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Surface 2 and Pro 2 |OT| Lap it up

A

AlteredBeast

Fork 'em, Sparky!
Chichikov said:
They should be able to shrink it once Broadwell comes around.
In fact, a lot of people are saying that they should've used the 6W haswell variant like the vaio tap 11, which is quite thinner than the Surface Pro 2 (though quite weaker too).
Click to expand...

Those people are misguided. People would bitch about being underpowered way before being thick and heavy (both relative terms, this thing is sleeker and lighter than any laptop I have ever owned...)

MS took the smart route. The next gen Intel chips are still going to need to be cooled by fans if you expect to get any power out of them.
 
C

Chichikov

Member
AlteredBeast said:
Those people are misguided. People would bitch about being underpowered way before being thick and heavy (both relative terms, this thing is sleeker and lighter than any laptop I have ever owned...)

MS took the smart route. The next gen Intel chips are still going to need to be cooled by fans if you expect to get any power out of them.
Click to expand...
I personally tend to agree, I was merely commenting on the ability to make it thinner, which exists.
And reading about Broadwell, I'd be surprised if the next revision of the surface pro isn't thinner (though it's possible they'll decide to use that space to put something else in, like a better GPU).
 
S

Steelyuhas

Member
B

Betta Lines

Member
I have a concern about the Surface Pro/Pro 2 - the venting.

I am wary of any electronics device that has air intakes/vents. My desktop PC is covered in them, and I regularly take the case off to clean the dust filters. I have a crappy Acer laptop that appears to intake air from the bottom, and vent hot air out to the left, and over time the fan has got louder and spins up more regularly, presumably because the heatsink/fan has become more and more clogged with dust. Unlike my desktop, it is very difficult to take apart and clean, so I just leave it to get worse. It means that I'm very conscious of using the laptop on my lap, or in bed, or on any surface that might cover up that bottom intake or left vent, because I know it will cause the fan to work overtime, and suck in even more dust.

I am much more comfortable using smartphones, tablets and other sealed mobile tech (like my Vita) in bed. Even the iPad 3, which heated up significantly compared to the iPad 2, felt fine. There was no fan kicking in as an audible warning to say 'you're really pushing it'. I had confidence. If the manufacturer can seal it, it must be fine.

But the Surface Pro/Pro 2 has a slim vent all the way around. It has fans. From the iFixit teardown it's clear that nobody is supposed to open this thing up, so I'm not going to be able to clean it. I fear that I will use it like my laptop, always conscious of whether I'm covering up vents, never getting comfortable. But I want to be able to use it like my iPad, in bed. MS didn't have the confidence to seal it, so should I have the confidence to use it in bed? Should I be worried?
 
I

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Yoooo...8.1 is pretty insane. Having one note, a browser, and a work file open at the same time is beastly. Getting used to all the gestures though is taking some time.
 
B

bedlamite

Member
Yeah I'm using my RT1 a LOT more since 8.1 came out. When I'm back on my iPad mini, that's only because I'm loading up the odd game or 2.
 
M

maeh2k

Member
Almost wanted to give in to temptation... Thanks, Verge:

"like any large 16:9 tablet it’s still awkward in my hands. It’s too wide in landscape — my thumbs can only comfortably reach about 60 percent of the screen — and hilariously, comically tall in portrait mode. There’s no great way to hold it one hand, either; this is a device for your desk or your lap, not for standing on a crowded subway."

"USING A SURFACE 2 IS QUIET, AND LONELY"

"It’s lonely using a Surface 2. I can’t play all the games my friends are playing, or test out all the apps they’re downloading. Trying to use apps in IE tabs is a clunky, messy process, and no one should have to do it."
 
A

areal

Member
maeh2k said:
There’s no great way to hold it one hand, either; this is a device for your desk or your lap, not for standing on a crowded subway.
Click to expand...
Says the same reviewer who made a point of using the 15-inch MacBook Pro on the subway. "It was awesome," he says.
 
B

Betta Lines

Member
areal said:
Says the same reviewer who made a point of using the 15-inch MacBook Pro on the subway. "It was awesome," he says.
Click to expand...
The difference is weight distribution. A laptop has a low centre of gravity, so you can feel secure resting it on your lap. The Surface Pro is primarily a tablet design, and even with the improved stand, the weight is all behind the screen and therefore a higher centre of gravity and less secure to rest on your lap in the subway. Obviously neither device is good for standing - the MBP is a laptop, and the SP is a really heavy tablet.

