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The people this ad is aimed at already know the Mac side, they don't need more of an explanation. the windows way of doing things might be new to them so requires more info.

Don't kid yourself, the majority of Mac users were Windows users first. Most Mac users KNOW Windows probably better than they know the Mac OS.
 
Sounds like the one near me. Every time I pass it there are 10 or so employees for 3-4 customers. I never go in there because it irritates me wherever I go that the salespeople come up to me and ask if I need help. If I need help I will ask for it. Until then, leave me alone!

The thing I don't get with the Microsoft Store is the inability to get the professional software there, or anyone that knows anything about it.

I go in, and ask, "I'd like a copy of Exchange 2013, and 10 client licenses. I already have Windows Server 2012, and I'd like to install it on those."

"Ummmm.... I don't think we have that. That's a cloud thing, right?"

"No, it's software that lets you run a mail server on your own servers. You do have a cloud version, but I'd rather have it on my own servers."

"..."
 
MS definitely did a good job at perfecting the Surface, but for me that product still doesn't feel right.
Firstly, there's the high price tag that throws people off (and remember that the price has been a selling point for Windows PC vs Mac for a long time). So now people have an affordable Air, which they know is a great laptop, it feels solid, looks premium and is very sleek. Meanwhile MS wants them to buy their Surface, that looks weird and can't be easily used as a laptop and still feels quite awkward as a tablet.
So apart from the price, the Surface just feels like a collection of trade offs, just as all those Asuses, Acers etc feel for me. You get a keyboard, but it's weirdly thinner than the screen and it's not included "in the box", it's a laptop, but you can't use it like a laptop - yes, you have the kickstand, but it looks like an excuse, flimsy and just weird like on most "transformer" devices. When I see something like a kickstand I'm always thinking:
"Yep, that's what's gonna break first here".
Imagine that laptop is the computer you use in a lot of different environments, some of them confined in terms of space: train, bus etc. Sure, laptops took the place of home towers, but being able to use it both in and outside the house (without compromising on power and usability) is why they took the lead. And Air delivers in that department, while I would think twice before taking the Surface into the wild. With the Air or the Retina I don't have to think twice, when on the train, on the bus or basically anywhere else, I just take out the Macbook and start using it without spending too much time on setting it properly and comfortably. Whereas when I look at the Surface I can see myself struggling to find a good working position if I wanted to use it on a train for example: all that awkwardness of setting it up, for me it would feel like standing in a crowded subway, trying to read a book, while holding onto something and not disturbing other passengers at the same time.
Summing up, for me the Surface feels like most of these weird Windows OEM's concepts - like a gimmick. It has that WOW feature/factor, but that just looks nice in ads and not in real life, when you take that equipment into your hands and you imagine using it in your daily scenarios and you come to the conclusion: "Yeah that's nice, but why is it better again?"
 
Honestly the Surface Pro 3 is a really good device with a lot of potential.

The issue I have is what it runs Windows 8, and I have gotten beyond tired of Windows 8. It's a good OS behind the scenes, but sadly it is still loaded with bugs that Microsoft fails to address. Go to one of their forums, ask for help or post the bug and you'll get A LOT of responses from people saying they have the exact same issue, but then someone from Microsoft replies back pretty much saying that this is not a bug and something else is wrong with ALL of our systems.
 
It's sad I've memorized that Winter Wonderland commercials lyrics because it's aired ALL THE TIME. Start putting pride into your products Apple and get back to the ads! You haven't done well with them since Get a Mac.
 
I always wanted to have SP3 since the release to replace my Macbook Alu Late 2008. But I still feel some part of it still missing.

I would love to have touch screen and pen input on my laptop, and kickstand is not a problem to me because I rarely use my laptop on my lap, and I can just detach the keyboard to make it a tablet.

There are still various reason why SP3 is still not a good option for me:
  • The price. It is too expensive for my taste, since it is a Windows devices. I personally go with MBPR13" with that price.
  • I have no problem trading of High Resolution to a more reasonable resolution such as 1080p, since legacy and most app don't support High DPI.
  • The single USB 3 Port. Oh come on, does MS ask me to bring USB hub wherever I go? The mouse itself require one port for transceiver (no, I'm not fan of BT mouse, even on my mac it always disconnect randomly).
  • Battery life is not as good as MBA, although it has similar performance. I think it was the Super High Res screen to be blame of.
  • Some kickstand problem on the net. I've read various report that the kickstand become loose after sometime.

Now I am waiting for the new 12 MBA / refreshed 13 MBPR / surface pro 4 to see next year is the right time for upgrade or not. My current MB is still sufficient for me as I upgraded 8GB and SSD, although it feel slower after Yosemite update, and I don't get the transparency effect :(
 
I will need a new laptop in early 2015 and I'm really tempted by the Surface Pro line. I have been waiting to see if Apple will release the Macbook Air with retina display, but if it's going to be released in October I cannot wait that long. I've always used Windows and am hoping to switch over to a Mac, but I'll still need to install Windows on it. The Surface Pro really looks good but I'm worried about how functional the typecover would be.


You can install windows on a Mac using bootcamp on the Mac. I did just that and now I have a dual boot system. Apple outlines how you can do it on their website. Just do a google search. It is super easy.

The reason I did it because Quicken for Mac is lousy compared to Quicken for Windows. I set aside 100 gigs of space on my 512 gig drive for windows. I should have set up more because boot camp takes 50 gigs of space. Just keep that in mind when you do it.
 
Don't kid yourself, the majority of Mac users were Windows users first. Most Mac users KNOW Windows probably better than they know the Mac OS.


That will be me. I was a windows user ever since I started using a computer back in 1988. This thanksgiving I bought a top of the line MacBook Pro. And I have to admit it is a really positive experience. I also have windows on the Mac and it runs faster than on a windows machine.
 
MS definitely did a good job at perfecting the Surface, but for me that product still doesn't feel right.
Firstly, there's the high price tag that throws people off (and remember that the price has been a selling point for Windows PC vs Mac for a long time). So now people have an affordable Air, which they know is a great laptop, it feels solid, looks premium and is very sleek. Meanwhile MS wants them to buy their Surface, that looks weird and can't be easily used as a laptop and still feels quite awkward as a tablet.
So apart from the price, the Surface just feels like a collection of trade offs, just as all those Asuses, Acers etc feel for me. You get a keyboard, but it's weirdly thinner than the screen and it's not included "in the box", it's a laptop, but you can't use it like a laptop - yes, you have the kickstand, but it looks like an excuse, flimsy and just weird like on most "transformer" devices. When I see something like a kickstand I'm always thinking:
"Yep, that's what's gonna break first here".
Imagine that laptop is the computer you use in a lot of different environments, some of them confined in terms of space: train, bus etc. Sure, laptops took the place of home towers, but being able to use it both in and outside the house (without compromising on power and usability) is why they took the lead. And Air delivers in that department, while I would think twice before taking the Surface into the wild. With the Air or the Retina I don't have to think twice, when on the train, on the bus or basically anywhere else, I just take out the Macbook and start using it without spending too much time on setting it properly and comfortably. Whereas when I look at the Surface I can see myself struggling to find a good working position if I wanted to use it on a train for example: all that awkwardness of setting it up, for me it would feel like standing in a crowded subway, trying to read a book, while holding onto something and not disturbing other passengers at the same time.
Summing up, for me the Surface feels like most of these weird Windows OEM's concepts - like a gimmick. It has that WOW feature/factor, but that just looks nice in ads and not in real life, when you take that equipment into your hands and you imagine using it in your daily scenarios and you come to the conclusion: "Yeah that's nice, but why is it better again?"

You're right. It is really awkward. When I bought mine I opened it on the train and the whole setting up - pulling kickstand out and repositioning the type cover felt clumsy. Yes it's a laptop and a tablet but it isn't a better tablet than an iPad and it isn't a better laptop than a MacBook. I lasted two weeks before selling it. Just about to buy a MacBook. The SP3 is a beautiful device to hold and look at but its just a bipolar mess. Chuck 8.1 into the mix and the experience is even more disjointed.
 
Don't kid yourself, the majority of Mac users were Windows users first. Most Mac users KNOW Windows probably better than they know the Mac OS.
I certainly do (the older Windows versions anyways), because I spent so much time under the hood troubleshooting it. Never had to do that with my Macs, so I'm much less conversant at the command line and less familiar with the inner workings of OS X - because I've never been forced to become intimately familiar with it like I was with Windows (I started with PCs on MS-DOS and used every version of Windows up through XP before I abandoned ship.)


As an aside, I've been paying attention to the NFL sidelines this season since they were all given SP2s to use for reviewing photos of formations, coverages, etc. They're also are still provided with the old black and white photos in ring binders as a backup and/or option for those who prefer the "old school" approach. From what I've seen, the photos seem to be used far more than the SP2s are. Back around October, Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler referred to the SP2 as a "knockoff iPad" in an interview. I'm sure that had some Microsoft folks hopping mad.
 
lololololol

I'm sorry. No. It wasn't too many years ago I had Microsoft. I remember the continual crashing, rebooting, calling the company and not being able to find someone to take responsibility for a problem let alone fix it.\

I have used windows for 15 years without a blip...with 3d software, photoshop, illustrator, ableton live and reason. I think most people who hate windows just had crappy computers

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\
Summing up, for me the Surface feels like most of these weird Windows OEM's concepts - like a gimmick. It has that WOW feature/factor, but that just looks nice in ads and not in real life, when you take that equipment into your hands and you imagine using it in your daily scenarios and you come to the conclusion: "Yeah that's nice, but why is it better again?"

Because it has a great digitizer. If you dont need the pen--get an mba
 
Can I use the keyboard on my lap?



...Oh. Well, come back when you've mastered that feature and we'll talk.



And if you could bring your high-end prices down to within a hundred bucks of an equivalent Air, that would be a big plus as well.


Are you sure you've tried the 3 and not the 2? I own the three and use it on my lap all the time, works like a charm.

