I'm impressed with CNET for once

[Jas00555]

*gasp* what did he say? Did I read that wrong? No, you didn't read that wrong. I know that CNET is known around here for generally being biased toward anything that's not Apple, but recently some faith in them has been restored.

Let me explain

So I followed them on their live-blog of the Surface event because, honestly, they're the only ones who I knew were doing one and I didn't really bother to find another one because I don't really care who I get the information from. HOWEVER, since this was a Microsoft event, I expected a decent amount of backlash, which I was okay with, as long as they didn't get in the way of facts i.e. lying about the facts. I must say, by the end of the event, I was impressed not only with the Surface lineup, but the way their journalists live-blogged. Looking throughout teh entire blog, the only two Microsoft-related negatives were the poor internet connectivity (fair) and the music selection i.e. they remixed a Linkin Park song (it was a newer one, so that's fair too ). In fact, there were more negatives coming from them about Apple than there were about Microsoft. For example, they complained how there was no "Facetime video message" like Skype had. All of their bloggers (who usually are Apple fanatics) were surprisingly nice about The Surface. When I posted this in the forums, a user (don't remember the name) said "wait a day, they'll post something bad".

72 hours later, and still nothing negative about the Surface, only positive reviews, minus one eh article where it compared them to other high end W8 ultrabooks BUT in the article, they pointed out how the Macbook Air is not up to par with the Pro 2 and how Apple charges a premium. Faith in CNET = slightly restore.

Now all they have to do is get rid of Molly Wood....

 

[daniel_sherlock]

Oh please don't mention Molly Wood

 

[unstoppablekem]

They put the MacBook air in the article picture for the Surface Pro 2 vs competition picture, and not the surface itself...

 

[Jas00555]

They put the MacBook air in the article picture for the Surface Pro 2 vs competition picture, and not the surface itself...

so? I think people base their opinions on the article itself, not the cover picture of the article lol

 

[Jas00555]

Oh please don't mention Molly Wood

I think we should start referring to her as "she who must not be named"

 

[Daylife]

*gasp* what did he say? Did I read that wrong? No, you didn't read that wrong. I know that CNET is known around here for generally being biased toward anything that's not Apple, but recently some faith in them has been restored.

Let me explain

So I followed them on their live-blog of the Surface event because, honestly, they're the only ones who I knew were doing one and I didn't really bother to find another one because I don't really care who I get the information from. HOWEVER, since this was a Microsoft event, I expected a decent amount of backlash, which I was okay with, as long as they didn't get in the way of facts i.e. lying about the facts. I must say, by the end of the event, I was impressed not only with the Surface lineup, but the way their journalists live-blogged. Looking throughout teh entire blog, the only two Microsoft-related negatives were the poor internet connectivity (fair) and the music selection i.e. they remixed a Linkin Park song (it was a newer one, so that's fair too ). In fact, there were more negatives coming from them about Apple than there were about Microsoft. For example, they complained how there was no "Facetime video message" like Skype had. All of their bloggers (who usually are Apple fanatics) were surprisingly nice about The Surface. When I posted this in the forums, a user (don't remember the name) said "wait a day, they'll post something bad".

72 hours later, and still nothing negative about the Surface, only positive reviews, minus one eh article where it compared them to other high end W8 ultrabooks BUT in the article, they pointed out how the Macbook Air is not up to par with the Pro 2 and how Apple charges a premium. Faith in CNET = slightly restore.

Now all they have to do is get rid of Molly Wood....

This made me LOL. CNET is the most biased website on this planet.

 

[Jas00555]

This made me LOL. CNET is the most biased website on this planet.

Exactly! That's why I was impressed with their lack of Surface hate

 

[cooldudefred]

I was following the blog too (for the same reason as you) and I have to say that I too was impressed. They were even mocking Apple about features such as multiple user accounts.

 

[Awhispersecho]

Actually, we need to KEEP mentioning her and we need to keep following her. We need to point out every false, misleading or even slightly biased thing she and anyone else on that site does or says. We need to point them out, call them out and continue to get the word out until the backlash is sufficient enough to have an impact on their following and/or reputation. This is the only way you make a change and stop people and business's from getting away with this crap. On a side note, I stopped visiting them regularly about 3 years ago, wasn't even due to their biased ways, was simply because they sucked. But I will occasionally browse through real quick to look for something interesting.

 

[crash1989]

You guys should watch this week's vergecast ... They were all happy when they were talking about Kindles and stuff and in just 5 seconds they started spewing hate on Surface devices.

I mean I think in US people are accustomed to spend 1100$ on a laptop, 500$ on a tablet, 200$ on a phone and a lot more on connectivity. Microsoft is basically jumping in and saying we can give you a laptop + tablet at 899$ , a phone at 200$ and the same amount on connectivity (the prices might be a bit different). I believe the surface pro 2 is a very compelling device and I think they have the surface 2 for those who already have a pc but want to have a tablet experience which their pc cannot provide.I think Surface 2 should have been even cheaper but I seriously doubt the message the highly intelligent people at these tech sites are getting.

