But if I have to use USB, wouldn't I be better off using an xb1 controller - more games would use those button icons, and I use a 350 pad on my desktop so it'd be consistent
Microsoft Surface Pro 4 announced: "better in nearly every way" (The Verge)
- Thread starter Anton Sugar
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But if I have to use USB, wouldn't I be better off using an xb1 controller - more games would use those button icons, and I use a 350 pad on my desktop so it'd be consistent
NinjaMouse
Member
Well, I'm on my 3rd SP4 (i5/8GB/256GB) after two warranty replacements since launch. The first time it was stuck in a reboot loop and the second time, the touch screen was freaking out. I couldn't even log into the machine. Now that I have a brand new one, I'm not sure how much I want to keep it. I genuinely like it, but what use is it if it's going to fail every 2 months? This is also alongside getting my Band v2 replaced twice since Christmas. The rubber keeps splitting open on the band.
Looks like I'm getting closer and closer to curling back up in the Apple cave for a while longer. It's a shame, too, because I really like MS's products, features, etc...but the build quality is quickly becoming a non-starter for me.
Looks like I'm getting closer and closer to curling back up in the Apple cave for a while longer. It's a shame, too, because I really like MS's products, features, etc...but the build quality is quickly becoming a non-starter for me.
Hi,
I've had the SP4 since launch (cheapest model, love the fan-less design), but so far I've only been using it to take notes during lectures at university. I haven't really looked into what it offers beyond that. I bought MangaStudio and drew some.
For other SP4 owners, what are you must-have applications/programms that you can't live without?
I've had the SP4 since launch (cheapest model, love the fan-less design), but so far I've only been using it to take notes during lectures at university. I haven't really looked into what it offers beyond that. I bought MangaStudio and drew some.
For other SP4 owners, what are you must-have applications/programms that you can't live without?
It syncs perfectly to my SP3. It's awesome
Yeah it's just like a regular PC where the 360/One controllers are plug and play. If you use DS4 Windows, you can have the exact same compatibility with your DS4, regardless of wired or wireless. If you want wireless with the One/360 pad, you need to buy the official adapter.
why is chrome not popping up the touch keyboard when in tablet mode?
edit: i find the touch keyboard pretty bad. maybe its the size difference compared to my ipad, but probably the lack of autocorrect is the biggest issue. I type quite a lot in tablet mode and it is frustratingly slow and full of errors.
if the touch KB was better I think i could use this as a deçent ipad replacement.
edit: i find the touch keyboard pretty bad. maybe its the size difference compared to my ipad, but probably the lack of autocorrect is the biggest issue. I type quite a lot in tablet mode and it is frustratingly slow and full of errors.
if the touch KB was better I think i could use this as a deçent ipad replacement.
brotkasten
Member
What's weird* is that they have a fantastic touch keyboard since 2010, with Windows Phone.
*outrageous, actually
Yeah I loved the windows phone keyboard, so I kind of expected that to be what they based this one on. Nope. It's almost unusable for any form of input more than a couple of sentences.
I never got that myself. They have the ability to make a superior keyboard.
The thing is, the keyboard does have autocorrect and word suggestions (that are quite good, actually) when using Edge. Seems like it depends on the program being used. It also resizes some windows, but not all.
My guess would be that the way windows works means they can't use the windows phone one. For windows the apps will be expecting simple keypresses and then the app will display them. How would the keyboard correct for that? I suppose the keyboard 'app' could send the key press but also buffer them to allow for autocorrect, and if it detects something that needs changing it'd need to send multple backspaces to the app to delete the word, and then retype the correct word. Could be very clumsy.
If so, that would mean you'd have to code your app to support a special keyboard (UWP?) which means thousands of apps won't.
edit:
ah that backs up my thought. But edge is also no use for me without extensions and swipe gestures. Any news on when that is going to be fixed? Was originally 2015 but got pushed back. Will we hear more at BUILD?
LukasTaves
Member
On W8/8.1 auto correct and suggestions were also only supported on metro apps.
Oh, and apparently edge extension support is coming really soon (like a build or two away), even for mobile which would be really nice.
Not Surface Pro specific, but Clip Studio Paint is my favourite touch-screen software, and it just got a new update. They added the ability to do animation, with onion skinning and GIF exporting! 
I've been really impressed with the updates to this software.
http://www.clipstudio.net/en/promotion/animation
I've been really impressed with the updates to this software. http://www.clipstudio.net/en/promotion/animation
artsi
Member
Not Surface Pro specific, but Clip Studio Paint is my favourite touch-screen software, and it just got a new update. They added the ability to do animation, with onion skinning and GIF exporting!
http://www.clipstudio.net/en/promotion/animation
Wow, that's cool. I'm always using Clip Studio myself these days.
Not Surface Pro specific, but Clip Studio Paint is my favourite touch-screen software, and it just got a new update. They added the ability to do animation, with onion skinning and GIF exporting!
http://www.clipstudio.net/en/promotion/animation
Intrigued, I have not tried this yet. How good does this work with touch? I mean you seem pretty stoked about it
Intrigued, I have not tried this yet. How good does this work with touch? I mean you seem pretty stoked about it
I love it, and use it all the time without the keyboard attached! This is a photo I took recently.
I use a small app to add three buttons to the screen (ESC, Enter and Tab, visible on the far left of this photo), and otherwise I rely entirely on CSP's touch screen controls. I use it exclusively in portrait mode while I'm sketching because it's more comfortable on my lap.
Is anyone else disappointed with the pressure needed to make strokes with the pen? It feels like you're having to push in the tip (you can feel it move a tiny bit). So even turning the sensitivity up I can't make light pencil strokes and have the show up
Anyone compared that to the apple pencil?
Anyone compared that to the apple pencil?
There's a Surface app on the Store which lets you configure the pressure curve.
That configuration app shows you that it's possible for the pen to detect super tiny amounts of pressure. But unfortunately I've noticed that some apps still don't accept a tiny amount of pressure. Though modifying the pressure curve does help.
Picked up a surface pro 4 earlier this week, and I gotta say this is one of the most impressive pieces of tech I've ever owned.
To other artist in here who own one, how would you rate the surface compared to something like a Wacom tablet? Obviously not as nice as one of the more expensive ones, but would you say it works pretty effectively on its own?
To other artist in here who own one, how would you rate the surface compared to something like a Wacom tablet? Obviously not as nice as one of the more expensive ones, but would you say it works pretty effectively on its own?
Abyssal God
Banned
I haven't owned a laptop in years and I have never owned a tablet, I decided to buy this and I hope it doesn't disappoint.
I'm scared of dead pixels, how's the QA when it comes to the SP4? I also watch a lot of anime, I hope the aspect ratio isn't a problem.
Anyways, I'm damn excited to get mine. Got the i5, 4gb Ram, 128gb model.
I'm scared of dead pixels, how's the QA when it comes to the SP4? I also watch a lot of anime, I hope the aspect ratio isn't a problem.
Anyways, I'm damn excited to get mine. Got the i5, 4gb Ram, 128gb model.
Yep, very comparable to the Cintiq Companion 2.
Size + weight: better than Companion 2.
Screen: smaller, glossy, but better resolution and colour
Pen: Not as good, not very customisable, but still good.
Extra buttons: no extra buttons, unlike the Companion 2. I use TouchKey to mitigate this.
Will check about edge. Can you disable flash in chrome?
I need chrome for extensions and tab sync. Will switch to edge if we ever see extensions. Gesture support I can put in with an app if needed.
But for watching video I can definitely use edge if it'll save battery
Drawing is not as responsive nor feels as good, but it blows it away in everything else, especially weight. Albeit it's still not a replacement for an actual tablet, it feels like a tablet, unlike the Cintiq which is just a heavy plank.
Extensions in Edge are super soon and Microsoft is working to get a conversion tool form Chrome extensions but I am wary, and yes you can disable Flash in Chrome.
