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Announcing the Surface 3

blog.surface.com

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Re: Announcing the Surface 3

#281

Post by joshuapants »

WorldWideWayne wrote: post #275
joshuapants wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A keyboard is a bit more fundamental to a computing experience than a hardly-used peripheral is to a gaming experience.

Not at all because these are tablet computers. I own a few of them and I can honestly say that I only use the keyboard when I'm sitting at a desk with it...and the keyboard I use there is an MS Natural keyboard. If I travel, I take my Typecover with me, but I mostly work at home.

I don't entirely disagree, but my point was that it's a lot harder to use a computer without a physical keyboard/mouse than it is to use an Xbox without a Kinect. You can certainly use a Surface with no type cover, but even in Modern IE and other apps I prefer to type with a hardware keyboard.

Let me put it this way: by having a computer (even if it has a tablet form factor, it is a Real Computer) without a mouse/keyboard, you give up half its potential (if not more, depending on how you use it). By having an Xbox without a Kinect you give up none of its core capabilities, just some of its extra navigational features and a distinct minority of exclusive games.

Re: Announcing the Surface 3

#282

Post by izacus »

zghst wrote: post #213
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so patently false I'm not sure if you aren't just trolling. I use windows 8 on a 150 DPI screen (28" 4k) on my work desktop and a 220 DPI screen on my laptop (rMBP). Both have no problems, and most commercial apps already support it (chrome, IE no problem, I've heard phtoshop is ok as well).

I have rMBP too and no I'm not trolling, you must not be using it at the full resolution. If you use Windows at the full resolution for the device, everything gets extremely small, so you have to increase the font/title bar size, even then you have to turn on zoom on IE and Chrome and the UI elements on all Desktop apps is incredibly tiny. Playing games is incredibly annoying because of how tiny everything is. Most D…

That's just wrong... what you're saying makes me think you're not having the scaling factor (equivalent of OS X scaling) enabled in display settings.

Re: Announcing the Surface 3

#283

Post by stinkytaco »

martijn_himself wrote: post #166
microtonal wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surface 3, Surface Pro 3, Surface 2 RT, uhh... Well, at least it is better than before, when people bought a Surface tablet expecting it to run regular x86 desktop applications, because Windows. Having nearly the same name (Surface RT vs. Surface Pro) didn't really help.

Microsoft has taken a leaf out of Apple's book and simplified product lines and names, and are up front about availability and configurations. Other PC and laptop manufacturers seem to go out of their way to make things as confusing for the consumer as possible. I was briefly contemplating getting the Asus Zenbook UX305 but it is available in different configurations in (different) global markets, with the European m…

I feel like Apple's fallen of the wagon on this one, however. Look at the iPad line. From what I can tell there are at least 6 different models and all of those are available in different storage capacities and with different connectivity options. Additionally, there are 3 different iPhone models. If you're a consumer walking into Best Buy for an iPad, I can definitely see you getting a raw deal if you don't already know what you want.

Re: Announcing the Surface 3

#284

Post by WorldWideWayne »

joshuapants wrote: post #281
WorldWideWayne wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not at all because these are tablet computers. I own a few of them and I can honestly say that I only use the keyboard when I'm sitting at a desk with it...and the keyboard I use there is an MS Natural keyboard. If I travel, I take my Typecover with me, but I mostly work at home.

I don't entirely disagree, but my point was that it's a lot harder to use a computer without a physical keyboard/mouse than it is to use an Xbox without a Kinect. You can certainly use a Surface with no type cover, but even in Modern IE and other apps I prefer to type with a hardware keyboard. Let me put it this way: by having a computer (even if it has a tablet form factor, it is a Real Computer) without a mouse/key…

It depends on how you work, so I disagree that you always lose the core functionality. I could totally go without the type cover if I wanted to because I just don't travel much.

As a matter of fact, I think when the Surface Pro 4 comes out, I will not buy the type cover and take the savings instead. In any case, I really, really disagree that Microsoft is being sleazy by offering a choice. It's more like they're going all-in on the idea that you can use all of Windows without a physical keyboard.

Re: Announcing the Surface 3

#285

Post by bduerst »

sixothree wrote: post #68

I hate to say it but I'm dreading whatever awful television commercials they'll start putting out. They really do make it embarrassing to own a Surface Pro 3.

The "I am the best"[1] SP3 commercials were still better than the cringey Surface 2 commercials [2], IMO.

[1] https://youtu.be/1jP4O7rEHQ8

[2] http://www.ispot.tv/ad/75ZE/microsoft-surface-2-teacher

Re: Announcing the Surface 3

#286

Post by JimA »

Someone1234 wrote: post #64
geerlingguy wrote: post #42

Actual product page: http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/products/surface-3 And buy now page with tech specs: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/productI... Looks like $499 for 64GB storage and 2GB RAM, $599 for 128GB storage and 4GB of RAM (WiFi models; 4G LTE model pricing wasn't showing for me).

That 2 GB, 64 GB model just looks painful to use. I've seen a lot of Windows installs use up more than 64 GB, in particular as WinSXS grows as more updates are installed (thus more duplicate DLLs are stored). If anyone asked me, I'd describe 128 GB as the "minimum" storage needed for Windows. And even then you aren't storing much if any user data on it. 4 GB is the minimum I'd run anything newer than Windows XP on. T…

The WinSXS bloat has been fixed in the latest versions, so the disk space required for an OS is more or less static now, barring any new functionality that requires new files.

Re: Announcing the Surface 3

#287

Post by JBiserkov »

Someone1234 wrote: post #30

I own a Surface Pro 3, and when I first got it I'd describe the experience as just mediocre. However Microsoft has been aggressively updating the software as has Intel, and as a result of those effects the SP3 has really stepped up and is now quite a good little tablet/ultrabook combo. I only have two remaining concerns with the SP3: My i5 version continues to get extremely hot near the middle of the device (e.g. whe…

>Intel has been aggressively updating the software

Indeed. With the January update to GPU drivers, the SP3 is able to drive a 4k monitor @ 60Hz while still having the built-in display on, also @ 60Hz.

Not all 4k monitors though, only the older, MST ones.

See https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/2v7te8/reduce_cpu_...

For gaming, get an USB fan.

Re: Announcing the Surface 3

#289

Post by semi-extrinsic »

stonemetal wrote: post #27
freehunter wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kind of off topic, but related: I recently bought an audio book from Humble Bundle and have been trying to figure out how to put it on my iPhone.I don't listen to audio books at home, only in the car or while I'm walking. Anyone know how to easily download an audiobook from Humble Bundle and put it on an iPhone to listen to later?

If I am not mistaken what they give you is a huge MP3. You need to download it, import it to iTunes, and put it on your phone just like you would any other MP3.

Wouldn't it just be magical if you could download any file to your phone without needing a computer? Because that's what my $180 (without a contract) Moto G allows me to do.
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