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Why Is the Surface So Bad?
31–40 of 102 posts
Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?
#32If you want an iPad then go get an iPad. I took a look at the surface at a pop-up store and I'm the technical editor on a surface getting started guide. Surface is not going to be an iPad "killer" but there are some things it does that an iPad just can't because it's really a PC (almost). Here are some things I personally like about Surface: You can use a mouse; print to any printer on your LAN, the keyboard cover is brilliant, xbox integration rocks, you can write apps in HTML5/JavaScript, fine control over user policy and other deep-dive control panel things, because, well... It's (almost) a PC. I'm personally waiting for the Surface Pro, and I'm also thinking the Xbox Surface will be cool. I'm also very critical of the missing pieces, but this comment is a reaction to the opinion in the link from a guy who can only see the surface thru Apple colored lenses.
Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?
#33Criticizing the browser for displaying a blurry image while pinching is unfair. This is standard practice for any browser with off main thread compositing, including Firefox Mobile, Chrome for Android, later releases of desktop Safari, and Mobile Safari, which pioneered the technique.
Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why so many of this rejoinder? "Early release! Don't be so harsh!" Ok, here's a direct quote from the article – how come everyone's ignoring it? So if it took Apple a couple tries to perfect the tablet, shouldn’t we cut Microsoft some slack, too? No, we shouldn’t. The first iPad was released in 2010. It may not have been perfect, but it was unquestionably the best tablet of its era. The Surface is hitting the shelves…
People have every right to be harsh. Microsoft has tried for years to get tablets right, and they still haven't. I was just agreeing that the device is early; they should have waited a bit to release it. It has a lot going for it, but so did the HP TouchPad.
Ok sorry, when I read "early" I thought you meant it the other way around.
I'd still hope the other commenters read that part of the article – the discussion will be a lot more interesting if they do!
Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?
#35I own a Surface and disagree with everything in this article. The Surface does have quirks, but as a v1 device from a company that has NEVER designed a commercial PC let alone a tablet, I think it is nothing short of fantastic tech. I just sold my Couch-MacBook over the weekend because the Surface satisfies every single casual at-home PC scenario I have.
Right...but the point of the OP was that Microsoft has all of the hindsight of Apple's iPads and the Android tablets, thus it should be held to a higher standard. The OP may be wrong about how good the Surface is, of course, but I think he's right not to give Microsoft a "it's just their first try" a pass.
Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?
#36The Surface is "Bad" because you're comparing it with the iPad 4, the Kindle Fire HD, the Asus Transformer (3rd or 4th gen), etc. Microsoft missed the first 3 or so iterations of touch-only tablet computing. There are bug fixes and refinements to come I'm sure. Compare the Surface to original iPad when it first came out and maybe it's not so bad? Granted, the surface isn't competing with the original iPad, it's compe…
It makes sense to judge the Surface against the original iPad if the Surface were released in 2010.
Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?
#37When I first got an HP Touchpad, the touchstone stand, and the keyboard I understood what the "post-PC" era really was. It was perfect: physical keyboard for productivity, yet a touchscreen with a tablet interface, and the mouse had finally seen its end. The Asus transformer was the next big step, I think. Again, keyboard and touchscreen, but this time a 19 hour battery. If it allowed dual booting it would be perfect…
Hence the keyboard and trackpad. There is a benefit of having both the desktop and "Metro".
But Microsoft could only think of using the desktop to run office RT. why didn't they make office an app and hide all of the pc bits to the user?
Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?
#38Criticizing the browser for displaying a blurry image while pinching is unfair. This is standard practice for any browser with off main thread compositing, including Firefox Mobile, Chrome for Android, later releases of desktop Safari, and Mobile Safari, which pioneered the technique.
Pinching on mobile safari right now and it's sharp enough where I can't tell whether it's LCD lag or rendering blur. Maybe Apple is using a better image scaling algorithm?
Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?
#39When I first got an HP Touchpad, the touchstone stand, and the keyboard I understood what the "post-PC" era really was. It was perfect: physical keyboard for productivity, yet a touchscreen with a tablet interface, and the mouse had finally seen its end. The Asus transformer was the next big step, I think. Again, keyboard and touchscreen, but this time a 19 hour battery. If it allowed dual booting it would be perfect…
Having used the HP Touchsmart 2500 (2007 laptop/tablet convertible), I feel the same about the "post-PC" era. Moving my hand from keyboard to screen became more natural than moving from keyboard to touchpad, or keyboard to mouse. At the time, I physically administered rackmount servers through a console with a trackball - it was painful in comparison to the touchscreen.
Ever try using classic windows interface with your bulky fingers? This is why the Touchsmart shipped with a weighted pen-sized stylus, even in models with the passive touchscreen.
How is Office with the Touchpad?
Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?
#40Criticizing the browser for displaying a blurry image while pinching is unfair. This is standard practice for any browser with off main thread compositing, including Firefox Mobile, Chrome for Android, later releases of desktop Safari, and Mobile Safari, which pioneered the technique.
Pinching on mobile safari right now and it's sharp enough where I can't tell whether it's LCD lag or rendering blur. Maybe Apple is using a better image scaling algorithm?
It's just GL_LINEAR from what I can tell.
My iPhone Simulator is somewhat old though; perhaps they decided to start rendering while your fingers are down on iOS 6 or something. On a recent MBP, however, desktop Safari is just using GL_LINEAR scaling.