Win8/MS Surface Tablet
 

As a side note, I hope the final version of RDSS2 will be compatible with the soon-to-be-released Windows 8. I officially didn't care, since rumor has it that W8 is buggy as hell, but I'm having a problem with Windows 7 and Microsoft which would be resolved by upgrading my copy of XP to Windows 8.

Paul,

I can't imagine RDSS won't run on Windows 8, but I will be near first in line to pick up a new Microsoft Surface tablet with Win 8 when they're on sale in October.

I tried to set up an environment on one of my computers to run VMPlayer to run the Windows 8 Beta as a virtual operating system, but ran into a few snags (and 6 hours of wasted time). If I can get some time in the next few weeks, I'll try again, otherwise ... Win 8 is the future of Microsoft OS's and will enable us all to run RDSS on convenient, low power tablets at the track, or at the beach! (And run Flash video, live race streams and replays - booo iPad :()

best,

Ted

uh...
 

The Flash v iPad thing was personal (Steve Jobs was screwed by Adobe).
I fully understand this, as I was just screwed by Adobe over Photoshop CS6.

Somebody really needs to take Adobe and smack them around real hard.

I highly recommend Walter Isaacson's Bio on Steve Jobs. It's a great read - all 800 pages!

Ted - Have you had any luck confirming RDSS will run on The Microsoft Surface tablet? If so, any thoughts on the tablet itself ... do you like? Any +'s / -'s to share ...

Thanks for sharing ..

I don't think RDSS will be able to run on the Microsoft Surface RT, because it does not allow legacy programs, however, i would think it would work just fine on the Microsoft Surface Pro (which does allow legacy programs), which is due out in the new year. I have been very interested in this tablet for obvious reasons, and look forward to the Pro version to be released. The only drawback is, i have herd they will be charging around $1000 for the Pro version, you can get a nice laptop for that price.

Here is a good unbiased review on the Microsoft Surface RT

http://mobilesyrup.com/2012/11/08/mi...tablet-review/

Doug,

What Hoof said! The MS Surface Tablet runs Windows RT (non-intel version of Windows 8), with only the new touch screen UI (aka 'Metro') and no access to the 'Desktop' side (aka Windows 7 and previous). Win 8 does run RDSS just fine - on a desktop computer, or tablet from other hardware vendors designed to run it.

As Hoof mentions, the upcoming Surface Pro tablet running Windows 8 Pro will access the Desktop side and then run all previous Windows programs, including RDSS. We'll have to wait until that time comes (January?) to get some hands-on feedback, at least on the Microsoft Surface tablet. There are other tablets out now running Win8 Pro.

Ted

Windows 8 based tablets running the new Intel Atom Z2760 chip, all of which are capable of running RDSS. Get out your wallets, they won't come cheap!

• · Samsung - Series 5 Slate

• · Acer - Iconia W510

• · Asus - Vivo Tab

• · Dell - Latitude 10

• · HP - Envy x2

• · Lenovo - ThinkPad 2

• · ZTE - V98

• · Microsoft Surface Pro

Microsoft Surface Pro to launch in January
 

"Panos Panay, General Manager of Microsoft Surface, announced today that the Pro version of the Surface will be available this coming January. The price, as expected, is high at $899 (USD) for the 64GB model and $999 (USD) for the 128GB. Microsoft notes that this price excludes the Touch Cover, but does include “a Surface pen with Palm Block technology.”

The 10.6-inch Surface Pro has some different specs that the RT version, mainly the Intel Core i5 processor, USB 3.0 port, weighs a bit more at just under 2 pounds, supports Pen input, 4GB RAM, and most importantly will run current Windows 7 desktop apps.


We’ve reached out to Microsoft Canada for specific Canadian pricing, probably will have the usual $20 increase on it."




