Category: Hardware

Microsoft Surface RT First Impressions

Greg Leave a comment

[sc:hardware-category ]Having finally received my Surface after a few minor issues in the delivery, I’ve had a chance to play with it for a few days and here are my first thoughts on it.

After taking out of the box the first thing that hit me was how large it really is.  The 16×9 aspect ratio really make it look bigger than it I was expecting.  The next thing I noticed is how well made it is.  There is zero flex in this thing and it feels like a single solid piece of magnesium.

Build quality is far beyond any other table, or even laptop, I’ve ever held.

Startup

Powering on the unit the first thing Microsoft has done is replace the standard “Windows” boot message with “Surface”, which is a nice little touch.  Once up you go through the standard Windows 8 setup steps including connecting to your Microsoft account.

For the rest of my PC’s I have a domain and I use the AD account to login to my systems, but unfortunately Windows 8 RT doesn’t support domain membership so I had to create a local account to start with.

This got me in to Windows but there doesn’t seem to be a way to associate the local Windows account with the Microsoft account like there is with an AD users.  This means you have to use your Microsoft account to login with if you want to get the sync features and access to the Store.

For me this presented a small problem as I don’t use my Microsoft account much and I use KeepPass on my PC’s to manage my passwords so I don’t actually have the Microsoft account password memorized.  Because of this I use a long randomly generated password which of course would be impossible to memorize.  This has forced me to change my Microsoft account password to something easier to remember.

Once I was logged in to the Surface with my Microsoft account, the rest proceeded easily enough and I was presented with the Start screen.

Differences with Windows 8 on a tablet

Windows RT looks exactly the same as the standard Windows and it was a smooth transition.  There were a few things to get use to though.  On the desktop I often go to the Start screen and just start typing the name of the app I want.  This brings up the search feature and I’m good to go.  However on the tablet there is no way to bring up the soft keyboard on the Start screen.  Instead you swipe in from the right to bring up the system charms and from there select search.  Then the software keyboard pops up and your good to go.

Type Cover

Speaking of keyboards, I didn’t get the Touch cover as I just can’t conceive of typing on a hard surface for any length of time.  Instead I ordered the Type cover with the real keys.  The Type cover is a marvel of engineering and actually feels pretty good to type on.

I only have two small items that I don’t like about it.  The first is the touchpad, the left/right buttons are integrated and it doesn’t quite feel natural to use as I often use one hand to move the mouse and the second to click the buttons.  With the Type cover I can’t do this as the second-hand acts as a second touch point and you get things like zoom or random mouse movements.  I’ll probably get use to it, but more likely I’ll just use a bluetooth mouse.

The second item is the function keys.  the top row of keys on the keyboard are shared between various functions (like play, pause, zoom, etc.) and the F1-F12 keys.  Normally I would expect the F keys to be the primary function and the other to be the secondary but on the Type keyboard this is reversed.  So if I want to close a Windows with Alt-F4, I now have to hit Alt-Fn-F4.  Not a major issue, just a little strange.

I suspect I won’t use the Type cover much and instead, like the mouse, pick up a bluetooth keyboard to use with it.

The built-in kickstand on the Surface is a great feature, even without the Type cover being used as a keyboard it’s nice to be able to stand the Surface up without having a separate stand.

Accessories

One of the things we haven’t seen much of yet is accessories for the Surface.  I’m sure there will be cases and stands made for it and I’m wondering about charging it.  As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, the wireless charging on my HP TouchPad is a great feature and Microsoft decided to go with a magnetic charger on the Surface.  The charging port is on the right hand side of the unit which makes me wonder if a charging dock is possible or not.  There is the port for the Touch/Type cover at the bottom of the Surface, did Microsoft include charging capabilities in this port as well?

Applications

First off the Surface RT comes with Office built-in, however at this time it is still the preview release.  The final version is complete according to Microsoft but isn’t in the Store yet.

The Office programs look and act just like Office on the PC so I won’t go in to details on them, the only comment I’ll make is about what’s missing.  Outlook and Project.  Both should be there and they aren’t.  I can only assume they will make an appearance at some point in the future.

