Posted on 10/31/2012 1:33:52 PM PDT by SmokingJoe
I’ve been playing around with Microsoft's Surface tablet for several days now and suddenly realized that I’m using it very differently than any other tablet or laptop I’ve ever owned.
It seemed to come to me naturally, but this little device has really improved the quality of my life. Personally, I think Surface represents more than just a new product and should be pereceived as the beginning of a new way of blending work and play. Then again, it may not come as naturally to many of you and I think that aspect of Surface deserves some further discussion.
Working from Home
I’m one of the lucky folks that can work from home. True, such a setup isn't for everyone and a lot of us can get easily distracted by kids, pets, TV and pending chores. Fortunately, the analyst job can generally be done from anyplace but my house sits up on a hill with a fantastic view. I have work time that takes up the daylight hours and then personal time which is often spent watching TV, reading, or working on various projects.
So while my job is based from home, I don’t enjoy it as much as I could using traditional PC tools. In addition, even though I may formulate some great ideas for work during personal time, I hate going back to work to flesh them out because the transition is such that once back into work mode I’ll likely miss out on the rest of the evening.
The Surface Difference
I’m an avid reader and so I’ve started to peruse my Kindle books on the Surface tablet. I’ll be reading and an email will arrive (little flag in the corner).
(Excerpt) Read more at tgdaily.com ...
I’m curious to see what price the full blown Windows 8/Ivy Bridge surface will go for later on in the year.
But, Redmond ALWAYS does something so utterly stupid... the Magnetic Power Plug is a pain. Well, this is true but it is a minor pain, as Redmond failed to mark the orientation so you can accidentally put it in backward. If you do, the device doesn’t self-destruct it just doesn’t charge.
That's just dumb. I mean, coming 3-4 years after Apple did it (without polarity concerns), you would think that they would figure out that polarity shouldn't matter. But no.
I’m loving my surface, but I have to pry it away from my kids to even get on it. Getting a 2nd one in December for my kids.
Is it just me or does that phrase seem odd? When assessing quality of life I look at things like family and friends, not by how easy it is to operate an electronic gadget.
That’s the one I’m holding out for. My wife wanted to get me a Surface for my birthday but the Surface RT won’t run the software I would need for home and work so we wait. I have found that the Surface Win 8 will run a little more for the larger HD capability. Won’t be out until probably January 2013 so it will be a late birthday/Christmas present. It won’t do away with my desktop/laptops/netbook but it should be a nice addition.
Rob Enderle, huh? Well there’s an Apple hater and Microsoft lover going back to the 1990s. Always writing Apple’s obituary back then, multiple times.
So the Surface is great for you Mr Enderle? Terrific. Except that you have no credibility. I’ll reserve judgement on the Surface until I evaluate one myself.
I am gonna guess that polarity does matter with it because the magnetic plug is also a plug for peripherals.
I checked out the specs on the web site and it doesn't look like there will be a tablet version of Outlook - which dampens my enthusiasm considerably.
(the surface, not the prying ;-)
Not sure what you mean but Microsofts own website says the Surface Pro next year will allow you to run Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, etc.
Thank you. I’m happy for your input. I’ve been intrigued with their marketing but I’ve been waiting for the mini iPad to see how I felt about it.
The office software appeals to me on Surface and any number of things. I have the first IPad and will update in a week or so. I think I’ll go with Surface.
Mark my words, we are all going to rue the day that general purpose computing died because of everyone jumping on the wall-garden tablet and smartphone bandwagon.
When I looked it up it talked Word, Excel and Powerpoint but no Outlook - just MS Mail. Maybe I can now get excited again.
Well, that was one weird technology review. Sounds like the guy needs some psychological help to me.
Meanwhile, like most new technology, I will wait until they work the kinks out it.
I laughed, I cried, I'll buy it again and again. Better than Cats! /s
I understand what he is saying. I travel a lot on business and my entourage of electronic devices which includes a Kindle touch, Android phone, Android Tablet, and laptop, chargers, cords, and accessories is maddening not to mention time consuming, worrisome (loss, theft), and expensive. I can see the surface winnowing the mess down to two items. And yes that would improve the quality of my life by freeing up precious time for all the things you mentioned.
The review was within the parameters of propriety and good taste however the illustration threw me off a little. Especially the dog that had its paws up on the computer table. I like tablets but like mobile devices even better because they fit inside my pocket.
What’s wrong with Apple?
Mac used to be a libtard thing but my iProducts have been great.
Still love my MS Win products for design engineering and Ubuntu to run machines that do actual work.
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