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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

#271

Post by joelberman »

goggles99 wrote: post #241
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…

LOL there is so much bias from this "review" (if we can even call it that) It is oozing out of my speakers. The Drama in the reviewers voice is so unmistakable that it is almost sickening. Did he write a "B" script for this and rehearse too? I would not be surprised. Why would you return a device after 24 hours of owning it? Do you not expect any learning curve here? This is pretty much a Mac user attitude. Macs and…

Goggles, statements like "Macs and IOS have very dumbed down interfaces. That works well for many people who want to check their email and surf the web without having to learn anything at all." stop me from reading the rest of your post. I don't want to learn how to use my tools, I want to learn the things my tools help me with.

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#272

Post by CamperBob2 »

Splines wrote: post #228
cageface wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. Thanks for the insider's insight. Is Microsoft really serious about challenging the iPad juggernaut with this kind of inattention to detail?

> Is Microsoft really serious about challenging the iPad juggernaut with this kind of inattention to detail? Not sure where you're going with this, but given the amount of effort and ambition around the Surface, I would say that Microsoft is absolutely serious. As for Word, there was a limited number of things we could do and fix in a finite amount of time. Trade-offs need to be made.

Not sure where you're going with this, but given the amount of effort and ambition around the Surface, I would say that Microsoft is absolutely serious.

Effort and ambition, together with $4, will get you a double latte at Starbucks.

To beat Apple, you are going to have to take the next step: competence.

When the board fires Ballmer, that will be the signal that Microsoft is ready to get serious. Until then, it's all just talk.

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#273

Post by zmonkeyz »

vidarh wrote: post #232
Zak wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have a horse in the iPad vs. Surface race. I don't care for closed ecosystems or walled gardens and have little desire for either device. I'm either a neutral party, or hostile to both camps. The use-case of an attached keyboard and the fully fledged Office app suite is not what this device is primarly for. That may be true, but it's a poor excuse. The basic function of a word processor is to easily generate…

> [0] Note: not hyperbole. Two megabytes versus two gigabytes. If anything, you were generous. You could run WYSIWYG word processors on a 512KB Amiga or Atari. Both with a single M68k CPU at secpnd generation ARM CPU's used in the Acorn Archimedes range, and while there were numerous discussions about which were faster, a 7MHz-8MHz M68k is at least in the same magnitude performance wise as an 8MHz ARM2 CPU.. (EDIT: A…

Imagine my surprise when going from "Pen Pal" on the Amiga at home to Wordperfect for DOS at school. :)

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#274

Post by BrentOzar »

stevesi wrote: post #269
Splines wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "So quickly, in fact, that I can outrun Microsoft Word on the Surface. I get the feeling that the Surface RT’s CPU or Word code just can’t keep up with my typing. Here’s an example video:" I'm on the Word team in Office and I'm coming into this thread incredibly late, but FWIW the slow typing on ARM was something we couldn't fully address in time for the preview release. Word RTM (ARM and x86/x64) has much better p…

This issue is known, intermittent and dependent on a number of factors. It has been addressed and an update is forthcoming. This type of issue would be identical across NVIDIA based ARM PCs and large numbers of the reference platforms were available at the same time they have been available to external developers. Developers on the Office team (and Word team) that needed to contribute to the ARM focused work had acce…

Thanks, sir. I really appreciate this, and I'm about to frame it. I've been so frustrated after being vilified by folks for even suggesting that there's a problem. (sigh) Thanks for commenting here where the action is - that's really awesome.

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#275

Post by drivebyacct2 »

cageface wrote: post #226
Splines wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "So quickly, in fact, that I can outrun Microsoft Word on the Surface. I get the feeling that the Surface RT’s CPU or Word code just can’t keep up with my typing. Here’s an example video:" I'm on the Word team in Office and I'm coming into this thread incredibly late, but FWIW the slow typing on ARM was something we couldn't fully address in time for the preview release. Word RTM (ARM and x86/x64) has much better p…

Interesting. Thanks for the insider's insight. Is Microsoft really serious about challenging the iPad juggernaut with this kind of inattention to detail?

