14 ms·

Inside the Creation of the Microsoft Surface Book

128 points by _nh_ 11y ago

strictnein 11y ago
Maybe I missed it before, but this is the first article that I've read that specifies the battery split between the base and the screen: > "The top gets four hours of battery life, and the bottom gets eight."
- mfoy_ 11y ago
  It certainly explains how it isn't super top heavy.
- masklinn 11y ago
  I've seen previous mentions of it (probably on /r/microsoft or somesuch), though they stated 3h in "tablet mode" (screen only, not design mode with the screen reverted on the base) edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3npv7p/microsoft_surface_book_claimed_to_be_twice_as/ https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3npv7p/microsoft_sur...? has multiple mentions of the 3h "screen only" version ([e.g.](https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3npv7p/microsoft_surface_book_claimed_to_be_twice_as/cvqgc5u) https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3npv7p/microsoft_sur...), I'm guessing it was made explicit during the unveiling or just after.
- speedkills 11y ago
  I wonder if the top will recharge from the base if I have been using it in tablet mode for a while, then put it back in laptop mode without plugging into external power?
- mtgx 11y ago
  It's true, except for the part that it gets four hours. It should be more like 2-3h.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
peletiah 11y ago
There's a lot of fluff in this article, but little technical details. I'd be curious how the hinge works, and although a whole section of the article is dedicated to it, I explains nothing. > It’s also, claims Panay, a first. “It’s never been done before. This product is the first ever where the GPU is in the base and then a second GPU is in the top.” The result is a “balance” between hardware and software. Yeah. Right.
- MBCook 11y ago
  That line struck me too. Apple has had GPU switching for quite a while (my 2010 MacBook Pro has it, and I don't think it was the first). So clearly MS didn't invent that. I wonder if what he's talking about is the fact that it's a mainstream production system where the dedicated GPU is actually removable. Not a "Plug this into your Thunderbolt port" thing or a "Turn it off and stick this module in", but a "just pull it apart and the GPU is no longer there". The balance part was questionable writing.
  - masklinn 11y ago
    > my 2010 MacBook Pro has it, and I don't think it was the first NVidia had unveiled Optimus (its graphics-switching solution) in February, but I don't know if there were laptops using it by April (when the 2010 MBP was releaased). Considering a bunch of optimus-based laptops were announced with Optimus itself, probably.
  - maxerickson 11y ago
    How many previous removable keyboard computers even had 2 GPUs? (The claim isn't that GPU switching had never been done, it's that they put one in each part of the device. Which is sort of less interesting than the switching, but it's neat that the power hungry one is attached to the bigger battery.)
  - scholia 11y ago
    GPU switching is old, but not with the GPU in a separate location that can be physically detached....
ececconi 11y ago
The fact that the surface pro 4 has a much more robust battery life, without the keyboard attached, makes it my product of choice if I'm going to buy one of these things. Thing is, I don't need all the extra horsepower from this machine. Awesome design.
anjc 11y ago
What a bizarre conclusion at the end. Is it a Macbook alternative? Yes but no, because "Switching ecosystems is dicey business." Tech journalist's reasons for the Surface not being a viable option are getting ridiculous. The SP1 apparently wasn't powerful enough as a laptop and didn't have the battery of a tablet. The SP2 was powerful enough with a longer battery, but it's hard to use full Windows in a touch device. The SP3 is powerful enough, long lasting battery enough, light enough, with a big enough screen to use via touch, but then "lapability" became a metric in articles. Now everything's great, but "switching ecosystems is dicey business". It's strange the way goalposts keep getting shifted with each iteration. I switched completely to the MS ecosystem with the SP3 and it was easy.
- 123jay7 11y ago
  It's not just tech journalists. Nobody bought the SP1, and nobody bought the SP2. The sales numbers are awfull compared with sales of iPads or even regular Macbooks. Nobody is going to buy the Surface Book. (PS - people in this thread aren't youre regular folks, and their opnions really dont' matter in the long run. Just look at the raw sales figures and you'll see a product that nobody wants, nobody cares about, and nobody is going to get)
- untog 11y ago
  Switching ecosystems is dicey business, though. I definitely want a Surface Book, but my entire development setup is now UNIX-centric having used a Macbook since 2006(?). It's not that I can't switch back, but there's a big, $1,500 leap into the unknown to be made, which is a professional risk.
  - michaelmcmillan 11y ago
    That's actually the only reason holding me back as well. Cygwin is not very tempting.
    - tiedmann 11y ago
      And then there's vagrant. I switched back to MS because C# and profit, all other dev is on vagrant boxes which actually made things easier as I tend to be more comfortable with that what I push will work as I have the same *nix setup on my 127.0.01 as on remote.
ZanyProgrammer 11y ago
I really wish MSFT would hurry up and make a plain old one piece ultrabook. I really don't want a device with an innovative hinge and removable screen. An ultrabook with this level of design quality, and vanilla Windows you can buy at the MSFT store, would be an instant winner in my book.
- thomaslangston 11y ago
  I don't see a one piece in their future, but I believe this does run vanilla Windows 10. And even they believe you'll run this as a one piece 80% of the time.
- criddell 11y ago
  I'd like that too. My current device is a Thinkpad Yoga that I love, but I've lost a lot of trust in Lenovo and don't think I would buy from them again. There really isn't anything out there other than a Macbook (running Windows in a VM or reformatted) that I can see myself getting. I also wish they would release a smaller version of Windows for business use. I want my operating system to simply support the software I run. Cortana, live tiles, and most personalization functions decrease the value of Windows 10 for me. I'd get rid of all the Bing apps (Weather, Finance, Sports, News, Music, etc...) too. If you don't use them, it's just bloatware and I don't understand why they make it difficult to uninstall those applications.
  - scholia 11y ago
    Try checking how much space the Bing apps take up, preferably before you've used any of them.... Windows 10 is actually quite economical in the space it uses. Remember, the full OS runs on 32-bit tablets with only 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The MacBook means giving up the touch-screen, tablet and high-end pen functionality that you would get with a Surface Pro. Also, it seems a little inconsistent to worry about the space taken up by Bing apps while contemplating a solution that requires two whole operating systems and a VM ;-)
    - criddell 11y ago
nilkn 11y ago
I'd really like to get one of these as my next laptop/mobile computing device. However, with the Surface Pro 4 (and all previous iterations), it seems impossible to actually use on your lap. Granted, I haven't had an opportunity to try it, but the kickstand and attachable keyboard seem like they only work on an actual desk. I very rarely use my current laptop, a MacBook Air, on an actual desk. The Surface Book easily solves that problem, but I've seen reports that the battery life is only about ~3 hours with the screen detached as a tablet. That's low enough to make me question the purchase. I've had to wait at an airport for over 3 hours before, and that means that my tablet would have went from 100% to 0% battery before even getting on the plane. Granted, the keyboard base has more batteries built into it, so the device would not be unusable in this scenario, but it would not be usable in its ideal form factor. (This article, for what it's worth, claims 4 hours for the tablet and 8 hours for the bottom -- slightly more generous numbers.) Edit/update: I forgot when writing this that the Surface Book's screen can be attached to the base backwards with the base folded back, thus getting the full ~12 hour battery life (plus the discrete GPU) at the cost of some extra bulk. Depending on just how bulky it is, that just might solve the problem for me.
- yread 11y ago
  Check out the pictures in the article. Especially this one http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzA3L2U5L01pY3Jvc29mdF9NLmVlNTBlLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/892f624c/d32/Microsoft_Meeting-3.jpg http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzA3L2U5L01pY3Jvc... it has 3 people using Surface on their (gasp) lap!
  - nilkn 11y ago
    It doesn't look very comfortable to me. I don't want to feel like I'm balancing the kickstand on my legs. And what if I'm laying down? The only way I'll know for sure I suppose is to actually try it.
  - dogma1138 11y ago
