Microsoft's hardware partners continue to take potshots at the company's Surface tablet. Last week, Acer warned Microsoft that delving into hardware is like "hard rice and "is not so easy to eat" (no joke, though something may have been lost in translation), and now HP is piling on the criticism, calling Surface a "slow" and "kludgey" solution. HP credited the press for hyping up a tablet that otherwise isn't very competitive.

Acer has never been particularly keen on the idea of competing with Microsoft in the hardware space, and apparently the Taiwanese manufacturer is still holding a grudge. In a recent interview with Tancent Technology, Linxian Lang, president of Acer's Greater China division, warned Microsoft that the hardware business is like "hard rice" and "is not so easy to eat." Say what?

Bill Gates doesn't often talk about Microsoft products ever since riding off in the sunset as a retired billionaire. Sure, he remains a fixture of the company he co-founded, both as the Microsoft's iconic face and serving as a chairman, but these days he's much more interested in his philanthropy efforts via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Perhaps recognizing all that's at stake with Windows 8, Gates recently sat down for an interview where he talked about the touch friendly OS, Surface, and other Windows-related topics.