Beyond the bundled apps I pulled down several from the Store and they all worked flawlessly.  The Store is still pretty small but that will change over the next few months.  The big ones for me that missing are KeepPass, Opera.

The built-in Mail app is kind of limited, but it does work and overall is functional enough to get by.  Microsoft has been busily updating many of the launch apps even before Windows 8 was officially available so I expect to see some major improvements in these apps over the next few months.

Windows 8 Settings Sync

Part of Windows 8 is the ability to sync your settings through your Microsoft Account.  The feature is great but I was in for a surprise about how great when I took the Surface to a Wi-Fi hotspot I visit quite often that requires a WPA2 passphrase.  I turned on the Surface and was showing a friend how it worked and suddenly a mail alert came up saying I had new mail.

At first I didn’t think much of it, but then I realized I hadn’t connected to the WiFi yet.  I have my laptop configured with Windows 8 and the WPA2 passphrase and the Surface tablet simply sync’d these settings over including the auto connect.  So when I turned on Surface within range of the WiFi it simply connected up and starting talking to the net again.

Cool 🙂

Speaking of things missing…

I mentioned earlier that Windows RT can’t join a domain, this also means it can’t receive Group Polices.  Both seem like strange limitations and are effectively showstoppers for businesses to use RT.  I assume they had to limit developement time on these features to get RT out the door on time and so I would expect to see them implemented in future updates.  Either that or for some kind of RT Enterprise Edition to crop up.

Silverlight is also missing from RT, which seems kind of strange as it was their cross-platform play for a long time.

The Display

There has been quite a bit written about the resolution of the display on Surface as it is not a “retina” type of display.  But really it looks gorgeous.  Bright and crisp.

The one thing I don’t like about it is the 16×9 aspect ratio.  I have to admit I prefer the 4×3 aspect ratio better for a tablet, but virtually everyone other than Apple is going to this ratio so I suspect it’s a loosing battle 🙁

Summary

Overall it’s a really nice device, kind of big to be a pure tablet in my opinion, but well made and slick.

I don’t think it will replace my laptop, perhaps the Surface Pro might do that, but even then I don’t think so.

I would like to see a Surface Pro with a 4×3 aspect ratio or perhaps just a smaller display.  Maybe ASUS or Acer will make one that will catch my fancy.

Microsoft has more work to do, but Windows 8 is a great OS and Surface has shown what can be done in term of design.  Now it’s up to Microsoft’s partners to step up to the plate and take it even farther.

The last question to answer is then, would I recommend it to someone?  The answer is… depends:

  • If you want to replace you iPad, no, Surface is too big as a pure tablet.
  • If you want to replace your netbook… absolutely.
  • If you want to replace you notebook… probably not, but if you only do some basic browsing and e-mail it would be a yes.
  • If you want to replace you desktop… definitely not, let’s not get carried away here 😉

 

Halloween Special! Surface Pre-order Nightmare

Greg Leave a comment

[sc:hardware-category ]I pre-ordered my Surface RT tablet back on the 16th, the first day pre-orders were available and I was looking forward to getting my hands on it on the 26th.  This is the story of the mess that followed.

To start at the beginning on October 16th, Microsoft opened pre-orders with a tweet that contained the URL for them.  This URL at first didn’t work for Canadian orders but a few minutes later properly redirected me to the Canadian order page.

Pet peeve number one was the price, the Canadian dollar is currently above parity with the US dollar but the tablet still costs more in Canada then the US.  This really shouldn’t be the case these days, but alas it is so lets move on.

Ordering the Surface was easy enough and I bought the Type keyboard as well.  Once completed and reviewed my order page and pet peeve two cropped up, the order page has the following description in it:

Surface with Windows RT
Price: CDN$519.00 Quantity: 1
Status: In process
Pre-Order Boxed Shipment
Language: 32 GB without Black Touch Cover
Pre-Order Pre-order now for delivery by 10/26

I’m sorry “without Black Touch Cover” is just bad grammar, there’s no need to indicate the lack of Touch cover, that should just be assumed.

Now note the last line in the above “delivery by 10/26”, that means it should arrive before the 26th technically but I’ll give them the 26th as well.

And finally note the “In process” as the status, when this was still the status on the 25th I was just a little bit concerned as the Type cover had switched over to “Completed”.  The net had several stories saying Canadian shipments had been delayed.  Likewise on the 20th I had received a tracking number for the Type cover but not the tablet.

So I decided to call Microsoft and see what the story was.  Service was quick and I didn’t have to wait on hold at all.  Talking to the agent I was assured the order would arrive on schedule for the 26th and I would receive an e-mail in the morning with details on it.

I was tracking the Type cover via the UPS site during the day and I had to wait until almost 6pm before it arrived.  When they didn’t deliver the Surface as well I called Microsoft as second time.

Once again getting through was easy and again I was assured it would be arriving that day.  They still could not provide me with a tracking number and the status on the web site was still listed as “In process” so I waited until 7pm.  7pm is important as that’s as late as the delivery companies will deliver to residential addresses.  When that time passed I call Microsoft back and this time received a “we are closed, call back during normal business hours” message.

Having no other recourse, I left it for the night.

In the morning, I placed another call with MS.  This time the agent was apologetic but of no real help.  They still didn’t have a tracking number and didn’t know when the tablet would arrive, but assured me it had shipped.  I was escalated to their supervisor and he assured me he would investigate and get back to me by end of day.  I asked specifically for a telephone call and when 5pm rolled around and I hadn’t heard anything back I called in for the 4th time. I was quickly moved to a new supervisor who said they would escalate the issue internally as there should have been a tracking ID.

Once more I was assured he would get back to me within 24 hours, however no response was to be found.  Just before 4pm on Sunday I decided to call back and see what was going on.  This time the agent tried to once again say that I would be seeing a response with 24 to 48 hours and the tablet should arrive within 5 to 7 business days.  That was clearly not acceptable and I escalated to the supervisor,  after being pushed for more detail the supervisor finally let slip the truth.  There was an issue with shipping and a batch of tablets for Canada had not shipped yet.

There was a team working on getting new shipping information and $50 vouchers out to these effected orders and I should be seeing an update by end of day with delivery by end of the 29th.

Having at least found out the truth, I let the shipping date go and waited to see what would happen.  Sure enough at 4:10 I received a new tracking number, which UPS didn’t think was valid yet.

I didn’t accept the $50 voucher though, there is no point in getting a voucher you will never use or that you have to spend more money at the store to use it.  The supervisor escalated to the third tier support and said they might be able to do something for me and I should expect them to contact me within 72 hours.

Now at this point I have to bring to your attention that each time I called in to Microsoft, they lied to me.  Yes that’s a strong statement but none the less it’s true.  To be clear, the agents themselves may not have known the truth either, but Microsoft as a whole did:

  • On the first call on Thursday they knew there was a shipping issue when I didn’t have a tracking number and the internet already had stories of the $50 voucher.  When I was assured it was on track for delivery on the 26th, that was a lie.
  • On the second call on Friday when they said it would be delivered by end of day, that was a lie.
  • On the third call on Saturday when they said it had been shipped, that was a lie.
  • On Sunday when I called they lied right up until I pushed hard enough to get a real answer.  And even then they knew the 29th was not going to happen as they had just created a shipping label, it wasn’t until the 29th that UPS even had it in their system.

The shipping label sat without an update until finally on the morning of Oct 30 at 3:16am UPS finally picked it up off the dock.  Clearly at this point Microsoft had sprung for air mail as it quickly moved to Canada and was through customs and out the door for delivery by 9:51am.

The next issue I was concerned about was the delivery itself.  On the 26th I had worked from home to ensure I would be there to get the parcel, however on the 30th I couldn’t work from home and so I called UPS.  It turns out they didn’t need a signature so it was left at my door and when I arrived home it was waiting for me.

