Unknown Soldier
Member
Can't you just feed the Amazon FireTV into the Xbox One?
The Fire TV will probably send destruct codes to the Bone and cause it to explode. :3
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Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Announced (12", 3:2 aspect ratio, new stand)
- Thread starter enzo_gt
- Start date
The Fire TV will probably send destruct codes to the Bone and cause it to explode. :3
Unknown Soldier
Member
An interesting side effect of my SP2 using the same Wacom technology as my Galaxy Note II is that I can just pull the S Pen out of my Note II and use it with my SP2.
This is incredibly convenient for me because the S Pen is actually stored inside the phone's chassis and is always with me, unlike the Surface pens which for some unfathomable reason MS didn't design the Surfaces with a spot inside the device's chassis to store the pen the way Samsung designed the Notes to. This is bad design, MS. Learn from your Korean counterparts on how it should be done.
This is incredibly convenient for me because the S Pen is actually stored inside the phone's chassis and is always with me, unlike the Surface pens which for some unfathomable reason MS didn't design the Surfaces with a spot inside the device's chassis to store the pen the way Samsung designed the Notes to. This is bad design, MS. Learn from your Korean counterparts on how it should be done.
SerTapTap
Member
To be fair, I've owned several "pen inside chassis" device and all of them have been 2x the Surface pro in thickness and had 2x the bezel at least. I'd personally settle for an extremely strong magnet for the pen at one of the sides.
Unknown Soldier
Member
The Galaxy Notes are big phones, they aren't even tablets, and Samsung somehow manages to fit the pens inside. They are 1/8 the size of the Surfaces at most. Just eyeballing the two devices side by side, I can probably fit 8 Galaxy Note IIs inside the space occupied by my SP2. It's not rocket science, it just takes a bit of hardware planning and design that MS clearly didn't consider at all.
I guess Microsoft could include a similarly sized stylus, but wasn't it their goal to have an included stylus that more closely resembled the form factor of the standard pen?
The Pro 3 is already packing in so much while keeping heat dissipation in mind, trying to integrate a spot for the stylus within the chassis may come eventually, but I think they've got bigger priorities.
Like LTE.
LTE first, everything else later. :I
The Pro 3 is already packing in so much while keeping heat dissipation in mind, trying to integrate a spot for the stylus within the chassis may come eventually, but I think they've got bigger priorities.
Like LTE.
LTE first, everything else later. :I
LukasTaves
Member
Any good advice for an app to create an ISO image from a bootable USB? I want to backup my surface recovery media and put it on onedrive (something that I think should be supported by the OS itself. Btw, I requested this on the preview )
)LaserBuddha
Member
There really is a lot more to it than that. You might as well be arguing that the Surface has no reason to be thicker than a Note while you're at it.
SerTapTap
Member
With the SP3 the Surface pen is the same width as the device itself, maybe a little thicker. A slimmer pen would NOT be acceptable for the experience they're going for either. That's a really big problem.
Yeah, the Note and the Surface Pro 2 have exactly the same thermal, power, and performance characteristics, right?
Its not like Microsoft's trying to cram a full i5 laptop in there or anything, right?
The Faceless Master
Member
yeah, that's the one glaring design flaw of the Surface Pros.
i mean, when articles like this have to exist... smh!
Chezzymann
Member
I accidentally didn't zip up my surface's case all the way and then it slid out when I was getting it out of my backpack and fell a few feet onto the ground and cracked. Shittiest feeling ever. Ugh, why are tablets and smart phones so insanely fragile? I wish they would prioritize making them actually being able to withstand a slight amount of force instead of making them look all nice and pretty. Ah well, electronics companies don't care because its cheap to make them fragile and its good for them when people drop their stuff because then they get money when people have to replace them.
And then people tell me, 'well, you should have been more careful!" well, I handle these electronics multiple times per days for long periods of time, even if I was 100% perfect at handling them I'm bound to drop something eventually after using them for thousands of times over the years. /rant.
