CNN Anchors Caught On Camera Using Microsoft Surface As an iPad Stand

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CNN Anchors Caught On Camera Using Microsoft Surface As an iPad Stand

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday November 6, 2014 @01:04AM from the not-meant-to-be-seen dept.

MojoKid writes Since the release of its Surface Pro 3 tablet, Microsoft has pushed their new slate hard. It's as if the company wanted it to overwrite that part of our memory that recalls the Surface RT and its monumental losses. This past August, we saw the company make a big move by deploying a boatload of Surface Pro tablets to every team in the NFL, gratis. All season so far, coaches and even players have made use of them to plan their next course-of-action, and for the most part, they seemed to be well-received. Unlike some of the products Microsoft tries to get us to adopt, the Surface Pro 3 really is a solid tablet / convertible. Unfortunately, at least where the CNN political team is concerned, Microsoft hasn't won over a few anchors, like they have in NFL, when they were supplied with brand-new Surface Pros. In recent shots captured and tweeted about, a Surface Pro 3 can be seen acting as an "iPad stand," and quite an expensive one. As humorous as this is, it might not seem that interesting if it were just one correspondent who pulled that stunt. Let's be honest, some people just like their iPads. That wasn't the case, though. There were at least two commentators using an iPad on the same set, despite having the Surface right in front of them and seemingly hiding it behind Microsoft's darling Windows 8 slate.

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Gibson got it right... by Indiana+Joe · 2014-11-06 01:08 · Score: 5, Funny

...the street does have its own uses for technology.

--
I can't decide if this post is interesting, funny, insightful, or flamebait.
1. Re:Gibson got it right... by jeffmflanagan · 2014-11-06 02:59 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  CNN commentator labels iPad controversy 'false and idiotic', claims he was using both tablets
  
  http://www.windowscentral.com/...
2. Re:Gibson got it right... by jon3k · 2014-11-06 04:11 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Because they have a paid advertising agreement with microsoft and microsoft is pissed and they're now in damage control mode
3. Re:Gibson got it right... by sexconker · 2014-11-06 05:34 · Score: 2
  
  Because they have a paid advertising agreement with microsoft and microsoft is pissed and they're now in damage control mode
  Yup. I was particularly amused that their giant touch screen had 2 prominent Microsoft logos - one on the bezel of the screen and one on the giant stand it was on.
  CNN has an advertising deal with MS to prominently display and use their products. That's fine - their giant touch screen works, the Surface is a great device, and they're actually using these things in ways that make sense. It's far better product placement than the fucking shit MS and Ford shove into sitcoms.
  The problem comes about when you let stubborn anchors use their iPads (because they refuse to try/learn anything else) on a 24/7 live feed. There's no fucking way that the iPads are going to remain hidden, and trying to hide them only makes it more glaring once their seen since the Surfaces are featured so prominently.
  If you made an agreement with MS to exclusively feature their products, don't let your anchors take iPads with them when they sit in front of the camera.
  If you have anchors who don't know how to use a Surface, show them how before they're about to go on air with their iPad.
  If you have irreplaceable anchors who absolutely refuse to switch to a Surface, don't agree to such terms with MS.
  CNN clowning around, as usual.
4. Re:Gibson got it right... by xevioso · 2014-11-06 05:57 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  If you have anchors using items with prominent logos, you aren't doing the news, you are doing advertising. Get out of the news business and become an advertiser. I go to watch the news to find out whats going on in the world, not to find out whats going on in the world while being subjected to branding. That's called shilling, and people wonder why the media is trusted less these days.
5. Re:Gibson got it right... by sexconker · 2014-11-06 06:13 · Score: 2
  
  If you have anchors using items with prominent logos, you aren't doing the news, you are doing advertising. Get out of the news business and become an advertiser. I go to watch the news to find out whats going on in the world, not to find out whats going on in the world while being subjected to branding. That's called shilling, and people wonder why the media is trusted less these days.
  You're basically asking CNN to go off the air. I'd love it, too, but I know it's not going to happen.
6. Re:Gibson got it right... by bickerdyke · 2014-11-06 06:40 · Score: 2
  
  I rather think the lesson should be that you need to give your employees the tools they need for their work (or the ones they work with best) - which for some reason for these channel employees were not the surfaces.
  
  --
  bickerdyke
7. Re:Gibson got it right... by gstoddart · 2014-11-06 07:03 · Score: 2
  
  That's called shilling, and people wonder why the media is trusted less these days.
  Some of us might argue that CNN got out of the news business after the first Gulf War.
  They've spent a very large amount of time being a completely partisan agency, shilling for certain positions, and being uncritical cheerleaders of bad government policy. To the point that they made sure any body they had as a guest giving the "counter point" was the least credible person they could find, and that they were presented as such.
  When Bush the second went into Iraq in 2003, CNN was first in line to say "rah rah rah" and accept the terrible evidence at face value. They spent the next bunch of years defending it, and then switched to blaming Obama for it.
  Many of us haven't seen CNN as a credible, objective news agency in a very long time. Because, well, they're not.
  They may be trying to reverse that, or at least the glaring perception of it ... but CNN is a mouthpiece for what Ted Turner wants broadcast.
  It's way too late to lament that CNN are a bunch of partisan shills. That's been self evident for over a decade.
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
8. Re:Gibson got it right... by houghi · 2014-11-06 07:20 · Score: 2
  
  These days? Ever heard of the Camel News Caravan. That was 1949.
  The only reason these shows* exist (be they news or a soap opera) is to sell advertisement.
  As always : We are the product.
  * Obviously this is valid mainly for commercial tv channels, although now even 'non-commerical' tv channels tend to look for advertisement and product placement. (Looking at you, Belgian VRT)
  
  --
  Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
9. Re:Gibson got it right... by droptone · 2014-11-06 07:42 · Score: 1
  
  If you have anchors using items with prominent logos, you aren't doing the news, you are doing advertising. Get out of the news business and become an advertiser.
  Moreover, get out of the business of your ad sales people defining how your on-air talent does work. That's only marginally more infuriating than IT deciding how the staff they support/enhance do their work. At least IT has some concern over usability and productivity.
  In both cases, when you have widespread contrariness, it's not due to the always present few knuckleheads who are dogmatically resistant to any change, it's due to a higher-up demanding that people change without appropriate training/input on how the change will negatively affect usability/productivity.
  Technology is intended to support and enhance productive activity not define how productive activity takes place.
  
  --
  Every post I make begins with the assumption P=~P.
10. Re:Gibson got it right... by jowifi · 2014-11-06 10:48 · Score: 1
  
  You're basically asking CNN to go off the air. I'd love it, too, but I know it's not going to happen.
  Get Dish. Voila! No more CNN!
11. Re:Gibson got it right... by the_arrow · 2014-11-06 19:52 · Score: 1
  
  claims he was using both tablets
  Well he did use both tables, one as a stand for the other.
  
  --
  / The Arrow
  "How lovely you are. So lovely in my straightjacket..." - Nny
Could have been worse by SomeoneFromBelgium · 2014-11-06 01:08 · Score: 1

If they were drawing on it (it's a surface afther all...)
1. Re:Could have been worse by Isca · 2014-11-06 01:15 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  At least they would have been using a core functionality. The surface pro is one of the better devices to come out of redmond. It hands down beats the Ipad in lots of areas except for the apps. But the Apps are what people want, and they certainly don't want to give up the interface they are used to.
2. Re:Could have been worse by spire3661 · 2014-11-06 01:21 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  They are NOT comparable devices. Surface Pro addresses an ENTIRELY different segment of users and is an entirely different class of machine (can run arbitrary code)
  
  --
  Good-bye
3. Re:Could have been worse by SmallFurryCreature · 2014-11-06 01:30 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  The surface pro is one of the better devices to come out of redmond. It hands down beats the Ipad in lots of areas except for the apps.
  and the sales.
  
  --
  
  MMO Quests are like orgasms:
  You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
4. Re:Could have been worse by ericloewe · 2014-11-06 01:34 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  iOS does not have a wider variety of applications than Windows.
  The vast majority of Win32 applications that runs on the Surface Pro is much larger than iOS's app store selection.
5. Re:Could have been worse by Isca · 2014-11-06 01:39 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  The vast amount of apps out there are not tablet optimized however, and the majority would actually be hard to use without a keyboard and mouse.
6. Re:Could have been worse by wed128 · 2014-11-06 01:47 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  technically, the iPad can run arbitrary code. they are both computers, and Turing complete even!
7. Re:Could have been worse by Ed+Avis · 2014-11-06 02:00 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  In terms of sheer numbers, I'd guess you are right: more Win32 applications have been written since 1995 or so than there are apps for iOS. Especially if you include in-house software.
  In terms of applications to do something most people want to do, which is a subjective measure I admit, iOS may have the lead. Particularly so if you look for software that's optimized for tablet use: there are a lot of very capable Windows programs which are rather less usable on a tablet than with a physical keyboard and mouse, whereas iOS apps are all designed around touchscreen use.
  For example, I've been looking for a map program (similar to Google Maps) that runs on a handheld Windows 7 PC with attached GPS. It's surprising how few choices there are that do the basic function of showing your GPS position on a map, and aren't some crusty thing last updated in 2004. True, if I included Windows 8 "Metro" apps there would be a wider choice, but still it is dwarfed by what you get on Android or iOS. (FTR - in the end I went with Anquet Maps for hiking maps and Mapfactor PC-Navigator for city use.)
  
