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Microsoft Ships Surface Pro 2 Tablets With Wrong, Slower Processor

Posted by Unknown on from the get-what-you-paid-for? dept.

SmartAboutThings (1951032) writes "Microsoft launched the Surface Pro 2 tablet in October 2013 with several hardware upgrades, like the new 1.6GHz Core i5-4200U processor specifically optimized for longer battery life and increased performance. Three months later, Microsoft decided to upgrade the CPU with a 1.9GHz Core i5-4300U unit that would be capable of taking these improvements even further. Although Redmond kept quiet about the improvement, tech savvy buyers were aware of the change. Now, according to some new reports, it seems that the company is still shipping the old models to buyers, despite the fact that Microsoft promised to deliver only upgraded models featuring the new CPU."

147 comments

  1. Suburb half to blame by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Apparently Microsoft is just as much to blame as the suburb of Redmond.

  2. You've Been BALLMERED! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thanks for playing! Enjoy the improved experience Windows 8.1 offers, over the competition!

    And don't forget to come back in 16 months. Sanjay promises to BALLMER you harder!

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
    1. Re:You've Been BALLMERED! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The new CEO's name is Satya. Hardly concealed but obviously repressed contempt. Coded idiocy at its worst.

    2. Re:You've Been BALLMERED! by steelfood · · Score: 2

      No chairs were harmed in the act.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    3. Re:You've Been BALLMERED! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah but here on Slashdot, we reward such idiocy with a +1 Insightful!

    4. Re:You've Been BALLMERED! by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 4, Funny

      16 months, you say? that's about how long it will take to install this version of win 8.1:

      http://blog.dk.sg/wp-content/u...

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    5. Re:You've Been BALLMERED! by mmell · · Score: 1

      Five times, usually.

    6. Re:You've Been BALLMERED! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 1

      16 months, you say? that's about how long it will take to install this version of win 8.1:

      http://blog.dk.sg/wp-content/u...

      BEST EVAR!

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
  3. We have to unload the old ones may if we put 7 on by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    We have to unload the old ones may if we put 7 on them they will sell like hot cakes.

  4. Perhaps they are leftovers from old production by NixieBunny · · Score: 2

    Don't these things sell a bit more slowly than MS predicts?

    --
    The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
    1. Re:Perhaps they are leftovers from old production by tlambert · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Don't these things sell a bit more slowly than MS predicts?

      Not when Microsoft buys them from the vendors themselves, and then warehouses them. The problem is that old stock is removed from the front, and new stock is loaded in at the back, so unless they hit their predicted sales numbers, you get the older stock.

      Microsoft just promised that they would ship (eventually); the only date involved is the date they made the promise, not a dealine by which the new stuff would be shipping exclusive of the old stuff, and certainly not the unsold stuff already in the channel.

      What we have here is the use of an ambiguous generational designator that has nothing to do with the clock speed, and a journalist suffering sour grapes over not getting the faster model that has exactly the same description.

    2. Re:Perhaps they are leftovers from old production by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't these things sell a bit more slowly than MS predicts?

      If you turned Seattle into a desert, water would sell slower than MS predicts.

    3. Re:Perhaps they are leftovers from old production by drinkypoo · · Score: 0, Troll

      Microsoft just promised that they would ship (eventually); the only date involved is the date they made the promise, not a dealine by which the new stuff would be shipping exclusive of the old stuff, and certainly not the unsold stuff already in the channel.

      False. RTFA, which you clearly did not do.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Perhaps they are leftovers from old production by AK+Marc · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I RTFA, and aside from sales people on the phone quoting the wrong processor, I didn't see anything that indicated a "deadline" for shipping only the new one. The story isn't about something like MS promising the newer processer and not delivering, but a call center person making an error in confirming a specification. There is a difference in intent and action, even if not much difference legally.

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
    5. Re:Perhaps they are leftovers from old production by David_Hart · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Microsoft just promised that they would ship (eventually); the only date involved is the date they made the promise, not a dealine by which the new stuff would be shipping exclusive of the old stuff, and certainly not the unsold stuff already in the channel.

      False. RTFA, which you clearly did not do.

      Actually, the previous poster was right. Microsoft has never publicly announced that they were shipping the new processor. What happened is that the article writer called a customer rep who said that they would get the new processor. The customer reps may have been told that the new processor was coming and made assumptions. Its still on Microsoft as they obviously dropped the ball in clarifying the situation with the customer reps. But that doesn't make the previous poster wrong.

      All of the articles I can find on the topic indicate the same thing. There was no official announcement by Microsoft. Someone leaked the information to the standard tech magazines and the rest has been speculation, rather than fact.

    6. Re:Perhaps they are leftovers from old production by kevingolding2001 · · Score: 1

      as they obviously dropped the ball in clarifying the situation with the customer reps.

      Or told them to deliberately lie knowing that there was likely no proof of what the customer rep said.

  5. Could this be as simple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    as microsoft buying batch cpus which were available? so sometimes (since official spec sheets had the slower one) some batches were higher rated cpus due to availability?

  6. I Predict by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 4, Funny

    Surface tablets will end up in the same place as all those old Atari E.T. game cartridges.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    1. Re:I Predict by EvolutionInAction · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I doubt it. A lot of people probably don't have a use for a surface, but I find that a tablet/laptop hybrid was exactly what I needed. 95% of the time all I want is to be able to read documents, but that other 5% of the time I really need to use office, or would quite like to play a game. Windows 8 actually works reasonably well on it, which shouldn't be a surprise - it's pretty obvious that it was designed around the surface. The price point isn't sustainable but if they fix that, I see no reason that the Surface line can't stick around for quite a while.