EDIT: sorry for the flustered language. I was extremely upset and posted this almost immediately after it happened.
And then people tell me, 'well, you should have been more careful!" well, I handle these electronics multiple times per days for long periods of time, even if I was 100% perfect at handling them I'm bound to drop something eventually after using them for thousands of times over the years. /rant.
And it would have helped if my shitty dorm's bed wasn't so high off the ground. I mean seriously, at least give me a fucking option to have it directly on the ground instead of 3 feet off a tile floor. What did the idiots that designed my dorm think was going to happen?
EDIT: sorry for the flustered language. I was extremely upset and posted this almost immediately after it happened.
LukasTaves
Member
Any way to make the SP3 not hibernate after a few hours in connected standby?
I would prefer to have it always in connected standby, even if takes a hit to the battery, but they removed the option for that on SP3...
I would prefer to have it always in connected standby, even if takes a hit to the battery, but they removed the option for that on SP3...
SerTapTap
Member
The SP3's fairly sturdy...it all depends on the situation of the drop though. You drop the screen right on the corner of a marble statue, screen's probably not going to survive. I dropped my first unit (to no additional harm--it already had a discolored screen) from table-height with no visible damage. There's only so much they can do though, especially without making the thing 6" thick and 10 lbs. They also droptested it live at the release, so it's clearly a priority for them, but there's a ton of factors in real-life drops.
Unknown Soldier
Member
A drop of 5-6 feet on the corner or face down is generally the worst case scenario, a device that isn't in a case will get a cracked screen almost all the time. Glass is very brittle after all, and they can't exactly use very thick panes of it for phones and tablet since the goal isn't for the device to weigh a ton.
Tech question (video):
I have my Pro 3 set up with two very high resolution dell monitors, via a dock. So three screens total including the surface itself, both external displays connected via miniport-DVI.
I can only get the external displays to go to 1920x1080 with 1 (surface) being the desktop, but the surface is displaying at 2160 x 1440. Is this a limitation of the device or am I doing it wrong. I am perfectly content, but more pixels would obviously be nice.
I have my Pro 3 set up with two very high resolution dell monitors, via a dock. So three screens total including the surface itself, both external displays connected via miniport-DVI.
I can only get the external displays to go to 1920x1080 with 1 (surface) being the desktop, but the surface is displaying at 2160 x 1440. Is this a limitation of the device or am I doing it wrong. I am perfectly content, but more pixels would obviously be nice.
DataStream
Member
Demo of all new SP3 specialized UI for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop at Max right now.
https://max.adobe.com/sessions/max-online/
https://max.adobe.com/sessions/max-online/
SerTapTap
Member
I'm pretty sure the SP3 supports a single external 4k display but not multiples. Unsure about >1080p <4K.
StudioTan
Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
Holy shit at that video near the end. MS partnering with Adobe to push the Surface is really smart.
DataStream
Member
http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/6/6...ense-transparent-smart-cover-research-project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dgHgHQSuuY&list=UUCb9_Kn8F_Opb3UCGm-lILQ
Video from the end of Max http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/6/6...or-touch-features-adobe-microsoft-partnership
This is just getting started, some cool times ahead from Adobe/MS.
Unknown Soldier
Member
I wonder if they'll care enough about owners of previous Surface Pro models to backport this.
I know, I know, it's MS. The purpose of MS is abandon last year's users every year, I should know better.
I know, I know, it's MS. The purpose of MS is abandon last year's users every year, I should know better.
DataStream
Member
Backport what in particular?
I wonder if they'll care enough about owners of previous Surface Pro models to backport this.
I know, I know, it's MS. The purpose of MS is abandon last year's users every year, I should know better.
Huh? Unless it requires special hardware, why wouldn't it just work?