  --
  -- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
8. Re:Could have been worse by nine-times · 2014-11-06 02:11 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  It hands down beats the Ipad in lots of areas except for the apps.
  I think this sort of thinking misses what has made Apple successful over the years. Techies keep worrying about whether a device beats another in terms of functionality, and meanwhile Apple focuses on usability. Yes, having a full desktop OS running on a tablet allows you to do more, but Windows 8 is a mess of an OS. Yes, Windows 8.1 improves the mess a bit, but it's still a mess.
  At least, that's been my experience. Using Windows 8 on a desktop, I'm thinking, "Well it would be pretty good if they got rid of all this touch-interface crap. It's confusing and useless." Using Windows 8 on a tablet, I'm thinking, "The tablet UI could use a little work because it's a little too confusing. It's great that I can run desktop stuff, but for that stuff, I'd probably be better off with a laptop." Using an iPad? I'm probably not thinking much about the features and interface, because it's pretty clear what the device is, what it does, and how to use it.
9. Re:Could have been worse by Wootery · 2014-11-06 02:11 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Continuing the Slashdot obtuseness: an iPad will run arbitrary (user-supplied, not-Apple-approved) JavaScript without issue.
10. Re:Could have been worse by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-06 02:13 · Score: 1
  
  and 95% of those are complete garbage to run without a mouse and keyboard.
  your point?
11. Re:Could have been worse by oh_my_080980980 · 2014-11-06 02:18 · Score: 1
  
  And yet more people use the iPad....
12. Re:Could have been worse by tysonedwards · 2014-11-06 02:27 · Score: 1
  
  So, you're complaining that using a Legacy OS in conjunction with devices that typically did not include GPS support and where touchscreen capabilities largely didn't exist doesn't have the application support that you'd want, namely up-to-date, finger friendly apps for you to use on your capacitive screen Windows Tablet?
  
  That's like the argument that people use for why they don't have Photoshop or XYZ Product for Linux... I have it and it is of tremendous value to me, but I can't use it to it's potential because I don't have all the tools that I need it to do.
  
  Handheld, finger friendly touchscreen devices running Windows are receiving support now because people are buying them, and the mere fact that there is a viable market where a developer *can* make money and thereby will be able to feed themselves means that they are likely to build said products and support those users as there is a segment of the market that *actually has* those products. And I say that as a long time Tablet PC User, back to the Compaq TC1000 and various models of the Fujitsu Stylistic slates over the years. Until Windows 8, they *were* a hobby! Great for Journal until OneNote came on the scene, and then OneNote was where it was at, and now with Windows 8 they're largely useful for everything. However, in terms of devices with GPSes and thereby helping with your use case, that is still the extreme minority and typically relegated to a USB or Bluetooth Accessory versus built in to *every* Android or iOS Tablet made, hence the disparity in what's available for each platform that also meets your functional requirements.
  
  --
  Thirty four characters live here.
13. Re:Could have been worse by hjf · 2014-11-06 02:37 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Objection! Speculative.
14. Re:Could have been worse by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-06 02:41 · Score: 1
  
  Overruled, concrete evidence is trivial to find.
15. Re:Could have been worse by RavenLrD20k · 2014-11-06 02:55 · Score: 2
  
  I strenuously object! I don't want to have to do the research! /s
16. Re:Could have been worse by Lumpy · 2014-11-06 03:03 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Except it's close to 2X the price of the ipad. That tends to blow it up hard.
  And honestly the Surface is not the only game in town, Fujitsu Stylistic has a better build quality and honestly is a far more mature tablet PC platform.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
17. Re:Could have been worse by Guspaz · 2014-11-06 03:38 · Score: 1
  
  Is it really so obtuse? As JavaScript engine efficiency improves, the gap between what you can accomplish with a native app and a JavaScript app narrows, and as CPU performance continues to improve, what you can accomplish with JavaScript increases. Lots of apps on iOS and Android these days are just thin wrappers around a browser anyhow, and the user never notices.
18. Re:Could have been worse by pigiron · 2014-11-06 03:49 · Score: 1
  
  You can not prove that they are Turing complete. No one at those companies claims that either.
19. Re:Could have been worse by TWX · 2014-11-06 04:00 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  As JavaScript engine efficiency improves, the gap between what you can accomplish with a native app and a JavaScript app narrows, and as CPU performance continues to improve, what you can accomplish with JavaScript increases.
  I've heard that argument since the late nineties. I'm still not buying it.
  
  --
  Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
20. Re:Could have been worse by TWX · 2014-11-06 04:01 · Score: 1
  
  Oh. Well, if you strenuously object then I should take some time to reconsider.
  
  --
  Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
21. Re:Could have been worse by jon3k · 2014-11-06 04:14 · Score: 1
  
  It's also just about the only device to come out of Redmond. Microsoft hasn't historically been in the hardware business. What are we comparing it to the Zune?
22. Re:Could have been worse by wed128 · 2014-11-06 04:33 · Score: 1
  
  I mean that the instruction set implemented on the iPad is Turing complete, which is true. i did not mean that the iPad is a Turing machine, which is not true.
  sorry for the ambiguity.
23. Re:Could have been worse by wed128 · 2014-11-06 04:35 · Score: 1
  
  I absolutely can prove it.
  Right now, you can buy the IOS development kit, which compiles objective-C code to run on the iPad. Objective-C is a Turing-complete language, and can therefore only be implemented in a language that is also Turing complete. the LLVM compiler that ships with the IOS developement kit compiles Objective-c to the instruction set on the iPad. Therefore, the instruction set of the iPad is Turing complete.
  QED.
24. Re:Could have been worse by pigiron · 2014-11-06 04:57 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry but the CPU is most definitely not and there is no proof that it is and therefore there is no certainty that the emulations that it runs will be executed correctly.
25. Re:Could have been worse by pigiron · 2014-11-06 05:00 · Score: 1
  
  You contradicted yourself in the other post.
26. Re:Could have been worse by H0p313ss · 2014-11-06 05:29 · Score: 1
  
  Betamax... Microsoft should go have a long chat with Sony
  
  --
  XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
27. Re:Could have been worse by sexconker · 2014-11-06 05:39 · Score: 1
  
  I absolutely can prove it.
  Right now, you can buy the IOS development kit, which compiles objective-C code to run on the iPad. Objective-C is a Turing-complete language, and can therefore only be implemented in a language that is also Turing complete. the LLVM compiler that ships with the IOS developement kit compiles Objective-c to the instruction set on the iPad. Therefore, the instruction set of the iPad is Turing complete.
  QED.
  Fail.
  Compiling from a turing-completele language to an instruction set doesn't mean that the instruction set is turing-complete.
  It just means the instruction set handles everything the particular compiled program does - it doesn't guarantee full coverage of the source language.
  Further, an instruction set being turing-complete doesn't mean the machine implementing it is.
28. Re:Could have been worse by sexconker · 2014-11-06 05:46 · Score: 2
  
  The vast amount of apps out there are not tablet optimized however, and the majority would actually be hard to use without a keyboard and mouse.
  The vast amount of "apps" on the iPad would be vastly improved with keyboard and mouse.
  The Surface has a great keyboard accessory. You can buy one without it, but it's really a core feature of the device.
  It also supports wireless mice.
  You can also use a real keyboard and a real mouse.
  Even ignoring that, the programs available for the Windows platform that work great with only the touch screen still VASTLY outnumber the "apps" available for the iPad that work great with only the touch screen.
29. Re:Could have been worse by Your.Master · 2014-11-06 05:52 · Score: 1
  
  Their surface division is 2 billion in the red.
  Cite? That seems like an extraordinary claim.
30. Re:Could have been worse by Guspaz · 2014-11-06 06:00 · Score: 1
  
  Browsers weren't running javascript at two third the speed of native code in the 90s, nor were they fast enough to run ports of recent games that are virtually indistinguishable from their native brethren. It stopped being an hypothesis when it started actually happening in the wild.
31. Re:Could have been worse by Em+Adespoton · 2014-11-06 06:23 · Score: 1
  
  On the flip side, what you can do with JavaScript Apps today is far beyond most of what could be done with native apps in the late nineties. There are even a number of system emulators written in JavaScript that fully emulate systems from the late nineties....
32. Re:Could have been worse by marcello_dl · 2014-11-06 06:55 · Score: 1
  
  The games I play feel different enough when played on the same pc, same driver, fixed function vs glsl path. But I agree. The problem is that many games are not benchmarks, as the entire category used to be.
  
