microsoft surface Like your Surface? No, you can't (or shouldn't). It's a bad dev

[Ice_Blue]

According to Farhad Manjoo of Slate:

The Surface?s shortcomings are puzzling. Microsoft has been working on the technology in this device for years. When it decided to create its own hardware, it had to have known that making a good first impression against the iPad would be the key to the Surface?s long-term survival. The Surface is also the most celebrated home for Windows 8, the touch-friendly operating system that Microsoft is hoping will become a big hit on tablet machines. In other words, a lot?for Microsoft, perhaps everything?is riding on the Surface. So as I used it, I was nagged by a recurring question: Why is the Surface so bad?

The first problem is speed. Everything you do on the Surface takes more time than you expect. When you load an app, switch between apps, launch a Web page, go back to a previous Web page, check your email, and do pretty much anything else, you?ll find yourself waiting a half-second too long. This sounds like nothing, but when you compound that time time across every action on the Surface, the wasted half-seconds add up to an annoying trudge.

It?s not just the extra time that kills, but also how the tablet clues you in to its slowness. The surface is littered with little visual bugs that make you think the thing?s broken. When you pinch-to-zoom in on a Web page, the text first shows up looking jagged and low-res; after a small wait, it gets sharp. Every single time you go back in the browser, you?ll see the previous page grayed out; it takes a split second for it to light up.

When you switch the Surface from portrait to landscape mode, its interface doesn?t switch immediately. There?s a half-second where nothing happens, enough time to make you wonder if the switch registered the orientation switch, so you begin to turn it back the other way just as the screen flips to the new orientation. And when the screen does eventually flip, it?s not as smooth as the iPad. Instead the Surface?s screen simply quick-cuts from landscape to portrait and back again, and while that gets the job done, the transition feels less than elegant. And then there were the times I found myself tapping the Surface like a madman, because I couldn?t tell whether it was just responding slowly or whether it hadn?t even noticed me. This happened often. It wasn?t pleasant.

Full story

I know it's his opinion, but this guy's reviews always leaves me with the impression he's trolling.

[+pmrd Subscriber²]

Oh no!! Half-seconds of my life will be wasted!!!

[Muhammad Farrukh]

When you switch the Surface from portrait to landscape mode, its interface doesn?t switch immediately. There?s a half-second where nothing happens, enough time to make you wonder if the switch registered the orientation switch, so you begin to turn it back the other way just as the screen flips to the new orientation

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

My iPad 2 sometimes takes, wait for it, over a second to flip orientation at times. I have seen it even come close to taking 2 seconds. I live with it, always have, and I am just curious was that a news story when the iPad was released?

[.Neo]

I had the chance to play with a Surface and I immediately noticed the lag. Hopefully Microsoft will address this quickly with a software update.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

I always interpreted it (on iOs and Android) as a "dead zone" like function, a buffer if you will, to make sure you rotated on purpose.

[Noir Angel]

On Android I believe the animation lag was being caused by the way they coded it to deal with GPU buffering requests, that problem has been largely fixed on Android 4.1

[UKDarkJedi]

I know it's his opinion, but this guy's reviews always leaves me with the impression he's trolling.

Inclined to believe with you there, never seems to have positive reviews unless it's from Cupertino at least.

Also first line of his review: "There?s only question anyone should ask about Microsoft?s Surface tablet: Is it better than the iPad?" annoys the hell out of me, as he fails to realise they are targeted at completely different demographics. If you don't know the target audience, don't review a product please!

[Rippleman]

Oh no!! Half-seconds of my life will be wasted!!!

some people are ok with lag

[firey]

Inclined to believe with you there, never seems to have positive reviews unless it's from Cupertino at least.

Also first line of his review: "There?s only question anyone should ask about Microsoft?s Surface tablet: Is it better than the iPad?" annoys the hell out of me, as he fails to realise they are targeted at completely different demographics. If you don't know the target audience, don't review a product please!

I thought that Surface/8 was being pushed as a consumer Device/OS.. Is the iPad not a Consumer product? I fail to see the difference in demographics.. I mean.. from my view 8, especially on a tablet is not a business / professional oriented OS.. iOS isn't either.. I think they are both in the same market demographic..

[HSoft]

Inclined to believe with you there, never seems to have positive reviews unless it's from Cupertino at least.

Also first line of his review: "There?s only question anyone should ask about Microsoft?s Surface tablet: Is it better than the iPad?" annoys the hell out of me, as he fails to realise they are targeted at completely different demographics. If you don't know the target audience, don't review a product please!

? Confused. I thought the Surface RT was targetted squarely at the same demographic as the iPad? The Surface Pro is targetted towards professionals rather than the consumer market.

[duddit2]

Sorry but a the issues stated here are windows RT related and not surface, sure surface runs Windows RT but its not a limitation inherent in the hardware (as far as I can tell).

