Microsoft Courier

[Holkeye]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/05/microsofts-courier-digital-journal-exclusive-pictures-and-de/

[Roph]

I like the sound of this better than the iPad.

[Irock]

I think I made a thread on this last September.

[Grafikal]

I think it's much better than the iPad. This is something I would totally buy and use often. It would be extremely helpful in my work. It's an excellent planner.

[Irock]

The Courier and the iPad seem to target completely different audiences. I don't fall into the college student student/professional graphic designer audience it seems to target. I can't really say anything. It's still hard to tell from these videos, because it's not showing the device actually being used. If it does what it appears to do well, then this would be pretty neat to have for some things, but not things I do.

Also,

Not even a real demo. No live persons. Just commentary on the video and some computer graphics, so I'm not impressed by it, but the idea is nice.

[Grafikal]

It must be really weird that people do things that irock doesn't do.

[Irock]

I'm just saying it doesn't really appeal to me because it targets a different audience. :]

[Holkeye]

It would be priceless for the working environment.

[Roph]

My gripe with the iPad is its OS (come on, we had tablets running Windows XP 8 years ago) and thus its ridiculous locked down bullshit.

A free and more open environment would catapult it into relevancy. As it stands now, it literally just is a big, cumbersome ipod.

This Courier I don't like too much either since it runs windows CE and not an XP or a lightweight win 7 environment (7 can run fine on many netbooks, come on microsoft), but it will undoubtedly be more open and less restricted than apple's offering, and thus more awesome

Plus since it folds it's actually portable. I could fit that thing in my coat's inside pocket

[Irock]

You don't seem to understand that having a full blown OS on a touch screen device isn't what most people want. They want an OS that is designed with that specific device in mind, one that takes full advantage of its capabilities and isn't just a plain mess. There's barely any noticeable advantages to running XP, Vista, or Windows 7 on a touch screen device. It would be much easier to use a mouse or trackpad. The thing that impresses me about this device is the OS. It seems to be brilliantly designed to act like a real "journal", and it seems to do it well.

I'd be repulsed by this product if it had a desktop/laptop OS on it. This is the part of Microsoft that gets it. :]

[Roph]

Why do you keep talking as if Windows cannot work well on a tablet? Even as long as 9 years ago additional tablet editions or addons have existed. They work fine. Windows 7 can support multiple touch. Heck, any version of windows can support multiple touch, you just need to write a HID driver for your touch screen.

How would windows not be able to "take full advantage of its capabilities"?. It is the other way around - you are severely limited on the iPad, you are forced into only what Apple wants you to do on it. You do not have free choice of what you may do with your iPad (even if it is within the device's capabilities).

[Holkeye]

This isn't a tablet. It's basically a touchscreen journal/scrapbook/filekeeper.

[Irock]

It doesn't work well on a tablet, IMO. Even if you think it does, operating systems like that on the Courier and the iPad work better for those devices. Windows WORKS on a multi-touch device, but it does not WORK WELL on a multi-touch device, at least not compared to the other options. If you want to trade and endless amount of programs and features (99.9% of which don't even take advantage of multi-touch in any way) for a proper multi-touch interface, that's your decision. But most people don't want to run Windows and encode a video on their tablet-like device. They want something tailored to their needs. They want to cut out part of an image and flick it over to their project in a way that feels natural.

Most people don't mind application stores at all, or not being able to install patches to change their interface, or whatever you want to do. Most people are happy with the way it is. Even if you're not, you can always jailbreak your device. You know what you're buying when you buy it, and if you don't want to buy it, you don't have to buy it. The very fact devices like the iPad and Courier appeal to so many people shows that the designers are doing it right.

[Roph]

If I wanted a large format design like the iPad's, I would much prefer the WePad.



- Very similar size.
- Higher resolution screen, and unlike the iPad's, it is actually widescreen.
- USB Ports.
- SD slot, put in a 32/64GB SD card if you like (hint, apple, 40GB of memory chips do not cost $200. Stop scamming your users).
- x86 processor - can run any flavour of linux, can also run Android, and can run windows. You may very likely even get OSX running on it.
- Has a camera, unlike the iPad.
- You can of course view flash content.

[Irock]

Why are you going on about the iPad? This topic is about the Courier. I guess you're trying to troll me or something, or you just don't want to say something bad about a Microsoft product.

[Roph]

Apologies for discussing tablets in a thread about a new tablet device that will be competing with said tablets.

[Irock]

But you're talking about why you don't want an iPad and discussing what you'd prefer over the iPad. The topic is about the courier.

[Holkeye]

I think we've established that a dump in a coffee filter is better than the iPad. Let's move past it.

[Sophist]

Windows WORKS on a multi-touch device, but it does not WORK WELL on a multi-touch device, at least not compared to the other options.

Tell me, where did you gather this statement?

[Irock]

Windows WORKS on a multi-touch device, but it does not WORK WELL on a multi-touch device, at least not compared to the other options.

Tell me, where did you gather this statement?

Experience.

[Sophist]

So does that mean from your bad experience that all tablets do not run windows well?

[Irock]

My experience with Windows on touch screen devices. If I had to describe it in one word, that would be clunky. I prefer something like iPhone OS and (from what I can tell) Courier's OS.

[Sophist]

I didn't ask you to describe it in one word. You didn't answer the question.

[Irock]

I gathered my statement.

Tell me, where did you gather this statement?

From my experience with windows on touch screen devices.

My experience with Windows on touch screen devices. If I had to describe it in one word, that would be clunky. I prefer something like iPhone OS and (from what I can tell) Courier's OS.

[SirJackRex]

I think the Courier looks really nice and I would love one. I also really like styluses. :]
Also, I agree with Roph; the stupid restrictions that Apple puts on the App store is absurd.