 

[SwimSwim]

I agree, much less hatred towards it than I expect. But brace yourselves, for October brings new iPads, and with it, CNET coverage.

 

[unstoppablekem]

You guys should watch this week's vergecast ... They were all happy when they were talking about Kindles and stuff and in just 5 seconds they started spewing hate on Surface devices.

I mean I think in US people are accustomed to spend 1100$ on a laptop, 500$ on a tablet, 200$ on a phone and a lot more on connectivity. Microsoft is basically jumping in and saying we can give you a laptop + tablet at 899$ , a phone at 200$ and the same amount on connectivity (the prices might be a bit different). I believe the surface pro 2 is a very compelling device and I think they have the surface 2 for those who already have a pc but want to have a tablet experience which their pc cannot provide.I think Surface 2 should have been even cheaper but I seriously doubt the message the highly intelligent people at these tech sites are getting.

Surface 2 is $50 cheaper than the iPad, has more storage, has USB and microSD, free 200GB SkyDrive storage, and more. And you want even cheaper? The Surface Mini will be the cheap one.

 

[crash1989]

Surface 2 is $50 cheaper than the iPad, has more storage, has USB and microSD, free 200GB SkyDrive storage, and more. And you want even cheaper? The Surface Mini will be the cheap one.

They seem to want to use it as a laptop but it can be so much more. I think I am missing something somewhere and it is clouding my judgement on the device ,which so many tech bloggers dislike it, where as I think it is more functional than an iPad. iPad could be functional with a lot of accessories which I am not ready to pay for. I think apps are a problem I see, this needs more apps.

 

[snowmutt]

Actually, we need to KEEP mentioning her and we need to keep following her. We need to point out every false, misleading or even slightly biased thing she and anyone else on that site does or says. We need to point them out, call them out and continue to get the word out until the backlash is sufficient enough to have an impact on their following and/or reputation. This is the only way you make a change and stop people and business's from getting away with this crap. On a side note, I stopped visiting them regularly about 3 years ago, wasn't even due to their biased ways, was simply because they sucked. But I will occasionally browse through real quick to look for something interesting.

What I have found is that tech sites tend to lean to their audience. As soon as the tech buyers who go to these sites are discovering the new Microsoft and it's products, the sooner these tech sites will change things to respond to their audience.

Where we as WP OS users make a difference is letting the "non-tech" users play with and be introduced to our OS of choice. These are the co-workers, family members, and those in our social groups that only think about what they use every two years or when they need a new laptop and just buy what they know. These people never go to tech sites.

 

[Jas00555]

Surface 2 is $50 cheaper than the iPad, has more storage, has USB and microSD, free 200GB SkyDrive storage, and more. And you want even cheaper? The Surface Mini will be the cheap one.

Its not just ipads though, its also android tablets, which are starting to gain a lot of ground in the tablet market due to their low price.

On the storage side, what do you mean "has more storage"? I would assume you meant SkyDrive, but that was a separate point. The Surface 2 loses half its memory to the OS so in a way, the iPad has more storage.

 

[montsa007]

I think we should start referring to her as "she who must not be named"

Are you talking about Molly Wood?

 

[tgp]

*gasp* what did he say? Did I read that wrong? No, you didn't read that wrong. I know that CNET is known around here for generally being biased toward anything that's not Apple, but recently some faith in them has been restored.

Exactly! That's why I was impressed with their lack of Surface hate

I was following the blog too (for the same reason as you) and I have to say that I too was impressed. They were even mocking Apple about features such as multiple user accounts.

I agree, much less hatred towards it than I expect. But brace yourselves, for October brings new iPads, and with it, CNET coverage.

And an iFan somewhere is saying, "What a biased piece of crap article!" It all depends on which side of the fence you're on.

 

[stmav]

But the ifans are saying it at imore. Which is their side of the fence.

 

[Daylife]

Its not just ipads though, its also android tablets, which are starting to gain a lot of ground in the tablet market due to their low price.

On the storage side, what do you mean "has more storage"? I would assume you meant SkyDrive, but that was a separate point. The Surface 2 loses half its memory to the OS so in a way, the iPad has more storage.

Yeah but RT is a full OS not a Phone OS lol....And it comes with FULL Office, and a recovery partition.

 

[Jas00555]

Yeah but RT is a full OS not a Phone OS lol....And it comes with FULL Office, and a recovery partition.

I don't see a recovery partition as a selling point. Its nice, but I just don't think people would think about it. Plus, its the same as how new iPads come with iWorks, so it meets it head on in that way, but with less apps.