I was walking around with a full drawing platform since Windows 95 with Pen Extensions and a Tablet PC with digitizer.
But if it helps your narrative to paint this as "new" and "finally", please ignore the failed history of Windows for Pen Computing and the Tablet PC.
so was I, hence "finally"... you are welcome to live in that past and ignore the present of "windows for pen computing" and "Tablet PC" - I rather not.
I am not a fan a Surface 3 and I would not buy it, but a Surface3 has USB3 ports and a mini display port so one can connect an exta drive or a big screen to it. So next time check the facts before you post.
In fact you can output to multiple monitors. Not to forget the docking station too allowing more outputs. You can't do that with an iPad so need to purchase a Macbook but there's so many things you can't do on the Macbook so need to buy an iPad. It's a vicious circle of owning multiple devices, where with the Surface you have a tablet and PC in one. It will do everything you need it to. Office productivity, gaming, entertainment. Don't see why all the hate on what is a good product.
Satya Nadella has his work cut out for him. I wonder if he knows that?
As I've said in the past, Microsoft will end up doing this revolving door of CEO things because there's so much to fix and investors are impatient. Just look how long it took Apple to come back, even with Steve Jobs at the helm. It took a few blockbuster products (iPod/iPhone) to get Apple back on the map like they are today. So...I don't hear of any blockbuster products coming from Microsoft anytime soon. This would be a problem!
it is pretty simple - if you know how to draw or edit in photoshop, get a surface pro (or a convertible with Wacom or Ntrig built in) if you do not get the Air. It is just amazing that you can finally walk around with a full drawing platform
Neahhh... not so much. I have a feeling you aren't actually an artist (more likely a techie/specie Win fan who has a pirated copy of photoshop that he sometime dabbles with (and understands <1/4 of) "photoshopping" photographs for his own (and friends) amusement on his homebuilt gamer PC.) Pretty close?
PShop needs much more space (even feels a bit cramped on those 21" display/digitizers.) The interface is just too big, cumbersome and complex for a tablet. For heavy editing you simply need the real screen space and OTOH for sketching, much better alternatives exist (particularly so on the real tablets)
You can't do that with an iPad so need to purchase a Macbook but there's so many things you can't do on the Macbook so need to buy an iPad.
You don't need to buy an iPad. A MBA is a perfectly capable machine for almost all computing tasks. It has a very nice touch pad which gives you control similar to a touch screen. And it can do one thing that Surface cannot. It can run OS X. That alone is the best reason to buy a MBA rather than a Surface. I have not tried the new Surface, but as far as keyboards are concerned I prefer one that is backlit and has actual travel in the keystrokes rather than click-like haptic feedback. As others have mentioned the Surface is quite a bit more expensive than the MBA. Also with the Air you get an extra USB 3 port plus a card reader, but the OS is the big difference.
so was I, hence "finally"... you are welcome to live in that past and ignore the present of "windows for pen computing" and "Tablet PC" - I rather not.
You're kidding yourself if you think this is new and improved. Like I said, I was walking around with hybrid laptop/tablets running full Windows and a digitizer and running Photoshop and other tools back in the 90s. My "past" is your "new". You are welcome to ignore the past and pretend that Microsoft isn't just selling you the same tired ideas in shiny new packaging - I'd rather not.
You don't need to buy an iPad. A MBA is a perfectly capable machine for almost all computing tasks. It has a very nice touch pad which gives you control similar to a touch screen. And it can do one thing that Surface cannot. It can run OS X. That alone is the best reason to buy a MBA rather than a Surface. I have not tried the new Surface, but as far as keyboards are concerned I prefer one that has actual travel in the keystrokes rather than click-like haptic feedback. As others have mentioned the Surface is quite a bit more expensive than the MBA. Also with the Air you get an extra USB 3 port plus a card reader, but the OS is the big difference.
Why do so many Apple users have both an iPad and a Macbook? And not just a few - the majority of users have both.
