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Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

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Re: Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

#101

Post by Zenbit_UX »

mkl wrote: post #39
emsy wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft lost any trust I had in them for building hardware. Of the 5 people I know with a Surface, only 1 doesn't have any issues. The other 4 have problems with the touch input, boot loops and loud fans on low CPU load. Software issues that go for month and years unfixed. These issues only occur slightly out of warranty (I don't assume planned obsolescence, just bad engineering).

I trust them, as they've dealt with issues better than any other company I've had to do it with. My Surface Pro 4's battery started swelling out of warranty, and MS replaced it right away with one that had a different kind of battery (better battery life than ever). The first (reconditioned) replacement had a screen issue right away, which sucked, but they sent another immediately. My work Surface Book 2 hasn't had a…

Samsung made sure that no company wants exploding battery press. I'm not sutprised they replaced your swelling battery.

Re: Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

#102

Post by gmaster1440 »

hadrien01 wrote: post #95
gmaster1440 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Use Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 and 3 for work, have to disagree that the only drawback is software. The trackpad is significantly worse on Microsoft devices than Apple fairly consistently. Even the new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro trackpad, albeit smaller in size, is more sensitive and accurate than the Surface Laptop 3's.

That's purely software, if you use Windows under Boot Camp on a MacBook it will be identical to a PC

It's hard for me to believe that Microsoft would not invest in first-class touchpad drivers for Windows for their flagship devices, given that the touchpad is the main way someone would interface with their device, but it's possible that it's entirely a software issue I guess.

Re: Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

#103

Post by pwthornton »

tastyminerals wrote: post #54

I feel like MS laptops are getting bashed left and right by various online experts these days without a decent reason. Apple products are not less cheaper and follow the same "100EUR for a charger" scheme. If you calculate the totals, MS laptop is no more experiensive than the Apple one. Except with MS products you also get a true mobile experience if that is what you are after. The only drawback is Windows and its t…

I am not clear how this is a true mobile experience versus an iPad. This seems like an iPad competitor, not a MacBook Pro competitor, and the iPad is quite a mobile solution.

It’s a much different solution than this, for sure, but it is a mobile solution.

I recently got a 10.2 inch iPad to add to my home setup of a 27-inch iMac and a 12.9 inch iPad Pro because I wanted something super portable that I could do work on when I am chasing the kids around. It’s really portable, and I can get a surprising amount of work done on it.

Re: Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

#104

Post by nailer »

tastyminerals wrote: post #54

I feel like MS laptops are getting bashed left and right by various online experts these days without a decent reason. Apple products are not less cheaper and follow the same "100EUR for a charger" scheme. If you calculate the totals, MS laptop is no more experiensive than the Apple one. Except with MS products you also get a true mobile experience if that is what you are after. The only drawback is Windows and its t…

> The only drawback is Windows and its tooling. Which you can still circumvent with WLS.

WSL, and Terminal, is Windows tooling. It's a Microsoft project, a Microsoft compiled Linux kernel, a `wslu` package that runs in Linux is built by Microsoft, //$wsl using the P9 file server forked by Microsoft. It might sound like a nit pick, but they're spending a lot of time and effort and money to ensure Windows has a better Unix experience than macOS.

Re: Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

#105

Post by tw04 »

gmaster1440 wrote: post #90
tastyminerals wrote: post #54

I feel like MS laptops are getting bashed left and right by various online experts these days without a decent reason. Apple products are not less cheaper and follow the same "100EUR for a charger" scheme. If you calculate the totals, MS laptop is no more experiensive than the Apple one. Except with MS products you also get a true mobile experience if that is what you are after. The only drawback is Windows and its t…

Use Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 and 3 for work, have to disagree that the only drawback is software. The trackpad is significantly worse on Microsoft devices than Apple fairly consistently. Even the new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro trackpad, albeit smaller in size, is more sensitive and accurate than the Surface Laptop 3's.

Odd, I use both daily (original surface book, surface go, 2018 MBP) and completely disagree. Microsoft trackpads are the only ones I've come across that are just as good as Apple. You are the only person I've heard bash them. I've got hundreds of peers in the same boat and the MS trackpads are universally lauded.