So talk of Surface 3 and Mini announcment this year: http://www.winbeta.org/news/microso...-season?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
SerTapTap
Member
Interesting...but then again we were expecting those at the surface pro 3 release. Be interested to see what they show if anything, but I think focusing on the Pro line would be smart
I would target the mini as an second device to a laptop in a work environment not ready to go full Surface Pro.
It can be your business notebook with onenote and pen, view files on the go, etc.
Surface 3 can be a less powerful device for home activities - stick with 16:9 screen.
The RT vs x86 is a tricky decision. I personally have no issue if both of those are RT (and are upgraded to [Windows 10 RT]) mostly due to battery life, stability and simplicity (less things that could break).
However the best compromise would probably be an atom processor.
It can be your business notebook with onenote and pen, view files on the go, etc.
Surface 3 can be a less powerful device for home activities - stick with 16:9 screen.
The RT vs x86 is a tricky decision. I personally have no issue if both of those are RT (and are upgraded to [Windows 10 RT]) mostly due to battery life, stability and simplicity (less things that could break).
However the best compromise would probably be an atom processor.
SerTapTap
Member
Not sure RT has been successful for them at all. I could see them making the Surface Mini the "surface 3", something in a form factor you wouldn't really expect full computing capabilities out of, but it'd make a great note taking and web browsing device. Especially if the pen is somehow in-unit, but I'm not sure that's possible without it being an iffy pen. The SP3 pen feels great because of the thickness and weight. It really does have to feel like a real pen to be a satisfying experience IMO. I had a super skinny "emergency pen" in one of my prior tablet PCs, it did the job in a pinch but it is not a pleasant thing to use.
Have there been rumors as to whether Surface Mini will have a type cover? I'm not sure I can see that working well, and to me the typecover is a bit part of what makes the Surface attractive.
LukasTaves
Member
Just tried Project Spark, it runs very decently on SP3 with everything on low, eve on the most demanding games I tried. At least for a few minutes, until it gets very hot and the throttling kicks in making the framerate take a nosedive
Also, I thought the throttle was just when running on battery, but plugging in males no difference, the only way to make the game playable again is waiting for a cool down...
Not sure how I feel about that yet, of course, I didn't wanted it to be a gaming powerhouse, but I expected some lighting gaming... it's a bit bad knowing the hardware can handle playing a certain game, but it won't due the throttling... The tablet got REALLY hot, thought, so I'm not sure it would be even wise to keep the CPU unlocked. It seems the cooling system is just not enough to cool this when it's really stressed... Dunno why I expected different, something had to give to have a tablet this light and thin.
Edit: Scrap that, performance in some Spark levels are terrible even when it's super cooled down.
I've been testing some 3d games on the store and I'm actually impressed on how well they run on such a high resolution... I installed some games on steam, let's see how they run and how well they hold up after it heats up.
Also, I thought the throttle was just when running on battery, but plugging in males no difference, the only way to make the game playable again is waiting for a cool down...
Not sure how I feel about that yet, of course, I didn't wanted it to be a gaming powerhouse, but I expected some lighting gaming... it's a bit bad knowing the hardware can handle playing a certain game, but it won't due the throttling... The tablet got REALLY hot, thought, so I'm not sure it would be even wise to keep the CPU unlocked. It seems the cooling system is just not enough to cool this when it's really stressed... Dunno why I expected different, something had to give to have a tablet this light and thin.
Edit: Scrap that, performance in some Spark levels are terrible even when it's super cooled down.
I've been testing some 3d games on the store and I'm actually impressed on how well they run on such a high resolution... I installed some games on steam, let's see how they run and how well they hold up after it heats up.
SerTapTap
Member
I never really noticed thermal throttling while playing but I was testing 2D games and the surface was already fairly warm.
Thermals will always be an issue, I'm still impressed it performs as well as it does, and it manages to run actually silent, fan off when not performing anything demanding, which is perfect for a device of it's class. I do wonder if they'll ever add an iris pro to a future version though, seems like the best we could hope for in perf. They'll never fit a dedicated GPU in it.
