Microsoft Surface

[Buehler445]

Does anyone have one? I'm considering one for field work and thought I would get some feedback from the Planet gurus.

What does everyone think?

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

Any thoughts on the "X" model? Other than not having a headphone jack (dumb), the only thing I read was that there are Apps that won't run. One was Dropbox, which I don't use, but that seems like a bit of a red flag. What would the Dropbox App require that any device wouldn't have? And you own it before you find out what other Apps it might not run. Ouch!

Edit: https://mspoweruser.com/apps-that-wi...surface-pro-x/

My surface pro (4h) had Headphone jack and all my shits on Dropbox.

EDIT: Sorry didn’t see you mentioned X.

If you’re at all cost conscious I’d stick to a basic pro model. The cost efficiency will be far better.

[kccrow]

Ordered 2 Lenovo Yoga C940 15" for Sales guys at the office and they love them over the Surface. Granted these are the $1500 versions with i7s and dedicated NVidia GTX 1650 graphics, 12 GB Ram and a 512 GB SSD. That said, if they need to run AutoCAD or Esri in the field, they can. A comparable Surface was running $1899.

[GloryDayz]

Got my Surface from B&H and so far I'm liking it...

(Sent from surface)

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by kccrow

Ordered 2 Lenovo Yoga C940 15" for Sales guys at the office and they love them over the Surface. Granted these are the $1500 versions with i7s and dedicated NVidia GTX 1650 graphics, 12 GB Ram and a 512 GB SSD. That said, if they need to run AutoCAD or Esri in the field, they can. A comparable Surface was running $1899.

My daughter just got an HP Envy. So far I like it a lot more than my wife's Surface Pro.

I'm just not a fan of the Surface at all.

[KCFalcon59]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

My daughter just got an HP Envy. So far I like it a lot more than my wife's Surface Pro.

I'm just not a fan of the Surface at all.

Same. To me they are overpriced under-spec'd pieces of shit.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by KCFalcon59

Same. To me they are overpriced under-spec'd pieces of shit.

I know it sounds petty but I just can't get used to a full Windows 10 interface on the size of screen. You either blow everything up and lose field of vision or you go blind trying to read stuff because it's so small. Hers is a SP4 so maybe newer ones are better.

I could definitely see the appeal of the Surface laptop version but then again, you're talking about paying double for a machine that's similar to an HP or Dell.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

My daughter just got an HP Envy. So far I like it a lot more than my wife's Surface Pro.

I'm just not a fan of the Surface at all.

I've got tons of laptops, I wanted a tablet. So that's why I went with the Surface.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

I've got tons of laptops, I wanted a tablet. So that's why I went with the Surface.

That's what I'm saying. It's a TERRIBLE tablet. It functions like a miniature Windows laptop. Both Android and Apple have far better tablet options than the Surface unless you're absolutely invested in the MS ecosystem.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I know it sounds petty but I just can't get used to a full Windows 10 interface on the size of screen. You either blow everything up and lose field of vision or you go blind trying to read stuff because it's so small. Hers is a SP4 so maybe newer ones are better.

I could definitely see the appeal of the Surface laptop version but then again, you're talking about paying double for a machine that's similar to an HP or Dell.

I have an SP 4 on the highest resolution so everything is tiny. I like it.

But I don't have old man eyes

Really though, it just fit in my wheelhouse. If I'm on desktop I have a huge ass monitor because I have giant spreadsheets, and quickbooks takes a ton of room. If I'm mobile, I run small stuff because I hate giant ass bulky platforms, and run it on high resolutions because giant spreadsheets and quickbooks.

With that SP 4 I hooked it to a docking station and that worked really pretty well. Current rig is a 14" Lenovo X1 so it's a little bigger footprint, but that's probably as big as I'd go.

I'm just a weirdo.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

That's what I'm saying. It's a TERRIBLE tablet. It functions like a miniature Windows laptop. Both Android and Apple have far better tablet options than the Surface unless you're absolutely invested in the MS ecosystem.

Each to their own. I got a Surface Go (smaller ten inch screen). Not because I'm invested in the MS ecosystem (I have a iPhone). But I didn't want an Apple because I didn't want to deal with iTunes for watching movies off line on a plane and didn't particularly want an android device.

But perhaps more importantly I got tired of web sites treating a reasonably large tablet as if it has a phone sized screen. Some web sites allow you to switch to desktop view but many do not. Holding a high resolution tablet fairly close to my face makes HD more important than a desktop monitor farther away. But if a web site thinks it is a mobile, it may reduce the streaming resolution.

So I've been really happy with all.

If the web site thinks you have a mobile device, it is far more likely to make you download an app and register (and perhaps charge you) than the desktop site.

I was worried about how responsive the screen would be but its been fine. I got more memory but didn't pay for a cover or pen.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Chief Pagan

Each to their own. I got a Surface Go (smaller ten inch screen). Not because I'm invested in the MS ecosystem (I have a iPhone). But I didn't want an Apple because I didn't want to deal with iTunes for watching movies off line on a plane and didn't particularly want an android device.