    I have the SP2 and it's almost impossible to use on your lap as a laptop it doesn't stay put. The keyboard is not hard enough to type on comfortably and there aren't enough points of contact to prevent the damn thing from constantly sliding and tipping over. The SP3 might be a bit better, the keyboard is supposed to be considerably better but as far as the SP2 goes the best way i found to actually use it on your lap is to lay it pretty much flat, using the kick stand never worked for me.
TheMagicHorsey 11y ago
I think the Surface tablets are superior hardware compared to the new iPad Pro, HOWEVER, since I'm mainly going to use the iPad Pro for art, I'm afraid the apps on iOS are actually going to be cheaper and better. I've been surprised by the quality, low price, and useability of of iOS and OSX creative apps. Hype, Pixelmator, Sketch, and Over. Are really good tools, and they are cheap. The Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) are still the best tools from a feature perspective, but they are expensive, and they are now on a subscription plan. I don't make art for a living ... I do it for fun ... so I can't justify spending that much money every month, for something I might or might not use. I have rented Creative Suite to use for a month on occasion (to edit a Wedding video and to design some invitations), but day to day, I'm usually messing around in Pixelmator these days. The only thing I miss from Adobe is Lightroom. There's nothing like Lightroom. I'm stuck using the last non-subscription version of Lightroom, and will probably never upgrade. Pretty sad about that. I wish there were products like Pixelmator and Sketch for PC.
- exhilaration 11y ago
  The only thing I miss from Adobe is Lightroom. There's nothing like Lightroom. I'm stuck using the last non-subscription version of Lightroom, and will probably never upgrade. Pretty sad about that. Lightroom is actually available for purchase separately, I think it might be the only Creative Suite product that's still available that way. Just search Amazon for Lightroom 6 or buy directly from Adobe.com.
  - UnoriginalGuy 11y ago
    Indeed, since Apr 21, 2015. I will say I like Lightroom but the way Adobe force updates annoys me. Instead of a new Lightroom offering new features and benefits, you HAVE To upgrade Lightroom for new Camera Raw versions (meaning if a camera is newer than the next version of Lightroom, it won't be supported on the old version). For example, I own Lightroom 4 (2012), it does everything I need but I cannot use it with my camera purchased in 2014 because Camera Raw doesn't support it (even though the actual format of the RAW files is identical, just the camera's ID metadata has changed). PS - Disclaimer: I actually have Creative Cloud now. Got it after my Lightroom 4 stopped working. It is the "At Home" deal via work ($10 per year for me for home, because my work already pays for an enterprise license).
stinos 11y ago
So if mechanically unlocking the screen has a dedicated key and software sound, does this mean you cannot get the screen off the keyboard if the OS isn't running? That would be unfortunate, for what seems like an otherwise great product.
- tonylemesmer 11y ago
  To energise the nitinol requires battery power at least. I would hope that it would be able to do that without being powered up. But yes, that detail is missing.
  - pablovidal85 11y ago
    So, why wasn't a mechanical hook used instead? It seems to me they overengineered that part a bit.
    - yannyu 11y ago
      Well, given that the Surfacebook utilizes computing power in the attached keyboard, maybe disconnecting it without properly checking processes could cause bad things to happen?
      - bsimpson 11y ago
        At least when it's on, it needs time to switch from the processors in the keyboard to those in the tablet.
rbanffy 11y ago
I'd love to know how much pressure can the hinge withstand before deforming. Since the lid does not rest flat on the base, all forces are applied on relatively small regions and it seems like it'd be easy to either deform it or just crack the tablet side.
barkingcat 11y ago
Wow this reads like a commercial for the surface book. It's so superlative in all its adjectives.
- teachrdan 11y ago
  I think this is a promotion / "native content" paid for by Microsoft. The article is unreadable for its fawning over the new Surface laptop. And I even think it looks decent as a piece of hardware!
pcunite 11y ago
> I realized just how far from irrelevant Microsoft has become When I stay away from the media, I tend to keep this realization. I don't think people realize how nimble Microsoft can be. They've done many firsts in their labs. Microsoft never left the ring.
diebir 11y ago
I suspect that regardless of how good a device MS comes up with, they can't win with the consumers, since Windows is strongly associated with the dreadful office computers and the IT-tyranny of the workplace. Who wants to use Windows at home after using it in the office all day? Besides, every single Windows computer I have had in family after a 6 months of use turned into slow as crawl horrible insufferable piece of junk. A full minute to switch users on a pretty powerful machine! The Macs, on the other hand, seem to be holding pretty well. Viruses, crappy drivers, bad software, the entire Windows ecosystem just does not work all that well, and it is very apparent to people using it at home. I suspect the same group of people that bought Lumina phones and Zunes will buy this, a couple of idiotic suits at work will show up with it, and a couple of years later this will wither and die like all other things Microsoft. MS is yesterday and there's nothing they can do about it.
- therobot24 11y ago
  > I suspect the same group of people that bought Lumina phones and Zunes will buy this, a couple of idiotic suits at work will show up with it, and a couple of years later this will wither and die like all other things Microsoft. MS is yesterday and there's nothing they can do about it. Bias much?
- agentgt 11y ago
  I suspect that regardless of how good a device MS comes up with, they can't win with the consumers, since Windows is strongly associated with the dreadful office computers and the IT-tyranny of the workplace. Who wants to use Windows at home after using it in the office all day? I'm sure lots of people think of the office when they boot up their Xbox One. Also most offices I have seen don't even run the consumer version of Windows (Windows 8 tile mode). I think many techies especially techies like myself that live in say Boston, New York, San Francisco are in a microcosm of Apple is everywhere. Other than mobile phones MS is actually pretty damn ubiquitous and is not necessarily going to wither and die.... speaking of which do know how many times Apple has come up with things that have withered and died? Or any big company for that matter? Also wasn't Apple yesterday at one point but then rebooted? Try to keep an open mind.
- justinsingh 11y ago
acd 11y ago
Think Microsoft is back on the right track with Satya Nadella. Will Surface Book run Linux well?
- wvenable 11y ago
  I suspect it will run Linux but you're probably going to lose a lot of the hardware functionality. If you have dual-GPU version you can expect that not to work at all. I have a Windows ultrabook and it's not worth running Linux natively because it won't be able to use the hardware to its full capacity. Luckily, it's painless to run Linux in a VM.
- pavlov 11y ago
  The work on Surface Book probably started before Nadella even got the CEO job -- shouldn't Ballmer get some thanks for putting Microsoft on the right track? It's interesting to see how much positive personal acclaim Nadella is getting for the hardware strategy that was initiated in the Ballmer/Sinofsky era.
  - Aldo_MX 11y ago
    > It's interesting to see how much positive personal acclaim Nadella is getting for the hardware strategy that was initiated in the Ballmer/Sinofsky era. Wasn't this the intention of switching CEOs?
- MichaelGG 11y ago
  I've taken to simply running VMware in kiosk mode. Full-screen Linux desktop (cause life without xmonad...), no Windows in sight except via the "boss key" sequence. Then I get the benefits of using Linux, with the battery life, sleep/resume, drivers, etc. of using Windows. I'd love to not use Windows as a host, but life's too short for dealing with Linux on laptops. Despite how ThinkPads are great for it and stuff "mostly just works".
  - aeroevan 11y ago
    Linux on laptops hasn't been an issue for a while... The surface pro 3 is fairly well supported, and I've been using linux on MacBook Pros for years.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
MaysonL 11y ago
So, given that Tim Cook has welcomed Microsoft onto the stage at the last keynote, and Satya Nadella has been fairly aggressive pushing Microsoft software products onto Apple gear, when will the Surface Book, OS X edition, appear? Or will we have to wait for bastardized hackintosh versions?
4rt 11y ago
the bits about the importance of the "hinge being able to connect two devices going forwards" in the middle of the article really made me remember the MS "courier" prototype. i really suspect they'll launch a "second touchscreen" peripheral that replaces the keyboard section of the surfacebook.

128 points by _nh_ 11y ago

Maybe I missed it before, but this is the first article that I've read that specifies the battery split between the base and the screen: > "The top gets four hours of battery life, and the bottom gets eight."

mfoy_ 11y ago
It certainly explains how it isn't super top heavy.
masklinn 11y ago
I've seen previous mentions of it (probably on /r/microsoft or somesuch), though they stated 3h in "tablet mode" (screen only, not design mode with the screen reverted on the base) edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3npv7p/microsoft_surface_book_claimed_to_be_twice_as/ https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3npv7p/microsoft_sur...? has multiple mentions of the 3h "screen only" version ([e.g.](https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3npv7p/microsoft_surface_book_claimed_to_be_twice_as/cvqgc5u) https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3npv7p/microsoft_sur...), I'm guessing it was made explicit during the unveiling or just after.
speedkills 11y ago
I wonder if the top will recharge from the base if I have been using it in tablet mode for a while, then put it back in laptop mode without plugging into external power?
mtgx 11y ago
It's true, except for the part that it gets four hours. It should be more like 2-3h.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

peletiah 11y ago

There's a lot of fluff in this article, but little technical details. I'd be curious how the hinge works, and although a whole section of the article is dedicated to it, I explains nothing. > It’s also, claims Panay, a first. “It’s never been done before. This product is the first ever where the GPU is in the base and then a second GPU is in the top.” The result is a “balance” between hardware and software. Yeah. Right.

MBCook 11y ago
That line struck me too. Apple has had GPU switching for quite a while (my 2010 MacBook Pro has it, and I don't think it was the first). So clearly MS didn't invent that. I wonder if what he's talking about is the fact that it's a mainstream production system where the dedicated GPU is actually removable. Not a "Plug this into your Thunderbolt port" thing or a "Turn it off and stick this module in", but a "just pull it apart and the GPU is no longer there". The balance part was questionable writing.
- masklinn 11y ago
  > my 2010 MacBook Pro has it, and I don't think it was the first NVidia had unveiled Optimus (its graphics-switching solution) in February, but I don't know if there were laptops using it by April (when the 2010 MBP was releaased). Considering a bunch of optimus-based laptops were announced with Optimus itself, probably.
- maxerickson 11y ago
  How many previous removable keyboard computers even had 2 GPUs? (The claim isn't that GPU switching had never been done, it's that they put one in each part of the device. Which is sort of less interesting than the switching, but it's neat that the power hungry one is attached to the bigger battery.)
- scholia 11y ago
  GPU switching is old, but not with the GPU in a separate location that can be physically detached....

ececconi 11y ago

The fact that the surface pro 4 has a much more robust battery life, without the keyboard attached, makes it my product of choice if I'm going to buy one of these things. Thing is, I don't need all the extra horsepower from this machine. Awesome design.

anjc 11y ago

What a bizarre conclusion at the end. Is it a Macbook alternative? Yes but no, because "Switching ecosystems is dicey business." Tech journalist's reasons for the Surface not being a viable option are getting ridiculous. The SP1 apparently wasn't powerful enough as a laptop and didn't have the battery of a tablet. The SP2 was powerful enough with a longer battery, but it's hard to use full Windows in a touch device. The SP3 is powerful enough, long lasting battery enough, light enough, with a big enough screen to use via touch, but then "lapability" became a metric in articles. Now everything's great, but "switching ecosystems is dicey business". It's strange the way goalposts keep getting shifted with each iteration. I switched completely to the MS ecosystem with the SP3 and it was easy.

123jay7 11y ago
It's not just tech journalists. Nobody bought the SP1, and nobody bought the SP2. The sales numbers are awfull compared with sales of iPads or even regular Macbooks. Nobody is going to buy the Surface Book. (PS - people in this thread aren't youre regular folks, and their opnions really dont' matter in the long run. Just look at the raw sales figures and you'll see a product that nobody wants, nobody cares about, and nobody is going to get)
untog 11y ago
Switching ecosystems is dicey business, though. I definitely want a Surface Book, but my entire development setup is now UNIX-centric having used a Macbook since 2006(?). It's not that I can't switch back, but there's a big, $1,500 leap into the unknown to be made, which is a professional risk.
- michaelmcmillan 11y ago
  That's actually the only reason holding me back as well. Cygwin is not very tempting.
  - tiedmann 11y ago
    And then there's vagrant. I switched back to MS because C# and profit, all other dev is on vagrant boxes which actually made things easier as I tend to be more comfortable with that what I push will work as I have the same *nix setup on my 127.0.01 as on remote.

ZanyProgrammer 11y ago

I really wish MSFT would hurry up and make a plain old one piece ultrabook. I really don't want a device with an innovative hinge and removable screen. An ultrabook with this level of design quality, and vanilla Windows you can buy at the MSFT store, would be an instant winner in my book.

thomaslangston 11y ago
I don't see a one piece in their future, but I believe this does run vanilla Windows 10. And even they believe you'll run this as a one piece 80% of the time.
criddell 11y ago
I'd like that too. My current device is a Thinkpad Yoga that I love, but I've lost a lot of trust in Lenovo and don't think I would buy from them again. There really isn't anything out there other than a Macbook (running Windows in a VM or reformatted) that I can see myself getting. I also wish they would release a smaller version of Windows for business use. I want my operating system to simply support the software I run. Cortana, live tiles, and most personalization functions decrease the value of Windows 10 for me. I'd get rid of all the Bing apps (Weather, Finance, Sports, News, Music, etc...) too. If you don't use them, it's just bloatware and I don't understand why they make it difficult to uninstall those applications.
- scholia 11y ago
  Try checking how much space the Bing apps take up, preferably before you've used any of them.... Windows 10 is actually quite economical in the space it uses. Remember, the full OS runs on 32-bit tablets with only 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The MacBook means giving up the touch-screen, tablet and high-end pen functionality that you would get with a Surface Pro. Also, it seems a little inconsistent to worry about the space taken up by Bing apps while contemplating a solution that requires two whole operating systems and a VM ;-)
  - criddell 11y ago

nilkn 11y ago

I'd really like to get one of these as my next laptop/mobile computing device. However, with the Surface Pro 4 (and all previous iterations), it seems impossible to actually use on your lap. Granted, I haven't had an opportunity to try it, but the kickstand and attachable keyboard seem like they only work on an actual desk. I very rarely use my current laptop, a MacBook Air, on an actual desk. The Surface Book easily solves that problem, but I've seen reports that the battery life is only about ~3 hours with the screen detached as a tablet. That's low enough to make me question the purchase. I've had to wait at an airport for over 3 hours before, and that means that my tablet would have went from 100% to 0% battery before even getting on the plane. Granted, the keyboard base has more batteries built into it, so the device would not be unusable in this scenario, but it would not be usable in its ideal form factor. (This article, for what it's worth, claims 4 hours for the tablet and 8 hours for the bottom -- slightly more generous numbers.) Edit/update: I forgot when writing this that the Surface Book's screen can be attached to the base backwards with the base folded back, thus getting the full ~12 hour battery life (plus the discrete GPU) at the cost of some extra bulk. Depending on just how bulky it is, that just might solve the problem for me.

yread 11y ago
Check out the pictures in the article. Especially this one http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzA3L2U5L01pY3Jvc29mdF9NLmVlNTBlLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTEyMDB4OTYwMD4/892f624c/d32/Microsoft_Meeting-3.jpg http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzEwLzA3L2U5L01pY3Jvc... it has 3 people using Surface on their (gasp) lap!
- nilkn 11y ago
  It doesn't look very comfortable to me. I don't want to feel like I'm balancing the kickstand on my legs. And what if I'm laying down? The only way I'll know for sure I suppose is to actually try it.
- dogma1138 11y ago
  I have the SP2 and it's almost impossible to use on your lap as a laptop it doesn't stay put. The keyboard is not hard enough to type on comfortably and there aren't enough points of contact to prevent the damn thing from constantly sliding and tipping over. The SP3 might be a bit better, the keyboard is supposed to be considerably better but as far as the SP2 goes the best way i found to actually use it on your lap is to lay it pretty much flat, using the kick stand never worked for me.

