Hiatus Over - Surface Pro 3
After a hiatus, I think I'm coming back to this blog. I am still fascinated by what Windows has to offer as it tweaks and tries to perfect the Windows 8/8.1 experience. While I am still primarily a Mac OS X user, I have installed the latest version of Windows 8.1 Pro on my 15" Retina MacBook Pro.
Since the original inception of my failed experiment, there are still the nuggets of gold that I saw as potential, and initially loved, about Windows 8/8.1. Now that I'm using it more as a Desktop and less like a Tablet, I have a new perspective on how it functions for millions of people, and it's not half bad.
Coupled with the release of the new Surface Pro (3) and you're looking at something that is actually appealing as a Laptop/Tablet hybrid with the power of an ultra book and the portability of a tablet.
Many people note that when they compared the new Surface Pro on a scale, it was to a 13" MacBook Air and not an iPad. I think those people are missing the point - they're not trying to compare it to a tablet, but to a laptop. Then they add the iPad on top of it and you see the point that Microsoft is making. It's about the fact that the Surface Pro can do the job of both the Laptop and the Tablet and be less weight on your shoulders.
Again, the Surface Pro isn't attempting to compete with the iPad as much as it's trying to show that a laptop and tablet are no longer necessary.
I don't believe that the Surface Pro 3 will be a breakout seller - though I could be pleasantly surprised. I think what it does more than anything is push the other hardware manufacturers to a higher standard and hopefully more "all in one" devices will become available with unique ways of connecting peripherals.
Heck, the Docking Station that MS showed off at the Surface event might be clunky, but it turns it into a fully functional desktop computer, and how is that a bad thing? Now it's a three in one.
The one thing I can't comment on is the keyboard cover that you can add to the Surface Pro for an additional $130. While they talked about improvements to it, without handling it I really can't make any kind of guess. I will say that based on the older model keyboard covers for the Surface and Surface Pro, I'm not holding my breath that this will be all that good.
The most important thing to have happened since Balmer left is that Microsoft is listening to customers again instead of simply force feeding them design by committee crap like the original release of Windows 8. I find it very telling that within weeks of the new CEO, Microsoft had released fully functional versions of Office for the iPad while Balmer had said that no such software existed. He didn't want it running on Apple devices while the new guy sees any install base as a good one - this is ultimately good for Microsoft.
Microsoft OneDrive is also superior to iCloud and is now my defacto cloud storage on my Mac, my Boot Camp Windows 8.1 install, my iPad and my iPhone. While Dropbox is very similar (or I should say that OneDrive is similar to DropBox), I find OneDrive to be a better implementation of the idea, but it maybe just because I feel it integrates better into the Office Environment, and my Mac and Windows Environments.
The one thing that shocks me about the Surface Pro 3 are the price points. The 64gb core i3 Processor is $799. If I want a 512gb with an i7 it's $1949. I'm not saying that these price points aren't worth it (though I do think the 64gb price is a little high), but they look more like Apple Pricing (as some would say) than Microsoft Pricing.
Still, if I had $1949, I'd buy one just to play with it.
One thing that I still think Apple has over Microsoft right now in the OS space is a single version of a fully featured client OS and a fully featured, single version of their Server OS. You don't options like Home, Home Premium, Pro, Enterprise, Enterprise N, and so forth. Complete functionality is baked into a single OS. Full networking and sharing options are available quickly if you need to access them and can be easily ignored if you don't need them.
I think one of the brilliant things Apple has done is bundle all the high end user features with the basic user features, and then hide the power user stuff so the every day user isn't confused.
Considering there's not a huge difference in install size between Windows version, it seems to me it's just a ploy on the part of MS to make more money (but that's what all companies do, to one degree or another - so can I blame them?).
If I magically had the money, I would buy myself a Surface Pro just so I could give an honest review of it. I think it will be far better than the Lenovo I used for such a short period of time.
While I was very fond of the Lenovo, I was disappointed in the burn in issues the display had and the fact that, at the time, I was told it wouldn't support Windows 8.1. I don't know if they ever backpedaled on that or not, but they offered me a full refund, so I took it.
