Surface Pro 3

[PZ]

A couple of weeks ago I purchased a Surface Pro 3 for my sweetie so she could have the best of both worlds of tablet and PC.  I did not hold much expectation for it because it had the form factor of an iPad.  However, I was pleasantly surprised at the power and potential of the machine.  The pen is extremely precise (like a Wacom device) yet lets you use fingers at the same time for navigation.  Once the pen approaches the screen, the touch is disabled so you need not worry about errant sweeps of the hand.

Intrigued, I started installing software that I normally use, and discovered that this is a full-fledged PC in the form factor of a tablet.  So good in fact that I purchased one for myself last week and am now using it for my w@&k needs as well as for home (using it now with pen, finger, and keyboard).

It is using W8.1, which I initially disliked, but after a couple of weeks, actually like, especially because you can go back to the old desktop view at any time.

[Art Blade]

nice, a new tech toy is always uplifting. :)

[Binnatics]

I checked some reviews and it is indeed a good device, compared to the rest of cross-over devices available. Most mentioned downsides are the fact that upgrades (keyboard, kickstand, hardware upgrades) are expensive and that the cooling seems not perfect when using it under heavy load. But you don't buy such a thing to start gaming I think, so it just seems a perfect solution for any computing at home or at w@&k.  :-X :)

[PZ]

Yes, the downside is that the keyboard is not provided, which it should be.  Also, the pen has two batteries in it, a AAAA and a coin battery - the pen will not w@&k if the batteries die.

I use mine to record the screen as video and audio using Camtasia Studio, and have not experienced any cooling issues.  I have the i7 version which I would have expected to give cooling issues, but to date, nothing but silence (no fan noise)

I can honestly say that if I had to give up all of my computers and be left with only a single one, the Surface would be it because it does everything I need (except gaming, of course, but that is why I have a console  :-() )

[Art Blade]

 :-D

[mandru]

Does your Surface tablet have a USB port to add your own keyboard?  I've seen some interesting flexible silicon models that have been reviewed as very portable and usable.


I've long been interested in the Surface systems though I've been waiting for larger formats at least the size of my 24 inch diagonal monitor.  I've also seen some table top sized systems that are very intriguing.  One Surface table top had the functionality of being able to detect and interface (open device files, both in and out drag and drop to Surface and between the devices) with compatible cameras, phones, drives, tablets and other peripheral devices just by setting them down on the table top.


I do hope that you are finding the Surface OS to be more user friendly than mt experiences with Windows 8.

I've been largely underwhelmed with Windows 8 and the touch interface on my Vaio Tap20 tablet that I solely use to manage and display my sheet music.  It's exactly what I needed for for that single but beyond that Win8 completely fails to inspire me.

When I right click an MP3 to play it in the media center I've never been able figure out how to close the media center which seems to insist on hanging open in the background sucking up CPU cycles I'd prefer to apply to PowerPoint.  A full restart has been the only way I can find to close any of the Welcome Page Apps once launched as opposed to having it hang in ready mode burning up resources until system shut down.

I can't understand why Windows 8 doesn't offer a preference option to go direct to the Desk Top instead of the Welcome Page that I find of no use.  Then again maybe an update since release has made that option available but after downloading the full Office Suite at the kiosk I bought the Tap 20 through it's never been allowed to come into contact with the internet again or any other wireless access for that matter.

It's funny my lead guitarist's iPad settings constantly freak out because it detects my Tap's presence but can't find a way to connect so that it can potentially leech internet access off it.  >:D

[Art Blade]

I've been largely underwhelmed with Windows 8

yep, when I saw it on my PC I said, "Hi, and bye." And replaced it with win7 :-D

I can't understand why Windows 8 doesn't offer a preference option to go direct to the Desk Top instead of the Welcome Page that I find of no use.  Then again maybe an update since release has made that option available

I should think so. Take a look :)

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/whats-new

Go to the desktop when you sign in, instead of Start. If you spend more time in the desktop, you can sign in (boot) directly to the desktop instead of the Start screen.

[Binnatics]

Funny thing is that Windows 10 will have the good old start menu back, and the tiles are just part of that ^-^
In my opinion, they could have completely skipped the tiles thing.
Why not let people customize their own 'quick access desktop' on their hardware? I believe that's the biggest advantage of any PC

[PZ]

Yes, mandru, there is a single USB port which can accept a docking station, or you can directly plug in a device.  The MS keyboard is interesting - magnetic and all you need do is bring it close to the bottom of the Surface and it will snap in place.  It also serves as a cover (about 3 mm thick) which automatically turns off the PC (sleep, I think)

If you go to the Personalization section, then Task bar and navigation, there is a check box you can click to go directly to the desktop on startup.

I'm actually appreciating w8 more as I use it.  For instance, you can set a simple pin number to unlock your machine instead of having to type in your password each time.  For me, once I'm in desktop mode, I don't see operational difference than the same software I run on w7

[mandru]

Consumer Reports magazine for this month that arrived last night did a nice write up on the current group of top model tablets with docking keyboards intended as potential replacements for desktop computers.  The MS Surface Pro3 (3rd Gen for the series) when tested once as a laptop and again as a tablet ranked as the top dog by a clear margin in both categories over the three other top ranking manufacturer's models (Asus Transformer, HP Split and Lenovo Milx).  This group of tested products in their final four ranked high even when compared to current dedicated laptops even though they each in their own fashion strived to trim down size and weight to compete as tablets yet retain high computing facility.  :-X

The article said that largest sales resistance they have determined for this hybrid++ format is that consumers are having some difficulty in defining exactly what it is they are buying.  Tablet?  Laptop? Desktop replacement?  Clearer labeling of product would allow the consumers to grasp the concept of these products better and evaluate their purchasing need.

End of synopsis.  PZ, your Surface sounds like a winner.  :-D  :-X
........................................................................

I've yet to pull out my Tap20 and run down that preference setting and hopefully it will be available in base Win8.0 the next time I get it out and fire it up here at home.


There is one feature of using Win8 *spits* as touchscreen that I think was really poorly designed.

When I'm in the .JPEG  folder that stores the master list of my sheet music (so that I can copy/paste the song files to PowerPoint that I use in performances) you touch and hold the file that you wish to manipulate.  That opens the drop down menu where you select the action that you want.  It makes me crazy that the Delete selection is right tight on top of the Copy option.  There's no space at all between these two choices in the menu list.

I'm bloody tired of having to fish my sheet music back out of the Recycle Bin because the touchscreen has either misread my Copy press or that trying to w@&k quickly I've mis-touched the command.  And no my fingers are not fat!  I can't even claim I'm big boned.

It forces me to drag along a wireless mouse where ever I go for the needed precision when I'm arranging my PowerPoint sessions which negates the whole reason for owning a tablet.

[Art Blade]

not sure whether it works, mandru, but if I had your computer and a touch screen, I would want to touch the song file and drag it across the screen with my finger and drop it on the program such as powerpoint to w@&k with it. I wouldn't want to need to operate menus for that. Can you do that?

[mandru]

I had tried that but if I remember correctly it moves the file (removing it from the master list) instead of copying it.

[Art Blade]

I think if you drop it on a running program such as power point, the file can't just go missing (like: it's not as if the program virtually consumed it)

[mandru]

It doesn't go missing it just now lives in PowerPoint instead of the master file.  As I remember it doesn't even ask which I want it moves it instead of copying it.  That's not just touch but the same goes for the mouse too if I recall correctly.  I know there's some reason I have to right click and select copy to load  PowerPoint instead of  a simple drag/drop.

