For that matter, the Start button (which appears when you mouse to the lower left corner) has a new trick as well: right-click it and you get a menu for direct access to a bunch of nice stuff, like Control Panel, Command Prompt (with or without Admin), Computer Management, and Run (if Win+R is too hard). It can also be used to switch immediately to the desktop from within any app.
Shutdown.exe has existed since at least Windows 2000 (I don't have an NT4 / Win9x box handy to check on). "Microsoft is copying..." with a feature that they've had for over a decade?
Also, "oblig. Joke" and "Microsoft is copying... LOL" comments scarcely constitute the "add something positive" you're espousing above either.
You realize that everything which was on the [desktop] Control Panel is still there, right? And it's at least as easy to get to as before, although apparently the right-click-the-Start-button menu is not discoverable. Some stuff, like the event logs or an Admin command prompt, can be accessed quicker from there than they could be before.
If gaming is your priority, you'll get better performance out of Win8 than Win7. If minimal interface changes are your priority, then Win7 is closer to Vista than Win8 is, although the difference is less than many people claim when you aren't trying to use the tablet stuff (which can be almost entirely avoided even without something like Start8; just pin Steam to the taskbar and use it as your program launcher).
People actually use the All Programs list on Windows? WHY?? You know how to do it with the Start search, so I'm confused why you'd even use the horrible interface of the Start menu navigation structure. Short of pinned stuff I don't use the mouse to launch programs at all... and even that *can* be done with the keyboard.
Also, I have not noticed any time difference between using Start search to launch programs on Win7 or Win8. Are you waiting for the results to display before you hit Enter for some reason?
Most laptop trackpads work fine, actually. There's a Synaptics driver for Win8 that enables all of that. Most trackpads are actually multi-touch enabled even on PCs, and have been so for years (my 3.5 year old laptop has one).
Compared to both iOS and Android, Win8 is better because:
It lets you switch apps very quickly (single gesture). It lets you have two apps on the screen at once (with a very uneven split between them, but still). It lets you view a lot of information at a glance on the lock screen and start screen (Android widgets come close but must be "silo"d or you need more of them than can be put on one screen page). Desktop apps with familiar interfaces can still be used (less so on Windows RT, but then you get Office included). Multi-user support (Android is getting there, if you run the bleeding-edge version, but it's not up to Windows' quality yet with this feature). A curated app store *and* the ability to sideload apps without hacks. Comes pre-"rooted" so you can run as Admin whenever you want, and includes both command lines and graphical file managers (with familiar interfaces, even). All apps put their Settings/Options in the same place, easily accessible. Full Windows networking (including printers and Homegroups, and domain-joining on Win8 Pro) support. Option of an on-screen full keyboard (includes meta keys, function keys, etc; very useful for dealing with command line apps and such). Better background multitasking (very easy to close apps, they are usually suspended so they don't kill the battery unlike on Android, but any apps that needs to run in the background can, unlike on iOS). Picture Password (you've probably seen the ads). Can use Flash player on web pages, even on the ARM version (Android discontinued this). Highly configurable firewall (for example, block apps from phoning home - may be possible on rooted Android). More configurable app permissions (right down to filesystem permissions, if you want to).
There are plenty of other advantages of Win8 that are less relevant to the comparison at hand, like its multi-monitor support and a built-in anti-virus program (don't discuss Android and then pretend malware is a Windows-only thing, please). There are also disadvantages, such as the size of the app store (although there are some nice carrots for developers too, like being able to use multiple languages and Visual Studio) and it does have a bigger install footprint than Android or iOS, no doubt (though smaller than most complaints about the Surface's storage seem to be claiming). It's also not open source. But, if you want to bash it for those things, go right ahead... just don't claim that it is worse without backup (and no, TFA is not backup; that post is a thorough mixture of stupidity and outright lies).