Does anybody want to send me a 512gb, i7 Surface Pro 3 with keyboard (purple) so I can kick the proverbial tires?
Preorder here
Didn't think so.
Since the original inception of my failed experiment, there are still the nuggets of gold that I saw as potential, and initially loved, about Windows 8/8.1. Now that I'm using it more as a Desktop and less like a Tablet, I have a new perspective on how it functions for millions of people, and it's not half bad.
Coupled with the release of the new Surface Pro (3) and you're looking at something that is actually appealing as a Laptop/Tablet hybrid with the power of an ultra book and the portability of a tablet.
Many people note that when they compared the new Surface Pro on a scale, it was to a 13" MacBook Air and not an iPad. I think those people are missing the point - they're not trying to compare it to a tablet, but to a laptop. Then they add the iPad on top of it and you see the point that Microsoft is making. It's about the fact that the Surface Pro can do the job of both the Laptop and the Tablet and be less weight on your shoulders.
Again, the Surface Pro isn't attempting to compete with the iPad as much as it's trying to show that a laptop and tablet are no longer necessary.
I don't believe that the Surface Pro 3 will be a breakout seller - though I could be pleasantly surprised. I think what it does more than anything is push the other hardware manufacturers to a higher standard and hopefully more "all in one" devices will become available with unique ways of connecting peripherals.
Heck, the Docking Station that MS showed off at the Surface event might be clunky, but it turns it into a fully functional desktop computer, and how is that a bad thing? Now it's a three in one.
The one thing I can't comment on is the keyboard cover that you can add to the Surface Pro for an additional $130. While they talked about improvements to it, without handling it I really can't make any kind of guess. I will say that based on the older model keyboard covers for the Surface and Surface Pro, I'm not holding my breath that this will be all that good.
The most important thing to have happened since Balmer left is that Microsoft is listening to customers again instead of simply force feeding them design by committee crap like the original release of Windows 8. I find it very telling that within weeks of the new CEO, Microsoft had released fully functional versions of Office for the iPad while Balmer had said that no such software existed. He didn't want it running on Apple devices while the new guy sees any install base as a good one - this is ultimately good for Microsoft.
Microsoft OneDrive is also superior to iCloud and is now my defacto cloud storage on my Mac, my Boot Camp Windows 8.1 install, my iPad and my iPhone. While Dropbox is very similar (or I should say that OneDrive is similar to DropBox), I find OneDrive to be a better implementation of the idea, but it maybe just because I feel it integrates better into the Office Environment, and my Mac and Windows Environments.
The one thing that shocks me about the Surface Pro 3 are the price points. The 64gb core i3 Processor is $799. If I want a 512gb with an i7 it's $1949. I'm not saying that these price points aren't worth it (though I do think the 64gb price is a little high), but they look more like Apple Pricing (as some would say) than Microsoft Pricing.
Still, if I had $1949, I'd buy one just to play with it.
One thing that I still think Apple has over Microsoft right now in the OS space is a single version of a fully featured client OS and a fully featured, single version of their Server OS. You don't options like Home, Home Premium, Pro, Enterprise, Enterprise N, and so forth. Complete functionality is baked into a single OS. Full networking and sharing options are available quickly if you need to access them and can be easily ignored if you don't need them.
I think one of the brilliant things Apple has done is bundle all the high end user features with the basic user features, and then hide the power user stuff so the every day user isn't confused.
Considering there's not a huge difference in install size between Windows version, it seems to me it's just a ploy on the part of MS to make more money (but that's what all companies do, to one degree or another - so can I blame them?).
If I magically had the money, I would buy myself a Surface Pro just so I could give an honest review of it. I think it will be far better than the Lenovo I used for such a short period of time.
While I was very fond of the Lenovo, I was disappointed in the burn in issues the display had and the fact that, at the time, I was told it wouldn't support Windows 8.1. I don't know if they ever backpedaled on that or not, but they offered me a full refund, so I took it.
Does anybody want to send me a 512gb, i7 Surface Pro 3 with keyboard (purple) so I can kick the proverbial tires?
Preorder here
Didn't think so.
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