Microsoft exec jabs at Apple, tweets drawing of 'converged' toaster and refrigerator

Posted:
in General Discussion edited October 2015
Just before his company's Surface Pro 4 event, the head of Microsoft's Windows division took a shot at Apple, recalling disparaging comments its CEO Tim Cook made about "converged" devices like the Surface tablet a few years ago.




Cook made headlines back in 2012 during a quarterly earnings call, when he suggested hybrid tablet and PC devices offer too many compromises to be appealing to most consumers. At the time, Cook said that the tradeoffs found with devices like Microsoft Surface leave a mobile computer that "doesn't please anyone."

"You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but, you know, those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user," Cook said.

Cook's three-year-old comments were on the mind of Microsoft's Terry Myerson on Tuesday morning, less than an hour before his company's Surface Pro 4 event in New York. Myerson took to Twitter to send a photo of a crudely drawn refrigerator-toaster hybrid at a handful of Microsoft-focused tech journalist.

"hope you enjoy the show today...pay attention -- some new things might pop up," Myerson wrote.




Microsoft is hoping that its Surface Pro 4 event will stifle some of the anticipation for Apple's own iPad Pro, a 12.9-inch high-end tablet that is set to become available in November. Like with the Surface Pro, Apple will also sell keyboard and stylus accessories to offer new, portable input methods with its own touchscreen tablet.

In addition to the Surface Pro 4, Microsoft is also set to unveil new flagship Lumia smartphones intended to compete with Apple's latest generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. It can be streamed live from Microsoft's website.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 99
    Its the east coast west coast beef all over again.
  • Reply 2 of 99
    Poor Microsoft.
    When was the last time they released a new revolutionary product that took the world by storm?

    Let's see what they have to offer today...
  • Reply 3 of 99
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    Poor Microsoft.
    When was the last time they released a new revolutionary product that took the world by storm?

    Why do they have to? Is a product that doesn't take the world by storm automatically a failure?
  • Reply 4 of 99
    The pot shots that these guys take at each other is getting a little old.

    It's sort of entertaining, but mostly makes for great troll food.

    My recommendation is that non of these guys should throw stones when their own products have issues as well.
  • Reply 5 of 99
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Poor Microsoft.
    When was the last time they released a new revolutionary product that took the world by storm?

    Let's see what they have to offer today...

    "Introducing the all-new Microsoft Refrigerator-Toaster Pro!"
  • Reply 6 of 99
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    techlover wrote: »
    The pot shots that these guys take at each other is getting a little old.

    It's sort of entertaining, but mostly makes for great troll food.

    Anyone want a hot cup of "Toxic Hellstew"? Check out some of our recent security issues like with Xcode.

    My recommendation is that non of these guys should throw stones when their own products have issues as well.

    Lame attempt to smear Apple with the China-only Xcode hack.
  • Reply 7 of 99
    cwscws Posts: 59member
    When Tim Cook made that comment it was absolutely correct. The battery, operating system software, keypad and stylus technology weren't yet mature enough to converge the devices. Since then, Apple has done the engineering necessary to make it possible. Even now, there remains a market for PCs to perform tasks that require more processing power, screen real estate, etc. And to that list I should add processor power.
  • Reply 8 of 99
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member

    It's their struggle for relevance in a market that's left them behind years ago. 

     

    MS is just another app and cloud services company, competing with others for the consumer dollar, and milking their IT industry position – an industry which moves at a glacial pace to begin with. 

     

    Even their best hardware effort to date (Surface) is traction-less after several years of market exposure. MS is hyping a product that never really got off the ground, because shoe-horning a full desktop OS into a tablet results in neither a good tablet, nor a good notebook.

  • Reply 9 of 99
    wigbywigby Posts: 692member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dasanman69 View Post





    Why do they have to? Is a product that doesn't take the world by storm automatically a failure?



    I don't know. Ask their shareholders. Ask their developers. Ask their Windows Phone (or whatever it's called this week) users. Ask anyone who's complaining about Windows 10.

     

    The funny thing is Apple did copy some aspects of the Surface but that doesn't mean Apple was wrong. They were more right than MS. Microsoft could've sat out of this race for a few years and wouldn't have suffered terrible Surface sales but they didn't. They never do. They jump on a technology without thinking and suffer for it. That's why they will never take the world by storm for anything which is the definition of failure in the tech world.

  • Reply 10 of 99
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Just before his company's Surface Pro 4 event, the head of Microsoft's Windows division took a shot at Apple, recalling disparaging comments its CEO Tim Cook made about "converged" devices like the Surface tablet a few years ago.

    As usual.. It takes Microsoft years to respond to competition. It took this poor MS executive three years to get Cooks joke.
  • Reply 11 of 99
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    quadra 610 wrote: »
    It's their struggle for relevance in a market that's left them behind years ago. 

    MS is just another app and cloud services company, competing with others for the consumer dollar, and milking their IT industry position – an industry which moves at a glacial pace to begin with. 

    Even their best hardware effort to date (Surface) is traction-less after several years of market exposure. MS is hyping a product that never really got off the ground, because shoe-horning a full desktop OS into a tablet results in neither a good tablet, nor a good notebook.

    People I know who work in a Fortune 500 company and are currently using a Surface are now looking at switching to the iPad Pro.
  • Reply 12 of 99
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member

    Microsoft should spend more time on attention to detail in their products and less on trying to mock Apple

     

    Did they have a smartphone before Apple?  Sure (Windows Mobile).  Was it a great experience?  No.

    Did they have a tablet-computer hybrid before Apple?  Sure.  Was it a great experience?  No (and yes, I've used a Surface Pro).

     

    Obviously I can't comment on the experience of the iPad Pro relative to the Surface Pro having not used it.  But I can clearly see the attention to detail that Apple has taken with it and have high hopes that it'll be much more than just a tablet with a keyboard.

  • Reply 13 of 99
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Let's not be so blind. Perhaps the Surface was not very well implemented, but you have to give them props for the vision. While nothing is original, I applaud MS for sticking their neck on the line and putting a stake in the ground.

    We can mock MS for their success in the mobile space, but at least they've taken risks with a different user interface, which is more than one might say about Google and Android.
  • Reply 14 of 99
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Poor Microsoft.
    When was the last time they released a new revolutionary product that took the world by storm?...

    Errr... never?

    All they ever did was rip off Steve's products and ideas and make them available on clones and thus cheap. It's the business model Google copied once they turned evil.
  • Reply 15 of 99
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post

     
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TechLover View Post



    The pot shots that these guys take at each other is getting a little old.



    It's sort of entertaining, but mostly makes for great troll food.



    Anyone want a hot cup of "Toxic Hellstew"? Check out some of our recent security issues like with Xcode.



    My recommendation is that non of these guys should throw stones when their own products have issues as well.




    Lame attempt to smear Apple with the China-only Xcode hack.

    Well I think you missed my point. I was not trying to smear anyone. Merely pointing out that no one's hands are clean.

     

    But since you mentioned it, even Stagefright which is arguably the worst security flaw in Android is easily avoidable and has been patched on millions of devices. Even phones that are years old. I haven't seen any stories about it being actively used in the wild.

     

    Most Android malware is also based in China, and Russia for what it's worth. And almost always requires the user to download from an untrusted source, just like the Xcode hack.

  • Reply 16 of 99
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    satchmo wrote: »
    Let's not be so blind. Perhaps the Surface was not very well implemented, but you have to give them props for the vision. While nothing is original, I applaud MS for sticking their neck on the line and putting a stake in the ground.

    We can mock MS for their success in the mobile space, but at least they've taken risks with a different user interface, which is more than one might say about Google and Android.

    Why give anyone credit for a half-assed design and implementation?
  • Reply 17 of 99
    leighrleighr Posts: 253member
    The thing was that, at the time, trying to run desktop-designed software on a touch device wasn't practical. The original SurfacePro's demonstrated this very clearly (Microsoft couldn't even GIVE them away). However, mobile processors, screens and batteries have come a long way since 2012, and it is inevitable that we will see convergence from Apple, but it will be a GOOD convergence experience rather than a BAD Microsoft one.
  • Reply 18 of 99
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    No wonder MS has so many problems with engineering if they can't even get a Froaster right. The slots aren't deep enough for the bread and there's no lever to push the toast down. Duh.
  • Reply 19 of 99
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    satchmo wrote: »
    Let's not be so blind. Perhaps the Surface was not very well implemented, but you have to give them props for the vision. While nothing is original, I applaud MS for sticking their neck on the line and putting a stake in the ground.

    wait, what vision? putting full Windows on an iPad-inspired tablet? that's just more Windows-everywhere, not vision.
  • Reply 20 of 99

    The Xbox. That's about it.

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleSauce007 View Post



    Poor Microsoft.

    When was the last time they released a new revolutionary product that took the world by storm?



    Let's see what they have to offer today...

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