Microsoft risks losing pals

WITH the unveiling of the Surface tablet, Microsoft is heading into unusual territory: competing with its partners.

But Microsoft has little to lose, since the companies which make Windows PC are having little success with their own tablets.

With the unveiling of its tablet this week Microsoft Corp. is taking up the competition with Apple Inc. and its iPad by borrowing a page from Apple's playbook. It is keeping both software and hardware development under the same roof.

"If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the compliments from Microsoft poured down like a torrential storm on Apple last night," said analyst Brian White at Topeka Capital Markets.

Even Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's famously tough-talking CEO sounded downright Zen and Apple-inspired as he introduced the Surface.

"We believe that any intersection between human and machine can be made better when all aspects of the experience - hardware and software - are considered and working together," he said at Monday's launch event in Los Angeles.

That's a new philosophy for Microsoft, a company accustomed to writing the software, charging loads of money for it, and letting others design the hardware. Microsoft has sold hardware before, most notably the Xbox game console, which is essentially a PC. But when it ventured into the game console market, it wasn't directly treading on the toes of the big PC makers who buy Windows from it. (The exception was Sony, which makes both PCs and PlayStation consoles.)

With Surface, Microsoft faces the challenge of selling the soon-to-be-launched Windows 8 to PC makers who want to make tablets, while at the same time selling tablets directly to consumers.

Rick Sherlund, an analyst at Nomura Securities said Microsoft's hardware partners "are no doubt unhappy" about the prospect of competing with Microsoft's tablets, particularly since Microsoft set a high bar with Surface.

Surface will come in two versions, both with screens measuring 10.6 inches diagonally, slightly larger than the iPad. One model will run on phone-style chips, just like the iPad, and will be sold for a similar price. Another, heavier and more expensive model, will run on Intel chips and be capable of running standard Windows applications.

Mr Ballmer suggested that Microsoft is making hardware so it can kick-start Windows tablets and make sure they're competitive right from the get-go. But the company's long-term goals are unclear. Will Microsoft keep making tablets, or will it declare victory at some point and leave the field to its hardware partners?

One sign of limited long-term commitment to making its own tablets is that Microsoft will be selling the tablets only from its own stores and website. That might leave space for other manufacturers to sell Windows tablets through other electronics stores.

Google Inc. is in a similar position. It makes Android, the software that powers most iPad competitors. But it has also acquired Motorola Mobility, a company that makes Android tablets and phones, so now finds itself competing with hardware partners like Samsung and HTC.

But Google has made clear that it will treat Motorola as a separate, "arms-length" business, and that it made the acquisition to get hold of Motorola's patents, which will provide legal cover not just for Google, but for other manufacturers who make Android devices.

Microsoft's position is complicated by the possibility that consumers will favour its tablet over other Windows tablets for exactly the reasons Mr Ballmer articulated: it's made by the same company that wrote the software. That puts an end to the old Windows PC support runaround, where PC makers blame Microsoft for product failures, and Microsoft blames the PC makers. If something's wrong with Surface, buyers will know who to call.

Ronan de Renesse, an analyst at Analysys Mason, said Microsoft can afford to alienate PC makers when it comes to tablets, because they've captured such a small share of the market.

Samsung Electronics and AsusTek Computer Inc. are the only PC makers who have appreciable market share in tablets, and they only make up 10 per cent or so, by his estimate. Other major competitors to the iPad are Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle and Barnes & Noble Inc.'s Nook.

"Microsoft's move in creating its own tablet is the sign that PC manufacturers have lost the game," Mr Renesse said. "The big question is, if Surface becomes as successful as the iPad, will Microsoft choose to stop licensing Windows on tablets?"

Microsoft's partners are mum. Hewlett-Packard Co. and Acer, both of which make PCs and tablets, had no comment on Microsoft's announcement. Samsung did not respond to requests for comment.

Heat Wave Marks First Day of Summer

Hot enough for you? With a fearsome heat wave moving from the Midwest to the Eastern Seaboard, we hardly need a reminder that summer is upon us.

But we have one anyhow. The summer solstice -- the astronomical beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere -- takes place at 7:09 p.m. ET on June 20. That makes this the longest day of the year north of the equator. From now until December, the days gradually get shorter, though not immediately cooler.

We are already told the U.S. has had the warmest spring since record-keeping began in the 19th century. Today there are heat warnings for 13 states, with highs in the upper 90s in New York, Boston and Washington, D.C., and heat indexes higher than 100 for cities that include Philadelphia and Raleigh.

"You're talking about almost 15 degrees above normal," said Kristin Kline, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Mount Holly, N.J.

It is mere coincidence that this is happening on the day of the solstice. Generally, the sun's heat, trapped by the atmosphere, has a lagging effect, which is why August in the U.S. is usually hotter than April, even though the days are the same length.

A quick reminder of what's happening: Earth, turning on its axis as it circles the sun, is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees relative to its orbit. Whatever the season, the axis points the same way, with Polaris, the North Star, hovering over the North Pole.

This is the day that the axis, as seen from the north, points as much toward the sun as it will all year, and appears at its highest in northern skies. So Chicago and New York, for instance, get more than 15 hours of sunlight today, compared with 9.1 hours on the winter solstice Dec. 21. And everything north of the Arctic Circle will get 24 hours of daylight today -- compared with round-the-clock darkness six months from now.

Public health officials tried to remind people, as always on such days, to stay in air-conditioned buildings if possible, drink plenty of water and avoid exertion, as ozone builds up in the air. New York City's schools remained open for 1.1 million students, though only 64 percent of their classrooms are reported to have air conditioning.

Utilities and transit systems are also under stress. With demand peaking, equipment is more likely to break down in the heat.

"While extreme temperatures can affect our equipment and infrastructure, we will do everything possible to avoid service disruptions," said Joseph Lhota, CEO of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Forecasters say the current heat wave will break by the weekend. There's a cold front moving eastward, currently stretching from Michigan to the central plains. Beyond that, you can at least take comfort that with summer here, fall can't be far behind.