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[Green Embers]

A new post in the Oficial Surface blog talks about the launch and other countries availability starting next week:

Surface Blog

good news for Euro GAF... Oh wait it's only the RT =

I love my RT

 

[Stinkles]

Instead of formatting the cards you could try "cleaning" them. This overwrites the MBR and partition table which a standard format won't do. You can do this on your Surface, you shouldn't need access to a desktop.

Insert the card.
Open a command prompt with admin rights and type these commands:

diskpart

list disk

select disk 0 (Replace 0 with whatever number your SD card has )

clean

create partition primary

select partition 1

active

format quick fs=fat32

assign

exit

Going backwards through thread - no dice - says there's "No useable free extent" and lists several possible reasons, from MBR disk partitioning, to not enough free space.

 

[KoukiFC]

MS Store sold out of Pros. :'(

 

[a secret-boss]

External Bluray player works fine.

 

[Stinkles]

Is that RAW partition lumped into where it says 32GB?

*edit* I see the picture. If you don't care about the contents:

On a Windows x86/x64 computer, run the SD Formatter tool: https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_3/eula_windows/ Before formatting, go to "options" and change "Size Adjustment" to "On."

Otherwise, you can use the GParted method that Xyphie described.

Got pretty far, but it says WRITE PROTECT SWITCH IS ON - of course, micro SD cards don't have physical write protection, so presumably this is related to the fact it was once connected to my C drive. I can't use GParted on this laptop, period, because it's a work machine with very serious security issues that I am not going near with a bootloader.

I did previously remove the HDD association using diskmgmt but it looks like it simply comes back on its own.

 

[FStop7]

no. You're doing it wrong.

Oh. Okay!

 

[zorbsie]

just installed sketchbook pro 6.

oh look its rejecting my palm while I draw with my pen

Did you install any drivers for the pen? Couple people were talking about a Wacom driver or some such. I think it was for the pressure control of the pen.

 

[Divvy]

You know after all the reviews complaining about the weight and thickness, it really isn't that bad. I was expecting much worse when I picked it up.

Scaling is a real problem however since at this resolution, the default text is pretty damn small. You can scale everything, but then it turns kind of blurry. Wish there was a good solution to this.

One other thing I haven't really seen mentioned is that if you want to plug in the charger, you have to remove the pen from it's dock. Weird

 

[a secret-boss]

Did you install any drivers for the pen? Couple people were talking about a Wacom driver or some such. I think it was for the pressure control of the pen.

no i didn't install one that's y I'm not getting the pressure sensitivity and the touch controls for zooming.

I try to install the wacom tablet driver without luck

 

[Conor 419]

Guessing they've cancelled the European release?

 

[Epcott]

Anyone try Photoshop CS5 or CS6 on the pro yet? I'm curious as to how well the pressure sensitive pen works with it.

I'm interested in trying it out with the Sensu Brush.

 

[rykomatsu]

What's the situation regarding next wave shipments? I have my wife convinced, but they aren't available.

I was told to try calling Mon or Tues for MS store, around 11AM on Tues and Fri for best buy based on their general delivery schedule. I was out of country for a while and couldn't get one...just came back today 😡

 

[eastmen]

test Civ V pretty please.

Civ 5 works fine. Was playing it before

 

[railGUN]

Anyone try Photoshop CS5 or CS6 on the pro yet? I'm curious as to how well the pressure sensitive pen works with it.

I'm interested in trying it out with the Sensu Brush.

I'd love some Photoshop impressions as well.

 

[Rommel]

How I got around not having a DVD player... shared the Blu-Ray player on my desktop over the network and installed office to my Pro over it =)

 

[Fury Sense]

Playing Civ V right now. Default resolution was windowed mode so I turned it up to 1920x1080. Just tarted a randomized game. With 12 players, even the early turns are taking a few seconds to load. On my desktop it's usually close to instant this early on. Everything is on Low except Overlay Detail, Shadow Quality, and Terrain Detail Level, which are on Medium.

 

[clav]

Got pretty far, but it says WRITE PROTECT SWITCH IS ON - of course, micro SD cards don't have physical write protection, so presumably this is related to the fact it was once connected to my C drive. I can't use GParted on this laptop, period, because it's a work machine with very serious security issues that I am not going near with a bootloader.

I did previously remove the HDD association using diskmgmt but it looks like it simply comes back on its own.

If you have a camera that takes SD cards, format it in there.

 

[Stinkles]

If you have a camera that takes SD cards, format it in there.

Not a bad idea.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

I'm an Apple guy through and through, and am happy to admit it. But I can certainly appreciate the innovations and technology and products that other companies bring to the table. I wrote my impressions of the RT Surface the week it came out on here - and they were quite positive outside the screen resolution, app-store selection, and the random desktop used just for Office.

Tonight I stopped by a BestBuy to play with the Pro model after a fair bit of anticipation. I plan to be able to mess with a co-worker's in a more in-depth manner on Monday; but I could still walk away with some first impressions worth sharing.

My biggest concern going in was the weight and thickness. I think the iPad is pretty stellar in this regard, and had no problems with the RT whatsoever - though I do think 16x9 is a little goofy for a tablet, I can understand the reasons they went with it. Taking the Pro off the shelf, it's immediately apparent this is a hefty device. It's noticably thick for a tablet, and the weight makes it nearly unusable one-handed for extended periods of time... comfortably. Everyone always says "oh, you have weak arms", which I think is a stupid argument. Just like you don't want a three pound Dualshock or a 3 pound wallet, you don't want a nearly 3lbs tablet. HOWEVER, with all that said; it's *plenty* light as a laptop. It's thin enough to slip into a messenger bag or backpack, and it's a good deal lighter than say, a thick textbook.

The screen is a huge improvement over the RT... it's a big leap and you can tell right away. This is the resolution it should have been from the beginning, and makes the entire product much more of a joy to use. 1080p at 10" is phenomenal, especially, again, for a laptop. I wish very much the 13" MacBook Air had a 1080p display; but now it seems like I'll be waiting even longer for a Retina model. Anyway, text is sharp, colors pop; I can't see how anyone could complain.

It was warm; but it wasn't hot or uncomfortable at all. Like your phone when using GPS for a long time.

It was plenty responsive - no worse or better than any other Windows 8 touch device I've used. The Start Screen flows well, apps load quickly... really, when using basic applications, there's nothing you're waiting for.

I still think the old-school desktop is weird. I know, it's a simple download to fix. And it's been discussed a million and one times before. But... it's just odd, plain and simple. Would I get used to it? I'm sure. Is it really a hindrance in any significant way? No, probably not. But some apps load in full screen, some take me back to a desktop, some icons are pretty, some are not, the desktop doesn't have a start button by default ... it just feels like two ideas to me. I know, I know... it's another argument entirely and not specific to this device. But for a product that seems so elegant and that has combined two ideas so well for the most part; it's tragic that the OS doesn't feel nearly as "unified."

***

My biggest takeaways? This is an awesome Windows 8 laptop. If I were buying a Windows laptop tomorrow - and wasn't interested in games - I would buy the Surface Pro in a second. Honestly, outside of gaming performance, I'd argue it's the best Windows laptop on the market. That's high praise since it's a 1st-gen device.

Though as a tablet, it just suffers. If you want to use it occasionally in your lap in front of the TV or for a couple hours on a train/plane/bus ride or to quickly reference... it'll do the job. But it's weight, thickness, 16x9 dimensions, poor (for a tablet) battery life, and lacking touch/tablet-friendly marketplace leave it a very distant second to Apple's iPad.

Surface RT dimensions, better battery life, 4G, and a better GPU would make this a near-perfect device; and would actually accomplish what MS has set out to achieve. A tall order with current tech; but I think it actually might be feasible in a year or two.

Good job, MS, for a bang-up first gen device and for showing your OEMs how it's done. But it's time to radically improve on that spectacular foundation.


Verge Review: 3/10

 

[Fury Sense]

With only 6 players in Civ V it's much better. Most NQ games are 6 players anyway, so I'll test out an online game sometime. I haven't installed Adobe CS yet, but I will. I can say though that the pen on MS OneNote is really really cool and I expect the same functionality in Illustrator and maybe photoshop.

edit: It got pretty hot playing civ too. Just like any laptop would

 

[Anton Sugar]

I'm an Apple guy through and through, and am happy to admit it. But I can certainly appreciate the innovations and technology and products that other companies bring to the table. I wrote my impressions of the RT Surface the week it came out on here - and they were quite positive outside the screen resolution, app-store selection, and the random desktop used just for Office.

Tonight I stopped by a BestBuy to play with the Pro model after a fair bit of anticipation. I plan to be able to mess with a co-worker's in a more in-depth manner on Monday; but I could still walk away with some first impressions worth sharing.

My biggest concern going in was the weight and thickness. I think the iPad is pretty stellar in this regard, and had no problems with the RT whatsoever - though I do think 16x9 is a little goofy for a tablet, I can understand the reasons they went with it. Taking the Pro off the shelf, it's immediately apparent this is a hefty device. It's noticably thick for a tablet, and the weight makes it nearly unusable one-handed for extended periods of time... comfortably. Everyone always says "oh, you have weak arms", which I think is a stupid argument. Just like you don't want a three pound Dualshock or a 3 pound wallet, you don't want a nearly 3lbs tablet. HOWEVER, with all that said; it's *plenty* light as a laptop. It's thin enough to slip into a messenger bag or backpack, and it's a good deal lighter than say, a thick textbook.

The screen is a huge improvement over the RT... it's a big leap and you can tell right away. This is the resolution it should have been from the beginning, and makes the entire product much more of a joy to use. 1080p at 10" is phenomenal, especially, again, for a laptop. I wish very much the 13" MacBook Air had a 1080p display; but now it seems like I'll be waiting even longer for a Retina model. Anyway, text is sharp, colors pop; I can't see how anyone could complain.

It was warm; but it wasn't hot or uncomfortable at all. Like your phone when using GPS for a long time.

It was plenty responsive - no worse or better than any other Windows 8 touch device I've used. The Start Screen flows well, apps load quickly... really, when using basic applications, there's nothing you're waiting for.

I still think the old-school desktop is weird. I know, it's a simple download to fix. And it's been discussed a million and one times before. But... it's just odd, plain and simple. Would I get used to it? I'm sure. Is it really a hindrance in any significant way? No, probably not. But some apps load in full screen, some take me back to a desktop, some icons are pretty, some are not, the desktop doesn't have a start button by default ... it just feels like two ideas to me. I know, I know... it's another argument entirely and not specific to this device. But for a product that seems so elegant and that has combined two ideas so well for the most part; it's tragic that the OS doesn't feel nearly as "unified."

***

My biggest takeaways? This is an awesome Windows 8 laptop. If I were buying a Windows laptop tomorrow - and wasn't interested in games - I would buy the Surface Pro in a second. Honestly, outside of gaming performance, I'd argue it's the best Windows laptop on the market. That's high praise since it's a 1st-gen device.

Though as a tablet, it just suffers. If you want to use it occasionally in your lap in front of the TV or for a couple hours on a train/plane/bus ride or to quickly reference... it'll do the job. But it's weight, thickness, 16x9 dimensions, poor (for a tablet) battery life, and lacking touch/tablet-friendly marketplace leave it a very distant second to Apple's iPad.

Surface RT dimensions, better battery life, 4G, and a better GPU would make this a near-perfect device; and would actually accomplish what MS has set out to achieve. A tall order with current tech; but I think it actually might be feasible in a year or two.

Good job, MS, for a bang-up first gen device and for showing your OEMs how it's done. But it's time to radically improve on that spectacular foundation.


Verge Review: 3/10

Great impressions, thanks!

 

[joeygreco1985]

Is there a list of touch friendly steam games available? Everyone says civ5 but are there any others that work well with a touch screen and no right click?

 

[McSpidey]

Got pretty far, but it says WRITE PROTECT SWITCH IS ON - of course, micro SD cards don't have physical write protection

They do they just lack the switch. Try putting it in a full sized sd adaptor with write project switch set to off on the adaptor.

The other possibility is that the card is dead - http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/Mobile...ltra-64gb-card-seems-to-have-died/td-p/291578

 

[Divvy]

Nice, this thing can run guild wars 2 on low. Though it does make the fan run on overdrive.

 

[Complex Shadow]

Anyone know how well/if at all data 2 runs

 

[Divvy]

Does anyone know of a way to make the keyboard default to the F1-12 keys instead of the shortcut keys?

 

[a secret-boss]

here's my lazy set up. Lying down on bed posting this

 

[EriCKY]

here's my lazy set up. Lying down on bed posting this

i'd be so paranoid of this malfunctioning and falling on my face

 

[I'm an expert]

I don't even know what I'm lookin at in that pic.. is that a matress? A pillow on a couch? It looks like the ceiling is 2 feet away.

 

[a secret-boss]

i'd be so paranoid of this malfunctioning and falling on my face

The thing is pretty stable. But I'm going to sleep with this on top of me. I don't trust my movement when sleeping
It's a bunk bed

 

[Feep]

Posting right now from my Surface Pro.

This thing is pretty amazing. I plugged in my Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver, removed the keyboard, kicked out the stand, and I'm playing Portal on Steam on reasonable settings at 30+ FPS. It's stunning to be able to do this on what amounts to, pretty much, a tablet.

Wish the touch/type cover latched magnetically, but I don't have many complaints thus far. I'll get my copy of CS6 running on this thing a little later, hopefully, and I'll give impressions.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Posting right now from my Surface Pro.

This thing is pretty amazing. I plugged in my Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver, removed the keyboard, kicked out the stand, and I'm playing Portal on Steam on reasonable settings at 30+ FPS. It's stunning to be able to do this on what amounts to, pretty much, a tablet.

Wish the touch/type cover latched magnetically, but I don't have many complaints thus far. I'll get my copy of CS6 running on this thing a little later, hopefully, and I'll give impressions.

I don't mean to prod - but what are "reasonable" settings? And is it constantly above 30fps? Or does it occasionally dip below that?

 

[Talon]

This thing better be able to run a 6 year old game.

My HD3000 addled work laptop can run it for crying out loud.

 

[EriCKY]

I'm not happy that Microsoft is using another breakdancing ad for the Pro. Should have used that new video on www.surface.com instead.

 

[JaggedSac]

Posting right now from my Surface Pro.

This thing is pretty amazing. I plugged in my Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver, removed the keyboard, kicked out the stand, and I'm playing Portal on Steam on reasonable settings at 30+ FPS. It's stunning to be able to do this on what amounts to, pretty much, a tablet.

Wish the touch/type cover latched magnetically, but I don't have many complaints thus far. I'll get my copy of CS6 running on this thing a little later, hopefully, and I'll give impressions.

Wait what? The Pro doesn't have magnetic latches for the covers?

I'm not happy that Microsoft is using another breakdancing ad for the Pro. Should have used that new video on www.surface.com instead.

That is a nice video. Except for the guy on the train(~1:10) who obviously has a cover flipped around the back of the device and is still able to use the rear camera, lol. Maybe he cut a hole in the cover.

 

[plagiarize]

Wait what? They Pro doesn't have magnetic latches for the covers?

I think he means latches closed. Which, fair enough. It doesn't bother me on the RT that this is missing though. The RT cover stays closed well enough.

Hopefully all these sell outs hasn't scuppered me getting one from work over the next week or so.

 

[Feep]

I don't mean to prod - but what are "reasonable" settings? And is it constantly above 30fps? Or does it occasionally dip below that?

I haven't seen it dip below 30. Not consistent 60, though.

 

[Epcott]

Wish the touch/type cover latched magnetically, but I don't have many complaints thus far. I'll get my copy of CS6 running on this thing a little later, hopefully, and I'll give impressions.

Can't wait!

 

[m0dus]

to clarify - they keyboard covers attach magnetically, but they don't stay closed magnetically.

To followup on the SAI issue, I tried installing the tablet PC driver I installed previously on my Samsung series 7, but it didn't detect the tablet this time. It may have to wait until a separate driver update is available from WACOM, suffice it to say I will be exploring this issue further.

 

[crisdecuba]

So like I said, I returned the surface pro earlier today and now I got an iPad. I feel like I was determined to get some new gadget today. This is my first time really playing with an iPad, and I think what I'm noticing is that it's much easier to get into using it than the surface pro is. With the surface pro I felt tempted to use it in desktop mode whilst using it as a tablet and it really doesn't work very well if you're trying to poke around in the desktop with your finger.

Additionally, the text was small and it was sometimes hard to see what's on screen in desktop mode, and browsing using chrome was a bad experience.

Now on the iPad, because it's a much more focused experience, everything comes together a lot more smoothly. I'm no Apple fanboy by any means but I think that I am going to have to lean toward an iPad for the time being, if anything at all. I might end up going back to return this tomorrow anyway. I don't know if I can justify the cost.

It's a weird feeling when no tech gadget out there really feels satisfying. I've never experienced this before.

 

[hastethedav]

just stopped at BB to check it out, unfortunately no pen out on display...

I thought the size and weight would kill the idea for me, but it didnt feel bad at all considering all it is capable of.

Definately want to see some photoshop impressions, I think I may need one of these in my life soon. Gotta get off using this MBP as I am looking to ditch apple over the next few years

 

[a secret-boss]

to clarify - they keyboard covers attach magnetically, but they don't stay closed magnetically.

To followup on the SAI issue, I tried installing the tablet PC driver I installed previously on my Samsung series 7, but it didn't detect the tablet this time. It may have to wait until a separate driver update is available from WACOM, suffice it to say I will be exploring this issue further.