Thermals will always be an issue, I'm still impressed it performs as well as it does, and it manages to run actually silent, fan off when not performing anything demanding, which is perfect for a device of it's class. I do wonder if they'll ever add an iris pro to a future version though, seems like the best we could hope for in perf. They'll never fit a dedicated GPU in it.
LukasTaves
Member
I don't even think I'd want a dedicated gpu in it. I have had notebooks with much bigger form factor and way louder cooling systems that still could get so hot that they had to shut off to avoid damage.
I'm also more than okay with the performance of the device, I think I misjudged it because Project Spark simply don't run that well on it on more demanding levels, cooled down or not. Because other gaming experiences have been better thus far.
SerTapTap
Member
Yeah, I got a 2 GPU Lenovo y510p and jesus christ not only was that thing loud and hot as hell even when idle, graphics performance was still okay at best. Also, unlike my phone, the SP3 never overheats in totally normal operation (web browsing + screen on for an hour occasionally locks it up or at least makes it quite hot)
Hard to judge performance with stuff like Project Spark. LBP on PS3 has a pretty solid framerate on PS3, but lots of player levels can stress it because they were of course never passed through QA and there's not an extreme amount of overhead allowed.
There was a guy on my commute in the morning the other day with a new surface pro 3 (only came out recently here in the UK).
Was browsing through some architectural drawings and annotating with the pen.
Saw the same guy on the way home that day and was now playing CIV V with touch. Ideal.
Was browsing through some architectural drawings and annotating with the pen.
Saw the same guy on the way home that day and was now playing CIV V with touch. Ideal.
SerTapTap
Member
This is the way I thought mobile would go after using a tablet PC for years before the iPad. Really disappointed that mobile has become so consumption focused, glad at least someone's focusing on general purpose/productivity.
LukasTaves
Member
Yeah, now I'm positive that the problem was that Project Spark is just too much for the poor HD4000... I tried Borderlands and Dead Space and came out impressed, specially with Dead Space which I could go even higher than console settings and still have smooth Gameplay.
It's nice to have what is basically a portable 360 tablet I think I'll end up gaming a lot more on this than I initially though.
It's nice to have what is basically a portable 360 tablet
I think I'll end up gaming a lot more on this than I initially though.
SerTapTap
Member
Yeah, now I'm positive that the problem was that Project Spark is just too much for the poor HD4000... I tried Borderlands and Dead Space and came out impressed, specially with Dead Space which I could go even higher than console settings and still have smooth Gameplay.
It's nice to have what is basically a portable 360 tablet
What controller are you using? I loved using the DS4 on it, but I have to resync (or get EVEN MORE DS4s) since I also use it on the desktop. I'd sync a 360 with it but having to plug in a wireless adapter into it is a no go for me. It does what it needs to do quite nice though, especially with a mini dp ->HDMI adapter, put that puppy on a big screen.MAkes me wonder how good that Miracast stuff is...probably not good enough for games, I guess.
Septimus Prime
Member
Have you guys ever experienced the stylus just, all of a sudden, not writing? I've had it happen a few times recently, and it's beyond frustrating.
SerTapTap
Member
Battery low? Never had it happen but I don't use the pen as much as I'd like. Not sure how it indicates low battery either.
LukasTaves
Member
I have a few 360 pads and the wireless receiver for PC... I'm too thinking of switching, but I'm waiting to see how Ms is going to handle wireless xbone controllers on Pc before getting a new pad.
I'm actually anxious for the Ms miracast impressions, I think it can potentially have very low latency for lower resolutions like 720p...
It would make for a amazing portable machine XD
Septimus Prime
Member
That's what I'm hoping, but I don't exactly have AAAA batteries lying around to find out.
EDIT: Ordered some. Amazon brand. Hope they do the trick.
SerTapTap
Member
The on-screen keyboard really isn't too bad. The left/right and ctrl keys are godsends. I've been using it as a tablet a bit more since laptop mode isn't really conducive to in-bed usage.
Yeah I didn't even know AAAA batteries existed. They fit in the pen nicely though and it's not too heavy or thick, so whatever. I wonder what the battery life on the pen is, I wouldn't have expected any to start running low yet. I'm spoiled by induction pens, but apparently ntrig lets them reduce latency. It is the smoothest writing I've ever had on a machine. I guess I should buy a box of AAAAs at some point too.
It's Yet Another Proprietary Wireless Solution, so chances of Xbone controller working wireless on PC without another $30 dongle requiring a USB port is near zero. No USB ports required and no special bluetooth drivers required is why I use DS4 for it.
Yeah I didn't even know AAAA batteries existed. They fit in the pen nicely though and it's not too heavy or thick, so whatever. I wonder what the battery life on the pen is, I wouldn't have expected any to start running low yet. I'm spoiled by induction pens, but apparently ntrig lets them reduce latency. It is the smoothest writing I've ever had on a machine. I guess I should buy a box of AAAAs at some point too.
It's Yet Another Proprietary Wireless Solution, so chances of Xbone controller working wireless on PC without another $30 dongle requiring a USB port is near zero. No USB ports required and no special bluetooth drivers required is why I use DS4 for it.
Septimus Prime
Member
To be fair, I use the pen a lot, since I bring the SP3 to every meeting (although because of the problem I'm having now, I'm also bringing a paper notepad again) to take notes. I do hope it's a battery issue, though, since that would be easiest to solve.
Unknown Soldier
Member
Even though the pen which comes with my SP2 doesn't have a button on the side, the S Pen inside my Note II does and this button does function correctly as right-click when used with my SP2. Why MS didn't include a button on the side of the included pen is beyond my capacity to fathom.
When I upgrade to the Note 4, I'll still be able to use the new S Pen with my SP2. It's nice to have multiple devices which use Wacom tech I guess. Why MS went with N-Trig in the SP3 is beyond my capacity to fathom.
When I upgrade to the Note 4, I'll still be able to use the new S Pen with my SP2. It's nice to have multiple devices which use Wacom tech I guess. Why MS went with N-Trig in the SP3 is beyond my capacity to fathom.
Uh, there *is* a button on the side of the SP2 pen.
It's the thing with the 5 dots on it. Click it, and it behaves as the right mouse button. It also doubles as a way to magnetically clip the pen to the power connector.
Unknown Soldier
Member
Uh, there *is* a button on the side of the SP2 pen.
It's the thing with the 5 dots on it. Click it, and it behaves as the right mouse button. It also doubles as a way to magnetically clip the pen to the power connector.
Wow, I had no idea. I knew it was for attaching to the power connector, it never occurred to me to try and click that. Thanks for the tip lol
Doominated
Member
Staples has a 20% off computers/tablets deal going on until the 18th. Works on the 64/4/i3 and 128/4/i5 models of the surface pro 3. Might work on the higher end ones but I'll have to check while I'm at work today (They're online only, no physical stock in store.) Lowest prices I've seen for them by far since they came out.
Now if only I had ~$800 to spend...
Now if only I had ~$800 to spend...
WhiskerFrisker
Member
This is great. I keep going back and forth between a laptop and the Surface pro 3. I'll keep an eye on this deal.
Dwight Schrute
Member
I have to buy a gist for someone and need an hybrid (with amovible keyword) pad under 1000$. Is objectively surface pro 3 the best choice ? Is there a better android or other alternative ?
You can run Android on this.
And just ordered my Surface Pro 3 (i5, 128 GB). I guess I'll have it early next week, might be even Saturday. My lectures start next Monday. Gotta show off with all those Apple junkies around. Gonna study information science and everybody is like "we don't use Microsoft, we are elite". I'm too old for that kind of behaviour, I go with what is best.