The individual apps will be and are being updated regularly, which should solve any issues with email/calendar etc. (unlike iOS these are apps that don't required a big OS Update to update, updates are fast and regular).

this 'reviewer' just seems very badly informed and non technical (he should be technical to a degree if he is reviewing technical items).

[ZakO]

"Apple fanboy gives negative review to Microsoft product" shocker.

[+pmrd Subscriber²]

some people are ok with lag

I know, however I'm ****ed at UPS for still not delivering my first day pre-order!!

[MikeChipshop Member]

Sometimes i have to wave my iPad in the air or slap it to make it rotate so no biggy.

Also, on Surface i can have two apps open at the same time, hell of a lot faster than switching apps totally.

[abysal]

I have the same issues with my ASUS TF700; supposedly one of the flagship Android tablets. Launching apps take split seconds longer, and changing orientation takes a second to register. Switching between apps also lags behind. Where as my Galaxy S3 is super responsive and has very little if any noticeable lag doing the same functions.

I was considering switching to a windows 8 tablet, but I think I'll wait until the hardware catches up.

[threetonesun]

These same issues are all prevalent in iOS as well, they just do a better job of hiding it.

[The King of GnG]

I don't like Surface, it's **** for me. So said, I don't like it because the ARM architecture is useless and worthless for my computing needs, not because I can't spare a half-second to switch or load some crappy micro-"app" for wasting my time on the absolute nothingness those "smart" mobile devices are designed around....

[TPreston]

If they release RSAT for it ill be all over it

[rfirth]

I always interpreted it (on iOs and Android) as a "dead zone" like function, a buffer if you will, to make sure you rotated on purpose.

Yes, it's an intentional delay to make sure you really want the screen to rotate. It's very common for people to mistake this for lag.

I don't like Surface, it's **** for me. So said, I don't like it because the ARM architecture is useless and worthless for my computing needs, not because I can't spare a half-second to switch or load some crappy micro-"app" for wasting my time on the absolute nothingness those "smart" mobile devices are designed around....

Why are you unloading on Surface? Why not say "I don't like ARM-based devices like Surface, iPad, and Android, it's **** for me"?

It's not really the ARM architecture getting in your way, it's the incompatibility with desktop apps - even if they are .NET and completely architecture independent. I have a feeling that Windows RT 9 will make the platform incredibly powerful and we'll start to see desktop computers based on ARM designs.

[_neutrino Veteran]

i think someone is just trying to come up with reasons to tell people that it is a horrible device.

[The King of GnG]

Why are you unloading on Surface? Why not say "I don't like ARM-based devices like Surface, iPad, and Android, it's **** for me"?

It's not really the ARM architecture getting in your way, it's the incompatibility with desktop apps - even if they are .NET and completely architecture independent. I have a feeling that Windows RT 9 will make the platform incredibly powerful and we'll start to see desktop computers based on ARM designs.

I'll put it this way: Surface is a blatant, unbearable betrayal of the general purpose, open computing platform the "Wintel" standard has been for me during the latest couple of decades. The ARM-based Microsoft uber-**** is unforgivable, for me.

And regarding the ARM-based "desktop computers": I have x86 software archives, I play x86 games, I need x86 software, programs and applications, I won't even consider a "general purpose" ARM device a proper computer because until now, ARM chips have been implemented in castrated machines (a machine that depends on "app store" on-line remote services is a castrated machine, imo) and never in computers.

If the big corporations want a "cloud war" over digital data ownership, I'm pretty much armed already and I won't spare a single bullet against this "mobile cloud on-line tablet smartphone app store" crap.

[ahhell]

I'll put it this way: Surface is a blatant, unbearable betrayal of the general purpose, open computing platform the "Wintel" standard has been for me during the latest couple of decades. The ARM-based Microsoft uber-**** is unforgivable, for me.

And regarding the ARM-based "desktop computers": I have x86 software archives, I play x86 games, I need x86 software, programs and applications, I won't even consider a "general purpose" ARM device a proper computer because until now, ARM chips have been implemented in castrated machines (a machine that depends on "app store" on-line remote services is a castrated machine, imo) and never in computers.

If the big corporations want a "cloud war" over digital data ownership, I'm pretty much armed already and I won't spare a single bullet against this "mobile cloud on-line tablet smartphone app store" crap.

Nobody ****ing cares, dude.

Other people have different needs/wants. Deal with it.

[Crimson Rain]

I don't like Surface, it's **** for me. So said, I don't like it because the ARM architecture is useless and worthless for my computing needs, not because I can't spare a half-second to switch or load some crappy micro-"app" for wasting my time on the absolute nothingness those "smart" mobile devices are designed around....

May be stop whining and try out Surface Pro?

[Phouchg]

The King of GnG for President! I think I actually feel the same somewhere very deep down inside :shiftyninja: