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Do you own a Surface device

  • Yes I own a Surface Pro or Surfacebook - it’s great

    Votes: 165 51.2%
  • Yes I own a Surface laptop - it’s great

    Votes: 36 11.2%
  • No - i’m not a fan

    Votes: 69 21.4%
  • Not anymore I had a bad experience

    Votes: 52 16.1%

  • Total voters
    322
Yes. I've tried Malwarebytes (and a few others too). Thank you. Wiped this machine so many times, I do not think it remembers what it is. :p

So my iOS turn off background app refresh was not a good idea in Windows? Makes complete sense.

I will definitely give a Surface Book another go at some point when I know i can devote the time, patience and curiosity rather than return because of a few minor bugs. I normally do not give up, but my timing just stunk.

I'll definitely be better prepared for take 2. And who knows? I'll keep my eyes open for sales.
My Surface Laptop forget the Apple mouse after restart/updates too. But not my old Logitec MX2 so something similar going on?

I use to erase / clone my Mac 2x a year to keep it in top shape.

I think tinkering is all I do with these.
 
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That is interesting your Surface Laptop forgot the Apple mouse, though I seem to remember last Friday’s MS sales rep saying that Apple mice do not always work with W10.

And my family gifted me a Microsoft store card. :)

It was silly to go whole hog, when I have zip experience with Windows 10.

I may just go back to lower spec model Surface Pro to start with, but no Arc mouse. :p Worse comes to worse, I’ll pick up a cheap Wacom tablet for art. I should research if the SP can power one of those Wacom (or clone) tablets though.

I’ve been reading iffy reviews on both models, (SP6 and SB2 13.5).

At least with all my failed attempts, I may have a credit on my CC that I can use toward a bill. :)
 
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I’ve been reading iffy reviews on both models, (SP6 and SB2 13.5).

At least with all my failed attempts, I may have a credit on my CC that I can use toward a bill. :)

If I could offer a little advice, stop reading reviews and just use the thing yourself. Most reviews have some sort of bias, whether it be they just generally don't like the product or brand, user error, have a bad unit, etc. If I had a dollar for every 1-star review I have read due to user error...

Forget the reviews, stick with it for a bit and make up your own mind and then keep it or return it based on your own experience, not that of someone who may be giving it a 1 star because it doesn't work the way *they* wanted it to work.
 
If I could offer a little advice, stop reading reviews and just use the thing yourself. Most reviews have some sort of bias, whether it be they just generally don't like the product or brand, user error, have a bad unit, etc. If I had a dollar for every 1-star review I have read due to user error...

Forget the reviews, stick with it for a bit and make up your own mind and then keep it or return it based on your own experience, not that of someone who may be giving it a 1 star because it doesn't work the way *they* wanted it to work.

Agreed, there's nothing really wrong with either the SP6 or the SB2, more likely just didn't meet the individuals expectations, nor do I own either.

Notebookcheck.com being one of the few reliable sources IMHO as they balance facts and not purely opinion. Personally I rarely bother as I generally know what I want, just a quick scan to check there's no auto fail design features :p

Q-6
 
Agreed, there's nothing really wrong with either the SP6 or the SB2, more likely just didn't meet the individuals expectations, nor do I own either.

Notebookcheck.com being one of the few reliable sources IMHO as they balance facts and not purely opinion. Personally I rarely bother as I generally know what I want, just a quick scan to check there's no auto fail design features :p

Q-6
And Lisa Gade :) at Mobiletechreview she's a good rounded reviewer
 
Agreed, there's nothing really wrong with either the SP6 or the SB2, more likely just didn't meet the individuals expectations, nor do I own either.

Notebookcheck.com being one of the few reliable sources IMHO as they balance facts and not purely opinion. Personally I rarely bother as I generally know what I want, just a quick scan to check there's no auto fail design features :p

Q-6

Yeah I am not big into reviews. They are often the tools of confirmation bias and/or buyers remorse when it comes to customer reviews and often biased or incentivized when professional. There are exceptions of course, but it happens more often than many know or would like to believe.
 