So we hear, "we got access to the hardware a bit late" and "the pre-release version is bad, it's already considerably better now and will be even better soon", and conclude that Microsoft doesn't care?

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#276

Post by julianz »

chris_wot wrote: post #237
mitchty wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok so the focus on negative isn't relegated to just this community, its rather pervasive in society in general. Look at the iOS6 maps stuff and the flaking etc... Not to discount them in general but everyone that looks at my phone always comments about its weight first. I think humans focus on their pain points over the good in general.

Maps were really the only thing that sucked about Apple's release. Believe me, I'd love to be using Microsoft's product, but the issues being shown here are very good reasons that prevent me from forking out my hard earned cash on this device.

Maps and things like basic stability. When you can crash version 6 of something just by dragging icons around the place, wtf is up with that?

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#277

Post by grecy »

kyberias wrote: post #227
grecy wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What specifically about the iPad was disappointed you? Was it a) because it was not quite ready for prime time, and subsequent updates fixed it, or was it b) because it simply didn't (and still doesn't) have features you wanted? When the answer is a), that shows a product was rushed and not ready i.e. the Surface RT from the sounds of this review.

I don't think the choices you offer me are mutually exclusive. A product can also feel rushed because it lacks important features. The first iPad seemed very polished: I could scroll the screen and it was super smooth. It's just that I wanted to do much more than scroll the screen super smoothly. I still have an iPad but I use a Chromebook much more. Makes so much more sense even though it has a very plastic and may…

> A product can also feel rushed because it lacks important features.

I agree, when those features are (were) available and cost effective at the time of release, AND they are in fact added at a later date, which somewhat proves they probably should have been added in the first place.

i.e. Complaining the first iPad was "rushed" because it didn't include 4G/LTE is nonsense.

By that measure, I honestly can't think of an Apple product in the last 5 years that was "rushed", where-as it seems the Surface RT was/is.

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#278

Post by mark-r »

tensor wrote: post #126
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.

I think part of the issue with tablets is that there are people who really want something like the windows 8 tablet to work. Speaking for myself, hearing people chime in "but iPad!" in discussions of new tablets I might be interested in is maddening. It's maddening because I don't want an iPad. An iPad doesn't fit my requirements, one of which is side loading. It can't share data between apps easily either. Android h…

Re side loading - I thought Windows 8 RT was locked down as much as an iPad? You can't load anything unless it comes from the Windows store, right? And you can't root the device either.

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#279

Post by mark-r »

ConstantineXVI wrote: post #28

I've had mine since 10AM yesterday; and I'm actually fairly pleased, at least for effectively being a new platform. Thoughts, in no particular order: - Love the build. Very solid overall. - 16:9 means it's one long tablet. Oddly, it's actually fairly usable in portrait; can't say the same for my old 16:10 Transformer (maybe just better balanced?) - The touch cover is, like most say, surprisingly usable. Desperately n…

A modern keyboard re-imagining should ditch the caps lock entirely. When's the last time you found it useful?

Re: Why I'm returning my Microsoft Surface RT

#280

Post by zohebv »

stevesi wrote: post #269
Splines wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "So quickly, in fact, that I can outrun Microsoft Word on the Surface. I get the feeling that the Surface RT’s CPU or Word code just can’t keep up with my typing. Here’s an example video:" I'm on the Word team in Office and I'm coming into this thread incredibly late, but FWIW the slow typing on ARM was something we couldn't fully address in time for the preview release. Word RTM (ARM and x86/x64) has much better p…

This issue is known, intermittent and dependent on a number of factors. It has been addressed and an update is forthcoming. This type of issue would be identical across NVIDIA based ARM PCs and large numbers of the reference platforms were available at the same time they have been available to external developers. Developers on the Office team (and Word team) that needed to contribute to the ARM focused work had acce…

Off topic comment. Just tried the surface RT at the Microsoft store today. I think its awesome. I am considering the surface PRO for purchase. However, I am concerned that I cannot use it as a "laptop" i.e. balance the surface while typing with the keyboard on my lap. This is probably 50% of my usage scenario. If there is a heavier version of typecover that can support the tablet without a kickstand when placed on the lap I would rush out to buy the Pro version.
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