Thinking about Surface RT - couple of questions

[Mellifluous]

My netbook is on its last legs so I am considering options for alternatives, and a Windows 8 RT is something I'd consider. I know it has restrictions but I'm wondering if it has enough "give" to allow me to see it as a viable option for what I want.

1) A really key feature I need is the ability to download files (mainly .doc & .pdf) from my email (e.g. Outlook or Gmail in browser) then re-file it in Dropbox. I know the downloading part is probably fine, but can I then create folders on Dropbox and upload/drag files to these folders? If the Dropbox app doesn't allow this, is it possible to open the Dropbox site in Internet Explorer and upload files from the user folders that way? If someone could verify this works, that'd be great. Although not the best, I'd be very happy with a download file from web to Surface>upload file from Surface to Dropbox via browser solution.

2) Outlook 2013 - I believe this comes included in the upcoming 8.1 update. Can someone tell me if this version of Outlook allows you to save emails locally in user folders like previous versions (e.g. in msg format)? I've seen screenshots that show a "File" menu which Save would come under, but haven't seen a screen that actually shows what is within this menu.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer these queries!

 

[WanderingTraveler]

1. You can. Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer are both capable.
2. As far as I know, it should.

 

[jaimeastin]

You should be good to go! I do t think there is s dropbox app, but the web browser is fine. Also, try SkyDrive. I use it over dropbox... Mainly because it is accessible on all major platforms and works very well.

My surface replace my netbook and iPad. Those devices had to be carried together to be efficient. The surface rt replaced them both. It us a fantastic device and window rt does fine.

 

[rhodri22]

2) Outlook 2013 - I believe this comes included in the upcoming 8.1 update. Can someone tell me if this version of Outlook allows you to save emails locally in user folders like previous versions (e.g. in msg format)? I've seen screenshots that show a "File" menu which Save would come under, but haven't seen a screen that actually shows what is within this menu

You can export to a .pst file.

 

[Mellifluous]

You can export to a .pst file.

I mean something a bit different - e.g. if you have an email selected/open, can you go to File, then save the email? E.g. for Outlook 2010 I can save an email as a text file or in Outlook message format, so that at a later date I can just open the email rather than search my inbox.

Saving to .pst is useful, have you verified this personally in RT? .pst is for saving multiple emails though i.e. archiving entire inboxes, rather than saving single ones like I would like to do.

 

[loribinca]

Be aware the dropbox app is kind of (crap) limited - you cannot use it to download the file locally - well it was like that last time I tried it.

I dont even remember if you can even use it to upload - i seem to remember that it was only useful for viewing stuff you have on your dropbox and nothing else, but I might be wrong on that bit

 

[Mellifluous]

Be aware the dropbox app is kind of (crap) limited - you cannot use it to download the file locally - well it was like that last time I tried it.

I dont even remember if you can even use it to upload - i seem to remember that it was only useful for viewing stuff you have on your dropbox and nothing else, but I might be wrong on that bit

Thanks for the input everyone.

I actually found out through other means that both Dropbox and Outlook were adequate for my needs.

1) While the Dropbox app won't sync files to and from RT automatically, it does allow for folder creation and uploading via browsing for a file etc, as does the browser version - which is all I need on this front. It would be really helpful if a future update allowed the traditional syncing with the desktop UI, but I don't know whether this would be possible.

2) Outlook 2013 is a fully equipped version of Outlook so allows for files to be dragged out of the inbox, and individual emails to be saved. My worry was that it was an app like the Mail app and limited in what it could do - but it is a desktop version of Outlook which is identical to previous versions such as Outlook 2010.

So - I've taken the plunge and bought a Surface RT for ?279 and so far am very pleased! I have heard a lot of bad press about it but I think this is based on people misunderstanding what it is. It's not a replacement for a desktop, but as a mobile PC for business and/or entertainment it seems great. If all a business needs in its computers (or mobile computers) is the capacity to do email, Office, internet and file management, then Surface RTs seem great.

It has limitations, but it still has flexibility in ways iPads don't. iPads are quite a locked mobile operating system with limits such as the inability to just download anything you want or connect to hardware you want. You download apps/music/video, install them, open them and interact with the device as a whole in a very closed way. RT provides a full Windows OS experience, even if it is also a more closed version of it, and the experience of user folders, the desktop and the desktop version of Internet Explorer is identical to the full version down to playing Flash etc - which though a simple differentiator, is a really useful thing.

My other option was to get a cheap, not very powerful netbook type device that had a full OS on it - with the ability to do everything but not to do it particularly well. I aim to use the RT in tandem with my iPad, which has some productivity apps the Surface does not, and should therefore have all bases covered when on the move.

 

[martinmc78]

Welcome to the RT fold - you should find as I did that you rely on your ipad less as time goes by - the first week I had it I carried both around everywhere - by the end of the second week my ipad was up for sale. If you link it to remote desktop to your PC as well it becomes even more productive.

I would have recommended downloading the 8.1 beta as it brings huge improvements - although at this stage you may as well wait for the full release in just over a months time.

 

[Mellifluous]

Unfortunately I think I will have to carry both around with me in some cases, as my iPad does have a couple of apps I definitely cannot do without, including a port of a desktop program I use. I can live without not being able to install games and other programs - that is what my home PC is for - but I do need some programs that just aren't possible on Surface RT.

I've already installed 8.1 on it due to the aforementioned need for Outlook, which I believe isn't available for 8.0