7 ms·

This. It's aimed at a very specific group of users and they love it -- e.g. https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2016/10/26/the-surface-studio https://www.pen

This. It's aimed at a very specific group of users and they love it -- e.g. https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2016/10/26/the-surface-studio https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2016/10/26/the-surfac...

slantyyz 10y ago
For me, the most revealing piece of information from that Penny Arcade article was how much the 27" Cintiq costs ($2500). Makes the Surface Studio seem very affordable for what it offers.
- sosuke 10y ago
  The bonus for the Cintiq is that the 12" one I bought over 8 years ago is still working great!
mozumder 10y ago
I use a Mac with an original 30" Cinema display, along with a giant Wacom tablet. The Surface Studio may seem impressive, but as far as workflow goes, the Mac with tablet setup really is perfection. I've never had the desire to look down on the tablet to draw, as the pointer always moves synchronously on screen. In fact, I feel my hand would get in the way of drawing.. Right now it seems like the Apple products are refined perfection, while Microsoft is still trying to figure out its place.
- j2bax 10y ago
  In the last two years all of the artists at our studio (which does animation and interactive work) have switched to Cintiq's. We were really apprehensive to make the jump but they all seem extremely happy and some have even reported that pain they experienced after extensive tasks has gone away. I'd be really interested to see how they like the Surface Studio compared to a Cintiq.
- ahlatimer 10y ago
  Different strokes, I imagine. My fiancee is a graphic artist who had a wacom tablet and a cinema display as her setup for a long time, but she got the 27" Cintiq a few months ago and LOVES it. I had similar skepticism that it'd really be that big of a step up, especially given what she was spending on it, but she says it's noticeable improvement on her productivity.
  - DigitalJack 10y ago
    Whether or not it improves her productivity, if she loves working with it, that's worth 100 productivity points. "The enjoyment of one's tools is an essential ingredient of successful work." --Donald Knuth It is worth spending the money, if you have it, to buy the tools you will enjoy working with.
- AJ007 10y ago
  I never used the Cintiq, but I've been using Wacom tablets for a good 15 years. I owned & used the Surface Pro 2 & 3, and the iPad Pro with pencil. Both have their place - pen on screen or pen off. Working with your pen on a screen, especially a smaller screen, means you lose a good chunk of your visible space. Overall opinion -- it is great for artists that two major companies have made a significant effort on getting the pen on display right.
  - criddell 10y ago
    How does the iPad Pro with the pencil compare to the Surface Pro? I played with the Surface Pro 4 and had a lot of issues with the palm rejection.
- raesene6 10y ago
  and are you not a bit disappointed that the products you describe, Apple's desktop products, appear to have been totally ignored by Apple? No new iMac, Mac Pro or Mac Mini hardware announced, it seems like it's not a focus for them at all.
  - mozumder 10y ago
    lol why would i be disappointed? Just use a laptop and dock it to a monitor when needed. Why would anyone need a desktop in this day and age? Moore's law means the things that desktops used to do 5 years ago, laptops do now. The compute requirements for photo editing, for example, haven't changed in 5 years. But the processors and systems (IO, displays, etc..) keep getting faster. It's only natural that laptops would cannibalize desktops. And phones/tablets will cannibalize laptops in a few years.
    - vdnkh 10y ago
      I'm not sure if you're being facetious but for those of us who enjoy playing video games a desktop is the best choice. If you don't care about portability, why not get something that is by far more powerful, cheaper, customizable, and future-proof?
      - mozumder 10y ago
        You're in the wrong discussion if you think gaming has any relevance to this line of laptops. People that own Macbook Pros don't play games seriously. Gaming is strictly for Windows devices, as it's largely an afterthought in the Mac world.
        vdnkh 10y ago
        > Why would anyone need a desktop in this day and age? This is what I was responding to.
        icebraining 10y ago
- genzoman 10y ago
  sent simultaneously from 12 mac devices.
- Keyframe 10y ago
  Try drawing/animating in Harmony with it and tell me how it goes. Drawing directly on screen has its purposes.
Retric 10y ago
I am basically convinced those are paid Adds. "Overwatch was fast and fun on medium settings. Civ VI is what I’ve played the most on the Studio and it looks and runs fantastic." "When I first saw the device months ago in that secret room at MS, they asked me what I thought. I said, “Well I have no idea if anyone else will want it, but you have made my dream computer.” Nothing about that is, I went out and paid my own money to buy this.
- mynameisvlad 10y ago
  So you must've somehow missed the "Just to be clear, I don’t get paid to do any of this stuff but I enjoy doing it and I like to think I’m helping make the Surface better for artists." while reading the article, right?
  - Retric 10y ago
    Advertising is more than just paying actors to pretend to like something. News articles rephrasing press releases are often also adds. Video game reviews are usually not simply handing money to someone. That does not make them unbiased. People spreading Viral Videos are often unpaid paid, even if they are a critical part of a marketing campaign. Hand someone some free hardware and they don't think is this worth X, just is X cool.
    - 1123581321 10y ago
      I suggest familiarizing yourself with the history of Gabe/PA and the Surface. Gabe initiated the relationship by writing a post out of the blue about its potential as a drawing tool, as well as complaining. In response, Microsoft invited him to a lab to try prototype Surface hardware/software and made a lot of changes based on his feedback. So, they've basically made a machine designed to be liked by him, and they continue to get his feedback to ensure that doesn't change. So, it's not surprising or questionable that his reviews are positive.
      - Retric 10y ago

slantyyz 10y ago

For me, the most revealing piece of information from that Penny Arcade article was how much the 27" Cintiq costs ($2500). Makes the Surface Studio seem very affordable for what it offers.

