How-To Geek

No pictures yet?? Sounds kinda cool!

Although the the Device is small, I'm not sure why MS didn't put some Mini-USB ports plus a Lan connection on it.

An alternative would have been some sort of Thunderbolt connection which can daisy chain up to 7 devices.

Leave it to MS to take something as simple as the Miniature PC Pro and make it HORRIFICALLY Difficult to connect to.

Rick P.

@GS,
Thanks for link! Those look cool. I might get it for my Windows 7 PC.

The MS Tablets have Mini Ports.

May well be just the one, am not entirely sure, but know that they have some of the Peripheral options some better than others depending on the version.

@Rick, Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet, but heavy n'est pas?

@Ed,

Yeah, that's why I want MS to market a real Mini-PC which anyone can use on a coffee table. (LOL) :) :)

BTW: The picture above is just an Example from the Net.

I use ALL SSDs but the other components still make for Huge PCs.

Rick P.

I think you all missed the purpose of the 'new' h/w.

Keyboard, anyone who's used a tablet knows that you can't do real productive work with an on-screen keyboard... Logitech and others have made a niche business out of bluetooth wireless keyboard for some tablets. You can do 'real work' with those. However I question the reality of that combo, the tablet and a keyboard vs. a net or ultra book. Battery life and applications would be determining factors, and I think this is what MS is betting on. Ability to do 'work' with the same apps that you use at home or on the job. MS is hoping with the keyboard they can cash in on that.

Mice, well, if anyone has played with a tablet and W8, you know the difference. The latest drop of W8 was better with respect to usage on a PC with no touch screen, but still not the easiest to navigate around. The new 'mice' (and there is another competing mouse in the works) have that 'touch' part in them. How well it works, need to see reviews. I see Best Buy and others are now selling all-in-ones with a TOUCH display clearly advertised on some systems. No desktop bundles with a touch screen now though. I'm pretty sure that if one gets W8, you'd be tempted to get a touch mouse too. Seems odd that the h/w actually costs more than the short term proposed W8 price. I guess if sales are slow MS can bundle the two? Of course there are mice and mice, performance and comfort wise. All the ones shown are battery powered. I've had good and bad experiences with battery powered mice. A HP mouse that needed a battery every 2 weeks. Replaced that with a wired one in no time flat. A Logitech trackball my wife uses, 4 to 6 months on a single AAA battery, not bad, and my Logitech MX Revolution mouse, rechargeable, but once that dies I'd suspect I'll need to junk an expensive mouse. Hope the mice have good battery life.

I also suspect they are either trying to trump other vendors on these peripherals or couldn't interest any in doing it?

Irv S.

I see..