I don't go out of my way to create extra key clicks.  ^-^

[Art Blade]

 :)

Makes me wonder who is helping whom. The computer (actually, the OS) helping the user or the other way round. In your case, I'd like to have an option to tell the OS what it should do when I was dragging files around with my finger. Like, I want to move it or I want to create a copy of it. Actually, it reminds me of a program that I've got.. which gives me an idea:

Find out whether keeping STRG, or SHIFT, or ALT, or any combination of these, pressed changes what happens with the file you have under your fingertip when dragging it around. You might want to create a simple dummy.txt file to experiment with.  :)

[mandru]

I appreciate the thought but digging through the Accessibility folder and popping open and then working with the on screen keyboard is about equal to the effort I put into just using the mouse for precision clicking.  :)

[Art Blade]

 :-D

Alright. I give up. But tell me something, why is it you got that touchscreen, again? :-()

[mandru]

For a comp screen that will fit on a music stand displaying two almost full sized pages of sheet music side by side and the ability to simply right or left swipe between songs.

Also the fact that the files automatically organize themselves alphabetically has saved me hours of sorting and filing sheet music.  It means I never have to search through 300 jumbled pages to find a song that hasn't been used for a long time or was misfiled.  It also helps that my music director can email me a scan of new songs in .JPEG format and I can have it permanently loaded, filed and even placed in the order that it will be played the next time we meet.

That way I'm hot and ready to rock in just a few moments.  :-()

[PZ]

... consumers are having some difficulty in defining exactly what it is they are buying.  Tablet?  Laptop? Desktop replacement?

Interestingly, all 3.  In the morning I like to drink a cup of coffee in bed for about an hour before rising to start my day.  I surf the web using the Surface as a tablet - has replaced my Android tablet.  I like the pen because it allows me great precision when clicking the small links.

When I want to attach my wife's magnetic keyboard to actually do some w@&k in bed, the kickstand is infinitely positionable , which means I can place myself into a very comfortable position and have perfect angles - typing is a breeze.

At w@&k, I can plug it into my network and the machine has almost as much power as my desktop.

[mandru]

Interpreting from the article as best I can the consumer's difficulty lies in Windows not clearly putting a label or possibly creating a new classification name that expresses that Surface includes all those functions so that potential customers can get their heads around everything that's in that tiny but expensive package.

Once that's understood then they would be better able to determine if it fills their current computing needs and see that it has the power to grow should those needs increase.

[Art Blade]

defining exactly what it is they are buying.  Tablet?  Laptop? Desktop replacement?

I hear it also performs exceptionally well when used as a two-handed fly swatter. Careful with pet animals and family members while swinging, though. :-D

[fragger]

Always the pragmatist, Art

Just to interject a non-sheet music hypothesis (sorry for butting in, mandru) but I was thinking about how or if a tablet of this type could benefit me in my virtual-modelling and artwork endeavors. Many of the functions employed in virtual-model building require precise inputs - for instance if I'm building a model to a human scale I sometimes need to specify dimensions down to two decimal places (sometimes three in Poser) in order for the scale to remain consistent. For that, nothing beats mouse-and-keyboard entry, where I can simply click on an object, type in the dimensions required, and Bob becomes my uncle.

Trying to manipulate parts of a model at such scales by sloughing my finger across a screen seems comparable to trying to engrave the Declaration of Independence on a grain of rice using a blunt crayon.

Not just dimensions but rotational angles, positioning and fitting to other objects. I can't see any viable substitute for a mouse and keyboard for this kind of super-fine manipulation of virtual objects.

I'm not trying to be critical or stick-in-the-muddish. I'm just curious about how the software I currently use would translate into tablet-use, and I can't see how it could, effectively. For what I do, I need to input precise numbers, and for that I need a precise number-inputty thing of some sort.

[mandru]

Just to interject a non-sheet music hypothesis (sorry for butting in, mandru)...

No need to apologize.  Actually this thread was about PZ's new Surface and I was the one taking it off topic complaining about Win8.  :-[


But since you mentioned your efforts in virtual modeling this bit of new technology may address some of your concerns over limitations the tablet format would have.

http://www.dump.com/flexsensedisplay/


When I saw this yesterday I thought of your w@&k with graphics.  :)

[Binnatics]

Interesting technology, although not revolutionary. I see it more as another solution for things we already are able to manage with other input devices. But it is definitely fascinating.  :)

[PZ]

Hijacking is perfectly acceptable - feels more like a conversation a group would have in real life, person-to-person.  The conversation is dynamic and alive - I like that.  :-X