily portable business device that is capable of running all those applications built for Windows. Not app store stuff.

The take up is there. What further figures do you need?

Tell me, when you take your 15" laptop to work, you plug it straight into 3 x 24" displays right? That's how the portable / consumerable / work device works.

GarryP

How do you work that?

It's outsold by the ipad pro; perhaps the most unloved ipad.

Meanwhile there's about 160m laptop sales last year, with a maximum of about 6m being surface laplets.

In either the tablet, or laptop market (whichever mickeysoft is targeting today) it's in the noise.

I'm kind of wondering what it IS for. They've tried to shift it to the small laptop market beloved of CEOs and salesmen - but that's going to get saturated pretty quick. I'm trying to think of one major new app that's come out for the windows platform in recent history. The only things I can think of are 'version X' of some old app. In general the aim today seems to be a web or native front end with the heavy lift on a server in the cloud - which is impossible to rip off. You sell the subscription, the processing power, etc. and give away the front end.

It's pretty much becoming a light weight terminal world.

knockoff nige

I've read that police used a robot to disarm a man with a gun. A smarter future would be sending drones to respond to domestic violence or street hooliganism calls. Drones would need to be capable of negotiation and to subdue a threatening individual. Maybe by video calling. Fewer police shootings, faster response and reduced need for lethal force. And no threat to police when responding to a call. Probably wouldn't need as many police though.

Did I just steal the Robocop idea? No. This is drone cop. Entirely different. No man machine struggling with past demons and hunting for revenge against a mob who turn out to be working for his bosses. I mean Spoiler Alert.

Beoz

Is a 9% increase over a quarter enough. And at its very hefty price tag, that's impressive.

The ipad pro is just a tablet further crippled by IOS. A mobile OS. Not even in the same league.

astera

The limitation isn't the whole browser thing or needing to be online all the time - those are all urban myths that defy logic. Like which computer doesn't need to be online to do... online things like check emails or browse the web? Doh... For regular stuff like working on a spreadsheet, playing games or using a graphics program to alter photos you don't need to be connected to the web.

I can do almost everything I need to do on my Chromebook Pixel. It is the best laptop I have ever purchased. Period.

And don't get me wrong, nobody steers clear of Google as much as I do. I use Apple for my hardware (iPhone+iPad), Microsoft for my communications needs (Hotmail+Skype), DuckDuckGo for searching. I think I only use Google... for its maps.

Yet here I am completely happy to be using Chrome OS (even though I won't even look at Android).

I never mentioned the MacBook Pro, only the Air. The Pro is a great device though an update is long, long overdue. The Air, on the other hand, is junk.

Unless you compare it to anything running some rubbish system out of Redmond, in which case I'd gladly take the Air over torturing myself daily with Windows...

Beoz

Lots of Apple critism going on there. Sounds like you've moved on. Can you run Photoshop on the Chromebook without a web connection?

You haven't actually said why you think Windows 10 is torture?