If I could offer a little advice, stop reading reviews and just use the thing yourself. Most reviews have some sort of bias, whether it be they just generally don't like the product or brand, user error, have a bad unit, etc. If I had a dollar for every 1-star review I have read due to user error...

Forget the reviews, stick with it for a bit and make up your own mind and then keep it or return it based on your own experience, not that of someone who may be giving it a 1 star because it doesn't work the way *they* wanted it to work.

I generally skip user reviews unless I see complaints on a retailer site and these correlate with the manufacturer’s support (as was the case with the HP), if it’s not a wide spread legit complaint. It simply comes down to not being familiar with the system. Will see if I can make an appointment the day I go into MS again to determine what I’ll be picking up.

Right now, it looks like an SB2 13, but if the SP6 can run a small Wacom tablet without hiccups, I may just go back to that. I won’t throw in the towel if I need a separate Wacom to draw. I know both will be fine for school, writing and the usual consumption.

I need to look up Lisa’s reviews again since she also does digital art (I know she enjoys the HP Spectre 360 a lot in that regard).

Anyway, thanks for the common sense.

Agreed, there's nothing really wrong with either the SP6 or the SB2, more likely just didn't meet the individuals expectations, nor do I own either.

Notebookcheck.com being one of the few reliable sources IMHO as they balance facts and not purely opinion. Personally I rarely bother as I generally know what I want, just a quick scan to check there's no auto fail design features :p

Q-6

LOL! (Auto fail design features) I promise not make keyboards magically disappear again. :D

Thanks for the link.

And cheers to @SteveJUAE for the Lisa Gade shout out. The only tech reviewer I pay attention to, given her non bias, cross platform reviews.

Thanks, guys.

:)

Good point about paid reviews. The thing is, I am generally a very thorough tester. Now that I know what I want, it should be painless.
 
And Lisa Gade :) at Mobiletechreview she's a good rounded reviewer

Liza's good value and more than qualified, I like the detail Notebookcheck goes into, and they look to be systematic.

Q-6
[doublepost=1545845434][/doublepost]
I generally skip user reviews unless I see complaints on a retailer site and these correlate with the manufacturer’s support (as was the case with the HP), if it’s not a wide spread legit complaint. It simply comes down to not being familiar with the system. Will see if I can make an appointment the day I go into MS again to determine what I’ll be picking up.

Right now, it looks like an SB2 13, but if the SP6 can run a small Wacom tablet without hiccups, I may just go back to that. I won’t throw in the towel if I need a separate Wacom to draw. I know both will be fine for school, writing and the usual consumption.

I need to look up Lisa’s reviews again since she also does digital art (I know she enjoys the HP Spectre 360 a lot in that regard).

Anyway, thanks for the common sense.



LOL! (Auto fail design features) I promise not make keyboards magically disappear again. :D

Thanks for the link.

And cheers to @SteveJUAE for the Lisa Gade shout out. The only tech reviewer I pay attention to, given her non bias, cross platform reviews.

Thanks, guys.

:)

Good point about paid reviews. The thing is, I am generally a very thorough tester. Now that I know what I want, it should be painless.

I would say hold off on the Wacom as Surface isn't too shabby as a drawing tool from what we see. I'm no artist by any means so far from qualified to judge, equally after a couple of weeks you'll know if you can adjust to the Surface, or not.

For me the pen is just for notes, highlighting & diagramming etc. so likes of the Switch 5 is good enough, maybe even the Surface Go, as my expectation matches what the hardware is capable of and meets my need for the purpose.

Q-6
 
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Liza's good value and more than qualified, I like the detail Notebookcheck goes into, and they look to be systematic.

Q-6


To a fault at times, which often leaves reviews unfinished. Too many computers to review, too little time :)

Good point about paid reviews. The thing is, I am generally a very thorough tester. Now that I know what I want, it should be painless.

It happens a lot in the auto industry. Journalists are brought in for launch events, put up in hotels, wined and dined and given perks and gifts and then have to write an “unbiased review” for a company that heavily advertises in their magazine. I am sure some
do and I am sure some feel the influence to keep the client happy.

