So, Microsoft’s earnings report for Q1 2015 has been released. The numbers will be sliced and diced by analysts and others over the next few days, but generally they seem extremely positive. Revenues were up 25% to $23.2 billion while operating income was down 8% to $5.8 billion given ongoing costs to restructuring and the Nokia acquisition. Some highlights: Devices and […]
Microsoft Releases Surface Hub for Surface Pro 3 Pen Adjustments
October 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Microsoft has released a Windows Store app called the Surface Hub that enables configuration of the Surface Pro 3 pen. So far, the utility allows for adjusting the pen’s pressure sensitivity (valuable for graphic artists) and to assign the top button to either OneNote 2013 on the desktop or the OneNote modern UI app (regardless […]
Installing Windows 10 Preview on the Surface Pro 3: Clean Install (Updated)
October 4, 2014 by 11 Comments
Update: So far, my experience with Windows 10 has been fairly positive, but I still feel more comfortable using my Windows 8.1 “official” installation for my real work. Therefore, I thought it might be a good idea to post instruction on how to backup the recovery partition, just in case the partitioning causes issues. Here’s […]
Surface Pro 3 Sales Going Strong?
September 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Microsoft hasn’t released official sales numbers for the Surface Pro 3, and maybe never will with any precision, and so we’re left with analyzing various other tidbits of information to determine just how well it’s doing. AdDuplex, provider of metrics for Windows Store apps (i.e., modern UI apps) has released its September 2014 numbers, and […]
Surface Pro 3 and MacBook Air Suffer WiFi Issues
September 22, 2014 by Leave a Comment
I’ve seen a few news reports about WiFi connectivity issues with Microsoft’s increasingly popular Surface Pro 3, primarily that some machines don’t reconnect to a network and/or that the WiFi adapter can’t be found after waking from certain sleep states. Microsoft has released a number of firmware updates aimed in part at resolving the issues, and indeed my […]
Forbes Agrees That the Surface Pro 3 Is a Very Good Tablet
September 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviews of Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 have generally been positive, at least as far as how well it functions as a quasi-notebook. The praise has been less forthcoming, however, when reviewers have considered the Surface Pro 3 as a tablet. I’ve disagreed with them, finding Microsoft’s hybrid to make for an excellent–I’d say, superior–tablet, at […]
Surface Pro 3 Sales: At Least Better Inventory Management
September 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Microsoft’s $900 million dollar write-off, taken due to unsold Surface RT inventory in their Q4 2013 quarterly results, generated quite a bit of noise about the product’s success (or lack thereof). As of early this summer, it was estimated that Microsoft had lost around $1.7 billion in total on the Surface program, not accounting for costs […]
Lost Your Surface Pro 3 Pen? Here’s an Inexpensive HTC Alternative (Updated)
August 30, 2014 by 3 Comments
Update: As noted in the comments, the price changes regularly. Keep updated, because I’ve never seen it go as high as Microsoft’s official pen. Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 has excellent inking via its N-Trig active digitizer. The included official pen, however, is a bit expensive at $49.99 from the Microsoft Store. It’s not something you’d […]
The Motley Fool Misunderstands Microsoft’s Strategy
August 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Microsoft just can’t catch a break. Consider The Motley Fool, writing about Microsoft’s decision to release an Office for iPad: For perspective, Microsoft recently broke down and allowed Microsoft Office on the iPad. For years that was one of its largest selling points for its Surface line of tablets. These are two fascinating sentences. First, […]
Surface Pro 3 and “Lapability”: It’s All About Flexibility
August 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment
When Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 was first introduced, much was made by reviewers (and those who’ve never used the machine) about it’s “lapability,” or how well it can be used (or can’t be) on one’s lap compared to a traditional clamshell notebook. Indeed, it appears that Microsoft invented the term to use when describing a positive feature of their […]