  --
  ---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
33. Re:Could have been worse by gohmifune · 2014-11-06 07:24 · Score: 1
  
  They are also a video game console maker, and major computer peripheral maker. Didn't they have a hand in developing WebTV?
34. Re:Could have been worse by BoRegardless · 2014-11-06 07:37 · Score: 1
  
  Hmmm, then by looking at the video, we saw that the iPad attracted an ENTIRELY different set of users than the advertiser was trying to reach. Humor is so much fun.
35. Re:Could have been worse by DrGamez · 2014-11-06 09:44 · Score: 1
  
  Why is my Mom posting on Slashdot and how did she learn the term "arbitrary code"?
36. Re:Could have been worse by DrGamez · 2014-11-06 09:45 · Score: 1
  
  I don't want to do your Googling for you but in 10 seconds I found: http://www.computerworld.com/a...
  This article's first line mentions 2bn in losses.
  Not the most relevant article but I'm pretty sure you can find your own data from this point.
37. Re:Could have been worse by ericloewe · 2014-11-06 10:07 · Score: 1
  
  So, add a keyboard and mouse, for a much improved workflow and reduced RSI risk.
38. Re:Could have been worse by ericloewe · 2014-11-06 10:09 · Score: 1
  
  Oh yes, more people use iPads than Windows...
  What fantasy world do you live in?
39. Re:Could have been worse by david_thornley · 2014-11-06 10:16 · Score: 1
  
  Half the people I know with iPads have keyboards for it, and it really doesn't need a mouse. Why Microsoft so heavily advertised that there were add-on keyboards available is beyond me. It wasn't because they were doing anything new. Personally, I think that, given the advertising, they should have had a keyboard in the base price.
  I really, really doubt that the number of Windows programs that work well with touch only outnumbers the iDevice apps. Most Windows programs won't work well without a keyboard, and there's a lot of apps in the App Store.
  
  --
  "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
40. Re:Could have been worse by sexconker · 2014-11-06 11:10 · Score: 1
  
  There are orders of magnitude more Windows applications than "apps" for iOS.
  And you shouldn't compare those that work well with a touch screen to all "apps" for iOS - you should compare all to all or those that work well to those that work well.
41. Re:Could have been worse by unixisc · 2014-11-06 11:27 · Score: 1
  
  The vast amount of apps out there are not tablet optimized however, and the majority would actually be hard to use without a keyboard and mouse.
  Not just that, the vast number of apps are available on DVDs/CDs, and not in the Windows Store. But the Surface Pro 3 doesn't come with a DVD drive. So one would have to get an external DVD drive connected to an USB, and then use it. But it still begs the question - will the Surface Pro 3 recognize it, given that it doesn't have a Type A USB slot?
42. Re:Could have been worse by david_thornley · 2014-11-06 14:14 · Score: 1
  
  As of June, there were an estimated 1.2 million apps in the App Store, all of which may be considered suitable for touch use. In 2010, Ballmer estimated about four million Windows applications, most of which are unlikely to work well on a touch screen. Clearly, not even one order of magnitude. Moreover, I can't estimate quality. Most apps in the App Store are doubtless mediocre or worse. Most Windows applications are mediocre or worse.
  
  --
  "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
43. Re:Could have been worse by ericloewe · 2014-11-07 01:39 · Score: 1
  
  That's a stupid question.
  Yes, it will recognize any USB device for which Windows has drivers.
  And yes, it does have a USB 3.0 type A port.
44. Re:Could have been worse by sexconker · 2014-11-07 05:27 · Score: 1
  
  Apple knows about every "app" on their store.
  MS has no idea how many windows applications are out there.
  Further, you're discounting the last 4 and a half years of applications on the Windows side.
  In the space of 44 characters you go from saying most Windows applications are "unlikely to work well on a touch screen" to "Moreover, I can't estimate quality.". If you can't estimate quality of shit you don't use (hint - you can't), why don't you stop doing it?
45. Re:Could have been worse by sexconker · 2014-11-07 05:30 · Score: 1
  
  You quoted proof of your dumbassery.
  He said it was HARD to get Ebola into a country with modern sanitation systems. Yet not a week later we saw just how fucking it easy was for Ebola to get in AND how easy it was for it to spread, not just in the wild but in the very places that are supposed to be secure from that shit.
  Keep trying, though.
46. Re:Could have been worse by Zaiff+Urgulbunger · 2014-11-08 07:12 · Score: 1
  
  I know it's not really a fair comparison, but it is interesting that MS have now released a freemium tablet/touch version of Office for iOS and Android, but not for Windows 8. Obviously, it does make sense for MS to produce iOS and Android versions first since Win8 does already have the full desktop version, and there really aren't that many Win8 tablet users (relatively speaking)... but on the other hand, how much market share does Surface need? The Surface 3's are solid machines, but they're unlikely to win on price-point over Android or on desirability (at least to consumers) over iPads. So MS *really* needs businesses to buy in to Surface. If they don't... then that'll be that I guess?
47. Re:Could have been worse by david_thornley · 2014-11-08 16:37 · Score: 1
  
  Apple knows about every app in their store, not every app on an iPhone. There are legitimate and (to Apple's way of thinking) illegitimate ways of getting apps onto an iDevice that don't go through the App Store. Meanwhile, if you have a better estimate than Ballmer's, please tell me. You were the one making quantitative claims, and I'm the one who's using actual numbers.
  And, of course, there have been more applications since 2010, and the Microsoft counterpart to the App Store has something like 400K applications in it. So, if we add a million Microsoft applications in 4.5 years (which is likely high), we get 5 million to 1.2 million, which is about a factor of four. Certainly not "orders of magnitude", which is always taken to be powers of 10 unless specified otherwise.
  I can't estimate quality, so I'm not trying. I'm observing that lots of Microsoft applications were designed to work on large screens, with keyboards and mice. Those aren't going to translate real well to tablets and phones. IIRC, Microsoft Office got its own "desktop" environment on Windows RT, because they hadn't come up with a way to make it work well as a tablet app.
  So, it seems likely that the App Store has more applications that work well with touch only than exist for Microsoft Windows.
  
  --
  "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
48. Re:Could have been worse by sexconker · 2014-11-08 17:41 · Score: 1
  
  You keep saying you're not estimating quality, then you keep on fucking doing it, lol.
49. Re:Could have been worse by unixisc · 2014-11-09 12:18 · Score: 1
  
  Uh, no. Only if the Surface Pro is the master will it recognize USB devices - like connecting to a printer, which it should do if it has the slot A. If it were any other tablet like an Android or iPad, it may just be a slave drive readable from a Windows laptop.
50. Re:Could have been worse by ericloewe · 2014-11-10 02:42 · Score: 1
  
  All Surfaces have USB type A ports. None have ever worked as anything other than a USB Host.
  Just because other tablets are shitty devices incapable of operating like regular computers doesn't mean Surfaces are. Non-Pros are limited by Windows RT's limited driver support, but Pros are just like any computer.
51. Re:Could have been worse by david_thornley · 2014-11-11 08:18 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not judging app quality. I'm judging, very approximately, whether an application will run well on a given configuration, not whether it's worth having or not. There are maybe five or six times as many Windows applications as iDevice apps, but all iDevice apps were written to run on a touch screen and relatively few of the Windows applications were.
  
  --
  "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
What's Their Usual Workflow? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-06 01:18 · Score: 3, Interesting

If someone is used to finding information to do their job on one device (iPad), it can really obstruct their workflow to insist that they find their info on a completely different device (Surface) with a substantial learning curve and different apps, especially when under the extra pressure of being on camera. It's kind of like putting a NASCAR driver in a completely different car than he expects on race day with no warning.
1. Re:What's Their Usual Workflow? by MouseR · 2014-11-06 02:07 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Or ask said Nascar driver to make a right turn.
2. Re:What's Their Usual Workflow? by Applehu+Akbar · 2014-11-06 02:13 · Score: 1
  
  Users overestimate the difficulty of working on an unaccustomed platform and have a powerful tendency to stay with the type of computer they "learned on." Apple once understood this, and gained a powerful sales advantage by giving away their computers to primary and secondary schools. The end of that policy led to such a large drop in sales that the company almost went under in the Nineties.
3. Re:What's Their Usual Workflow? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-06 02:46 · Score: 1
  
  If someone is used to finding information to do their job on one device (iPad), it can really obstruct their workflow to insist that they find their info on a completely different device (Surface) with a substantial learning curve and different apps, especially when under the extra pressure of being on camera. It's kind of like putting a NASCAR driver in a completely different car than he expects on race day with no warning.
  Especially if the Surface isn't given to them and is used as a prop for the news room. For all we know CNN bought the Surface tablets for the news room and not for each anchor. It ends up being the equivalent of using a library's computer; sure it works, but it doesn't have your shortcuts.
4. Re:What's Their Usual Workflow? by spire3661 · 2014-11-06 03:40 · Score: 1
  
  What is important is defining a FUNCTION you want, implementing it on the hardware you have and then providing a bridge for your users to cross over to the new method of facilitating the function. If your method is sound, your users will adapt, or they are not good users and you should replace them. EVERYONE is a user now, there is no excuse for not being able to adapt to new methods.
  
  --
  Good-bye
Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by chrish · 2014-11-06 01:19 · Score: 4, Interesting

I'd happily give a Surface Pro 3 a try if you want to send one my way.
I was considering buying a Surface (some previous-gen ones were on sale for a reasonable price), but was driven away by the extra $$$ for the keyboard/case and the lack of decent apps in the Windows 8 store... there's a whole lot of crap there, and not a lot of things I'd like to use.

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- chrish
1. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by CastrTroy · 2014-11-06 01:39 · Score: 1
  
  With the Surface Pro, you don't have to worry about apps, because you can run full windows programs. You aren't just limited to what can run in the app store. You could even run a VM with Linux on it if you wanted. Run a web server, a database, Photoshop, or Solidworks. You can completely ignore the Windows App store if you want to. Personally I think it is a mistake asking extra for the keyboard though. They should make it included, and maybe add $50-$70 to accomodate the price of the keyboard. But adding $120 onto the price of an already expensive device is probably hurting adoption quite a bit.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
2. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by 0123456 · 2014-11-06 01:50 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Yeah, because I totally want to be creating Excel spreadsheets on a tablet.
  Being able to run Windows apps is irrelevant if they can't be used effectively without a keyboard and mouse.
  Besides which, you can buy an entire Android tablet for less than the cost of the keyboard alone.
3. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by CastrTroy · 2014-11-06 01:57 · Score: 1
  
  If what you want is an Android tablet, then go ahead and buy one. A Surface Pro isn't really comparable to an Android Table. The Surface Pro has an Intel Core (i3,15,i7) processor and is a full Windows Machine, and has a 12 inch screen. Just because it has a touch screen doesn't mean you should compare it to a $100 Android tablet in terms of price. It does so much more than an Android Tablet. If an Android tablet fulfills all your needs, then you should buy one because they are cheap. Or wait until the HP Stream 8 comes out which runs full Windows, and will only cost $150.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
4. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by Sleuth · 2014-11-06 01:57 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, but then you have to run some Android knock-off of Excel... On a tablet!
5. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by Cro+Magnon · 2014-11-06 02:06 · Score: 1
  
  OTOH, maybe an Android knock-off would work better than Excel, on a tablet.
  
  --
  Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
6. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by 0123456 · 2014-11-06 02:25 · Score: 1
  
  And you completely ignore my point.
  The number of people who want to run Windows apps on a tablet is roughly the same as the number of people who wanted to run Windows apps on previous generations of Windows tablets for the last decade or more. That is, hardly any, because they're not designed for it.
7. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by Chris+Mattern · 2014-11-06 02:48 · Score: 1
  
  It comes with a keyboard/touchpad.
  I thought the keyboard was $120 more.
8. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by Lumpy · 2014-11-06 03:20 · Score: 1, Troll
  
  Yup. I've been driven away because the price is simply outrageous. and at that price point, a non replaceable battery makes it even more of a "not gonna buy it".
  $600 and a non replaceable battery that will last 3 years is far more acceptable than $1400 and a non replaceable battery.
  Microsoft needs to NOT chase the "thinner is better" at their pricepoint. they can easily make the battery replaceable and only make the device an extra 2mm thicker.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
9. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by Lumpy · 2014-11-06 03:22 · Score: 1
  
  Google's office apps work fantastic on android tablets.
  Apple tables come free with the apple office suite and my coworkers have no problem opening Office files on it.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
10. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by Guspaz · 2014-11-06 03:45 · Score: 1
  
  I'd be happy to give the Surface Pro 3 a try, but it isn't a replacement for my tablet, it's a replacement for my notebook. It's an ultrabook without a built-in keyboard, the evolution of Microsoft's TabletPC. And there's nothing wrong with that, I've heard good things about the product... but as a notebook, not a tablet.
11. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by 0123456 · 2014-11-06 03:46 · Score: 1
  
  If you actually read this thread, you'd see that even he admits that the keyboard costs $120 more. You can almost buy a complete laptop for the cost of just the Surface keyboard.
12. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by ProzacPatient · 2014-11-06 03:48 · Score: 2
  
  and has a 12 inch screen.
  To be fair my Galaxy Note Pro is a 12.2 inch screen. I like it, I can handwrite with it and it does what I need but I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested in the Surface Pro 3 but given the outrageous price tag and with Windows 10 so close I think I'm going to hold off until Windows 10 gets closer to release to see what Microsoft does in respect to the Surface to see if the existing Surfaces get a Windows 10 upgrade or if there will be a Surface 4 Pro (Osborne effect anyone?).
  The main attraction for the Surface for me is being able to run all my favorite x86 applications on a tablet. Many people complain about Windows 8 not having many apps but there are a ton of Windows applications going back to the early 90's and I've tried the Surface in the store and I don't think that desktop applications are hard to use on the Surface at all. Also by this point I've gotten used to Windows 8 (good thing everyone else hates it because I've been able to get a handful of licenses for cheap) and I like the fact that all my preferences, start screen layout and Metro apps can be synced across all my computers as well as the Surface.
  That's just my two cents.
13. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by Dewser · 2014-11-06 04:06 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  My wife decided to try out a Pro 2 last year and it just lacked a lot. The Pro 3s have been getting much better reviews and I would say the hardware is certainly much nicer. But like many of you have commented on... The price is still a big negative for me. Sure their intro level 65GB i3 Surface Pro 3 is 799, but that is all you get. That does not even include their crappy keyboard/cover. For the Pro/RT/Pro 2s you had 2 options of keyboards, the Type Cover and Touch Cover. The Touch was the crappy no click keyboard and the type was an actual keyboard. But the prices were just ridiculous. Currently 119.99 for Touch and 129.99 for Type. Thankfully they have removed the Touch option for the Pro 3 but still leave you with a 130 dollar keyboard. They market the Pro 3 as a Macbook Air competitor, mainly boasting about Windows apps, removable keyboard, and touch screen. But here is what you get for a 799 Pro 3:
  64GB i3 1.5GHz
  4GB of Memory (64GB/128GB models)
  up to 9 hours battery life (WOW That is great! Oh wait... fine print... ) For Web Browsing :( so basically anything more than that you will be lucky to get 4 hours.
  Oh yeah no keyboard included in this... but we have a nice pen.
  oh and Windows 8.1 of course (psst this runs better on a Mac)
  Now what do you get with a base model Macbook Air for $899:
  128GB storage 1.4GHz i5
  4-8GB memory (for either model)
  They say similar 9 hours of wireless Web, but I've multi-tasked and got some good life out of a single charge.
  Keyboard included! Yep, you get that with the Air, no extra fee for it.
  It has enough power to run Windows in a virtual machine or bootcamped. It will only cost me a license for Windows (or not depending on your resources).
  The Mac touchpad and magic mouse work very good in Windows 8.1 so it is like a touch screen without all the finger prints.
  Now if someone gave me a surface, I would certainly use it, but at this time I would not drop the almost $2K to replace my fully functioning Desktop or laptop. I just recently picked up a nice HP Probook 430 and after maxing the the RAM to 16GB it handles all my VMs nicely. My wife now has all my Mac stuff.
  MS is on the right track, but they need better price points and marketing strategies, oh and to fricking throw in the keyboard! It is better to compare it to an Air but it is still Apples to Oranges as far as the tech goes. And you can't compare to an iPad either because again they are really not the same type of device. Then again with a nice BT keyboard and case, my wife uses her iPad Air like a laptop and only takes the MBP out when she needs to do something that requires a bit more heavy lifting.
  
  --
  Dewser - all around techy "In the immortal words of Socrates - 'I drank what?'"
14. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by hawkeyeMI · 2014-11-06 04:09 · Score: 1
  
  It's an ultrabook with no (default) keyboard. Despite being a long-time MS-hater, given my current needs the Surface Pro 2 is an excellent device. It's the only "tablet" I've ever succeeded in traveling with without regret. I've tried that with multiple Android tablets, and the one-window (or even two on Samsung) format + non-standard-keyed bluetooth keyboards always ended up causing problems.
  
  --
  Error 404 - Sig Not Found
15. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by hawkeyeMI · 2014-11-06 04:11 · Score: 1
  
  I am picky about keyboards, and the type cover is adequate for me while out and about. It's definitely the best tablet keyboard option I've tried, not that I've tried a ton. I do a lot of command-line stuff on it. The keyboard backlight is nice. It even senses when your hands are over it and turns the backlight on.
  