Re: Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

#106

Post by nailer »

izacus wrote: post #67
dgellow wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only drawback is Windows and its tooling. I switched last year from using Linux and macOS for 10+ years to a surface laptop. At the beginning Windows was going on my way all the time, but now that I’m more familiar with its system and powershell, it’s way better, and I really enjoy it as a dev environment. The main pain comes from a lack of familiarity. Once that’s behind, you can be quite productive using Wind…

Yeah, IMO if you start out by installing bash and trying to treat Windows like a Unix, you're in for some really bad time. A lot of developer tooling works just fine in Windows environment and trying to fight the system with unix shell is not the best way to coexist.

Agreed 100% pre-WSL, but now it's changed with WSL. Have used Powershell for last five years, but bash on Ubuntu is great.

Re: Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

#107

Post by gmaster1440 »

tw04 wrote: post #105
gmaster1440 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Use Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 and 3 for work, have to disagree that the only drawback is software. The trackpad is significantly worse on Microsoft devices than Apple fairly consistently. Even the new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro trackpad, albeit smaller in size, is more sensitive and accurate than the Surface Laptop 3's.

Odd, I use both daily (original surface book, surface go, 2018 MBP) and completely disagree. Microsoft trackpads are the only ones I've come across that are just as good as Apple. You are the only person I've heard bash them. I've got hundreds of peers in the same boat and the MS trackpads are universally lauded.

Don't take my word for it, or your peers. Just google around for surface trackpad reviews and feedback. I'm sure it's fine for plenty of people, but I'm not alone with my opinion.

Re: Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

#108

Post by AshamedCaptain »

phrz wrote: post #84
tastyminerals wrote: post #54

I feel like MS laptops are getting bashed left and right by various online experts these days without a decent reason. Apple products are not less cheaper and follow the same "100EUR for a charger" scheme. If you calculate the totals, MS laptop is no more experiensive than the Apple one. Except with MS products you also get a true mobile experience if that is what you are after. The only drawback is Windows and its t…

(Not specific to Surface Go 2) I assure you there is sometimes a reason, which in my mind can be generalized as lack of attention to detail: I deployed Surface Laptop 3’s to my SMB and now hairline screen cracking [1] is popping up left and right. Why? Because MS opted not to put a rubber gasket around their screens so when they changed from fabric to metal wrist rests, the imperfect closure fit led to pieces of sand…

The build quality in Surface devices is terrible, ABSOLUTELY terrible.

I have a Surface Pro 2 where the (in)famous "VaporMG" coating layer was completely gone by the first year, leaving a pinkish-blueish-silverish combination of colors that makes the device look as if it was on ground zero at Hiroshima. The power button is flaky and no longer reliably turns the device on, the keyboard cover connector is flaky and covers periodically stop to work, etc. All of these are common issues.

Ironically I bought a Surface Pro 3 later on where the LCD connector died within warranty, so I just returned it and forgot about the Surface line altogether.

I have a dirt-cheap Acer laptop that has also been with more for a _decade_ now and it still looks better than the Surface Pro 2.

Re: Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

#109

Post by lioeters »

Gravityloss wrote: post #30

Wonder if Techcrunch ever observed a drop in visitors since GDPR? They really don't have any usable opt out interface.

I've stopped reading TechCrunch since they've put up the data collection popup. It may technically be GDPR-compliant, but definitely violates the spirit of the law. That dark pattern of providing no opt-out for a "consent" form is insulting.

Probably, most people just click "Agree" without bothering with it.

Re: Microsoft Surface Go 2 review

#110

Post by DanTheManPR »

lentil_soup wrote: post #15

You reckon these kind of tablet/laptops would be able to handle remote desktop smoothly? Since the quarantine started I've been using my laptop to remote desktop to my PC in the office (I need a pretty hefty machine so a laptop doesn't cut it). I've been surprised how well it works and opens a world of possibilities for me. I'd imagine I'm not the only one realizing this.

They work great for that, I used my Surface 4 to RD into my workstates a few times, and was able to do 3D modeling work with it. The only downside for that kind of work is the lack of an ethernet port, but that's a given on a slim mobile device such as this.
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