Windows RT: The sky is the limit

I have seen a lot of debate about what can be done and what can not be done in a Surface running Windows RT.   Today I found this article that shows the endless possibilities of these machines: a Security System all built around a Surface RT.

Finally a decent Benchmark tool

The famous 3DMark has now a version for Windows RT where we can compare the results against other platforms such as iOS and Android.

Unfortunately I still don't have the score for the Surface 2 but using this same tool we can get an idea of how other devices already using the Tegra 4 are scoring.

The average score for the Surface RT is 3205, judging the score from the above table, the Surface 2 should be performing from 3.5 to 4 times faster. I hope that I'm right in this comparison.

Two videos demostrating what can be done in a Surface RT

I don't know how may times I have discussed online and with my friends about how unfair the so called "specialized press" has been in reference to the Surface RT. But videos are more robust in explaining and proving that the reality is far from what you read in the web. Here are two videos from a Surface RT owner showing real life scenarios of him using his RT.



In the second half of the second video you will see why talking or pointing to the impossibility of running the so called "legacy applications" in a Surface is the highest level of none sense that I have ever seen. I'm running legacy applications from my RT a lot better than any hack or shell or port that anyone including MS can come out with!

The new Surface

Today Microsoft has announced the new Surface. Both, the PRO and the now just Surface have been refreshed obtaining more battery life and performance. The PRO is getting a docking station that converts this machine in a workstation. The cover keyboard has been also redesigned now with backlit and more touch points, a lot more, up to the point that now you can use gestures on it. Both machines have been updated with Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 RT. The price in both 2 versions is a little bit lower than the initial price from last year release.



The whole event can be seen here

Moving your libraries to removable drive

I have tested two methods to move the libraries to the MicroSD card in a Surface RT and so far this is the only method where everything works as supposed after the trick. The method is long but believe me, it's well explained and it's not too complex at all. Summarizing, it's based in the idea of using a Virtual Drive. By using a Virtual Drive you are getting the possibility of indexes the folders included in the libraries and that's the main ingredient to have features like Photos, Videos and Music, working properly.

Paul Thurrott is wrong

First of all I need to say that I have been following Paul since long time ago. And I do that because most of the time, the majority of the time, he is right in his honest opinions about current technical matters. But to be honest doesn't means always to be right.

I found his article written right after the price cut of the Surface RT which is full of his negative opinion about the Surface RT and Windows FT when I was reading many other articles from finances sources quoting his words as a proof that the Surface RT was a bad business from Microsoft. After reading his article I read the comments left there by many users, many of them contradicting his opinions which he defends believing that many, including me, take buying decisions based on them. I have to say that I posted few comments and stopped thinking that it was not the right place to express what I also honestly believe about the Surface RT.

So here I'm writing my own article/response. So let's start by clarifying that a Surface RT is a Tablet, and Tablets following the concept introduced by Apple are not intended to replace your home PC, being a Mac or a Windows Based PC. So, if you bought a Surface RT and found that you can't run iTunes, Visual Studio, or any other PC Software, that means that you bought the wrong device nothing is wrong with THAT device. You needed the PRO version which have been labeled as Tablet too but in my account it's a TabletPC.

Now, let's compare the two versions, RT versus PRO, the PRO is bigger, runs at a higher temperature and has less battery life. Why? Plain and simple, we do not have available and never will the technology to pack the power, performance wise, of current PC's in a Smaller space and keep the same performance, cooler temperature and more battery life. If we could, we would not see any PC with the size of those PCs that you see available everywhere where you can buy a PC. While when you buy a TV you want the bigger you can get, when you buy a PC you want the smaller you can buy without compromise performance. Now, do you believe that MS did not do their best trying to get the PRO to the same size, temperature and battery life than what we see in the RT? Oh and let me do not forget to mention price! ARM processors are 14% cheaper. To believe that MS did not do their best is exactly what Paul is implying in his article where he tries to convince everybody that using the ATOM processor in the PRO, MS could have got the RT being a better device with same battery life. So, if this is the case, why other PC makers have not come already with a Tablet the size of the RT using the full version of Windows? Because they can't. A year after the Surface release and they still can't. Eventually they will but at that time you will see ARM devices with Windows RT smaller, lighter and with better battery life than those using the full version of Windows.

So everything comes to what's better for you. Do you want the full OS with less battery life, hotter, bigger but without any restrictions in what Software do you want to use or do you want something smaller, cooler, with a decent performance and the restrictions in the software that you can run (this description applies to any Tablet including the iPad)?.  Keep in mind that the Surface RT is packed with a full version of Internet Explorer that Support flash, a full version of Office, and email Support, soon to be Outlook. 90% of all the users do not need anything else. They don't need Visual Studio or iTunes having a decent media player installed in their Surface. Use your home PC to sync your iPod, we already said that Surface RT like any Tablet is not a replacement of your Home PC, it's a companion.