But perhaps more importantly I got tired of web sites treating a reasonably large tablet as if it has a phone sized screen. Some web sites allow you to switch to desktop view but many do not. Holding a high resolution tablet fairly close to my face makes HD more important than a desktop monitor farther away. But if a web site thinks it is a mobile, it may reduce the streaming resolution.

So I've been really happy with all.

If the web site thinks you have a mobile device, it is far more likely to make you download an app and register (and perhaps charge you) than the desktop site.

I was worried about how responsive the screen would be but its been fine. I got more memory but didn't pay for a cover or pen.

I have the iPad Pro 12.9". Every website opens in desktop mode. The smaller ones may default to mobile but the bigger ones don't.

I know not everybody wants to spend that kind of money but my Pro is superior to the SP4 in just about every way. But of course it's just like you said - to each their own.

My biggest complaint with the Surface is that it runs Windows. We have 5 Windows machines in our house. 4 Android device's, 5 Apple iDevices, and 2 Mac's. Plus a half dozen gaming machines and 5 streaming devices.

I spend more time maintaining the Windows machines than all of the other devices combined. Windows Update in particular is a pain in the ass.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

That's what I'm saying. It's a TERRIBLE tablet. It functions like a miniature Windows laptop. Both Android and Apple have far better tablet options than the Surface unless you're absolutely invested in the MS ecosystem.

Well I'm not anti-Android, but I do hate Apple.

Well I have it now...

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I have the iPad Pro 12.9". Every website opens in desktop mode. The smaller ones may default to mobile but the bigger ones don't.

I know not everybody wants to spend that kind of money but my Pro is superior to the SP4 in just about every way. But of course it's just like you said - to each their own.

My biggest complaint with the Surface is that it runs Windows. We have 5 Windows machines in our house. 4 Android device's, 5 Apple iDevices, and 2 Mac's. Plus a half dozen gaming machines and 5 streaming devices.

I spend more time maintaining the Windows machines than all of the other devices combined. Windows Update in particular is a pain in the ass.

See, I don't have those issues. I have my work rig, a laptop in the sprayer, and that Surface floating around. Then the wife and I have apple phones, kid has an old ipad mini, there is an ipod touch around, and one of our old phones for the kids.

The only maintaining I do on the PCs is whatever automatic updates they have (have them all on W10). The phones seem to work OK, the ipod touch is always having goddamned battery problems, the ipod mini is too old (apparently.. ) to download new apps like YouTube and disney plus.

I'm the first to admit that an apple system is really intuitive for baseline use and better for kids. But I appreciate having a damn PC, because somewhere along the line, I became an old man.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

Well I'm not anti-Android, but I do hate Apple.

Well I have it now...

Yeah, all 3 (Microsoft, Apple, Google) have vocal detractors.

After almost 30 years in the IT business, I've learned to detest Microsoft at almost every level, from the constantly-broken Windows updates to their licensing models and their partly-unethical sales tactics.

Hating Microsoft and Cisco is just part of my soul now.

I started using Apple at work many years ago and slowly got to the point where I was just comfortable using it. Now that I'm fully invested in the ecosystem, I'm not sure I could change if I wanted to so give them kudos for that.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

See, I don't have those issues. I have my work rig, a laptop in the sprayer, and that Surface floating around. Then the wife and I have apple phones, kid has an old ipad mini, there is an ipod touch around, and one of our old phones for the kids.

The only maintaining I do on the PCs is whatever automatic updates they have (have them all on W10). The phones seem to work OK, the ipod touch is always having goddamned battery problems, the ipod mini is too old (apparently.. ) to download new apps like YouTube and disney plus.

"Automatic" updates seems to be the worst part of my experience with Windows here at home. Some of the machines update while you're using them, even if you've set off hours correctly. Some of them don't update at all unless you manually intervene, even if you have automatic updates enabled. At any given time, I might have one machine rebooting in the middle of a school class and another that hasn't been updated in 4 months. The Windows machines constantly require watching or they don't update correctly.

As for your other devices, unfortunately old devices are old devices. Neither iOS nor Windows ages very well after the first 3 or 4 years. Batteries wear out over time, especially if they've been subjected to daily charging for years.

Android ages pretty well because they don't ever release updates. LOL

Originally Posted by Buehler445

I'm the first to admit that an apple system is really intuitive for baseline use and better for kids. But I appreciate having a damn PC, because somewhere along the line, I became an old man.

With iOS / iPadOS that's true. Pretty simple and straightforward. I actually started using them though because I switched to MacOS for my personal computing. Still a simple veneer like iOS but Linux/BSD underneath. I also run Linux so it's just easier for me. I've done everything I can to limit my exposure to Windows. Of course, nobody in my house wants to learn anything new when the only upside is less work for dad.