Using the surface as primary device

[yaron zeevik]

Hey I'm a student and as a low budget mind I'm consider buying the surface 2 with the RT OS and use it as my primary computing device. My every day usage is mainly music, alot of web surfing and little office and one note workout. I thinking about plug it to my 25 HD LCD desktop computer while in home... What you saying do you recommend me to go for it?

Ohh and I have my Lumia 920 to sync with it

 

[jimkraz]

If you don't mind not being able to install Windows software on it, then yes go ahead, I have both the original Surface Pro and the RT, I use my RT for office work and browsing, the Pro I have all sorts of software installed, Adobe Elements, Paintshop Pro among others, the battery life on the RT is better but I work with the Pro mainly at my desk. Jim

 

[angusdegraosta]

Surface 2 and Lumia 920 are what I have; both work great. I'd recommend the type cover if you're writing papers on the Surface.

 

[yaron zeevik]

Tnx for the help..do u feel the absence of the legacy software's support ?

 

[angusdegraosta]

No... though I also have a regular laptop, Surface 2 works fine for music, video, browsing, typing etc. It's solidly built and battery life is great.

 

[azcruz]

My Surface does the the usual tasks you mentioned. It is my primary device. I use my Pro 2 for Visual Studio and Hyper-V.

Sent from my Windows Phone 8S by HTC using Tapatalk

 

[yaron zeevik]

Does the screen size bothered u?

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Tnx for the help..do u feel the absence of the legacy software's support ?

For what you described, the Surface 2 should serve your needs. As for me, yes, I do feel the absence of legacy software support because of the continued lack of quality apps developed for Windows RT. I'd prefer NOT to use legacy Windows apps since they are not "touch-aware"... but even legacy apps are better than nothing.

 

[CJ Thunder]

I'm in the same boat. I need something just for word and easy to carry...

But, I need plugins for some online classes... How is rt ie with that?

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I'm in the same boat. I need something just for word and easy to carry...

But, I need plugins for some online classes... How is rt ie with that?

To the best of my knowledge, RT IE does not support plugins.

 

[azcruz]

Does the screen size bothered u?

I'm ok with the screen size, I have two of them

 

[CJ Thunder]

To the best of my knowledge, RT IE does not support plugins.

Well ****, guess I better go to an MS store and see if the RT can operate on pearsonlabs.com and more.

 

[angusdegraosta]

Yes, look into that. People often write without thought whether they have current info. RT IE runs its own Flash and renders most (but not all) websites quite well.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Yes, look into that. People often write without thought whether they have current info. RT IE runs its own Flash and renders most (but not all) websites quite well.

If you were referring to my comments, I made no mention of Flash. Java and browser plug-ins are the deficiencies of RT IE. As long as that won't interfere with the intended usage, the OP should be fine.

 

[onlysublime]

I have both the original Surface RT and the Surface Pro 2. The SP2 is my primary device, meaning it's my go-to when I absolutely have to do something in particular.

However, my Surface RT is my daily machine for my daily work. It's perfect for work with touchable Office, a long lasting battery, a lightweight design, etc. The built-in PDF reader is great. PowerPoint runs great. A lot of people at my med school had Surface machines (more Pro than regular but a decent amount of regular) because they're great for school.

As long as you pair the Surface with the Touch Cover 2, you're good to go.

The only terrible thing is the web browsing speed. WillysJeepMan mentioned that it's faster if you set it to mobile browsing but I really dislike mobile browsing.

 

[Cruncher04]

The only terrible thing is the web browsing speed. WillysJeepMan mentioned that it's faster if you set it to mobile browsing but I really dislike mobile browsing.

It should be mentioned, that while you are talking about the original Surface RT, the OP mentioned the Surface 2. The Surface 2 is significantly faster. Web-sites load in about half the time than on the original RT.

 

[onlysublime]

It should be mentioned, that while you are talking about the original Surface RT, the OP mentioned the Surface 2. The Surface 2 is significantly faster. Web-sites load in about half the time than on the original RT.

Yes, the point I was trying to make is that even at the original Surface RT speed, it's a great machine to use. So the speed improvements of the Surface 2 should make it an even better device. The main problem of the original is the web browsing speed.