sosuke 10y ago
The bonus for the Cintiq is that the 12" one I bought over 8 years ago is still working great!

mozumder 10y ago

I use a Mac with an original 30" Cinema display, along with a giant Wacom tablet. The Surface Studio may seem impressive, but as far as workflow goes, the Mac with tablet setup really is perfection. I've never had the desire to look down on the tablet to draw, as the pointer always moves synchronously on screen. In fact, I feel my hand would get in the way of drawing.. Right now it seems like the Apple products are refined perfection, while Microsoft is still trying to figure out its place.

j2bax 10y ago
In the last two years all of the artists at our studio (which does animation and interactive work) have switched to Cintiq's. We were really apprehensive to make the jump but they all seem extremely happy and some have even reported that pain they experienced after extensive tasks has gone away. I'd be really interested to see how they like the Surface Studio compared to a Cintiq.
ahlatimer 10y ago
Different strokes, I imagine. My fiancee is a graphic artist who had a wacom tablet and a cinema display as her setup for a long time, but she got the 27" Cintiq a few months ago and LOVES it. I had similar skepticism that it'd really be that big of a step up, especially given what she was spending on it, but she says it's noticeable improvement on her productivity.
- DigitalJack 10y ago
  Whether or not it improves her productivity, if she loves working with it, that's worth 100 productivity points. "The enjoyment of one's tools is an essential ingredient of successful work." --Donald Knuth It is worth spending the money, if you have it, to buy the tools you will enjoy working with.
AJ007 10y ago
I never used the Cintiq, but I've been using Wacom tablets for a good 15 years. I owned & used the Surface Pro 2 & 3, and the iPad Pro with pencil. Both have their place - pen on screen or pen off. Working with your pen on a screen, especially a smaller screen, means you lose a good chunk of your visible space. Overall opinion -- it is great for artists that two major companies have made a significant effort on getting the pen on display right.
- criddell 10y ago
  How does the iPad Pro with the pencil compare to the Surface Pro? I played with the Surface Pro 4 and had a lot of issues with the palm rejection.
raesene6 10y ago
and are you not a bit disappointed that the products you describe, Apple's desktop products, appear to have been totally ignored by Apple? No new iMac, Mac Pro or Mac Mini hardware announced, it seems like it's not a focus for them at all.
- mozumder 10y ago
  lol why would i be disappointed? Just use a laptop and dock it to a monitor when needed. Why would anyone need a desktop in this day and age? Moore's law means the things that desktops used to do 5 years ago, laptops do now. The compute requirements for photo editing, for example, haven't changed in 5 years. But the processors and systems (IO, displays, etc..) keep getting faster. It's only natural that laptops would cannibalize desktops. And phones/tablets will cannibalize laptops in a few years.
  - vdnkh 10y ago
    I'm not sure if you're being facetious but for those of us who enjoy playing video games a desktop is the best choice. If you don't care about portability, why not get something that is by far more powerful, cheaper, customizable, and future-proof?
    - mozumder 10y ago
      You're in the wrong discussion if you think gaming has any relevance to this line of laptops. People that own Macbook Pros don't play games seriously. Gaming is strictly for Windows devices, as it's largely an afterthought in the Mac world.
      - vdnkh 10y ago
        > Why would anyone need a desktop in this day and age? This is what I was responding to.
        icebraining 10y ago
genzoman 10y ago
sent simultaneously from 12 mac devices.
Keyframe 10y ago
Try drawing/animating in Harmony with it and tell me how it goes. Drawing directly on screen has its purposes.

Retric 10y ago

I am basically convinced those are paid Adds. "Overwatch was fast and fun on medium settings. Civ VI is what I’ve played the most on the Studio and it looks and runs fantastic." "When I first saw the device months ago in that secret room at MS, they asked me what I thought. I said, “Well I have no idea if anyone else will want it, but you have made my dream computer.” Nothing about that is, I went out and paid my own money to buy this.

mynameisvlad 10y ago
So you must've somehow missed the "Just to be clear, I don’t get paid to do any of this stuff but I enjoy doing it and I like to think I’m helping make the Surface better for artists." while reading the article, right?
- Retric 10y ago
  Advertising is more than just paying actors to pretend to like something. News articles rephrasing press releases are often also adds. Video game reviews are usually not simply handing money to someone. That does not make them unbiased. People spreading Viral Videos are often unpaid paid, even if they are a critical part of a marketing campaign. Hand someone some free hardware and they don't think is this worth X, just is X cool.
  - 1123581321 10y ago
    I suggest familiarizing yourself with the history of Gabe/PA and the Surface. Gabe initiated the relationship by writing a post out of the blue about its potential as a drawing tool, as well as complaining. In response, Microsoft invited him to a lab to try prototype Surface hardware/software and made a lot of changes based on his feedback. So, they've basically made a machine designed to be liked by him, and they continue to get his feedback to ensure that doesn't change. So, it's not surprising or questionable that his reviews are positive.
    - Retric 10y ago