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  Error 404 - Sig Not Found
16. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by hawkeyeMI · 2014-11-06 04:12 · Score: 1
  
  Oh, and I need a tablet with an active stylus, so that's a big part of what drew me to the Surface line. I tried the Note 10.1 and the Note 10.1 2014 and wasn't happy. S-Note on those devices is a joke. OneNote is a really well-done serious note-taking application.
  
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  Error 404 - Sig Not Found
17. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by Quietust · 2014-11-06 04:20 · Score: 1
  
  You were probably using the "Touch Cover", which is indeed very difficult to use (since there's no tactile feedback). There's also the "Type Cover", which is basically like a super-thin laptop keyboard (backlit mechanical keys), and it's also the only one available for the Surface 3 (it's a different size, and Microsoft seemingly didn't bother making a Surface 3 Touch cover). Unfortunately, the keyboard has to be purchased separately, and it's also rather expensive ($130).
  
  --
  * Q
  P.S. If you don't get this note, let me know and I'll write you another.
18. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by marsu_k · 2014-11-06 04:37 · Score: 1
  
  Or you can run actual Excel... on an Android tablet!
19. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by 0123456 · 2014-11-06 05:29 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  So is it a bad laptop or a bad tablet?
  Microsoft gives you the worst of both worlds: a tablet that has hardly any apps, which, once you attach the keyboard, becomes an expensive, not very ergonomic laptop.
20. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by 0123456 · 2014-11-06 07:18 · Score: 1
  
  Bill, when are you finally going to accept that hardly anyone wants to run keyboard-and-mouse Windows apps on a tablet? I know you thought it was a great idea fifteen years ago, but surely, by now, the dismal sales figures of Windows tablets have proven you wrong?
21. Re:Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them! by Misagon · 2014-11-06 12:26 · Score: 1
  
  You can't properly use screen diagonals as a metric for comparing screens with different aspect ratio.
  The Surface Pro 3 (12" 3:2) has 7% more surface area than the Galaxy Note Pro (12.2" 16:10). It is more than half an inch higher at about the same width.
  The Surface Pro 3 has as much as 30% more surface area than a 16:9 tablet with the same diagonal.
  
  --
  "We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley
nfl forced to use surface by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-06 01:23 · Score: 1, Insightful

Microsoft didn't "win over" nfl teams and coaches. They paid so much money in sponsorship fees to the nfl, that the nfl required teams to use them.
Given a choice, they'd still be using iPads.
1. Re:nfl forced to use surface by nabsltd · 2014-11-06 01:46 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Given a choice, they'd still be using iPads.
  This is the first season that any electronic device could be used by coaches and players during an NFL game. They weren't using iPads before...they were using steno pads.
2. Re:nfl forced to use surface by alexmogil · 2014-11-06 02:45 · Score: 1
  
  They can still use the printouts and faxes, too. If you watch some of the old school QB's like Peyton Manning, it seems like he refuses to use anything but the printouts.
  
  --
  A winner is you!
3. Re:nfl forced to use surface by Anubis+IV · 2014-11-06 06:34 · Score: 1
  
  This is the first season that any electronic device could be used by coaches and players during an NFL game. They weren't using iPads before...they were using steno pads.
  You're arguing a technicality. 30 seconds of Googling turned up a 2012 article on the NFL's own website with the subheading How the iPad is revolutionizing playbooks for NFL players and coaches .
  While it's true that this is the first year they're allowed on the sidelines, suggesting they weren't using iPads before is patently false and doesn't address the previous commenter's assertion that they'd be using iPads if they could. iPads have been in use in the locker room and training facilities for quite awhile, not to mention the announcers, officials, and others who have been using them during the game, both on-air and off. The iPad was announced in 2010. Between the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the league went from having two teams using iPads in place of paper playbooks to having 14 teams using them, with the prediction being that all teams would have switched to iPads by last season (I haven't found confirmation one way or the other for if it actually happened).
  All of which is to say, it's a bit silly to refute a "[g]iven a choice, they'd still be using iPads" argument by suggesting that because they couldn't use them for 3 hours each week "[t]hey weren't using iPads", while failing to acknowledge that they were using them for the other 165 hours of the week.
Microsoft can't win by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-06 01:25 · Score: 5, Insightful

They put full Windows OS in their tablet, it's not as easy to use as an iPad.
They put a tablet OS in their tablet, it doesn't have full Windows functionality.
1. Re:Microsoft can't win by Savage-Rabbit · 2014-11-06 01:57 · Score: 1
  
  They put full Windows OS in their tablet, it's not as easy to use as an iPad.
  They put a tablet OS in their tablet, it doesn't have full Windows functionality.
  You could say the same about the OS X/iOS and Linux-Desktop/Android combinations. Put a desktop OS in a tablet and it's a bitch to use, put a tablet OS in a tablet and you can't do half the things you could do on a laptop and a significant portion of what you can do on both platforms is more clumsy and time consuming to accomplish on the tablet. Which is also why I've bought a phablet left my iPad at home andy only use it for reading, watching videos and playing games and drag my laptop with me to do real work on the road.
  
  --
  Only to idiots, are orders laws.
  -- Henning von Tresckow
2. Re:Microsoft can't win by jfdavis668 · 2014-11-06 02:46 · Score: 1
  
  The RT devices had no killer app. Each device needs something to set it apart. The killer app they tried to sell was a crippled version of Microsoft Office, which didn't work though the tile interface. Still too desktop oriented for a touch oriented device. Then they came out with Office for iPad, which is fully configured for touch. Why don't they port that to Windows RT? They may be able to get somewhere.
3. Re:Microsoft can't win by steelfood · 2014-11-06 11:45 · Score: 1
  
  They put a tablet OS in their tablet, it doesn't have full Windows functionality.
  Unfortunately, RT did have full Windows functionality. Which, when perfectly usable with keyboard and mouse, is completely useless when interacting via touchscreen.
  Metro was usable (albeit barely at times) with a touchscreen. Too bad it was only half-assed and offered practically no functionality.
  
  --
  "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
Rebrand old Windows RT devices as iPod Stands by jfdavis668 · 2014-11-06 01:25 · Score: 5, Funny

That is one way that Microsoft can make some money from them. As seen on CNN...
1. Re:Rebrand old Windows RT devices as iPod Stands by MiniMike · 2014-11-06 02:13 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  And if they slip, will they be the first Microsoft product to make an iPod crash?
2. Re:Rebrand old Windows RT devices as iPod Stands by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-06 02:47 · Score: 1
  
  iOS wasn't made to run on Microsoft hardware.
3. Re:Rebrand old Windows RT devices as iPod Stands by Ronin+Developer · 2014-11-06 03:16 · Score: 1
  
  Oh, come on moderators! I actually laughed when I read this comment (even if it was from an A/C)...It tied in perfectly with the the parent comment.
Yesbut does it run Linux by serviscope_minor · 2014-11-06 01:28 · Score: 3, Interesting

Yesbut does it run Linux.
That's not a glib comment. I mean it. In the thin, light (and good performance), the Surface Pro looks like a really, really nice machine.
It's as fast as the best Mac Air/Ultrabook. It's also the lightest in the category, falling under 1kg including the keyboard (I think even giving my venerable eee 900 a run for it's money). Not sure if the keyboard is good enough though. Other nice thing is it has a stylus. I don't really care for touch screens on a laptop at all (completely useless as far as I care). A stylus on the other hand makes a world of different when you bring out the GIMP (or inkscape). This is something I do actually do from time to time.
Can't stand Windows, as it happens (or OSX), so the question for me is whether it runs Linux. If it does, it will probably be my next laptop.
Funny thing, the only thing I've ever liked about Micros~1 (see I didn't go for M$) is the hardware. I used their keyboards and mice for years.

--
SJW n. One who posts facts.
1. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by jellomizer · 2014-11-06 01:35 · Score: 2
  
  The big problem with today's mobile devices, is that they are so locked down that it is nearly impossible (Sure it can be done, but it is tough) to install a new OS on it, or worse have backup media to restore it back to factory condition if you happened to prefer Windows over Linux for tablet usage.
  Unlike a PC where you plug in a USB Stick or a CD/DVD if you sill have one of those and when it is booting you can hit Esc, F1, F2, Del.... Whatever to bring you into the BIOS and say boot from this drive instead, you will need to find an alternative way of fighting the OS security to get a new OS on.
  
  --
  If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
2. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by serviscope_minor · 2014-11-06 01:42 · Score: 1
  
  Mostly, but the SP3 is a PC in a fancy box. It even has a USB port. Only one which is a bummer (my eee has 3 and the Zenbook 11 inch, sadly no longer updated) has 2.
  As for perferring windows: that ain't gonna happen :) Especially as I want it as a light laptop rather than a tablet.I have a bad back so those extra 2-300 grams matter.
  
