Why I love my Surface 2

[txkimmers]

The tablet form factor has had zero interest for me, so I have never had the urge to purchase an iPad, any Android tablets, or a Surface RT. But for some reason when the Surface 2's were announced, I got very curious, despite all the "meh" press about them. So I bought an S2 the day they came out but I have only been lurking on the forum because I fully expected to return the thing pretty soon after getting it. I really didn't need to spend the money, I didn't see the point when my full sized laptop and my phone have been serving me very well. But I think what sold me originally were the words "remote desktop connection", and all of the other productivity related features that come with the device.

Long story short I LOVE THIS THING. I don't need this thing, but I can't return it because I love it so much. Once I had established that yes, I can get into my work machine and wail away with no lag or connectivity issues, that I can get email from all my accounts, that I can manage my calendar, that all those nuts and bolts things that I need not only to work but "just work" (the holy grail of consumer tech praise), I realized I also just enjoy using this thing. Windows 8/8.1 makes so much sense with a touchscreen and it's a joy to use. Apps side by side is fantastic, immensely useful.

I do find it a bit sad that there are more good apps and games to be had on my 925 than on this device, but I from what I have read, that situation should be improving in the near future. I also dislike the screen resolution--on the desktop side, using the suggested settings makes the icons look like tiny ants (yes, my eyes are a bit older, so there), but you can't change the resolution too much without negatively affecting how the metro apps work.

The type cover....it's easier for me to use than my laptop keyboard, I can't believe I am saying that but it's really true.

I really share in the frustration of others about the press on this device, it's a great device for tech nerds as well as more average consumer types. LOVE MY SURFACE 2.

 

[christenmartin]

Re: Why I l****e my Surface 2

I'm with you on the desk top not being real friendly to touch. That's were the key board comes in. I actually did buy mine for work and to replace an aging laptop. I was totally prepared to return it if it didn't stand up. Tablets are handy but the steps and work arounds you have to do to actually be productive are the actual opposite of productive. So far so good. I am amazed how little it is not like a tablet and more like a pc but portable. Nice.

 

[Christian Kallevig]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the DPI scaling setting accessed via the Control Panel only affect the desktop? If so you could easily resize desktop elements to a more palatable size.

To access this, go to Control Panel > Appearance and Settings > Display and find "Change the size of all items"

 

[txkimmers]

I will give that a try, thanks!

ETA: Eh, when I checked that setting, it was already set to the maximium size, so no help there! I can set the resolution to something that works ok for me on both desktop but does not affect the metro apps too badly. Still it's something that might give pause to other users, especially older ones who have trouble with resolutions on desktops. I teach a beginner computer class for seniors and that is always at the top of the list of their issues with computers.

 

[christenmartin]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the DPI scaling setting accessed via the Control Panel only affect the desktop? If so you could easily resize desktop elements to a more palatable size.

To access this, go to Control Panel > Appearance and Settings > Display and find "Change the size of all items"

nice.

 

[christenmartin]

I will give that a try, thanks!

ETA: Eh, when I checked that setting, it was already set to the maximium size, so no help there! I can set the resolution to something that works ok for me on both desktop but does not affect the metro apps too badly. Still it's something that might give pause to other users, especially older ones who have trouble with resolutions on desktops. I teach a beginner computer class for seniors and that is always at the top of the list of their issues with computers.

Not so nice

 

[Christian Kallevig]

Ah, okay then. I couldn't remember what the default setting was as I have it turned all the way down on mine. I dunno why it doesn't go above that...

It's a little better with a mouse, but if you can't even see it clearly at that size then I guess the thing to do might just be to stay off the desktop as much as possible, which obviously isn't a great solution.

I hope the Metro versions of Office aren't too far off

 

[HeyCori]

I don't have my Surface in front of me but have you tried just lowering the resolution?

 

[Christian Kallevig]

I got the impression that is what she was trying to begin with.

Now that I think of it, I think DPI scaling might be in the registry somewhere. I'll look into this... It's possible you could push it past 150%

Edit: Okay, the value is at HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/LogPixels

Change it to 200 in Decimal (or C8 in Hexidecimal). If that doesn't work you can always go higher.

Edit2: ...Nevermind, I can't seem to find this value in the registry on my Surface 2

Edit3: Okay, there is a value called Win8DPIScaling there... I'll mess with that and see how it works

Edit4: Okay, so that seems to do nothing. But apparently if you check the box that says "Let me choose one scaling level for all of my displays" you can set your DPI scaling higher.

 

[txkimmers]

I don't have my Surface in front of me but have you tried just lowering the resolution?

yes, that was my first option but if you lower it too far, you get a warning message when trying to open some metro apps.
Truly though I have found my desktop to metro usage is completely inverted on the Surface. On my non-touch laptop, I generally ignore the metro side of things. With the S2, I only cross over to the desktop when I need Word or Excel. And I really think that Seniors would really benefit from an 8.1 device. The whole experience removes all of the confusing and tricky aspects that my students routinely get frustrated with. I wish I could give them all 8.1 touch devices to use.

 

[kristalsoldier]

yes, that was my first option but if you lower it far, you get a warning message when trying to open some metro apps.
Truly though I have found my desktop to metro usage is completely inverted on the Surface. On my non-touch laptop, I generally ignore the metro side of things. With the S2, I only cross over to the desktop when I need Word or Excel. And I really think that Seniors would really benefit from an 8.1 device. The whole experience removes all of the confusing and tricky aspects that my students routinely get frustrated with. I wish I could give them all 8.1 touch devices to use.

Well said! I agree. I find myself in the desktop space only for Office related work. While that is quite a lot, nevertheless, it is almost always in Word, PowerPoint or Excel.

I just hope MS is able to release featured version of their Office Apps quickly. As far as I know, this is supposed to happen sometime in Spring 2014. Or, maybe in early summer.

 

[SwimSwim]

Glad to hear you like your Surface 2! Hope you use that thing to its full potential!!

However, I must agree: even on my Surface Pro 2 with the stylus (which is nearly as accurate as a mouse), or hell, even with a mouse, the experience is a little jarring. I've adapted, but it can be confusing, especially since it seems that pretty much only programs published by Microsoft have been optimized for touch input whilst using the desktop.

Still, love this thing! Never going back!

 

[SwimSwim]

OMG: I keep finding more reasons to love this thing! I heard that Sharknado was such an awful movie it was funny. Well, I just noticed it's available on Amazon Prime. Not wanting to waste precious time while I watch (this hilariously awful movie), I've got it streaming on Amazon Prime, while I have another window on Internet Explorer open to the right side of it so I can browse and use the forums (With MANY tabs open), this thing isn't even stuttering!!! Try doing that on an iPad!!!

 

[Christian Kallevig]

My opinion of Sharknado was that it was trying too hard to be bad. All of the Asylum movies are like that.

If you want to see something that truly has a place of honor in the realm of 'so bad it's good', check out Miami Connection. It's on Netflix

 

[Highdefjunkie]

My opinion of Sharknado was that it was trying too hard to be bad. All of the Asylum movies are like that.

If you want to see something that truly has a place of honor in the realm of 'so bad it's good', check out Miami Connection. It's on Netflix

The Room

/end thread

 

[ioaniro]

I will give that a try, thanks!

ETA: Eh, when I checked that setting, it was already set to the maximium size, so no help there! I can set the resolution to something that works ok for me on both desktop but does not affect the metro apps too badly. Still it's something that might give pause to other users, especially older ones who have trouble with resolutions on desktops. I teach a beginner computer class for seniors and that is always at the top of the list of their issues with computers.

Not sure if this settings are the same on the RT vs the full windows but if you go to the desktop, right click and select screen resolution in the normal Windows 8.1 there is a "Make text and other items larger or smaller" option. In there you can change the text size of different things aw well as play with the DPI. At least it makes stuff readable.

 

[txkimmers]

Not sure if this settings are the same on the RT vs the full windows but if you go to the desktop, right click and select screen resolution in the normal Windows 8.1 there is a "Make text and other items larger or smaller" option. In there you can change the text size of different things aw well as play with the DPI. At least it makes stuff readable.

Changing the resolution to 1280 x 768 seems to be the sweet spot for me and the metro apps are still ok too.

In other news, the MS Food and Drink app is really pretty great! There are other cooking apps that are drop dead gorgeous, like the Great British Chefs app, but the F&D app is really useful.

 

[Doctor Pork]

OMG: I keep finding more reasons to love this thing! I heard that Sharknado was such an awful movie it was funny. Well, I just noticed it's available on Amazon Prime. Not wanting to waste precious time while I watch (this hilariously awful movie), I've got it streaming on Amazon Prime, while I have another window on Internet Explorer open to the right side of it so I can browse and use the forums (With MANY tabs open), this thing isn't even stuttering!!! Try doing that on an iPad!!!

And the funny thing is the letter boxing is likely about the same as on an iPad if you use about 30% of the screen for browsing... And yet some don't understand why some of us actually find the wide screen useful. The iPads dimensions are really only a good choice if you don't multitask.

 

[psudotechzealot]

And, I bet your surface 2 love you back. :grin: Seriously, though, thank you for sharing this.

 

[thecaringkind]

Hi guys n gals. I've had the S2 for some time now and its really great. The build quality, kickstand and versatility of the device are just outstanding. You can simply do so much more than any other tablet on the market. As long as I have owned it I feel like I haven't really scratched the surface, (forgive the pun) in terms of the things I can do with it.

The split screen multitasking is excellent, battery life is very very good, its fast and capable as a work device, and the screen continues to be sharp for all applications. I game on it, stream Netflix and Amazon Prime, edit Excel docs and use One Note. I also download torrents like a breeze.

Overall the S2 is a great versatile device that never gets old. Microsoft really needs to support the platform, get some more developers on board because they really are just scratching the surface.:winktongue: