Surface tablet anyone?

[rbmrtn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny It always sounds good, but I've never been able to install linux on a machine without hunting for drivers and editing 12 configuration files, plus getting razzed by teenagers on support forums when you ask a question.

Never had an issue installing linux, but I built my own distro. Sometime there are problems specific to a distribution. Biggest problem has been with people trying to use windows only hardware like printers/modems that only work with windows software. For instance the latest ubuntu has issues with wireless adapters, but that is an ubuntu problem not a linux problem.

The hackintosh is neat... did one a while back but haven't updated it in while.

[Sirka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny It seems that microsoft's product strategy is "wait for years after someone has a working product, then clone it, shove windows onto it and hope for the best".

+1
MS is late to the game, again. Windows 8 is foisting tablet paradigm on Windows user and it will fail like Vista did IMHO!
Their new tablet will be thicker and come in at 2 lbs. I would wait for 2.0.

[rbmrtn]

Here is an opensource project that replaces/restores the windows classic shell interface, can be used with 8

Welcome to Classic Shell

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbmrtn Never had an issue installing linux, but I built my own distro. Sometime there are problems specific to a distribution. ...

I've put Ubuntu, and now Xubuntu (Xfce on Ubuntu) on a few machines, and experimented with Mint. I really have not had any significant problems with drivers, but I did do a little homework first to see if other people were successful with Ubuntu on that same hardware. There can be issues of course, but they haven't hurt me.

To the contrary, I'm still using an old, old scanner on Xubuntu that hasn't been supported on OSX or Windows for years.

And when I buy peripherals, I try to find ones that don't need drivers. This protects you against future support issues anyhow, and you can move it from machine to machine w/o worrying about whether the latest drivers are installed. For webcams, look for UVC capability - this is a standard interface supported by just about everything.

I don't understand why everything needs it's own driver anyhow. Don't all printers print, and scanners scan? Shouldn't there just be a generic driver that they all work with? For me, this is the beauty of USB - every USB HDD and flash drive, basic mouse and keyboard just plug in and work. Nice and simple. And if I plug in a monitor, it's just a matter of the interface and resolution being supported, I don't need a driver to switch from an Acer monitor to a ViewSonic monitor. And so on.

-ERD50

[rbmrtn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 I don't understand why everything needs it's own driver anyhow. Don't all printers print, and scanners scan? Shouldn't there just be a generic driver that they all work with? For me, this is the beauty of USB - every USB HDD and flash drive, basic mouse and keyboard just plug in and work. Nice and simple. And if I plug in a monitor, it's just a matter of the interface and resolution being supported, I don't need a driver to switch from an Acer monitor to a ViewSonic monitor. And so on. -ERD50

If we could get all hardware manufacturers to agree on the same interface design then it would be simple. All hardware has drivers, over time those drivers get incorporated into OS so that a separate driver installation is not needed. Especially true for things that have standard design like USB. But the OS still has to send something to that printer that it understands, the driver does that converts what you see on screen to a printer language, like PCL or postscript. Monitors typically have VGA connections which has been around since late 80s so it pretty well standard, so monitors don't have drivers, but the graphics cards do. Windows 98 for example didn't come with driver to support USB storage, so if you plugged in a USB drive you get an unknown device. Some people wrote a free driver to make USB storage work with 98.

[obgyn65]

It has just been announced that the Pro version is coming out in January. I will get one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrayHare Microsoft's site is currently accepting pre-orders for the Surface w/RT only. Unless I missed it, the Surface with Windows 8 says "Coming Soon". Perhaps that will be Oct 26; I saw no specific date at Microsoft's site.

[explanade]

Estimated to get half the battery life of the regular Surface tablets or about 4 hours.

Starting at $900 without keyboard cover.

[Nodak]

I want one but will wait for Windows 8.

[Victoriaplh]

I've briefly played around with the one my friend recently bought and the feeling was so far positive. It takes a little getting used to but I managed to handle various functions in a matter of minutes. It weighs about the same as my iPad and I think the flop-up keyboard is kind of handy. I heard that a more powerful "Surface Pro" is due to be released early next year running regular Windows programs and I honestly more interested to looking at that one. Despite being small and trendy, I'm still frustrated by the limitation of my iPad for more serious computing and still ended up carrying my laptop on all my business trips. After all, the iPad was just a simple internet device rather that a functional PC. I think if its price turns out to stay in line of other ultrabook or laptops, I'll probably get one.

