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Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

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Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#111

Post by ephermata »

dangrossman wrote: post #14

I'm excited about the prospect of a Windows 8 tablet. I'm willing to spend as much as it costs to get one. Unfortunately, nobody wants my money. Yesterday was the big retail launch. I was on a mission to check out what my local stores had and, if they had anything that could do the job for me, buy it. I've always wanted a tablet, but only if it could be as useful as a laptop when paired with a keyboard. The new Windo…

(Disclosure: Microsoft employee writing this on a Surface with Touch Cover)

Check out the Samsung Series 7 slate. 128GB SSD, 4GB RAM, core i5. 11.6 inches and a little less than 2 lbs. Unfortunately I don't know where you could find one in person to play with. I've been using it with Win8 for a bit and quite liked it -- with the dock and a keyboard you can run Visual Studio just fine.

This link suggests Samsung just rev'd it to add a higher res screen, keeping the 4 GB RAM and 128 SSD. http://www.bestsalenewreviews.com/Samsung-Series-7-XE700T1C-...

It is too bad that they haven't figured out distribution for your area. It does sound like what you want.

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#112

Post by BrentOzar »

gojomo wrote: post #108

The advice to "wait for the one due in a few months that needs a fan " makes me wonder if this author's sweet spot for tablets is anywhere near mine. I hate fans. (And does such advice mean the author is literally a fan-boy? A fan-fan-boy?)

Brent the author here. When I say wait for the one with a fan, I'm just giving guidance to people who really want the Windows experience. I hate fans too.

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#113

Post by UnoriginalGuy »

dzhiurgis wrote: post #37

qwerty keyboards were designed to slow down the typists thus preventing typewriter jamming. Perhaps MS should redesign it again to make it even slower, so the Surface would be able to keep up?

QWERTY wasn't designed to slow down typists it was designed to speed up typist by preventing jams.

http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/whyqwert.html

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#114

Post by polshaw »

dangrossman wrote: post #43
jamesjguthrie wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are other tablets out there. The Dell Latitude 10 is an Intel Atom but does run Windows 8 Pro. I want one of them.

The Latitude 10 has an Atom processor, 2GB RAM and a 64GB HD. Given there'll only be ~10-14GB free space on that drive out of the box, that's not enough to even install Office, Photoshop, Visual Studio, etc. let alone run them. It's almost a scam to sell such an unusable hardware configuration. Someone's going to sync their music and buy two movies and find out their new "64GB" tablet is already out of space. That si…

How did you get to windows 8 taking up 50-55GB of space out of the box?

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#115

Post by dgregd »

tomp wrote: post #105
mtgx wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with Windows "apps" is that they are made inefficient and un-optimized by default , because they were targeted at much more powerful processors, and as processors became even more powerful, they didn't care about increasing the performance or at least keeping it at the previous level (and not slower). Developers never really cared about netbooks, and these devices, either with ARM processors or with Atom,…

The app mentioned in the post was Office, produced by Microsoft, which is the same company that makes the Surface tablet. In my opinion, that is unacceptable. If MS couldn't optimize apps that ship with Surface, they shouldn't have released it.

> If MS couldn't optimize apps that ship with Surface, they shouldn't have released it.

They don't have time for that. Now there is only iPad with significant sales number. In 6 months Android tables will start to sell in significant numbers.

In 12 months opportunity to conquer world market with new tablet OS will disappear.

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#116

Post by pooriaazimi »

Anechoic wrote: post #23

"The diagonally-oriented camera is strange. In the one orientation it’s optimized for, it’s slightly annoying. In any other orientation, it’s almost intolerable. " "The built-in front-facing camera for Skype is angled so that it’ll work great when the kickstand is open, but again, only for Danny DeVito, or maybe for people who want to show off their chests in Skype." ------ "The Touch Cover is one of the Surface’s bi…

People might miss it (you should really mention it on top of your post!), the first quotes are from Marco Arment (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4705299), which was discussed earlier today (and flagged by many, too!) - people dismissed his critiques because he's obviously an Apple fan, but apparently at least part of his critiques were (maybe) correct.

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#117

Post by bjustin »

powertower wrote: post #104
nextstep wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recently, HN is quick to yell "fanboy" at anything critical of a direct competitor to an Apple product. But from the multiple Surface reviews posted here over the past few days, it seems like the consensus (even among those that aren't labeled "fanboys") is that the surface has considerable drawbacks while costing more than an iPad.

> But from the multiple Surface reviews posted here over the past few days You mean all those negative reviews that get upvoted to the front-page. Thats what happens here, the positive reviews usually get ignored, get flagged, or die quickly. Unless it's an Apple product. "Surface RT" is not "Surface for Windows 8 Pro". Windows RT is a stripped down version of Windows designed for lower power CPUs. It's also designed…

>The use-case of an attached keyboard and the fully fledged Office app suite is not what this device is primarly for.

It may not be the One True Purpose (tm) but Microsoft is pushing it one of the biggest features. On Microsoft's store page for the Surface (http://surface.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/Content/pbpa...), Office is even listed at the same level as the OS! The feature list, where each has an accompanying paragraph: the case (VaporMg), kickstand, touch cover, ports, Windows and Office, and the cameras.

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#118

Post by Anechoic »

pooriaazimi wrote: post #116
Anechoic wrote: post #23

"The diagonally-oriented camera is strange. In the one orientation it’s optimized for, it’s slightly annoying. In any other orientation, it’s almost intolerable. " "The built-in front-facing camera for Skype is angled so that it’ll work great when the kickstand is open, but again, only for Danny DeVito, or maybe for people who want to show off their chests in Skype." ------ "The Touch Cover is one of the Surface’s bi…

People might miss it (you should really mention it on top of your post!), the first quotes are from Marco Arment ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4705299 ), which was discussed earlier today (and flagged by many, too!) - people dismissed his critiques because he's obviously an Apple fan, but apparently at least part of his critiques were (maybe) correct.

I was afraid that mentioning Marco's name directly would lead to my post getting buried without consideration, so I left it as an exercise for the reader. Looks like my worries were unfounded.

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#120

Post by GrammarSpelling »

Mythbusters wrote: post #59
mtgx wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with Windows "apps" is that they are made inefficient and un-optimized by default , because they were targeted at much more powerful processors, and as processors became even more powerful, they didn't care about increasing the performance or at least keeping it at the previous level (and not slower). Developers never really cared about netbooks, and these devices, either with ARM processors or with Atom,…

>> The problem with Windows "apps" is that they are made inefficient and un-optimized by default Very knowledgeable opinion sir. This is indeed true. Us as windows developers are required to add a sleep statement every few lines of code so as it not make it appear responsive.

"We as Windows developers..."
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