Surface 3 - New direction, higher prices and crappy i3

[gertsy]

....

EDIT; So, tried the App Store, and now Windows insist I use the hotmail password to logon to my computer, not the custom admin password I made when Windows 8 was installed. Odd and annoying.
Maybe I should have KNOWN this would happen, but I cant really say I asked or was told by the OS that this would happen. Im sure there isnt anything "bad" that happens cause of this, but I personally dont like
programs/OSs taking "artistical freedoms" in giving you features you didnt explicitly asked for.

I was dubious about the same thing the first time I installed 8.  But once I took the plunge there are a lot of benefits in having a live account.  1. All your settings follow you. 2. You get extra security features for your device.  3. Your apps are licensed on all your devices (if you have more than one) The are no proprietary microcosms that don't require you to supply a valid email address. So go nuts and download Flappy Bird and all the other crap in there.  Bamboo Page, Fresh Paint and Hill Climb Racing is fun.

@Persia, yes, the runtime environment.  AKA RT to make it even more confusing.

[SysAdmin]

For me I see no advantages to Win8 for me personally so I'm not upgrading. I already owned a tablet long ago and have over a million Apps to choose from so Windows Store has no appeal to me. I don't want to have a Hotmail account because MS has proven time and time again they can and will pry into your personal information and or leak your personal information do to incompetence. I'll take a pass for now and see what Windows Threshold brings.

http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/threshold-be-called-windows-9-ship-april-2015

[Niding]

If you run Windows Store Apps you will need to run the modern interface.  Windows Store Apps do not run in the Desktop.  You can see them in the task bar and pin a shortcut to them but they actually run in the modern interface.  It's still two headed, though not as confusingly so.

The Windows Store has you sign up for an account, in the same way Apple's App Store does.  That's why you sign in with it, it wouldn't make any sense to sign into the store with an account that is local to your computer.

Yes, my iphone/pad require me to give the app store password to buy/download apps, but to actually access the device (phone/pad) in the first place you have to enter the custom password you have detailed. Basically its several password layers. With win8 you enter one password and everything opens up.

Im sure you can customize it, but thats how it pans out initially. I just spent 30 minutes looking around for how to edit it, and disabled one drive and logged out of the store.
Im generally quite biased against Clouds. I prefere local storage if I got the choice.

So far Windows 8 seems to be a gamers paradise, since they require the latest grapichs libraries/drivers for the fanciest performance. I do play games at times, but lately for the most part not. Only got the old Homeworld series left on my drives, and they dont require updated OS. With the deletion of pretty much all games im left with only productivity/office software, which actually makes me consider to revert to Win 7. Again; cause i really dislike the increasingly seamless introduction of cloudbased storage which makes me question my data security level; both personal and general.

[CritAnime]

And people bitched about the Linux thread :rolleyes:

[psxphill]

I don't want to have a Hotmail account because MS has proven time and time again they can and will pry into your personal information and or leak your personal information do to incompetence.

I don't want to have one either, so I don't have one.
 

It's still got loads of issues - for instance, the fact that minimizing windows no longer sends them to the back of the Alt-Tab queue, so you can decide you're done with something for the moment and put it away only to then immediately switch back into it when you meant to go to something else. You end up having to bubble-sort your windows just to get them into the order that XP would've had them in all along.

I have never noticed that has changed, did you or did you read that online? When I'm done with software I just close it, because it makes me more productive as I'm not having to think about what order my alt-tab queue is in.
 

Win8 is feces and everyone knows it except the True Faithful. You've lost, guys. Time to admit it.

I use software I like and don't use software I don't like. I don't care what popular opinion is, especially when what "everyone" knows is second or third hand.
The slight changes in UI that I noticed took me a few days to get used to a couple of years ago, because I wasn't held back by hate.
 
If you think being objective is some form of cult then you need help.

[commodorejohn]

I have never noticed that has changed, did you or did you read that online?

Direct personal experience on account of, as I've repeatedly said, having to put up with this crap on my work computer. But hey, you just keep insisting that I haven't tried it.

When I'm done with software I just close it, because it makes me more productive as I'm not having to think about what order my alt-tab queue is in.

Well whoop-de-friggin'-doo for you. I'll definitely get right on adjusting my entire workflow to fit what you think is best.

[psxphill]

Direct personal experience on account of, as I've repeatedly said, having to put up with this crap on my work computer. But hey, you just keep insisting that I haven't tried it.

When did I insist?
 

Well whoop-de-friggin'-doo for you. I'll definitely get right on adjusting my entire workflow to fit what you think is best.

I don't care if you change it. I don't care if you use Windows 98. You're a baked cake, you don't want to learn anything. All I can hope is that you don't teach others bad habits.

[Iggy]

There has to be a middle ground here.
I use WinXP and Win7, and I REALLY don't like Win8.
I'm not weird enough to want to keep using DOS based Windows (and thank God I no longer have to).
But if I want a touch/tablet OS, it HAS to be better than what Microsoft is offering.

[commodorejohn]

I don't care if you change it. I don't care if you use Windows 98. You're a baked cake, you don't want to learn anything. All I can hope is that you don't teach others bad habits.

I like how thinking that this particular design is terrible garbage equals "not wanting to learn anything."

[ElPolloDiabl]

It doesn't having anything to draw you to it. e.g. Windows 3.11 not much over Amiga. Windows 95, was more interesting.