[Victoriaplh]

BTW, I heard that a new chip set was recently released by Inel that could run full Windows 8 software, having comparable battery life. The first model I notice is the Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2 running on Window 8 Pro selling at $649. May be that's worthy to looking at

[obgyn65]

Thank you for the update.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Victoriaplh BTW, I heard that a new chip set was recently released by Inel that could run full Windows 8 software, having comparable battery life. The first model I notice is the Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2 running on Window 8 Pro selling at $649. May be that's worthy to looking at

[obgyn65]

The launch date is Feb 9.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nodak I want one but will wait for Windows 8.

[obgyn65]

Had anyone bought the Surface Pro ? Any first impression please ?

[explanade]

Bunch of reviews out there.

One reaction seems to be that this is Microsoft's first attempt so their future attempts should be better.

If for nothing else than intel chips will improve in battery life.

[Rambler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obgyn65 Had anyone bought the Surface Pro ? Any first impression please ?

Nope, and no plan to do so. My iPad4 and DW's iPad mini do all we need to do on a tablet and more...and they work. I've had too many bad experiences with Windows to even want to try. If you need Windows for a work related software program, I guess I would understand, but if not, I see no reason to go to the Surface. YMMV.

R

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obgyn65 Had anyone bought the Surface Pro ? Any first impression please ?

I don't have one, but this review was interesting:

Mossberg Surface Pro Review

While I like and trust Mossberg's reviews, I do think he misses the boat a bit on this one (and looking at the comments after his article, most people agree with me). He pans it for not being as good as an iPad (it's heavier, has shorter battery life, etc) for the things an iPad does. On the other hand, it looks like a good, light, capable replacement for a laptop (it runs useful productivity software, has USB ports,etc) and it can servicably do the things the iPad does. Especially for travel, having a single device would be really nice.

The concept sounds good to me. But I am not eager to be a beta tester for Windoze 8 and I'm not sure this particular pad is the best one--when the time comes I'll probably buy a windows tablet made by a company that has a history of producing good hardware.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rambler Nope, and no plan to do so. My iPad4 and DW's iPad mini do all we need to do on a tablet and more...and they work. If you need Windows for a work related software program, I guess I would understand, but if not, I see no reason to go to the Surface.

+1. I spent some time playing with a Surface RT (the same screen & UI as the Pro) and a touchscreen laptop with Win8 recently, and really liked the latter (posted awhile back). I'm also inclined to have an iPad and a conventional laptop instead of a Surface, and use what's needed on any particular day.

But fortunately I don't need to buy anything at the moment.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. It's not evident yet that the Surface or Win8 will turn the Apple/Google tide (like it was with the first iPhone or iPad for example). But just as a slew of tablets failed miserably in the marketplace before the iPad was introduced, the iPad created a new device niche. So it's hard to predict, we'll see...

[GrayHare]

I've had the chance to play with a demo Surface Pro and have been very impressed. Ability to run Windows apps is key, and the high res display is beautiful. For those situations when a wireless connection is unsuitable, or you prefer to use a mouse, the USB port comes in handy. This tablet is a winner IMO.

[explanade]

Well the 128 GB is sold out in many places but some stores only received one or two.

It got poor marks for short battery life and the fact that you have to use it on a table (not easy to use on lap).

Better Intel processors in the future could make the battery life more competitive.

[photoguy]

Was in the microsoft store the other day and played with the surface pro. The main use I could think of it for is running lightroom while traveling. My impressions:

(1) The thing is thick as a laptop (not sure what the actual dimensions are but it looked and felt that way)

(2) The touch cover doesn't work very well for either typing / mouse pointer. I would probably want to get the thicker keyboard version. Although I'm sure that I would get better with the touch cover with more practice i'm not sure it's worth the effort / better than typing on screen.

(3) The kick stand only goes one way. I.e., it doesn't go vertical. One of the reasons I like tablets for browsing is that they have a lot of height for web browsing compared to laptops.

For myself, I see the surface pro primarily as a competitor to ultrabooks as opposed to other tablets.