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?

Developers dropping Apple's Maps

Developers are updating their applications and instead of using Apple Maps they are using Bing's Maps! What a shame!

Apple Maps Satellite Images more than 1 year and a half old

Checking and comparing maps I found that the Satellites images used by Apple's Maps application are least between 14 to 18 months old. The building shown in the next picture was demolished around July 2011.



This next screen shot from Google Maps shows the empty space where the building used to be.




I used to work for a company located in the building north of the one that was demolished and I have been working for another company almost a year already.

How bad is Apple's Maps in iOS 6

Do you want to know how good or bad is Apple's Maps in iOS 6? Check this compilation of screen shots from CNET.

That's the Apple's quality that makes people to wait in lines for the last iPhone version which who knows what surprises have hidden inside!

iOS 6 is here

I updated my iPad 2 to iOS 6. Lost YouTube with the only workaround of installing the iPhone version. Maps changed to the one designed by Apple. The refreshment rate a lot slower than the one from Google and if you have activated 3D it's even slower but I have to admit that the view of downtown Miami is awesome.




Another point that I noticed is that the email application is not showing accented letters properly.



The funny thing is that the emails that I received before the upgrade look fine.

Surface RT for $199?

That's the rumor around the most important websites including Engadget. If this rumor becomes a reality then Apple will have a hard time trying to maintain the best sellers position during this Christmas.

The vulture calling the turkey bald head

Enough is enough. This is like a Vulture (Apple) trying to insult a Turkey (Samsung) calling him Bald Head.

And the worse thing is that when Samsung points to this fact in the history of Apple, the company feels insulted.

I have not sit on front of my Home PC for more than a year

I can do work in my iPad. All kind. This is what I learned in about a year of using my iPad as my "Main Pc". The iPad gives me an almost instant on even from a complete off state, a quick access to all emails in a friendly UI, the same applied to web browsing with the shortcomings of no flash and .net support. When I had to do that with my TabletPcs, UMPCs and Laptops I was wasting a lot of time waiting.

I have not sit on front of my Home PC to do any kind of work since I own the iPad. And I do a lot of work in my Home Pc that I can't do in my iPad. How is that? Well, Remote desktop. I keep my Home and Work PC all time on. Whenever I need to do something where I need a Pc I connect via logmein or VNCViewer or Webex and I work from my iPad in my PCs. The feeling when I do this is close to when I was working in my TabletPc, but a lot faster. My work and home PCs are good PCs, a lot better than my Tablet PC, a Fujitsu P1610.

I'm looking forward to get the Surface RT because I think that the integration between the Surface and my PCs will be a lot better than what I'm enjoying now with my iPad.

The trick is to understand that a Tablet is a companion PC no a PC. I enjoy all the simplicity of the Tablet simplified OS and when it's needed I use it as a Enter Data Interface connected to my PC. And the good thing with this approach is that is the equivalent to having your PC with you at all time. All you need is an Internernet connection.

What kind of job I do in my PCs (at work and at home) using my iPad as Data Enter Interface? From programming in VS, editing video, SSMS to Remote Tech Support via Webex.