First: you can still use desktop icons for shortcuts. You *can* even do it for "modern" apps, though it requires some effort. Second: Tiles do not, for the most part, have constantly changing icons. Most tiles aren't "live" and you can trivially easily "kill" the ones that are. Also, I've never seen an add on a Live tile except in apps like Newegg (where it's pretty obvious); get back under your bridge. Third: Tiles do not reflow when you install an app. They only move if you move them. Otherwise, new apps go at the end of the Start screen. You clearly have no fucking clue what you're talking about (or you're a troll; either way implies an atypically low intelligence). Fourth: You can use the Start menu like every keyboard-competent user has used the Start menu since Vista: open it (preferably with the Windows key), type a few letters, hit Enter. You can do this before the Start screen animations (which are quite fast) are complete. Fifth: You can use the command line just fine on Win8; what the hell are you smoking? In fact, you can even launch the command line right from the desktop without typing or pining anything; right-click on the Start button (yes, the one that appears when you mouse to the lower left corner) and then select either "Command Prompt" or "Command Prompt (Admin)". You can also display this menu via Ctrl+X, by the way. Sixth: How the hell is changing tile sizes (flick them downward then tap the "make smaller" button) or moving them (simple dragging motion) difficult on a tablet? Seventh: I think we've already covered this, but since you stated your bullshit twice; I'll refute it twice: tiles do not move on their own. They will reflow if the resolution changes, but that's it.
Ummm.... yeah, you're full of shit. Very aggressive shit, by the look of it, but still shit.
Right-Click in the lower left corner (where Start appears), select Control Panel. Behold, the control panel appears (you can do this from anywhere, but it's typically something you'd do on the desktop since it's a right-click). There's a ton of other stuff on this menu too, including some that are harder to reach in Win7, such as an Admin command prompt or the Programs and Features (add/remove programs) control panel. It can also be used to jump straight to the desktop from any app, incidentally.
There are so many ways to shut down the computer it's crazy. Alt+F4 on the desktop. The Ctrl+Alt+Del screen shows the Power button. Lock screen shows the Power button. If you are an "expert user" like this idiot in the article is ranting about, you'd know how to use the Shutdown[.exe] command; you can call it from the Run dialog or add shortcuts to it (on either the Start screen or the desktop, of both if you want). In fact, you can even add a shortcut key chord (Win+Ctrl+S, perhaps) to trigger those shortcuts. If you can tolerate the presence of the Charms bar and just don't like the ever-so-offensive concept of a tablet-like gesture to display it, try Win+I to display Setting immediately, at which point Shutdown or Restart are two clicks away.
Seriously, did your brain calcify or something, resulting in frothing at the mouth without even *trying* to look for the things you claim "ARE NO LONGER" present?
Other things that your so-called "absolutely correct" review got, in fact, completely bone-headedly wrong:
The closest thing to a full-time Home button in Windows 8 is the “windows” key on the keyboard (but the whole idea is that the keyboard is not always available/required).
Let's start with this beauty, from near the top. First of all, Microsoft requires the presence of a hardware Start button on RT devices. Call it a "Home" button if it makes you happier; I've heard even a few Microsofties do so (I live in Seattle; there's a lot of them here; I'm not one myself). Second, you can always access Start from anywhere with at worst a small gesture. If you're using Touch, swipe in from the right side of the screen and tap the Start button that probably appeared right under your thumb. If you're using the mouse, move down to the lower-left corner (where the Start button would be on the desktop) and lo and behold, a Start button appears!
The Windows 8 tablet interface lacks this [context-sensitive] interface standard.
Perhaps it slipped this... enlightened gentleman's notice, but the App Bar (that thing that appears on the bottom of the screen when you swipe from either the top or the bottom) is context sensitive. It's intended to be a more graphical and touch-friendly replacement for context menus. I don't think it's as good an implementation of a context-based interface, personally, but it's not missing.
Some functions, such as “start an application” or “restart the computer” are available only from the tablet interface.
We've mostly been over this ground already, but I wanted to point out that starting a program totally doesn't require using a tablet interface. If you like icons, put some on the desktop or put them on the taskbar (exactly like in Win7). If you prefer the keyboard, tap the Start key and type the first few letters of the program name, then hit Enter; you can be launching the program (and back on the desktop) before that oh-so-offensive tablet interface finishes its half-second fade-in animation. You can also use Run from the desktop, via Win+R (as before) or right-clicking the Start button or hitting Ctrl+X to bring up the menu, then selecting Run. You can certainly use the command line interfaces too.
Conversely, when one is comfortably ensconced in a touch/tablet application, an additional cli
What do you mean, "not yet fully baked"? The full-release version of Office shipped as a few update to all Windows RT devices about a week after they (including the Surface) were first available for sale. It works fine.