The only time either device would be remotely comfortable on a train is if you had a seat, at which point a laptop would feel more secure on the lap.
 
H

hwalker84

Member
Pazuzu9 said:
I have a concern about the Surface Pro/Pro 2 - the venting.

I am wary of any electronics device that has air intakes/vents. My desktop PC is covered in them, and I regularly take the case off to clean the dust filters. I have a crappy Acer laptop that appears to intake air from the bottom, and vent hot air out to the left, and over time the fan has got louder and spins up more regularly, presumably because the heatsink/fan has become more and more clogged with dust. Unlike my desktop, it is very difficult to take apart and clean, so I just leave it to get worse. It means that I'm very conscious of using the laptop on my lap, or in bed, or on any surface that might cover up that bottom intake or left vent, because I know it will cause the fan to work overtime, and suck in even more dust.

I am much more comfortable using smartphones, tablets and other sealed mobile tech (like my Vita) in bed. Even the iPad 3, which heated up significantly compared to the iPad 2, felt fine. There was no fan kicking in as an audible warning to say 'you're really pushing it'. I had confidence. If the manufacturer can seal it, it must be fine.

But the Surface Pro/Pro 2 has a slim vent all the way around. It has fans. From the iFixit teardown it's clear that nobody is supposed to open this thing up, so I'm not going to be able to clean it. I fear that I will use it like my laptop, always conscious of whether I'm covering up vents, never getting comfortable. But I want to be able to use it like my iPad, in bed. MS didn't have the confidence to seal it, so should I have the confidence to use it in bed? Should I be worried?
Click to expand...

Its not confidence the chip cannot be run without fans. If you want something like your iPad either stick with it or get the RT.
 
B

Betta Lines

Member
hwalker84 said:
Its not confidence the chip cannot be run without fans. If you want something like your iPad either stick with it or get the RT.
Click to expand...
I appreciate your reply but I think you misinterpreted my concerns. I'm not questioning the need for fans, I'm questioning whether I'd be able to use the Pro similarly to a sealed device without worrying about dust and covering up certain parts, etc.
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
maeh2k said:
Almost wanted to give in to temptation... Thanks, Verge:

"like any large 16:9 tablet it’s still awkward in my hands. It’s too wide in landscape — my thumbs can only comfortably reach about 60 percent of the screen — and hilariously, comically tall in portrait mode. There’s no great way to hold it one hand, either; this is a device for your desk or your lap, not for standing on a crowded subway."

"USING A SURFACE 2 IS QUIET, AND LONELY"

"It’s lonely using a Surface 2. I can’t play all the games my friends are playing, or test out all the apps they’re downloading. Trying to use apps in IE tabs is a clunky, messy process, and no one should have to do it."
Click to expand...
windows 8 is designed around using the edges and your thumbs, I don't see having a wide tablet a problem.
 
C

clav

Member
maeh2k said:
"USING A SURFACE 2 IS QUIET, AND LONELY"

"It’s lonely using a Surface 2. I can’t play all the games my friends are playing, or test out all the apps they’re downloading. Trying to use apps in IE tabs is a clunky, messy process, and no one should have to do it."
Click to expand...
iCIatIr.jpg
 
Synless

Synless

Member
I can't see how people are getting 10+ hours of use out of this. I have the brightness down to about 35% and using this to read Neogaf for ~2 hours I'm down to 71% battery life.
 
C

CriterionDog

Member
Can you run programs off of an external harddrive when connected to the surface pro 2? I have a friend who bought the 64gb, but he wants to return it and get a 256gb surface pro 2.
 
M

maeh2k

Member
CriterionDog said:
Can you run programs off of an external harddrive when connected to the surface pro 2? I have a friend who bought the 64gb, but he wants to return it and get a 256gb external hard drive, if he can run programs off of it.
Click to expand...

The Surface Pro 2 is just a regular Windows PC. You can just try it out with any other PC. I don't know if you might run into any issues if you wanted to do this all the time, like e.g. the external disk shutting down from time to time when you don't use it.
 
I

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
I congratulate everyone who got a Pro 1 earlier. It must have been a joy for all these months. Spent all day with mine and love it. Only thing I can't stand is the charger connector.

I don't really get the battery complaints. It's fine unless you treat it like a desktop, in which case you'd have it hooked up like a desktop. Still, I'll grab the power cover when it comes out cause why not.
 
B

Betta Lines

Member
I'm an expert said:
I congratulate everyone who got a Pro 1 earlier. It must have been a joy for all these months. Spent all day with mine and love it. Only thing I can't stand is the charger connector.

I don't really get the battery complaints. It's fine unless you treat it like a desktop, in which case you'd have it hooked up like a desktop. Still, I'll grab the power cover when it comes out cause why not.
Click to expand...
Aha. As a long-term owner perhaps you can answer my question earlier regarding venting? :)
 
I

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Pazuzu9 said:
Aha. As a long-term owner perhaps you can answer my question earlier regarding venting? :)
Click to expand...

Er? I just got mine last night lol. Shit got real hot when updating to 8.1 with the charger plugged in. Otherwise, even with 3 apps active and using the pen it took it like a champ. I don't plan on using it in bed too much.. but I wouldn't really worry about it much. Just blow some crazy compressed air through it if you want.

I actually shut down every time I put it down because the boot up is RIDICULOUSLY fast. Like..wtf is the point of sleep. So maybe in the end that will save me a bit.
 
godhandiscen

godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
I love Microsoft products and I am posting this here not trying to generate FUD, but to bring up to attention the fact that Microsoft is still spotty with their hardware QA.

I've had a few BSODs with my previous Surfaces, RT and Pro, but this one I just saw with my Surface 2 was alarming.
I turned the Surface 2 on back from sleep and I noticed the pixels in the screen were corrupted at the bottom. After restarting, I was asked for my bitlocker key. I entered the key and it kept dying with a BSOD a couple times until it managed to restart. Now, the Surface 2 seems to be "stable", but I am a bit annoyed that Microsoft can't get it right.
I have no experience with an iPad, but does this shit happen to those devices too? This is bullshit. I don't care how fast costumer service is to send me a new one. Is it too much to ask for the original product I purchased to work as intended for at least one year?

ZuDMhnh.jpg
 
D

DopeyFish

Not bitter, just unsweetened
godhandiscen said:
I love Microsoft products and I am posting this here not trying to generate FUD, but to bring up to attention the fact that Microsoft is still spotty with their hardware QA.

I've had a few BSODs with my previous Surfaces, RT and Pro, but this one I just saw with my Surface 2 was alarming.
I turned the Surface 2 on back from sleep and I noticed the pixels in the screen were corrupted at the bottom. After restarting, I was asked for my bitlocker key. I entered the key and it kept dying with a BSOD a couple times until it managed to restart. Now, the Surface 2 seems to be "stable", but I am a bit annoyed that Microsoft can't get it right.
I have no experience with an iPad, but does this shit happen to those devices too? This is bullshit. I don't care how fast costumer service is to send me a new one. Is it too much to ask for the original product I purchased to work as intended for at least one year?

ZuDMhnh.jpg
Click to expand...

Apple devices suddenly reset... I have had it happen on my iPhone and iPad countless times

Far more than I have had BSODs in the last decade
 
X

Xplatformer

Member
godhandiscen said:
I love Microsoft products and I am posting this here not trying to generate FUD, but to bring up to attention the fact that Microsoft is still spotty with their hardware QA.

I've had a few BSODs with my previous Surfaces, RT and Pro, but this one I just saw with my Surface 2 was alarming.
I turned the Surface 2 on back from sleep and I noticed the pixels in the screen were corrupted at the bottom. After restarting, I was asked for my bitlocker key. I entered the key and it kept dying with a BSOD a couple times until it managed to restart. Now, the Surface 2 seems to be "stable", but I am a bit annoyed that Microsoft can't get it right.
I have no experience with an iPad, but does this shit happen to those devices too? This is bullshit. I don't care how fast costumer service is to send me a new one. Is it too much to ask for the original product I purchased to work as intended for at least one year?

ZuDMhnh.jpg
Click to expand...

I hope more Surface RT/RT2 owners can confirm that your case is more the exception than the rule, because I've never had anything like that happen with my Kindle Fire, Fire 8.9 or my girlfriends iPad 2. Ever.

Over the past two days I've enjoyed my RT2 a lot more than my other tablets and more than her iPad, but I'll return it this week if that screen is a regular problem. So far the typing experience (with the on screen keyboard) is just as good as the iPad and waaaaaaaaaaay better than the Kindles. The app switching took some getting use to, but once I got it..I loved it.

Please don't let that BSOD screen be normal.

SurfaceRT.jpg
 
T

trm1138

Neo Member
Xplatformer said:
I hope more Surface RT/RT2 owners can confirm that your case is more the exception than the rule, because I've never had anything like that happen with my Kindle Fire, Fire 8.9 or my girlfriends iPad 2. Ever.

Over the past two days I've enjoyed my RT2 a lot more than my other tablets and more than her iPad, but I'll return it this week if that screen is a regular problem. So far the typing experience (with the on screen keyboard) is just as good as the iPad and waaaaaaaaaaay better than the Kindles. The app switching took some getting use to, but once I got it..I loved it.

Please don't let that BSOD screen be normal.

SurfaceRT.jpg
Click to expand...

Only had my Pro2 for a couple days, but no problems yet.
 
N

Neverfade

Member
So in the announcement thread, someone posted a couple videos of a fella showing off several features of the RT, including streaming through Xbox. I can get several things to stream just fine, but in the video he uses the Pandora web app to play some tracks and for me on my Pro 2, I'm unable to recreate this. I get "You can only play from apps." in the charms bar.

What am I missing? He clearly got it to work without problems.

Edit: Video in question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7FUherhyvI
 
X

Xplatformer

Member
So...I've been using the windows tile interface a lot over the past two days. Previous to my time on my Surface the only real experience I'd had with it was on my girlfriends Asus laptop that didn't have a touch screen.

I HATED the interface when I was forced to use a mouse and keyboard with it.

On the Surface it's like butter. Yeah, it's a tablet interface and everything is "simple", but it also just seems second nature swiping through everything on tablet after just two days. And while multitasking is a bit overrated, I must admit that I get a kick out of watching youtube videos and Netflix (in a small portion of my screen) while I browse the web.

Love it.

I think the hate for Windows 8 as a mouse and keyboard driven OS is valid. On a tablet where it's going to be used with touch 90% of the time it's great imo.

I'm even crazy about live tiles on the start screen.
Mystart.jpg
 
M

megarockexe

Member
Do you get that left side app switcher on just touch? That's one thing the interface in mouse and keyboard has over all-touch. Plus, its just faster.
 
S

senahorse

Member
Argh. Move SP2 out of the way on the lunch table at work today, hear a grinding sound. Turn over and there are 2 scratches running over the entire back of the casing :( Not even a week old, oh well, now I might look at getting a protective skin for the back.
 
L

Lucius86

Banned
x3n05 said:
Argh. Move SP2 out of the way on the lunch table at work today, hear a grinding sound. Turn over and there are 2 scratches running over the entire back of the casing :( Not even a week old, oh well, now I might look at getting a protective skin for the back.
Click to expand...

Report back if you find a good one - I'm worried mine will take a nick or two as well.
 
I

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
dem said:
How do open 3 apps at once? Ive tried a few times and haven't got it to work...
Click to expand...

You have two choices. Drag an app to the left or right side, adjust it to 1/3 of the screen, then do this again two more times. Or have have two apps 50/50 and just drag it to the middle to force it in. I should note you should have gone into your display settings from the charms and changed the display to smaller, otherwise it limits you to two snaps.

megarockexe said:
Do you get that left side app switcher on just touch? That's one thing the interface in mouse and keyboard has over all-touch. Plus, its just faster.
Click to expand...

Yes, swipe from left to basically alt+tab. Where I switch my snapped apps from. Speaking strictly Start menu, the only thing a keyboard wins on is being able to type to search immediately. 8 was always a touch OS, god I cringed at the whining last year with people using a mouse with it. I'm hardly ever in desktop mode except if I launch an office app. Desktop is so 90s.
 
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