I love my SP2, but i only use it for note taking in onenote for all my study related stuff and its amazing for that. Syncs to my Windows Desktop and Macbook in a few seconds. The whole note taking experience still has some small issues, but in general it's been a huge boon to my productivity.
New Surface Pro
191–200 of 606 posts
Re: New Surface Pro
#192Earlier quoted context omitted.
Will RAM capacity remain a true valid complaint until the end of time? How much power on one device do we really need in the age of cloud computing and multi-device ownership?
Developers use more memory because it's available. Most developers seem to assume their program is the only program running on the system. This is why my girlfriend can't have multiple browsers open. For a "demanding" workoad (IE; IntelliJ IDE, browser, mail client) windows can easily consume 15/16G already. Personally I use a stripped down linux machine but I'm regularly over 8G, where's the future-proof option?
The way we use our machine matters along with the continual upkeep and fine tuning of our tools. It is our responsibility to not put the foot down on the gas completely all the time. The real world constraints on this machine do not seem unreasonable for me and my type of work (software, web) at this time.
Fortunately, in my arena of software we distribute work off of the computer and our programs are more piecemeal. Very few software engineers need a large amount of resources locally.
Re: New Surface Pro
#193The biggest note to me seems to be the addition of tilt sensitivity, which will also be available via Windows Update for other surface devices (the footnote is vague on which ones).
Re: New Surface Pro
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
"pro", not "specialist" or "expert" device. It's still a consumer class device, just sits on the higher end of the chain.
Where is the "expert" class device for developers and SREs?
Probably not by companies by MS or Apple. They are focused on the wider, general market.
Re: New Surface Pro
#195Earlier quoted context omitted.
It vastly depends on your work flow. If you are like me and just using editor, browser, small LEMP stack, git, gulp, ssh and some other small tools then you are fine and 16GB is plenty but when you start doing virtualisation, docker instances, data crunching, in memory dbs etc. then suddenly 16GB doesn't look like much.
If I were doing all of the latter, I think I would just ssh into a real server. But, I get it is to each his own.
Yeah and slow down every time connection is a bit slower or you want to search something across whole project. Very often I am doing search trough all files directly in Sublime and I can do that because I am restricted only by throughput of my SSD and CPU.
Re: New Surface Pro
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's so taboo about creating things under the constraints of machines that everyday people own? The best engineers are always the most resourceful and focused.
Maybe their stuff is extremely complex and is already optimized? Before you make such a suggestion you should be very sure that you understand the situation.
Responding to a question with a question only makes more questions
Re: New Surface Pro
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
But, depending on your workload, fast enough may well be... laptop i5/i7 are pretty fast, again depending on workload... if I'm trying to simulate a tech stack, with modest data loaded, I'm the only user, so it's plenty fast, but memory can become constrained pretty quickly... Windows overhead, Visual Studio, Linux VMs, multiple docker containers, local dynamodb, sql database, queues, etc. If you're developing locall…
But that is probably not the usecase most people who will buy a Surface Pro for. It's a very portable device and 32GB would consume more power and probably be only bought by a very small amount of users.
Not sure... "PRO" should probably be a label for "PRO" versions of something, and 16GB should probably be a minimum in that case. Lots of people doing heavy image work or video may be better served by more than that as well. Which is well within that segment.
Re: New Surface Pro
#198> The most versatile laptop. ...that doesn't ship with a keyboard (pen isn't included either). No USB-C. 16GB RAM maximum.
Plus that kickstand always looked so inconvenient to me. On normal laptop I can adjust screen angle however I want. The kickstand also require a bigger surface to put it down properly. On normal laptop I am fine as long as the bottom half can fit on the table (or any flat surface), here there is need for much more space, seems very inconvenient especially when working in tight spaces like server room, car, or small c…
Honestly this is the number one reason i quit using my SP. I know a lot of people here love them, but it was just too obnoxious to use on my legs, soft surfaces, and lots of other places.
I will agree it was awesome on plane tray tables, but that was about the only "oh cool! obvious advantage!" location.
i found myself wanting a normal laptop that could hold itself up repeatedly, and kept switching back to my macbook pro
Re: New Surface Pro
#199I've been using a Surface Pro 3 as my one-and-only for almost 3 years, and it really feels like time to upgrade, so I've been looking forward to this one.
My workload is probably something like 40% reading, 30% writing, 25% coding, and 5% running code, and the Surface has been a nearly ideal form factor for this.
The new "Surface Pro" ticks a lot of boxes for me:
- Supports my existing keyboard, pen, dock, and power adapter
- Improves battery life substantially
- Offers improved keyboard and pen for when I get around to it
- Fanless options
- Improved performance (not that I need much more)
Unfortunately, the configurations are weird. My ideal machine is an i5/256GB/16GB. The closest I can get is i7/512GB/16GB, which nearly doubles the cost, and requires a fan. I just don't get how they can make the floor for 16GB RAM $2200. Is there any professional workload where 8GB isn't constricting today, let alone in another 3 years? My only thought here is that maybe the RAM increases the thermal envelope enough to require the fan, but that seems unlikely, and I would still happily make that sacrifice if I didn't have to also pay for the processor and disk upgrades.
I'm going to harangue them on Twitter, and also look into clearance SP4s with 16GB.
Re: New Surface Pro
#200One import thing with all Surface laptops that most people don't know: > Support is limited to the country you purchased the device in. Eg: - If you buy an Apple laptop, and need a repair, they'll fix it if it's in warranty, regardless of where you are. - If you buy a Microsoft laptop, and need a warranty repair done in a different country, Microsoft won't help you. I purchased a Surface Book (which I love) in a Micr…
Another obnoxious one: Employee purchased devices will be denied warranty if you aren't that employee. I'm assuming this is to prevent people from "trading" devices or something. I got one from a friend who worked there, and they refused to even provide with an OS image much less do any repairs. The serial number was just blocked.
This is categorically not true of apple or several other brands i've gotten gear this way from.