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Surface |OT|

F

f0lken

Member
No account? For shame, MS even created a fake account of a woman just for display purposes, that way people would see how the damn OS and tiles, etc work in sync with the apps for a regular person. MS indeed needs to be more agressive in how its products are presented, especially when it should be easy because the way they should be in exposition is already defined and in a good way
 
B

brotkasten

Member
You should read the whole thing, since it shows how much superior the retail experience of the competition is. There's even a Google retail guy, pimping Chrome books.

Chrome books.
 
E

eastmen

Banned
The best buy by me has a much diffrent set uo. The surface is next to an ultrabook on its own table right when you come into the store. It has a black touch cover on it.

It has no internet connectivity and that mskes it useless. Then sgain no other machine inclufding aople ones have net connecrions at that bestbuy.

I do hope ms creates a looping demo for it like samsung and apple have I n their phones and devices
 
V

VanMardigan

has calmed down a bit.
I was at a best buy checking out a surface with my wife and the experience was terrible. The security clip ons kept going off and a sales attendant kept having to come over to turn it off. The security devices were placed so you couldn't close the cover, and the cords weren't long enough were you could pick it up and get a good feel for it. My wife ended up not getting it even though she has the money and was going to buy it. I'm convinced if they had a better presentation, a color touch cover, and the ability to pick up and use the device without alerting the whole store that we were apparently trying to steal the device, she would have walked out with one.
 
J

JaggedSac

Member
VanMardigan said:
I was at a best buy checking out a surface with my wife and the experience was terrible. The security clip ons kept going off and a sales attendant kept having to come over to turn it off. The security devices were placed so you couldn't close the cover, and the cords weren't long enough were you could pick it up and get a good feel for it. My wife ended up not getting it even though she has the money and was going to buy it. I'm convinced if they had a better presentation, a color touch cover, and the ability to pick up and use the device without alerting the whole store that we were apparently trying to steal the device, she would have walked out with one.
Click to expand...

lol, good lord. It isn't even just MS that should be worried about this, how does Best Buy expect to sell various items to people with such shitty displays of showmanship.
 
E

Eel O'Brian

Member
Don't update the Netflix app, unless you like seeing "Network request timed out" 100 times in a row. I see I'm gonna have to start checking app reviews after every update, just like every other app store.
 
E

eastmen

Banned
Went to garden state plaza in NJ . They have a best buy right outside. Walk in and the surface is in front of the mobile phones with a few other ultra books and windows 8 tablets.


Mine is set up just fine


http://db.tt/pQdYhWTC

working email

http://db.tt/ZDEKZQQi

account set up and keyboard cover
http://db.tt/G0Ba8Ui4

2012-12-19%2010.47.00.jpg



and its in the proper area with a nice windows 8 set up.


THe ipads / kindle fire / chrome books are all hidden upstairs in the back of the store.


So I guess this is just a bestbuy screwing up kinda deal and not really anything with MS since some stores have it right.

The other best buy near me in the fashion center on rt 17 also has it set up this way but went I went on Saturday it did not have a fake account set up.
 
P

plagiarize

Banned
VanMardigan said:
I was at a best buy checking out a surface with my wife and the experience was terrible. The security clip ons kept going off and a sales attendant kept having to come over to turn it off. The security devices were placed so you couldn't close the cover, and the cords weren't long enough were you could pick it up and get a good feel for it. My wife ended up not getting it even though she has the money and was going to buy it. I'm convinced if they had a better presentation, a color touch cover, and the ability to pick up and use the device without alerting the whole store that we were apparently trying to steal the device, she would have walked out with one.
Click to expand...

I'm so glad I went to a pop up Microsoft store to check out the Surface before deciding whether or not to keep my pre-order. It completely sold the wife on the device.
 
H

Husker86

Member
eastmen said:
The best buy by me has a much diffrent set uo. The surface is next to an ultrabook on its own table right when you come into the store. It has a black touch cover on it.

It has no internet connectivity and that mskes it useless. Then sgain no other machine inclufding aople ones have net connecrions at that bestbuy.

I do hope ms creates a looping demo for it like samsung and apple have I n their phones and devices
Click to expand...

Did you type this on a Surface?
 
C

clav

Member
Yeah the retail setup booth situation looks bad at Staples, too.

Went to Staples during lunch break yesterday because I have a gift card to burn, and this is what the Surface setup looks like.

xgg98.jpg


I still have yet to play with a Surface.
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
I admit I am a noob but I just activated Picture Password. THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!!!

I am forced to have a "complex" password for corporate email, so having one that I can pull off almost with my eyes closed and without unfolding the keyboard is amazeballs.

I am sure Android owners will think this is hilarious.
 
D

dLMN8R

Member
Still lots of sound crackling on Surface even when there isn't much/any slowdown. Nice to see 360 controller support though!
 
Alx

Alx

Member
Stinkles said:
I admit I am a noob but I just activated Picture Password. THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!!!
Click to expand...

I did the same thing last evening, I admit it's a nice touch. A logical evolution from the android gesture codes I suppose, but having it on a picture makes for a more welcoming login screen (and more convenient than typing a password of course).
 
P

plagiarize

Banned
Alx said:
I did the same thing last evening, I admit it's a nice touch. A logical evolution from the android gesture codes I suppose, but having it on a picture makes for a more welcoming login screen (and more convenient than typing a password of course).
Click to expand...

My wife and I share the surface, and I have an exchange account that requires a password, so picture passwords have been wonderful for us. My wife *enjoys* putting in her password still even after we've had it for a month or two.
 
J

JaggedSac

Member
dLMN8R said:
Are you getting choppy audio on your Surface? Even in relatively simple games like SMW it's way too annoying to be playable. The graphics rendering is smooth enough, just the sound is grating.
Click to expand...

I was playing while my wife was watching tv so I had no sound. I'll give it a go in a minute to see. Was saying the controller worked well for me.

EDIT: Yep, just loaded up Dragon Quest I & II and the sound was crackly.
 
K

Kafel

Banned
I can't launch/install the Reckless Racing demo, the Store says it's already installed on my Surface but I can't find it.

How can I uninstall a game I can't see ? What's the games folder ?
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
Kafel said:
I can't launch/install the Reckless Racing demo, the Store says it's already installed on my Surface but I can't find it.

How can I uninstall a game I can't see ? What's the games folder ?
Click to expand...
right click in the store and check the your applications section (select all apps). Should be able to reinstall it.
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
JaggedSac said:
I was playing while my wife was watching tv so I had no sound. I'll give it a go in a minute to see. Was saying the controller worked well for me.

EDIT: Yep, just loaded up Dragon Quest I & II and the sound was crackly.
Click to expand...



You using PC wireless controller? Or wired?
 
MightyKAC

MightyKAC

Member
Man, I really do want this thing badly. But at a five hour battery life I honestly cannot justify purchasing it. Maybe when some sort of battery solution is made available or they do the smart thing that other PC/tablets have done and come up with a keyboard that adds battery life or something.

Because that's literally the ONLY thing keeping me from jumping in on this purchase.
 
S

SPDIF

Member
MightyKAC said:
Man, I really do want this thing badly. But at a five hour battery life I honestly cannot justify purchasing it. Maybe when some sort of battery solution is made available or they do the smart thing that other PC/tablets have done and come up with a keyboard that adds battery life or something.

Because that's literally the ONLY thing keeping me from jumping in on this purchase.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you're talking about the Surface Pro? Surface RT has about 8 hours of battery life.
 
D

dLMN8R

Member
MightyKAC said:
Man, I really do want this thing badly. But at a five hour battery life I honestly cannot justify purchasing it. Maybe when some sort of battery solution is made available or they do the smart thing that other PC/tablets have done and come up with a keyboard that adds battery life or something.

Because that's literally the ONLY thing keeping me from jumping in on this purchase.
Click to expand...

The Surface RT gets around 8-9 hours of battery, so don't fret too much.

The only notes on Surface Pro battery life is roughly half RT's, but that essentially puts it on par with other ultrabooks (including the 11" Macbook Air)


I believe the Surface Pro will be pushed harder as an ultrabook rather than a tablet. If I didn't already get a Surface RT for free, I'd definitely buy a Pro (assuming the reviews don't expose some horrible unexpected things). Higher-resolution screen, more compact, lighter than the Macbook Air, has a touch screen, and it's extremely usable as a tablet too (though obviously bulkier than most tablets)
 
E

Eel O'Brian

Member
This may seem like a really dumb question, but how do I free up storage space? Yesterday I had over 14GB, but now I only have 12, and I have no idea where that space went. I haven't been installing apps willy-nilly or anything. I can check app sizes in the settings, but that gives me absolutely no options for flushing out app caches, etc.
 
MightyKAC

MightyKAC

Member
SPDIF said:
I'm guessing you're talking about the Surface Pro? Surface RT has about 8 hours of battery life.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry I thought I wrote Pro in there somewhere, my mistake.

dLMN8R said:
The Surface RT gets around 8-9 hours of battery, so don't fret too much.

The only notes on Surface Pro battery life is roughly half RT's, but that essentially puts it on par with other ultrabooks (including the 11" Macbook Air)


I believe the Surface Pro will be pushed harder as an ultrabook rather than a tablet. If I didn't already get a Surface RT for free, I'd definitely buy a Pro (assuming the reviews don't expose some horrible unexpected things). Higher-resolution screen, more compact, lighter than the Macbook Air, has a touch screen, and it's extremely usable as a tablet too (though obviously bulkier than most tablets)
Click to expand...

That's the thing though, it really is much more of a tablet than it is a an ultrabook. Yes it has the better processor and yes it's got Windows 8 and all types of expansion capability that no other device has in that for factor and I get that all those things require a lot of power but in the end when people buy this thing they're gonna want to be able to do the thing's they can do with their existing tablet. Which includes being on it for long periods of time without the need to charge it.

Like I said I want this thing REALLY bad but when I take my 4 hour train rides or my 12 hour plane rides with this thing I need it to be able to last.

Hell I'd be fine with takings a charge pack with me as long as it's not the size of a brick.
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
MightyKAC said:
I'm sorry I thought I wrote Pro in there somewhere, my mistake.



That's the thing though, it really is much more of a tablet than it is a an ultrabook. Yes it has the better processor and yes it's got Windows 8 and all types of expansion capability that no other device has in that for factor and I get that all those things require a lot of power but in the end when people buy this thing they're gonna want to be able to do the thing's they can do with their existing tablet. Which includes being on it for long periods of time without the need to charge it.

Like I said I want this thing REALLY bad but when I take my 4 hour train rides or my 12 hour plane rides with this thing I need it to be able to last.

Hell I'd be fine with takings a charge pack with me as long as it's not the size of a brick.
Click to expand...
Clover Trail.
 
D

dLMN8R

Member
After seeing Anand's review of that Clover Trail machine, I'm absolutely ecstatic that Microsoft chose to go with the Core i5 instead. There's absolutely nothing "pro" about Clover Trail.
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
meh for most people's needs clover trail is fine. the only area where it might suffer is in gpu performance. The whole package is excellent imo. Battery life, Device Size, application support.
 
M

MCD

Junior Member
Eel O'Brian said:
This may seem like a really dumb question, but how do I free up storage space? Yesterday I had over 14GB, but now I only have 12, and I have no idea where that space went. I haven't been installing apps willy-nilly or anything. I can check app sizes in the settings, but that gives me absolutely no options for flushing out app caches, etc.
Click to expand...

My guess is either Windows Update or recovery files.

See this if you wanna free 4gigs of recovery files:

http://www.surfacegeeks.net/forums/...e-up-4-gigabytes-of-storage-space-on-your-rt/
 
H

Hana-Bi

Member
Eel O'Brian said:
This may seem like a really dumb question, but how do I free up storage space? Yesterday I had over 14GB, but now I only have 12, and I have no idea where that space went. I haven't been installing apps willy-nilly or anything. I can check app sizes in the settings, but that gives me absolutely no options for flushing out app caches, etc.
Click to expand...

Windows keeps every update and app you downloaded in this folder:

C:\Windows\Software Distribution\Downloads

You can delete all those files. Should free up some space. And rebooting clears up some space too sometimes.
 
B

brotkasten

Member
Xplatformer said:
So, this kickstart project is specifically for a Metro (touch) supported Windows 8 x86 port of the project that won't run on Surface RT. Right?
Click to expand...

You could click on the link and read what the text says.

VLC media player for Windows is currently installed on about 100,000,000 devices worldwide. The existing version runs on Windows 8’s desktop mode, and is available only for Intel-based PCs. This new port will be natively integrated within the new User Experience and will also support ARM-based tablets in a subsequent release

Similar to the desktop version of VLC media player, you will be able to play all files, all your discs and all your network streams. All of that in a native, beautiful and easy-to-use interface.
Click to expand...

The initial release of VLC for Windows 8 will run on x86-based devices. Support for the ARM architecture will be added in a subsequent release, since this will involve further development work. The amount of work needed to tackle this subproject can hardly be estimated at this point. However, we are confident to get this done based upon our prior experience on competing ARM based platforms like Android and iOS.
Click to expand...
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
Xplatformer said:
So, this kickstart project is specifically for a Metro (touch) supported Windows 8 x86 port of the project that won't run on Surface RT. Right?
Click to expand...
its for both x86 and ARM I believe. and then eventually they will bring it to the phone.
 
S

Spasm

Member
Windu said:
its for both x86 and ARM I believe. and then eventually they will bring it to the phone.
Click to expand...

iirc, Metro apps are required to support ARM/RT.

Chiming in with yes, Best Buy is horrible with their displays. Finally got to play with one, and this ostrich-egg-sized security device added probably 5 lbs, prevented the kickstand from being opened, and they had no covers for display. Really like it though. Can't wait till Pro comes out.
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
Spasm said:
iirc, Metro apps are required to support ARM/RT.

Chiming in with yes, Best Buy is horrible with their displays. Finally got to play with one, and this ostrich-egg-sized security device added probably 5 lbs, prevented the kickstand from being opened, and they had no covers for display. Really like it though. Can't wait till Pro comes out.
Click to expand...
Metro apps are not required to support arm.
 
W

wildfire

Banned
dLMN8R said:
The Surface RT gets around 8-9 hours of battery, so don't fret too much.

The only notes on Surface Pro battery life is roughly half RT's, but that essentially puts it on par with other ultrabooks (including the 11" Macbook Air)
Click to expand...

No it doesn't. The battery tests aren't uniform across multiple sites so it makes it difficult to guage specifics but you can discern a general trend like Ultraportables having on average 50% greater battery life than non-ultras. Even within the same site battery tests are different for laptops and tablets which is how the Surface has been reviewed, that includes Anadtech.

Just to make things even more complicated the Mac Book Air 11" has half the battery life of the Air 13". So you can't just make a comparison within the same model series without least looking at the full price of the Surface and the alternatives.

I would be willing to bet the Surface Pro's 4.5 hours doesn't compare with Ultra portable that can go for 8+ hours doing the same tasks.
 
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