[dhemmerling]

Surface is getting all the heat in the article, but in the linked interview [1] he blames pretty much every part of the infrastructure other than the interface:

> The other communication systems involve the press box to the coaches on the field, and then the coach on the field, the signal caller, or the coach-to-quarterback, coach-to-signal caller system. Those fail on a regular basis.

> And again, there's a lot of equipment involved, too. There are headsets in the helmets, there's the belt pack, that communication, there's a hookup or connection to internet service or that process and so forth with the coaches and the press box. So, there are a number of pieces of equipment, there is a number of connections that are on different frequencies.

> And then during the game sometimes something happens and it has to be fixed, and first of all, you have to figure out what the problem is. Is it a battery? Is it the helmet? Is it the coaches' pack? Is it the battery on the coaches' pack? I mean you know, again, it could be one of 15 different things.

[1] http://www.patriots.com/news/2016/10/18/bill-belichick-confe...

[malenm]

The NY Times didn't include this gif I saw on Deadspin[1]:

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--unnNrpz...

I think it paints a clearer picture as to why the Surface was singled out among the equipment.

[1] http://deadspin.com/bill-belichick-is-sick-of-those-stupid-m...

[zck]

If Belichick threw his paper notebook^1, would you assume it's because of the notebook? Or because his team just threw an interception, missed a field goal, or lost the game? I don't think we have any context as to what happened in that gif.

[1] For example: http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Fuck....

[trynewideas]

He threw the tablet because it wasn't working for him, per Belichick:

> As you probably noticed, I’m done with the tablets. I’ve given them as much time as I can give them. They’re just too undependable for me. I’m going to stick with pictures as several of our other coaches do as well because there just isn’t enough consistency in the performance of the tablets, so I just can’t take it anymore.

[zck]

I see no called-out connection between anything in the article and the gif at the top of it. It's a good gif to go along with the article, but I don't think we can say "he threw the tablet in this image because he was angry with it".

Edit: this comment is at -2 at the moment. If I'm wrong, please make the connection. I earlier pointed out that coaches are often emotional^1, and we have no idea if him throwing the tablet is related to him being angry at it, or even if it's a recent image.

[1] http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Fuck....

[whistlecrackers]

> Or because his team just threw an interception

Brady's suspension is over.

[dhemmerling]

Consider a video of an office worker smashing their keyboard in frustration and an interview about the server being constantly down. If the article and comments section focused on the clear inferiority of Logitech peripherals you would probably wonder if brand prejudice was playing a role.

[josefresco]

THIS. Read the transcript, he rants almost exclusively about the entire "system" and it's many parts that all seem to fail at some point. The "tablet" issue is a minor sub point but you know ... clicks = money so the headline "Bill Belichick Hates Microsoft Surface" is what every "journalist" went with.

[wyldfire]

True, but the Belichick quote near the front of the article is

> “As you have probably noticed, I’m done with the tablets,” he said.

...so I would just attribute this to people naturally referring to the frontend of the system they're using as the system itself. When he said "I'm done with the tablets" perhaps he means "I'm done with the system that I am using from my tablet".

It seems almost as if NFL confesses that it's not [necessarily] MS here, "... multiple factors that can cause issues within our sideline communications system either related to or outside of Microsoft’s technology."

[jay_kyburz]

I gave my iPad to my kids and "upgraded" to a Surface Pro 3 a while ago and I regret it every morning when I sit down with my breakfast to read hacker news.

It's not a good tablet, and it's not a good laptop. It attempts to sit in the middle which is not what I want.

I was expecting the tablet interface to be a lot more finished, but there are a lot of rough edges and missing features.

I'll be going back to iPad on the next cycle.

As a long time OSX user as well, I was surprised to see how unpolished Windows 10 Desktop is as well.

[kitwalker12]

yes. I'd have liked to see what exactly failed that got him so riled up