Microsoft Surface Pro 3

And I have one that I use as thin client for my desktop, Linux made it usable! 10 year old surface pro 3, 8 to 9hr battery life, takes less than 20s to boot up to Gnome, no issues browsing on Firefox, it's a solid device on the go. And to my total surprise, it retained charge even after almost a month of no usage.

I've been using a Surface Pro 3 as my one-and-only for almost 3 years, and it really feels like time to upgrade, so I've been looking forward to this one. My workload is probably something like 40% reading, 30% writing, 25% coding, and 5% running code, and the Surface has been a nearly ideal form factor for this. The new "Surface Pro" ticks a lot of boxes for me: - Supports my existing keyboard, pen, dock, and power adapter - Improves battery life substantially - Offers improved keyboard and pen for when I get around to it - Fanless options - Improved performance (not that I need much more) Unfortunately, the configurations are weird. My ideal machine is an i5/256GB/16GB. The closest I can get is i7/512GB/16GB, which nearly doubles the cost, and requires a fan. I just don't get how they can make the floor for 16GB RAM $2200. Is there any professional workload where 8GB isn't constricting today, let alone in another 3 years? My only thought here is that maybe the RAM increases the thermal envelope enough to require the fan, but that seems unlikely, and I would still happily make that sacrifice if I didn't have to also pay for the processor and disk upgrades. I'm going to harangue them on Twitter, and also look into clearance SP4s with 16GB.

I've been using the Lumia 650 for a couple months now and it's a solid device. If only it was their first iteration! Also, for those used to using a Macbook/Ipad/Iphone, consider the Surface lineup is really tablet-and-laptop in one. I have been using a Surface Pro 3 for about 2 years now and really swear by the device. There's nothing like it on the market. The anniversary Win10 update is coming soon too. Tough to say what their goals are in the mobile space though.. It's a saturated market and people are already plugged into ecosystems so it's tough to pull them out. The plus with Windows 10 Universal though is that for developers, why not make it universal and get added mobile/desktop app for free? Hard to say where they're going.. The entire market has sort of reached a strange place with shifts to the cloud and attempts at AI (I disable cortana by the way because she eats battery for breakfast).

Surfaces are great devices. My Pro 3 still gets 7 hours of battery life. We use newer Surface laptops at work, even the artists, developers, and executives (note we are not a tech company). The laptops aren't very fast but they can take a lot of physical abuse and the batteries last all day. We don't need the top of the line, and forcing our developers to use lower powered computers actually improves the quality of the apps because they get to experience how our apps work for most of our customers and take performance into account from the beginning.

My opinion on that may be colored by the fact that I had a Surface Pro 3, the one place where Windows 8.1 was actually great to use, and taking away some of the focus on tablet use was a regression. Overall you're right though, outside of tablets W10 was an improvement, because 8 tried to stick the tablet UI into desktops. I was recently connecting to some server with the Windows 8 derived version of Windows Server and gosh that full screen start menu is stupid with a mouse.

Workspace being froze or causing issue, is just the symptom of the actual problem. It's not the workspace are the problem. So, maybe you should investigate the underlying issue. Which version of Gnome are you using? Older version of Gnome had an issue with workspace switch, which has been fixed over a year ago. You do realize, Surface Pro 3 is a 10 year old laptop, which only have 4GB of RAM, and iGPU, and I have opened up 14 workspace, with multiple applications. And, obviously it had some lag, but it never became unusable.

Ah, bicycles, something that I love so much. Yes, agreed, someone who never rode will never realize how amazing it is feel the air in your face, the gentle sound of the tire rolling. I miss it so much. But, when you keep changing your bikes, and start fiddling with the mechanics of it, you forget, what made it worth in the first place! What was the thing that gave you the pure joy. PS: Using nvim and IntelliJ(Ultimate) side by side is for a personal reason. I have to be away from my main desktop for a really long time. So have to SSH into my desktop using a Surface Pro 3 (Running Linux) to work. It's a really portable setup, and works well as a thin client. And it is an experiment to fully utilize CLI tools, to get my work done.

This has a miserable 1280 x 800 pixel screen and eMMC storage. If you are interested in a tablet running Linux, I think my daily driver might be a better choice: A Microsoft Surface Pro 3 running Debian¹ with very few problems. It has a 2160 x 1440 touchscreen and a real SSD. Easy to find used/reconditioned for about $100.² [1] https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface [2] https://www.ebay.com/itm/205341079054

If you look up the pixel dimensions of the displays offered by even the best glasses or headsets, you’ll find that you get the equivalent of one modest screen at best. This includes the best of the Xreal glasses mentioned in a comment below. So I don’t think this kind of hardware will satisfy your needs. I’m typing this on a Surface Pro 3 (running Linux), which has (is, really) a 12 inch screen with pixel dimensions of 2160x1440. It’s 10 years old; the display outclasses anything you can wear on your face. I’m with you: I’d love to replace screens with this kind of technology. But it’s not there yet.

