Illiterati
Council Member & Author
Just got mine a few hours ago and already really like it a lot.
Putting it through its paces right now. No complaints as yet.
:-)
Putting it through its paces right now. No complaints as yet.
:-)
Microsoft Surface Pro
- Thread starter Illiterati
- Start date
I am soooo jealous! I have been playing with one of those (as I have mentioned before), and with the dock and mini DisplayPort it will support multiple monitors at full HD resolution 1920 x 1080.
Also, Office 365 has started distributing Office 2013 which is better organized for touch input.
It is the only implementation of Windows 8 that makes sense. I have tested it on a desktop, an all-in-one touch computer with a 22" screen, a large media touch screen and the Dell XPS tablet. The Surface is the best of them all. The desktop is the worst.
Illiterati
Council Member & Author
Uh, ya. Office 2013 Professional has already been installed (by me).
It's still a lot of fun to play with, I'll be lucky to get to sleep tonight. The thing's like crack.
I've installed a few Windows 7 programs on it, and they're running fine, including World of Warcraft. (it's an i5 processor, after all, and 4GB of RAM)
It's still a lot of fun to play with, I'll be lucky to get to sleep tonight. The thing's like crack.
I've installed a few Windows 7 programs on it, and they're running fine, including World of Warcraft. (it's an i5 processor, after all, and 4GB of RAM)
Yep. That i5 makes it far and away the fastest tablet in existence when in tablet mode. And wait until the Gen2 Pro's come out - they will have the Haswell 7W parts instead of Ivy Bridge so they will be just as fast and also get roughly double the battery life (Surface was originally intended to launch with Haswell but Intel delayed the CPU launch a bit so it wasn't possible for this first iteration).
Illiterati
Council Member & Author
I like having basically full-pc capability on something the size of a tablet. The Apple-heads are bitching about how "Microsoft is trying to copy Apple", but they still don't seem to get that MS introduced the first tablet many years ago, long before Crapple.
So who is copying who, buster?
So who is copying who, buster?
Bluce Ree
Tech Admin / Council Member
Well, in all fairness, Apple started work on the concept of the tablet device back in 1987.
Atari was one of the first with the Atari ST-PAD Stylus back in '91, which was an Atari ST computer in a pad format with a built-in screen.
Then there was the first tablet designed to be an Internet device (hello, Google Chromebook) by a company called Webbook in 1996. Here's their patent filing:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/THE WEBBOOK COMPANY FILING FOR PATENT PROTECTION COVERAGE ON JAVA...-a018458820
Then there was Intel's Web Pad in '99:
Then finally came Microsoft's first tablet PC circa 2000.
Of course, there were touch-enabled handheld devices going back to the early 90s, like the Apple Newton (1993). Incidentally, an episode of the Simpsons captured its usefulness quite well:
Nothing Apple makes compares with the Surface Pro. The iPad cannot come close to doing what the Surface Pro does. The Air has similar portability, but it is basically a netbook and it does not have a touch screen. Apple has nothing in this form factor which has the same capability. They would have to take a Macbook and make it into a tablet. You can even install VMware 9 workstation on the Surface and run iOS as a virtual machine!
Im gettin one.
Nothing Apple makes compares with the Surface Pro. The iPad cannot come close to doing what the Surface Pro does. The Air has similar portability, but it is basically a netbook and it does not have a touch screen. Apple has nothing in this form factor which has the same capability. They would have to take a Macbook and make it into a tablet. You can even install VMware 9 workstation on the Surface and run iOS as a virtual machine!
Im gettin one.
Exactly. The only way to even compare a Surface Pro properly to existing hardware is to compare it to an Ultrabook (like the Air). If you compare it to other tablets its no contest - the Pro is massively more powerful as it is running a full featured OS on notebook grade hardware.
The best comparison I heard is an iPad is for content consumption - read an eBook, watch a movie or such. It is next to useless for any type of actual productivity. A Surface on the other hand is a content creator first and a content consumer second.
I dont hate Windows 8, I just hate it on anything other than a tablet, and I only like Windows 8 Pro (and above) and not RT. The iPad can effectively fill the shoes of a netbook. You can use Office Web Apps to use Office, and Skydrive to sync and share. But you still cant install other software on it like Quickbooks or full on games. Tons of stuff you cant do with an iPad that you can easily do with the Surface.