    2. Re:I Predict by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I doubt it. A lot of people probably don't have a use for a surface, but I find that a tablet/laptop hybrid was exactly what I needed. 95% of the time all I want is to be able to read documents, but that other 5% of the time I really need to use office, or would quite like to play a game. Windows 8 actually works reasonably well on it, which shouldn't be a surprise - it's pretty obvious that it was designed around the surface. The price point isn't sustainable but if they fix that, I see no reason that the Surface line can't stick around for quite a while.

      If microsoft were to continue to deliver the surface but under a different pricing model, they could very well take over most of the markets - especially if they introduced their own all in one touch desktop. i wish the market could really see the amount of effort MS engineers went with bringing the surface to market, i feel that it really should be image that all windows 8 pcs are molded from.

    3. Re:I Predict by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      Yeah, considering the business predictions of every other Slashdotter? I may as well buy MS stock now.
       
      Slashfags know about as much about business as I know about 13 century french opera.

    4. Re:I Predict by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yup, the Surface hardware is actually quite good, best hybrid currently available ... sadly Windows is Windows ... but, installing Ubuntu on these is trivially easy, and all of the 'touch' stuff 'just works', no need to find weird drivers, etc. I have an original SurfacePro, and it has proven to be a very useful machine - much more useful for 'real' work than any tablet, whether Android or IOS ... you can even put Android X86 on it, but it's not clear why you'd want to ...

    5. Re:I Predict by redback · · Score: 2

      For the surface to take off they need to do 2 things.

      1. stop restricting which retailers can sell the device.

      2. Let said retailers make a profit.

      1. Is mostly done, but 2 keeps us from stocking them ($20-$50 markup in a top end surface)

    6. Re:I Predict by imatter · · Score: 1

      ah, so you fancy yourself an Opera buff!

    7. Re:I Predict by symbolset · · Score: 1

      They are already losing billions on the product. Further discounting does not seem to be a helpful answer.

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    8. Re:I Predict by cbhacking · · Score: 0

      That only applies to the Pro line (which is selling pretty fast). The RT line, with the ARM chips (like what this whole story is about) are not doing so well.

      The thing that baffles me is the amount of effort MS wasted on locking out the 8.0 jailbreak. They could have put that to *so* much more productive uses. Why do something so blatantly anti-user in a product already struggling?

      --
      There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
    9. Re:I Predict by mmell · · Score: 1

      Agreed. I just wish the marketing and execudroids hadn't idiotically gone with that "one desktop fits all" paradigm. Just make sure the underlying support is identical across platforms and let desktop users continue using the interface they've been taught to use for over twenty years!. I'm okay if it looks different on a tablet than on a desktop, as long as it works identically on both platforms, I'm okay. The desktop is just an abstraction layer anyhow (or is that still not true in the MS/Win environment?) - one desktop for phones, a (slightly different) representation for tablets, and a (somewhat different) presentation layer for laptop/desktop machines, that's what I'd have liked to see. Turning that little 'Start' button into a screen all of its own? I'm running dual 23" flat panels - I really don't need that much start menu, guys!

    10. Re:I Predict by Mr_Wisenheimer · · Score: 1

      Actually, the story is about the pro line. The fact that they were talking about i5 processors and not ARM chips probably should have clued you into that.

      I don't see the RT line lasting into another generation as it is. They should roll the code into Windows Phone and just kill off the tablet line. If someone wants to make a Windows Phone tablet, then more power to them, but Microsoft should focus on its x86 tablet line now that Intel has Atom and core processors that can compete with ARM in terms of battery life. I mean, when you can pick up a $350 mini tablet that runs the full version of Windows 8.1, any desktop app a netbook could handle, and is only a little bigger and with a bit less battery life than an iPad, who would want to spend $400-500 on Windows RT?

    11. Re:I Predict by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup, the RT line was/is silly ... it's basically a hedge-bet against Google's ChromeOS and associated 'Chromebook' hardware ... keeps MS's foot in the door in that segment (if the segment ever takes off).

    12. Re:I Predict by antdude · · Score: 1

      Well, that place is going to be dug up soon according to this article.

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    13. Re:I Predict by GigaplexNZ · · Score: 1

      The RT line, with the ARM chips (like what this whole story is about) are not doing so well.

      The title says Pro, the summary says Pro, and the chips in question are quoted in the summary (Intel chips). Where'd you get the impression this was about ARM?

    14. Re:I Predict by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was also an incentive to get Intel to take the Atom line seriously.

    15. Re:I Predict by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      That only applies to the Pro line (which is selling pretty fast).

      The camera on the "Pro" is useless (720p resolution), the camera on the "RT" is actually better (5 megapixels).

      That's got to be a deal breaker for many people (it is for me).

      --
      No sig today...
    16. Re:I Predict by ericloewe · · Score: 1

      Why do you care about the camera on a tablet? Especially on something like the Surface Pro, which is more an Ultrabook than a tablet.

    17. Re:I Predict by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Given that French opera began in the middle of the 17th century; there is nothing to know about 13[sic] century french opera; hence you already know everything about it; so Slashfags know everything about business!

    18. Re:I Predict by nhat11 · · Score: 1

      Except people will dig those tablets up unlike those crappy E.T. games lol

    19. Re:I Predict by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Apparently Joce640k wants to have a high resolution camera with a tablet computer. If that's what he wants, why should you consider that to be unreasonable?

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    20. Re:I Predict by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      High resolution camera? That's what phones are for!

    21. Re:I Predict by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What surface you are talking about? The overpriced Surface Pro, or the overpriced and useless Surface? Someone in management would have to eat crow to sell the Surface Pro line at low margins and thus forcing the Surface and Windows RT into oblivion (where it belongs). I think they'll ride the current situation into oblivion rather than admit they were wrong.

    22. Re:I Predict by unixisc · · Score: 1

      I agree. A hybrid tablet/laptop - i5 based - should be able to do what I need. The touch works well, so only time I'd need to use a keyboard would be for typing. Something like an Office document. Otherwise, the touch interface should be good enough.

    23. Re:I Predict by EvolutionInAction · · Score: 1

      It was stupid, but you know I can understand why they did it. Here's the problem with the surface: The screen is too small to use a lot of programs comfortably. It's definitely too small to use touch on desktop programs! My index finger covers at least three buttons on most menus. This isn't a resolution problem, just actual physical dimensions. So they build metro, a touch screen interface. Which is good, but now MS has a new problem: How do they get software developers to actually write software that uses the new interface? Most are going to just write once for the desktop and be done. The solution is to make this interface the default for desktops too. Now everybody has reason to write software that supports the metro interface, and this solves the problem of not having lots of apps that work well on the surface.

      It doesn't work that way of course, because nobody wants to use full screen applications on a desktop machine. But I can see why it made sense at the time. You just have to accept that MS based all their decisions around the Surface.

    24. Re:I Predict by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      I've seen a price of $999 for a pro version. That's way too expensive for a tablet, if using it as a tablet instead of a PC.

  7. clickbait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The article explicitly says Microsoft store and site makes no such promise of an upgraded processor, all they is one report from a user that supposedly got told from someone in Microsoft that if they ordered they would get a newer processor (despite the website making no such promise). Why is this even a story?

    1. Re:clickbait by msobkow · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because you're supposed to froth at the mouth about Microsquishy instead of learning the facts.

      --
      I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
    2. Re:clickbait by drinkypoo · · Score: 0

      Because you're supposed to froth at the mouth about Microsquishy instead of learning the facts.

      Unless you have some reason to disbelieve the report, the fact is that the buyer was promised the newer processor by an agent of Microsoft and then didn't get the newer processor. You're supposed learn the facts instead of making shit up.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:clickbait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unless you have some reason to disbelieve the report, the fact is that the buyer was promised the newer processor by an agent of Microsoft and then didn't get the newer processor. You're supposed learn the facts instead of making shit up.

      Yeah, because some customer support flunky from whoever M$ outsourced it to is going to have authoritative answers. Get real.

    4. Re:clickbait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tell MS Shills to posting about Microsoft stories

    5. Re:clickbait by bloodhawk · · Score: 2, Informative

      unless the actual source is provided that made said promise and it was someone that you would expect to be able to make such a promise then yes the facts pretty much say the story shouldn't be believed as all the verifiable facts contradict it.

    6. Re:clickbait by gnasher719 · · Score: 1

      The article explicitly says Microsoft store and site makes no such promise of an upgraded processor, all they is one report from a user that supposedly got told from someone in Microsoft that if they ordered they would get a newer processor (despite the website making no such promise). Why is this even a story?

      Basically anyone selling anything will have in their terms and conditions that their agents are capable of making legally binding commitments, and nothing counts unless you have it in writing.

    7. Re:clickbait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you mean to say 'incapable'?

    8. Re:clickbait by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      unless the actual source is provided that made said promise and it was someone that you would expect to be able to make such a promise then yes the facts pretty much say the story shouldn't be believed as all the verifiable facts contradict it.

      Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to trust Microsoft, and those of us who remember them are doomed to watch you.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. Uhm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    So, company A decides to quietly upgrade gizmo X to ship with better-than-spec component Y. Months later, some buyers find Xes matching the original specs in the retail channel... news... not even at 11. A retail channel is a complex beast, you sell something into it, you'll never know when it comes out. Reminds me of the serial# checking you had to do on processors a few years back to determine if you had one of the good batches...

    1. Re:Uhm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except the "retail channel" here is the Microsoft Store.
      The news here is that apparently Microsoft doesn't know what Microsoft tablets Microsoft ships to Microsoft...

  9. Where can you buy it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No one sells it around here, impossible to get one, of course they have a lot of old model in stock.

    1. Re:Where can you buy it? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      No one sells it around here, impossible to get one

      Wait - you mean they've sold BOTH of them?

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re:Where can you buy it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No one sells it around here, impossible to get one

      Wait - you mean they've sold BOTH of them?

      Meanwhile the 2 Linux desktops are still sitting on the shelf gathering dust.

    3. Re:Where can you buy it? by lkernan · · Score: 1

      Meanwhile the 2 Linux desktops are still sitting on the shelf gathering dust.

      But wasn't 1999 the year of the Linux desktop, they're too late!

  10. Smart move, by Antony+T+Curtis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Lets face it: They're probably sitting on a huge amount of old inventory and for every 1 semi-tech savvy customer who specifically wants the faster CPU version, there will be 1000 customers who wouldn't know the CPU from their elbow.

    --
    No sig. Move along - nothing to see here.
    1. Re:Smart move, by ericloewe · · Score: 1

      Actually, it's quite likely the Surface Pro 2 inventory is rather limited.
      That's probably what triggered the whole story with the better processor, Intel probably ran out of the regular one (For some mysterious reason, the only difference is a higher maxmimum clock - the price was the same last time I checked).

    2. Re:Smart move, by badfish99 · · Score: 1

      Oh yes, another Microsoft shill who is trying to tell us that they've got 1000 customers for this thing. We're not fooled.

    3. Re:Smart move, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In the entire nation? Yeah, there's probably just about 1000 customers, and one of them is semi-tech savvy (knows what a CPU is)

  11. Not news by PPH · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Customer buys Microsoft product. Gets less that they were led to expect. Customer buys another Microsoft product, gets screwed again.

    Sounds like their core business plan. Nothing to see here, move along.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
    1. Re:Not news by HerculesMO · · Score: 2, Informative

      While it's always entertaining to read the same tired MS bashing, I got my wife the Surface Pro 2 for her work, and she loves it. It's an amazing machine, well built, great display, and has a wacom digitizer for her to take notes with. For $1000? Name me another product as versatile and portable. There isn't one. For all the MS hate, Windows 8 boots in 10 seconds from cold and it runs all the apps she needs or could need.

      The alternative was an iPad, but realistically to me it didn't make any sense because a lot of apps she needed were Windows centric or needed plugins, etc.

      For the right market it's a great product, and I think I got exactly what I paid for... an ultraportable that doubles as a tablet, and laptop in one.

      --
      The price is always right if someone else is paying.
    2. Re:Not news by MouseTheLuckyDog · · Score: 1

      While it's always entertaining to read the same tired MS bashing, I got my wife the Surface Pro 2 for her work, and she loves it. It's an amazing machine, well built, great display, and has a wacom digitizer for her to take notes with. For $1000? Name me another product as versatile and portable.

      Galaxy Note 10.1/ Almost half the price too.

    3. Re:Not news by HerculesMO · · Score: 1

      Also no Windows apps... for a certain market, it will do well. Like my wife.

      --
      The price is always right if someone else is paying.
    4. Re:Not news by David_Hart · · Score: 1

      While it's always entertaining to read the same tired MS bashing, I got my wife the Surface Pro 2 for her work, and she loves it. It's an amazing machine, well built, great display, and has a wacom digitizer for her to take notes with. For $1000? Name me another product as versatile and portable.

      Galaxy Note 10.1/ Almost half the price too.

      Um, he did say he got it for her for WORK... That means MS Office, email, etc. While I love my android tablet for personal stuff, its not capable of handling my work activities. Surface Pro 2 Supports Visio... For that alone I might pick one up....

    5. Re:Not news by symbolset · · Score: 2

      You forgot to say how you make $2300/wk working from home with this one weird trick

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    6. Re:Not news by LordLimecat · · Score: 1

      A galaxy 10.1 doesnt come with a nice wacom.

    7. Re:Not news by exomondo · · Score: 1

      The implication being that he is lying because it is impossible for a microsoft product to meet any person's needs? Personally I find the Surface pro to be really good, the weight and battery life (i have the 1st gen) let it down a bit but the screen and stylus make up for that, I dual boot Windows and Linux (both Ubuntu and Gentoo work well) so that combined with my iPad covers pretty much everything I need. It won't replace my iPad - some things are more suited to iOS and some to Windows - but it's certainly been a damn good investment. I'm not sure what your specific issue is with it.

    8. Re:Not news by ericloewe · · Score: 1

      The Note does, but the lack Wacom digitizer is the least of any average Android tablet's problems.

    9. Re: Not news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your wife has a market?

    10. Re:Not news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't even know your wife...

    11. Re:Not news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Desktops and Laptops are for work - Tablets are for dicking around.

      Sure, people will say they want to use them for work, but this never actually happens.

      Reminds me of those spoiled children who use the same ruse to convince their parents to buy them an iPad for Christmas...

    12. Re:Not news by Jason+Earl · · Score: 1

      Actually, this is a huge part of Microsoft's current problem. 10 years ago "getting work done," meant using Microsoft software. These days, not so much. Even when people do buy a machine to run Microsoft software they aren't buying $1000 pieces of kit.

    13. Re:Not news by jeffmflanagan · · Score: 1

      >While I love my android tablet for personal stuff, its not capable of handling my work activities.

      On its own it's not, but you can use Spashtop to remote into a personal or work PC to use software that requires Windows. I'd have bought a surface, but an Android tablet remoted into a Win 8 PC is close enough in functionality that I can't justify the expense of a Surface.

    14. Re:Not news by pr0fessor · · Score: 1

      Tablets are fine at work.. My brother uses one... I imagine it's a lot easier to carry around and scan inventory than a laptop or desktop would be.

      Can you help me carry the monitor I need to scan the stuff that just came in... get the 500ft drop cord.

    15. Re:Not news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Asus T100.

      - Full version of Windows 8.1 (boots in far less than 10 seconds, BTW)
      - Keyboard included, can be attached or removed at any time. (Just don't do it while it wakes from sleep, that will cause a Frowny-Face-Of-Death screen.)
      - Full version of Office H&S (Word/Excel/Powerpoint/OneNote) included

      Oh, and the best part... It's $400. You can buy two of them for the price of that Surface Pro 2, and still have money left over.

    16. Re:Not news by symbolset · · Score: 1

      The implication being that he touches the top 15 marketing points for the product in three paragraphs. Nothing more, nothing less.

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    17. Re:Not news by exomondo · · Score: 1

      The implication being that he touches the top 15 marketing points for the product in three paragraphs. Nothing more, nothing less.

      But he didn't. You seem pretty vested in trying to bury his opinion simply because you don't like it not because there is anything wrong with it.

  12. Situation normal (but annoying) by dbIII · · Score: 1

    See also wireless network stuff a few years back when the model number was kept the same while chipsets were changed. If people lost their driver disk it was a bit of a crapshoot to find the right driver for them. More than one vendor did that.

    1. Re:Situation normal (but annoying) by mmell · · Score: 1
      Still happens - I've got a Gateway ZX-6980, needed to do a full restore. Bought the five-disk restore set and when I'm done - the bluetooth doesn't work. Looks like they supplied four or five different drivers, none of them was the right one.

      Multiple downloads, driver updates, etc. later, still no bluetooth. Hey, I got 95% of my hardware back, that's what, 2-sigma (almost)? Not bad for Gateway (and before anybody says it - the reason I'm reinstalling Winders 8 is for my wife's use - CentOS6 was just fine by me, took a bit of fiddling to get the touchscreen working but beyond that...).

    2. Re:Situation normal (but annoying) by ericloewe · · Score: 1

      Not really comparable. The difference here is absolutely irrelevant, except during very heavy use (same silicon, higher maximum clocks).

  13. Internety by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I read 'Sburb'.

    You should really carry no less than 5 computers on you at all times, like a sensible person.

  14. Not a big problem by sootman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Both Surface customers have been notified and the situation is under control.

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    1. Re:Not a big problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hahaha, yeah that's funny.

    2. Re:Not a big problem by Neo-Rio-101 · · Score: 1

      Are you kidding? This is the Surface running joke!

      --
      READY.
      PRINT ""+-0
    3. Re:Not a big problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you kidding? This is the Surface running joke!

      yeah, it is a refreshing change for some after hearing the same saying about all of the two desktop Linux users for two decades.

    4. Re:Not a big problem by ericloewe · · Score: 1

      Seriously, these were never really funny. They're also completely irrelevant: the Surface Pros have been selling very well (unlike their crippled ARM siblings).

    5. Re:Not a big problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Satya, is that you?

  15. When will Microsoft Retire RT? by Mr_Wisenheimer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The Surface Pro is a great computer, basically a high end ultrabook in tablet form. Thanks to advances by Intel, this makes Windows 8.1 tablets available in almost every price range, and with the same battery life as an iPad, often at a cheaper price point if they are using the new Atom netbook processors rather than the high end ultrabook core processors like the Surface does.

    Given these developments, Windows RT tablets seem about as useful as Microsoft Bob. On the high end, they cannot compete with their own Windows x64 tablets. On the low end, they are too pricey and with too small of an app store to compete with Android. Also, the fact that the two tablet series carry similar names just drags down the market potential of the x64 Surface line and confuses consumers.

    It's time for Microsoft to take Surface RT, roll it into Windows Phone, and get out of the ARM tablet business. Let Apple and Android fight over the toy tablet market. Pulling stunts like shipping older CPU's in new products without telling anyone is just going to hurt Microsoft's business in the long run. A $350 tablet that can run Windows desktop apps is a potential money maker. A $400 Surface RT tablet that can run Office, browse the web, and do little else offers nothing over Android or iOS.

    1. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by hackus · · Score: 1

      Given the security issues currently with iPhone/Android, there is no way I would want, nor would I suggest putting a Windows OS on a tablet or phone.

      --
      Got Geometrodynamics? Awe, too hard to figure out? Too bad.
    2. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      I have a Surface pro 2. I can tell you it's a terrible computer. It tries to do two things and fails at both. As a tablet it's too heavy and bulky -- it has a fan! When's the last time your tablet starting blowing heat at you when playing a movie?

      So then you try to use it as a computer. Well, you can't on your lap really because of the floppy keyboard. Plus the trackpad is a joke so you have to plug in a mouse. You fire up the Desktop -- and usability goes into the toilet because either sh*t is minuscule on the 10" screen, or it's altogether fuzzy because the software hasn't been adapted to high DPI. The whole software system feels bonky, rough, un-thought-through.

      Oh and of course if you make the mistake of hitting the windows key you get a circus screen of flashing tiles all blaring at you with news and "friends" and stocks and weather and ads -- just because you wanted to start a program.

      Ultrabooks, thank goodness, have at least 11" screens but usually at least 13".

    3. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by aztracker1 · · Score: 1

      Windows RT is about much more than just supporting ARM... it's about getting rid of a legacy codebase. By releasing RT on a separate architecture, they can reasonably eliminate the compatibility without much pushback. If they released an x86/64 version of RT, there would be people up in arms. As it stands, it's a gateway drug. You can write .Net/JS based desktop apps and not have to worry about legacy overhead/bugs and one-offs. RT itself is a good idea, but the route they took is a bit backwards imho.

      --
      Michael J. Ryan - tracker1.info
    4. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by symbolset · · Score: 1

      The alternative is an OS with a browser that can't even safely display an image, with an office suite that can't even safely parse a text file. Android seems armor plated in comparison.

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
    5. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by Mr_Wisenheimer · · Score: 2

      Windows OS has been on tablets since Microsoft introduced XP Tablet Edition back in 2002. It's not exactly a new phenomena. Windows RT (which is a half a decade too late getting to the market), which runs on low end ARM tablets is the new phenomena. From everything I have seen, it is at least as secure as iOS or stock Android.

      It's problem is simply that it got to the market too late to beat Apple and Android to the punch and only about a year before Intel introduced low-powered Atom and Core processors that could compete with ARM processors in battery life. When an Atom mini-tablet starts at $350 and can run tens of thousands of existing desktop applications (even if most of them are not optimized for a tablet) and when the Android app store is huge while Windows RT is tiny, it just is hard to justify why anyone would want a second-generation RT tablet.