I have no idea to what degree this happens in the computer industry, but I have no doubt it does. Whether it’s passes, events, a constant supply of new tech to review that they don’t want to see cut off, etc.

Amazon is full of fake reviews as too I am sure is Best Buy.

One way to ruin a new purchase of anything is to start reading reviews :)
 
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To a fault at times, which often leaves reviews unfinished. Too many computers to review, too little time :)

I don't generally buy new hardware moment it's out the gate so there's always enough info and my background lends to it as well. Most these days tend to have it sorted out, which what what's so infuriating about Apple and disregard for it's customers. We're on Gen 3 of the "ButterBall" keyboard and they are still seemingly less reliable than a basic notebook costing just a few hundred dollars...

Anyway "you reap what you sow" and why forum's such as this exist today...

Q-6
 
I don't generally buy new hardware moment it's out the gate so there's always enough info and my background lends to it as well. Most these days tend to have it sorted out, which what what's so infuriating about Apple and disregard for it's customers. We're on Gen 3 of the "ButterBall" keyboard and they are still seemingly less reliable than a basic notebook costing just a few hundred dollars...

Anyway "you reap what you sow" and why forum's such as this exist today...

Q-6


I don't know what Apple's game is. When the first gen of butterfly keyboards failed, they released second gen which "allegedly" had been improved, but suffered from the same failures. Rather than change the design of the mechanism in any meaningful way, they instead added a silicone barrier to delay the inevitable.

When the iMac Pro was released and the machine was suffering from T2 related kernel panics, you would think Apple would address the problem with their most expensive machine before rolling it out in their best selling models, but nope. They went ahead and released the MacBook Pro anyway and even more reports of issues. You would think that would maybe get their attention and they would finally address the issue before additional roll-outs, but nope. Lets just add what we know is a problem to the MacBook Air and Mac Mini too. People will buy them anyway.

I still see reports of screen delamination (staingate), so that doesn't appear to be fixed yet either.

I don't want to turn this thread into a political one, so without mentioning names, I will reference a US politician during our primary season quipping that his supporters were so loyal that he could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody without losing any voters.

I think Apple isn't far behind. They can release anything, T2 issues, failing keyboards, delaminating screens, bent iPads, and their fanbase is overall so loyal that they won't lose many customers. That at least seems to be the case. They keep selling product and people keep defending it and policing the forums tellings others how they are blowing it out of proportion, typing on it wrong, cleaning it wrong, leveling it wrong, whatever :)
 
I don't know what Apple's game is. When the first gen of butterfly keyboards failed, they released second gen which "allegedly" had been improved, but suffered from the same failures. Rather than change the design of the mechanism in any meaningful way, they instead added a silicone barrier to delay the inevitable.

When the iMac Pro was released and the machine was suffering from T2 related kernel panics, you would think Apple would address the problem with their most expensive machine before rolling it out in their best selling models, but nope. They went ahead and released the MacBook Pro anyway and even more reports of issues. You would think that would maybe get their attention and they would finally address the issue before additional roll-outs, but nope. Lets just add what we know is a problem to the MacBook Air and Mac Mini too. People will buy them anyway.

I still see reports of screen delamination (staingate), so that doesn't appear to be fixed yet either.

I don't want to turn this thread into a political one, so without mentioning names, I will reference a US politician during our primary season quipping that his supporters were so loyal that he could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody without losing any voters.

I think Apple isn't far behind. They can release anything, T2 issues, failing keyboards, delaminating screens, bent iPads, and their fanbase is overall so loyal that they won't lose many customers. That at least seems to be the case. They keep selling product and people keep defending it and policing the forums tellings others how they are blowing it out of proportion, typing on it wrong, cleaning it wrong, leveling it wrong, whatever :)

Only Apple truly knows, equally with such actions they will inevitably loose more customers IMHO. Certainly a significant number of professional's have already dropped the platform, nor are they likely to return. Personally I find Apple's actions ludicrous from a company that trades solely on premium product.

Maybe Apple has simply peaked as all do, Apple doesn't impress as it once did, seems more focused on removing features, pushing margins, defending it's image with the excuses being evermore laughable. I definitely agree that Apple considers that it's customers will purchase whatever it produces, at whatever price it chooses a trip to any Apple Store validates that argument...

Q-6
 
One thing I did notice with our local Apple stores was that the computer tables weren't very busy this holiday, nor surprisingly were the iPad tables. A few punters at both, but nothing serious. The IPhone tables where far busier and the watch tables where like a feeding frenzy. If one thing seemed apparent, was that computer sales are not a major part of Apples business anymore.
 
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I started using Windows machines a decade or so ago and migrated over to Apple thinking that they were superior in their hardware and software (MacBook Pro 2015 was my last notebook). Moving up this year in having success with both Apple iPhones and iPads (others not so lucky), I decided to switch back to a windows 10 device solely because of where Apple is headed. Seems Apple, by the number of issues reported, don’t care about their customers anymore or it seems that way. So now I will jump ship and have both a Windows platform and an iPhone.

Neighbor of mine that used to work for IBM, now has a Lenovo notebook with windows 10 and at times with Lenix. He has no complaints, so I purchase my Lenovo hoping for the same. Time will tell. Apple lost me as a customer for their attitude towards customers with issues and the lack of transparency.
 
I'm still very happy with my Surface Pro 6, after owning it for a couple of months now my devices are now used in the following way

iMac 2012 - My main desktop at home, i'm hoping they update the iMac's this year so i can upgrade

Surface Pro 6 - it's now my laptop replacement, i use it for blog posts, long writing sessions, taking notes with the pen

iPad Pro 2017 - I use it to watch content at night and play games on (such as the new Tropico for iPad)

Those my use cases after a couple of months, i'm impressed with the Surface Pro 6 as a laptop replacement BUT the iPad Pro is still a better tablet. It's not a bad thing because if i go anywhere and need to take a laptop i now take my Surface Pro 6, the iPad Pro stays at home for watching Netflix and playing tablet style games.

I like it this way because while i've switched over to the Surface for my tablet i'm still keeping my toes in the water with the iMac, i still love to use MacOS and i'm hoping Apple continue to improve it.

PLEASE Apple release a new iMac this year, i really want to upgrade from my 2012 iMac that doesn't even have a retina display!
 
With there rumoured to be a redesign of the Surface Pro for later this year, does anyone think that the SurfaceBook may also get a redesign? If not what features are you expecting for the SurfaceBook 3?

The SurfaceBook wasn’t updated in 2018 so i’m guessing there will be some sort of update.
 
I believe there is an almost 100% chance of a Surface Book 3 in October, since it follows their previous release schedule.

Things I would have expect to see would be the Black color, updates to CPU/GPU, hopefully TB3, maybe 32GB RAM and 2TB Storage options?

Also maybe an update to the Surface Pen as well, since I keep seeing leaks and hints for an eventual update
 
I believe there is an almost 100% chance of a Surface Book 3 in October, since it follows their previous release schedule.

Things I would have expect to see would be the Black color, updates to CPU/GPU, hopefully TB3, maybe 32GB RAM and 2TB Storage options?

Also maybe an update to the Surface Pen as well, since I keep seeing leaks and hints for an eventual update

Money's ready :p

Q-6
 
You and me both :)

Flying low today brother, party just never stopped :p Last Surface Book paid for itself over and over again; USB C, TB-3 and an RTX 2070, although my Hex core Abacus remains to be a killer. Tears through data at 3.9GHz and hardly breaks a sweat, it's impressive :cool:

Corona 300K Rays.JPG

Passing 300K Rays, it's officially a monster - W10 all up on 1809 - 17763.134 super stable, never a glitch, does exactly what it needs to do without any issue whatsoever, full "working" system, something Apple could well learn from, opposed to the current garbage it churns out...

10 day's then wheels up, back to the affray :p

Q-6
 
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