Considering Buying a Surface..

[narv]

Since these questions didn't seem to get answered in here i'll try and help:

Good question, as I'll probably be asking this a year from now. Anyone think this would be good for an engineering student, or would the pro be better?
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depending on the type of engineering you do. Chances are you will be using MATLAB, perhaps some autocad software.. Verilog for hardware programming? you will need the pro for that.. plus the pen will work nicely if you want to write your notes out in onenote... however the pro doesn't come with office, like the RT. it comes with the preview version. the RT you can do word, excel, powerpoint, and onenote on as well as all the apps and such but you can't run legacy software like MATLAB, etc. You could SORTA get away with some of that... if you have a windows 8 desktop.. and you are on WIFI.. and your router is setup right.. and you can get remote desktop working (depending on if you're in the dorms or not... chances are they wont let you port forward on the router but IDK.. depends on the school).. then you could run MATLAB on your RT virtually as if you were running it on your main desktop (or laptop). Just with some latency depending on the WIFI signal strength since you'll be streaming the process between machines.

Is it easy to print something off trough it though?

Amazingly easy to print.. simply swipe in the charm bar on the right, go to devices.. select the printer.. setup number of copies, B&W vs color, etc... then print! that's from apps... and the IE Modern UI browser.. from regular desktop browser and word and such you could just go to the file -> print like normal...

 

[Zeroplanetz]

What's the Yoga's price compared to the Pro's?
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which yoga?

 

[johninsj]

13" yoga starts at $1050. Cheapest core i5 version is 1150. I'd say that's right in the ballpark for a pro + type keyboard.

 

[ryker002]

What's the Yoga's price compared to the Pro's?
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Depends on what size you want on the surface. The yoga I go from best buy for $1000
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[bawboh86]

Depends on what size you want on the surface. The yoga I go from best buy for $1000
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Ditto, and I just saw that Best Buy deal and it's currently at $899 for the 128GB SSD and 4GB RAM model. Linky: Lenovo IdeaPad Convertible Ultrabook 13.3" TouchScreen Laptop 4GB Memory 128GB Solid State Drive Yoga 13 - 59359567 - Best Buy

 

[failed1234]

Probably will get the Yoga then.
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[Bo]

That's a good price for the yoga, I picked up one at regular price and only paid 1160 once taxes and the warranty were applied. I took it back because it didn't come with pro installed and wanted to wait to see what else was coming out, but it is a really good machine.

 

[rdubmu]

Depending on the Major, if you are doing something like Business, I would highly suggest the Surface RT, if you are doing another field for example like engineering or something sotware related I would go for the 128Gig Surface Pro. I do not suggest the 64Gig Surface pro. Not worth the money.

 

[Zeroplanetz]

To me in my opinion I feel the surface is of better construction quality. But that is of ones preference. Also the surface is more portable. Again another opinion.

 

[Zeroplanetz]

Depending on the Major, if you are doing something like Business, I would highly suggest the Surface RT, if you are doing another field for example like engineering or something sotware related I would go for the 128Gig Surface Pro. I do not suggest the 64Gig Surface pro. Not worth the money.

I think they really should have not gone with the 64 but instead the 128 and 256gb while keeping the same price points as now. The 64 just makes no sense.

 

[Zeroplanetz]

I think they really should have not gone with the 64 but instead the 128 and 256gb while keeping the same price points as now. The 64 just makes no sense.

Or better yet keep the 64 but put it as the 699 without the keyboard. Hmmm nah just ax the 64gb. Best option. It seems most people who buy the pro want the 128 anyways. Think of the clearance sales! I want one now Haha. I'm good with my Rt though.

 

[simpkijd]

It's any touchscreen laptop. Excludes tablets...

I picked up the Asus 11.6" for $399.

I can highly recommend that little 11.6" Asus. My wife bought one a while back and it is a very compact, well built machine for the price.

 

[NickA]

I can highly recommend that little 11.6" Asus. My wife bought one a while back and it is a very compact, well built machine for the price.

Agree. For $499 it was a good deal. At $399 it's a great deal. I gave mine to my girlfriend when I got the Surface RT a couple months ago, and I missed it so I picked up another for myself yesterday. It will be my work machine when I'm not at my office, and the Surface will be a dedicated for everything non-work related.

 

[Adenohedron]

I'm a student / research assistant and I commute to my university every day. I have to say the surface was the best thing I've ever bought. It saves my back from a heavy backpack. Also the wide screen makes it really ideal for reading PDFs. I used to print everything out, but not any more. I tried using a kindle however it was just too difficult to use as I read academic papers loaded with figures. As a student I live in office, so having it built in is a life saver. A few days ago my teammates forgot to do a presentation (and tell me about it lol) so while other people were doing theirs I did the who thing on my tablet. As soon as my turn was up I just plugged her in with my VGA adapter and viola...it was awesome. My friend told me she regretted buying her ipad. Windows RT might not be for everyone but for me its great.

Just my 2 cents. Buy what makes you happy and works best for you. If that's an iPad then get that. For me its the Surface.

 

[iop777]

I'm a student / research assistant and I commute to my university every day. I have to say the surface was the best thing I've ever bought. It saves my back from a heavy backpack. Also the wide screen makes it really ideal for reading PDFs. I used to print everything out, but not any more. I tried using a kindle however it was just too difficult to use as I read academic papers loaded with figures. As a student I live in office, so having it built in is a life saver. A few days ago my teammates forgot to do a presentation (and tell me about it lol) so while other people were doing theirs I did the who thing on my tablet. As soon as my turn was up I just plugged her in with my VGA adapter and viola...it was awesome. My friend told me she regretted buying her ipad. Windows RT might not be for everyone but for me its great.

Just my 2 cents. Buy what makes you happy and works best for you. If that's an iPad then get that. For me its the Surface.

thanks for the input! That's the reply I was looking for!

 

[Adenohedron]

No problem. If you have a chance to play with one I highly recommend it. Keep mind though that it doesn't run legacy windows applications. That's what the pro is for, but battery life and built in office is what sold it to me (also the sexy design). I hope you find the best device for you!

Cheers

 

[iop777]

No problem. If you have a chance to play with one I highly recommend it. Keep mind though that it doesn't run legacy windows applications. That's what the pro is for, but battery life and built in office is what sold it to me (also the sexy design). I hope you find the best device for you!

Cheers

I'm hopefully going to the city next week to try one at Best Buy and possibly buy one!

 

[jlynnm350z]

Damn, when i was in school all I had was a pencil and paper. No wonder I failed everything. . .

 

[bawboh86]

Damn, when i was in school all I had was a pencil and paper. No wonder I failed everything. . .

Honestly, I would have been multi-media tasking (Facebook, DeviantArt, forums, etc) instead of paying attention in lecture. I would have failed everything if I DIDN'T have just a pencil and paper.