All eyes back on Apple after Microsoft’s CES yawnfest

EA Store: Award-winning Games“Microsoft’s big CES keynote, which was hotly tipped as a reveal for the impressive Courier slate PC, was actually just a luke-warm Windows 7 promo,” Kit Eaton reports for Fast Company. “And that has one big result: The tech world is now waiting on Apple.”

MacDailyNews Take: Courier is so far a demo of vaporware. Such demos are meant to be “impressive.” From the little we can see so far, the product itself is not.

Eaton reports, “Which means the pressure’s really on Apple to deliver in two weeks time. We can expect to hear dribs and drabs more about the machine in that time, since an ex-Apple employee has just spilled the beans on the very same deliberately leaky PR shenanigans that I suggested the company gets up to. And from the leaks and speculation so far, it seems Apple might well come up with the goods.”

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jai G.” for the heads up.]

36 Comments

  1. After some technical difficulties resulted in delays kicking things off, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer……

    Subject normal! Hahahahahaha. With all their money and experts, you’d think they could get together a smooth running presentation. Next time Mr. Ballmer, use ‘Keynote”.

    I’ll wait for the Apple thingy.

  2. How much can you lie about stuff… I watched about 5 minutes of Balmer and man… what a narrow minded flop. I don’t get it. Maybe I’m not meant to. I would love to see a mac vs. PC debate some day. Jobs and Co. vs. Microsoft ( Balmer) and actually have to own the things they both say. Apple may stretch the truth a little on occasion about what it does and what it can do, but holy shit… Balmer is in a dream world. It just goes to show that people don’t know any better and they will buy Windows because of that fact.

  3. “actually just a luke-warm Windows 7 promo”

    I’m shocked.

    There was I expecting Microsoft and their partners to be at their paradigm-shifting best and all they managed to do was show off the service pack that was designed to make people forget the festering pile of crap that was Vista.

    Hopefully, in the next 19 days or so, someone will come up with something genuinely innovative so that technology writers have a reason to get up in the morning.

  4. I was expecting the Courier. Instead we saw just another tablet.
    The only WOW moment was when they presented Project Natal.
    It kills Apple TV. That thing could really help M$ own the living room.
    This is I think where M$ has a chance. Definitely not with a tablet.

  5. @Mac+
    Natal will never be what you seen in that canned video. You`d have a better chance at buying a Star Destroyer at a used car lot then getting what they showed off in that “demo” by year`s end.

  6. When January comes and goes and Apple announces nothing. The analysts and reporters have only themselves to blame.

    Apple has never said anything about a tablet.

    Then this will affect the stock price and the STUPID analysts will all hammer Apple for not bringing out a product that they never, ever announced.

  7. The real shock is just how many people are still holding their breath for more from a company that has butt raped them for decades out of billions of hours that could have been spent on something other that try to make the steaming pile of crap called Windblows!

  8. I think Microshaft really was suppose to demo the courier slate tablet computer, but with Apple getting ready to announce and show its tablet, MicroShaft got cold feet, and not wanting to let out it’s product that would be woefully short of the Apple product and capabilities, it decided to wait and play the me too game about 6 -8 weeks after Apple’s announcement.

    No balls balmer.

  9. @chew

    Any fanboy is probably whishing you’re right on this one.
    But from all the videos I’ve seen, MS is past the demo stage.
    This is not like the Courier… People are using Natal the video.
    Apple should really move their a__ with their Apple TV…

    @Macguy & Think

    Apple will announce the tablet. It is no longer a rumor.
    When WSJ write an article about something, this is no rumor.
    A guy like Mossberg would never write an article on a rumor.
    A guy like Jim Goldman of CNBC would never comment on a rumor.

  10. @Mac+
    Call me a skeptic, regardless if it comes from Apple, Microsoft, Dell or whomever. You`re going to need an AWFUL lot of processing power to recognize multiple faces, bodies, and I wonder what would happen when you throw in variables such as light levels, clothing, etc, into the mix? WAY to many variables to have this technology work reliably the way it was presented in that video. As I mentioned Natal or elements of it will surface by year`s end, don`t expect to see anything like what the canned demo showed off. But you can hold your breath and wait…. and wait.

    Not a fanboy… just a realist.

  11. @chew,

    Your processing power argument makes sense.
    But even if they deliver 10% of the demo, it’s something.
    For instance, just playing basic games without the remote.
    That only would kill the Wii hands down. No need any facial recognition for that.
    Now what’s funny is that MS always produce demo and under deliver afterwards.
    Apple onthe othe hand, never shows anything in advance and delivers innovative stuffs.

  12. I remember when I was a boy there was an exhibition where a supposed semi autonomous robot would, as it appeared on my steam tv of the time, answer questions put to it and apparently show a vision of the near future. When I saw it at the exhibition it was not semi autonomous and was just a pathetic piece of junk that had some guy listening and replying through it to the gullible, when it worked at all.

    Never have I been so disappointed with supposed ‘visions’ on technological break throughs that were purely overblown adverts to get you to buy into the ‘show’ and never again will I be fooled by that sort of self serving imagery that common sense should tell you isn’t remotely as impressive as one would like to imagine once one gets a chance to use it first hand. The fact that Microsoft have done little else but promise what they fail to achieve over the years hardly inspires me to think my cynicism will be proved wrong this time. Big ass table anyone.

  13. “Which means the pressure’s really on Apple to deliver in two weeks time.”

    No, it’s not. There is no pressure on Apple to deliver *anything* that they’re not ready, willing, and able to ‘deliver’. Kit Eaton’s expectations don’t mean sh!t to Apple. If, and when, Apple has something to reveal, then they will reveal it in their own farqin’ sweet time.

    Kit, go back to bed. You’ll be awakened when there’s something interesting to report.

  14. What amazed me was they were harping on how with Cable Card you could do this and with Cable Card you could do that. I am sure I read last week that the FCC has deemed Cable Card a failure and are looking for it’s replacement.

  15. I essentially agree with Think – there is not going to be any major product announcement from Apple at the end of this month. Perhaps something will emerge by summer, but I do not see that either. iCal this.

  16. @Amazin1 @THink

    Why would Apple schedule a “Special Press Event” to announce “nothing”? What specifically are you guys thinking Apple will show at this event, if not something significant?

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