The surface cannot run OS X because Apple do not allow anything non-apple to run it - this is a not a positive. Currently a MB can run Windows but this is because MS allow it. OS X would be great on my Surface Pro but unfortunately I'm not allowed to.
The prices are very comparable. MBA and SP3 with i5, 256GB and 8GB ram are 1,299 (add $129 for the SP3 keyboard). Is that quite a bit more expensive? Remembering that the SP3 has more than retina-quality display while the MBA has less than retina-quality. Also has touch screen and pen. Can also add a docking station to get more outputs. If I'm not reading the numbers incorrectly these others users you mention are wrong.
Like I said, I was walking around with hybrid laptop/tablets running full Windows and a digitizer and running Photoshop and other tools back in the 90s.
Drawing on the screen is sort of a niche feature. It is occasionally useful in the manner that it was demonstrated, but for the most part it is rarely needed. If you were doing real art with lots of pressure sensitive brushes, a Wacom would be a much better tool.
Why do so many Apple users have both an iPad and a Macbook? And not just a few - the majority of users have both.
They just love their Apple kit. I have one of just about everything and I am constantly buying the latest and greatest. It is sort of like an addiction.
As far as Microsoft 'allowing' Macs to run Windows, it is not like they had anything to say about it. It is made to install on any x86. Sure they could prevent it from running on Mac if they wanted to, but why would they? They are a software company. They sell software. Apple is a hardware company. The OS is free for Mac users, and not for sale as a stand alone product.
You don't need to buy an iPad. A MBA is a perfectly capable machine for almost all computing tasks. It has a very nice touch pad which gives you control similar to a touch screen. And it can do one thing that Surface cannot. It can run OS X. That alone is the best reason to buy a MBA rather than a Surface. I have not tried the new Surface, but as far as keyboards are concerned I prefer one that is backlit and has actual travel in the keystrokes rather than click-like haptic feedback. As others have mentioned the Surface is quite a bit more expensive than the MBA. Also with the Air you get an extra USB 3 port plus a card reader, but the OS is the big difference.
2nd gen keyboard covers are back lit. Also the Type covers have actual travel and not just haptic feedback.
Look for Satya Ballmer to do a complete "reset" (read: scrapping/moving to ape the next big thing from competitors, poorly) in about a year's time. Look for a complete "Windows Phone" reset along similar lines in around the same time. Just have to witness a few more quarters of these piles of fail tank some more, and then show's over.
Though MS has been known to hang on to loser products way past their sell-by date.
2nd gen keyboard covers are back lit. Also the Type covers have actual travel and not just haptic feedback.
I missed that part of his post., thanks It seems a lot of the arrogance comes from ignorance of what other products can do. I suspect if fully educated on what Android or Windows products can do, many Apple users would change or breakdown from cognitive dissonance.
I think I've had a sample of every Microsoft experimental tablet-PC hybrid. Most of them were pretty horrible. I have nothing against the Surface except that it is a costly compromise. Once they essentially require a keyboard and mouse well why not just give it a proper one? The 3rd gen Surface would probably be a great ultra book PC. I just can't see myself wanting to use it as a tablet, even in a pinch. The iPad Air is as large as any tablet should ever be and its aspect ratio is perfect for portrait mode.
There's more than enough market space for both Apple and Microsoft to be successful. Customers will decide whose vision for a personal computing device fits their needs. I don't know where the belief that one competitor has to completely annilate the others ever became the expectation, even if some competitors want you to believe it. The bottom line is that Microsoft owned more than 90% of the market at one point but they frittered it away with hubris and lack of vision. They have yet to right the ship. Windows 8 is still a train wreck and Surface isn't demonstrating anything other than their inability to separate from their past. How does Microsoft see themselves today? Are they a software powerhouse or a fledgling devices company? I don't think they really know and the Surface device exactly reflects that assertion.
Respectfully, I'm not sure I completely agree. Yes, it's not an iPad, but the weight is reasonable (it's 1.7 lbs vs 1 lbs). Also, it is as powerful as many entry to mid level laptops.
I think it's a fine device for those that must have full blown Windows on the go. That said, I think I'd still rather have an MBA or iPad MBP combo.