  --
  SJW n. One who posts facts.
3. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-06 01:43 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not sure about running it bare metal...I always cringe at the idea of fussing with Linux installs on a laptop.
  It comes with Windows 8.1 so you could always spin up a VM via Hyper-V. That's my plan at least.
4. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by CastrTroy · 2014-11-06 01:51 · Score: 1
  
  I hear that people have run Linux on it, but that Linux kind of sucks on it as it isn't set up to use the touch screen very well. So you're paying a lot of extra money for something that has a digitizer which you can't really use to it's full potential. Also, I'm not sure how easily it can be fixed, but due to the high resolution of the screen, all the controls and icons show up super small, which would make it difficult to use.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
5. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by jfbilodeau · 2014-11-06 02:55 · Score: 1
  
  Hyper-V to run Linux? Sure! Let me spend $$$$$$$$$$ on a tablet just to virtualize my favourite OS and get access to a tiny fraction of what the hardware offers. There are cheaper tablets out there where I can natively install Linux AND get uncompromised access to hardware.
  The reality is some people don't want Windows on a tablet (or other computers for that matter).
  
  --
  Goodbye Slashdot. You've changed.
6. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by jfbilodeau · 2014-11-06 02:56 · Score: 1
  
  I don't have a problem running Linux on tablet. What WM are you using?
  
  --
  Goodbye Slashdot. You've changed.
7. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by serviscope_minor · 2014-11-06 04:13 · Score: 1
  
  It comes with a keyboard and trackpad (optional). I'd certainly get that since I want it as a laptop not a tablet. I've tried a touchscreen on laptops before and found it distinctly meh. Except it also has a proper stylus digitiser. I had one of those once, on an HP-Compaq tablet (fuck you Apple and your featureless slab with rounded corners) and even when that thing was current X and associated things like the GIMP supported the digitiser wit hpressure sensitivity and everything.
  Apart from the GIMP and Inkscape, I can't think of much else I'd use a digitiser for.
  As for icons etc: X has supported screen resolutions since more or less for ever. All the prorams I use can have their font sizes tweaked, so I don't see that being a problem. And I don't go in for icons much either.
  As for the price, it's expensive, but een ignoring the touch screen, whe nit comes to things with a similar power/weight ratio, I can't thing of anything that's substantially cheaper.
  
  --
  SJW n. One who posts facts.
8. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by hawkeyeMI · 2014-11-06 04:14 · Score: 1
  
  There are some issues with wifi drivers on the various surface pro models, but if you turn off secure boot it should boot and install. The latest kernels have pretty good support.
  
  --
  Error 404 - Sig Not Found
9. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by bazmonkey · 2014-11-06 04:20 · Score: 1
  
  Coming from my experience getting Linux on MacBooks, I would be worried about the battery life taking a significant hit running natively on a Surface Pro. Part of the wet dream of Linux on such a device (mine at least) is the long run time, and Linux never seems to do quite as well. There's going to be bluetooth headaches, I don't think the stylus will work completely (if I recall reading up on it correctly), etc.
  
  Linux in a VM on a modern OS X installation is the most pleasant experience I've had using Linux on a Mac... and I use it often. It gives me significantly more battery life than running it natively, no flaky wifi/bluetooth support, and OS X goodness is a swipe away. As long as it's fast enough for your needs, it might be worth not having to worry about driver support and still getting some of the power management the original OS offers.
  
  Something like a Surface Pro is useful for its convenience, not its raw power, right? If I offered you a Surface that will be a total hassle to work with Linux, or a Surface that was a bit slower but would work in Linux without a hitch, wouldn't you take the latter?
10. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by jfbilodeau · 2014-11-06 05:59 · Score: 1
  
  Something like a Surface Pro is useful for its convenience, not its raw power, right?
  What conveniences? The OS or the keyboard?
  Since the Surface Pro is limited to Windows, that flushes 'convenience' down the tube. On the other hand, if you are referring to keyboard/trackpad, I already have tablets and ultralite that do not have Windows on them. I don't see the convenience there.
  
  If I offered you a Surface that will be a total hassle to work with Linux, or a Surface that was a bit slower but would work in Linux without a hitch, wouldn't you take the latter?
  Hassle has never stopped me from using Linux. Now let me be clear that I am not generalizing and speaking strictly for myself: I use Linux because I like being in control of my PC. I'm a professional developer and I dream in C/C++. No matter the hassle, I like to ensure that my computer (table or otherwise) runs the way I like--and that's usually close to the metal.
  Again, the above statement is _not_ a generalization but my personal preference. I realize this is not what the vast majority of user wants.
  However, this said, I would like to know why someone would want to run Linux as their primary OS in a virtualized sandbox under Windows. Seems like an expensive--and limiting way to run Linux.
  
  --
  Goodbye Slashdot. You've changed.
11. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by gewalker · 2014-11-06 06:39 · Score: 1
  
  And here is article claiming they installed Ubuntu. A couple of pictures.
  The real question is drivers -- the article is pretty short on any real info on driver compatibility.
12. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by serviscope_minor · 2014-11-06 08:00 · Score: 1
  
  What conveniences? The OS or the keyboard?
  From my POV (I started this subthread), the combination of power and weight.
  I need something with hmore grunt and RAM than a netbook[*]. Generally a fast i5 or i7 plus 8G suffices for much of what I do. I hae a bad back and so I don't want to keep lugging my aging Lenovo W510 around.
  The Surface Pro looks to be the lightest machine available with acceptable specs. And frankly is lighter than almost any PC even wit much worse specs.
  So, the convenience is the convenience of power and weight.
  The proper stylus is an interesting extra.
  But yeah, I'm happy to have the hassle of Linux too. It will run gcc/g++, qucs, octave, Eagle CAD, and whatever it is I need.
  [*]except netbooks are now heavier.
  
  --
  SJW n. One who posts facts.
13. Re:Yesbut does it run Linux by rdnetto · 2014-11-07 17:58 · Score: 1
  
  I hear that people have run Linux on it, but that Linux kind of sucks on it as it isn't set up to use the touch screen very well. So you're paying a lot of extra money for something that has a digitizer which you can't really use to it's full potential. Also, I'm not sure how easily it can be fixed, but due to the high resolution of the screen, all the controls and icons show up super small, which would make it difficult to use.
  Keep in mind that Linux is just a kernel, even if most people use the term to refer to the entire OS. If you can run Linux and X (or Wayland) on it, that opens up a lot of options, such as KDE Plasma Active, Jolla, or even just Gnome 3.
  
  --
  Most human behaviour can be explained in terms of identity.
This is news worthy? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-06 01:34 · Score: 1

It was one anchor, and she probably wanted to use her own personal device rather than the Surface provided. Why does anyone care about this?
1. Re:This is news worthy? by amiga3D · 2014-11-06 02:11 · Score: 2
  
  It's the humor. You don't see the humor in a hideously expensive tablet computer by Microsoft being used as a stand for an Apple iPad? Turn in your geek badge right now.
I don't believe it by unixcorn · 2014-11-06 01:35 · Score: 1

To me, the picture looks like they were using both devices. If not, why not line up the iPad to completely block the Surface?
1. Re:I don't believe it by Wycliffe · 2014-11-06 03:11 · Score: 1
  
  How is it that Microsoft marketing can screw things up so consistently?
  It's not microsoft's fault. If they want greater adoption, donate them to the schools. If they want
  greater publicity, donate them to newscasters (which is what they did). The problem is that if
  you give 100s of devices away then yes more people will use them but people will still use other
  devices too unless you actually ban all other devices. There are two photos. How many photos
  are there of just the surface or just an ipad? You're never going to get 100% of people to like and
  use your product. Yes, it looks bad, but with the popularity of the ipad it was bound to happen
  a few times where they are caught in the same room with someone using one and not the other.
And they say.. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-06 01:44 · Score: 5, Funny

Microsoft doesn't support Apple products..
Re:1 million sold by sandytaru · 2014-11-06 02:03 · Score: 1

But if you're going after people who had been using windows laptops before and didn't need a lot of horsepower, they're fantastic. My husband is a professor. His school offered all the profs iPads; he asked for a Surface instead. He's used the heck out of that thing. It handles his email, runs Office, plays videos, and even lets him run some video game emulators. It's the opposite of my bulky fat gaming laptop, although my system can run circles around his Surface in terms of sheer horsepower.