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Honestly the Surface Pro 3 is a really good device with a lot of potential.



The issue I have is what it runs Windows 8, and I have gotten beyond tired of Windows 8. It's a good OS behind the scenes, but sadly it is still loaded with bugs that Microsoft fails to address.


Like what? I mean, I really hate windows 8. Makes me throw up a little every time I turn the computer on. But it really doesn't seem to have any bugs - my SP3 is rock stable.


have to use the SP3 for work. It's an awesome device, but W8 sucks monkey a**. I'm hoping that the next version will be dramatically better.
 
\The surface Pro 3 is an interesting device. I must admit that I find tempting. However, Microsoft skips over an important fact. If you want to use applications such as Adobe Photoshop you need to buy the $1800 core i7 model. I find this to be very misleading, and I think will blow up in Microsoft's face.

the core i5 performance of the sp3 compares favorably to ultabooks in its class. if you are talking about super hi res photoshop files with lots of layers--you should but looking at something more in the way of a desktop or full size laptop.
 
Here is Microsoft's issue... The process to do everything on the Surface Pro (and Windows in general) is much more lengthly/difficult than Mac. Even on this site, nearly every one of the "points" MS is trying to point out has 1 paragraph for the Mac and 2 for the Surface Pro.

What an over-generalisation. How about the process to deploy 30 computers, apply a security policy to all of them, and install specific software they need. Windows - easy and well-documented. Mac? LOL... it's a struggle.

And I work at a university and maintain both Mac and Windows computer labs. Windows is so much easier to work with.

And I'm typing this on a Mac. I love my Mac. But the idea that it's easier? No freaking way.
 
I tried it at a Microsoft store and I found the rubber keyboard most uncomfortable. I just dont think that blending a tablet and a laptop into one single device that doesnt quite fulfill either role is not the way to go. And the price point on this product is simply out of whack!
 
I wonder why MS didn't do that because that's really what the Surface Pro 3 is? Ah yes to steer you away from the iPad. lol Oh and some of the stuff they show in the commercial requires you to have installed Photoshop. lol

Shhhhh. The point is not whether the user can afford $500 of software right after switching from Mac OS, but that the tablet can run it.
 
Sure, but it's 2014. OSes should be able to do this automatically like OS X does.

Some .NET updates can break people's apps so some of the updates are 'recommended'. Meaning you should test first before deploying updates. It's just common sense.

Apple's all-or-nothing way of deploying updates isn't exactly bulletproof. Just look at the recent Safari update that got pulled after causing a huge amount of issues. Plus Apple doesn't have anywhere close to the amount of software Microsoft does, so you have to manage updates properly.

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Silly Amateur IT Droid....

Replace Microsoft with Linux and you'll see that when the REAL work needs to get done it's on Linux. Replace Microsoft with Linux and the rest of your post also works.

In fact, the majority of the Web runs on.... You guessed it - Linux. The majority of the mail servers run on.... You guessed it - Linux. When the business absolutely has to get done they run Linux. Not that silly little Microsoft. You think Comcast, AOL, Time Warner, Verizon run their ISP e-mail on Windows? Think again.

The London and New York (NYSE) stock exchanges dabbled with Windows to run the exchanges. Epic failure and was replaced ASAP with Linux. Why? Unreliable and slower than the Linux solution.

The #1 tech company and most valuable company in the world (Apple) doesn't run Windows and if you read the industry rags, Mac use in business is increasing at a large pace. I expect that possibly, if Apple works well with IBM you could see this take off much more as there are huge advantages to not run Windows anywhere in your organization. Apple supposedly runs the big daddy of ERP software, SAP so you bet your sweet butt it runs on OS X.

Heck, the Target credit card breach can be 99% attributed to Windows, which was running on the POS terminals as well as the card readers. Real simple to code malware for as well as get it past most security. I'd also bet dollars to donuts that Sony's woes were because of Windows!

None of that has any relation to my post. Try again. Just to remind you, I said:

"When you grow up and enter the real world you will see that Microsoft has a strong technical following like no other company. Namely I.T professionals that use their products and services to do business, to make things work, to run their entire organisations.

There are many thousands of Microsoft-centric websites/forums/online communities that vastly outnumber anything Apple related. These people are not just 'fans', they are I.T professionals helping others to get stuff done."


How does your silly post have any relation to what I said?
 
Walked by the Microsoft Store. 3 Customers, HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON...that's it...LOL!

So? Does that actually indicate wether the product is good or not?

Y'know what? I think MS makes some very good points.

And not only that, but the current generation are pretty nice devices albeit relatively expensive. That being said, they are the ones that come the closest to "all-in-one" in our modern understanding of the word
 
Like all the defensive comments one sees on Windows Phone threads on sites like the Verge? :D Microsoft fanboys aren't any different/better than any other fanboys. ;)

Lol!!!

You need to get out more if you believe all fanboys are created equal ;)

Microsoft would have the lowest level of fanboy devotion, as they fall under the broad spectrum of PC users.
 
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