Delta Pilots fought against deal to replace iPad flight bags with Microsoft Surface

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Comments

  • Reply 61 of 162
    That's how Microsoft has always won: don't leave the choice to USERS. Sell to managers who will cram Windows down people's throats.
  • Reply 62 of 162
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Maestro64 View Post

     

    Keep in mind people M$ keeps lots of IT folks in a job, in Indian that is. We all know IT has always hated Apple since it just works and does not need masses of cheap labor unable to answer your questions when things do not work.

     

    Face it M$ products are a job program for countries like Indian.


     

    I am an Indian who works in the tech industry. I own several Apple products including iPhone 5s, iPad 3, MacBook Air, iMac, MacBook Pro, Time Capsule, and Airport Express. I do not use any Windows products because I prefer Apple's ecosystem and user experience.

     

    Generalizing all Indians as pro-Microsoft is an irrational argument most likely stemming from some bias. By the way, the country is India, and the people who live there are Indians.

  • Reply 63 of 162

    The pilots didn't know that many versions of Angry Birds are available for Surface 2 (RT).  After being informed of this fact, pilots changed their minds and ok'd the Surface.

  • Reply 64 of 162
    Pilots less likely to be tempted to use their tablets for anything other than work.
  • Reply 65 of 162
    Lets face it, the airline that puts 757's on flights to Paris where knees in the chin is normal is questionable at best

    Gave up on Delta years ago out of Philly or Newark

    If its true the internal IT for are beholding to Microsoft, then I hope the planes don't get the blue screen of death
  • Reply 66 of 162
    jmgregory1 wrote: »
    I'm surprised Delta would even go out on a limb like this and state they're making the switch, without first getting clearance from the FAA and second, having operational devices with which to do initial testing.

    Seems like this has the potential to really go badly for both MS and Delta - should the device not get clearance from the FAA and/or the device not work similarly to the iPad.

    From reading the article, Microsoft almost gave them the Surface 2, and promised to fly Delta exclusively when possible. Then, Uncle Fester personally blew the entire IT staff. Now that, my friends is how you close a deal!

    It won't mean squat in a year because the new MS CEO will likely shitcan the RT and Delta will be free to use an FAA approved tablet, (the iPad) the pilots will be happy, the death rate will go down and harmony will be amongst mankind once again.


    "This is your captain speaking, does anyone have a charger for a damned Surface 2?"
  • Reply 67 of 162
    vicaustin wrote: »
    There are plenty of excellent keyboard / cover combos for iPads. The MS ads are total misinformation.  I found 4 at Target, and they don't even carry Kensington.  And they don't cost any more than the add-on Surface keyboard.

    That commercial drives me nuts, too.

    Feel like breaking it down. No USB port? Camera connection kit. No keyboard? Dozens of third party support, for the same or less. Storage? In the 32 gb comparison, about 10-12 gb more user accessible storage on the iPad. Office? iWork (now free) or office365.com.
  • Reply 68 of 162
    "This is your captain speaking, does anyone have a charger for a damned Surface 2?"

    You forgot the crickets sound.
  • Reply 69 of 162
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ExDL View Post





    I heard that all of the recent Delta/Microsoft decisions were the direct order of Delta's CEO, Richard Anderson. He and Ballmer have been friends for a long time. Both of them have strong ties to Detroit and frequently overlap at events like The National Summit. Look for an article in the April 2012 Sky magazine for some of their candid conversations.

    Not true. The majority are Apple fanatics. The Delta team has *excellent* ties to Cupertino and the two companies collaborated heavily to get the FlyDelta app launched (note how frequently it shows up in marketing images when Apple needs to use an icon).

    When Delta's technology committee was charged with a new point-of-sale method, they recommended Apple. With the tablet tests winding down, IT recommended keeping the iPads. There's speculation that neither report was read by Richard, as the Delta executive team had already been swayed by the insider deal Microsoft offered.



    PS: The flight attendants hate the Lumias too, so it's not just the pilots who are disappointed.

     

    Too many people are commenting without reading the above. It looks like good inside information.

  • Reply 70 of 162
    If the pilots want iPad EFBs, then that's what should be in the cockpit. All we need is an inferior product, i.e. M/S, assisting the flight crew. If iPad is out, then so am I. I'll find another carrier to fly... and I'm a million-miler. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the UPS crew was using an M/S tablet on final to Birmingham.
  • Reply 71 of 162
    It's those lapdog IT pricks. You just can't get those MFs to change their modus operandi. The only thing you can do to get Apple products in the enterprise is you gotta wait for those IT lapdogs to die because they've been so brainwashed they'll never change in their lifetime. Score another win for MS and another loss for Apple. You want to know why Apple's share price keeps falling? Because Apple doesn't know how to sell itself to the enterprise. Those tablets represent a pretty big loss of investor confidence. A Surface RT of all things. That is one of the least popular tablets on the planet. When IT goes against the pilots who actually use the device that is bad times all around. Nobody ever got fired for choosing Microsoft is still a very real scenario as long as there are plenty of kickbacks to be had.
  • Reply 72 of 162
    I can see it now. Surface II has to be placarded as 'Not for Navigational Use' requiring the Pilot's to fly with either an iPad or Paper charts. It's a win/win situation. Delta pays little to nothing for the tablet, gets all of Microsoft's travel contracts, and Microsoft gets to tell the world that it has a large contract with Delta and has finally cross the 8,000 sales mark. Delta has a two year contract for Microsoft travel; probably much more lucrative than the two Surface Tablets per plane.

    I wouldn't discount Delta as being too dumb. Remember who they negotiated with.
  • Reply 73 of 162
    When flying on Delta, please note,
    It's pilots weren't given a vote
    Their EFBs will be crappy
    And the pilots aren't happy
    It may be safer to travel by boat!
  • Reply 74 of 162
    Your argument is bases off functions the iPad does not do, you realize that, yes? These devices replace the paper maps and charts, and some checklists. They DO NOT interact with the aircraft in any way. Also to your point, the ineptness of a pilot is not based on their device as you just gave example of a $80 million aircraft that the pilot mismanaged, and I am sure the FAA had very strict guidelines on. 

    Also, this has nothing to do with the app as it is not provided by Microsoft or Apple. Again, having to tap twice on a chart will not in any way make the flight unsafe. 

    I was with you 100% right up to your last sentence. The FAA does require that the touch screen be responsive, that's not an option. The Surface 2 (RT) has some known deficiency in that area. In addition, the Surface 2 running Windows 8.1 is both a new device and a new OS. No one knows the reliability of the hardware or the security of the software.

    mstone wrote: »
    No he's Japanese and trying write in English which he probably does much better than you write in Japanese. Either way we understood the message but unfortunately it seems to fail anyway because outsourcing customer support to India has almost nothing to do with US companies' IT departments trying to keep themselves employed. I doubt the pilots would be calling customer support anyway.

    Let's all hope the pilots don't have to call customer support, either.

    "Hello, the is the captain of Delta flight 2422, and we are presently trying to land at Chicago Ohara airport, and what is 'an internal error 505' and why doesn't my Surface 2 respond to my touch."

    (pause)

    "What! Do a cold re-boot and reinstall Windows 8.1 at 15,000 feet?!!"
  • Reply 75 of 162
    Well, I guess I won't be flying Delta any more. Because we all know how much windows crashes.
  • Reply 76 of 162
    Lets keep this in perspective. It's really should have nothing to do with what the average person will decide which Tablet to buy.

    As such most developers will look past the numbers and see what the numbers in the market that they are addressing.

    Whether or not a pilot likes the surface as a device or an ipad. IF the company can provide an effective solution on the tablet they choose, then all power to them.

    While we can speculate on the cost effectiveness of Delta's decision, we really dont know, the price they paid, if any, and how long it will take to implement etc.etc.

    Unfortunately for M$ they may just delude themselves or their shareholders that these units show acceptance of their product in the general market place.
  • Reply 77 of 162
    maestro64 wrote: »
    Keep in mind people M$ keeps lots of IT folks in a job, in Indian that is. We all know IT has always hated Apple since it just works and does not need masses of cheap labor unable to answer your questions when things do not work.

    Face it M$ products are a job program for countries like Indian.

    I literally had a vendor representative tell me he won't use an iPhone because Microsoft had been "paying his bills" for so many years. The irony is that he was using an Android phone. This is what passes for logic and reason in users who oppose Apple.
  • Reply 78 of 162
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Macky the Macky View Post





    I was with you 100% right up to your last sentence. The FAA does require that the touch screen be responsive, that's not an option. The Surface 2 (RT) has some known deficiency in that area. In addition, the Surface 2 running Windows 8.1 is both a new device and a new OS. No one knows the reliability of the hardware or the security of the software.

    Let's all hope the pilots don't have to call customer support, either.

     

     

    I never said they did not, only should not. Again, these are charts you should be reviewing at all times and long before landing. This is not "oh, its time to land, let's look at the approach charts", no, you check them miles before you get close. 

  • Reply 79 of 162
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Macky the Macky View Post



    "Hello, the is the captain of Delta flight 2422, and we are presently trying to land at Chicago Ohara airport, and what is 'an internal error 505' and why doesn't my Surface 2 respond to my touch."



    (pause)



    "What! Do a cold re-boot and reinstall Windows 8.1 at 15,000 feet?!!"

     

    This is the misconception. You never look at approach charts during approach, but way before (so you know where to approach). Also, this information is normally communicated by the tower anyway. You would never check charts during decent as your approach better be defined before descending. 

  • Reply 80 of 162
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Maestro64 View Post

     

    Keep in mind people M$ keeps lots of IT folks in a job, in Indian that is. We all know IT has always hated Apple since it just works and does not need masses of cheap labor unable to answer your questions when things do not work.

     

    Face it M$ products are a job program for countries like Indian.


     

    Yes, in Australia we get frequent calls from Indian call centres saying 'Microsoft' has detected problems with our Windows machines that they need to fix for us. Of course those of us with Macs find these scams rather amusing. But the IT industry seems incapable, or unwilling, to close down these Microsoft-inspired scams.

     

    When will the IT industry stop protecting the interests of a company that produces such crappy products that scammers, criminals and amateur IT technicians can profit from their laziness and lack of concern for quality?

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