--
Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
Re:Still not very interesting? by amiga3D · 2014-11-06 02:09 · Score: 2

It's fucking hilarious.
I've Actually Been Kicking Around The Idea by Greyfox · 2014-11-06 02:11 · Score: 1

The surface pro looks like it'd be a halfway decent little machine once you get done wiping windows and installed Ubuntu on it. And Ubunutu looks like it'd be a halfway decent OS once you got done wiping Unity and install Enlightenment on it. I've been keeping an eye out for a possible replacement for an aging 17" powerbook, which was also a pretty decent machine once you got done wiping OSX and installed Ubuntu on it. I'd mostly be previewing videos from a GoPro, processing them minimally with Kdenlive, and uploading them to youtube. It would be nice to have a few more gigabytes of storage than the current round of tablets offer, as less than a couple hundred gigabytes starts to get cramped awfully fast when you're pushing video around like that, but I wouldn't be out more than a week or so at a time and could just sync up with a file server at the house with git annex whenever I'm home.

--
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Re:1 million sold by oh_my_080980980 · 2014-11-06 02:20 · Score: 1

Wow read email, play videos and games...yeah tablets can't do that *eye roll*
Re:I have an idea by DougOtto · 2014-11-06 02:30 · Score: 4, Insightful

Just because you value a SD slot more than life itself doesn't mean that everyone else does. I use three or four different platforms every day. Never once have I caught myself saying: "damnit, if only I had a SD card slot!"

Physical media is a pain in the ass.

--
Solving Unix problems since 1989...
It's real easy... by tibit · 2014-11-06 02:42 · Score: 3, Interesting

You can't make people use a device by edict. Just because a sports team, a league, or a broadcaster has signed some contracts, it doesn't magically make their users productive on another device. Microsoft dropped the ball by not providing decent applications for their own platform themselves. They supposedly know how to write software, yet they steadfastly refuse to write apps for their mobile platforms that are good enough to make people switch. All it'd take is good apps, nothing more, nothing less.

--
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
1. Re:It's real easy... by PsychoSlashDot · 2014-11-06 05:19 · Score: 1
  
  That's speculation; we don't know if (for instance) the anchors were doing their personal TwitFaceMyBookSpaceOGram whatever, or if they were "being productive". To start asserting that this was happening because Microsoft can't write software is just making stuff up.
  
  --
  "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
2. Re:It's real easy... by tibit · 2014-11-06 05:42 · Score: 2
  
  It doesn't matter what the anchors were doing, why would it matter if they were productive or not? People use things that are useful to them, whether for work or recreation. A piece of computing hardware is useless without good software for it. Conversely, some piss-poor hardware can be useful when given good enough software. Old Apple hardware still sells for "outrageous" amounts of money, because people like the experience of using an Apple-built environment, and the applications that run in it. For the same price they could get a much more powerful new PC.
  Call me an Apple fanboy all you want, but OS X is still, as far as I'm concerned, the only sane Unix environment for desktop use. Heck, for many, many Intel desktop applications that don't use hacks, it still offers a wonderful level of backwards-compatibility. Sane Intel or universal binary software from the days of 10.5 still works in 10.10. Without recompilation of any sort. This mostly can't be said of Linux, unfortunately :(
  
  --
  A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
Probabaly cheaper than OEM by Overzeetop · 2014-11-06 02:44 · Score: 3, Funny

I think the Surfaces will be less expensive than most of the Apple branded and MFI certified components.

--
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
1. Re:Probabaly cheaper than OEM by david_thornley · 2014-11-06 10:27 · Score: 1
  
  Why would you think that? You don't have to speculate. You can compare prices right now. Hint: it's not a good selling point for Microsoft.
  
  --
  "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
Because CNN anchors... by websitebroke · 2014-11-06 02:44 · Score: 1

... or NFL coaches for that matter, are who we look to for good judgment in computing.
Missing the point by loftarasa · 2014-11-06 02:46 · Score: 2

The people ITT comparing the Surface Pro 3 to an iPad have got it completely wrong. The Surface competes against the Air, as a lightweight, full blown computer. The fact that it can detatch its keyboard and work with touch-only is an extra, but it is not how Surface owners spend the majority of their time.
Re:I have an idea by jfbilodeau · 2014-11-06 03:03 · Score: 2

IQ test != IT savviness
Most people probably have no idea what a MicroSD and would probably want to steer clear of it. (A micro sexual disease??? Is that like Ebola???)

--
Goodbye Slashdot. You've changed.
Re:Ha Ha Ha humorous by Russ1642 · 2014-11-06 03:32 · Score: 3, Interesting

The summary isn't even correct. The Surfaces were there for advertising only. Sure the hosts had a choice to use whatever they wanted but the Microsoft product had to be on display. The real screwup was by the advertising managers who agreed to the deal.
Re: Hey, MS, give them to people who will use them by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-06 03:32 · Score: 1

The Dell Venue 8 Pro ids a full x86 Windows tablet. Full price for them is down around $250 now and you can find deals for them at under $200. They run full Windows 8.1 with an x86 processor, and come bundled with Office 2013 at no extra cost.
So it's not very expensive to try out real Excel on a Windows tablet. I have one, and the browsing experience on Internet Explorer on a tablet is great. Everything just works on every website. It's by far my preferred tablet at home for casual web surfing.
This baffles me... by TheBilgeRat · 2014-11-06 03:34 · Score: 4, Interesting

Off topic: I cannot imagine for one second that Ubuntu through whatever hack is required to run natively on a macbook is a better user experience than OSX itself. I get a lot of the legitimate mac bashing that goes on (expensive hardware, elitist culture, etc etc) but the OSX gripes baffle me.
I'm typing this on an early 2009 macbook my alma mater handed me freshman year. It started with Leopard and is now running Yosemite. It has a unix shell, it has vim, it has a compile toolchain (clang via xcode and gcc via homebrew), it has git...it even has x11. OSX is unix, and a darn good one. Not only that it came preloaded to edit your gnar vids from your snowboard go pro.
Back on topic, the Surface Pro 3 is a great little machine. Got one for my daughter for her graduation present, as she didn't want to learn mac or droid and wanted something to replace her aging laptop. She takes notes with the pen in her own handwriting. The keyboard/cover/thing is actually a decent keyboard - the trackpad on it is kind of meh, however. I just wish the price points were a little lower, but that's just cos I'm a cheapskate.
1. Re:This baffles me... by bazmonkey · 2014-11-06 04:32 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  I agree entirely. For me it was the power management: native Linux just doesn't come close to OS X's performance. We're talking a nearly 50% hit.
  
  I enjoy OS X just fine, but between work and tinkering, I still need to be on Linux quite a bit. I have found a Linux VM inside OS X to be the most pleasant Linux experience on a Mac I've ever had. Free of driver hassle, OS X goodies are just a swipe away, and I still see much of the battery life that drew me to a Macbook in the first place.
  
  Assuming the Surface Pro 3 could handle the VM (I have no idea), I would be all over that if I was in the market again.
2. Re:This baffles me... by drinkypoo · 2014-11-06 05:32 · Score: 1
  
  Off topic: I cannot imagine for one second that Ubuntu through whatever hack is required to run natively on a macbook is a better user experience than OSX itself.
  have you ever used Linux with Compiz (and any decorator) along with all its various plugins, plus a dock you like? You might try avant-window-navigator, if indeed it's still called that. AWN provides a maclike dock which is dramatically more configurable. In short, Compiz+AWN gives you all the same functionality and (if you like) behavior as the mac, including Expo[se] and the like. But it's just more configurable in every way. You can change every key and mouse binding, you can change behavior and appearance of most elements, you can move widgets around to new locations. It's everything the mac is, and then some — at least in the UI department.
  The only place Linux falls down is applications, there's still more of them for the Mac given that the popular ones on Linux are there too.
  As for what it runs like on a macbook, I don't really know, but why would it require a hack? A macbook is a PC. Linux runs fine on PCs.
  
  Back on topic, the Surface Pro 3 is a great little machine.
  
  Yeah, but Windows. I don't trust Windows as far as I can throw it, not even on a desktop, and certainly not a tablet.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
3. Re:This baffles me... by TheBilgeRat · 2014-11-06 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  have you ever used Linux with Compiz (and any decorator) along with all its various plugins, plus a dock you like? You might try avant-window-navigator, if indeed it's still called that. AWN provides a maclike dock which is dramatically more configurable. In short, Compiz+AWN gives you all the same functionality and (if you like) behavior as the mac, including Expo[se] and the like. But it's just more configurable in every way. You can change every key and mouse binding, you can change behavior and appearance of most elements, you can move widgets around to new locations. It's everything the mac is, and then some — at least in the UI department.
  The only place Linux falls down is applications, there's still more of them for the Mac given that the popular ones on Linux are there too.
  As for what it runs like on a macbook, I don't really know, but why would it require a hack? A macbook is a PC. Linux runs fine on PCs.
  Oh, sure. Jumped on compiz way back in the day - 2006 ish? Spent hours futzing with kewl eye-candy, making all my friends go 'ooh!' with the cube. But, depending on your brand of macbook, getting Ubuntu on it is not as simple as you think. And considering that all you are gaining is some ability to tweak your desktop UI? Not really worth it. Those kids in Cupertino spent some time making sure that once you did pay the Apple tax, that at least you wouldn't have a shitty OS experience.
  Plus, in terms of my linux UI choices these days? Hard to beat dwm - just recompile with your altered source code and voila! Beat THAT for customization.
  If I'm feeling really froggy, I'll throw Openbox on - maybe even add Tint2.
  
  Back on topic, the Surface Pro 3 is a great little machine.
  Yeah, but Windows. I don't trust Windows as far as I can throw it, not even on a desktop, and certainly not a tablet.
  With so many vectors for your privacy to escape through, I never worry about Microsoft anymore. So its a closed garden. Who cares, really? By the time you would need to throw linux on it in a few years I'm sure there will be a wiki and about twenty distro flavors to choose from.
4. Re:This baffles me... by TheBilgeRat · 2014-11-06 07:17 · Score: 1
  
  Although, come to think of it, he did say POWERbook. That definitely changes it up a bit. If its PowerPC, not much choice but to hop to linux.
5. Re:This baffles me... by Greyfox · 2014-11-06 12:32 · Score: 1
  
  The hack is pretty much just putting the DVD in the slot and booting to it. It's just another OS install. Pretty sure you could do it with a USB memory stick as well. It pretty much comes down to personal preference, doesn't it? I've been using Linux since the mid 90's and UNIX since the late 80's. I work exclusively with free software and never purchased any OSX software. Things both Unixy and Javay always felt like second-class citizens on OSX -- directories were laid out in odd places, upgrading packages was clunky, getting X11 working felt awkward, trying to update pre-installed UNIX applications was a pain and so forth. I was maintaining this additional layer that I wasn't really using and which was getting in my way. So I decided to reformat the system over to Ubuntu.
  Several of my complaints at that time revolved around Java updates for the system. I was doing a lot of Java development at the time and running on Apple software, the only game in town for Java updates was Apple and they just weren't doing them. Since then my attitude toward Java has shifted from mercenary ambivalence to outright hatred and that wouldn't really be an issue anymore. But the fact of the matter is that I'll always just feel most comfortable on a Linux system anyway.
  
  --
  I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Re:I have an idea by TheBilgeRat · 2014-11-06 03:38 · Score: 1

I run into this on my cell phone a lot, or at least did. If you have "enough" onboard storage, I never think about whether it has an sd slot or not. Its only when "enough" becomes "not enough" that I get testy. I guess the rule of thumb is spring for as much onboard storage as you can.
Realistically... by Lendrick · 2014-11-06 03:44 · Score: 1, Interesting

The anchors in question have iPads and are comfortable using them. Microsoft almost certainly paid CNN to have all their anchors use Surface tablets on air, and the anchors probably aren't particularly thrilled that they have to ditch the platform they're comfortable with. I'm sure that now that this (admittedly hilarious) picture has circulated, it will be mandated that CNN anchors not have iPads anywhere near them while on the air.
Re:Ha Ha Ha humorous by Thud457 · 2014-11-06 04:01 · Score: 1

Dr. Funk was a real person, who led a life most of us can only dream of and has a drink named after him. But I doubt he could fly.

--
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Dual Screen? by Grizzley9 · 2014-11-06 04:01 · Score: 1

The pics could easily be taken out of context though. Perhaps the Surface Pros were being used to display other data while they could also look up or get info from their iPads? Dual Screen work flow? I fail to see how this is some controversy.
Just taking a wild guess but... by holiggan · 2014-11-06 04:03 · Score: 1

... maybe the iPads are their "personal" devices and the Surface are "work" devices?
Nothing against people using either iPads, Surfaces or Nexus, but perhaps the Surfaces are "work assigned" gear, and being managed centrally via GPOs and AD (it is Windows afterall, so it is definitly possible), and maybe are locked down from "amusing sites" and games, and so the commentators have to use their iPads for their Facebook or Farmville fixes.
Just a wild guess.

--
"A sysadmin is a cross between a detective, a police officer, a gardener, a doctor and a fireman"
What's in a name by rokstar · 2014-11-06 04:30 · Score: 1

The NFL anchors are using them however the seem to have a problem remembering the name and keep defaulting back to calling it an "Ipad". At least on one occasion I heard someone call it an "Ipad like device" which is better I guess but not by much. Could be worse I suppose, I have people in my office who still refer to $SMARTPHONE as their 'Treo'.
Re:hey microsoft... by Russ1642 · 2014-11-06 04:33 · Score: 1

I'll bet they had an exclusivity deal. Now they need to decide how they're going to approach the contract violation issue.
"The Surface Pro is a stable platform" by tlambert · 2014-11-06 05:03 · Score: 5, Funny

...the street does have its own uses for technology.
"The Surface Pro is a stable platform on which I rest my iPad"
1. Re:"The Surface Pro is a stable platform" by Nikker · 2014-11-06 06:31 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  You mean: "The Surface Pro is a stable platform with industry leading device interoperability!"
  
  --
  A loop, by its nature, continues. If that didn't make sense, start reading this sentence again.
2. Re:"The Surface Pro is a stable platform" by BillX · 2014-11-06 16:44 · Score: 2
  
  And excellent 3rd-party hardware support.
  
  --
  Caveat Emptor is not a business model.
3. Re:"The Surface Pro is a stable platform" by Megane · 2014-11-07 00:40 · Score: 1
  
  There is a story in one of those little "zen computer parables" books, which goes something like this...
  A manager pushed a little box on wheels into the computer room. He said "I would like you to use our new computer as a platform for future development." A month later the manager came back and was unhappy to see the computer in the corner of the room, covered with random printouts. The developer said "the printouts are future development, and the new computer makes a fine platform for them."
  
  --
  #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
Dual Use by SuperKendall · 2014-11-06 05:09 · Score: 4, Funny

claims he was using both tablets
Of course he didn't just use it to hold up an iPad!
Later on he put down the stand and put a cup of coffee on it too. Totally no rings on the table.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
It's all in the name by SuperKendall · 2014-11-06 05:11 · Score: 5, Funny

If you don't want people putting other things over your product, don't name it Surface.

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Re:You've been Clickbaited. by 0123456 · 2014-11-06 05:31 · Score: 1

So you mean it's really just a Microsoft ad trying to push Surfaces as something that might be useful to iPad users?
Re:I have an idea by drinkypoo · 2014-11-06 05:34 · Score: 1

I own a Nexus 4 and repeatedly I have found myself saying that. Just because you have a hard time with physical media don't assume the rest of us are always losing our uSD cards. I bought an itsy bitsy tackle box for mine. Too bad I can't stick one in my phone. I've actually used my Xperia Play (which is also my VoIP phone and my clock) just to put some files on a SD card before, so I could stick it in my MK908.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:You've been Clickbaited. by sexconker · 2014-11-06 05:52 · Score: 1

Read the article (it lies) and look at the picture. The Surface isn't being used as a stand. Both anchors have devices in their hands that aren't Surfaces, and nothing is touching the Surfaces.
http://hothardware.com/newsimages/Item31550/CNN_Using-Surface3-As-iPad-Stands.jpg
You're a fucking moron. It was being used as a stand by several anchors.
Proof: https://twitter.com/adamUCF/st...
Did they blame it on racism? by gelfling · 2014-11-06 05:55 · Score: 1

Or misogyny?
Re:I have an idea by phantomfive · 2014-11-06 06:08 · Score: 2

You know what I'd like to see? An IQ test of anyone who uses Apple products all the time and an IQ test of people who use anything else. Because an intelligent person would use both and really before even powering it on, the micro SD slot would make it a clear winner.
Maybe different people have different preferences. I don't care about the micro SD slot at all, but I do care that the iPad is not open. I care enough about that to only use a computer than runs on a Forth machine if I need to.

So once again, different people care about different things. To some, the micro SD slot doesn't matter.

--
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Re:I have an idea by Em+Adespoton · 2014-11-06 06:16 · Score: 1

I've generally found that about the time "enough" is no longer enough, the I/O speeds of the removable storage seem slow and small enough that I get testy. Yes Palm devices and SDHC support, I'm looking at you, among others.
Better spin from MS: by samwichse · 2014-11-06 09:57 · Score: 1

"Even Apple lovers have to admit that Microsoft's Surface 3 is a stable platform."
Sam
The only way for MS to get rid of them by melting_clock · 2014-11-07 17:18 · Score: 1

Giving away surface craplets is really the only option MS has get rid of them and avoid being buried under a pile of steaming shit... Even if the hardware is good, you're still stuck with the worst version of windows that MS have forced on the world.
It is amusing to see shots of people using MS products on TV when you know they just have to be paid to do it.
This is all coming from someone that owned a few windows based PDAs and a windows phone. Android came along and showed just bad windows really was on small mobile devices. MS has failed miserably to give customers what the want and show no interest in doing so. There is really only so much that you can put up with in a relationship before it is simple time to move on to something better.