Aside from existing internal apps written for a specific platform, what are you talking about with "disadvantages over even an iPad"?? Surface offers substantially better support for Microsoft environments (which most corporate systems are) than iPads, in terms of networking, scripting, file formats, Exchange support, BitLocker encryption (not that iPads can access removable media at all...), SharePoint integration, internal web apps written for IE, remote access software, printing (an immensely wider range of supported printers, plus scanners and such) and so on.
The funny thing is, most of what you're claiming as a problem for tablets is untrue of the Surface. If the world worked the way you thought, they should be hugely successful.
* Too fragile: The magnesium shell on those things is tough. You can drop a Surface from standing height onto marble without any damage, or onto cement with only minor scratches. People have accidentally left theirs on top of cars, had them slide off on the freeway, and get run over... and aside from some cosmetic damage they worked fine. Seriously, do a search: "surface run over by car".
* Don't have a DVD drive: technically true, but not a real problem. They have a USB port, so you can connect a drive if you want to. They have Windows networking, so you can access another PC's drive. They have a microSD slot, so you can rip a bunch of movies to something smaller than most fingernails and use that, rather than needing to lug a bunch of discs around. They can't run legacy software, so there's no need to worry about installing your old apps anyhow. (Surface Pro may make that more of an issue, but there's still all the other ways to get stuff off optical drives.) Hell, Win8 has built-in ISO mounting!
* Harder to type on: I take it you've never tried the Surface Type Cover? IT's a full-size keyboard with very reactive keys that offer nice feedback and have almost no travel. I'll grant the Touch Cover takes a bit of getting used to, but only a bit; you'll be up to 50% of your physical-key WPM within an hour, and that's far from the limit. For purely touchscreen typing, of course that's harder, but Win8 does have some cool options for the software input panel, including a split mode for thumbs and handwriting recognition for styluses.
* Tiny screen: Depends what you're comparing it to. Compared to my 27" desktop monitor, yeah, no shit. I can't even put that in my luggage though, much less a backpack or purse. Compared to my 15.6" laptop, a 10" tablet is definitely smaller but it's also often a few inches closer, which helps there. Compared to my 4" smartphone, it's a hell of a lot bigger... Also, the Surface has one of the largest screens in the modern tablet farm factor
* Fingerprints: Way less of an issue than you might think. You can see smudges when the screen is off, but not (unless you specifically try to) when it's on. If you have really dirty hands - as in, you wouldn't want to shake hands with somebody - yeah, that's going to leave a mark, but it's easy enough to clean up if that happens (certainly a lot easier than cleaning a computer keyboard!)
* Software: Actually, the Surface Pro does (or will) run "99% of software ever written" (to the extent that such hyperbole is true for any computer in operation today). The Surface RT does not (although if you can recompile for ARM, we're getting there) but it's getting more apps constantly.
* Designed to cost money: Hardly. There's more free (ad supported or even just outright free of monetization) software on tablets and phones than I've seen anywhere else except on Linux and similar systems. Actually, there might still be more, if you don't count Android as a form of Linux. Mobile apps are almost never over $10 and the vast majority are under $3 if paid at all, and virtually every app has a trial so you can try it out. In a large number of cases the trial is even fully functional, with the "purchase" option basically being a suggested donation amount.
* Browser problems: The exact opposite of true. Windows RT includes IE10, which compares well with Webkit (used on other tablets and on PCs) and also includes the legacy IE rendering engines, which means it works on those atrocious sites made for IE6. It also includes Flashplayer, which no other production tablet does. It does not include Java, but considering that the Java browser plugin is probably less secure than the Flash plugin right now, I'm OK with that; it's disabled on my PCs anyhow.
First of all, when the GP said "apps made for Win8", he (or she) was referring to what Microsoft calls Windows Store apps (formerly "Metro-style"). Those can already be only written in specific languages (although a fairly healthy list of them, ranging from HTML5/JS to C/C++) and built using specific compilers (which are available for free). All of those compilers support targeting ARM (in fact, except the C/C++ option, it doesn't even require a recompile). Also, please point me to any Windows Runtime API (which is what Windows Store apps are coded against) that is present on x86 but not on ARM. For that matter, point me to a Win32 one (truly not available, not simply restricted from officially using) that Windows RT lacks. The OS itself is little more than a recompile of the x86 code.