I utterly DESPISE it on a desktop or any form where you need to use a keyboard and mouse only. I have an entire thread ranting about that. Also, I already know that the enterprise will skip this release and they are skipping it in a huge way. Still, I think Microsoft can build a fanbase for this tablet and also for Windows 8 as a result of its implementation on the Surface Pro. If you have not checked it out, you owe yourself. On a tablet, all the crazy problems you experience on the desktop go away and it makes lots more sense.
mzzz
Well Known GateFan
Well, they should keep tablet stuff for tablet stuff and desktop stuff for desktop stuff and stop trying to mesh everything together, or at least allow backwards capability on it, I can't revert back to Windows 7 on it. Used to be able to go back to previous windows I think.
Illiterati
Council Member & Author
Well, I like my Surface Pro enough that I'll be putting my iPad 3 up for sale shortly. I have no need for the damned thing.
--- merged: Feb 10, 2013 at 3:24 PM ---
At this point, I've got WoW, Steam, Dropbox, Office Pro 2013 and Kindle installed on it with no problems. Without having removed the recovery partition, I've still got about 48GB space left on it. Once I sell my iPad, I'll be getting an SDXC card for the slot on this thing, and I'll transfer as much to that as possible.
--- merged: Feb 10, 2013 at 3:24 PM ---
I'm using my Windows 7 programs on my Pro with no issues (including "fun" stuff like World of Warcraft and Civ V). If it can run the former, I'm not worried about it's abilities.
At this point, I've got WoW, Steam, Dropbox, Office Pro 2013 and Kindle installed on it with no problems. Without having removed the recovery partition, I've still got about 48GB space left on it. Once I sell my iPad, I'll be getting an SDXC card for the slot on this thing, and I'll transfer as much to that as possible.
Well, I like my Surface Pro enough that I'll be putting my iPad 3 up for sale shortly. I have no need for the damned thing.
--- merged: Feb 10, 2013 at 3:24 PM ---
I'm using my Windows 7 programs on my Pro with no issues (including "fun" stuff like World of Warcraft and Civ V). If it can run the former, I'm not worried about it's abilities.
At this point, I've got WoW, Steam, Dropbox, Office Pro 2013 and Kindle installed on it with no problems. Without having removed the recovery partition, I've still got about 48GB space left on it. Once I sell my iPad, I'll be getting an SDXC card for the slot on this thing, and I'll transfer as much to that as possible.
Consider using a wireless NAS for external storage. You can access your stuff in a personal cloud and free up space on your tablet.
All wirelesshttp://www.amazon.com/LaCie-Wireless-Ethernet-Attached-301932/dp/B0044WX0K2/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt
Illiterati
Council Member & Author
Just picked this up so I could connect my Surface Pro to one of my monitors.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024603&p_id=9475&seq=1&format=2
It's a hell of a lot cheaper than getting it most anywhere else. I DID end up using a Dremel tool on it to sand it down a wee bit on the mini displayport end of things, but other than that, it's working perfectly.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024603&p_id=9475&seq=1&format=2
It's a hell of a lot cheaper than getting it most anywhere else. I DID end up using a Dremel tool on it to sand it down a wee bit on the mini displayport end of things, but other than that, it's working perfectly.
I have seen the Surface Pro in a dual monitor setup, and it sends out FULL HD 1920x1080.
BTW, have you tried out Microsoft Speech Control? Surprisingly good...can open and close programs, Start Screen tiles, dictate text messages or documents, and even make Skype calls. I was pleasantly surprised with it. It is on your Surface Pro. Takes a bit to set it up but worth it. How do you like your new setup?
Illiterati
Council Member & Author
I haven't played with the MSC stuff yet, but I'll have to.I have seen the Surface Pro in a dual monitor setup, and it sends out FULL HD 1920x1080.
Sadly, it will need to wait until after this weekend. I'm doing the Wondercon thing and have a guest staying until Monday afternoon.
Very tempting offer from Best Buy...a Surface Pro with 128mb for $679.99! Very very tempting indeed.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/microso...oc=01&CampaignID=524029&SubscriberID=60369915
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/microso...oc=01&CampaignID=524029&SubscriberID=60369915