Surface trampled at the bottom of the tablet pile

Microsoft Surface trampled at the bottom of the tablet pile this Christmas

While it does have drawbacks just like anything else, Microsoft’s (MSFT) Surface is a great slate for those looking for a fresh new take on the modern tablet. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like very many people were looking for a fresh new take on the modern tablet this holiday season.

Source

A Guy

 

[HippsieGypsie]

Where did you get the Surface CPU specs to say that it's the i5-3317U Processor? I don't think this is 3rd gen.

I have some source at Intel.

anything to argue..... you don't know that much CPU ? . Second generation Sandy Bridge was 32 nm and this CPU was release last December and it's a 22 nm ( Ivy )

Launch Date

Q2'12

Lithography

22 nm

and what they said over the red line

View attachment 14044

You haven't given a processor number. We are to rely on your word that "have some source at Intel"? Not good enough for me.

What are you saying? The red line is underlining a link to 3rd gen processors.

The specs I have found:

3rd Gen Intel Core i5 Processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000

Surface specifications

It's obvious that there's no arguing with you -> You know it all.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

I tried the keyboard cover at best buy and it was abysmal.

sorry for my English, but is it good or bad this comment ?

I realise your English is not the greatest Molebo, so maybe you don't realise that you're on a forum called eightforums. I take it you don't like Windows 8, if that's the case you should be on Sevenforums.

Surely you would be much better off talking to people about the advantages of Windows 7 than being on the wrong forum and talking about the disadvantages of Windows 8.

In other words you wouldn't join an Irish Club to put down Irish people that would be a bit silly.

Right on, BW. That's it for me. I'd be better off talking to a wall.

 

[A Guy]

Believe he argued his way right out of here...

A Guy

 

[pcRat]

OpenOffice is a great program. Especially for but not limited to the price.
I used it a lot, even when I had MS Office 2000. As well as during trial periods of MS O 2007 & 2010.

Well, I have used touch PCs already, experienced all they have to offer. I've physically toyed around with a Surface RT tablet. I've researched and followed developments about the Surface tablets. I've also tried out the ipads and android knockoff tablets, my conclusion is that it is correct to belittle the competition.

Yeah, but when it comes down to plunking your own money you sit there with nothing. Doesn't seem like a raving endorsement to me. It's like people who say Open Office.sucks, but they don't pay for MS Office but rather pirate it.

Interesting, then it seems that people that only tried out a Windows Phone from doing the Windows Phone Challenge (some marketing thing) and say it's better than their iphone or android, their endorsements aren't potent?

And I pay for my Office, as long as my local university offers a discount, I buy it. open office sucks. And google docs too.

 

[Wenda]

While I was in the store buying Windows 8 Pro on NYE, I asked the salesman about the Surface, and whether they had any in stock. I explained that I wasn't in the market at present, but would like a look at one. He took me through it, and I was quite impressed with what I saw. I do realise that this is only an opinion based on very limited use.

 

[Tepid]

pcRat, where I work now, we tested OpenOffice for about 4 months on a wide scale (I believe it was about 100+ users), and everyone had many issues with it, especially cross compatibility with Office any version. We decided that it was a huge hindrance between us and our customers when it corrupted files left and right. So, no, in business place, OO doesn't cut it, in Home Use it may, but becomes a huge problem when those files start getting corrupted if you have to send them back and forth between OO and Office. This has been proven time and again.

This is NOT my opinion, it is fact.

 

[Coke Robot]

pcRat, where I work now, we tested OpenOffice for about 4 months on a wide scale (I believe it was about 100+ users), and everyone had many issues with it, especially cross compatibility with Office any version. We decided that it was a huge hindrance between us and our customers when it corrupted files left and right. So, no, in business place, OO doesn't cut it, in Home Use it may, but becomes a huge problem when those files start getting corrupted if you have to send them back and forth between OO and Office. This has been proven time and again.

This is NOT my opinion, it is fact.

This is true.

The school district where I live has been trying to transition over to google docs/open office over Microsoft Office, all I've heard it's a major pain in the crotch to use Office 2003/07/10 (apparently 2010 is being used to teach students how to use it, yet the IT department is trying to force down google docs on everyone, but paying no attention to teaching open office) along with google docs and open office. OO screws up .doc and .docx files with their formatting, google docs does as well if there is special formatting, and Office 2003 screws up file conversions from 2007/10.