I can't believe how much stuff doesn't work nowadays. Sometimes it's just adobe player crashing. Otherwise it will be searching through several driver revisions, because backwards compatibility is removed.

[3583Bytes]

I have both the Surface RT 1 and 2. I got them as a Promo for attending a conference and for porting apps to Windows 8.

Here are my experiences:

Windows 8 on a Tablet with a touch screen is actually not bad. It begins to make sense as you figure out all the gestures. I had to google like 3 things, but once you get their design language its quite nice.

Unlike an iPad (which is also nice) Surface Tablets have a MicroSD expansion, USB ports and HDMI out. This means that its very good at many things an iPad can't do. Like storing your kids videos, connecting to a LCD TV and watching them etc, hooking up a mouse, keyboard, printers etc.

The actual tablet is of high quality in terms of hardware. The software is good too as it has no bloatware. Camera is great for Skype.

Windows 8 marketplace is getting there. All the apps I like are there even Team Viewer which is great for connecting to remote computers. There is a lack of games, but they are also getting there. Outlook is now included which is great for people that work in a corporate environmnet.

So mostly because we got our Surface tablets for free my family uses them quite a bit. My wife travels with Surface 1 all the time and she likes it. She will use it over her laptop when she can't because it turns on instantly.

I use my Surface 2 for quick browsing around the house (visiting Amiga.org) and checking email. I also take it to our lake house and hook it up to our TV to watch movies as we have no cable there.

So all its easy to bash Microsoft because they are evil blah blah blah. But this time I don't think they did a bad job.

Using Windows 8 on a PC without touchscreen, different ballgame. Not as easy for sure. Bringing back the Start button with both the Metro and non Metro apps in one place will help I think. However the initial version was not good. It does boot much faster and seems to be more stable, so its still not a terrible upgrade one you learn it but no great by any stretch.

PS, I am typing this on my MacBook Air sitting beside an Amiga 500 and Mac SE FDHD. I am just saying not a Microsoft lover, but I like to give credit where its due.

[Pyromania]

@3583Bytes

Quite easy to add HDMI out & SD card ports to and iPad. SD card is for importing pictures/videos. iPad comes with iMovie for free so shooting/editing videos is a piece of cake. All Bluetooth keyboards work on iPad. I have never tried a Bluetooth mouse on an iPad but tons of different pressure sensitive styluses are available cheap.

[Duce]

The idea that the expansions available on iPad is even remotely comparable to a full fledged Windows portable machine like the surface is insane.  I've tried them all on Apple devices, from things like the HyperDrive to the Mophie devices for the iPhone.  All are a kludge and are inelegant at best.  

It's comparing apples and oranges.  While the iPad has some expansion capabilities, it's still a gimped experience consisting of using gaudy dongles.  It's primarily a consumption device and was never intended to even step foot in the same market as the Surface.  Comparing iMovie, iPhoto or GarageBand on iPad to Photoshop, Premier, Vegas, or Ableton, Audition or the like, it's not even a comparison.  Even the free Windows apps blow the "i programs" on the iPad out of the water, even something like Audacity vs. GarageBand for iPad.

Surface has HDMI, SD built in, among other things.  Surface can run the full versions of any Windows software, be it Photoshop, CAD programs, anything - all with 100% built in support for the very good pressure sensitive stylus that's built in.  The two devices can't even be sanely compared usage case wise, and I say that as someone who's owned pretty much every version of the iPad thus far and I use my Mini daily.

[bbond007]

The idea that the expansions available on iPad is even remotely comparable to a full fledged Windows portable machine like the surface is insane.  I've tried them all on Apple devices, from things like the HyperDrive to the Mophie devices for the iPhone.  All are a kludge and are inelegant at best.

I totally agree. I can't even see the point of iOS anything until they add proper file support.

One thing also to keep in mind is that Windows 8.1 actually lets you use the SD card as a drive for any purpose. Install programs, etc...

Android likes to limit your applications to the primary storage and you need hacks to relocate them the SD. That is my experience anyway.

I put Photoshop 7.0 on my dell venue 8 pro. not real usable without a mouse but it sure does fly....

[Duce]

Had the same issues with Android and SD cards, unfortunately.  If/when they ever get it working like it should - seamless storage between the onboard and card, I'll likely switch to Android entirely.

Well, it does work, but it's highly dependent on the app as well.  Winamp for example, works just fine with SD cards.  Fire it up and your media is there right away, ready to play.

VLC though, it sits there churning every single time I fire it up on my Android devices rescanning the SD card for media, and that takes far too long with a 64 GB card stacked full of media.

[bbond007]

Had the same issues with Android and SD cards, unfortunately.  If/when they ever get it working like it should - seamless storage between the onboard and card, I'll likely switch to Android entirely.

Well, it does work, but it's highly dependent on the app as well.  Winamp for example, works just fine with SD cards.  Fire it up and your media is there right away, ready to play.

VLC though, it sits there churning every single time I fire it up on my Android devices rescanning the SD card for media, and that takes far too long with a 64 GB card stacked full of media.

I was browsing some venue forums and I see someone had found a BIOS setting that increased the speed of my ssd as well as sd over 30%. I have no issue playing one 1080p video of the sd card while coping another video from a network share to the same sd-micro. Im sure surface 3 is just as capable.

I have two generations of galaxy tabs which are stuck on android 2.x and 3.x respectively without upgrades. Maybe that is my fault for buying samsung. I think that will be less of an issue with x86 windows.