September 2015 Update Really Lame

[wshwe]

"We will have an update available in September 2015 that will improve the Start menu and lock screen."

https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...-us%2Fwindows%2Fwindows-10-faq&token=q2yC3i3m

Upcoming Windows RT update will include new Start menu and lock screen | The Verge

IMHO Microsoft shouldn't bother to release such a lame update.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

The September update hasn't been released yet so we'll see what Microsoft actually delivers. It's possible that considering how poorly they've botched the rollout and handling of the Surface RT/2 and Windows RT, that they want to be on the conservative side of what they commit to release.

I'm seeing something very interesting going on with the Surface RT/2. There is appears to be a noticeable up-tick in interest for those devices... not just among my sphere of acquaintances but in the response to ebay auctions.

Some of my thoughts...

Perhaps with the increased exposure to Windows 8/8.1 and subsequent "comfort" with it, the surface no longer seems "alien". Their experience using Win 8.x on notebooks and desktops may help them to see the value of it on a tablet.

Growing awareness that the inclusion of a full/permanent license for MS Office is a great value. (all Windows tablets produced today offer at best, a year's subscription to Office 365)

The price difference between the Surface RT/2 (even new ones) and the Surface 3 make the older RT/2 seem more attractive. The Surface RT can easily be purchased for $100, the Surface 2 for under $200. Often times these prices include a keyboard cover.

The quantity of quality touch-optimized Modern UI apps is still poor. This continues to diminish the value of the more expensive Surface 3. Even though the Surface 3 is also a full Windows system, the touch experience between the RT/2 and 3 isn't that different... certainly not enough to justify the difference in cost.

I'm not implying that there is going to be a sudden growth of Surface RT/2 devices (MS has stopped producing them). But SOMETHING appears to be going on.

All that to say that it is possible that Microsoft can (in an exception to their history) over-deliver on what they promised. And frankly, considering how much of the tablet-centric features of 8.x have been removed from 10, having a full Windows 10 RT doesn't seem like a good thing for Surface RT/2 owners.

 

[Philip Hamm]

WillysJeepMan, great commentary. Just as a 10" laptop with MS Office the RT and Surface2 are a great value. I love mine; even if I were to get a newer Surface Pro or 3 my original RT would stay with me. The screen is fantastic and it works well for displaying music. Not sure I'd want to put a $1299 Surface Pro 3 on a mic stand in some dive bar to host my charts for a gig, but a $200 Surface? No problem.

 

[bdball]

I'd say the uptick has more to do with people unloading them and trying to get as much as they can while they still can. On the other hand, like you said, it makes for a cheap tablet for someone who wouldn't normally have the chance to purchase one.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I'd say the uptick has more to do with people unloading them and trying to get as much as they can while they still can. On the other hand, like you said, it makes for a cheap tablet for someone who wouldn't normally have the chance to purchase one.

I guess I should be a bit more specific with my ebay observation... I'm not referring to the number of auctions for Surface devices but for the number of bids and the aggressiveness of those bids. People who want one watch these auctions and will frequently bid and snipe like few other items I've seen.

In June 2014 I traded my Surface 2 in @ Best Buy ($250) toward the purchase of an 11" MBA. A year later after missing that little, nimble, and quick device I set out to pick up another one. It took me about a month of stalking ebay auctions, throwing in spec bids occasionally. I eventually snagged a mint 32GB S2, black TypeCover, 32GB microSD card, and Incipio padded case for $117.

WillysJeepMan, great commentary. Just as a 10" laptop with MS Office the RT and Surface2 are a great value. I love mine; even if I were to get a newer Surface Pro or 3 my original RT would stay with me. The screen is fantastic and it works well for displaying music. Not sure I'd want to put a $1299 Surface Pro 3 on a mic stand in some dive bar to host my charts for a gig, but a $200 Surface? No problem.

Exactly. The usefulness of the Surface RT/2 has improved for me with the release of LibreOffice 5. I rely heavily on LibreOffice (because of its cross-platform capabilities) but it didn't do a great job handling Office documents produced by Office RT. But with LO5, it handles them nearly perfectly. (close enough to not be bothersome during development and requiring only a few minor tweaks before printing)

I regularly work with documents with complex layouts/formats. They started out in iWork 09 Pages format, I then recreated them by hand from scratch in LibreOffice's .odt format and again in MS Office .docx format. At any given time I may need to edit docs in Pages, LibreOffice, or MS Office formats.

I've been pushing the S2 to see just how much of what I do on my Macbook Air and Acer Aspire Switch 11 can be done on the S2. I'm getting surprisingly far.

I've got some incentive though, I'll be going on a cruise in November (but will still need to do some work during that time) and I want to take only the S2. So far, it's looking good, very good.

 

[Philip Hamm]

I've got some incentive though, I'll be going on a cruise in November (but will still need to do some work during that time) and I want to take only the S2. So far, it's looking good, very good.

Ha! It was a cruise that inspired me to get my 64G Surface RT!

To put a long story short, I wanted a device that would have orders of magnitude more storage than my 32G iPad2 (the SRT with 64G MicroSD has 4x the capacity). I wanted to be able to watch a bunch of movies on the long flights from DC to Venice, Italy and back. I also wanted something with an accessible file system so I could offload all my daily pictures/videos from my DSLR and phone at the end of the day every day. The Surface did that and so much more.

It ended up replacing my laptop, and it works so much better than the iPad for displaying music for my gigs that I'm still amazed by that to this day. For this particular use, I need a very high quality screen that only a premium device like the Surface has. it needs to be bright enough to read in full daylight if need be,

Oh, and a copy of Microsoft Office to boot?

My only complaint is that IE is slow at times. I wish there was an alternate browser. Very good device all around. Looking forward to Update 3 even if it is modest.

 

[seb_r]

Indeed lame what MS does there and not expected they act again. But what we see here is like what has happened with the WP 7.8 upgrade.
From my side, no single $$$ will be spent on any MS product anymore
Just with the drop of WP7 they bite the most loyal MS customers and early adopters of their products. Now again.

 

[Willy Soughers]

https://windows.uservoice.com/forum...tions/7012012-build-an-upgrade-for-windows-rt

Vote here! At least that way we have a hope at getting something less lame.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Indeed lame what MS does there and not expected they act again. But what we see here is like what has happened with the WP 7.8 upgrade.
From my side, no single $$$ will be spent on any MS product anymore
Just with the drop of WP7 they bite the most loyal MS customers and early adopters of their products. Now again.

You'll get no argument from me.

Microsoft has a long track record of doing stuff like this. Not only WP 7.8, but Microsoft Kin, Origami (overhyped/underdelivered), and to a lesser extent the Zune. That is why I never pay full price for Microsoft devices. I ask myself, "Would I be content to pay this price for this device if Microsoft were to announce the next day that they are abandoning it?"

People who paid the full MSRP of $500 for the original Surface RT are the ones who really got a raw deal. And I feel for them.

In the case of the Zune and Surface RT/2 (or "Zune tablet" as I like to refer to it), the hardware is stellar and rivals anything put out by Apple. By having a feel for what a reasonable price is, I've been able to take advantage of this hardware without getting gouged by Microsoft.

 

[RTGent]

I don't know what this "September update" is, but I use my RT every single day I'm in town --mostly for browsing, but also music, OneNote, and MS Word. It is also my primary travel computer now, requiring my SP2 only occasionally, and, as with my SP2, I can easily connect it to my TV monitor. My like-new, circa-2010, Toshiba Portege is in a drawer, kept strictly for guests and for insurance.

Having a low replacement cost, and everything continually backed up, I also lend it freely to family and friends' kids to play various games, including occasional use of an Xbox controller. I do take care of it, and the RT screen and shell still look like new. The original type keyboard is on almost full time, and is now quite frayed at the fold, but it still works perfectly and I only have to reconnect it once-a-month or so.

Next to my Lumia 1020 and Zune music players, the RT is my most needed and valued device. :smile: