Read some more Internet musings on the folly of Microsoft – not really a hardware shop, RT is doomed, the whole Surface family should be jettisoned, etc. I am reminded of an article I saw a few months ago (apologies to the author, but I have long forgotten where I saw it or who wrote it) that offered up an interesting perspective on the Microsoft venture into the tablet world. In essence, the thought was that Microsoft needed to simultaneously demonstrate the utility of Windows in the emerging world of tablet computing at both the high and low ends of the market. Traditional manufacturers of Windows boxes were probably not going to venture into the low end and get creamed by both Apple and Android. High-end tablets were virtually non-existent. Surface offered Microsoft an opportunity to put its vision of the tablet world in front of consumers without having to explain it or sell it to anybody else.

The RT versions compete nicely with the Apple and Android machines in the consumer tablet world – especially among those who wonder why on earth anybody would pick through hundreds of thousands of single-purpose, one-lung apps to choose a few dozen to load and then have to remember which one does what. All that fuss when Internet Explorer and Office pretty much cover the waterfront. And, speaking of Office, having a reasonably capable version at hand makes the RT versions of Surface competent machines for those who need to do some real work. Sure, there are supposedly apps and work-arounds for the competition, but Office is the real deal.

At the other end of the spectrum, Surface Pro runs Windows 8.1, full-blown Office, and most other software. ‘Nuff said?

I continue to be surprised that more users aren’t keying in on the digital ink aspects of Surface. I don’t know if any studies have been done, but I believe that reading is a far faster and more efficient way to gather information than video or audio. Similarly, I believe that cursive writing (and in some cases printing) are better suited for capturing information than typing. I will freely admit to being a terrible typist – more than two finger, but far from proficient. Born and schooled in those dark days before computers, typing was done on a mechanical typewriter and we tried to learn it because we would need it in college (later proven not to be entirely true). Note-taking, drafts, short reports, etc. were all hand-written. Computers needed cards which in turn required us to use key-punch machines, but decks were small and there weren’t a lot of us waiting in line, so we got by with our meager typing skills. My point is: there must be a lot of people out there who can write faster than they can type. Furthermore, one can write with one hand while holding the tablet (or a cup of coffee) with the other – a feat which defies my typing skills. So, as hand-writing recognition improves, and Surface offers it – along with what I read is a great stylus and writing surface, why are these folks jumping on board? Why aren’t they at least poking around to see if this is what they’ve been waiting for?

A bit of discussion about my wife and her computer use is a useful follow-up to the previous post. As the Director and an active teacher at a small preschool, she does the finances, prepares documentation of school activities, makes display posters, and answers questions. As an adjunct instructor at the local community college, she generates documents, produces PowerPoint presentations, manages her photo library, and works with videos. Add to all of this the requirements of e-mail, calendars, and the internet and you begin to get the picture of a non-technical person who is actually quite reliant on the computer. While I regard her as pretty capable (especially in comparison to some people I know), she does not have the same view of herself.

In her world of computers, change is not good – so, the desktop box runs Windows 7 even though the laptop and now the Surface are at 8.1. Office is a generation or so behind because she doesn’t want to learn new versions of Word and PowerPoint. So, the desktop is the workhorse and the others are niche machines. Portability and Office will be the levers that pry the Surface RT (and the laptop) off the desk and into her hands. The Surface integration of OneDrive will nudge her down the path to the “cloud” and gradual appreciation of the storage and synchronization advantages. The school’s new web site (still under development) will further all of this by giving her reasons to demand more in the way of features: Internet calendars, .ics files, links, vCards, QR codes – all of these things could find application on the site. Will they? I don’t know, but it will be interesting to watch from the sidelines.

Meanwhile, the Surface RT, which drew so many criticisms when it was on the cutting edge of Microsoft’s tablet vision, seems ideally suited for this user.

OK, so I bought my wife a Microsoft Surface RT. Yes, last year’s model – here’s the reasoning: She wanted a tablet computer that she could carry around her preschool, do InterNet searches, make notes, etc. Given her long experience with Windows and Office, Surface seemed like the right idea. When the price on Surface RT dropped dramatically, it became the right answer for her needs/wants.

