Surface Pro?

[wmw999 2,120]

OK, I'm looking at replacing some of my rapidly-aging laptop inventory. I have one smaller, lightweight one, and one behemoth. I'm considering, for the smaller one (and maybe for everything in the long run), a Surface 3, or a Surface Pro. Looking for advice.

I'm used to MS. I want a keyboard. I like using Word, Excel, etc. I don't do a lot of gaming. I really want to be able to play with the photo editing; not because I'm a great photographer, but because it's fun. And I really want some onboard storage space (i.e. not all cloud), because there will be a noticeable amount of time when we won't have access to the net.

E-reading capability would also be nice. I keep thinking that I want to start doing some programming for fun, but it hasn't happened yet, so who knows, but it's not that important.

The advantage, to me, of the MS offerings is the high current opinions of users (it's hard to find a lot of consistent negativity, other than with scaling when docked in a docking station -- something that won't happen), the fairly ubiquitous presence of MS stores in malls and the like, and its relatively lesser opacity as compared with the Apple. Last time I went to the Apple store for an iphone problem, their "expert" told me that "email is hard."

So -- thoughts? and thanks

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Divalent 89]

I got my daughter (college senior) a Dell Inspiron 11 3000 to replace her aging bulky laptop. Its smallish, light weight, runs windows, has a touch screeen, and key board. The neat thing is that the hinge fully swivels so that the keyboard part can rotate all the way around to lie so that you end up with something like a tablet. Not as light/compact as a tablet, but great for when using the computer for things a tablet is better at. But had the normal laptop functionality (although perhaps fewer connection ports than a bigger laptop).

Here's the device I got her. But they have a line of products with more power/memory/larger screen, etc, depending on your needs.

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Pentium-Integrated-Graphics/dp/B010DODAWM

[psw097 0]

I have a Surface 3 and my wife has a Surface Pro 3. Both are great, no complaints. The smaller Surface 3 is better for casual use and travel, while the Pro is a good laptop replacement.

[quade 3]

I dunno. Maybe get a recommendation from the Patriots or something?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zq7mEVgi5M

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[turtlespeed 212]

wmw999

OK, I'm looking at replacing some of my rapidly-aging laptop inventory. I have one smaller, lightweight one, and one behemoth. I'm considering, for the smaller one (and maybe for everything in the long run), a Surface 3, or a Surface Pro. Looking for advice.

I'm used to MS. I want a keyboard. I like using Word, Excel, etc. I don't do a lot of gaming. I really want to be able to play with the photo editing; not because I'm a great photographer, but because it's fun. And I really want some onboard storage space (i.e. not all cloud), because there will be a noticeable amount of time when we won't have access to the net.

E-reading capability would also be nice. I keep thinking that I want to start doing some programming for fun, but it hasn't happened yet, so who knows, but it's not that important.

The advantage, to me, of the MS offerings is the high current opinions of users (it's hard to find a lot of consistent negativity, other than with scaling when docked in a docking station -- something that won't happen), the fairly ubiquitous presence of MS stores in malls and the like, and its relatively lesser opacity as compared with the Apple. Last time I went to the Apple store for an iphone problem, their "expert" told me that "email is hard."

So -- thoughts? and thanks

Wendy P.

I really like my Lenovo Yoga Pro. It's good if you can get all the spa ware off but not necessary.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[ryoder 1,381]

turtlespeed

I really like my Lenovo Yoga Pro. It's good if you can get all the spa ware off but not necessary.

You mean like robes, towels, and sandals?

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[turtlespeed 212]

ryoder

***

I really like my Lenovo Yoga Pro. It's good if you can get all the spa ware off but not necessary.

You mean like robes, towels, and sandals?

Yeah.

That is exactly what I mean.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[BIGUN 1,053]

While at the college; they bought me a Surface Pro. I didn't like the size of the keyboard nor was there any distinctive click while typing - caused me to misspell everything.

Went back to my roots and just purchased a Toshiba Satellite (which I've loved the brand for about 15 years). The one I just purchased is a 17.3" monitor which I connect to a 24" monitor to have a two-headed dragon for multi-tasking. Also picked up the MS 101 Enhanced Keyboard and mouse.

I purchased both the online MS Suite and at the time it gave me a free download of MS Office for the laptop, so I can continue in the cloud or locally. I'm very happy with Win10 OS.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[jcd11235 0]

I just finished a two week tryout of a Surface Pro. As a longtime Apple user, my expectations were not very high. However, it was far and away the best tablet experience I've had. Having access to a desktop operating system was better than having to use any mobile OS.

Some observations:
The Surface Pro feels heavy (and well constructed) for a tablet.
The battery life was very good.
The display was excellent.
Hardware capabilities were very good, given the size. Mine had dual core i5 with 4 GiB RAM and 128GB (GiB?) SSD.
The single USB port was a limitation. The non-Bluetooth wireless keyboard I used required the port for a tiny dongle, so other devices I was working with couldn't connect via USB without a hub.

As much as the Surface Pro is a hybrid between a tablet and a laptop, when I was using it a computer, not just a tablet, with a separate keyboard it felt much more like a tiny desktop than a laptop. (Keep in mind that I use the integrated keyboard and trackpad on my laptop virtually exclusively.)

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[Coreeece 2]

MS fucks android & apple in the ass along with any other sub-par system. I would repeal anti-trust laws for microsoft if I could.

Never was there an answer....not without listening, without seeing - Gilmour

[wmw999 2,120]

I bought one; I'm happy. It's not quite as bug-free as other machines, but the irritations are minor (every now and then you have to unplug and plug the keyboard back in; once I've had to reboot). I use it far more as a PC than as a tablet, but it's eminently usable as a (large) tablet. Since I wasn't a tablet user before, that's not a huge problem. We'll bring it along when we travel this summer.

That's the one thing -- the Surface 4 is probably a little big to be used as a tablet all the time; the 3 was a little smaller and probably better suited to that. But I have access to MS Word, Excel, and all the other toys I know and really don't want to have to re-learn.

I've found the touch screen to be very useful sometimes, and other times I use the Bluetooth mouse (doing stuff in Excel just works better with it for me). It's intuitive. If I were looking for a single computer, I'd seriously consider this, with the addition of a mouse. It only has one USB port, so anything that can be set up wireless should. I don't plug a lot of stuff in or game, so that hasn't been a limitation.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[London86 0]

I've got a Surface Pro 4 - it's a work's machine, but it's still my main system.

I use it for literally everything, working at desk, in meetings, at home, on plane when travelling.

Wouldn't be without it now i have one!