It's too much of a hassle to do that in an enterprise or educational environment when Microsoft Office has been predominate. A better solution would had been to use Office 365 for certain computers, Office Web Apps for students along with Outlook.com accounts. BAM! Cost effective, low learning curve, and no one's crotch is in pain.

 

[pcRat]

Tepid▬ I don't disagree with your fact. I think that is common problem between many programs with similiar function. Maybe it's because certain parts of the code is copyrighted, patented or otherwise protected by MS.

I do know of one company that uses OO for many gas stations for bookkeeping and word processing.

• I'm just saying MSO shouldn't be put on a pedistal just because it can do so much with MSO documents. Or has free viewers which don't allow altering them. (I guess now you can go online & edit them)

• OO allows people to open & edit MSO documents. I'll even agree that MSO may not be able to read it afterwards. (I saved OO docs in MSO format so Windows explorer would allow it to have an icon and be seen)
If I need OO to open MSO docs, it really doesn't matter how MSO would read it.

• Bottom line for many of us is; free OO beats unaffordable MSO and some people get very proficient at it. If it is shared, the receivers can download a copy of OO without charge.

just my 1½¢ (2¢ adjusted for inflation)

 

[Tepid]

• OO allows people to open & edit MSO documents. I'll even agree that MSO may not be able to read it afterwards. (I saved OO docs in MSO format so Windows explorer would allow it to have an icon and be seen)
If I need OO to open MSO docs, it really doesn't matter how MSO would read it.

I am sorry, it honestly is not that simple. OO breaks the documents so they either

a.) can't be opened
b.) the formatting is horribly screwed up

So, true, if you are in environment that you will never need to cross platform (share docs with MSO users) then ok.
But that simply is not the case in the business world. It's not that simple.

What you are saying is.... "I want my company to sell products to another company, that company is interested in buying my products and wants to do business, but all my docs are in OO and they don't use OO, in order for them to do business with me, they ahve to download OO to read my documents, then if their sales guy needs to forward them on to a manager, they have to download OO, etc, etc, on and on."

I got news for you, you just lost that businesses business. They aren't going to do that unless they are going to be buying you out, but then OO will be the least of their worries.

Realize that OO is NOT built for cross business sharing. No other company is going to invest resources into training time and trying to figure out conversions and crap to do business with another company, and if they did it would be on a very small introductory level, and I would tell them, invest in MSO and get proper conversions before we move forward or forget it. (ie. sales lost)

Yes, it really is that big of a deal. Yes, it is wider than you think and I can tell you, one day, that gas station is going to find out and it is going to cost them time and money in the end.

You need to realize that OO has been around for a long time, if it were has simple as you say, trust me, OO would be used a hell of a lot more in the business world, It's not for a reason.

Simple Answer, everyone give up MS Office. Yeah right.

 

[SIW2]

This is a Forum.

Anyone who wants to set up a windows 8 blind adoration society is free to do so.

Those who are that way inclined could go there if they like and coo endlessly.

They can also post on this forum .

They won't be told to go away because we don't want to hear what they have to say.

Isn't that what they did in the old Soviet Union - go away to Siberia, we don't like what you say.

 

[pparks1]

While it is true that there can be formatting issues and such using Open Office.....I don't think that the problem is really on the OO side of the house...I suspect the source documents are being handled in such a way to make 3rd party alternatives difficult.

Microsoft Office is the standard, I don't argue that whatsoever. I have it on my work machine as we use Outlook and Exchange at work. However, at home, I just don't have the need to use a genuine copy of MS Office. But I do have a need to do basic work processing and spreadsheets from time to time. Since my home needs are so basic, I see no reason to purchase multiple copies of MS Office... It used to be that I used Open Office without question, but now I can achieve results with either Google Docs or even MS Web Apps without having to install a single thing. So, these online versions are now what I am using. I've always preferred to keep my computer as clean as possible.

