The Surface Pro arrived

[MrShowdown]

Hilarious chain of events today.

I decide that I want to join the Surface Pro to our work domain and logon with my domain account. So, I join the box to the domain. Then I add my domain account to the local admins group on the Surface.

I then reboot the surface, and attempt to logon to the domain. I cannot because the Surface Pro cannot find a domain controller. The Surface cannot find a domain controller, because the wireless network is not yet operational because it's set per user, AFTER the user logs on.

So, from the main screen, I am unable to login because there is no option to connect FIRST to the network and then to logon. This is something that my CHROMEBOOK handled just fine. From the main logon screen, I was able to connect FIRST to the network and then logon with my gmail account.

EPIC FAIL Microsoft.


The solution
Surface Pro Wifi only and domain login

1). Get a USB network dongle and attach to get logged in first time
2) Go into Group Policy, allow device to run apps as ANOTHER user. Login with local account, run something like calculator as your domain account so your credential gets cached. Then, logout and logon with your domain account.

Odd, mine is set to wifi operational just after booting out-of-the-box. Strange move MS.

 

[pparks1]

I think it was off the first time. Since you connected it the first time, it has remembered and stayed connected. How would it have connected right out of the box on your home network, without having to supply a password and picking a network to connect to?

 

[MrShowdown]

I think it was off the first time. Since you connected it the first time, it has remembered and stayed connected. How would it have connected right out of the box on your home network, without having to supply a password and picking a network to connect to?

No, out-of-the-box it is not connected, but i setup the wifi on out-of-box-experience.

 

[pparks1]

I think it gets harder on a domain. We have a Cisco access point that authenticates each user with their own username and password against active directory. so, a bit different than a home point where you just use a wpa2 key.

 

[Coke Robot]

So, I saw that my local amazon showroom FINALLY got the Surface tablets, both Pro and RT in stock and on display. YES!!!!!

First off, my impressions, I was taken aback as I have FINALLY been able to fondle said devices. They are nicely built, no cheap quality like every other android tablet in that aisle, not lackluster in features like the ipad. Just right.

I have to say, pparks, you are correct, the DPI is by default at 150% at even then, it's closer to 1366x736 at native DPI. Pretty crazy, but that's what I guess happens with 1080p and a 10.6 inch screen. I found little issue though actually fingering though the Desktop though, I set the folder view to Large Icons, made thing other things from Details to Large Icons view and it was fine. It takes a bit to get used to though. Office 2013 on the RT was pretty nice to use, it wasn't the Preview version but the actual RTM that has better touch refinements. It seems real nice to use with just your finger, Excel is iffy, but I only touched it fro a few seconds and went back to playing with the Pro. I REALLY enjoyed clicking on the touch cover! WOW, holy magnets! That is nifty!

Considering I can type pretty fast as it is with mostly everything, I was iffy about the 10.6 inch touch screen keyboard. But I was able to type pretty swiftly with it, not a two finger tap tap tap, but like, Data from Star Trek fast. Pretty accurate as well. What was REALLY trippy for me was typing on the touch cover, WHOA! It's like, it feels it shouldn't work but it works but it doesn't click or anything so you're like, "What?" Typing on that I find will take some adjustment though. I ADORE the kickstand, the most simplest, utterly mundane feature ever, but makes a TON of difference. Why no other tablet has that is literally beyond my ability to think. Such an idiotic move on OEMs to copy the ipad straight up and not do anything unique to make the form factor functional. The Surface isn't a laptop, so it can't actually be used like a laptop. It is a tablet, with a kickstand. The Pro is LIKE a laptop in some respects, but isn't able to be used in the same fashion as a laptop, meaning you can't physically plop it on your lap. Personally, I rarely do that for a few reasons. One, that will build up heat on the laptop and my crotch. Two, lint will get trapped in the fan and heatsink. And three, if you do it excessively, the heat from it can cause skin damage. Oh, and I prefer a level surface to put a laptop on as I don't want to fuddle with the hard drive and causing screw-ups with that because it was being used all over the place.

I have to wonder if your particular Surface just has a single glitch, as the Pro I played with picked up several wifi signals around the showroom and the AP points weren't nearby or 20 feet away.

Being myself, I took pictures...


Very pretty devices! Personally, I'm not going to buy one this year, but that was sorely tempting! I think I might wait it out until I for sure will NEED one, hopefully by then the Surface Pro 2 will be out with an AMD APU and an 11.6 screen with a larger SSD. Maybe NFC support? Maybe 3G/4G data capabilities? Glad to know they're nearby as I'm going to be trying to make a portable app of Photoshop CS6 and AutoCAD to try out with a touch screen on the Surface Pro and one of their AIOs they have, or maybe that Dell XPS at Costco... Now THAT is also a pretty PC!

