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New Surface Pro

microsoft.com

211–220 of 606 posts

Re: New Surface Pro

#211
post #153
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows has a linux subsystem now, so it depends on how you define "support"

What can one do with that "subsystem"? I want to use all the software that is in the Debian repos. I don't want Microsoft to spy on me. And I don't want to be exposed to their security issues.

> I want to use all the software that is in the Debian repos.

They have this, more or less (well, Ubuntu rather than Debian). You get real apt-get and you can install things, most of them work.

> I don't want Microsoft to spy on me.

No luck there, though it seems like everyone short of the BSDs is doing that these days :(.

> And I don't want to be exposed to their security issues.

You still are, though again I don't think their security position is worse than anyone else (again, short of the BSDs) these days.

Re: New Surface Pro

#212
post #102
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Care to elaborate why? I'm somewhat of an apple-fanboy but Surface seems more and more appealing, and I'm leaning towards giving one a try.

My pro 4 works perfectly fine. I'm just a desktop apps junkie (sales mainly) and so there is no real reason to upgrade. That said the new pen's deeper resolution is impressive, as I switched (primarily) from Evernote to OneNote and haven't looked back. (I still pay for Evernote, now it is purely for legacy info).

Microsoft built an Evernote-OneNote import tool.

Re: New Surface Pro

#213
These are neat, but expensive. I just ordered a laptop this weekend.

* 17.3" 1080p

* Core i7 (quad core)

* 16GB RAM

* Discrete graphics

* Backlit keyboard (at no extra charge!)

$800 shipped to my door. Only thing I need to do yet is order an M.2 SSD and I'll be happy for the next 4 years.

So my heart leaped a little seeing a new Surface announcement, but personally, smaller screens will never work for these tired eyes. That and when I bumped up to 16GB of RAM... I hit $2200. (It's also hard to see which Core i7 they put in these, but I have a sneaking suspicion there's a 'U' in the model name, meaning it's actually dual core.

Obviously the laptop I'm getting weighs 3-4 times as much and has a fraction of the battery life. It's a completely different animal. But for me, personally, the Surface will just remain "interesting" until it's portable, powerful AND the pricing is not exorbitant. Then I could see trying to get some work done on it when I'm out and about.

Re: New Surface Pro

#214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So buy a f*cking laptop! I'm only half-kidding - but criticizing an integral part of a product, when there are multiple alternatives with exact the feature your desire is ... silly.

Well...the product GP is criticizing does bill itself, right up top, as "The most versatile laptop."

It's a throw-away marketing headline not some super-technical classification. One-click away is a comparison grid of Surface products which includes ... a laptop.

Re: New Surface Pro

#215
post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> two years USB-A. > five years Both—not having either will mean tons of dongles. > 10 years? USB-C. [EDIT] actually the 10-year will probably be "some other stupid new connector, with USB-C dongles"

USB-C is already shipping on cheap desktops, a lot of smartphones, and many laptops. In two years Apple won't ship any computers with USB-A. USB-C has arrived: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/shop/laptops-with-usb-c

seriously... what do people even use usb-a for besides charging things? compatibility was crap, transition to 3.0 was crap and even the highest end computers offered limited ports - opting to keep a few 2.0s given that support for 3.0 on the device side was even weaker, big, asymetric, fragile, ...

lets just let it die and move to cables that won't need a dongle and aren't thicker than almost everything in a laptop from this generation

Re: New Surface Pro

#216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Learn-Not-To-Waste-Resources Studios.

I think people are missing a point here. The game itself runs perfectly fine on a 7 year old CPU and 8GB of ram(it might run on 4GB but I haven't tested this personally). - I'd say the actual game client is optimized extremely well. Is it really shocking that dev machines have a lot of ram? If someone works in full frame photography or edits 4K video, do you tell them to try working on machines with 4GB of ram to see…

Well, we did that too. But yes, the standard is to slim down everything to fit on a 32G hex core workstation laptop.

Because they can travel with people and desktop computers.. kinda.. can't.

Re: New Surface Pro

#217

back to naming hell I see. Surface Pro > Surface Pro 4 > Surface Pro 3 etc... Is it bad to have higher numbers in product titles? I don't see a problem with "Surface Pro 5" but maybe "normal" people do?

I don't mind the name. However, differentiating between versions when buying a surface from a third party site e.g. EBay would become problematic and unnecessarily time consuming.

Re: New Surface Pro

#218
post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I’ve seen, USB-C is a disaster . The ports and cables all have to support specific profiles, which are just getting more and more complicated, for specific features to work, and there is no visual indication at all of this. If you got a cheap cable (which people will do), you may suddenly find that maybe charging doesn’t work. Or maybe it melts. Or maybe it doesn’t transfer data. Or maybe using it for a vid…

It's a disaster until it isn't. Until Microsoft implements it while it's competitors will have had it for ages.

That's often how reality works though. I remember the Apple fans mocking computers shipping with floppy disk drives, but floppy disks were useful at the time. Migrations take time, not everyone can afford to just rush out and buy all-new accessories. For a device that you buy today and will use for say 3 years, USB-A and a dongle for compatibility with -C is probably better for most users than the reverse.

Re: New Surface Pro

#219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Thats a matter of definition. Surface Pro originally was to distinguish against the Surface RT, where it made sense. Same goes for iPad Pro which is clearly not meant in the same way you are suggesting, Macbook Pro is the same. The PRO label is meant to distinguish them against their own lower tier products. Imo the demand for 32GB RAM Laptops is pretty limited right now, which is why you usually find that in workstation laptops only. I don't know any 13" Ultrabook with 32GB to be honest.

Re: New Surface Pro

#220
post #110

How is this a functional laptop? And I'm being dead serious here and 100% literal - how do I work with this machine while it's on my lap? It looks like it would be a real pain in the ass to do so, with the "Kickstand" and all.

I use the SP3 on my lap every day, its my work PC. Actually the kickstand works as an anchor when I cross my legs and stays fixed. Suggest you try it in person.
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