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Surface Pro 3
- Thread starter yogeewan
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It does but it doesn't make it clear that the settings option under charms will change depending upon what app you are using when you open it.
Yeah, I don't remember where I learned about that. Honestly, that's one of the problems that Windows continues to struggle with - too many ways to do the same things - and it's worse since Windows 8 where some 'settings' menus only give you access to a portion of the actual settings, etc. The settings in the charms bar will never be a logical way to configure the app because it feels too much like a system-wide option.
The thing about battery life is... Basically, you need to find out how much you would use maximum in a day, and add about 4-5 hours on to that. 8 hours is light usage. On the macbook air, 7-8 hours would be heavier usage. Not totally accurate, but more or less that's the idea.
It's not just about games. It can be things like movie-editing software, photoshopping, etc.
I think relying on regular apps defeats the purpose of Windows 8.1/SP3. If you have a tablet, why would you use desktop apps? The modern apps are supposed to be better for battery, touch-input, fast, blah blah..
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I have never had my Macbook overheat, so I can testify that the claim is baseless.
I did not have such an experience with Windows myself. I have experienced plenty of hangs, lots of app crashes, and buggy animations. I must sound like some fanboy who makes up random bs. I promise you, I'm not. I'm the owner of a Surface RT, Windows Phone and previously an old dell laptop.
Digging out my tablet reminded me why I switched to Apple.
Also, Windows Phone... their own Skype app is broken and they update competitors before their own.
I'm talking about the MacBook Air. Just do some searching and you will find plenty of people with over heating problems on this very forum.
A Surface RT is not a Surface Pro 3 which this thread is discussing. Windows 8.1 is a much different beast then RT.
Also, I had to install Photoshop to be able to get it on this machine so it is not a Metro app although it can be pinned to the start menu show that it appears in the Metro interface.
1. Yes... I'm using a Macbook Air as you see in my signature. I'm referring to the current model of the MacBook Air, not previous ones.
2. Not really. The experience is consistent across platforms. My tablet runs Windows slower, but because it has a low clock speed and minimal specs.
On my Macbook, Windows runs this way. That was what I was referring to, actually. That and my other laptop.
3. Ya... but that doesn't make it a touch-friendly app.
Install Photoshop on a Surface Pro 3 and it is not touch friendly until you run the software update. One the updates are applied and the interface changes to make Photoshop touch friendly. It doesn't matter how what way you use to open the app. What matters is that I open the app to use it to do what I need to do.
But it's not a modern app. If it's as 'touch-friendly' as Office in touch mode, then I'll pass. That's a poor excuse for not making an app.
You're just nitpicking at things now and this is not worth talking about anymore. You haven't seen what Photoshop looks like on the SP3 so how can you comment?
Unless anyone else has anything useful to talk about, I'm done with this thread.
It's not nit-picking.
I'm saying, a touch-friendly desktop app is NOT a replacement for an actual app on the platform.
You are lucky my friend, my cousins macbook air whirrs like an airplane, IMO they do not dissipate heat very well. He really needs to replace the fan, not sure how big of a deal it is.
dismissing the claim as baseless is a bit crazy, just do a google search (or forum search), it is well known that basically all macs, save the desktop pro, run hot. Laptops in general do, and the iMac suffers the same heating issues laptops do. It also goes in line with the relatively high failure rates of macs with discrete GPU's, heat is one of the larger reasons I have yet to buy a mac. When something melts after my warranty I can't fix it either since they are so locked up tight!
(I am quite shocked if the SP3 does not have overheating issues too - not trying to be a troll)
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My wife has been using an 11" MBA as her primary computer for a couple of years now. She is the worst kind of user because she goes months without restarting, never closes anything, never updates anything. All of her previous laptops - both PC and Mac - would constantly be running the fans at maximum to keep up with the load. I'd inevitably notice it sitting in bed next to her and take over to find the stray process to quiet it down.
In over two years with the MBA I haven't had to do that once, and I've never noticed the fan.