My Surface Pro 3 still gets 90% battery life. My HP hybrid tablet, now over 15 years old, still works (when plugged in). My dad's IBM Thinkpad, older than most people currently on this website, still works. Apple people like to claim that Apples last longer than their competitors, but that simply isn't true. Most people, myself included, can't tell you what Dell or HP support is like because we've never had to use them. But every Apple user knows what Apple support is like, because every Apple user has had to use them.

I’ve bought books, each for less than $300, that have changed my life. Can’t get a better bang for the buck than a good book. I recently bought a used Microsoft Surface Pro 3 from ebay for around $200, and installed Debian Linux on it, with a special kernel for the Surface. It runs Linux really well, and is now my main computer. I hate Microsoft as much as any normal person, but this hardware is excellent. I can use it as a tablet (the touchscreen works well) or with a wireless keyboard. Having a keyboard detached from the computer is far better than any laptop, for ergonomics and flexibility. It came with Windows 11 installed, and I even kept it on a small partition that I boot into sometimes for Zoom meetings, as Zoom doesn’t work well on Linux—and for testing websites. The machine was in absolutely perfect condition. The only issue is that the battery life is pretty bad (couple of hours at most), but I don’t know whether that’s because the battery is in bad shape or because of Linux power management.

MacOS lost me somewhere around Mavericks and the idea of a tablet that is also my PC was appealing, so I tried a Surface Pro 3 and decided to keep it. Ubuntu Bash for Windows is great, but is Beta and still needs some work. As for my old 2011 MBP, Ubuntu runs very well on it. For a couple of decades I kept trying Linux on the desktop, and today I am happy with it. From managing photos, CAD for my 3D printer, Python development and music with my keyboard, Dropbox support, it really is remarkable how far the desktop has come. I am still using the web client for OneNote though...

Over the past year I've noticed a lot of things mysteriously getting installed, things moving around, etc. I don't mind automatic updates so long as there's a separation from the new features and bug fixes. There should be a base core of apps that are necessary and a set of opt-in add-on features. It's time to move to Linux on laptop/desktop/tablet I think. While I love my surface pro 3 and the Windows 10 experience is overall a good one, I don't like them changing undisclosed stuff on me.

The problem here is not Microsoft. I am surface pro 3 owner and i have to say that is one of the best machines i have used. I wouldn't change it for anything. I agree that MS is heading in the right direction. The steps that they are taking are to my opinion great for everyone. I have been a linux user for almost 10 years and windows 10 might be the reason to switch back. We will see. As for the driver issues, that is cause windows releases the software and then the hardware is provided by several companies which is up to them to not screw up there drivers. For apple they release one laptop and that is it. They only have to cater for that device which makes it a hell of a lot easier. Windows 8, has made huge progress in every hardware aspect of the machine.

I've always gone thinkpad for Linux and never really been let down. I got an M$ Surface Pro 3 last month (don't laugh) but its actually first rate, hardware wise. Fedora doesn't quite work perfectly yet but its pretty close. High DPI touch screens rock!

Have had my SP3 for more than a month now and I'm so happy I bought one. I've seen the previous models and read Penny Arcade reviews previously and was never quite sold on it. I went to MS's TechEd conference and had a play with one.. Everything just worked. It's better than any laptop I've owned and more convenient to boot. I wasn't even sold on Windows 8 prior to this, but now - bring on the change! The drawbacks: It runs hot. If you're watching a movie, it'll be fanning full speed. Having screen brightness to max will drain your battery in <4 hours. The kick stand is great but after a month of use it's no longer got that perfect rigid movement it once had, it moves slightly (< 2cm on the end) from what position I put it in. Paying separately for the keyboard which in my opinion is essential, and too pricey was annoying - but it's good quality and very nice to use. The end of the pen nib wears easily, however you can contact MS Support for free replacements. That's it. In the scheme of things that's piss all drawback for a mobile device. I'd put the engineering behind it next to that of my Nexus 5 phone. It just works.

I have got a Surface Pro 3 and I am likely to purchase few more over next year or so for family members. Very likely I will never purchase an iPad. The amazing part about SP3 is that you connect it to a large monitor it works just like a normal computer without breaking a sweat. Large companies like MS need to be super innovative to remain competitive in the absence of government protectionism. I am happy to see that Microsoft is back into the game well. I wish them success with the Lumia phones as well.

When I recommended my father a Surface Pro 3 back 10 years ago or so, it was also the last time when I was excited by Windows. He loved it until buying a new laptop about a year ago.

Backups - http://lifehacker.com/how-to-back-up-your-computer-automatic... I don't use touchpads, even on my laptops. I use a vertical five button wireless mouse because I don't like to rotate my cuff all day since I get repetitive stress syndrome. However, my wife does use the touchpad on her Surface Pro 3 and it works just fine for her. Actually there is one touch pad that I do use for my entertainment PC in my living room and that is a logitech K400R. It also works just fine with two finger scrolling, swiping etc.

>You can get a Surface Pro 3 for $799, if anything that's a bargain for what you're getting. Like I said, its worth the money for what you get, but that's not going to matter much. Most people spend less than $799 on a computer of any sort. >The only danger about that price point is that people might think it's an expensive tablet rather than a cheap computer.. Until they release a keyboard that actually transforms the device into a laptop, it is just an expensive tablet.