I was like 'Wow' until I saw the price. You can't target college students with Windows S which only runs apps from the Windows store.
Edit : missed the part which says, you can upgrade to 10.
Introducing Surface Laptop
81–90 of 613 posts
Re: Introducing Surface Laptop
#82I haven't seen any info whether the display is detachable or not and if it's compatible with the pen. If not that's a huge missed opportunity, especially if they're targeting the education sector. As other comments already pointed out, other companies are already doing small Windows laptops better and cheaper.
Re: Introducing Surface Laptop
#83I wonder if tying this to the windows store is a good move. The reception thus far hasn't been extremely encouraging.
Maybe not a fun decision but I think it is needed. Consider this not very uncommon scenario: 1. You just bought a laptop, time to install some software 2. Open Edge, search for "spotify", "vlc" maybe even "office". 3. Congratulation, you now have a bing search full of adware and possibly malware. For average Joe it is impossible to not get infected at this stage.
For quite a white the Store was similar, with fake paid apps. Search for Netflix and get many $10 apps that did nothing or wrapped a handful of video files. Netflix had to contact MS several times to get them to permanently remove it. Disney, HBO, and others all had the same issue.
Even right now, a search for Game of Thrones has the first result of a $2.99 app that promises the first season. Published by "ViWi Corp" that has broken HTTP links _in the store_ (that is the privacy policy etc don't link). Same publisher has tons of other crap apps.
The Windows Store is a joke.
Re: Introducing Surface Laptop
#84The display has a 3:2 aspect ratio, I hope that means that we slowly move away from 16:9 screens on laptops.
Re: Introducing Surface Laptop
#85Is this really a Chromebook competitor with a price starting at $999?
Windows 10S is their ChromeOS competitor, and Surface Laptop is the high-end, professional flagship product for that OS, similar to what Google's Chromebook Pixel was when the Pixel launched (though the Pixel wasn't the first Chromebook announced, obviously.)
Re: Introducing Surface Laptop
#86Windows S is completely backwards. If the Windows Store was actually any good, they should make a version without store apps (win32 only) and let customers pay a premium to use signed, vetted, store apps. (Only half kidding...) But this way around, store apps will always be viewed as the cheaper, less featured option.
No one uses the Apple app stop on MacOS because apparently it's terrible. I don't see going to a closed/walled garden system as being any type of meaningful advantage. You're trading off some security/sandboxing for reduced flexibility.
If Microsoft wanted something competitive, they'd allow people to add other repositories to their stores, so manufactures could publish their own certs and people could chose to trust them .. remove MS from the middle man, but allow their update system to be more universal.
Re: Introducing Surface Laptop
#87From the FAQ (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4020089/windows-10-...) :
> Are there any defaults that I cannot change on my Windows 10 S PC?
> Yes, Microsoft Edge is the default web browser on Microsoft 10 S. You are able to download another browser that might be available from the Windows Store, but Microsoft Edge will remain the default if, for example, you open an .htm file. Additionally, the default search provider in Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer cannot be changed
Doesn't it make it illegal in the EU?
Re: Introducing Surface Laptop
#88We should all be taking offense by this. This is the drug dealer play book, Hook the kids early, so that when they are adults they go with what they know, instead of being critical thinkers and evaluating the available products to pick the best technical solution for the needs at hand. this is why small to mid-sized companies are struggling with MS server products, and are locked into this merry-go-round licensing fe…
"Hook the kids early, so that when they are adults they go with what they know"
What exactly do you think Apple (iPads) and Google (Chromebooks) are doing by encouraging the use of their devices in the classroom?
"We should be teaching kids at a young age about all platforms,"
Most schools don't have the budget to purchase a sampling of all the major products/platforms. You also can't train a staff on all platforms. Lastly, that's not the point of bringing these devices into the classroom - it's not "pick a future computing platform 101" These are tools and teachers want to give them to, and teach their students how to use them to accomplish their goals.
Re: Introducing Surface Laptop
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Given the target market (schools) I think not being able to install downloaded software is only a good thing. Except that giving kids unfettered access to their computers allows them to flourish. See: BBC Micro, Raspberry Pi, Apple ][, the list goes on.
A minute fraction of kids will use the ability to install downloaded software to flourish. The vast majority of children will just download games, malware, and porn. Society should be more honest with itself about the simple reality that the vast majority of children are not and will not ever be special.
> The vast majority of children will just download games, malware, and porn.
They'll just use the browser for porn, no need to install third-party software.
Re: Introducing Surface Laptop
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
Given the target market (schools) I think not being able to install downloaded software is only a good thing. Also, did you see the performance demo? 10s was significantly faster than 10 Pro. Not sure about the $999 for the cheapest model however. Does it include an Office 365 subscription?
> Given the target market (schools) I think not being able to install downloaded software is only a good thing. Except that giving kids unfettered access to their computers allows them to flourish. See: BBC Micro, Raspberry Pi, Apple ][, the list goes on.
some kids, and certainly not the majority.