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Authored by: Chromatix on Monday, June 18 2012 @ 10:10 PM EDT |
It's an interesting choice of design. Don't expect me to buy one though, for
any of the following reasons:
I seriously doubt the quality of typing feel
on a 3mm thick keyboard. For
comparison I still use a Model M every
day.
Just try using one of those on your lap. The kickstand will be useless
and the
keyboard won't support the screen. I don't think it'll be sufficiently
stable
during a turbulent flight or a fast train ride either.
Metro and
productivity... no. Just no.
Windows lock-in. If I buy a Mac, I get to
choose at least three OSes to put on
it (OSX, Windows, Linux). If I buy a
standard PC, I still get to choose two of
those. If I buy a Surface, I get
only *one* choice, and it's not the one I want to
make.
Fingerprints on the
screen. Again, this is a real killer for anything involving
fine-pitch text,
which as a programmer I would want to work with a *lot*.
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Authored by: FreeChief on Monday, June 18 2012 @ 11:17 PM EDT |
From the Fine Webpage:
Microsoft unveiled Surface: PCs built to be
the ultimate stage for Windows.
They know the definitions
right?
ul.ti.mate adj. being the last in a series
stage medicine the extent or progression of (a cancer, for
example).
— American Heritage College
Dictionary
Sounds good to me; and it's about time. I'm hoping for
a cure for MS.
— Programmer in Chief
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Authored by: Gringo_ on Tuesday, June 19 2012 @ 09:06 AM EDT |
VaporMg: The casing of Surface is created
using a unique
approach called VaporMg (pronounced Vapor-
Mag) ... Starting with magnesium,
parts can be molded as
thin as .65 mm, thinner than the typical credit card, to
create a product that is thin, light and rigid/strong.
So
the case is Magnesium, an alkali in the same periodic
group as calcium and
sodium.
Magnesium metal and its alloys are explosive hazards.
Magnesium is
used in those firestarters you can trigger
with a pocket knife to light your
campfire.
Magnesium reacts with water at room temperature. When
submerged in
water, hydrogen bubbles will almost
unnoticeably begin to form on the surface
of the metal.
Burning or molten magnesium metal reacts violently with
water.
Flame temperatures of magnesium and magnesium alloys
can reach 3,100 °C (5,610
°F), and it is employed in
incendiary weapons. Since it burns just as well in
carbon
dioxide or nitrogen, the only practical way put out a
burning Surface
is to smother it under dry sand to exclude
the atmosphere.
A car with
a magnesium body caused
the single worst
accident in auto racing history, in
terms of human casualties, at the 1955
Le Mons...
Mercedes-Benz had debuted its new 300 SLR
sportscar in the 1955 World Sportscar Championship season,
with some notable
success, including a win at the Mille
Miglia. The 300 SLR featured a body made
of an
ultralightweight magnesium alloy called Elektron with a
specific gravity
of 1.8 (for reference, aluminium has a S.G.
of 2.7 and steel 7.8).
The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 1955 24 Hours
of Le
Mans motor race, when a crash caused large pieces of
racing car debris to fly
into the crowd. Eighty-three
spectators and driver Pierre Levegh were killed,
whilst 120
more were injured in the most catastrophic accident in
motorsport
history.
As the remains of the 300 SLR slowed its somersault, the
rear-mounted fuel tank ruptured. The ensuing fuel fire
raised the temperature
of the remaining Elektron bodywork
past its ignition temperature, which due to
its high
magnesium content was lower than for other metal alloys. The
alloy
burst into white-hot flames, sending searing embers
onto the track and into the
crowd. Rescue workers, totally
unfamiliar with how to attack a magnesium fire,
poured water
on the inferno – greatly intensifying the fire. As a result,
the
car burned for several hours. Official accounts put the
death total at 84 (83
spectators plus Levegh), either by
flying debris or from the fire, with a
further 120 injured.
Other observers estimated the toll to be much
higher.
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