 

[phillipduran]

The iPad has somehow (don't ask me how) acquired this "mystic" quality with people. They are like that about many Apple products. MS is late to the game on top of that. I think they'd love to grab a big part of that market, but would probably be happy to get 10% or better. that's money they aren't getting now. A Guy

The iPad is not a smart phone and it is not a laptop. It is a simple device that gives people quick access to the internet, email and other things that they want quick access to. You can create documents on it and do some work if you need to, but why would you? This isn't the device for that and you'll have a better experience doing that on a desktop or full size laptop.

Competing tablet makers like to talk about how their tables are the complete solution and do so much more than the iPad. They say these new tablets are what business users have been looking for, but to make a tablet that does anything beyond what the iPad does will push them into being a product that is horrible at what they are trying to do.

The iPad is great because it does what a device that size is good at doing and it doesn't try hard to be more. They dont stuff it with specs, they stuff it with usability and it is very usable and pleasant.

You can go use your surface tablet to vpn into work and write up some documents. I'll just put my iPad down and go use my PC to do that because the work experience is much better on my PC than it is on my iPad for those kinds of things. My iPad can do it, but it's not what it was made to do.

So is the surface really that much better or is it just trying to be too much in the wrong package?

 

[BillWindows]

"The iPad is great because it does what a device that size is good at doing and it doesn't try hard to be more. They dont stuff it with specs, they stuff it with usability and it is very usable and pleasant."

I've got two iPads, I'd swap them both in a heartbeat for a tablet with a full blown operating system, I get sick of not being able to put a USB drive on there or run XBMC, but the worst thing is no file system.

I like the iPad but I'd much rather a full PC like Surface. Also, lately every time I look at the horrible square shape it makes me think of something old and antique.

 

[steveb]

phillipduran

Sums it up for me!

 

[BillWindows]

"The iPad is great because it does what a device that size is good at doing and it doesn't try hard to be more. They dont stuff it with specs, they stuff it with usability and it is very usable and pleasant."

Using that logic we shouldn't have smart phones either.

 

[jimbo45]

This is a Forum.

Anyone who wants to set up a windows 8 blind adoration society is free to do so.

Those who are that way inclined could go there if they like and coo endlessly.

They can also post on this forum .

They won't be told to go away because we don't want to hear what they have to say.
Isn't that what they did in the old Soviet Union - go away to Siberia, we don't like what you say.

Hi there

in the old Soviet Union the Communist / Government controlled state newspaper was called "PRAVDA" which translated into English meant ""TRUTH" !!!

Pravda (Soviet newspaper) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

Usually readers of that paper were savvy enough to know that around 95 % was false, 4 % just plain B/S and possibly 1% might contain something interesting.

Seems Papers in the West aren't much better even today in 2013.

However some of the posts concerning how great Windows 8 is seem to remind me exactly of that old "Pravda" paper. I used to read some of it when I was a youngster as I was learning Russian at the time -- and at least the grammar was correct and the prose 100% predictable.

Windows 8 has some decent features and if you are a classic desktop user some abominations too -- but for tablet use the abominations don't really exist.

For instance I can't use Office 2013 at all on my desk / laptop -- I don't like the Full screen start (extra 2 or 3 keystrokes to get to my document(s) ) compared with excel 2010 -- and the background colour scheme only gives you that hideous white or two shades of grey. On a large monitor you'll need to wear "Shades" if you choose the White background and the grey makes it look a bit like "The Fruit Company's" offerings.

On a tablet however it's fine.

We really DO have different requirements for Windows -- for some Windows 8 is fine -- most of the people I REALLY know (not just via "Farcebook" or "Twatting" ) but real LIVE physical humans !! seem to quite like Windows 8 -- other who use a computer for rather more than the average casual home user or who need more than basic surfing / email / entertainment / short presentational requirements prefer the W7 or traditional interface.

I have no doubt Windows 8 will be a success in its own way but W7 will be the new "XP" and may even last longer (> 12 years) than XP - baring in mind the greater reliability and power of modern hardware which means people don't need to upgrade computers as often as before.

Anyway here's a screenshot of the starting page of EXCEL 2013 -- I also HATE that Sign in reminder -- I have 100% NO INTEREST in using anything "Cloud cuckoo land" / sky drivel or other equivalent "services" --which once you become dependent on they will "Monetise" i.e charge you for it.

Cheers
jimbo