Is Surface RT so slow like Paul makes us believe in his article? No at all. I do not keep 20 applications running in the background. If I'm not using them I just close it. But this is something that being always a mobile user I learned. Less applications opened allows you to preserve battery. But other than that I can't find any other reason or condition where the Surface RT has performed that bad that Paul feels that should be mentioned and making a big deal out of it. Like I said in one of my comments in his article, my wife complains about poor performance in her iPad 2. I'm using my Surface RT daily as my Main PC. And performance is not a concern to me. If it could be faster I won't stop anyone to try to make it faster but to stop those willing to buy it saying that it's slow to me is misleading. With a little bit of education and good practice Surface RT will satisfy any user coming fro owning an iPad.

And now that I reached this point, why I bought RT after owning an iPad for more than 2 years? Simple, too many restrictions. Let say that you have a Document A that you want to modify but those modifications can't be done with just one Software. That will result in two copies of the same file, one for each program. And to avoid that you will have too spend lot of time in synching. I ended many times confused and with an outdated version of a document. The lack of a clear and easy to use file system was a big deal to me. Printing, big deal in an iPad if you do not use any other Apple devices. With RT was just a matter of picking where I want to print. Browsing, you have many sites that are not compatible with Safari and when that happens your only option is to wait until that page decides to create an App for iOS, and that's what it's, Apps are there to go around the shortcomings of iOS. When the Surface RT was released you heard people complaining because they did not see an Apps for Facebook or one for Twitter. Come one! Use the web site! It's full functional for the first time in a Tablet! You don't need any Apps. Full USB Support. There is not a USB port in an iPad unless you buy adapters and devices, etc. Yes, Paul, I know that the USB to Ethernet adapter does not work. Yes, but it's because MS is forcing hardware makers to follow certifications and guidelines in their drivers. But you know that having the driver we have the USB Support there, so this point can be solved in any moment if both MS and the hardware maker want.

And my last point... IF you want to try a Surface RT, go and get it now that's $350. You won't get any Tablet in the market with a full version of Office and an Internet Browser for that price any where. Should you wait for the second version? You may be end waiting, if we are all lucky, few months. If we are lucky. After all the bad press coming even from experts like Paul, I doubt that there is going to be a second version of RT. A sad reality. The incomprehension and confusion with Windows 8 and the big mistake of rebranding TabletPC as Tablet will kill the future of a good device.

PS: This article was entirely written and edited in a Surface RT device, without using any Apps, just Internet Explorer. Something I could not do using my iPad.

Better later than never

Better later than never. When the Surface RT was released in October 2012, many of us including me, pointed to Microsoft that the price for the 32GB version should have been between $350-$400. But somebody came out at Microsoft with the idea that a low price could send a wrong message about low quality and the Surface was top of the line in quality. Well, we were right. A product with 4.8 stars out of 5 in many stores could have done better in sales if the Software Company had listened to those with experience in this potion of the hardware market. Of course, things are not that simple, a low price could have killed the rest of MS’s partners with plans to make WinTables, but the reality was that they did not jump into that boat like we were expecting so now that this is clear so this move makes a lot of sense.

Another nice move was to let well known resellers to sale the Surface.

 



Update: just on hour after this announcement, TigerDirect sold out their online inventory!

Real multitasking

Sharing a folder in your Surface RT

Recently a friend of mine asked about how to share a folder located in a Surface RT. Something that I have to confess a have not had tried in my Surface. After a little research on line I found that the Surface RT has by default the server service disabled but the good news is that is there and it can be enabled if you want. So that's the first thing to do. Open the services application and Start the Server Service.

Once the setting is activated you need to check that you have the capability of Sharing files and printers activated in your Surface RT.

After that you are ready to share any folder and map it in any of your PCs gaining access to your Surface RT folder after providing the proper user name and password.

Joining a Domain with a Surface RT

This is an option that MS has deactivated in Windows RT but that can easily changed using the instructions in this article.

Bestbuy approved the Surface RT

This is the type of TV Adds that Microsoft should be shooting about the Surface RT, videos that show what this device is good at. Showing it doing what the iPad can't do.

What do you do in your Surface RT?

Recently I read this question in one of the pages about the Surface hardware around the web and I found the question interesting enough to make me create an account to answer the question. And here is what I wrote:

In my case probably would be easy to say those things that I don't do in my Surface RT. I have been using for more than 20 years all kind of mobile computers as my main PC, from Laptops, TabletPC, UMPC and Tablets. When I began using UMPCs I quickly comprehended that those and later on the Tablets are companion PCs, they are here to complement our computing needs in an era of full connectivity and constant communication. And about two years ago I bought an iPad 2 which I quickly converted and my only PC I used at home and that forced me to find workarounds to all the shortcomings of the iPad + the Tablet platform. The solution, very simple, prepare a PC as you home media server. With that PC constantly on I connected my iPad to it to do everything could not be done in the iPad. That configuration is to me the ideal for those willing to forget the idea of having to sit at home on front of a desk to use a PC. Later last year when Microsoft released the Surface RT I was one of the first ones to get one.

My set up and experience with my ex-iPad served me to overcome the lack of applications in the first few months after the release. So once again I'm using my Surface RT as my primary PC at home, connecting to my Media Server using remote desktop whenever I do tasks that can't be done in my Surface RT. For example, copying and converting a DVD movie to mkv. Why I should even think about using the limited Surface resources for a task like that? Yes, it could be probably done in a Surface RT if the needed Software becomes available but the fact is that you can't pack yet in any Tablet the amount of hardware resources that you can put in any desktop. So it's more logical to just connect remotely to a desktop and from your surface control remotely the tasks/Software needed to copy and convert a DVD. The same thing happen with other activities such as video editing, etc.

Comparing my iPad 2 with my Surface RT, I gained with the RT the control of my device, something that I never fully had in my iPad which I had to constantly jailbreak to have just some control. I'm enjoying my Surface RT every single day. And I do in or from my Surface RT everything I need to do in a PC.

One more time Microsoft is doing a good job

This is what should had have happened since day one of Surface RT release. But better late than never. One of the things that impressed me a lot was how easy was to print from my Surface RT compared with the same process done in my ex-iPad. But telling that does not have the same effect than seeing it done in a video. And here is the video:

Less talking and more doing

Excellent words used by Microsoft in it's last marketing campaign.

VPN connectivity with a Surface RT

The Surface RT is not supported by some VPN Clients but that doesn't mean that you can’t use VPN in this machine. Here is a guide of how you can connect via VPN your Surface RT to your home network.

HBOGO.com works on Surface RT

HBOGO.com is one of my preferred sites to catch up with all those good series from this premium channel. The site uses flash and for some reason, I believe it was a firmware update, it was not working anymore in my Surface RT. HBO still have not jumped in the boat of WinRT and we still do not have an App. So I decided today to spend sometime trying to get it back working and the good news is that I got it.

Here is what I learned. To sign in HBOGO.com this site sends you to your TV provider where you have to sign in. This process was failing for me. To troubleshoot the whole process I used Fiddler a tool to track your internet web traffic. This application is for x86 but thanks to the tools posted at xdadevelopers I was able to use it in the Surface RT. With this tool I was able to find few things, one of them is that HBO uses a cookie with the information from, in my case, Comcast to grant you access to its site. In my Surface I had Cookies disabled and I thought it was a good idea to keep it in this way. So I went to in the Internet Options from IE10 in Desktop mode and allow cookies for both sites, HBOGO and Comcast. Summarizing, after adding the involved sites to the Trusted Sites List and allowing Cookies for both sites, the HBOGO.com site allowed me to stream video in my Surface RT. And no just in Desktop mode but using IE10 Metro.

This is one of the reasons why I love WinRT, it carries a full version of the IE which allows you to enjoy sites that in other platforms, specifically iOS (translate this as iPad), are impossible to access unless you have an App for that. In another words, some or most of the Apps available for iPad are the result of this device impossibility of using the original websites which these applications substitute.

Virtual Router

Virtual Router is a tool very simple to use that allows you to convert your PC or laptop in a virtual Router. When this is useful? Well imagine that you and your WiFi decide to pass the day camping in a place where the only Internet access is via a 3G Modem connected to your laptop. You can share your 3G connection with your wife's Surface RT using this software. Very simple.

New update for RT and PRO

Microsoft released yesterday a new update for both versions of the Surface. According to some reports the update has fixed issues with WiFi Limited connectivity. The update is available using Windows Update.

And the updates keep coming

It's good to see how Microsoft keep updating individual Apps that are part of the OS such as Mail, Calendar and People. And this is something that differentiate the update process from Microsoft to the one from Apple were everything comes in the shape of firmware updates.

In todays update a lot of improvements were done and more details about them can be found here.  Another good news was posted at Surface Blog. Panos Panay acknowledged the Limited Connectivity Issue in Surface RT and the lack of pressure functionality in Adobe Photoshop with Surface Pro and expressed Microsoft's commitment to fix these issues.

And nobody says anything

Google has been selling Chromebook for around two years already. Today it has been published around the Web that in all this time the amount of units sold of this device is around 500,000. The interesting thing is that Microsoft reportedly has sold the same amount of Surface RT in just few months but I do not read in any big "technology" news site that Chromebook is a fiasco.

Why the same number is so bad for Microsoft and no so for Google? Why Microsoft is constantly and furiously attacked and other companies are not so much?