In over two years with the MBA I haven't had to do that once, and I've never noticed the fan.
wow, im amazed at this response to this post. this section i thought was to talk about alternatives to ios and idevices. we have people here who come in here as well to discredit the purpose of this section as well!
i had my first encounter with an incompatibility which kind of made me restore to a previous state, the lync 2013 install seemed to revert my office to a non working state. i did a restore and re installed it and it worked which was very funny, but i guess i finally remember where windows seems to fail most often, its archaic installation process.
however, the restore was fairly easy and its up and working again. i managed 6.5 with the suggestions of the helpful people here and im sure ill figure other ways, its been a while since i used a windows device in earnest apart from work.
i had my first encounter with an incompatibility which kind of made me restore to a previous state, the lync 2013 install seemed to revert my office to a non working state. i did a restore and re installed it and it worked which was very funny, but i guess i finally remember where windows seems to fail most often, its archaic installation process.
however, the restore was fairly easy and its up and working again. i managed 6.5 with the suggestions of the helpful people here and im sure ill figure other ways, its been a while since i used a windows device in earnest apart from work.
Anyone seen the new offer from Microsoft where you get a $100 gift card that you can use towards the Type Cover and a free sleeve with purchase of any Surface Pro 3? You can also use the 10% educational discount on top of this.
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Surface-Pro-3/productID.300190600
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Surface-Pro-3/productID.300190600
To me a big draw of the SP3 is getting x86 desktop functionality in a portable form factor. The type of x86 applications that don't exist on ARM period.
And a lot of ARM tablet apps are basically glorified web portals. They grew out of iOS's inability to do flash in a browser, access the file system, etc. Without a FB app on iOS you wouldn't be able to upload a photo. On the SP3, you can do this through your browser so you don't need an app. Just pin the website to the start menu.
This is how my girlfriend uses her iMac. Firefox, Chrome, Safari all open in multiple windows with 20 tabs each and it all just stays there until a memory link makes her reboot.
I do the same thing on my Macs because the reboot process is just so slow.
On the SP3, it boots up faster than an iPad can so I tend to reboot several times a week.
It feels very logical to me. iOS is kind of weird because all the settings are in one place, so while it's more organized it's also a pain because I have to exit out of my app and go to the settings page. Android is much better and very similar to windows, in fact there is very little difference. In android you hit the hamburger thing and you can get to your settings while in the app. In windows you just hit the charm bar while in the app. If you are in no app, then you get the system settings.
Keep in mind that this is all getting redone, and in addition we will have a notification bar and also Cortana with windows 10 which is just around the corner.
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Lol, my wife is the same. She still uses windows on her MacBook air 11" and it literally goes months without a reboot, windows update, or app/program update. Really the only time these things happen is when something breaks down and she gives it to me to fix.
I think you're missing the big point here..
Microsoft promises a tablet and a laptop in one package.
We can debate whether it delivers on the laptop front,
but it very much so fails on the tablet front. There are a number of reasons
1. Apps, apps, apps
Browsing the app store yesterday, I realized how bare it is. Still. It's been about half a year, and I still see some of the same apps listed in the top category. Either those applications are really good, or it shows how stale the store is. I vote the latter.
2. Desktop apps are not a replacement for modern apps
Yes, it's great you can run desktop apps. However, you guys that like the device are happy with that ability alone. You must admit then, that the modern app store is of no value to you. Perhaps you feel that way because of my first point. Some desktop apps have a touch-friendly mode, where they essentially make the buttons bigger and perhaps slide some controls to easier to access places.
You may feel otherwise, but that is not acceptable in my opinion.
3. A browser replaces an app?
No. An application is supposed to provide a more immersive experience than the website. It also might keep specific styling and general layouts downloaded in the actual app, reducing the amount of bandwidth consumed. Also, it might extend the websites functionality by tapping into the host OS' API. This would allow for features like NFC, etc. that don't exist on websites. (Or at least not easily)
Yes, you can use the browser, but there's a reason people use the Facebook app.
I don't know what else to say.
I feel like you guys deny yourself basic features that any tablet owner should have. You compromise just to make it work. You shouldn't have to do that on a device you're paying $1K plus on. If you're happy with it, then that's fine, but I think you'd be a lot happier with a different device. Maybe Microsoft will get their act together. I don't care, I'm not going down that path again.
By the way, I speak from experience. I made all the same arguments as you.
I miss the whole point on how we are denying ourselves the basic features blah blah blah.
You make no sense to me.
You make no sense to me.
I think you're missing the big point here..
Microsoft promises a tablet and a laptop in one package.