Does seem a bit expensive but after looking at the specs, this is on par with an Ultrabook. It has some serious horsepower under the hood, and i don't think this is meant to compete with other tablets, but with the likes of a Ultrabook or a MacBook Air. It's nice to see they come with a 64Gb and 128GB SSD (lots of storage) and with the i5 and 4GB of ram, it will be able to handle any program thrown at it, no other tablet on the market can compete with these specs. Love it!



Now, i just need to hit a nice Super to pay for it!

Gil,

This sounds like the right tablet for me, especially with the 128 Gb SSD and USB 3. I have a 2 Tb palm sized USB3 external HD and it screams! Entirely sufficient for all non current storage, making the 128 Gb internal storage fair enough size. If I can rig it with a Bluetooth mouse and normal external keyboard and HDMI monitor, it could be a main working computer. (Though, only if it supported a screen res of at least 1050 vertical).

As for a superfecta to fund it, this one would have bought a few: http://paceandcap.com/forums/showpos...0&postcount=35

Woodbine Nov 28, Race 7
Attachment 32339

If you play supers, I'm sure you would have had it.

Ted

I agree Ted, this device will meet all your needs, and in the form of a tablet.

Here are a few more specs that was i able to find.

- It weighs about 2 pounds and measures 0.53 inches thick.

- Its 10.6-inch full HD display has a resolution of 1920 X 1080, when connected to an external monitor through Mini HDMI Port, the Surface with Windows 8 Pro supports resolutions up to 2560 X 1440.

- Full-size USB 3.0

- Micro SDXC card slot

- Micro HDMI Port

- No GPS, No 3G/LTE, No NFC (as we know of so far)

- They are using the Intel "Ivy Bridge" (Generation 3) Core i5 processor, while this is a very fast processor, it's X86 based technology is known to chew up power. The battery is rated for about 6 hours of heavy use and i can only see that getting worse with time.

I would imagine that the Pro has Bluetooth, so you could use a third party mouse and keyboard. Seeing that the Cover/Keyboard is around $120, it adds a hefty price tag to the consumer.

All in your looking at $1265.00

As much as i like the sound of this device, i will probably sit on the fence and see what the reviews are like after it is released. If sales are sluggish like the way they are with the RT, i can see price drops in February or March.

Maybe i won't have a choice but to wait..... Latest News

"Update: Looks like the Surface Pro is not coming to Canada anytime soon. Here’s the statement from Microsoft Canada: “Surface with Windows 8 Pro will be available in the United States at launch. With regards to additional markets, we do not have anything further to share at this time. As soon as we do have news to share for Canada, we will be in touch.”

Surface Windows 8 Pro
 

Canadian release will be February 9/13.

http://mobilesyrup.com/2013/01/23/su...ming-for-c619/

Surface Windows 8 Pro
 

Any reports from people that bought Windows 8 Pro and how it is working with RDSS? Is it the right tablet for the job? Thanks

I bought the MS Surface Pro (128 Gb version) last week and have slowly been setting it up. RDSS2 runs fine on it! Much faster than any other computer I have owned (due to 4 Gb memory, 64 Bit OS, solid state drive).

The included stylus-thingy makes it much easier to left-and right click (tap) on small objects on the RDSS (and other older Windows interfaces). Fingers and mouse work well too, but sometimes precision is an issue.

The main problem I encounter is that with the native screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 - although it looks gorgeous on a large external HDMI monitor or big screen TV - when viewing RDSS in that resolution on the small 10.5 inch tablet screen, by default Windows boosts the font size to 150% magnification which results in an effective screen resolution of 1280 x 720 (i.e. divide by 1.5).

SO - the 3 panel format is not available (not enough vertical screen resolution). You have to pump the Windows font size up to at least 125% or better 150% (the default) and make do with a 2 panel format. Not such a bad layout, but I am DEFINITELY used to 3 panels when using RDSS. I don't see any way around this on such a small tablet screen.

Having this collection of smaller screen sizes for a week has helped me see several ways to optimize the alternate layouts for RDSS to accommodate more restricted screen resolutions.