She will (I fearlessly predict) fall neatly (if somewhat slowly)) into the bullseye of the Surface RT/Surface 2 target group: a tablet user that needs Office but can shift to a desktop or laptop for the heavy lifting. The main difficulty so far seems to be the shift from Winds 7 on her desktop box to 8.1 on the laptop and Surface. Next in line is the learning curve for the touch screen (common to both of her portables). We’ll see how this goes, but so far, so good.

September 23 has come and gone – Microsoft in fact did announce the Surface 2 pretty much as rumored. Faster processor, better battery life, docking station, etc. All interesting improvements and, according to the pundits, all necessary even if only a fraction of what is necessary. So, why am I remaining uninspired?

The answer may lie in what I am looking for in a tablet. I don’t do games, I don’t watch movies or TV on my computer, and I don’t really have any pressing needs for high-powered computing at the moment. I do expect portability – I like to use my portable device (at the moment, that would be either my laptop or my Windows 7 phone) to fill in down time or to document what I am doing. That might mean checking e-mail, Facebook, etc. or reviewing photos, doing a little Internet research, or making notes on a project. It might be in the backyard, it might be on an airplane, it might be at school.

Oh, I am not a terribly good typist and find typing to be an exclusionary activity, meaning that it generally interferes with trying to do other things. So, I will never use a laptop to take notes. I will probably use a tablet to take pictures only out of desperation. But, what draws me to Surface is digital ink. I like the idea of sitting with the tablet, jotting down notes, writing a few paragraphs, editing stuff, searching the web, etc. – all with a tablet and stylus, much as I have been doing with paper for all these years.

So, Microsoft has managed to offer two very interesting products but only one with the digital ink capability. What this means for me is that I can buy the Surface 2 (formerly RT) at a reasonable price and get all the compute power I need, all of the software I need, reasonable performance, and good battery life. But the same form of hobbled portability I have with a laptop – where does the keyboard go? Is the damn thing sliding off my lap? Can I close the lid and use a pad of paper to take notes?

Or, I can buy the Surface 2 Pro to replace some but not all of my desktop (in my case, it is really a laptop) functions and get true portability that works the way I do. Of course, this comes at a price: major dollars for the machine itself, add a Type cover, add a docking station when they become available (this will restore screen size and keyboard convenience when parked), add an external drive or two (remember, Surface is still memory-limited). Basically, I would be buying a new laptop for twice what we recently paid for my wife’s new laptop just to get the pen.

Why couldn’t Microsoft have included the digital ink stuff in the revision of the RT? A consumer-priced and consumer-capable device which offers true portability…

The Microsoft Surface offerings are quite interesting to me. At first, I was convinced that the Surface Pro would be the way to go but, frankly, was deterred by the price tag (Sorry, Microsoft, even reducing it by $100 didn’t sway me). The Surface RT left me cold – until I thought about what I really wanted a tablet to do: Not much! Internet access, e-mail, e-reader, limited Office support (but better than the Windows 7 phone version with no copy and paste functions), and maybe a movie now and again. Sounds like the RT is about what I’m looking for, doesn’t it?

Well, yes and no. I like that Microsoft now offers free upgrades from Office RT to full Office but wonder what the impact on memory and performance will be. Believe it or not, the deal-killer for me is that RT doesn’t have the right screen for a nice stylus and digital ink (there may be more to the problem than that, but…). I would happily buy an RT and go sit in the yard or in a class, making notes and sketches in OneNote or whatever – I just don’t want them to look like I was using a dull crayon. So, somewhere out there in Microsoft land, would somebody please think about how to make the RT into a handy tablet for those of us who don’t really want to be tied to a keyboard for everything? I’ll bet sales to students, home users, and maybe even business types who don’t need to lug a laptop to every meeting would skyrocket (OK – the bar is set rather low at the moment, but you know what I mean).