To disable Flash in Chrome on the web:
Type the following where you would normally type a URL:
chrome://plugins
Locate the Flash Player in the list of plug-ins. You may see more than one Flash Player listed.
Hello GAF
I have a Surface 3 but someone here might be able to answer my questions.
I've been having some really weird issues with my Surface the past few days. The first issue is that my type cover occasionally goes unresponsive and then Windows hits me with an error message saying something like "USB device unrecognized" or something. The keyboard still lights up, but I can't use it until I restart the Surface.
My second problem started today, the Surface just randomly shuts off. I was skyping with my fiancee today and the Surface shut off atleast three times. I had to boot the thing up everytime by pressing the power button.
Has anyone else ever experienced something like this and fixed it?
I have a Surface 3 but someone here might be able to answer my questions.
I've been having some really weird issues with my Surface the past few days. The first issue is that my type cover occasionally goes unresponsive and then Windows hits me with an error message saying something like "USB device unrecognized" or something. The keyboard still lights up, but I can't use it until I restart the Surface.
My second problem started today, the Surface just randomly shuts off. I was skyping with my fiancee today and the Surface shut off atleast three times. I had to boot the thing up everytime by pressing the power button.
Has anyone else ever experienced something like this and fixed it?
GAF,
I'm selling my 256GB, i7, 8GB of RAM Surface Pro 4.
I've really enjoyed using it but work have given me a new Macbook Air to use and this laptop is now sitting redundant at home on my desk.
I'd like to give it a new home and would entertain offers around the $1500CAD mark (so around $1100ish USD).
I can ship it anywhere and will include the red keyboard thing.
I'm selling my 256GB, i7, 8GB of RAM Surface Pro 4.
I've really enjoyed using it but work have given me a new Macbook Air to use and this laptop is now sitting redundant at home on my desk.
I'd like to give it a new home and would entertain offers around the $1500CAD mark (so around $1100ish USD).
I can ship it anywhere and will include the red keyboard thing.
Hmmmm the automatic shutting down problem has coincided with the latest fw update I installed a couple days ago....
It might be a bit too involved for you, but Clip Studio Paint (MS5) definitely allows for complex diagonal grids like this.
http://wicked-draws.tumblr.com/post/91582723430/isometricish-perspective-in-manga-studio-5
Earthanoid
Member
I picked up a SP4 this week. My initial impression was that it was great, but with crappy battery life. I use it mainly for art and it works well. It doesn't feel quite as nice as an Intuos but drawing on-screen is a bit easier and natural feeling. So it's a bit of a trade off. There appears to be some kind of texture on the pen so it doesn't feel slippery on the screen, but it's still not quite as nice of a feel as the Intuos. I miss the configurable buttons on the pen and the quick keys, but overall it's still great for sketching though. I got the i5/8GB version and that is more than enough power for me.
The battery life was the big downside though, the first few days I was only getting 4-5 hours of use out of it under normal use. A bit of research and I ended up doing a registry tweak and turning off Connected Standby and Turbo Boost, which has made a big difference. I'm getting 7-8 hours now.
MS needs to fix the issues with Connected Standby and Turbo Boost, I really shouldn't have had to mess with those to get the advertised battery life. But other than that it's a great device.
The battery life was the big downside though, the first few days I was only getting 4-5 hours of use out of it under normal use. A bit of research and I ended up doing a registry tweak and turning off Connected Standby and Turbo Boost, which has made a big difference. I'm getting 7-8 hours now.
MS needs to fix the issues with Connected Standby and Turbo Boost, I really shouldn't have had to mess with those to get the advertised battery life. But other than that it's a great device.
I highly doubt your tweaks changed anything. What probably happened is that you got less battery life when you first set it up because things were still adjusting under the covers.
A Surface Pro 4 should have no problems getting 7-8 hours without changing any settings.
And you definitely don't want to turn off Connected Standby......that would be annoying to deal with.
Earthanoid
Member
On the first day I left it plugged in while applying all the security updates and while I configured it. I used it for 3 days with default settings and got 4-5 hours a day, then I made the registry tweaks and got 7-8 hours for 2 days. I switched it back to see if it was a fluke and got about 5 hours again. Switched it back and for the last two days I've gotten 7-8 hours. There's no reason it would take 3 days to adjust "under the covers" or for the battery life changes to coincide so much with the registry tweaks.
SP4 is great but Google "Surface Pro 4 battery life" and you get a sea of complaints about poor battery life. Poor battery life not matching advertised specs is mentioned in every tech site review I've read. It's a known issue that the SP4 has bad battery life and doesn't make it 7-8 hours out of the box. Poor Turbo Boost management is also a known problem and turning it off solved the issue for me.
As for Connected Standby, you can turn it back on after disabling Turbo Boost, you only need to disable it to see the advanced power options. If you always hibernate or shut down instead of sleep, yeah I guess it would be annoying. But for me during the day I have the power button set to just turn off the screen so I still get instant on and I still get good battery life. End of the day I hibernate, which adds a whopping 3 seconds to boot up time when I turn it back on in the morning. Works fine and I still get better battery life than before the registry tweaks so I don't see the point in re-enabling Connected Standby, which is also known to cause power drain.
Got the Shakes
Member
A SP4 shouldn't have any problems getting 7-8 hours of battery life, but the sad reality is that it does. The sleep drain issues have gotten way better since the big patch in February, but there is still a problem getting solid battery life under real world conditions. I haven't tried the registry tweak to know if that works or not though.
LukasTaves
Member
There's definitely something off with SP3 running the insider previews as well. My battery life is coming from full, to empty in less than 7 hours of sleep.
Battery life during normal usage isn't that great either. 2-3 hours even with minimal usage, just standing there by itself and it's using 23% of cpu time.
And this from a freshly hard reset device whereas the only non store app installed is the office suite.
I really wanted to keep in the insider preview, specially because battery life aside it's been great, just minor bugs and they are solved very quickly, but that terrible battery life is making my device unusable because there's never enough battery life unless I keep it indefinitely plugged in.
Battery life during normal usage isn't that great either. 2-3 hours even with minimal usage, just standing there by itself and it's using 23% of cpu time.
And this from a freshly hard reset device whereas the only non store app installed is the office suite.
I really wanted to keep in the insider preview, specially because battery life aside it's been great, just minor bugs and they are solved very quickly, but that terrible battery life is making my device unusable because there's never enough battery life unless I keep it indefinitely plugged in.
Forsete
Member
So, when the F is Edge getting extensions?
I find that Edge is the best browser for Surface when using touch, but since Edge lacks Adblock I feel violated every time I am forced to see ads, thus I avoid using it.
Which is a pity, since it seems to be much better optimized than Chrome.
Adblock is a must, for any modern human being.
I find that Edge is the best browser for Surface when using touch, but since Edge lacks Adblock I feel violated every time I am forced to see ads, thus I avoid using it.
Which is a pity, since it seems to be much better optimized than Chrome.
Adblock is a must, for any modern human being.
They're trickling out in the preview builds.
Forsete
Member
Steelyuhas
Member
Can someone recommend a good app for adding to let's say a floorplan picture with drawing and writing via the pen (and maybe able to add text as well)?
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?
One Note?
I figured it didn't do it simply because it's Windows.
it used to work but some update, Windows or Chrome not sure, seemed to kill it.
I tried this the other night...
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --disable-usb-keyboard-detect"
adding in properties under the "Target" text field.
It didn't work for me but I guess you need to restart Chrome. I'll try that when I get home tonight.
edit: THIS WORKS confirmed
Steelyuhas
Member
Hmm didn't think that OneNote might do the trick. I'll try that later today.
TerryLee81
Member
Got the m3 model this week and man this is an awesome device! Got it with the (very expensive) dock and everything works like a desktop PC with just connecting one cable.
Went with the m3 model because it has no fans. Can't stand fan noise on devices like this. But too bad there isn't a m3 model with more storage.
Went with the m3 model because it has no fans. Can't stand fan noise on devices like this. But too bad there isn't a m3 model with more storage.
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