Praise for the 3:2 aspect ratio screen

[anon(5348756)]

What hast me most excited about this 3/2 aspect ratio is if they hopefully announce a Surface 3 this fall. They could replicate the design changes on the SP3 to the S3: keep it 10.6 inches - as it's the consumption tablet - but make it 3/2, which would allow to keep the exact same foot print with a bigger screen inside. Upper/lower bezel becomes thinner, sides are kept more or less intact, don't center the screen in the frame but move it a bit to the left, put the Windows key to the right side just like SP3.

That would be a winner for me!

 

[Kyle Baker2]

I always thought the general consensus was that cutting 16:9 panels was cheaper, and therefore more profitable for the OEM laptop and tablet manufacturers to push them out. Otherwise it's hard to justify any reason a laptop or tablet should be 16:9. I quite enjoy the 16:9 ratio on my 27" iMac though. On a 27" screen you still have more than enough vertical height.

 

[california86]

I'm really happy they went with a 3:2. The original aspect ratio is actually what made me sell my original Surface Pro. I wanted a hybrid that I could both use as a computer as well as read books/magazines on. The change to 3:2 is a huge selling point for me this time around.

 

[onysi]

This is the beginning of the courier.

 

[mclark2112]

This is the beginning of the courier.

You had reopen that wound, didn't you...

 

[garak0410]

Why did you have to mischaracterize what I said? Where did I say that those iPad apps are SO AMAZING? That leads me to believe that your curiosity is not so genuine. But for the benefit of others who would be genuinely interested I offer the following:

LOGOS Bible software. The WinRT version of Logos has no resemblance to the iOS version. In WinRT it is nothing more than a limited-function reader. No bookmarking, no highlighting, no notes... not even a TOC display. Alternative Bible reading software is not applicable here due to the resources (books, commentaries, etc.) that are specific to Logos.

Boss Jock Studio. This iOS app is a terrific podcast production app. The widescreen aspect ratio, and powered USB port of the Surface would make it a superior platform for podcast production. The widescreen would allow for a split-screen display of a text script, and the powered USB port offers greater flexibility in the number of supported USB microphones.

WriteRoom/Notesy/PlainText. I keep important notes as plain text in a DropBox folder that is accessed by Notesy/WriteRoom/PlainText on iOS, ResophNotes on Windows, Epistle on Android, and nvAlt on OSX. I have a variety of devices that I use and this setup ensures that the information is always available and synced. There is nothing like this available for Windows RT. I've tried using text editors to access those files on DropBox but it is not the same. No support for labels, keywords, or even searching across the notes. I've been giving some serious consideration to using OneNote for these purposes but the WYSIWYG notebook metaphor is not as useful as nvAlt-style notes.

Track 8 Audio player (technically, support for rubust ID3 Metadata tag support). All music player software for Windows RT appears to use the same underlying APIs. When I used the Zune desktop software, it was very finicky in handling ID3 tags. It took a lot of effort to keep things straight... specifically, using ID3V2.3 tags was the only way to ensure that the Zune would catalog things properly. I've since moved to OSX and iTunes (quite inferior to the Zune software). It seems like Windows RT is as finicky as the Zune. This will require additional work to bring newer tracks into line with the rest of my collection... even though it all works fine on OSX, iOS, and Android devices.

Chrome Web Browser. Chrome is my main web browser on all of my other platforms. The availability of plug-ins, history/bookmark syncing, and overall rendering make it my browser of choice.

Feedly. When Google Reader was discontinued I settled on Feedly as an RSS reader. Yes I can open up the Feedly website in IE, but it is NOT as usable in touch mode as a native app.


And there you have it.

I have to agree with you. To an extent, it IS about the apps. I do actually like the Windows Ecosystem but yes, if they really want to make this the tablet that can replace your laptop, it needs a lot more touch friendly and innovative apps. Plus we need Ballmer again shouting "Developers! Developers! Developers!" and get people to make the apps...case and point...I saw a very cook kitchen device but it will be iPad only. Windows is a perfect platform but no one us rushing to the "Modern" apps.

 

[onysi]

You had reopen that wound, didn't you...

it is just a matter of time really. The keyboard connector will act as a plug for another thinner tablet.

 

[SwimSwim]

it is just a matter of time really. The keyboard connector will act as a plug for another thinner tablet.

It does actually seem very few possible, within a few years. Microsoft: Make this happen.

 

[ytrewq]

It's interesting that we still make this important distinction between apps and programs. To me, it's all software. The Chrome app in Metro may suck, but the desktop version works great for me. And since the SP3 can run either, I don't see a Chrome problem. Obviously, other people feel differently. Maybe it's because they are eager to have a touch-oriented version of the software, and desktop programs have not moved far enough in that direction so it still matters to those people whether there is an app, regardless of whether there is a program.

While I'm eager to see greater touch integration for all software, my experience with the SP2 (and a little time using the SP3) is that the pen does a nice job allowing a touch-like experience but with the precision of the pen tip rather than the finger. Which means you can get pretty close to a touch-like experience with traditional desktop programs that are not touch-optimized. So for me, it's a non-issue, but I may be in the minority.

Once MS releases the touch-optimized office apps, I think other software companies will fall in line, and consumers will stop focusing on whether devices have apps vs. programs and focus more on the overall available software functionality. And once that happens, MS can eliminate the dual-interface in Windows 8 and give us a more unified experience.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

It's interesting that we still make this important distinction between apps and programs. To me, it's all software. The Chrome app in Metro may suck, but the desktop version works great for me. And since the SP3 can run either, I don't see a Chrome problem. Obviously, other people feel differently. Maybe it's because they are eager to have a touch-oriented version of the software, and desktop programs have not moved far enough in that direction so it still matters to those people whether there is an app, regardless of whether there is a program.

For those of us who own other tablets, the Surface (Pro or RT) is measured against those. This is why Modern UI apps are important to us. When we use a tablet in "touch mode" we want to use software that is touch-optimized. Dropping down to the desktop to use a legacy app is a last-resort fallback but it isn't preferable.

Every time that I use a desktop app on a Windows tablet, I'm transported back to late 90's early 2000's when Windows tablets were nothing more than desktop XP with a touchscreen. It was annoying but cool back then, now it is simply annoying.

The fate of the Surface line of products doesn't rest solely on its ability to operate like an ultrabook, but also on how it operates like a tablet.

 

[mparker]

Plus we need Ballmer again shouting "Developers! Developers! Developers!" and get people to make the apps...

It wasn't Ballmer's antics that attracted developers to Windows. It was (a) the install base (b) the quality of the tools and (c) the excellent feature set of the API's. So there was market to chase, and the process of getting to market wasn't too bad. In contrast WinRT (a) has very little relevant market (very few people use touch-only or even touch-mainly devices) (b) requires pervasive use of async/await for which the debugger has inadequate support and which broke most existing .Net libraries (c) the API is very weak compared the current .Net state of the art (BCL + 3rd party libraries). It is unfortunate, but not surprising that developer adoption is weak and that Android and iOS are both more attractive to developers.

 

[garak0410]

The fate of the Surface line of products doesn't rest solely on its ability to operate like an ultrabook, but also on how it operates like a tablet.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I am a huge Surface supporter and can't wait until my Surface Pro 3 arrives. That said, the modern/tablet apps have to get better and offer more. Not only getting the most popular apps but also taking advantage of the fact it is a full x86 tablet with options for tablet like interfaces. There is a lot of power sitting there waiting on developers.

 

[tp2386]

What hast me most excited about this 3/2 aspect ratio is if they hopefully announce a Surface 3 this fall. They could replicate the design changes on the SP3 to the S3: keep it 10.6 inches - as it's the consumption tablet - but make it 3/2, which would allow to keep the exact same foot print with a bigger screen inside. Upper/lower bezel becomes thinner, sides are kept more or less intact, don't center the screen in the frame but move it a bit to the left, put the Windows key to the right side just like SP3.

That would be a winner for me!

I know i'm reviving an old thread but this was damn near spot on. Amazing.