My thoughts exactly. There's plenty of dirt cheap Windows laptops out there, but you probably wouldn't give them the light of day.. just because it's a 1.6 GHz Atom with 2 GB RAM. It's practicly useless! And I wouldn't want one if they gave me one. Heck, they couldn't pay me to use this!
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Microsoft Announces Intel Atom-Based Surface 3 With Windows 8.1 for $499
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My thoughts exactly. There's plenty of dirt cheap Windows laptops out there, but you probably wouldn't give them the light of day.. just because it's a 1.6 GHz Atom with 2 GB RAM. It's practicly useless! And I wouldn't want one if they gave me one. Heck, they couldn't pay me to use this!
I am glad that have made the pen an option now. I have no use and have never used the pen that came with my Surface Pro 3. I do feel the keyboard should have always been included in the purchase price though.
I doubt that I will get this model though. I have set aside my Surface Pro 3 just for a change, and started using my 2008 black MacBook again.
I doubt that I will get this model though. I have set aside my Surface Pro 3 just for a change, and started using my 2008 black MacBook again.
Hmmm, I wonder if these could be a Hackintosh?
Well, OS X on Intel atom processors is an interesting story... There used to be rudimentary support for atom in Snow Leopard's kernel, which lead many to believe that Apple was testing an atom MacBook internally. In one of SL's final point updates, all features related to atom were removed from the kernel. People continued updating to newer versions of OS X (the most recent I've heard people having success with is ML but I haven't done any research in a while) by rolling back the kernel to the last supported version after the install. So really, I'd say the chances are slim to none. I'd love to take a look at one though.
The Surface Pro 3 works decently (with no pen support unfortunately. Get on TouchBase's case about that, they write the only drivers for hackintoshes with pens). The Surface Pro and Pro 2 are fully functional except for their wifi cards. USB wifi is a decent substitute.
Core M, on the other hand, should be a slam dunk for hackintoshes as soon as the new MacBook comes out.
I appreciate that Microsoft is including stylus support with this version, and hope that Apple takes note. I use my iPad mini for work, and the vast majority of the time I'm writing on it. I've tried a number of styluses at this point but all have various flaws or incompatibilities, and none feel as good as writing with a real pen. I persist because I'd rather keep things digital, but I'm not happy with the way things are.
Now we have rumors that Apple will release an iPad Pro with proper stylus support, which is marvelous. I need that smaller size for portability, though. Microsoft didn't include stylus support on their original Surface non-Pro lineup, so it's fantastic that Microsoft included stylus support and also made the device a bit smaller. It doesn't matter to me if Apple creates an "iPad mini Pro" line, so long as they also make a small device with stylus support. Smaller devices are used professionally, too!
If Apple doesn't provide something with stylus support soon, then - exact product dimensions pending - I may give up my iPad mini for this. I'd lose the functionality of iMessage and SMS forwarding, which I also use frequently for team communications (saving myself the effort and time of having to pull out my phone, when my iPad is already in hand), but the writing issue is really dragging on.
Good for Microsoft for releasing what seems to be a fantastic product. Let's hope it spurs Apple to increase the feature set on its line of products.
Now we have rumors that Apple will release an iPad Pro with proper stylus support, which is marvelous. I need that smaller size for portability, though. Microsoft didn't include stylus support on their original Surface non-Pro lineup, so it's fantastic that Microsoft included stylus support and also made the device a bit smaller. It doesn't matter to me if Apple creates an "iPad mini Pro" line, so long as they also make a small device with stylus support. Smaller devices are used professionally, too!
If Apple doesn't provide something with stylus support soon, then - exact product dimensions pending - I may give up my iPad mini for this. I'd lose the functionality of iMessage and SMS forwarding, which I also use frequently for team communications (saving myself the effort and time of having to pull out my phone, when my iPad is already in hand), but the writing issue is really dragging on.
Good for Microsoft for releasing what seems to be a fantastic product. Let's hope it spurs Apple to increase the feature set on its line of products.
"With the new 10-inch Surface 3, get the perfect balance of performance and value (Type Cover and Surface Pen sold separately)."
Disingenuous to have the Microsoft photo with Surface and pen/ cover but laid the price just for the Surface. They did the same last time round - sure Msft would pick Apple up for doing the same.
Disingenuous to have the Microsoft photo with Surface and pen/ cover but laid the price just for the Surface. They did the same last time round - sure Msft would pick Apple up for doing the same.
I think that campuses are good gauges for product adoptage. I think young people are more willing to try new products than older people. But I'm never around a campus any more to see. I haven't seen any yet in any coffee shops though... Which has a higher number of such devices than your average public place (albeit a slightly older demographic though).
I'm going to guess you're running with an excessively large swap file or hibernation file. Those can take up huge amounts of storage on high-RAM systems. With those purged, the install size should not exceed 10GB.
you are a dummy! despising a company that has done more for the world than you probably ever could, in a hundred lifetimes!
you dont have to agree with everyone 'great', but you can learn from them. i would go up the street crawling on my belly to hear what bill gates had to say!
persistence and being able to learn from your mistakes and pick yourself up and move to a stronger direction/position are two very admirable and rare qualities.
I really dont get all the hate. I think this is a pretty interesting deal. For those that say 2gb wont be enough I say wait for the benchmarks etc. I know this is an Apple forum but the surface is a pretty great machine.
I compare this to the air which it blows out of the water price wise and pretty much matches spec wise (the $599 one).
I compare this to the air which it blows out of the water price wise and pretty much matches spec wise (the $599 one).
Toaster-Fridge
It's still too heavy to be an awesome tablet, and too underpowered to be an awesome laptop, and so falls between two stools (again). It seems like a neat idea until you use one, and then you realise that it's not the best laptop and not the best tablet and it's main strength is that it's a laptop-and-tablet-all-in-one. Which means that it's great for those times when you need to use a laptop and a tablet at exactly the same time simultaneously. For the rest of the time, it's a compromise for the sake of convergence.
Also, Microsoft's best shot would have been to include the keyboard for $499. Lots of people will be attracted by the price, then realise that it's more than $600 to include one of the most defining features, and conclude that they can buy a better tablet (iPad Air) and keep their old laptop which is probably more powerful than this thing (more memory and storage, faster processor, proper keyboard, perhaps even a better screen). As such, the supposed value proposition for this Surface only holds up if you assume that people are shopping for a new laptop and tablet at the exact same time. If you already have a decent laptop, why the heck would you buy this?
It's still too heavy to be an awesome tablet, and too underpowered to be an awesome laptop, and so falls between two stools (again). It seems like a neat idea until you use one, and then you realise that it's not the best laptop and not the best tablet and it's main strength is that it's a laptop-and-tablet-all-in-one. Which means that it's great for those times when you need to use a laptop and a tablet at exactly the same time simultaneously. For the rest of the time, it's a compromise for the sake of convergence.
Also, Microsoft's best shot would have been to include the keyboard for $499. Lots of people will be attracted by the price, then realise that it's more than $600 to include one of the most defining features, and conclude that they can buy a better tablet (iPad Air) and keep their old laptop which is probably more powerful than this thing (more memory and storage, faster processor, proper keyboard, perhaps even a better screen). As such, the supposed value proposition for this Surface only holds up if you assume that people are shopping for a new laptop and tablet at the exact same time. If you already have a decent laptop, why the heck would you buy this?
Absolutely convinced now that the iPad Pro will run full OS X. You heard it here first.
This thing is a total iPad killer.
This thing is a total iPad killer.
it has 13 less ppi than a 13 inch macbook with retina display. Hardly noticeable.
You are completely on the money there...
There's no reason Apple couldn't put that board in an iPad (Pro) and the device be even more portable with a touch screen (The same size).
They are just clinging on to this ultra portable laptop crap and neglecting the already solution, THE IPAD!!
Give me an iPad with a 12" touch screen a CoreM chip, USB and OSX and I'll be as happy as a pig in... well, you know
My business computer has been Windows-free and it will continue to be that way. No Thanks!
While I have nothing bad to say about this product it's pretty obvious Microsoft can't sell the Surface.
While I have nothing bad to say about this product it's pretty obvious Microsoft can't sell the Surface.
Depends on when this happened. Right now I would enjoy hearing Gates speak. Back in the late '90s when Microsoft under his leadership was engaging in some VERY underhanded and downright despicable tactics to crush all opposition I probably would have passed as well.
Well there was a time when 2GB of ram seemed overkill for a desktop OS. How long have you been using computers?
you clearly don't know a thing about windows development and it's advances.
Windows 8 uses considerably less space already, and less resources overall than Windows 7.
They have been streamlining the OS considerably over the years.
in fact, quite the opposite of OSx, Windows 8 is being made to run better on older hardware with less resources. I have seen it run quite succesfully, and believe it or not, smoothly on a Pentium 4 with 2gb of ram.
Do not mistake the clustertruck of an UI screwup with the underlying performance and enhancements Microsoft has made.
I am using a keyboard case to write this response. This makes the iPad way more productive. However, without true multi-tasking, it cannot be a full laptop replacement. Given the new Macbook I am not sure where Apple is going as there is a significant overlap at this point. An iPad with a keyboard case is now essentially the same as the new Macbook. The only difference is the lack of touch on the Macbook and the lack of multi-tasking on the iPad.
I agree to a point, but it's not that simple.
This device doesn't match up straight to any Apple device.
With the kickstand and awkward balance, it's mostly a tablet.
Yet in tablet form, it's poor for using all the full-OS software. Yet, the selection of tablet-optimized software on Windows is very weak. The number of apps is OK, but it's just piles and piles of superficial junk with just a few gems thrown in.
You can fiddle with the kickstand and keyboard cover to turn it into a laptop, but it's a netbook-level of experience (at best -- even netbooks didn't make you fiddle with a kickstand and we don't know much about how that keyboard cover works in real life.)
So:
1. you can use it as a tablet in which case it matches up against the iPad, where it has a much weaker range of tablet-optimized software, and is quite large and heavy. Not sure about it's performance, but I suspect the iPad can push it around. While the specs aren't that bad for the price, Windows is a heavy-weight OS compared to iOS, so I think it's pricey compared to an iPad, in terms of bang for the buck (I'm still speculating that it isn't going to perform that well -- we'll see.)
2. you can use it as a tablet and run non-tablet-optimized software. That's something the iPad can't do, so here it matches up against Apple laptops. But the user experience is just terrible. $500-$600 is not a good price for terrible usability, regardless of how much cheaper it is than an alternative with a good user experience.
3. you can use it as a laptop in which case it matches straight-up against Apple laptops. The big problem here is that it's a netbook-level experience, at best. Add a keyboard cover to the $599 model and you're getting close to an 11" MBA, but are no where near the user experience.
So: When you match it against the iPad, it's large, heavy, pricey, with a weak range of software. When you match it up against apple laptops it's cheap, but has serious usability issues.
To me this device is: "I want a tablet but I have to run Windows (including some non-tablet-optimized software), and I can only get one device."
If that's not you, then you'd prefer either an iPad, an Apple laptop--or nothing.
The wildcard here is the stylus support. If the user experience with it is good, then the story shifts:
(1) I think the usability of desktop software in tablet mode goes up, mitigating the software issue compared to the iPad.
(2) It has drawing, sketching and note-taking capabilities that no Apple device has.
Over the past ~6 years, meetings here have visibly gone from Laptops (Dell and Apple) to iPads, and then to Surface Pro tablets.
The Surface Pro 3 turned a lot of heads. It may not be the best tablet, but it is the best "real" computer at that size.