Aside from that - and getting used to the new layout and touch features of Windows 8 - the Surface Pro is a pretty spiffy tablet, and I recommend it.

If a small tablet format is not necessarily what you need (10.5 " diagonal screen) and you want to spend a bit more money for a more powerful convertible Win8 touch-enabled ultrabook/tablet computer (11.6 " screen) - check out the reviews for the upcoming Lenovo Helix.

Because of the small portable screen on the Surface, it won't be my main work computer, but it will be great for taking to the track, coffee shop, beach or trekking.

Ted

Thanks for the reort Ted

report

Thanks for the heads up Ted, i was wondering if you were going to make the plunge or not.

Personally, i can't past the size of the screen, when we looked at it last month that was the dealbreaker for me. I think i will go for the Ultrabook with atleast a 15" screen, seeing that i'm slowly going blind.

One question though, for the limited time that you have had it, what is the battery life like? I can't imagine RDSS being that much of a drain on the battery.

Glad to hear you made the purchase and i look forward to checking out RDSS on the Surface the next time we get together, 30 days to go. ;)

Dell
 

I think on April 16, 213 Dell is coming out with a tablet that has an 18 inch screen and does weigh in at 5lbs.!!!!!

Bob

I haven't done a specific battery run down test, but will try this Saturday working races. RDSS itself may not be too processor intensive, but a combo of normal raceday activities including Outlook, an ADW in a browser or 2, a video stream and a couple of instances of RDSS might tax that 4 hour battery life. I'll report back.

Woodbine opening day (Saturday April 20)? Shall we celebrate at the track Team Sartin's 1st round bye in the PAIHL Contest Finals ;) Does Mike have a game that day; let's invite him up!

Ted

Sounds like a great idea, i was planning on going anyway and i completely forgot about the PAIHL contest, funny how that works out. They are on the road that day, and i'm not sure if he does away games, we'll have to ask him.

Funny you should mention that, i was just looking into that tablet. Looks like a very interesting tablet, i love the size of the screen and it's fully customizable. I will wait and see what it will cost with the hardware that i would want, and i am curious about the reviews, i'm sure battery life would be horrible with a 18" screen. Things are getting very interesting in the gadget world.

I am looking into the new Surface 3 that was recently released. Similar specs to the original Surface Pro in that it has

Windows 8.1, 10.8 inches Display 1920x1280
Quad Core Intel® Atom(TM) x7-Z8700 processor (2MB Cache, 1.6GHz with Intel Burst(TM) technology up to 2.4GHz)
4 GB RAM Memory, 128 GB Flash Memory (93 GB Available)

It has USB 3 & microSD card for expansion.

Since it runs Win 8.1, I assume RDSS 2 wont be a problem. My only question is whether the processor will be okay.

Cheers

Tony

Not a problem at all, it has tons of processing power. Ted uses the Surface Pro 3 and can tell you in greater detail how RDSS functions on the Surface.

I just purchased the Asus Vivotab 8 with Windows 8.1 to run RDSS when i'm at the track, and it functions beautifully with a fraction of the processing power of the Surface 3.

For any Canadian looking at the Surface 3, The Source is giving away 10 Surface 3 tablets in a contest, you just have to enter your particulars here....

http://www.iwantthatsurface.ca/

Thanks Hoof! I am pretty excited about getting this and not having to carry around my laptop which is not huge but still very bulky.

Buzz, that new 10" version of Surface 3 should work great - processor seems fine and the SSD will make disk retrievals sing. The HD screen res aspect of it will be somewhat lost on RDSS when viewed on the tablet, unless you use your magnifying lenses :eek: but if you plug it into a big monitor, it will work just like a Desktop/Notebook class computer.

My Surface Pro3 IS my main computer. It pretty much ran out of juice Saturday after a full afternoon at the track (5+ hours running RDSS and some web access), but your newer one may have some extra battery life enhancements.

Hoof11's smaller ASUS tablet looked pretty spiffy too (though it didn't pick any more winners than mine.. ). When you get yours, let us know how it works!