I'm an Apple fan, but this is the first device that I've taken notice of where I haven't said, "wow, this is dead in the water.
True. On paper, it's the first MS tablet that's not a non-starter. And then you start using it, and you understand that specs only tell part of the story. The screen resolution and dot pitch are great, except that they only work properly in Metro mode. When you run non-Metro apps (most of them, since nobody has really bothered developing for the new, unfinished UI platform) the pixels are too small and the user interface unusable.
The stand and keyboard are an improvement, but they're still way behind the ease of use of an actual laptop. The weight makes it a very cumbersome tablet, unpleasant to use for extended periods of time. I can see uses cases where it could be perfect for specific applications that require computing power, mobility, good battery life and Windows compatibility, but as a general purpose laptop and/or tablet replacement, it's awful. To be fair, it's a considerable improvement over Microsoft's previous attempts; but it's interesting to note that they abandoned the sub-12" market, and also pretty much killed RT without fanfare; first they blurred the marketing lines by removing the "RT" moniker from the product name last year, and this year they just did not update it. I think it shows the demise of RT has been orchestrated for a long time, and we've seen the last nail in its coffin.
The stand and keyboard are an improvement, but they're still way behind the ease of use of an actual laptop. The weight makes it a very cumbersome tablet, unpleasant to use for extended periods of time.
But it's only 146g more than the iPad (non-air) which didn't receive these sorts of complaints. Am I to understand you found all the iPads before the Air to be cumbersome and unpleasant to use for extended periods of time?
But it's only 146g more than the iPad (non-air) which didn't receive these sorts of complaints. Am I to understand you found all the iPads before the Air to be cumbersome and unpleasant to use for extended periods of time?
iPad 4: 1.44kg. Surface Pro 3: 1.76kg. Your math is off, the difference is 320g. And it's not just the weight, it's also the thickness and the sharp angles. Give it a try and you'll understand.
Apple should make a pocketable Mac (300 to 400 g). Not for heavy work, but the best Keynote and PowerPoint presentation tool, fully compatible with Mac. No, the iOS (iPad) is not compatible with the Mac.
Um no. PowerPoint and Keynote are usable in both iPad and a Mac.
Microsoft is still flailing. There's a reason why Windows tablets haven't caught on in the last 15 years.
Comments
I was walking around with a full drawing platform since Windows 95 with Pen Extensions and a Tablet PC with digitizer.
But if it helps your narrative to paint this as "new" and "finally", please ignore the failed history of Windows for Pen Computing and the Tablet PC.
so was I, hence "finally"... you are welcome to live in that past and ignore the present of "windows for pen computing" and "Tablet PC" - I rather not.
I am not a fan a Surface 3 and I would not buy it, but a Surface3 has USB3 ports and a mini display port so one can connect an exta drive or a big screen to it. So next time check the facts before you post.
In fact you can output to multiple monitors. Not to forget the docking station too allowing more outputs. You can't do that with an iPad so need to purchase a Macbook but there's so many things you can't do on the Macbook so need to buy an iPad. It's a vicious circle of owning multiple devices, where with the Surface you have a tablet and PC in one. It will do everything you need it to. Office productivity, gaming, entertainment. Don't see why all the hate on what is a good product.
Satya Nadella has his work cut out for him. I wonder if he knows that?
As I've said in the past, Microsoft will end up doing this revolving door of CEO things because there's so much to fix and investors are impatient. Just look how long it took Apple to come back, even with Steve Jobs at the helm. It took a few blockbuster products (iPod/iPhone) to get Apple back on the map like they are today. So...I don't hear of any blockbuster products coming from Microsoft anytime soon. This would be a problem!
Imagine if Apple were run by Vinnie Barbarino* instead of Tim C,... he wouldn't take this guff-
"Up you nose with a rubber hose!"
"Get off my case, toilet face!"
There... that's telling them!
/s
*(for those too young to know, Bing it)
it is pretty simple - if you know how to draw or edit in photoshop, get a surface pro (or a convertible with Wacom or Ntrig built in) if you do not get the Air. It is just amazing that you can finally walk around with a full drawing platform
Neahhh... not so much. I have a feeling you aren't actually an artist (more likely a techie/specie Win fan who has a pirated copy of photoshop that he sometime dabbles with (and understands <1/4 of) "photoshopping" photographs for his own (and friends) amusement on his homebuilt gamer PC.) Pretty close?
PShop needs much more space (even feels a bit cramped on those 21" display/digitizers.) The interface is just too big, cumbersome and complex for a tablet. For heavy editing you simply need the real screen space and OTOH for sketching, much better alternatives exist (particularly so on the real tablets)
You don't need to buy an iPad. A MBA is a perfectly capable machine for almost all computing tasks. It has a very nice touch pad which gives you control similar to a touch screen. And it can do one thing that Surface cannot. It can run OS X. That alone is the best reason to buy a MBA rather than a Surface. I have not tried the new Surface, but as far as keyboards are concerned I prefer one that is backlit and has actual travel in the keystrokes rather than click-like haptic feedback. As others have mentioned the Surface is quite a bit more expensive than the MBA. Also with the Air you get an extra USB 3 port plus a card reader, but the OS is the big difference.
You're kidding yourself if you think this is new and improved. Like I said, I was walking around with hybrid laptop/tablets running full Windows and a digitizer and running Photoshop and other tools back in the 90s. My "past" is your "new". You are welcome to ignore the past and pretend that Microsoft isn't just selling you the same tired ideas in shiny new packaging - I'd rather not.
You don't need to buy an iPad. A MBA is a perfectly capable machine for almost all computing tasks. It has a very nice touch pad which gives you control similar to a touch screen. And it can do one thing that Surface cannot. It can run OS X. That alone is the best reason to buy a MBA rather than a Surface. I have not tried the new Surface, but as far as keyboards are concerned I prefer one that has actual travel in the keystrokes rather than click-like haptic feedback. As others have mentioned the Surface is quite a bit more expensive than the MBA. Also with the Air you get an extra USB 3 port plus a card reader, but the OS is the big difference.
Why do so many Apple users have both an iPad and a Macbook? And not just a few - the majority of users have both.
The surface cannot run OS X because Apple do not allow anything non-apple to run it - this is a not a positive. Currently a MB can run Windows but this is because MS allow it. OS X would be great on my Surface Pro but unfortunately I'm not allowed to.
The prices are very comparable. MBA and SP3 with i5, 256GB and 8GB ram are 1,299 (add $129 for the SP3 keyboard). Is that quite a bit more expensive? Remembering that the SP3 has more than retina-quality display while the MBA has less than retina-quality. Also has touch screen and pen. Can also add a docking station to get more outputs. If I'm not reading the numbers incorrectly these others users you mention are wrong.
Drawing on the screen is sort of a niche feature. It is occasionally useful in the manner that it was demonstrated, but for the most part it is rarely needed. If you were doing real art with lots of pressure sensitive brushes, a Wacom would be a much better tool.
They just love their Apple kit. I have one of just about everything and I am constantly buying the latest and greatest. It is sort of like an addiction.
As far as Microsoft 'allowing' Macs to run Windows, it is not like they had anything to say about it. It is made to install on any x86. Sure they could prevent it from running on Mac if they wanted to, but why would they? They are a software company. They sell software. Apple is a hardware company. The OS is free for Mac users, and not for sale as a stand alone product.
You don't need to buy an iPad. A MBA is a perfectly capable machine for almost all computing tasks. It has a very nice touch pad which gives you control similar to a touch screen. And it can do one thing that Surface cannot. It can run OS X. That alone is the best reason to buy a MBA rather than a Surface. I have not tried the new Surface, but as far as keyboards are concerned I prefer one that is backlit and has actual travel in the keystrokes rather than click-like haptic feedback. As others have mentioned the Surface is quite a bit more expensive than the MBA. Also with the Air you get an extra USB 3 port plus a card reader, but the OS is the big difference.
