Tag: drama

Microsoft Raises Surface PC Prices Due To Increasing RAM Costs

No mystery under the surface here.

No doubt about it, this one will sting for those interested in Microsoft’s Surface line of computers. Microsoft is putting the blame squarely on the AI-fueled increasing costs of RAM according to a report on Windows Central.

B00 Surface Laptop 13 inch 1Ed Rational Violet Front.

According to a statement to Windows Central:

“Due to recent increases in memory and component costs, Surface is updating pricing on Microsoft.com for its current‑generation hardware portfolio,We remain committed to delivering value to customers and partners while upholding our standards for quality and innovation.”

The Surface Pro 11 and the Surface Laptop 7 now cost $500 more than their original price. Other Suface computers in the line up including the 12-inch Surface Pro and the 13-inch Surface laptop have also seen a hike in prices. In fact the entire Surface line has seen increases.

When it comes to competition, this puts some of Microsoft’s Surface line into a higher cost category than the equivalent range of Apple’s Macs.

Note that this comes before the next edition of Surface PCs is unveiled this Spring and Summer, which is often preceded by a drop in prices on last year’s editions.

It’s getting expensive out there and we don’t have to look to far beneath the surface of the news to wonder why.

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

 

Lehamn Trilogy Diaries: Moving to the Stage

Last night was our final rehearsal for The Lehman Trilogy in the rehearsal room. Rehearsal rooms are often not sufficiently matched to the space a show will occupy on stage which means the first few rehearsals on stage turn into what is called “spacing.” Simply put that means you transfer the staging from a smaller space to a larger one and adjust a few things.

Often that requires quite a few adjustments. This show should require less than most as we gain more space, because our scenic anchors for the action, though somewhat different, have set our parameters and those parameters will be largely intact. It’s also an opportunity to actually stage some moments that just couldn’t be achieved in the confines of a rehearsal room with no ceiling height. This show has an overabundnce of those. That will be what today’s work will be about.

Things will feel different. Things will feel out of sorts. Things will get corrected to find their sorts. And some things will actually take on new meaning as the stage provides new opportunities. What I’ve been seeing in the “little theatre in my mind” that we’ve been rehearsing in the smaller rehearsal room, will now get its chance to take real and actual steps instead of imagined ones.

I’ll also get a chance to get some proper perspective on the story as I simulataneously get closer to it by stepping farther back. In the rehearsal room staff is literally on top of the actors. In the theatre we get to finally take the seats the audience will in viewing the story. Being able to see the big picture focuses things tighter as the aperture widens.

Most importantly, the story will get a chance to breathe. As we adjust, the wings will spread a bit.

Looking forward to this day. But I have to say I’ll miss the intimacy of the work this team has accomplished in that smaller space. There was indeed a palpable tinge of sadness as we wrapped last night.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome and check out The Lehman Trilogy Diaries here.