Ted

That's unusual about your battery, i had 60% of my battery left when i got home. :)

It must be that ClearType Full HD Display that is draining the battery, those HD displays can really chew up power.

Ted is right, you need a good pair of glasses to view these tablets, unless your a twenty something....

Beware
 

Was reading on the paceadvantage board today under the computer section that windows 10 may not be compatable with the surface pro. Check out the article before you buy.

Bob

I found no such article on PA, in the Computer section or elsewhere - perhaps a link? Anyway - it is inconceivable that a newly released Micrososft tablet would suddenly not work with their soon to be released Windows upgrade ...

Whatever that article meant - it meant something else. No reason not to get a Surface Pro.

Ted

They
 

took it down Ted it must have been B.S.

That's pretty funny, i'm with Ted on that one, why would Microsoft release an OS that doesn't jive with their very own tablet, comical! That post must have come from an IOS fanboy.

From what i have read, Windows 10 will optimize the tablet experience more so than Windows 8 has. The future is all about mobile computing, and the Surface tablet(s) are asskickers.

Agree. I did a little Googling on Surface & Windows 10. Basically, there have been issues as one would expect with beta versions of W10, need for certain drivers, etc. But users of both the Surface Pro 3 & Surface posted articles on their experience and note that W10 is an improvement on 8.1 (perhaps the bar could be set higher than that ;-)

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

Cheers

Tony

Any updates on use of Microsoft Surface?
 

My netbook has crashed and I am hoping to replace it with a Surface or other such type. Any suggestions?

The Surface is an amazing tablet without question, it has more than enough horsepower installed to take care of anyone's needs., Ted could tell you how long the battery lasts on the device. You only have the option of a 10" or a 12" screen, and that is something that is subjective, you might want a bigger screen.

There are a lot of options out there at different price points, if your not gaming or video editing with the device, you can go with a cheaper option. Im guessing you need a Windows device. How big of a screen do you want?

Mike,

No other comments about my Surface Pro 3 aside from the ones above from earlier this month. The screen is big, lots of power for RDSS. The smaller, newer Surface 3 (10 inch screen) will likely also work for you, but I think Buzz might be getting that so I'll let him chime in if so. I think a few other folks were looking at it as well, not sure.

Ted

I have been "testing" the Surface and the Surface Pro 3. In addition, there is are a few HP models that are supposed to be Surface Pro challengers and I have expanded my look at those models as well. My only concern about the new Surface are some reviews I have read about it heating up and locking up. It uses a new Atom processor that is low voltage so it is fanless and ventless. I am always leery about new technology. Plus the Pro 3 is pretty amazing and keeps me coming back.

So I have not taken the plunge yet. Plan to do so very soon though.

Thanks for your feedback. I have another computer for business, so this is primarily for using RDSS. I have been looking on line and it appears that the Dell Venue 11 4th Generation may fill the need at a price significantly lower than the Surface.

If you just need it for RDSS than i agree, buy something inexpensive. I do recommend reading a bunch of user reviews on the device before purchasing, it seems everything out there has it's quirks.

I picked up the Asus Vivotab 8 for $179 for the handful of times that i go to the track, i just wanted something portable that can run RDSS. It works great and i have no complaints, and RDSS runs great on it just like it does on my desktop, except much much smaller.

Good luck with that.

Asus Vivotab 8 Tablet
 

Hoof1,

Do you know if you can run the older Dos Sartin Programs
on this Tablet?

John

I have no experience with DOS programs, but according to Ted in the other thread, it is possible through Windows 8.X and the upcoming Windows 10. The Asus Vivotab comes with Windows 8.1 with a free future upgrade of Windows 10.

You should be good to go with any tablet running Windows 8.X or higher.

I just got this promotion from Microsoft today, unfortunately it is for Canadian residents only. $350 off the Surface Pro 3, today only.

http://e.microsoft.com/ViewInBrowser....z.K0.-.nWbMS5