Now, targeting third-party desktop apps is a completely different issue. There's been some success there on Windows RT, getting desktop apps to run in an AppContainer sandbox (which means limited access to the outside system), but building such apps definitely requires recompiles as well as setting up a launcher for them. People (hackers, in the not-malicious sense) are working on this.
If you have any evidence that contradicts anything I've said here, you'll need to cite it. Otherwise I call BS.
I'm quite tall myself, so my current problem is actually the opposite; my monitor doesn't go high enough. My housemate has just a tiny bit of height on me, but his 27" (1920x1080) display is an excellent size for us to game on (Civ5 hotseat, etc.). Getting the same size screen but at a higher res should be a nice step up.
I agree in general. However, for what it's worth, Windows RT can both sideload apps (they have to be signed by *somebody*, but the certificate can and often will be from an "untrusted" source) and execute unsigned desktop apps if they run in the app sandbox. The first is an official feature, intended for use either by developers or for internal (company, etc.) apps. The second is completely unofficial, but it works; "Metro-style" apps (which run in a sandbox) aren't supposed to be able to invoke arbitrary.EXEs. Somebody has figured out how to do it though, and it turns out that so long as the target EXE is within the sandbox's accessible portion of the filesystem and doesn't need to access anything outside of the sandbox, it works fine even if completely unsigned. Of course, it still needs to be recompiled for ARM, so no running arbitrary legacy programs yet unless you have the source code and build tools, but it works.
The question will be how MS responds to this. It's arguably completely safe to leave in place; even if somebody goes to the trouble to create malware that will run in this environment, the environment itself will keep it constrained. A sideloaded or store app could literally do just as much damage. If anything really malicious does pop up, they can add its definition to Defender. On the other hand... it's possible that they'll try and take a "you just *thought* it was your device" approach and block people from even doing that much. After all, given the need to recompile, you could argue that legacy malware wouldn't run anyhow, so there was no need to forbid third-party desktop apps in the first place. In any case, time will tell. Meanwhile, there's already work on other ways of unlocking Windows RT.
Overall, a very insightful post, and I almost modded it as such (hopefully somebody else will) but wanted to respond.
I just picked up a "WQHD" (Widescreen Quad-"HD" for values of HD meaning 1280x720, so a total of 2560x1440) 27" IPS LCD monitor online for $300 US. It's very bare-bones (DVI input only, no webcam or USB hub or anything, etc.) but considering a 1920x1080 monitor at 27" is hard to come by for $200, it's an excellent price for the much less common resolution.
They make them in Korea and ship them out under a handful of brand names. A search on "wqhd monitor" will find you several places you can buy them from. Make sure your video card has the correct output.
There was one model in brown, and plenty of other colors. The brown model also actually sold pretty well; it turns out if you looked at it the impression that came to mind was leather, not feces, and some people liked that.
Apparently the color of one of the models is the easiest thing to mock about the Zune hardware. That's pretty sad.
It means the article author is full of bullshit. This comes as a surprise to you?
All Win8 (Pro or otherwise) systems can access the Store and run apps from there. There are actually going to be more Store apps for the Surface Pro than the Surface RT, because it's easier to test on x86, so some people don't make their apps ARM compatible (even when in theory it's just a recompile, in practice the certification requirements make ARM a little trickier than x86).
For.NET and HTML/JS apps, you don't even need to recompile, though, and there are definitely lots of native apps for RT as well. All of those will be available on the Surface Pro, and any other Win8 device, as well (in fact, they already are).
It has a built-in kickstand, all the Surface models do. What are you talking about? I've used the Surface RT both on my lap and on an airplane tray table just fine with the kickstand, and when I'm in bed I just use it as a tablet.
Pen and also touch. A relatively low battery life for a tablet, but it *is* a tablet; it can run tablet-designed software, it can be operated with your fingers and thumbs while on the bus or the toilet, etc.
As for the keyboard, the Touch Cover and Type Cover both include keyboard and trackpad. The Type Cover is actually a quite nice ultra-thin keyboard. The Touch Cover takes a few minutes to get used to, but works fine. Combined with the Surface's built-in kickstand, they make a decent ultra-portable pseudo-laptop. The covers are stiff enough to be used on your lap, incidentally.
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For that matter, the Start button (which appears when you mouse to the lower left corner) has a new trick as well: right-click it and you get a menu for direct access to a bunch of nice stuff, like Control Panel, Command Prompt (with or without Admin), Computer Management, and Run (if Win+R is too hard). It can also be used to switch immediately to the desktop from within any app.
Actually introduced in Vista, even (like at least half of the features commonly attributed to Win7).
Shutdown.exe has existed since at least Windows 2000 (I don't have an NT4 / Win9x box handy to check on). "Microsoft is copying..." with a feature that they've had for over a decade?
Also, "oblig. Joke" and "Microsoft is copying... LOL" comments scarcely constitute the "add something positive" you're espousing above either.
You realize that everything which was on the [desktop] Control Panel is still there, right? And it's at least as easy to get to as before, although apparently the right-click-the-Start-button menu is not discoverable. Some stuff, like the event logs or an Admin command prompt, can be accessed quicker from there than they could be before.
If gaming is your priority, you'll get better performance out of Win8 than Win7. If minimal interface changes are your priority, then Win7 is closer to Vista than Win8 is, although the difference is less than many people claim when you aren't trying to use the tablet stuff (which can be almost entirely avoided even without something like Start8; just pin Steam to the taskbar and use it as your program launcher).
People actually use the All Programs list on Windows? WHY?? You know how to do it with the Start search, so I'm confused why you'd even use the horrible interface of the Start menu navigation structure. Short of pinned stuff I don't use the mouse to launch programs at all... and even that *can* be done with the keyboard.
Also, I have not noticed any time difference between using Start search to launch programs on Win7 or Win8. Are you waiting for the results to display before you hit Enter for some reason?
Most laptop trackpads work fine, actually. There's a Synaptics driver for Win8 that enables all of that. Most trackpads are actually multi-touch enabled even on PCs, and have been so for years (my 3.5 year old laptop has one).
Compared to both iOS and Android, Win8 is better because:
It lets you switch apps very quickly (single gesture).
It lets you have two apps on the screen at once (with a very uneven split between them, but still).
It lets you view a lot of information at a glance on the lock screen and start screen (Android widgets come close but must be "silo"d or you need more of them than can be put on one screen page).
Desktop apps with familiar interfaces can still be used (less so on Windows RT, but then you get Office included).
Multi-user support (Android is getting there, if you run the bleeding-edge version, but it's not up to Windows' quality yet with this feature).
A curated app store *and* the ability to sideload apps without hacks.
Comes pre-"rooted" so you can run as Admin whenever you want, and includes both command lines and graphical file managers (with familiar interfaces, even).
All apps put their Settings/Options in the same place, easily accessible.
Full Windows networking (including printers and Homegroups, and domain-joining on Win8 Pro) support.
Option of an on-screen full keyboard (includes meta keys, function keys, etc; very useful for dealing with command line apps and such).
Better background multitasking (very easy to close apps, they are usually suspended so they don't kill the battery unlike on Android, but any apps that needs to run in the background can, unlike on iOS).
Picture Password (you've probably seen the ads).
Can use Flash player on web pages, even on the ARM version (Android discontinued this).
Highly configurable firewall (for example, block apps from phoning home - may be possible on rooted Android).
More configurable app permissions (right down to filesystem permissions, if you want to).
There are plenty of other advantages of Win8 that are less relevant to the comparison at hand, like its multi-monitor support and a built-in anti-virus program (don't discuss Android and then pretend malware is a Windows-only thing, please). There are also disadvantages, such as the size of the app store (although there are some nice carrots for developers too, like being able to use multiple languages and Visual Studio) and it does have a bigger install footprint than Android or iOS, no doubt (though smaller than most complaints about the Surface's storage seem to be claiming). It's also not open source. But, if you want to bash it for those things, go right ahead... just don't claim that it is worse without backup (and no, TFA is not backup; that post is a thorough mixture of stupidity and outright lies).
First: you can still use desktop icons for shortcuts. You *can* even do it for "modern" apps, though it requires some effort.
Second: Tiles do not, for the most part, have constantly changing icons. Most tiles aren't "live" and you can trivially easily "kill" the ones that are. Also, I've never seen an add on a Live tile except in apps like Newegg (where it's pretty obvious); get back under your bridge.
Third: Tiles do not reflow when you install an app. They only move if you move them. Otherwise, new apps go at the end of the Start screen. You clearly have no fucking clue what you're talking about (or you're a troll; either way implies an atypically low intelligence).
Fourth: You can use the Start menu like every keyboard-competent user has used the Start menu since Vista: open it (preferably with the Windows key), type a few letters, hit Enter. You can do this before the Start screen animations (which are quite fast) are complete.
Fifth: You can use the command line just fine on Win8; what the hell are you smoking? In fact, you can even launch the command line right from the desktop without typing or pining anything; right-click on the Start button (yes, the one that appears when you mouse to the lower left corner) and then select either "Command Prompt" or "Command Prompt (Admin)". You can also display this menu via Ctrl+X, by the way.
Sixth: How the hell is changing tile sizes (flick them downward then tap the "make smaller" button) or moving them (simple dragging motion) difficult on a tablet?
Seventh: I think we've already covered this, but since you stated your bullshit twice; I'll refute it twice: tiles do not move on their own. They will reflow if the resolution changes, but that's it.
Ummm.... yeah, you're full of shit. Very aggressive shit, by the look of it, but still shit.
Right-Click in the lower left corner (where Start appears), select Control Panel. Behold, the control panel appears (you can do this from anywhere, but it's typically something you'd do on the desktop since it's a right-click). There's a ton of other stuff on this menu too, including some that are harder to reach in Win7, such as an Admin command prompt or the Programs and Features (add/remove programs) control panel. It can also be used to jump straight to the desktop from any app, incidentally.
There are so many ways to shut down the computer it's crazy. Alt+F4 on the desktop. The Ctrl+Alt+Del screen shows the Power button. Lock screen shows the Power button. If you are an "expert user" like this idiot in the article is ranting about, you'd know how to use the Shutdown[.exe] command; you can call it from the Run dialog or add shortcuts to it (on either the Start screen or the desktop, of both if you want). In fact, you can even add a shortcut key chord (Win+Ctrl+S, perhaps) to trigger those shortcuts. If you can tolerate the presence of the Charms bar and just don't like the ever-so-offensive concept of a tablet-like gesture to display it, try Win+I to display Setting immediately, at which point Shutdown or Restart are two clicks away.
Seriously, did your brain calcify or something, resulting in frothing at the mouth without even *trying* to look for the things you claim "ARE NO LONGER" present?
Other things that your so-called "absolutely correct" review got, in fact, completely bone-headedly wrong:
Let's start with this beauty, from near the top. First of all, Microsoft requires the presence of a hardware Start button on RT devices. Call it a "Home" button if it makes you happier; I've heard even a few Microsofties do so (I live in Seattle; there's a lot of them here; I'm not one myself). Second, you can always access Start from anywhere with at worst a small gesture. If you're using Touch, swipe in from the right side of the screen and tap the Start button that probably appeared right under your thumb. If you're using the mouse, move down to the lower-left corner (where the Start button would be on the desktop) and lo and behold, a Start button appears!
Perhaps it slipped this... enlightened gentleman's notice, but the App Bar (that thing that appears on the bottom of the screen when you swipe from either the top or the bottom) is context sensitive. It's intended to be a more graphical and touch-friendly replacement for context menus. I don't think it's as good an implementation of a context-based interface, personally, but it's not missing.
We've mostly been over this ground already, but I wanted to point out that starting a program totally doesn't require using a tablet interface. If you like icons, put some on the desktop or put them on the taskbar (exactly like in Win7). If you prefer the keyboard, tap the Start key and type the first few letters of the program name, then hit Enter; you can be launching the program (and back on the desktop) before that oh-so-offensive tablet interface finishes its half-second fade-in animation. You can also use Run from the desktop, via Win+R (as before) or right-clicking the Start button or hitting Ctrl+X to bring up the menu, then selecting Run. You can certainly use the command line interfaces too.
What do you mean, "not yet fully baked"? The full-release version of Office shipped as a few update to all Windows RT devices about a week after they (including the Surface) were first available for sale. It works fine.
Aside from existing internal apps written for a specific platform, what are you talking about with "disadvantages over even an iPad"?? Surface offers substantially better support for Microsoft environments (which most corporate systems are) than iPads, in terms of networking, scripting, file formats, Exchange support, BitLocker encryption (not that iPads can access removable media at all...), SharePoint integration, internal web apps written for IE, remote access software, printing (an immensely wider range of supported printers, plus scanners and such) and so on.
Please explain yourself.
The funny thing is, most of what you're claiming as a problem for tablets is untrue of the Surface. If the world worked the way you thought, they should be hugely successful.
* Too fragile: The magnesium shell on those things is tough. You can drop a Surface from standing height onto marble without any damage, or onto cement with only minor scratches. People have accidentally left theirs on top of cars, had them slide off on the freeway, and get run over... and aside from some cosmetic damage they worked fine. Seriously, do a search: "surface run over by car".
* Don't have a DVD drive: technically true, but not a real problem. They have a USB port, so you can connect a drive if you want to. They have Windows networking, so you can access another PC's drive. They have a microSD slot, so you can rip a bunch of movies to something smaller than most fingernails and use that, rather than needing to lug a bunch of discs around. They can't run legacy software, so there's no need to worry about installing your old apps anyhow. (Surface Pro may make that more of an issue, but there's still all the other ways to get stuff off optical drives.) Hell, Win8 has built-in ISO mounting!
* Harder to type on: I take it you've never tried the Surface Type Cover? IT's a full-size keyboard with very reactive keys that offer nice feedback and have almost no travel. I'll grant the Touch Cover takes a bit of getting used to, but only a bit; you'll be up to 50% of your physical-key WPM within an hour, and that's far from the limit. For purely touchscreen typing, of course that's harder, but Win8 does have some cool options for the software input panel, including a split mode for thumbs and handwriting recognition for styluses.
* Tiny screen: Depends what you're comparing it to. Compared to my 27" desktop monitor, yeah, no shit. I can't even put that in my luggage though, much less a backpack or purse. Compared to my 15.6" laptop, a 10" tablet is definitely smaller but it's also often a few inches closer, which helps there. Compared to my 4" smartphone, it's a hell of a lot bigger... Also, the Surface has one of the largest screens in the modern tablet farm factor
* Fingerprints: Way less of an issue than you might think. You can see smudges when the screen is off, but not (unless you specifically try to) when it's on. If you have really dirty hands - as in, you wouldn't want to shake hands with somebody - yeah, that's going to leave a mark, but it's easy enough to clean up if that happens (certainly a lot easier than cleaning a computer keyboard!)
* Software: Actually, the Surface Pro does (or will) run "99% of software ever written" (to the extent that such hyperbole is true for any computer in operation today). The Surface RT does not (although if you can recompile for ARM, we're getting there) but it's getting more apps constantly.
* Designed to cost money: Hardly. There's more free (ad supported or even just outright free of monetization) software on tablets and phones than I've seen anywhere else except on Linux and similar systems. Actually, there might still be more, if you don't count Android as a form of Linux. Mobile apps are almost never over $10 and the vast majority are under $3 if paid at all, and virtually every app has a trial so you can try it out. In a large number of cases the trial is even fully functional, with the "purchase" option basically being a suggested donation amount.
* Browser problems: The exact opposite of true. Windows RT includes IE10, which compares well with Webkit (used on other tablets and on PCs) and also includes the legacy IE rendering engines, which means it works on those atrocious sites made for IE6. It also includes Flashplayer, which no other production tablet does. It does not include Java, but considering that the Java browser plugin is probably less secure than the Flash plugin right now, I'm OK with that; it's disabled on my PCs anyhow.
* Battery life: Microsoft says 8 h
First of all, when the GP said "apps made for Win8", he (or she) was referring to what Microsoft calls Windows Store apps (formerly "Metro-style"). Those can already be only written in specific languages (although a fairly healthy list of them, ranging from HTML5/JS to C/C++) and built using specific compilers (which are available for free). All of those compilers support targeting ARM (in fact, except the C/C++ option, it doesn't even require a recompile). Also, please point me to any Windows Runtime API (which is what Windows Store apps are coded against) that is present on x86 but not on ARM. For that matter, point me to a Win32 one (truly not available, not simply restricted from officially using) that Windows RT lacks. The OS itself is little more than a recompile of the x86 code.
Now, targeting third-party desktop apps is a completely different issue. There's been some success there on Windows RT, getting desktop apps to run in an AppContainer sandbox (which means limited access to the outside system), but building such apps definitely requires recompiles as well as setting up a launcher for them. People (hackers, in the not-malicious sense) are working on this.
If you have any evidence that contradicts anything I've said here, you'll need to cite it. Otherwise I call BS.
This statement implies a mildly concerning degree of knowledge on the subject of 13-year-old penises... ;-)
How does it compare to just using Remote Desktop client apps?
I'm quite tall myself, so my current problem is actually the opposite; my monitor doesn't go high enough. My housemate has just a tiny bit of height on me, but his 27" (1920x1080) display is an excellent size for us to game on (Civ5 hotseat, etc.). Getting the same size screen but at a higher res should be a nice step up.
I agree in general. However, for what it's worth, Windows RT can both sideload apps (they have to be signed by *somebody*, but the certificate can and often will be from an "untrusted" source) and execute unsigned desktop apps if they run in the app sandbox. The first is an official feature, intended for use either by developers or for internal (company, etc.) apps. The second is completely unofficial, but it works; "Metro-style" apps (which run in a sandbox) aren't supposed to be able to invoke arbitrary .EXEs. Somebody has figured out how to do it though, and it turns out that so long as the target EXE is within the sandbox's accessible portion of the filesystem and doesn't need to access anything outside of the sandbox, it works fine even if completely unsigned. Of course, it still needs to be recompiled for ARM, so no running arbitrary legacy programs yet unless you have the source code and build tools, but it works.
The question will be how MS responds to this. It's arguably completely safe to leave in place; even if somebody goes to the trouble to create malware that will run in this environment, the environment itself will keep it constrained. A sideloaded or store app could literally do just as much damage. If anything really malicious does pop up, they can add its definition to Defender. On the other hand... it's possible that they'll try and take a "you just *thought* it was your device" approach and block people from even doing that much. After all, given the need to recompile, you could argue that legacy malware wouldn't run anyhow, so there was no need to forbid third-party desktop apps in the first place. In any case, time will tell. Meanwhile, there's already work on other ways of unlocking Windows RT.
Overall, a very insightful post, and I almost modded it as such (hopefully somebody else will) but wanted to respond.
I just picked up a "WQHD" (Widescreen Quad-"HD" for values of HD meaning 1280x720, so a total of 2560x1440) 27" IPS LCD monitor online for $300 US. It's very bare-bones (DVI input only, no webcam or USB hub or anything, etc.) but considering a 1920x1080 monitor at 27" is hard to come by for $200, it's an excellent price for the much less common resolution.
They make them in Korea and ship them out under a handful of brand names. A search on "wqhd monitor" will find you several places you can buy them from. Make sure your video card has the correct output.
Zynga games are typically implemented in the web interface using Flash. The dedicated apps on phones and such are of course not Flash.
There was one model in brown, and plenty of other colors. The brown model also actually sold pretty well; it turns out if you looked at it the impression that came to mind was leather, not feces, and some people liked that.
Apparently the color of one of the models is the easiest thing to mock about the Zune hardware. That's pretty sad.
It means the article author is full of bullshit. This comes as a surprise to you?
All Win8 (Pro or otherwise) systems can access the Store and run apps from there. There are actually going to be more Store apps for the Surface Pro than the Surface RT, because it's easier to test on x86, so some people don't make their apps ARM compatible (even when in theory it's just a recompile, in practice the certification requirements make ARM a little trickier than x86).
For .NET and HTML/JS apps, you don't even need to recompile, though, and there are definitely lots of native apps for RT as well. All of those will be available on the Surface Pro, and any other Win8 device, as well (in fact, they already are).
Plus you can't separate the keyboard from the screen for a device that easily be used while walking around, or can be easily passed around a table...
It has a built-in kickstand, all the Surface models do. What are you talking about? I've used the Surface RT both on my lap and on an airplane tray table just fine with the kickstand, and when I'm in bed I just use it as a tablet.
Pen and also touch. A relatively low battery life for a tablet, but it *is* a tablet; it can run tablet-designed software, it can be operated with your fingers and thumbs while on the bus or the toilet, etc.
As for the keyboard, the Touch Cover and Type Cover both include keyboard and trackpad. The Type Cover is actually a quite nice ultra-thin keyboard. The Touch Cover takes a few minutes to get used to, but works fine. Combined with the Surface's built-in kickstand, they make a decent ultra-portable pseudo-laptop. The covers are stiff enough to be used on your lap, incidentally.