Day 582 of 1000
A guy at work made an interesting comment about the Microsoft Surface when I asked him whether he liked it. He bought one on eBay for $250. I told him I had heard it was really lousy for typing.
He said, “That is true, but that is not how I use it.”
I said, “How do you use it?”
He uses it as a tablet. He said that if you think of it as a computer like any other laptop, you are not going to like it. If you think of it as a tablet with a keyboard that is better for typing than on-screen keyboard, then you will be much happier with it.
I said, “OK, then. How does it compare with other tablets. Is it as good as a Nook or a Kindle?”
He said, “It is not fair to compare the Surface to that class of tablets. The Surface is WAY better than tablets like the Nook and the Kindle.”
I said, “Wow,” because I love my Nook.
I thought about that a little and said, “Well, then, how does it compare to the iPad.”
He said, “As only a tablet, I like it a LOT better than my iPad. It is just as easy or easier to use, the form factor is better, and, in a pinch, you can use it as a computer.”
Now I am really tempted to buy a Surface on eBay. It would be great on airplanes.
I saved up some Christmas money and got myself a Surface Pro. I like the direction that technology is going and it was the first device to make me think, ‘I could actually use that.’ I have a 4th gen iPod Touch and I use it play a few games now and again. But the “device” limitation means I never really got around to using it as a tool. My Surface has been my only home computer for about a month now. It’s definitely 1st generation tech, full off oddities and bugs both in OS and Apps. But I can write blog posts on it, run Gimp, edit a bit of video (Vegas 10 [no longer supported] can’t seem to render out for some reason, but I blame the old software on the new OS for that; haven’t been able to get the Vegas upgrade to test yet), play games, install all the software I want and use, and the like. I have access to all my files, a complete OS, both a desktop and tablet interface, and there’s something crazy about cutting a video on a two pound computer on your lap by tapping touch keys and the screen. And the thing is pretty fast too.
So… I like it. But, again, it’s definitely first gen tech… which can be infuriating at times. Despite what the naysayers say, I’m finding Windows 8 to be quite nice.
~Luke
Great comments Luke. I think my buddies Surface is an RT. I am dying to get one now, but will probably wait one more generation. I am going to have to write a post about Windows 8. We really like it a lot. I was resisting making the switch, but my son, Christian talked me into it. I struggled a little bit with the fact that there is no start button. Christian fixed that when he said that when I was using Windows 8 on a desktop, I just needed to think of the Start Screen as a bigger version of the start button. Everyone I know who has used Windows 8 on a touch screen says that even though we are currently in the Version 1 Windows instability phase of this product, it will make you never want to use a computer without a touchscreen again. That is very high praise. It is interesting that you can do something as resource heavy as video editing on the Surface. That is very impressive.
I have been using iPad (a gift, then I passed on the first one to a fellow worker when I was gifted an iPad 3) for two and a half years and couldn’t sing its praises enough! I would encourage you to hear out someone’s explanation of it who really loves it and would use it on your level, before you fall (good choice of words! Ha) for anything else. ‘Course your needs on such a machine would be waaay over and above mine, but I can do plenty with the “3” too. It’s fantastic, definitely way past 1st generation tech, syncs nicely for several things, etc. I don’t have the know-how or the lingo to describe it. Oh!… Maybe you don’t HAVE any (other!) friends who use Apple products, lol.
I haven’t really used a computer for over a year and a half. I mostly use my iPhone, and sometimes use my iPad. There are very few things I can’t do with them. But the thing I wanted to comment on is the Surface keyboard. I believe I tried one not to long ago, and that keyboard it’s ten thumbs down!!! I’ve never tried a worse keyboard(an apple onscreen keyboard is WAY better)
OK. I can’t believe I have started a religious discussion. Next thing you know, Bryan Joyce is going to show up. Now most people know I have always been agnostic (at best) when it comes to Apple products, so I better be very careful about what I say. For what its worth, we really DID consider iPhones when we got our smart phones in January, but we went with three Samsung Galaxy S III’s and a Samsung Galaxy Note II. Christian got the Note II and the rest of us got S III’s. The reality is that if I had to chose between an iPad, an iPhone, a Surface, and S III, and Note II, I would absolutely go with the Samsung Note II.
Lenore, your point is well taken. I have heard the Surface keyboard is bad and there is nothing worse than a bad keyboard. I am even pretty sure I would like the iPhone keypad better. That being said, Swype keyboard entry comes standard on the awesome Samsung keyboards and you have to jump through some major hoops and possibly even break some rules to get that kind of functionality on an iPhone.
Jon, I DO have GOOD friends who use Apple products. You, Lenore, Bryan, and Lyle are avid fans. There MUST be something good about that stuff. I am attributing my intransigence to a defect on my part. There just HAS to be something I am not smart enough, wise enough, or creative enough to see!