Sucks that the Ativ driver didn't work

 

[Iced_Eagle]

So like I said, I returned the surface pro earlier today and now I got an iPad. I feel like I was determined to get some new gadget today. This is my first time really playing with an iPad, and I think what I'm noticing is that it's much easier to get into using it than the surface pro is. With the surface pro I felt tempted to use it in desktop mode whilst using it as a tablet and it really doesn't work very well if you're trying to poke around in the desktop with your finger.

Additionally, the text was small and it was sometimes hard to see what's on screen in desktop mode, and browsing using chrome was a bad experience.

Now on the iPad, because it's a much more focused experience, everything comes together a lot more smoothly. I'm no Apple fanboy by any means but I think that I am going to have to lean toward an iPad for the time being, if anything at all. I might end up going back to return this tomorrow anyway. I don't know if I can justify the cost.

It's a weird feeling when no tech gadget out there really feels satisfying. I've never experienced this before.

Have you used Windows 8 before getting your Surface?

My personal suggestion is to stay in Metro mode when you're using it like a tablet. It will feel like an iPad. Use the desktop if you want to do heavy duty work, or use a legacy app. Just realize that when you go into the desktop mode, its not the best touch experience. It takes a bit of time to acclimate, but in my opinion the payoff is worth it.

Also, did you pick up a type or touch cover? I would recommend the type cover. It makes it feel like typing on a nice laptop.

Whatever you decide on, have fun!

 

[ralexand]

Thought I would be able resist this thing until the Haswell version comes out but doesn't look like that's going to happen after messing around with at the MS store. That freakin' pen is too freakin' cool. I had used the one on the Samsung 7 tablet but there just isn't any comparison. Its like writing directly on the glass. The MS store clerk said they got about 250units with 60 reserves and they were gone in an hour(Century City store, Los Angeles). He said companies like Staples only ordered a couple of units but he's just a store clerk so he could be wrong on that account.

 

[ralexand]

Now on the iPad, because it's a much more focused experience, everything comes together a lot more smoothly.

To each its own. I want something that can be a tablet on the go and a powerful desktop computer when I'm at the desk. This fulfills that need without having to manage two devices with separate installs, separate data stores etc. that would have to carrying around a tablet and a desktop.

 

[crisdecuba]

Have you used Windows 8 before getting your Surface?

My personal suggestion is to stay in Metro mode when you're using it like a tablet. It will feel like an iPad. Use the desktop if you want to do heavy duty work, or use a legacy app. Just realize that when you go into the desktop mode, its not the best touch experience. It takes a bit of time to acclimate, but in my opinion the payoff is worth it.

Also, did you pick up a type or touch cover? I would recommend the type cover. It makes it feel like typing on a nice laptop.

Whatever you decide on, have fun!

Yeah I have windows 8 on my desktop, though I stay almost xclusively on the desktop. I guess it makes sense to stay in metro when using it as a tablet. I couldn't get used to the proportions of the screen. The iPad size seems much better for the tablet side of things.

So basically what I should expect is that if I want to do anything productivity related I need to use it like a laptop...

But eh... I don't even know if I need a tablet or a new laptop. In the end the best computing experience for me is at my desk, with a full sized keyboard and a wired mouse and a 23 inch screen. Nothing else comes close in speed, efficiency, ergonomic comfort, etc. and I think my expectations are improperly high...

 

[crisdecuba]

To each its own. I want something that can be a tablet on the go and a powerful desktop computer when I'm at the desk. This fulfills that need without having to manage two devices with separate installs, separate data stores etc. that would have to carrying around a tablet and a desktop.

You know, you're right. Even as I'm using this iPad I'm realizing I can't access the rest of my windows network and manage my file structure, etc.

To that end, how many of you would see the surface pro as a great laptop period - without even considering the tablet component?

 

[ralexand]

In the end the best computing experience for me is at my desk, with a full sized keyboard and a wired mouse and a 23 inch screen. Nothing else comes close in speed, efficiency, ergonomic comfort, etc. and I think my expectations are improperly high...

You can have that experience with a Surface Pro.

 

[Anony]

here's my lazy set up. Lying down on bed posting this

where do i buy this and how much

 

[Iced_Eagle]

You know, you're right. Even as I'm using this iPad I'm realizing I can't access the rest of my windows network and manage my file structure, etc.

To that end, how many of you would see the surface pro as a great laptop period - without even considering the tablet component?

Its decent with the type cover. The kickstand is only at a specific angle, and its a bit tricky to use on your lap with the keyboard. If you're looking for more of a laptop, and less of a tablet, I'd recommend a Lenovo yoga.