On Sunday the 28th when I was on the call with Microsoft I had them escalate beyond the supervisor as I indicated I was not happy with the $50 voucher (after all why would I want to buy something from their store again?).  They indicated I could expect a call back within 72 hours.

I’m still waiting for that and we’ll see what they’re willing to do.  I don’t want a voucher, I expect a discount on the order I already placed or something useful for free.  I expect a response by end of day today, but I’m not holding my breath and expect to have to call back in yet again.

I’ll post a follow-up to this once my escalation is complete.

The good news is though that I now do have my Surface and that is a whole nother post all by itself!

 

Microsoft Surface

Greg Leave a comment

[sc:hardware-category ]Two interesting items came out last week about Microsoft’s Surface line.

First off, the holiday Microsoft stores will be opening on Oct 26th, just in time for the Windows 8 launch and presumably the Surface RT tables to go on sale.  This makes my life a little bit easier as I won’t have the drive to the US or wait until the new Microsoft store opens in my area.

The second interesting thing that came up was the rumor (which seems to be confirmed by multiple sources now) that Microsoft will be building their own phone sometime in the new year.

First off I’m not waiting for an MS phone, I’ve pretty much decided now that I’ll be picking up a Lumia 920 as soon as I can as my primary phone.  While it is a bit larger/heavier than I would like, the inductive charging has won me over.

So why is MS making its own phone?

I think the answer is simple.  Microsoft has finally realized that depending upon partners to make designs that will compete with the top end phones isn’t working.  As great as the Nokia and HTC phones look, they seem like mid range phones really instead of high-end ones.  Now some might say the 920 is top of the line, which is true for the feature set, but it really is a big and heavy phone in comparison to the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S III.  Samsung Ativ S is a slim/light phone but with a huge display and no LTE.  Likewise it just seems too much like a re-purposed Android device.

So the obvious answer is for Microsoft to make their own phone.  A phone that will be comparable to the specs of the iPhone and GSIII while adding a design flare that clearly differentiates it from anything else out there.  MS has done it with the Surface tablets and the phone seems like a logical extension.

Microsoft could once again sell it primarily in their physical stores and not trample all over their partners while having a showcase phone to use in its advertising and marketing campaigns.

Time will tell for sure but here’s a though… The PC industry is pretty conservative in its design too, could a Surface PC and laptop push PC makers to compete not just in the mass market but for a designer market as well?

 

Game Conosole Form Factors

Greg

[sc:hardware-category ]Sony recently announced their latest redesign of the PS3 but my pet peeve with games consoles is their form factor.

First off, it’s a game console.  It’s designed to work in your home entertainment center but it’s form factor makes that problematic.  Curved surfaces look cool, but makes it so you have to dedicate an entire shelf to them.  Most other home entertainment electronics conform to a standard size and shape (some manufactures’ don’t of course but there are lots of options in things like DVD players and if you don’t like the size/shape of one you simply buy one that you do).

Game consoles don’t have any choice, they are ALL at odd angles and designs.  Many people have 2 or 3 of the major consoles, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to stack them all on to of each other, looking nice and clean?

No suck luck.

Perhaps I should start a kickstarter to build replacement cases for the PS3…

WDLive

Greg

[sc:hardware-category ]I recently had a oportunity to spend some time with a WDLive box and was quite impressed with the advancements they’ve made.

The last time I had one of these boxes I was disappointed to say the least.  The interface looked like something from the DOS era and the responsiveness was abysmal to say the least.

Format support was also an issue and it only supported standard definition formats.

The latest WDLive box on the other hand looks beautiful and is fast.  Full support for HD through HDMI brings the entire thing in to the modern age.

I’ve been using my PS3 as a media player since it was released but it is a big noisy box that while very good, doesn’t support some of the more modern formats (like MKV).

My game playing has been reduced significantly over the last few years and honestly I have several games sitting at home I have never opened and doubt I’ll ever get around to playing.  Too many other things I’d rather be doing.  So my question to myself comes down to should I even have a games console and even if I do should I something like a WDLive box for my media player?

I don’t have an answer at the moment, but it may get answer with the next generation of consoles.