I'm rediscovering the web

Sometime ago I published a Post saying that I was using my iPad for more than a year as my main PC at home. Today I opened the Google+ site for Desktop in my Surface RT after many months using the mobile version prepared for the iPad and I found that I was missing a lot in all these months using the iPad! It's like when you compare a black and white TV with a Plasma HD TV! And today Google+ was just the spark that ignited my desire to share this feeling that I have been experiencing since last Friday when I received the Surface RT. Accessing the Web from this Tablet without having any or almost any restrictions is just amazing. Being able to upload files such as pictures to the web without having to use an "App for that" is just an incredible experience. Thanks Microsoft for helping me to rediscovered the Web! The Surface RT has become my main PC at home!

Windows RT: Hardware Compatibility List

Microsoft has created and made available a new page just to help users to check the compatibility with Windows RT of any of device currently in the market. I have to say that the list is just immense. The iPad does not come close to have that many and that wide diversity of accessories.

This is another point gained by Microsoft and it's winner products Surface RT and  Windows 8 RT.

Surface RT: Saving your media in your MicroSD

Having a full version of Windows 8 in Surface RT could be seem sometime as a wrong decision but it's not. Here is why, many already found that there is no way to add a folder located in the SD card to your Windows Library. This is not a bug it's just a limitation included in the OS relative to indexing. Now there is a way to go around this limitation and it's very well described by Paul Thurrott in his site. If you own a Surface RT you are going to need this trick so you better bookmark his site, which by the way has a lot of useful information about the Surface RT and many other topics.

All My Storage Pro

I was looking for a sort of replacement for GoodReader, an application for iPad that allowed me to have all my cloud storage accounts connected to it, that also included ftp sites. Recently All My Storage Pro is now available in Windows Store. Still no at the level that GoodReader is but it works.

Update your Office 2013 in Surface RT

If you got your Surface RT you should keep in mind that it comes loaded with Office 2013 Preview. If not you may end returning your Surface after finding bugs that are already fixed in the full version.

Talking about the Office Update. It's already available in Windows Update, but here is the tricky part, if you are in Windows 8 RT Home screen and you open the Right Side Menu, Settings, there is an option for Windows Update. Unfortunately, that Windows Update does check (it may do it but it does not show them) for the optional updates. The Update to Office 2013 Full Student Version is an Optional Update. To download this Update you should go to the traditional Windows Desktop, open the Right Menu, select Control Panel, System and Security and then Windows Update. There you need to select optional updates and pick the update for Office Preview.

 

I hope that this trick helps you with this adaptation issue.

Flash is installed in Surface RT but...

Surface is installed in Surface RT as you can see from this test run in Adobe's Site.

But unfortunately, that's not good enough for many pages like this one:

Printing from Surface RT

One of the most painful things for me was anytime I had to print from my iPad. I understand that if you live in an Apple "Magical" World, what is happening to me is the natural consequence of trying to use an iPad outside of that Apple's World. If the printer is not Airprint compatible your iPad won't see it and you have to end using 3er parties software that you will have to buy. In my case, this software had to be installed in one of my home PC that I had to turn on if I wanted to print from my iPad. Thanks Microsoft all that nightmare is over. In Surface RT you can add your printer like you do in your Desktop PC or notebook.

A very simple process. As you can see, I did not have the drivers for that specific printer that I own but installing the closest from the same brand did the trick. Now I can really print from my Tablet without haven to do anything but turning on the printer.

Angry Birds is in Surface RT

I know that no having Angry Birds could be a decision point for many out there. So the good news is that if you buy the Surface RT you won't have to wait until it's released for this platform. Here is the screenshot to proof it.

Handwriting recognition still in Windows RT

One of the things that I love the most in a TabletPC is the handwriting recognition. Earlier this year I read somewhere that it was one of the features dropped from Windows 8 RT. Well, it may not fully implemented but it's there. I have tested in Spanish and English and it works like a charm.

If you are using the Surface RT in Landscape the Microsoft button in the middle will be touch often accidentally what makes the use of this feature a little bit challenging. But if you use the feature in portrait everything works fine. One more thing, I tested one of those stylus sold everywhere with a little sponge as tip and it did not work well with the Surface.

Apple's Magic is gone

I have been thinking this for a long time but it's always pleasing to see that others are coinciding with you. Apple's Magic is gone.

How to track your Surface Order

Microsoft is not sending any email alerting you about your Surface Order being shipped. But... Thanks to this site you can track your order. All you need is the digit portion of your order number, open FedEx site and use the option Track By Reference, that's where you will be using our order number (removing the MS prefix from it).

There are many users reporting, including me, that even when the invoice in MS site still saying that it will be delivered tomorrow 26th, FedEx is reporting that it will be shipped next Monday the 29th. Yesterday I called Microsoft requesting information about my order and they could not tell me anything other than "Your order is being processed", adding that it should be shipped between the 26th and the 30th. When I argued that I was promised (when placing the order) that the shipping date was going to be next Friday the support guy changed his tune saying that it was going to be delivered tomorrow. After that I was tented to cancel the order but I did not.

So... My order arrived to Alaska at 1pm. I hope that still time to deliver it tomorrow. By the way, did I mention that the order is coming from China? There was not any stock in USA other than those in all Microsoft Stores and that probably will be all sold out tomorrow.

Surface RT does not have Outlook and...

Recently I was reading a good article from Forbes and they were pointing to some limitations of Windows RT, the version of Windows 8 installed in the Surface RT.

One of the supposed limitations was the absence of Outlook. That said without any explanation could be a scaring fact for many potential buyers. The fact is that even when the Windows RT does not have a single Application as Outlook to connect with Exchange, it has Mail, Messaging, Calendar and People and all of them synchronize with any Exchange account.

According to this FAQ in the Outlook page the only Outlook options one left behind are Tasks and Notes. According to them the protocol used to synchronize with Exchange Tasks is present in Windows RT and it could an option added in the future to this platform. About Notes their recommendation and my own is to use OneNote, a product included for free in Office 2013 in Surface. With your notes in Skydrive you will be able to access them anywhere you go and in any PC with OneNote.

So Forbes, the absence of Outlook won't be a show breaker I believe.

Who was commissioned to make the Surface?

We all new that it was not a company base in USA but exactly who was commissioned was a mystery. Today I found in this Taiwanese site that it's a company from this country the winner of that bid. Pegatron Corporation is a manufacturing company founded in 2008:

Pegatron is a worldwide leader in electronic and computing DMS (Design and Manufacturing Service) with extensive experience in product development and vertically integrated capabilities. With equity of US$2.7 billion, Pegatron boasts a diversified product line, including motherboards, desktop PCs, notebooks, broadband, wireless systems, game consoles, networking equipment, Set-top boxes, multimedia, LCD TVs, and more. At Pegatron, we take pride in our well-diversified product portfolio, unique designs, flexible manufacturing capabilities and reliable after-sale services.

Microsoft taking orders for Surface RT

The preorder page is running and those who subscribed to receive a notice received an email about this change.

Big surprise, the cheapest price was not $299, we all were expecting that, but I was not $350, the sweet spot for many, and neither it was $399 which was the most realist starting point for most of the analyst and my own opinion. So I'm disappointed with this fact. The starting price is $499 for the 32Gb version without the Touch Cover. Another disappointment is that if you want to buy the combo of Tablet and Touch Cover then you are stuck with a black color cover. Otherwise, you need to pay $499 for the Tablet and add the cover for $119. Twenty dollars more.

The 64Gb version is sold with the Touch Pad so that forces you to pay $699! An option of that same Tablet without the Touch Cover for $599 would have been great and the one I would have picked instead of paying that amount for 32Gb with a Black Touch Pad, the one I ended preordering.

Well, the fact that this is not an iPad so it does have a microSDXC reader makes me feel a little bit better so I ordered one of this 64Gb memory cards at Amazon. The fact that being a Microsoft Tablet with a File Explorer makes me confident that I will be able to manage the storage space moving everything I can or do not use often to that memory card and still have it available when I need it. Finally I can have my files organized how I like and no how Steve Job liked.

Another point that I did not like is that the battery life according to Microsoft page is about 8 hours of "Mixed Activity". Hum... Mixed Activity is a complicated concept. Anyway, it falls lower than the 10 hours of Mixed Activity of my iPad 2. I hope that those 8 hours are not HP's Style (never close to the reality, at least in my experience).

Now, the waiting time starts. Are we going to get a tracking number Microsoft?