![]() User interface 101: if the app needs to be set up on the first launch, offer to do that, please. Alright, let’s give that a shot:Īfter waiting over a minute for the machine to boot and launch the mail app, I got a blank gradient screen. If I want to see a v1 program, they’re telling me to look at the Mail app. I’m being told by my staff that Word is not a new program, and has been out since the 1980s. I can understand problems with Word because it’s a new piece of software that Microsoft has never released bef – wait, hold on. Once you’ve banged out a document, saving your work is another adventure: Word’s problems aren’t limited to slow typing. It’s a recipe for returned products – and frankly, that’s exactly what I’m going to do with the Surface RT, return it. Sure, I understand that the shipped version is “Microsoft Word Preview,” but you can’t deliver software like this. The hardware makes promises that the software can’t deliver – and the ability to type faster than Word can digest is a great example of that. Here’s an example video:īut that’s not a hardware problem – and it’s time for us to talk about the ugly problem with the Surface RT. I get the feeling that the Surface RT’s CPU or Word code just can’t keep up with my typing. So quickly, in fact, that I can outrun Microsoft Word on the Surface. I’ve got big hands that often struggle on undersized keyboards, but I can type very quickly on the Type Cover. The Type Cover (the one with real keys) just works. The iPad has a USB dongle available, but it was useless to me because I needed it for my presentation clicker at the same time I also needed video out, but I couldn’t use both simultaneously. The volume up/down buttons are exactly opposite the USB port, so when I plug in USB devices I often push the volume up/down by accident.īut who cares? I HAVE A USB PORT! Oh, Steve Jobs, I understand that you were a design deity, but I really needed that USB port, and I didn’t want a stupid dongle to get it. The magnetic power cord doesn’t snap in with authority, but rather requires careful positioning. Not couldn’t understand – couldn’t even hear it. The speakers are laughably quiet I fired up one of my favorite movies, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and I couldn’t even hear the actors’ dialog in the opening scenes. There are other hardware compromises, but they’re pretty small. The built-in front-facing camera for Skype is angled so that it’ll work great when the kickstand is open, but again, only for Danny DeVito, or maybe for people who want to show off their chests in Skype. ![]() It’s probably perfect for Danny DeVito when he puts it on the seat back tray in coach class, but for me on a desk, it’s too steep. I think the kickstand angle was designed for airplane use by short people, because the screen hardly goes back at all. You get two and only two positions for the kickstand: open and closed. Well, almost – if there’s one significant compromise in the Surface RT, it’s the kickstand. I popped out the kickstand and started typing and it just worked. I plugged in a 64GB micro SD card with all my presentations and files and it just worked. I plugged in my USB presentation remote and it just worked. This tablet hardware doesn’t just compete with the iPad – it bypasses the iPad in many ways that are significant and valuable for me. The Surface RT is Microsoft shoving their hardware partners aside and saying, “Lemme show you how this should be done. Every now and then, a PC maker will bring out something similar, but it’s the very rare exception rather than the rule. Their v1 designs look so beautifully put together, not a mishmash of plastic parts and lids like the PC counterparts. The Hardware is UnbelievableĮvery time Apple unveils a new gadget or laptop, my jaw drops and I wonder how they pulled off executing their industrial designs. I want want want this to work, but one problem after another have led me to come to the conclusion – a temporary one at least – that this thing just isn’t ready to ship. My 24 hours with the half-baked Surface have been a frustrating challenge, a mix of love and hate.
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