    6. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      seriously you think people are actually going to think your opinion has any merit if you demonstrate that level of idiocy? that's the sort of thing knowledgeable people bag out the technologically inept for...oh right but it's microsoft so we can pretend we're all morons! microsoft is insecure, macs dont get malware and linux is the most safe thing out there but nobody uses it!

    7. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by Mr_Wisenheimer · · Score: 1

      The weight of the Surface Pro 2 is similar to that of the original iPad (about a third heavier), something that I don't remember too many people complaining about being heavy. I guess after getting used to using tablets that were five pounds, the Surface Pro 2 feels light as a feather to me, but I suppose some smaller people, especially women, might have trouble with the weight.

      Also, remember that the Surface Pro 2 is a top of the line ultrabook in tablet form. There are much smaller, lighter Windows tablets that use the new quad core ARM processors.

      I would like to see them include a 12.5" model in 4:3 format in the future, but remember, like Google's Android and unlike Apple's iOS, you can find Windows tablets in all shapes, sizes, and price points from a variety of manufacturers.

    8. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by GigaplexNZ · · Score: 1

      It's not like Office is currently under active attack right now

    9. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by ericloewe · · Score: 1

      You're obviously missing the point of it then. It's magnificent as a notebook (as in sheets of paper, not laptop) replacement that can double as a usable Ultrabook or tablet.

      High DPI is going to be an issue until most software is updated to support it, that's true. Doesn't bother me that much though, Office 2013 does fine, as do the browsers.

      As for the mouse/trackpad issue: the thing has a touchscreen. Fingers work roughly 40 percent of the time and the Wacom stylus works another 40 percent of the time. That leaves ~10% of tasks that do need a relative pointing device, so I'm not too bothered by trackpads (but I do carry a bluetooth mouse for when I can use it, since it is a more natural experience than the alternatives).

      Disclaimer: I don't have a Surface Pro, but there is one in my household and I use a very similar device every day (Samsung Ativ Smart PC Pro - slightly larger with a more traditional keyboard base instead of the Surfaces' kickstand+keyboard combination. Otherwise they're identical when it comes to hardware).

    10. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by ericloewe · · Score: 2

      What are you talking about?

      All versions support all APIs. That means Windows RT supports Win32 (in fact, the WinRT API is just a fancy Win32 wrapper) and x86/x64 support WinRT.
      WinRT apps are only distributed through the store, while Win32 applictions are distributed like they've always been. The only exception is that Windows RT refuses to run unsigned Win32 applications, effectively limiting it to Microsoft's bundled stuff, like Office and IE.

    11. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2

      Well, a small difference in weight (1.9 lbs vs 1.5 lbs) is a lot when you have to hold something in your hands for a long time. After 4 years, the heaviest iPads are 1lb with some models less than 1lb.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    12. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And they managed the transition so well that not even Microsoft has a native version of Office for RT. Which makes the whole "it dropped legacy codebase" argument completely bullshit. If it can run a Win32 version of Office (and most likely IE), RT probably has over 90% of legacy support built into it that MS is just holding back on.

    13. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by Mr_Wisenheimer · · Score: 1

      Absolutely true, and if the iPad Air could run Mathematica, MS Office Enterprise, Matlab, IDL, et cetera, I would buy one in a heartbeat.

      My last tablet PC weighed in at just under 5 pounds. For me, that was about the maximum weight limit I felt comfortable holding in one hand for an extended period. The Surface Pro 2, by contrast, feels like a feather. I don't have to cradle it in my arm to hold it for hours.

      And it weighs less than the lightest Macbook Air, which is also quite a featherweight in my book. Again, I realize that there are people with weak wrists, arthritis, et cetera who really do need the lightest tablet they can get. The Surface Pro probably is not for them, but it is for me.

      In fact, just about the only thing I would complain about is the screen. I think the 4:3 ratio is better for business, I would prefer a 12.5" screen, and when my smartphone has a 1080p screen, that resolution on a high end tablet ultrabook seems a bit underwhelming.

    14. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have a Surface Pro 2 and love it. I'm a process control engineer and use it as my primary computer, since it is just as powerful as the desktop I got rid of. It also has great battery life. I have it connected to a 27" monitor running 1920x1080. It's perfectly clear as long as the external monitor is set to be primary. You can even make use of the start screen if you stop pouting long enough to spend the five minutes necessary to put what you want on it.

      Do you realize how cool it is to be able to take your primary computer out into the field and stroke a valve while you're looking at it? And not to have given up performance to achieve it? This is the first tablet with the horsepower and functionality to really do it well.

      Maybe you don't want a surface. That's fine. But in my opinion there is very little to complain about.

    15. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The weight of the Surface Pro 2 is similar to that of the original iPad (about a third heavier), something that I don't remember too many people complaining about being heavy

      Then you don't remember very well. The weight of the original iPad was one of the common complaints, as it was too heavy to hold on one hand for reading, and one of the selling points of iPad 2 is that it reduced the weight to something manageable.

      And you're telling us that the Surface 2 is even heavier than a 4 years old product (for which Apple has managed to reduce the weight even more with the Air)? You'll need to do much better than that to earn your payment, shill.

    16. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      Eventually the ultrabooks and tablets will weigh less over time. MS is at a disadvantage in that they have to use heavier Intel framework in the Surface Pro.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    17. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by Mr_Wisenheimer · · Score: 1

      Actually, I don't think the Intel framework has much to do with the weight. The plastic Windows mini tablets using Intel Atom processors are often lighter and cheaper than iPads.

      There is a lot of weight that the Surface Pro could shed without losing the x86 processor. They could switch to netbook processors with passive cooling. They could ditch the metal frame for a plastic one. They could ditch the internal digitizer. They could use a smaller screen with less protection. . . .

      The thing is basically an ultrabook with a removable keyboard.

    18. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      Actually, I don't think the Intel framework has much to do with the weight. The plastic Windows mini tablets using Intel Atom processors are often lighter and cheaper than iPads.

      Surface Pros have all used the Core i5 series not Atom processors which are heavier with all the required infrastructure than Atom.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    19. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT? by Mr_Wisenheimer · · Score: 1

      I know, my point was that Microsoft could manufacture a Surface Pro with an "Intel framework" (your words) that was about as light as an iPad Air. Other Windows 8.1 Tablet Manufacturers do.

      The weight is, to some degree, a design and marketing choice to place the Surface Pro at the high end of the market.

  16. Note to Microsoft: by jeremyzone · · Score: 1

    Next time you try a silent refresh, go ahead and ship all the old models out first before sending off the new one...

    1. Re:Note to Microsoft: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Went out again for second time this year to shop for a new notebook and PC. Noticed a large bright Microsoft display area full of PC's to try but after awhile, and after trying hard to find something, anything to like about win 8, I left because there's nothing of interest. It's truly just flashy brain numbing garbage! I saw many people stopping to try the PC's for a short time that mumbled curses at the PC's then walked away. Too bad the Microsoft idiot thought Win8 would be better than 7. Hope they scrap their Win8 mistake and base the next version closer to win7.

  17. Terrible news.. by OhANameWhatName · · Score: 3, Funny

    Microsoft Ships Surface Pro 2 Tablets With Wrong, Slower Processor

    Tablets? They sold 2 of them?

    1. Re:Terrible news.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whoooosh!
      He was kidding. One of them was returned.

    2. Re:Terrible news.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I own one of them :)

      Look, it's actually seriously cool. I'm not sure how the typical consumer would view it, but myself, as somewhat of a power user, found in the surface the perfect combination of portabilitty & power. Sure, wish they were a tiny bit lighter still and with a tiny bit more battery, but it's already great as-is: the display, the keyboard, the cover, the processing power. Heck, I can work on one doing the real stuff (VStudio + a shell w/ vi logged into a server ;) really comfortably, with all the windows apps on the side... When I get bored, switch to metro and hit the kindle app. When I need to move around, just take it w/ me and use the touch.

      Really cool product. My other option was a macbook air but the flexibility of this thing beats it by a lot!

    3. Re:Terrible news.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's just a shame you keep accidentally catching the comma on your on-screen keyboard...

    4. Re:Terrible news.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I figured it was just another "Look what we shipped under the noses of the package carriers!" story.

  18. Its not the CPU by rossdee · · Score: 1

    The thing that is most wrong with Surface Pro 2 is the operating system
    '

  19. that "wind8apps" site is a spam site run by one tr by DroidJason1 · · Score: 1

    that "wind8apps" site is a spam site run by one troll... no credibility at all. Simply reworded the report from pcpro.uk

  20. Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I didn't know you could install Steam on your Galaxy Note 10.1 and play all of your Windows compatible games. And, you can install Visual Studio, Blender, and all sorts of other programs on there too. That's pretty impressive.

    1. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait, you're saying I can play Thief on the Surface Pro? Pics or it didn't happen.

  21. Not as good battery life as iPad by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    The Surface Pro 2 has a battery life of around 7.5 hours in mixed use.

    The iPad has a battery life of around 11 hours for "internet use"

    The Surface has very good battery life for a laptop, but it's still not nearly where the iPad is - which you'd expect with it having a desktop processor and OS.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Not as good battery life as iPad by Mr_Wisenheimer · · Score: 1

      Their factory spec battery life for watching video is the same. As for real use, I suspect the iPad probably is better, but I would want to see a side-by-side comparison using multiple and identical test standards to confirm it, not tests from two different websites. There are too many variables that can affect battery life.

    2. Re:Not as good battery life as iPad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      From your first link:

      In our own Verge Battery Test we can confirm that the battery life on the Surface Pro 2 has increased to 8 hours, 51 minutes following the firmware update, an almost 20 percent

      So the comparison is ~9 hours vs. 11 hours (which is more like 10 hours in the mixed use case). Given the relative utility of each, I'd much rather the slight battery hit on the Surface.

  22. This is so MicroSoft! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I love it!

  23. Beta sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Except for one small problem: there aren't any non-legacy apps for it.

  24. Wrong-O! by mmell · · Score: 0

    You don't get to run Barad-Dur at Redmond by being dim. I'm no fan of MS products (and Win8 gives new meaning to the word 'abomination') - but they're pretty savvy when it comes to marketing. Come to think of it, isn't that how they got to be the giant they are? I know it wasn't in their source code . . .

    1. Re:Wrong-O! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "[...]but they're pretty savvy when it comes to marketing."

      Aaaahahahahahahhahahahhahaha. That's so funny that it's actually worth replying to 12 hours late, I truly hope you were being subtly sarcastic. Microsoft's marketing is so almost universally panned that I truly don't understand how you could think that. From the Vista "The Wow starts now" ads, to the truly cringe-worthy "Scroogled" ads, to the god-awful Windows 7 house party ads, Microsoft's marketing amazes only for how bad it is.

    2. Re:Wrong-O! by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

      i dunno, remember windows 95? with weezer and the rolling stones?

  25. Re:We have to unload the old ones may if we put 7 by spamchang · · Score: 1

    Put an i7 in there and your battery will be a hot cake...!

  26. Re:wooo 300mhz Woo by PhilHibbs · · Score: 1

    Are you implying that a 23% boost in CPU speed is irrelevant?

  27. Oh come on by fisted · · Score: 1

    Fast processor, slow processor -- I for one couldn't care less; I'm confident that the experts at Microsoft do the right thing for me. After all, I'm the customer.

    --
    CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
    1. Re:Oh come on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean you are the paid $hill ?

      I am not here to defend GooNSA, but at least they provide Truely Mobile Sigint Collection devices. M$ devices can realistically only jump from power outlet to another power outlet. In between you have 20 minutes of battery.

      Did I mention they have innovated into mobile camera collection devices ? They call it "glass".

      Here in the land of cars the manglement idiots want to hook up cars to NSA. I guess it is a cargo cult: "if you only hook up your stuff to NSA collection systems, the gold pieces will rain down on you".

      But still, M$ craputers are by no means mobile. Too power-hubgry, simply.

  28. Fool me once, shame on you by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

    Fool me twice...maybe it's not a problem with Microsoft, eh?

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  29. Re:the iPad is a toy. by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

    Have you ever tried to create *content* and effectively distribute it on an (unjailbroken) iPad? It is an exercise in futility and frustration. I have both (okay, not a surface, but Sony Win8.1 tablet), and I only use the iPad for surfing, watching the occasional TV show in bed, and as a big GPS in the car. OTOH, I use the Sony to edit CAD drawings, type up reports and send them to clients, mark up architectural prints (pixel accurate pen FTW*), compose music, transcode and distribute audio files...pretty much everything I can do sitting at my desk. The iPad is a toy - granted, a toy that has some utility - but it's just a toy.

    *I've tried about 4 different pens on the iPad, from $10 eraser points to $100 bluetooth jobs. None of it comes close to "writing". Even with the "same" program (Bluebeam, which has an iOS and W8 version) it's just painfully slow and inaccurate on the iPad.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  30. I have a Surface RT pad from work by waspleg · · Score: 1

    It sucks. This article does a great job of explaining why.

  31. Re:When will Microsoft Retire RT?I by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have a Surface Pro 2 too, and I can tell you when it's the last time it started blowing heat at me when playing a movie: never.
    Now, however, it has turned up the fan at some point when playing desktop games -- something no other tablet can do.
    DPI problems are software problems, not hardware, and I'm waiting for Gnome3 to fix them (yes I use Fedora on this). Just by increasing the DPI of fonts only it is already more than usable.

  32. so what by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh no, a logistics SNAFU!
    It's just a goof, they will replace the bad models with the good ones.

  33. So which is it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Although Redmond kept quiet about the improvement"
    "Microsoft promised to deliver only upgraded models"

    If they kept quiet about the improvement how can they have promised to only deliver the improvement?

  34. Yes it is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    but for a different problem. I'd love to see them run out of business along with Adobe for foisting non-standard software on the internet and generally making asses of themselves.

  35. is impossible for a microsoft product to meet any by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think your point is valid. The problem is should it? If a user needs a digitizer, Word/Office, Visio,etc. why try to make a tablet into a laptop? It's exactly what happened to the netbook. The netbook was supposed to be lightweight, portable, and minimal. Microsoft got into the act and not only could a netbook run XP, it needed a harddrive.

    The right tool for the right job. Making a table into a desktop, at this point in computing history, is simply foolish. Trying to be hip and trendy doesn't work.

  36. Time for a car analogy... by thevirtualcat · · Score: 1

    I recently bought a 2014 model year car. But they gave me a 2013 model since "they had a few left in stock that they needed to get rid of, first." Regrettably, since this is completely normal in the car industry, I have no recourse.

  37. They still sell Surface RT? So there's the rub by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think the rub in all of this is that the Surface models are not selling well. Given the fact that the Surface RT is STILL for sale on Microsoft's own store. Just tells me they have a LOT of old inventory to get rid of. But if people are actually buying a Surface Pro 2 with the advertised new and faster CPU and they get a older a slower CPU in the actual product. That to me is a bait and switch problem. No matter if they intended to do so or not.

  38. Reveling the lie by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Their factory spec battery life for watching video is the same.

    And yet, in real tests the iPad gets 12 hours of video playback (same link I had before).

    What you are saying reveals that Apple doesn't lie in marketing battery life while other companies do, nothing more.

    Yes there are lots of variables that affect battery life but Apple has optimized most of them.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  39. Amazing news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm amazed someone actually bought a Surface.

  40. Re:is impossible for a microsoft product to meet a by exomondo · · Score: 1

    Fair point, but really I prefer the wacom digitizer in this form factor than on a touchscreen laptop as the latter really doesn't work for active digitizers. The keyboard isn't entirely rigid on your lap and it does sit a little close to you but I don't find myself using it (or any laptop for that matter) on my lap that much, it's always on a table in front of me because it's more about portability. I suppose if you want to do extensive amounts of work with it on your lap then it probably isn't for you but that's ok, that's the nice thing about choice.

  41. Both by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OS and app ecosystem (MS Office) demand a fat, power-hungry CPU. Unfixable.

    Operative word is DINOSAUR.

    Finally, M$ meets the horse butcher. It took quite some time.