Vid The big launch of Microsoft’s Surface slab got off to an inauspicious start in Beijing after an elderly couple invaded the stage in an attempt to halt proceedings.

Redmond launched the Windows RT tablet-cum-laptop device at a series of events starting at midnight across the country in partnership with retail giant Suning.

However, the Thursday night outdoor launch in the capital attracted two rather irascible Chinese attendees among the hundreds of Microsoft fans keen to be the first in the world to get their hands on the tablet.

The inevitable YouTube clip - see below - shows an old dear mount the stage in an attempt to kill the noise because it was apparently stopping her grandchildren from getting to sleep before school the next day.

Her brave attempt ends in failure, though, as she’s unceremoniously bundled off the stage by two guards, followed by her husband, while the glamorous sparkly dancers try to complete their routine.

Not quite the impression Microsoft wanted to make in China.

Things went from bad to worse for the software giant in Asia after reports emerged that a high-profile live public demonstration of Windows 8 in downtown Taipei fell flat when the OS cocked up on some devices. Microsoft staff apparently had trouble closing apps on several all-in-one PCs and instead were forced to demo the new OS on tablets.

Unsurprisingly, Redmond blamed the hardware.

“It was pretty rushed to the launch date, and the user experience will improve,” marketing manager Yi-Fang Chu told the Wall Street Journal.

“It is a hardware issue, rather than a software one. It’s partly because of the large screen size of the all-in-ones.” ®