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New Surface Pro

microsoft.com

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Re: New Surface Pro

#361

Post by devereaux »

The keyboard looks bad. I don't want the oversized left and right arrows. I want pageup and pagedown there instead.

The XPS 13 2-in-1 is better for me if only for this reason. The XPS also comes with a pen, USB-C, and a decent hardware configuration like 16Gb of ram because we are in 2017!!!

I just wish I could get QHD+ screen. No option on dell.com, while I see that on https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5MV7YA so it must exist somewhere. I also have been told that it may be possible to get a trackpoint on similar models that share the chassis - but no touchscreen then.

Oh, and there is no LTE in any case. I guess I will have to wait for 2018 to at least get the QHD+ option.

Re: New Surface Pro

#362

Post by e12e »

Hasz wrote: post #333

I recently purchased a new laptop, after looking through a bunch of options -- Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, etc. Ultimately, I settled on one from Xiaomi. For $720, I get an i5-6200U, 8gb of DDR4 RAM, 256gb SSD, 1gb dedicated graphics card, a 13.3" panel, aluminum body, backlit keyboard, USB C + HMDI + 2 USB 3.0 ports etc. Build quality is similar to Surfacebook, but I would have to spend another ~600 to match the st…

> Is the whole touchscreen tablet combo worth that premium?

I would say it depends. I love the touch screen (I've disabled my touchpad) - and I love the real pen/digitizer.

The sp4 is basically the dynabook: high dpi screen, a pen that works.

Still some annoyances with scaling in legacy apps - and I've yet to find a great "smart" drawing/cad program that really takes advantage of the pen - I'm thinking something like Ivan Sutherland's "Sketchpad".

I haven't quite gotten around to it, but I believe it would make a great Smalltalk companion (although it's a "button" short). It does work quite well with MIT's "scratch" system.

Re: New Surface Pro

#363

Post by gurkendoktor »

iaskwhy wrote: post #114
nailer wrote: post #41

One 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…

"If you buy an Apple laptop, and need a repair, they'll fix it if it's in warranty, regardless of where you are." This can be misleading. I bought my Macbook Air in Portugal, had 2y warranty there. Then moved to the UK and the brick stopped working. Went to an Apple Store and since it was after the 1y warranty offered when you buy it in the UK, they rejected replacing it for me. Eventually went to Portugal to visit m…

> in this particular case it was even more interesting to realise how much better help I got from a non-official store.

I don't think that's an outlier. In my experience, going to an Apple Store is always more frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive (if you are buying upgrades) than going to an authorised reseller.

Re: New Surface Pro

#364

Post by gurkendoktor »

sacheendra wrote: post #101
nailer wrote: post #41

One 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…

> - If you buy an Apple laptop, and need a repair, they'll fix it if it's in warranty, regardless of where you are. Not true. That is only for the iPhone. The Macbook has only national warranty.

More anecdata: Authorised Apple repair shops (not Apple Stores) in Taiwan could fix my Mac, but not my iPhone for me, and they cited Apple policy.

Re: New Surface Pro

#365

Post by ocdtrekkie »

ovao wrote: post #360
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people will have replaced their new Surface Pro long before they actually need a USB Type-C port. Apple chooses to act against it's own customers' interests by rushing to new ports and requiring they buy all new hardware. This will be the third generation of Surface Pro that does not require any new accessories. If I end up buying the new one (which I might for the built-in LTE), I won't have to buy a new type c…

> Apple chooses to act against it's own customers' interests by rushing to new ports and requiring they buy all new hardware. I just moved to a 2016 MacBook Pro and the only "all new hardware" I've purchased is a pair of $10 adapters. I haven't replaced any of the hardware I already own, because I don't need to. I can only really criticize Apple for not including an adapter or two, and for not including more than two…

Similar to your MacBook, you will be able to get adapters for the Surface Pro for your USB-C needs!

They included the ports people use the most, and will support adapters for those of you who need less popular ports.

Re: New Surface Pro

#366

Post by tyfon »

AlphaSite wrote: post #288
iaskwhy wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If you buy an Apple laptop, and need a repair, they'll fix it if it's in warranty, regardless of where you are." This can be misleading. I bought my Macbook Air in Portugal, had 2y warranty there. Then moved to the UK and the brick stopped working. Went to an Apple Store and since it was after the 1y warranty offered when you buy it in the UK, they rejected replacing it for me. Eventually went to Portugal to visit m…

In the UK it's 5 years, so even then.

Same thing in Norway.

Mobile phones also have a 5 year warranty here as you "should expect them to last this long" according to a court ruling.

Re: New Surface Pro

#367

Post by e12e »

devereaux wrote: post #361

The keyboard looks bad. I don't want the oversized left and right arrows. I want pageup and pagedown there instead. The XPS 13 2-in-1 is better for me if only for this reason. The XPS also comes with a pen, USB-C, and a decent hardware configuration like 16Gb of ram because we are in 2017!!! I just wish I could get QHD+ screen. No option on dell.com, while I see that on https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5MV7YA so it must…

IMHO the sp4 keyboard is among the best you can get on a portable device today. I like the old thinkpads better - but other than that I prefer the sp4 to Apple, lenovo or dell keyboards I've tried. Came as a surprise to me.

Re: New Surface Pro

#368

Post by marricks »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #365
ovao wrote: post #360

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple chooses to act against it's own customers' interests by rushing to new ports and requiring they buy all new hardware. I just moved to a 2016 MacBook Pro and the only "all new hardware" I've purchased is a pair of $10 adapters. I haven't replaced any of the hardware I already own, because I don't need to. I can only really criticize Apple for not including an adapter or two, and for not including more than two…

Similar to your MacBook, you will be able to get adapters for the Surface Pro for your USB-C needs! They included the ports people use the most, and will support adapters for those of you who need less popular ports.

AKA, we don't care about the future, cater to what people want now.

I guarantee most people would be thrilled with one cable for everything, making a step towards that halfway through 2017 seems reasonable...

Re: New Surface Pro

#369

Post by freeone3000 »

romaniv wrote: post #354
sixdimensional wrote: post #339

One trend I am noticing is that I keep sensing a clear difference between, say, a standard iPad vs. a Surface. A standard iPad feels like a tablet appliance, whereas a Surface is a full-bore laptop in tablet form. Mentally, whenever I hold a Surface, I don't find myself thinking of the kind of experience I expect from the iPad. I realize now there is the iPad Pro, which has more horsepower/keyboard/pen etc., but it s…

I had really bad experience with Surface Pro 3 (lots of hardware and software issues), but I have to say this: Microsoft is trying to do the right thing here. There is no reason tablets should be dumb-down media consumption devices when they have computing power equivalent to desktop PCs of a few years ago. But to be used as real computers they must have keyboard and stylus by default and must allow to install arbitr…

Surface Pros run Windows 10, so they have the same UI as other computers. I don't see the problem?

Re: New Surface Pro

#370

Post by gurkendoktor »

Longhanks wrote: post #4

> The most versatile laptop. ...that doesn't ship with a keyboard (pen isn't included either). No USB-C. 16GB RAM maximum.

> No USB-C.

I'd say that HDMI would be make the machine a lot more versatile than USB-C (or MiniDP, for that matter). Showing a few photos on a TV, using your client's projector for an unplanned demo, using an absent coworker's screen - I can't remember how often I've envied MacBook Pro Retina users for that port. It's magic.

TVs and projects are not going to switch from HDMI to USB-C either, so waiting won't solve that problem.

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