TheMagicHorsey 11y ago

I think the Surface tablets are superior hardware compared to the new iPad Pro, HOWEVER, since I'm mainly going to use the iPad Pro for art, I'm afraid the apps on iOS are actually going to be cheaper and better. I've been surprised by the quality, low price, and useability of of iOS and OSX creative apps. Hype, Pixelmator, Sketch, and Over. Are really good tools, and they are cheap. The Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) are still the best tools from a feature perspective, but they are expensive, and they are now on a subscription plan. I don't make art for a living ... I do it for fun ... so I can't justify spending that much money every month, for something I might or might not use. I have rented Creative Suite to use for a month on occasion (to edit a Wedding video and to design some invitations), but day to day, I'm usually messing around in Pixelmator these days. The only thing I miss from Adobe is Lightroom. There's nothing like Lightroom. I'm stuck using the last non-subscription version of Lightroom, and will probably never upgrade. Pretty sad about that. I wish there were products like Pixelmator and Sketch for PC.

exhilaration 11y ago
The only thing I miss from Adobe is Lightroom. There's nothing like Lightroom. I'm stuck using the last non-subscription version of Lightroom, and will probably never upgrade. Pretty sad about that. Lightroom is actually available for purchase separately, I think it might be the only Creative Suite product that's still available that way. Just search Amazon for Lightroom 6 or buy directly from Adobe.com.
- UnoriginalGuy 11y ago
  Indeed, since Apr 21, 2015. I will say I like Lightroom but the way Adobe force updates annoys me. Instead of a new Lightroom offering new features and benefits, you HAVE To upgrade Lightroom for new Camera Raw versions (meaning if a camera is newer than the next version of Lightroom, it won't be supported on the old version). For example, I own Lightroom 4 (2012), it does everything I need but I cannot use it with my camera purchased in 2014 because Camera Raw doesn't support it (even though the actual format of the RAW files is identical, just the camera's ID metadata has changed). PS - Disclaimer: I actually have Creative Cloud now. Got it after my Lightroom 4 stopped working. It is the "At Home" deal via work ($10 per year for me for home, because my work already pays for an enterprise license).

stinos 11y ago

So if mechanically unlocking the screen has a dedicated key and software sound, does this mean you cannot get the screen off the keyboard if the OS isn't running? That would be unfortunate, for what seems like an otherwise great product.

tonylemesmer 11y ago
To energise the nitinol requires battery power at least. I would hope that it would be able to do that without being powered up. But yes, that detail is missing.
- pablovidal85 11y ago
  So, why wasn't a mechanical hook used instead? It seems to me they overengineered that part a bit.
  - yannyu 11y ago
    Well, given that the Surfacebook utilizes computing power in the attached keyboard, maybe disconnecting it without properly checking processes could cause bad things to happen?
    - bsimpson 11y ago
      At least when it's on, it needs time to switch from the processors in the keyboard to those in the tablet.

rbanffy 11y ago

I'd love to know how much pressure can the hinge withstand before deforming. Since the lid does not rest flat on the base, all forces are applied on relatively small regions and it seems like it'd be easy to either deform it or just crack the tablet side.

barkingcat 11y ago

Wow this reads like a commercial for the surface book. It's so superlative in all its adjectives.

teachrdan 11y ago
I think this is a promotion / "native content" paid for by Microsoft. The article is unreadable for its fawning over the new Surface laptop. And I even think it looks decent as a piece of hardware!

pcunite 11y ago

> I realized just how far from irrelevant Microsoft has become When I stay away from the media, I tend to keep this realization. I don't think people realize how nimble Microsoft can be. They've done many firsts in their labs. Microsoft never left the ring.

diebir 11y ago

I suspect that regardless of how good a device MS comes up with, they can't win with the consumers, since Windows is strongly associated with the dreadful office computers and the IT-tyranny of the workplace. Who wants to use Windows at home after using it in the office all day? Besides, every single Windows computer I have had in family after a 6 months of use turned into slow as crawl horrible insufferable piece of junk. A full minute to switch users on a pretty powerful machine! The Macs, on the other hand, seem to be holding pretty well. Viruses, crappy drivers, bad software, the entire Windows ecosystem just does not work all that well, and it is very apparent to people using it at home. I suspect the same group of people that bought Lumina phones and Zunes will buy this, a couple of idiotic suits at work will show up with it, and a couple of years later this will wither and die like all other things Microsoft. MS is yesterday and there's nothing they can do about it.

therobot24 11y ago
> I suspect the same group of people that bought Lumina phones and Zunes will buy this, a couple of idiotic suits at work will show up with it, and a couple of years later this will wither and die like all other things Microsoft. MS is yesterday and there's nothing they can do about it. Bias much?
agentgt 11y ago
I suspect that regardless of how good a device MS comes up with, they can't win with the consumers, since Windows is strongly associated with the dreadful office computers and the IT-tyranny of the workplace. Who wants to use Windows at home after using it in the office all day? I'm sure lots of people think of the office when they boot up their Xbox One. Also most offices I have seen don't even run the consumer version of Windows (Windows 8 tile mode). I think many techies especially techies like myself that live in say Boston, New York, San Francisco are in a microcosm of Apple is everywhere. Other than mobile phones MS is actually pretty damn ubiquitous and is not necessarily going to wither and die.... speaking of which do know how many times Apple has come up with things that have withered and died? Or any big company for that matter? Also wasn't Apple yesterday at one point but then rebooted? Try to keep an open mind.
justinsingh 11y ago

acd 11y ago

Think Microsoft is back on the right track with Satya Nadella. Will Surface Book run Linux well?

wvenable 11y ago
I suspect it will run Linux but you're probably going to lose a lot of the hardware functionality. If you have dual-GPU version you can expect that not to work at all. I have a Windows ultrabook and it's not worth running Linux natively because it won't be able to use the hardware to its full capacity. Luckily, it's painless to run Linux in a VM.
pavlov 11y ago
The work on Surface Book probably started before Nadella even got the CEO job -- shouldn't Ballmer get some thanks for putting Microsoft on the right track? It's interesting to see how much positive personal acclaim Nadella is getting for the hardware strategy that was initiated in the Ballmer/Sinofsky era.
- Aldo_MX 11y ago
  > It's interesting to see how much positive personal acclaim Nadella is getting for the hardware strategy that was initiated in the Ballmer/Sinofsky era. Wasn't this the intention of switching CEOs?
MichaelGG 11y ago
I've taken to simply running VMware in kiosk mode. Full-screen Linux desktop (cause life without xmonad...), no Windows in sight except via the "boss key" sequence. Then I get the benefits of using Linux, with the battery life, sleep/resume, drivers, etc. of using Windows. I'd love to not use Windows as a host, but life's too short for dealing with Linux on laptops. Despite how ThinkPads are great for it and stuff "mostly just works".
- aeroevan 11y ago
  Linux on laptops hasn't been an issue for a while... The surface pro 3 is fairly well supported, and I've been using linux on MacBook Pros for years.

deleted 11y ago

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MaysonL 11y ago

So, given that Tim Cook has welcomed Microsoft onto the stage at the last keynote, and Satya Nadella has been fairly aggressive pushing Microsoft software products onto Apple gear, when will the Surface Book, OS X edition, appear? Or will we have to wait for bastardized hackintosh versions?

4rt 11y ago

the bits about the importance of the "hinge being able to connect two devices going forwards" in the middle of the article really made me remember the MS "courier" prototype. i really suspect they'll launch a "second touchscreen" peripheral that replaces the keyboard section of the surfacebook.