Hey pparks, have you tried plugging in a USB hub and seeing how many devices can be attached to it, like external hard drives and such, to it? I'm mildly curious about that. A friend of mine is REALLY into buying one and I was saying today how an external hard drive should be used for backups/Storage Spaces. I kind of want to know how well that works.

 

[SIW2]

I am surprised they hadn't sold out before you got there.

Did you have to fight through a huge crowd?

 

[pparks1]

I have not tried a usb hub as I don't own one. Never really had a shortage of ports on most of my devices.

so, tonight I experienced a problem with the lync client crashing. Trying to dig through the event viewer on this touch screen and trying to drag the window bars around so that I could view what I wanted was an absolute exercise in futility. I was simply trying to get the little bar to slide it up to make the preview pane bigger and no matter what I tried, it wasn't happening under touch. I attached the type cover, and it still took a very concerted effort to grab the bar even with the touchpad. Just another incident of the UI less suitable for touch, and the resolution being a bit too high.

the more I use this device, the less I am liking it. Its slick in many areas, but falls so woefully short when I really try to accomplish something rather than just playing around and screwing around.

and without a desk surface, I find this very difficult to work with. Using it on my lap is very hard, and the inability to adjust the tilt of the kickstand makes it a very limited device..even on a flat surface.

this can be a portable device to use in a pinch, but as a regular use machine...NOT FOR ME.

 

[Hopachi]

The Surface cannot find a domain controller, because the wireless network is not yet operational because it's set per user, AFTER the user logs on.

Probably this has something to do with the whole increased-security approach... locked UEFI, reduced user permissions and some other stuff.

 

[pparks1]

The Surface cannot find a domain controller, because the wireless network is not yet operational because it's set per user, AFTER the user logs on.

Probably this has something to do with the whole increased-security approach... locked UEFI, reduced user permissions and some other stuff.

No, it is just how domains work. Has always been this way. Traditional machines are usually just hardwired to the LAN so they have this connectivity. On older OSs you could actually engage dual up networking before login to address this very situation.

The chromebook would have the very same issue, except it has a configurable network option prior to login. So, you can connect to network, then logon with your Gmail account.

As far as I have been able to determine, there is no similar option on the surface. It's the same issue you have if you have a remote employee, give them a machine on the domain and don't log them in first before you send out the machine. When they get it, they won't be able to log in if it cannot find a domain controller.

 

[Hopachi]

The Surface cannot find a domain controller, because the wireless network is not yet operational because it's set per user, AFTER the user logs on.

Probably this has something to do with the whole increased-security approach... locked UEFI, reduced user permissions and some other stuff.

No, it is just how domains work. Has always been this way. Traditional machines are usually just hardwired to the LAN so they have this connectivity. On older OSs you could actually engage dual up networking before login to address this very situation.

The chromebook would have the very same issue, except it has a configurable network option prior to login. So, you can connect to network, then logon with your Gmail account.

As far as I have been able to determine, there is no similar option on the surface. It's the same issue you have if you have a remote employee, give them a machine on the domain and don't log them in first before you send out the machine. When they get it, they won't be able to log in if it cannot find a domain controller.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[pparks1]

Well, after a fair amount of time, I can honestly say the surface is a very nicely built device, its plenty powerful and looks great. However, as expected, being mostly a touch device has left me overall disappointed. Had this been a personal purchase, it would have been complete buyers remorse at this point. Having a full fledged computer in this small of a package is just hard to work with. I'm not recommending this unless somebody absolutely needs ultra mobility. And even then , a dell XPS 12 deserves a real look.

 

[pparks1]

I sent a message to a friend of mine who has a personal surface pro, asking him for his opinion on the device. He is a software architect at a software company that I used to work for. He has had a windows 7 phone and has really liked it. I am looking forward to getting his opinion on this device, I'll let you all know what he thinks about his.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

The Surface cannot find a domain controller, because the wireless network is not yet operational because it's set per user, AFTER the user logs on.

Probably this has something to do with the whole increased-security approach... locked UEFI, reduced user permissions and some other stuff.

No, it is just how domains work. Has always been this way. Traditional machines are usually just hardwired to the LAN so they have this connectivity. On older OSs you could actually engage dual up networking before login to address this very situation.

The chromebook would have the very same issue, except it has a configurable network option prior to login. So, you can connect to network, then logon with your Gmail account.

As far as I have been able to determine, there is no similar option on the surface. It's the same issue you have if you have a remote employee, give them a machine on the domain and don't log them in first before you send out the machine. When they get it, they won't be able to log in if it cannot find a domain controller.

I was reading tonight about RT and came across this. You probably know this stuff already since you're a pro, but just in case.

Windows RT - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Device management

Windows RT does not support connecting to a domain for network logins, nor does it support using Group Policy for device management like normal versions of Windows 8. However, Exchange ActiveSync, the Windows Intune service, or System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 can be used to provide some control over Windows RT devices in enterprise environments, such as the ability to apply security policies and provide a portal which can be used to obtain line-of-business apps.

 

[pparks1]

biggest complaint overall. all too often, the onscreen keyboard pops up and covers the input field that i am typing in. thus, i cannot see what i am doing.

had to switch to google chrome canary to get scrolling to work. (versus regular chrome). i have all of my bookmarks in chrome , so i am lost in IE. had to disable high dpi rendering in order to get fonts to not be blurry and i have zoomed to 125%. web pages look good, but menus are tiny and my bookmark bar is a bit hard to read.

unit gets confused sometimes when adding and removing the type cover keyboard. when it goes on fritz, its when keyboard not attached and it wont bring up onscreen keyboard. reboots don't fix it. i have to reattach keyboard, type, and then remove it.

other things are ok. got my cisco vpn working and that is really nice for connecting to the office.

 

[MrShowdown]

biggest complaint overall. all too often, the onscreen keyboard pops up and covers the input field that i am typing in. thus, i cannot see what i am doing.

had to switch to google chrome canary to get scrolling to work. (versus regular chrome). i have all of my bookmarks in chrome , so i am lost in IE. had to disable high dpi rendering in order to get fonts to not be blurry and i have zoomed to 125%. web pages look good, but menus are tiny and my bookmark bar is a bit hard to read.

unit gets confused sometimes when adding and removing the type cover keyboard. when it goes on fritz, its when keyboard not attached and it wont bring up onscreen keyboard. reboots don't fix it. i have to reattach keyboard, type, and then remove it.

other things are ok. got my cisco vpn working and that is really nice for connecting to the office.

That must be a firmware bug/issue.

 

[pparks1]

Well, applied the latest firmware update from Microsoft today, which according to Redmond is supposed to;

· Fixes to Wi-Fi reliability allowing for better roaming and improvements to "Limited" connectivity scenarios.
· Windows To Go feature is enabled.
· Improved onscreen keyboard detection synchronization when going in and out of sleep.

Will report back whether I see wifi improvements.

 

[Brink]

Hey Patrick,

How are you liking it so far after using it for a bit?

 

[pparks1]

I've had it for 3 weeks now. I've used it regularly at the office, on the go and at home.

What's really nice about it, is the fact that whatever works on my Windows 8 laptop will work on the Surface Pro. I can run the Cisco VPN client, I can run a real IE browser for those websites that require it (Microsoft Dynamics..I'm looking at you). And there is no learning curve (if you are used to Windows 8). Everything is consistent and in 1 place...unlike Android where things are different depending upon which mfg you are using.

What I don't particularly like about it

• The stylus needs a secure location for storage. The magnetic thing isn't very strong, and that's also the same place you have to charge the Surface, so you have to remove the stylus when charging.
• Battery life isn't great
• Type Cover keyboard sometimes quits working or doesn't attach well, thus causing keyboard to not register. Often you have to move it around, reclick it back in, etc.
• Overall inconsistencies in Windows 8 touch interface. For example, right click on classic desktop is accomplished by pressing and holding an icon. However, on Start Screen, pressing and holding a tile doesn't right click on it. I can right click on it with the pen, but not with my fingers.

As a person who doesn't love tablets, and isn't enamored with touchscreens in general, I have to say that the Surface Pro doesn't do anything to help or hinder that opinion. Typing onscreen is annoying at best, and often times the keyboard covers up way too much of the screen. Typing on the keyboard is far better, but unfortunately requires a flat surface to work well..so it's hard to use sitting in a chair or sitting in bed.

I think it's a good device for a certain type of person. The mobile professional that needs Windows to complete their tasks. In many cases, I think I would be much happier with a touchscreen ultrabook.

 

[pparks1]

Well, I have officially given up the Surface Pro at work. I found it wasn't really doing anything for me and somebody else had a need for more portability, so I elected to give her that one rather than have her buy another one.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

Geez. How come forum members didn't get first dibs at it?

Thanks for your input and all the info you gave us, Patrick.