Computers, Technology

Surface Treatment

7 Comments

A few days ago, we got a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 at work. It’s not a bad machine: it’s a Laplet: a hybrid laptop/tablet, and it works well, if we excuse it for Windows 8- the hardware is nice, thin, light, and i7 versions are quick, so it’s a good fit for the very mobile staff that
will be using it.

I remain convinced that Win 8 is a bastardisation of touch-screen tablet OS and a desktop OS that feels like an unholy marriage, though I’m hating it less as I get used to it.

What really creates a whinge is this little stroke of genius, which caused a support call and much fannying around testing chargers this week.

You can see the product launch meeting now:

Dilbert

Yes, Microsoft launched a device, launched a dock for it at the same time (we got the dock a day or two after the device itself), and managed to make the two not work together at launch. Cue a large loss of faith in what should be a good product.

*facepalm*.

You see this a lot with technology, and come to that, with poorly managed processes outside of tech:

1. Decide on arbitary launch date and fix everything to that.
2. Skimp on the preparation/testing, or ignore the problems.
3. Wonder why it’s all gone wrong.

The result is pretty much as you’d expect; you look inept…

7 thoughts on “Surface Treatment”

  1. This is why I left and avoid the Windows ecosystem when I can.

    Apple drop huge clangers, but since I switched I haven’t spent a 10th of the time fighting crap hardware.

    Having been using an Android tablet for a month now, I do realise how well iOS actually works. I dislike it, but the walled garden works well.

    Cheers
    Bob

  2. As I’ve said before, I don’t like the walled garden and the Apple control, but it has it’s upside: it’s easier to have working because you write software on a known platform. Curiously, this is Microsoft going a bit that way, and fucking it up- they have the hardware made for them and write the OS, but they manage to fuck up such a simple thing through mismanagement. I’d let them off if it was a third-party dock, but this is the official OEM one.

    On the times I use iOS (not often), I find it OK. Still annoyed about the crap implementation of WPA/WPA2 that doesn’t drop back to TKIP encryption if that’s all the access point is set up for, though.

  3. Yes, lots to be annoyed with with iOS: one silly one that drives me mad is no option to select all, delete in the mail client. You have to delete each item manually. This is apple’s drive to imap, of course.

    I just don’t get the crashes and stuff works. But Apple has disasters too, and folk forget. The worst bluetooth headset ever, the Apple HiFi, the Pippin, the networking implementations, notification centre and it’s handling of external drives (still rather broken)

    Cheers
    Bob

    1. The drive to IMAP isn’t just Apple: IIRC Windows 8’s mail client insists on it these days, so if you want POP you need to use Thunderbird or similar. It’s probably a good move: POP is ancient and while robust, doesn’t work well with more than one client, and now that everyone has a smartphone, that’s a problem. I do make use of POP, but only to dump stuff on a local server, where I read with IMAP.

    1. Agreed, but it’s still dodgy a *brand new* product, launched at the same time as the OEM accessory, works sort of, but not properly with that accessory, and with no warning like “you must be ruuning firmware x.y.z” for it- and not charging in a dock is pretty fundamental. It even lights up the charging light on the dock :-/

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