2nd gen keyboard covers are back lit. Also the Type covers have actual travel and not just haptic feedback.
Look for Satya Ballmer to do a complete "reset" (read: scrapping/moving to ape the next big thing from competitors, poorly) in about a year's time. Look for a complete "Windows Phone" reset along similar lines in around the same time. Just have to witness a few more quarters of these piles of fail tank some more, and then show's over.
Though MS has been known to hang on to loser products way past their sell-by date.
ZuneForever™.
2nd gen keyboard covers are back lit. Also the Type covers have actual travel and not just haptic feedback.
I missed that part of his post., thanks It seems a lot of the arrogance comes from ignorance of what other products can do. I suspect if fully educated on what Android or Windows products can do, many Apple users would change or breakdown from cognitive dissonance.
There's more than enough market space for both Apple and Microsoft to be successful. Customers will decide whose vision for a personal computing device fits their needs. I don't know where the belief that one competitor has to completely annilate the others ever became the expectation, even if some competitors want you to believe it. The bottom line is that Microsoft owned more than 90% of the market at one point but they frittered it away with hubris and lack of vision. They have yet to right the ship. Windows 8 is still a train wreck and Surface isn't demonstrating anything other than their inability to separate from their past. How does Microsoft see themselves today? Are they a software powerhouse or a fledgling devices company? I don't think they really know and the Surface device exactly reflects that assertion.
Microsoft is lost and trying to find their way.
Microsoft is lost and trying to find their way.
In the consumer world that what it seems like. In the enterprise and cloud they are dominant and worthy of it.
Respectfully, I'm not sure I completely agree. Yes, it's not an iPad, but the weight is reasonable (it's 1.7 lbs vs 1 lbs). Also, it is as powerful as many entry to mid level laptops.
I think it's a fine device for those that must have full blown Windows on the go. That said, I think I'd still rather have an MBA or iPad MBP combo.
I'm an Apple fan, but this is the first device that I've taken notice of where I haven't said, "wow, this is dead in the water.
True. On paper, it's the first MS tablet that's not a non-starter. And then you start using it, and you understand that specs only tell part of the story. The screen resolution and dot pitch are great, except that they only work properly in Metro mode. When you run non-Metro apps (most of them, since nobody has really bothered developing for the new, unfinished UI platform) the pixels are too small and the user interface unusable.
The stand and keyboard are an improvement, but they're still way behind the ease of use of an actual laptop. The weight makes it a very cumbersome tablet, unpleasant to use for extended periods of time. I can see uses cases where it could be perfect for specific applications that require computing power, mobility, good battery life and Windows compatibility, but as a general purpose laptop and/or tablet replacement, it's awful. To be fair, it's a considerable improvement over Microsoft's previous attempts; but it's interesting to note that they abandoned the sub-12" market, and also pretty much killed RT without fanfare; first they blurred the marketing lines by removing the "RT" moniker from the product name last year, and this year they just did not update it. I think it shows the demise of RT has been orchestrated for a long time, and we've seen the last nail in its coffin.
The stand and keyboard are an improvement, but they're still way behind the ease of use of an actual laptop. The weight makes it a very cumbersome tablet, unpleasant to use for extended periods of time.
But it's only 146g more than the iPad (non-air) which didn't receive these sorts of complaints. Am I to understand you found all the iPads before the Air to be cumbersome and unpleasant to use for extended periods of time?
But it's only 146g more than the iPad (non-air) which didn't receive these sorts of complaints. Am I to understand you found all the iPads before the Air to be cumbersome and unpleasant to use for extended periods of time?
iPad 4: 1.44kg. Surface Pro 3: 1.76kg. Your math is off, the difference is 320g. And it's not just the weight, it's also the thickness and the sharp angles. Give it a try and you'll understand.
Microsoft is still flailing. There's a reason why Windows tablets haven't caught on in the last 15 years.
I don't have iOS 8. I use iOS 7. Works on my iPad and iPhone using both Safari and the Apple Insider app.