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Microsoft Wants You To Care For Your Surface Like a 'Luxury' Handbag (theverge.com)
sqorbit writes: Microsoft has some fancy Alcantara fabric on its Surface keyboard. How well does it hold up to the use and sometimes abuse that portal devices go through? Well, Microsoft wants you to care for it like a "luxury" handbag. Pete Kyriacou, Microsoft's general manager of Surface Engineering, said in a statement provided to The Verge: "Just like anything luxury that you buy, like great handbags or a pair of shoes or even expensive cars, there is a care that's needed for the device. And so from the materials perspective, we will ask customers -- specifically customers who might stain it or drop something on it -- to go ahead and wipe that right away. There's a simple way of doing that with a microfiber with a soap and water solution on it. You don't need any special chemical and you can wipe it off. Then just care [for it in the same way] that would go into anything that luxurious. That's more of a periodical thing, not super frequent, something you might look at doing every six months or something. And so if you think of the livelihood of this laptop, somewhere between four and five years, it's not that often you have to do it in terms of taking care of it." Would you walk around with a device requiring that much care?
Shit, I wipe my phone screen several times a day and Lexol my $120 leather messenger bag monthly though I may only carry it once or twice a month. I suppose my monthly keyboard cleanings (de-crumbings, that is) are also too much for most people?
We really and truly have become a throw-away society, haven't we?
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
The surfacd book is a turd that can't be polished
It seems that the intepretation of Kyriacou's comments seems to be twisted. Seems to me he is saying a Surface, like any luxury, requires some care to be taken with it. But he highlighted that it is quite easy to care for, as far as comparing it to other luxuries. I didn't realise that people were complaining about getting their surface dirty? I have owned the Surface Pro 3 for years, and I have never had that problem. I use it a few times a week, at a minimum, and I keep it in a simple bag when it isn't in use.
I hope the fabric keyboards are made of better material than the surface cases themselves.
Go to any high school where Surfaces have been forced upon the classrooms (generally the more gullible schools with too much money), and notice the kids have, as kids will do, covered the backs of them with stickers. Then note the ugly gaps where stickers clearly used to be but have fallen off, taking the top coating of the case with them.
This shoddy design is typical of Microsoft engineering - looks (arguably) nice in a store and falls apart shortly thereafter.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
I don't want or own a luxury hand bag either.
was literally just cleaning my old Original Surface Pro, and i just noticed how screwed up my screen is, mostly caused by the flip hardcase keyboard thing. i really wish i had taken better care of it. like that bump on the j and f keys, there are now scratches in the screen from them and me having thrown it around and stuff on top of it. at least it all works still. but still.
People care about expensive items because replacing them costs a lot of money. If you want your chromebook knock-off to cared for then you should price it like it's valuable. If you can't do that because it doesn't seem valuable then people will treat it like that soon-to-be-trash that it is.
People also care about things they love because they have gained sentimental value. If you want your chromebook knock-off to cared for then it needs to be nice enough that people love it. If you can't do that because people only tolerate your OS then people will treat it like that soon-to-be-trash that it is.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
But in the case of fads they can change as fast as they come out, computer hardware can't.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
These will be dingy and grimy 90% of the time.
How about you want people to buy them in the first place before you worry about how they treat the fine corinthian leather?
Substitute "luxury handbag" for "Apple product" if you want to understand what Microsoft are really saying. Of course, Microsoft can't come out and say that.
I take good care of all of my devices. They last longer that way. I have found over the years that its better to try not to let devices get dirty. I clean them when they need it using microfiber cloths. As for Micro$haft, they can FSCK themselves! I won't let the Win10 Spy-Virus near any of my devices!!
Yes, this. Obviously marketroids are trying to make us think that suede-like fabrics constructed from petrochemical fibres are somehow... luxury!
To bad then Windows looks really cheap.
Given the usefulness of the Surface, I'd guess the same amount of touching applies here.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Do not touch the operational end of The Device. Do not look directly at the operational end of The Device. Do not submerge The Device in liquid, even partially. Most importantly, under no circumstances should you ^^/-#+$*./#^+\?
Is that what the question was? Would I own a device I should wipe down when I spill something on it? Yes. Yes I would, and yes I do.
The media is falling over themselves over wording here. There's nothing on the Surface line that requires more care than any other device. But as they are marketing it as a luxury item of course the product directors will use those words.
Situation Normal Everyone Panic For No Reason.
SNEPFNR is the new SNAFU.
Microsoft Wants You To Care For Your Surface Like a 'Luxury' Handbag
Right so you want me to fill it full of crap and then spend the rest of my life trying to find anything. I thought that's what Windows was for
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
I agree. I have the surface, it really does not look all that good. The color of the metal and the color of the plastic do not match - it is like a designer handbag with big spot on it. And as long as the looks are not right out of the factory, there is no point in polishing it.
"There's a simple way of doing that with a microfiber with a soap and water solution on it."
So a special cloth, soap, and water is "simple" -- as opposed to when I get something on a plastic or metal laptop and I can wipe it with just a single napkin or paper towel?
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
I don't use screen protectors or cases on my smartphones because I don't treat them like shit. I can count on one hand the number of times I have dropped them in the last 10 years. My 3 year old Dell Latitude E7440 doesn't have any scratches. It's in mint condition and I use it 5-6 days a week or more.
I don't care if it's my device or my companies device. It is going to last for it's designed lifespan and then some.
"A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
Sure enough, the pic at amazon shows fabric palmrests.
The keys themselves don't seem to be fabric.
To quote Alfred E. Neuman, "yecch".
I guess if MS can convince people to chuck 'em and buy an new one every few months it's not a problem.
As I'm not trying to impress people with a luxury handbag, Mr. Neuman's most famous statement comes to mind.
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick
...as soon as this Surface can be out on a shelf for 6 months and when I take it, it has do do its task, without complaing about virus checks, important patches and other stuff making apparently the sky fall down.
My handbags never do that, not even the non-luxary ones.
This...... actually sounds like a good plan. Those of us who want control over our updates could just not clean our computers.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Suede you don't have to care for like suede is a luxury if you like the look and feel of suede but hate caring for suede. That's what Alcantara is: suede you don't have to care for like suede. And they basically nailed the look and feel, as well as the strength and durability, so I'd call that a win for the synthetics.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Holly Golightly gets off the bus. She takes a few steps onto the sidewalk and reaches into her luxury Microsoft handbag and pulls out a danish. She bites it then sips some coffee in a foam cup. She saunters over to the window and gazes wistfully at things she will never have, like the displayed iPad on a velvet podium.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
... (Besides, more of the stuff I want to read is now available ...
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
You want something strong that you can wipe clean like glass, metal, steel, titanium, aluminum.
No, you really don't want titanium unless it has a durable coating on it, unless you like scratches. Titanium has a high strength-to-weight ratio, but its surface hardness is quite poor and it's easily scratched. If it were cheap and easily replaced, it'd probably be a better choice than plastic, but it isn't cheap.