Microsoft's 128GB Surface Pro sells out within hours

Just hours after Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro went on sale Saturday, the 128GB version of the tablet sold out online.

Shoppers for $1000 tablet at the online outlets of Best Buy and Staples, as well as Microsoft's own web store, began seeing "not available" or "out of stock" notices just hours after midnight Eastern Time when the Windows 8 slate went on sale

Source

A Guy

 

[steveb]

I don't think a 10" tablet will ever replace a real work setup either, but what if the tab and PC are running the same Apps like Photoshop and you save your work to Skydrive, jump on a plane with your tablet and do some editing while you're on a flight, surely that's got to be a bonus and can easily be done.

Or if you're writing a novel at home, it's a nice day, you go and sit in a park under a tree and start where you left off, it's all possible with Windows 8 and Surface, or any Windows 8 tablet.

But I can and already do all of that with my iPad (except I don't write novels or connect to the Internet on a plane) Dropbox and GoogleDrive and Creative Cloud, and iCloud as well as SkyDrive are al available. Nothing special about Windows 8!

 

[Max Peck]

I don't think a 10" tablet will ever replace a real work setup either, but what if the tab and PC are running the same Apps like Photoshop and you save your work to Skydrive, jump on a plane with your tablet and do some editing while you're on a flight, surely that's got to be a bonus and can easily be done.

Or if you're writing a novel at home, it's a nice day, you go and sit in a park under a tree and start where you left off, it's all possible with Windows 8 and Surface, or any Windows 8 tablet.

But I can and already do all of that with my iPad (except I don't write novels or connect to the Internet on a plane) Dropbox and GoogleDrive and Creative Cloud, and iCloud as well as SkyDrive are al available. Nothing special about Windows 8!

Dropbox works fantastically well. I have mine set up where I can get to the content from absolutely all my machines. Requires practically no maintenance. Very seamless. Can use it on all my PC's (work and personal), all my iPhones and iPads. Great way to tie all the devices together.

-Max

 

[steveb]

I think Dropbox is the best of the cloud services, smoother and faster sync than SkyDrive but SkyDrive gave me 25gb for free and I only have 3gb free for Dropbox, so I use a combination of services. They all work perfectly with my iPhone iPad and all my Windows PCs so all of my files are available on any device when I need them.

 

[pparks1]

Ask anyone who hates the idea of a tablet what they consider a tablet does, SIMPLE TASKS. A the term PC to tablet, tablet PC, it ends up doing EVERTYHING that a phablet does and what a PC does.

Except on a tiny display, without upgradeability, and for most people the need to add on and carry around a keyboard.

And pparks, yes, I am different. I approach new technology not with hesitation because it's different, I approach new technology as a new opportunities to get to point A to point B better and faster. That's what Windows 8 has been for me, point A to point B faster and easier, ESPECIALLY with a Microsoft Touch Mouse. I don't believe Windows 8 took anything away from 7, things were just added. Some have seen this as preposterous as they firmly believe EVERYTHING was taken away from Windows 8 over 7.

And I too approach new technology to see if it makes my life better and more efficient. My evaluation of Windows 8 indicates that it does not. The integration between the classic desktop and the new Metro UI is disjointed. Full screen apps are annoying, not helpful. And I'll be honest, I don't want to replace my peripherals to get gesture support for this new OS. I don't want to use gestures, I want to use a regular keyboard an mouse. I'm perfectly happy with my mechanical keyboard and my trackball.

The people I'd be concerned about using Windows 8 are the young, the ones who are more OPEN to new changes versus the older who are dead set in certain ways, like a desktop tower and mouse and Ethernet cabling; not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that young people are the reason why that's not the norm anymore, laptops with touchpads and even touchscreens are the norm along with wifi. They're the reason why phablets are being used over laptops. That's just change. Windows 8 is change. At this point, I could really care less what the more older Windows user thinks about Windows 8 simply because different times dictate different things will be adopted, and right now, the young and young at heart care more for Windows 8 oddly enough, than some people here on this forum.

I'm not dead set in certain ways, but I'm not easily convinced and persuaded that another way is better. I won't take Microsoft word for it, or a tech review, I have to see it and use it myself.

Wifi might be the norm, and I use it when i travel and on my laptop in the house. But I keep many things hardwired because it's more reliable and FASTER. I get about 85MB/sec across my wired gigabit ethernet connection, but am lucky to get 2MB/sec across my wireless. If others want to settle for slow ass wireless...be my guest.

I've yet to find that that many people, regardless of age, really care that much about Windows 8. I think the average joe probably doesn't even know what it is yet. And from Microsoft advertising, who can blame them. I can barely tell what the Surface Pro is supposed to be based on their crappy ad.

 

[pparks1]

I think Dropbox is the best of the cloud services, smoother and faster sync than SkyDrive but SkyDrive gave me 25gb for free and I only have 3gb free for Dropbox, so I use a combination of services. They all work perfectly with my iPhone iPad and all my Windows PCs so all of my files are available on any device when I need them.

I too prefer and use Dropbox over Skydrive. But SkyDrive is getting better. They did add a recycle bin and selective folder syncing recently...which were 2 of my major issues. If they could add bandwidth throttling, I might be close to being able to make the switch. But, i HATE what they are doing with the interface of Skydrive. I much prefer the simplistic look of Dropbox to the damn tiles and color explosion that is Skydrive and all things New UI.

 

[SIW2]

Cokie

This is an old idea that has been reinvigorated in a time where the idea of a tablet is a neutered smartphone OS on a 10 inch screen that does simple tasks. Keyword here, SIMPLE TASKS. Ask anyone who hates the idea of a tablet what they consider a tablet does, SIMPLE TASKS. A the term PC to tablet, tablet PC, it ends up doing EVERTYHING that a phablet does and what a PC does.

@Cokie,

Ask yourself this.

What is tablet for? What does it try to do ? Why do people buy them?

If you buy a 10 in notebook/ultrabook - as small as a tablet - not quite as light - which does what a laptop does - why would you want any kind of tablet stuff on there at all?

For those who don't want/need all that a laptop can do - they can get a tablet - might be even smaller e.g. 7in and might be much cheaper, too. Some available for as little as $60 or so.

Why are some people going to buy a surface or cheaper oem equivalents?

Is it because of Windows 8 and all the Metro annoyances - or is it because they are small light notebooks/ultrabooks?

 

[Ray8]

So all that the best tablet in the world can do is copy the others? Innovation, eh?

 

[Max Peck]

I think Dropbox is the best of the cloud services, smoother and faster sync than SkyDrive but SkyDrive gave me 25gb for free and I only have 3gb free for Dropbox, so I use a combination of services. They all work perfectly with my iPhone iPad and all my Windows PCs so all of my files are available on any device when I need them.

I too prefer and use Dropbox over Skydrive. But SkyDrive is getting better. They did add a recycle bin and selective folder syncing recently...which were 2 of my major issues. If they could add bandwidth throttling, I might be close to being able to make the switch. But, i HATE what they are doing with the interface of Skydrive. I much prefer the simplistic look of Dropbox to the damn tiles and color explosion that is Skydrive and all things New UI.

Dropbox is drop-dead simple to use. It lives in your Documents folder just like any other folder and synchronizes automagically across any connected device.

At this point in my career (and life) I'm working on simplifying things down, not make them more complex. Dropbox fills that need perfectly. I don't want to use 3 different cloud services. I don't even really use the iCloud that comes with the iDevices, the DropBox works with all my attached equipment. No muss, no fuss. I pay for a 50GB solution which does the job.

-Max

 

[steveb]

I use all the different services because they all give me some free storage, I don't pay for any of it. They all work in the same way, I never actually log into the interfaces, just save things to the synced folders.

 

[BillWindows]

So all that the best tablet in the world can do is copy the others? Innovation, eh?

Houston we have a problem.

 

[Ray8]

So all that the best tablet in the world can do is copy the others? Innovation, eh?

Houston we have a problem.

Android and iOS can do quite well with 64GB, and lower, the Surface RT as well. However, a full-blown desktop capable tablet should provide, as a minimum, 128GB, with an option for more.

My Windows 7, Gigabyte S1080 tablet, introduced nearly two years ago, came out with a 320GB HDD, with an optional 128GB SSD. Two years down the track (a decade in tech) when SSDs are at least half the price, the Surface Pro starts out with a 64GB mSATA drive?

 

[jimbo45]

So all that the best tablet in the world can do is copy the others? Innovation, eh?

Houston we have a problem.

Android and iOS can do quite well with 64GB, and lower, the Surface RT as well. However, a full-blown desktop capable tablet should provide, as a minimum, 128GB, with an option for more.

My Windows 7, Gigabyte S1080 tablet, introduced nearly two years ago, came out with a 320GB HDD, with an optional 128GB SSD. Two years down the track (a decade in tech) when SSDs are at least half the price, the Surface Pro starts out with a 64GB mSATA drive?

Hi there
I agree on that one - the 64GB SSD does seem a bit stingy these days -- on a tablet we should really be thinking about the 256GB models -- price of these now are coming down to near what I paid for a 128 GB SSD and will get cheaper in future.

I'm not sure whether lightning speed is so important on a tablet compared with a desktop so the idea of say an i7 processor in one of these devices might also be a bit over the top -- a decently new type of i3 probably would be more than enough for most tasks -- I don't think the surface pro is meant to be a 100% replacement for a desktop or even a laptop -- it seems to me to be useful for some use as a laptop but I wouldn't want to have it as my ONLY laptop.

(An i3 rather than i5 or i7 would also be much better for power consumption - longer battery life and not generate so much heat either in the small tablet form factor).

As far as the i3 processor is concerned I have one on an Acer laptop that I've fitted with 8GB RAM and a decent SSD -- this laptop now performs nearly as well as another laptop I have with an i5 and a classical HDD. Same 8GB RAM - especially for the typical sort of tasks I want to do on a laptop,

For 90% of people out there lack of CPU power I don't think is an issue at all these days. - For serious gaming etc you probably build your own rig or use one of those enormous Alienware type laptops which are hardly meant to be compared with a tablet.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Tepid]

I would agree on not really needing an i7, however, these tablets are meant to be used in both a docked and undocked situations.
Not just as tablets that never get docked. Which is the whole point of having that video out.

So, it really all depends on how you are going to use it most.

An i7 for running around and doing things on the fly, but you know your battery will go within a couple of hours, this is the trade off
accessing virtual machines, or working on some art project would benefit from an i7. Again, it depends on what you are doing with it.

Can you do those things on an i3 or i5, function?, sure, but is an i7 better for that, no one can honestly say it's not.

i3 is plenty for office type work, it's all a matter of the right tool for the job.

Heck, you can do everything on a P3, but do you really want to? No.

I also agree that the lowest should be a 128G SSD, 64G (which is really about 32G or so) even with the added 64G MicroSD, so right around 90G free, is not a lot these days.

256G SSD should have been in the $999 version.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
Virtual machines also run just fine with a decent i3 -- CPU utilisation isn't normally a problem when using VM's -- except in rare situations where the VM is doing some intensive "compute bound" type operations or it is a Virtual server with several users logged on to it.

VM's need more than anything 1) Lots of RAM on HOST -- the most important , and 2) almost as important -- decent fast I/O --if you can use an SSD so much the better -- but use at least a USB3 ext disk if your Virtual Machine images are on external disks.

Of course an i7 is better / faster etc than an i3 -- however most users simply wouldn't notice the difference -- especially in Surfing, playing movies / video / typical word processing / basic office tasks.

Heat will be lower -- important in the enclosed space of a tablet, and battery life will be extended -- an i3 at idle consumes very little current.

For people reading this post who've never tried an SSD --IMO this alone is probably the most important piece of kit you can add to your PC to improve performance -- even on OLD PC's (these days lack of RAM isn't a problem usually -- even cheap laptops are fitted with a minimum of 4GB).

If I were getting a Surface Pro -- I'd rather have an i3 with a 256 GB SSD than say an i5 with a 500 GB HDD at the same price. Pity they don't offer these sort of options.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[pparks1]

Furthering on what jimbo said, an SSD isn't all much about raw megabytes per second, but instead is about ultra low random access times and particularly in this case very high IOPS.

However for many of us, vms do get large and SSDs are limited in storage space.

I run my vms on standard drives and find that they absolutely fly. But I don't do things like run Photoshop or play games in vms. I test active directory, sql server, exchange, Linux stuff, etc.

I would be lost without my vms. Single most important technology thing for me in past 5-10 years.

 

[jimbo45]

Furthering on what jimbo said, an SSD isn't all much about raw megabytes per second, but instead is about ultra low random access times and particularly in this case very high IOPS.

However for many of us, vms do get large and SSDs are limited in storage space.

I run my vms on standard drives and find that they absolutely fly. But I don't do things like run Photoshop or play games in vms. I test active directory, sql server, exchange, Linux stuff, etc.

I would be lost without my vms. Single most important technology thing for me in past 5-10 years.

Hi there
I doubt if many people would use a tablet for running a VM -- it would work if you really wanted to do it -- just as you could get from NY to LA using a Bicycle -- but I'm not sure that would be the method most people would chose --there's always one or two however. !!

I'm really surprised now on the price drop of SSD's recently -- I've seen in the UK the SAMSUNG 840 PRO SSD's 256 GB model going for as little as 100 GBP -- remove the 20% VAT and that's 80 GBP (business / export outside EU can get VAT back) or around 110 USD.

I've just got another 3 of these. The extra space is just decent enough to allow me to have a decent amount of data storage on the device as well.

Technology will surely make larger capacities available -- I reckon in a few years Spinners will be obsolete.

I'm going to test one of these having a W2K3 server VM installed on it and see what degradation I get over a few weeks with up to 4 users having access to the server --I've got copies of Office 2010 and a few other programs like this that can be run remotely -- will see what happens -- if the SSD degrades too quickly -- then nothing major lost --you have to be prepared to test some hardware "to destruction" to really say whether it's fit for purpose. With the 20 % VAT refund I couldn't resist these SSD's. The store only had 3 otherwise I would have got more !!!!. The 256 GB SSD is just fine for the W2K3 VM plus its programs / web server / MySQL DB etc.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[pparks1]

I'm actually in the market to replace my old 80GB Intel X25-M2 SSD with a 240-256GB model. I'm down to about 15GB of free space on the 80 and I keep a pretty clean machine. I've got a couple of games installed (Diablo III and Battlefield 3) and those take up lots of space.

I've yet to see the Samsung 840 250GB under $189 at NewEgg. However, I have been contemplating the purchase of a Samsung 840 500GB which is currently $369 at Newegg.
SAMSUNG 840 Series MZ-7TD500KW Solid State Drive - Newegg.com

I spent $290 on my 80GB Intel back in the day....so either way the current prices don't bother me.

 

[jimbo45]

I'm actually in the market to replace my old 80GB Intel X25-M2 SSD with a 240-256GB model. I'm down to about 15GB of free space on the 80 and I keep a pretty clean machine. I've got a couple of games installed (Diablo III and Battlefield 3) and those take up lots of space.

I've yet to see the Samsung 840 250GB under $189 at NewEgg. However, I have been contemplating the purchase of a Samsung 840 500GB which is currently $369 at Newegg.
SAMSUNG 840 Series MZ-7TD500KW Solid State Drive - Newegg.com

I spent $290 on my 80GB Intel back in the day....so either way the current prices don't bother me.

Hi there
I'm quite good at sourcing cheap stuff -- the store wanted a clear out - they are getting ready for a promotion of a "New device" -- I rather suspect it's going to be an Ms area with the surface pro.

The price I paid for these was significantly less than I paid for the 128 GB Samsung 840 SSD about a year ago.

In the USA you should also probably be able to reclaim some tax / capital allowances back which should reduce the cost - especially if you can write these off against business purposes --doesn't even have to be PC related - can just be claimed for example even in a property rental business -- costs of "streamlining" / adding I.T to the business. A decent accountant would have an idea.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[pparks1]

I don't have any business expense options that I can exercise. I don't run any business or have income unrelated to my w2 day job. I like to ensure that I pay my fair share of taxes...too many weasels our there who take advantage and leave lower income folks footing the bill.

 

[jimbo45]

I don't have any business expense options that I can exercise. I don't run any business or have income unrelated to my w2 day job. I like to ensure that I pay my fair share of taxes...too many weasels our there who take advantage and leave lower income folks footing the bill.

Hi there
as self employed I have to pay Social security for both EMPLOYER and Employee, I don't get Holiday / sick / or even unemployment pay and have to provide for my own retirement - the basic state pension even in Nordic countries is not very good so when I can get a break I take it.

It's not guys like us -- but some of those Bankers etc who get their businesses bailed out by the taxpayer -- and then walk away with huge bonuses - and their lawyers are STILL foreclosing people often for very tiny amounts of mortgage arrears -- anyway I'm not going down that route any more suffice to say self employed people do have to work for what they get (and I KNOW it's my choice ).

Anyway the point is that SSD prices are coming down quite rapidly --and we should soon see some really useful capacities probably with even more enhanced performance improvements.

Cheers
jimbo