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Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3

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Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3

#61

Post by rayiner »

bane wrote: post #16

I'm starting to see more and more Surface devices in my area. It seems to be getting popular with the Starbuck's salesguy crowd who need something as compact as a tablet, but they can use real applications on. I know that's kind of cliche, but you don't really "get" that meaning until you walk into a coffee shop and see 2 or 3 people sitting around with tablets sticking up on the tables. The Android and iPad guys are…

I'm really excited about this, because its perfect for me (modulo not having Metro version of Office). 12" at that aspect ratio is just right for reading and marking up documents, reviewing drafts, taking notes, etc. That's 90% of my work flow.

Surface Pro 2 wasn't good enough for me because 10.6" at 16:9 was just too narrow. I either did a ton of vertical scrolling or squinted to see things in portrait mode despite having a lot of wasted space above and below. 12" at 2:3 is reasonably close to a sheet of paper (13" at 3:4).

Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3

#63

Post by [deleted] »

ggreer wrote: post #50

That's a really nice piece of hardware. I've used MacBook Airs since 2010, but the Surface 3 looks to be strictly dominating in the hardware department. Unfortunately, I don't think Microsoft will convert many OS X devs unless they make some changes to their software. One of the advantages of OS X is that it's a Unix, and lots of Unix software runs on it. It's not hard to compile tools such as nmap, Vim, or steam loc…

[deleted]

Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3

#64

Post by Nerdfest »

crayola wrote: post #25
Osiris wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Impressive, as in cheap or expensive? It depends on your perspective.

I meant cheap for what it is (or seems to be).

Strange, I think it's the opposite. That's a lot of money for an i3 with little memory. It's cheap next to a MacBook Air perhaps, but still quite expensive.

Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3

#65

Post by sliverstorm »

agscala wrote: post #8

This sure is a bummer for people who recently bought a Surface Pro 2 (like me). It's unreal that a 6-month old $1200 machine already is outdated

It isn't all that outdated, and it isn't anything we haven't already run into with phones. The latest $600-800 iPhone is routinely outdated every, what, 18 months?

I do feel your pain a little though, I bought a Moto G just before they added the SD card slot & 4G. You've just got to come to terms with the fact that device lifetime is longer than the product cycle.

Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3

#66

Post by dragonwriter »

ldd- wrote: post #59

As a proud Gen 1 Surface Pro owner, this looks spectacular. My Surface replaced my laptop, and while I definitely had my issues with the transition (trackpad sucks so often use external mouse, aspect ratio is inconvenient for Office, display angle is limiting, and no built-in LTE), I've ultimately come to enjoy using it. I've almost always got it with me, and I've found I've become nearly as productive on it as I was…

> The updates in the Gen 3 address nearly all of my gripes (why can't they integrate LTE??).

I suspect that enough of the people who want LTE have shareable (wirelessly or with wires) LTE modem with them at all times as to make the added cost of integrated LTE not a particularly effective selling point for the added cost (and very much not attractive for the base model, so it would necessitate added SKUs, as well.)

Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3

#67

Post by pjmlp »

paperwork wrote: post #57
ggreer wrote: post #50

That's a really nice piece of hardware. I've used MacBook Airs since 2010, but the Surface 3 looks to be strictly dominating in the hardware department. Unfortunately, I don't think Microsoft will convert many OS X devs unless they make some changes to their software. One of the advantages of OS X is that it's a Unix, and lots of Unix software runs on it. It's not hard to compile tools such as nmap, Vim, or steam loc…

I'm rooting for MS. My (not so serious) test for windows is simple: the day I can resize dos command prompt as easily as terminal windows on linux/osx is the day Microsoft I need to seriously consider going back to windows :)

Properties -> Settings -> Layout -> change res -> Save.

I never understood why some people make such a big fuss out of it.

Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3

#68

Post by pling »

paperwork wrote: post #57
ggreer wrote: post #50

That's a really nice piece of hardware. I've used MacBook Airs since 2010, but the Surface 3 looks to be strictly dominating in the hardware department. Unfortunately, I don't think Microsoft will convert many OS X devs unless they make some changes to their software. One of the advantages of OS X is that it's a Unix, and lots of Unix software runs on it. It's not hard to compile tools such as nmap, Vim, or steam loc…

I'm rooting for MS. My (not so serious) test for windows is simple: the day I can resize dos command prompt as easily as terminal windows on linux/osx is the day Microsoft I need to seriously consider going back to windows :)

Powershell ISE

Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3

#69

Post by daigoba66 »

paperwork wrote: post #57
ggreer wrote: post #50

That's a really nice piece of hardware. I've used MacBook Airs since 2010, but the Surface 3 looks to be strictly dominating in the hardware department. Unfortunately, I don't think Microsoft will convert many OS X devs unless they make some changes to their software. One of the advantages of OS X is that it's a Unix, and lots of Unix software runs on it. It's not hard to compile tools such as nmap, Vim, or steam loc…

I'm rooting for MS. My (not so serious) test for windows is simple: the day I can resize dos command prompt as easily as terminal windows on linux/osx is the day Microsoft I need to seriously consider going back to windows :)

I think you're going to live forever disappointed. The command prompt shell is one of those programs that just doesn't get updated and/or any new features. Like notepad.exe, there are so many easy things they could do to make it actually _useful_, but won't.

Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3

#70

Post by mikerg87 »

astrodust wrote: post #52
josefresco wrote: post #6

Microsoft needs to keep at it. While this iteration is great, the platform will not flourish if they falter or take a release cycle off. Consistent upgrades to the Surface hardware, and support of the developer community is key to winning the overall tablet war for MS.

While it's great to see Microsoft innovating like this and pushing their product aggressively forward, it must really chafe with their OEM community. Why would you buy some clunky classic notebook when you can get a Surface 3 for virtually the same price? It's basically impossible for OEMs to compete when Microsoft can include Windows for free and they have to pay a premium to bundle it.

I really haven't seen the surface pro compete on price. Similar Lenovo offerings for 256GB and 512GB SSD ultra books have similar pricing. I honestly think MS shopped around the concept of surface to OEMS and I think the OEMs said "Pass. No Thanks. we'll stick with our incremental and existing form factors".

I think MS was forced into a corner and concluded they needed to go it on their own.

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