We can debate whether it delivers on the laptop front,
but it very much so fails on the tablet front. There are a number of reasons
1. Apps, apps, apps
Browsing the app store yesterday, I realized how bare it is. Still. It's been about half a year, and I still see some of the same apps listed in the top category. Either those applications are really good, or it shows how stale the store is. I vote the latter.
2. Desktop apps are not a replacement for modern apps
Yes, it's great you can run desktop apps. However, you guys that like the device are happy with that ability alone. You must admit then, that the modern app store is of no value to you. Perhaps you feel that way because of my first point. Some desktop apps have a touch-friendly mode, where they essentially make the buttons bigger and perhaps slide some controls to easier to access places.
You may feel otherwise, but that is not acceptable in my opinion.
3. A browser replaces an app?
No. An application is supposed to provide a more immersive experience than the website. It also might keep specific styling and general layouts downloaded in the actual app, reducing the amount of bandwidth consumed. Also, it might extend the websites functionality by tapping into the host OS' API. This would allow for features like NFC, etc. that don't exist on websites. (Or at least not easily)
Yes, you can use the browser, but there's a reason people use the Facebook app.
I don't know what else to say.
I feel like you guys deny yourself basic features that any tablet owner should have. You compromise just to make it work. You shouldn't have to do that on a device you're paying $1K plus on. If you're happy with it, then that's fine, but I think you'd be a lot happier with a different device. Maybe Microsoft will get their act together. I don't care, I'm not going down that path again.
By the way, I speak from experience. I made all the same arguments as you.
Which apps are you missing? I know this subject comes up every now and then and it turns out the vast majority of apps people complain about are available in some way, shape or form.
I suppose it's the way we use our devices. I feel like iOS/android users "deny yourself" features that work really well in a tablet like the SP3. I gave up iOS/android tablets because they were VERY much a compromise for how I use my tablet, no comparison IMO. There is NO way I would ever consider a "dumb" tablet ever again in my life.
Once again that's MY opinion based on how I use my tablet. I'm not denigrating your opinion, but there is more than one viewpoint out there and the SP3's are selling decently.
I've had the i5/8/256 for a while now, and I'm really coming to like it. I do dig the concept of these multipurpose devices. If Apple doesn't get onboard with this, I may switch (Apple user for two decades now). Still, I'm used to OS X, so I do most of my day to day on my iMac and MBA. But I did recently go on a work trip with just the SP3... and it worked well.
Battery life os OK... I get 5-6hrs, without using any of the power saving features (I love bright displays and fast systems).
The Hardware is outstanding - Beautiful display, great dock, etc. It's wonderful to hook a tablet up to a a dock, and immediately drive two external 27" 2560x1500 displays.... close enough to a workstation, for what I need.
Windows is still awkward, of me, but I'm warming up to it. Running the Windows 10 beta and it was outstanding, until the last major update. It's now very buggy (beta SW), but I hope the January build fixes much of that. Still, the UI has gotten much better. I just want it to be as stable as the November beta build.
Battery life os OK... I get 5-6hrs, without using any of the power saving features (I love bright displays and fast systems).
The Hardware is outstanding - Beautiful display, great dock, etc. It's wonderful to hook a tablet up to a a dock, and immediately drive two external 27" 2560x1500 displays.... close enough to a workstation, for what I need.
Windows is still awkward, of me, but I'm warming up to it. Running the Windows 10 beta and it was outstanding, until the last major update. It's now very buggy (beta SW), but I hope the January build fixes much of that. Still, the UI has gotten much better. I just want it to be as stable as the November beta build.
It's not necessarily just specific apps I'm looking for. Though, I could mention some offhand. Some games, I've already mentioned Photoshop Touch, etc. And the problem is that the Windows apps that do exist (e.g. Facebook, Sketchbook Express) lack features that their counterparts have. Basically, here's the problem, summed up: You can't ONLY use the modern apps. You should be able to use the modern apps and those alone to fulfill your needs.
On so-called dumb tablets like Apple iPad or any generic Android tablet, you can.
I'm aware some of you like the ability to run desktop apps, but it's rather pathetic that you have to run desktop apps just to enjoy your device of choice.
That is the biggest reason that I bought my SP3, the ability to run desktop apps. It is it's selling point as it is a laptop replacement.
I am giving up on the iPad/Android tablets like the person above mentioned also because they are too limited on what you can do. It is stock apps and app store apps only. I can't go to Adobe and install the full version of Photoshop or MS Office 2013. This is why the SP3 excels.